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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1969-05-01, Page 11777 it! 9 • Mad YEAR- 18' Thursday, May 1969 D ^ SsECOND SECtION a* • Speck • dik trout in 47' 01 47 • a* )4) - 0 Trout arrive in tanks Story and photos by Sandy MacDonald • About 500 - speckled trout were placed in the pond at Hugh Hill's reforestation tract \ Qn Tuesday afternoon April 22. They were hatched and reared at Chatsworth. A Lands and Forest truck, was used to haul them to their new fames in the streamsv, and pondedf Huron county: Huron County conservation officer, Roy. Bellinger, who was in charge of the restocking program, estimated that about • 8,600 trout would be stocked in Huron County ponds and streams. In Colborne township alone, 1,800 brook trout were being stocked. Benmiller pbrid was to get the other 1,300 trout. Ray, would take a bucketful of trout, abut 50 to a pailful, and dump them in the • pond. Before beginning the operation, he to4p out a pocket ' thermometer aud..„measured the temperature Of the water in _Hill's pond. 'qt's Only degrees;" the - conservation gificer— remarked. ' "The waterin the tanks is about 50 degrees. It's going to be quite — a shck_to them when they hit • the water." The trout ,reacted as Bellinger had predicted. Some of them swam away immediately but others acted as though they had indeed been paralyzed by the colder water. After a few Minutes however, they •recovered sufficiently to swim away. • a Afterwards they could be _seen jumping and breaking the surface of the pond. The speckled, or brook trout, as they are called, ranged in size from six to 10 inches. Asked if they were all of legal size, Roy replied "Yes, theY're all keepers' " The brook trout being stocked in •Huron • county streams are almost iriature. "They would be ready to spawn this fall." said the Chatsworth fish hatchery technician. "They could spawn but the eggs 'wouldn't hatch in this pond," added Bellinger D.Dkcht. o!! Transported by the panful A bystander at the pond wondered why. "Not 'enough running water, here," said Roy. "Eventually, there may. be enough flow here when the forest tract is expanded" he explained. ,Brook trout being stocked in " • L Huron county streams have been marked by the Chatsworth fish hatchery technicians. The driver of the . Ontario lands and forests truck explained how. "We removed the right ventral fin; last year it was the left ventral." Another onlooker wondered how this delicate operation was performed without squeezing or otherwise injuring the trout. "They're given a drug to slow. them down" he explained. Planted in the pond A perfect fishing spot •