State fish hatchery open house is 'packed to the gills'

CASTALIA - The Castalia Fish Hatchery was packed to the gills — with visitors and fish — over the weekend as it hosted its annual open house, giving visitors a behind-the-scenes look at one of the six fish hatcheries in the state that raise tens of millions of fish.

Ohio Division of Wildlife staff were on hand to answer questions and give tours.

They showed off fish sampling equipment, including nets and an electrofishing boat, and explained how the equipment is used to capture fish and manage fish populations.

Plenty of visitors stopped to look at the large rainbow trout swimming in Cold Creek along the raceways and at the entrance gate of the 90-acre property.

That’s where about a dozen young girls from Girl Scout Troop No. 50704 were feeding the fish, watching them splash and swim towards the bread being thrown in the creek.

The Norwalk-based Troop leader Samantha Clark said this was an annual field trip for the Brownies and Daisies, and the girls would earn a badge for participating.

“It’s a fun little event,” Clark said. “I’ve brought my girls here when they were smaller.”

Turnout wasn’t bad either, added Ohio Department of Natural Resources employee Lyle Brown, who kept tally of visitors at the gate with a counter.

In just the first hour on Saturday more than 700 people had come through the gates. Last year about 1,200 people attended the four-hour day, Brown said.

About the Castalia Fish Hatchery

The hatchery production facilities consist of 70 indoor rearing troughs, one covered outdoor raceway building, and three outdoor raceways.

All of the state’s steelhead production occurs at this hatchery. Rainbow trout are raised to catchable size before being stocked in Ohio lakes and Cold Creek.

Fish Production in 2022:

● Rainbow trout: 76,094 “catchables” (12-inch average) stocked in 52 different public waters

● Steelhead trout: 470,912 yearlings (7-inch average) stocked in six Lake Erie tributaries.

Visitors on Saturday were able to look at rainbow trout fingerlings in the hatchery building and steelhead fingerlings in the covered raceways.

Dan Kovalaske, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources employee, was near the entrance of the hatchery building, showing eager visitors the small pea-sized fish eggs in the trays and in his hand. The girls from Girl Scout Troop No. 50704 were excited to see the eggs up close and touch them.

The indoor troughs and covered raceways are supplied with water from one of the area’s many blue-hole aquifers (2,500 gallons per minute capacity) — a type of freshwater pond, one of a handful in the area.

Most Famous Blue Hole was a public attraction

The most famous blue hole was a tourist attraction in the 1920s to until 1990, attracting 165,000 visitors annually at the height of its popularity. Today that blue hole is closed to the public and is owned by the Castalia Trout Club.

The water contains lime, soda, magnesia and iron, and because the Blue Hole is anoxic, it cannot naturally sustain fish. Oxygen is pumped into the water in order to make it perfect for their operation.

The remaining outdoor raceways are supplied with water diverted from Cold Creek (10,000 gallons per minute capacity). This cold-water supply allows the hatchery to raise steelhead and rainbow trout.

Also at the open house was the opportunity to shoot in an archery trailer, a BB gun range, with equipment provided, and an opportunity to learn about local bald eagles, as well as other fun activities for children and adults alike.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife operates six fish hatcheries that produce more than 44 million fish each year.

Many Ohio fishing opportunities would not be available without fish production, stocking, management, and research, employees said.

Funding is provided by the sales of Ohio fishing licenses and the Sport Fish Restoration Act, a federal aid program supported through excise taxes on select fishing tackle and marine fuel.

The Castalia State Fish Hatchery is located at 7018 Homegardner Road.

To learn more about the fishery and ODNR operations, visit ohiodnr.gov.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Hundreds turn out for state fish hatchery open house