The opposite of catching fish

[juanbenae]

Had a pretty cool experience yesterday riding along with a buddy who works at the local State Moccasin Fish Hatchery to stock fish at Pinecrest Lake. He picked me up right near my house and we made the 30 mile run up 108 to the lake. We stopped two times to check the fish, which I learned meant toss any dead, dying, or lame fish floating at the top of the tank in a bucket, the last time being about a 1/4 mile prior to the boat ramp where we deposit them. Apparently, some people lucky enough to be around the stocking location get all bent if dead fish are deposited *****ing at my buddy and calling the hatchery to complain as I was told. We pulled 5-6 out during our 2 stops on the way up the hill. The stocked Rainbows are what they call "1/2 pounders", some being smaller and others looking closer to a pound to me. This is the largest truck the hatchery has, and we took about 600 pounds of fish in this trip. Pinecrest is very popular and these were stocked for the holiday weekend masses.

He toured me around the hatchery 4-5 years ago and that was equally as cool seeing all the little fingerlings of many different trout types, and then once outside the in ground tanks with differing age/sized fish. They also have a couple dedicated tanks for what the sign calls "trophy fish" which were huge trout that live there never to be stocked. They are for looking at.. Cool morning for sure.

[juanbenae]

Oh ya, couple other things. They will not feed the fish heading to be stocked for 5 days. Hungry fish are easier to catch, and if they are transported with anything in their stomach they will regurgitate it in the truck tank during the transport, fouling the tank water and laming many of the fish on board. He stocks different lakes and river locations at least 3-4 days a week during the summer. He has also taken fish to the local airport to be loaded on planes to be dropped at remote, inaccessible lakes.

[porsche tech]

What a cool picture

[juanbenae]

Ya, was surprised that they all lingered around the shore for quite a while. They had never been in water deeper than like 2' so they were trippin. They have to consider water temps in the spring and even into early summer in the rivers because the super cold water will shock them having not been used to it. It can kill them if too cold at the outset. You know, how you gotta let the bag from the pet store with your goldfish sit in your home tanks for a while for temp equalization...

[Skip Newsom]

That's awesome!
I've gotten to see Baker Lake up here in the North Cascades get stocked, it gets Rainbow trout plus Kokanee and Sockeye salmon.
It''s amazing to see so many big fish at times in an 8 mile long reservoir
I don't fish, but the local anglers, Osprey and Bald Eagles sure appreciate the meals on wheels!

This excerpt is from Washington Fish Reports website:

Baker Lake, nestled in the North Cascades near Concrete, is a 4,800-acre reservoir best known for its summer sockeye salmon run. From mid-July through August, anglers troll 30–60 feet deep using red hooks or small hoochies tipped with corn behind dodgers. Early morning is the most productive time.

Sockeye are stocked through a trap-and-haul program and stage throughout the main lake basin. Downriggers and sonar are essential to locate suspended fish.

Kokanee are present and caught incidentally while trolling for sockeye. Stocked rainbow trout provide steady action near shorelines and inflows. Native cutthroat trout are also present and should be handled with care—barbless hooks and catch-and-release are encouraged.

Boat access is excellent, with launches and campgrounds at Swift Creek and Horseshoe Cove. Weather can shift quickly, so plan early trips and monitor forecasts.

Baker Lake combines scenic beauty with one of the state’s best sockeye fisheries. Check WDFW rules before fishing, as sockeye seasons vary each year.

[rfuerst911sc]

Nice fish cannon 😁

[A930Rocket]

I don’t fish and know nothing about it, but the fish they drop at the lake are ready for catching?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I don’t fish and know nothing about it, but the fish they drop at the lake are ready for catching?

Too ready. They are not raised in the river/lake and don't know the ropes. They bite at anything whereas a wise old trout knows a thing or two about being hooked. When I fished it was considered not very good sportsmanship to fish a freshly deposited school. The old timers simply would not. They'd move away from the stocking site and fish a regular spot where you find natural trout. Or at least one that had time to season a bit before being harvested.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Too ready. They are not raised in the river/lake and don't know the ropes. They bite at anything whereas a wise old trout knows a thing or two about being hooked. They'd move away from the stocking site and fish a regular spot where you find natural trout. Or at least one that had time to season a bit before being harvested.

Ya, as I mentioned they have not eaten in a while and are not wise as you allude to. They biting!


During my visit to the hatchery I learned that you could tell a stocked fish by the worn bottom side of its tail from the concrete lined tanks they are raised in. The bottom gets scrubbed off some and will never grow back.

[Sooner or later]

As a kid we were staying at a cabin on the river in Lake City, Colorado.

I was upstream about a quarter mile fishing a big pool that usually held a few fish.

I heard this motor sound and saw this truck backing up to the drop off to the pool. It started unloading hundreds of pan size rainbow trout into the pool.

I caught my limit in about 30 minute's. Mom and dad couldn't believe it.

[A930Rocket]

As I was reading it, I was thinking it’s like shooting fish in a barrel and unsportsmanlike.

[john70t]

Fish need big rocks and deepwater overhead shady areas to congregate in.
Because they will eat each other..and the young.
Same as chickens and lions.

That pond needs many more big floating things to separate the crowds. Obstacles and vegetation and shade.

[masraum]

Cool, we've got a little pond by our place that get stocked something like every year or every other year. I've always wondered how they do it. I assume it's similar.