Hatchery???

[LOTWSvirgin]

Will the hatchery be up and running by the weekend and what is a good time of the day to be there thanks to all who help my 4 year old will love it

[mattrd]

If you're referring to the one in Spirit Lake, I was there on monday and they didn't have any fish in the tanks. I talked to one of the guys that work there and they said that they hoped to have some in there by the end of the week, but with the cold weather and snow recently I don't know if they'll have anything in there. The aquariums in the main lobby have fish in them and turtles so it is still a fun time to go in there and check it out.

[reddog]

I just left there and there are fish in the tanks.

They were able to go Monday night and caught some fish.

The weather shut them down since then, but they are going to run tonight and probably will go every night till they are full.

Theres some nice eyes in there:

And some lunker Muskies!

There should be lots more to see by the weekend.

It doesnt cost anything to tour the facility and its open 24/7 during the hatchery process. Its a free roaming facility, but keep in mind they are working. The hatchery workers are usually more than willing to share information, when it is slow.

If you want to be there when the trucks bring fish in, it is usually about 10 - 10:30 pm, and 1-1:30 am each night.

Theres also snakes, and a full aquarium of the rest of the species of fishes in the Iowa Great Lakes.

[LOTWSvirgin]

Awesome pictures thanks for the info any idea on the sizes of the fish in the tanks

[reddog]

There were 3 eyes, that looked like they would push 30 inches.

The ones right below my fist, were probably in the 20-21 inch range.

There were 3 or 4 Muskies, that looked like they would push 46 inches. Probably 25 muskies all together.

[LOTWSvirgin]

easy directions prefer to come from county road 17 from windom

[reddog]

Quote:

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easy directions prefer to come from county road 17 from windom

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Not sure where county road 17 is, or goes.

If you would take 71 to 86 south till you hit Jackson county road that goes to Loon Lake. (maybe cnty rd 16? not sure the number) go almost to Loon Lake, and turn south on 327 (ia), and take that all the way down to the South shore of Big Spirit Lake. ( It wil curve east at the south west corner of the lake) You will hit a stop sign,= at the pumphouse on the South Shore. From the stop sign, its half a mile further east, (across spillway/boat ramp) and then right turn on the the road that goes around East Okoboji, and you are in the parking lot when you turn back south. It basically is right next to the spillway that goes between Spirit and East.

[LOTWSvirgin]

K got it county road 17 brings you to the north side of loon lake thats where it is thanks for the directions

[ricbak]

We brought 23 kids down to the hatchery this morning to get a hands on experience of milking and mixing, every one had a great time thanks to the helpfull fishery staff. These walleyes where brought in last night and milked this am, then a fin was cut for ageing and then the fish where tagged then put into a waiting truck to be returned back into there respective lake by mid afternoon. The best part I thought was when the fishery gal went into the muskey tank and lifted the fish up to the top with her foot and then would craddle the muskey so the kids could touch them, this week they will be going strong and by next weekend fishery staff was thinking the muskey milking would take place.

[reddog]

its happening. and theres some big uns.

53" 47 lbs

Just cuz it dwarfs the other fish in the tank, dont think those other fish are small.

[delmuts]

great picture!

[ricbak]

Nice pix reddog, it looks like they have a few more muskies in there from last Saturday when we where there. The DNR gal was telling us that if a muskie was not ready to be milked they would return the fish to the lake the next day and continue with the netting till they found fish that was ready to be milked, I had been under the impression that the DNR would hold these fish and warm up the water or what ever else it took to get these fish ready for milking. It was a great experience for us all and we had a great time, it's a must see for the whole family.

[reddog]

Walleye run is dying fast. Hard to find any fish left that havent spawned. Probably missed some during the cold snap.

They are targeting West Lake tonight for more muskies.