Field Trip

Today we went on a field trip to a local Rod and Gun club. Basically, we learned all about how they raise the trout that stock the streams here. The streams here are not naturally occurring; they were dug and are filled by aquifers just a couple feet under the ground. Though this environment looks very natural, it cannot sustain the trout without a lot of help. It sounds like the air pumps are the most critical addition to this environment. Also, the trout simply will not breed in this environment, so all of the eggs are squeezed out and fertilized by hand.


The manager of the club, who gave us this tour, shows a trout to the kids--including my Boy Two in the red hat and my Boy Three just to his right.


Believe it or not, this little pond holds about 2500 one-year-old trout. It's pretty packed! They are kept here until they are ready to be put into the streams.




The kids get to feed the fish in the little pond. This photo shows Boy Three as he throws some food in, and you can see the fish jumping up in the water. Five or ten minutes had already passed since the kids started throwing the food in, and at first, it looked like every square inch of the pond was covered with jumping fish.