The Lucknow Sentinel, 1996-03-13, Page 38Pogo 22 For- a Progros°
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AUTO PARTS
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SERVICE AepAms.10 ALL MAKES 1• 8c MOPE.L.S TOWING • Ii•��'.iMEIiiSiifr41Ai*':
610 Inglis Street
528-.3535
by Pat Livingston r,, 1
If your mouth is watering for a good.fe,Mof
.fish, Rainbow Trout Ratchery and 1ishout Fond
can provide you with a trout to put in your pan
right now.., ' a
Nestled in the heart of the se 'ene an :histoieai
awanosh Valley, this is an operation one may
not normally associate with the word 'farming'.
However,: that is exactly what David: and taloa
Hedley do, Their stock may be different but they
call themselves farmers 4 fish farmers.
What started out as a . "hobby" says Gloriais
now looked on as a full time occupation that is
"delightful work" says David.
After working in the city for years, David
days,"1 mrk a choice to return to my roots." He
isa Kinloss township native.
The East Wawanosh property waspurchased in
1964,- and shortly after, the first small trout pond
was constructed. That pond was enlarged, and the
tog house was moved and reconstructed for
Canada's 1967 Centennial. The back pond was
added in 1981.
David always raised fish for himself and
friends. In 1980 the commercial business was
established., Although the Hedleys raise 20,000
trout a year, they consider themselves small fry.
About • half of...those those:• fish are shipped, each spring
to stock farm ponds. The remainder- are kept for
retail or used for stocking their spring fed fishout
pond.
The Hedleys have two options when it comes
to raising fish. They can either buy the eggs from,
a certified hatchery, or buy the small fish in
March.
They have chosen to purchase the eggs, about
25,000 of them, :in October/November. And.
believe it or not, that number of eggswill fit in a
litre jar.
The eggs are keptin moving water with a regu-
lated temperature. After about 30 days .the eggs
are hatched. By march, thosefishare about two
inches in length. So, by purchasing the eggs, the
ear round
Hedleys are still at the same point inMarch com-
pared to buying the fish for stock.
Hatching your .own, eggs is by far ,less expen-
sive, says David. But the catch is. - it is a labor
intensive scenario. Each day,: tlieeggs, layered
three deep in an incubator tray, must be 'picked%
This picking is actually the removal. of dead eggs,
wjitich are white in color, while fertile eggs are a
deep orange color. Hedley says if the. dead eggs
are not picket they quickly develop a white fun-
'gus that would .spread and smother adjacent fer-
tile eggs.'
,Egg picking is a cold, tedious, .eye straining,
time consuming' process.. 'he instrument used to
extract the dead eggs resembles .a meat baster.
The bulb is slowly released; the tip of the tube is
p
:..: egg egg sucked intolaced .over a dead and the
the tube and later expelled into a waste container.
"A normal 'Mortality rate for eggs would be at
least five per cent," says Hedley.
There is an easier method - flushing; but the
Hedleys have opted not to use the fungicide solu-
tion because of environmental concerns of dump-
ing a toxic treatment into the drainage system.
It takes about 18 month for a fish to develop
from the egg to a12 14" morsel ready for the
pan. So at any one tirne, the business has two
years supply of fish on the`farm.•
-Rainbow- Trout's overflowing ,::.fishout .pond. is..
fed by pure spring water -and remains open for
year-round fishing. The pond is restocked many
times a year with trout from their own hatchery.
There's no closed season, no licences required
and no daily catch limits.
If you don't want to catch, your owns the
Hedleys will provide you with trout cleaned or
not cleaned:
The quiet beauty of the area, even in winter,
draws ` you in and gives a sense .• of . peace. Even
this reporter, who has never fished, had a yen to
give it, a try. •
As a farming enterprise, the Hedleys too are
•turn to page 24
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TIIESWIA INDUSTRIAL.COVE.
David Hedley, ,of RainbowTrout, Ha f chery and isiia i aci is kept busy feeding
thi uiaaticis ref tr ut in the raceways daily.} (P it Livingston holo}