Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Williams Creek Fish Hatchery

I took off between 9 - 9:30 this morning to find
Williams Hatchery. The morning was still nice a cool.

I stopped at a friends place to see what was going on and
they had just returned from fishing at Silver Lake. I had
never  heard of that lake before.  Seems I am learning about
more places every day. I will follow them out there the next
time.

I could feel the temperature warming up so off I went. It is
a very beautiful drive. I did take a turn onto a dirt road but
it was very bad so I only took a few pictures and turned
around.

As I headed toward the hatchery the trees were so much
larger. But many were dead and falling. From the looks
of the stumps it was beetle damage. Bark Beetles are
really taking there toll on the trees.

When I arrived a huge truck was coming behind me.
 A Ranger came out to let the driver know where to park.
Of course I was in that spot. I moved further up the hill
and walked back down to the first building. There were
thousands of little fry in long tanks. As you walk further
the fish were a little larger and as you walked pasted the
tank the larger fish would start to jump. I guess they
thought I was going to feed them.

I then walked up the hill toward the outside tanks to the
larger fish. As I came around to the next set of tanks I
spotted a large black scat. Just then the Ranger came
around with a helper to clean and feed the fish. I asked
him about it. He said it was bear.

There has been a momma and her baby coming in to
feed toward evening. Mom had ripped a hole in the mess
 to get fish.

I asked about problems with Bald Eagles and Osprey. I
was told they have more problems with King Fishers.
They keep what he called bird wire over the outdoor tanks,
to keep out the larger birds.

Ranger also told me there used to be a pretty falls up the
road but they now run it through pipes so they can add
oxygen  to run the pumps.

A big problem also are the Rock Squirrels getting into the
fish food.

The Ranger was more than happy to answer any questions
and add things he thought might be good to hear. Like
when he told me about the bear I said I will pass on any
trails. He added it was a good idea and that there are lots of
rattle snakes. SNAKES! Well I thanked him for all his
information and went back to the car. I figured I can see
plenty from there and not worry about momma and snakes.



Taken through the car windshield

The smallest about an inch - 2 inch


Got food?



These are soon to go into stocking lakes and streams they range from 7 - 10 inches


I will post more pictures on this adventure tomorrow.

Good night









4 comments:

  1. Seems like the little fishies are attracting a lot of undesirables. Bears, birds of prey and rattlesnakes in the area might make one a little nervous.

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  2. Good morning John,

    Just a little. :)
    Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. I volunteered at a fish hatchery in Oregon once. They are interesting places for sure.

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  4. Hi Judy and Emma,

    I think Weekends there is more open.

    Glad you stopped by today.

    ReplyDelete