PAINT BANK, Va. – Around here, trout come from the Paint Bank Trout hatchery.
Before these trout can be released into local streams and rivers, they grow up in the hatchery’s raceways, fed by perfect spring water.
“Essentially, that stays cold all year long. What that means in fish is you get even growth all year. It’s how it happens,” said Brian Beers, the hatchery manager. “So, in the winter when things are too cold, they grow consistently. In the summer, when it’s too warm for other people, they grow consistently; it’s what gives us an advantage. We get year-round predictable growth.”
When they are big enough, the hatchery team guides the fish into a narrow opening at the end of a raceway, producing a small area that is thick with fish. From there, all they have to do is dip the net in, often producing 50 pounds of trout per scoop.
Each truck will get about nine hundred pounds of fish.
The majority will be trout that are about fourteen inches long.
But in every truck, they load some really big fish.
“So today with the big rainbows, we’ll be putting about 20 of these onto this truck,” explained Jacob Hodges, one of the workers.
Once the truck is loaded, it’s time to take the fish to the stream or river. This only happens from October to May when the water is cold enough for trout. Making this pre-Memorial Day trip one of the last of the year.
Fishermen know where releases will happen, since the information is posted online – and they are waiting for the truck.
The hatchery crew releases them into the stream.
Sometimes they throw them from the bridge.
Other times, they hustle them downstream. The trout seem to settle in quickly. And they need to - because the anglers are fishing even as the stocking happens.
“I’m just out here to catch a trout,” said Stuart White, one of the anglers waiting for the truck.
That’s what a lot of people want to do.
“We stock nearly a million fish in about 200 waters throughout the state of Va. We have about 100,000 anglers who take part in the sport every year,” said Brendan Delbos the statewide hatchery Superintendent for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
It doesn’t take long for Stuart White to catch one. Others nearby were having similar luck.
The truck makes many stops. Spreading the fish throughout the stream.
Everywhere, the anglers are waiting.
Fishing.
And catching.