Filmore Fish Hatchery

In Filmore California, at the end of Fish Hatchery Road, one is unsurprised to find a fish hatchery. Water flows through four cement tanks, each about 1000 feet long, six feet wide, and perhaps 3 feet deep, arranged in two separate pairs. A single lane of pavement runs along each side of the tanks, with a third lane separating the two pairs.

The facility - built in 1932 - is enclosed by fences and netting to prevent predation by birds of prey and other wildlife. However, there are gaps large enough to admit a few blackbirds.

According to the interpretive display, California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife raises about 1 million Rainbow Trout per year in this hatchery (there are 20 others in California). Fertilized eggs are brought in from another facility, and the fish require about nine months to grow to release length of seven to eight inches.

Fishraised here are released into local reserviors (and other release sites).

Barriers every few hundred feet along the length of the tanks separate fish of different size.

These hoppers store the fish food pellets.

Visitors may purchase the pellets from converted gumball machines. Bring dimes- no change is available. They’re a bit oily and unpleasant smelling, so you may not want to dispense them directly into your hand.

As you approach the tank, fish rise expectantly to the surface…

…and splash in a feeding frenzy when pellets hit the water.

It wasn’t featured in the interpretive kiosk, but this looks like an electric water pump with a gasoline (or diesel) backup. Classic mid-century industrial design? Or weather-worn junk? Maybe both.

The hatchery outflow feeds a small oasis just outside the fence. The waterfowl make an eager welcoming committee for any escaped fish or any other small creatures living on the nutriant flow from the hatchery.

A few oasis residents have learned to beg through the fence for fish food.

Note: The hatchery is open daily from 7:00am to 3:30pm.