General
Q.
What days are you open and what are your hours
of business?
A. We are open 7 days a week and only closed on
Thanksgiving and Christmas unless there are special
activities that may alter the schedule. Visiting
hours are typically from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Q. Do you give tours to the public?
A. Yes, but we prefer that folks call in advance
to schedule a tour. If people are visiting we
will answer their questions if it does not interfere
with existing activities.
Q. How long does it take for the fish to bite
after you stock them?
A. Fish often start biting immediately. The fish
are typically not fed for about 24 hours before
distribution and if they are not stressed, they
can bite immediately.
Q. Where do you get the eggs and how long does
it take for them to hatch?
A. All our eggs are shipped in from federal, state,
or private facilities from around the west from
places such as Utah, Colorado, California and
Montana. The eggs come to us wrapped in damp paper
towels in insulated boxes chilled with ice. They
are about 30 days old and come in shipments of
200,000 to 500,000 and typically arrive by overnight
delivery. They are then water hardened, disinfected,
counted and placed in jars to hatch, which takes
a week to 10 days.
Q. How often and what do you feed the fish?
A. Fish are fed as many times as it takes
to add 5 percent of their body weight in feed.
The smallest fish are generally fed
hourly. By the time they are ready to be stocked
as catchables, feeding may only be once a day.
Fish are fed a soybean and, alfalfa based feed
that includes all necessary minerals and vitamins.
It is a floating low phosphate feed that reduces
outflow waste standards to meet Environmental
Protection Agency requirements.
Q. How do
you transport the fish to the lakes and streams?
A. The fish are transported in fiberglass
tanks mounted on large trucks but when necessary,
we will use rafts, horses, milk cans, backpack
cans, and helicopters.
Q.
Can I fish at the hatchery?
A. No. All hatcheries are closed to fishing. However
there are areas adjacent to several of the hatcheries
that are open to fishing; i.e. section along the
west bank of Oak Creek, Silver Creek, Canyon Creek
and Tonto Creek below the hatcheries.
Q.
Why are there restricted areas in the hatchery?
A. Hatcheries are working farms with moving
equipment and areas that are not conducive to
a normally safe environment. The public is provided
access to areas that provide a typical representation
of our operations.
Sterling Springs Hatchery
Q. Is this the place where I can bring my kids
fishing?
A. No, this is a trout hatchery operated by Arizona
Game and Fish Department; we supply fish for state
waterways. The place you are looking for is Rainbow
Trout Farm, a privately owned and operated fishing
pond. It is located about two miles north of Sedona
on Highway 89A. Their phone number is (928) 282-3379.
Q. When and where do you guys stock Oak Creek?
A. Oak Creek is stocked by Page Springs Hatchery
during March through December. The creek is stocked
wherever the hatchery truck can safely get off
the roadway. Fish are hand carried in buckets
to pools and deeper water all the way up the canyon
ending at Pine Flat Campground.
Q. Where are the big fish?
A. Sterling Springs is a fingerling station; it
receives egg shipments from many vendors and raises
fish to the
fingerling stage, which is approximately 3 inches.
The fish are then either stocked out as fingerlings
or transferred to Page Springs Hatchery for grow
out to catchable size (9.5 inches).
Updated April 2010
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