![]() Warmwater fish are cultured through several sources: collecting wild brood stock, the purchase of eggs or fry from a private vendor or trading surplus of various species with other state agencies. At the time of stocking, most catchable sized trout are 1 1/2 years old with a target weight of three quarters of a pound. Fingerlings are then reared to catchable size for the following spring stocking. Fingerling trout are moved outside as soon as raceways and pools are emptied and sanitized during the spring stocking season. Trout eggs are hatched indoors and grown to fingerling size prior to moving to outside pools and/or raceways. ![]() Rainbow and golden rainbow trout are spawned starting in August, with brown and brook trout spawned in September and October, respectively. After spawning, eggs and fingerling trout are provided to the remaining hatchery facilities for grow-out. WVDNR has several trout hatcheries that culture and maintain their own brood stock for spawning. Annual fish stocking from all WVDNR hatcheries averages more than two million fish per year. Additional warm-water species are cultured and stocked when fish biologists identify specific needs. These facilities raise warm-water species that commonly include walleye, musky, channel catfish, blue catfish, striped bass and hybrid striped bass. The two warm-water hatcheries are Apple Grove and Palestine hatcheries. These cold-water hatcheries rear trout species including rainbow trout, golden rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout and tiger trout. Seven of these hatcheries are cold water and include the Bowden, Edray, Petersburg, Reeds Creek, Ridge, Spring Run and Tate Lohr hatcheries. ![]() WVDNR currently manages and operates nine fish hatcheries statewide. This is especially true for most stocked trout waters due to increased temperatures during summer months that prevent fish from surviving year around. Without the hatchery program, many of the state’s waters would not sustain recreational sport fishing at the current level. The purpose of the hatchery program is to provide gamefish for recreational angling opportunities. ![]() Starting Saturday, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (WVDNR) will stock additional trout in “a bunch of lakes at our state parks and forests all across our state,” Justice added.West Virginia fish hatcheries and fish stockings began in the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that larger hatcheries were built, and fish production and stocking began to increase. So we’ve got a lot of really giant trophy fish going out, and everybody ought to have a big time.” It goes for two weeks and we’re stocking 6,000 pounds of these really trophy fish and then in addition to that, we’re stocking another 5,000. “We’re stocking throughout the state, and we started (Monday). “This was the inaugural stocking of our trophy fish,” Justice said. The announcement included a ceremonial release of the first fish at Pipestem Resort State Park, which is celebrating nearly $12 million in park renovations. Jim Justice showed off some of the fish and put a net full of them into the lake himself. State officials met at Pipestem Resort State Park to watch as Long Branch Lake was stocked with large trout. More opportunities to catch a trophy fish started appearing in West Virginia’s lakes and streams Tuesday when an inaugural stocking took place at one of the region’s state parks.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |