CASTLEFORD, Idaho — Idaho is full of opportunity for anglers, but some waterways are cut off from natural runs and that's where Idaho Fish and Game steps in.
"Put and take; we put them in there and people take them out," said Ken Felty, Fish Culturist at the Hagerman State Fish Hatchery.
Throughout the year, Idaho Fish and Game works alongside the Hagerman State Fish Hatchery to stock hundreds of ponds, creeks, and streams across southern Idaho with thousands of hatchery-raised trout.
"Our goal is to get the public to catch our fish," said Felty.
That process starts near Hagerman with a small crew and some simple, yet impressive, technology. For this run, the order called for 450 10-inch rainbow trout to be re-homed.
Chris Jeszke explains how the fish get from the hatchery ponds and into a prepped tank.
"So that gentleman there will corral these fish up in the water, he'll put them in that pump. The fish will go up that pipe and into that inverted triangle, there's some gratings, so the water will come out and the fish will tumble down that pipe,” said Jeszke.
In a process taking less than five minutes, how do these wildlife officials know that 450 fish orders have been filled?
"So, at a hatchery, we measure fish in fish-per-pound. So, we know these are 10-inch fish, and a 10-inch fish is 2.4 fish to the pound," explained Jeszke.
With that formula, and thanks to displacement and a handy gauge, wildlife officials can accurately account for them all.
"It's like a milk truck at a dairy, and every inch it goes up is one hundred pounds," said Jeszke. “So, we can do the math and if we need 450 fish, we can get the poundage and load it up into the truck."
Then it's time to hit the road. This time the destination is Salmon Falls Creek at Balanced Rock Park.
"I've taken the water temperature, and the oxygen is good. Now it's time to let them all go," said Felty. “Go ahead push down on that handle, all the way down. There ya go."
For these wildlife officials, the end results speak for themselves.
"I'm an avid angler myself and I love seeing the whole process of getting these fish from eggs, growing them up to the appropriate size, watching the trucks leave, and once those fish go in there and seeing a little kid with a tug on their line and just watching them get all excited, that's absolutely the best part of my job,” added Jeszke.
Wildlife officials say the trout they stocked in Salmon Falls Creek will only migrate about two miles in each direction. Giving anglers, of all ages, ample opportunity to land a prized catch.
