One area hatchery prepping for trout season kickoff
By: Jennifer Lee
Updated: April 2, 2012
For all you fishermen who are itching to get outdoors, this Sunday officially kicks off the first day of trout season.
Of course you need fish out in the water to have a successful season.
The Rome Fish Hatchery has just started to stock the waters with their trout.
And they say they have about 170,000 pounds of it to make available for fishermen this season.
"We stocked the Mohawk with about 7,000 fish, Nine Mile Creek about 5,300," says Bob Lewthwaite, the manager at Rome Fish Hatchery.
They say they're anticipating a big opening day.
"The streams are well within their banks and the water has warmed up a bit. It's uncommon for the weather to be like this early," says Lewthwaite.
Bob, says they're usually battling high waters and snow banks this time of year.
He says it takes about a year and a half to get the trout to stocking size, which is between eight to nine inches.
They even harbor young trout for next year's season.
"We have a fish pathologist who actually is a fish doctor and can look at the fish under microscopes if they are ailing and what the problem is and prescribe a treatment," explains Lewthwaite.
Bob says they feed the bigger fish three to four times a day and the smaller fish six to eight times a day.
The hatchery has a fish truck that blows out food into the pound or "the fish can knock the wire and it releases the food so they call them demand feeders. So, when the fish are hungry they hit the wire and the food drops into the ponds," says Lewthwaite.
The Rome hatchery is one of the larger ones in the state.
They serve eleven counties and are responsible for stocking over 300 bodies of water.
Mark Snogles, an employee at Herb Phillipson's says he has three days off work to relax and do what he loves most.
"I'm fishing. I'll probably hit local creeks for trout. Probably the Mohawk River, probably the Oriskany Creek. Just getting out and enjoying the outdoors."
If you plan on going fishing come Sunday, make sure you have your fishing license. It's less than $30 for New York residents.
