For all the years that I have traveled eastern and central Iowa I apparently have not been to every location - shocking, yes. Yesterday for example the 42N staff was out on a
drive enjoying the last day of this week’s January thaw. So it was up to Manchester, Iowa
to see the sites and enjoy the country side.
A sign posted a few miles southeast of town on county road
D22 points to the state’s trout hatchery. I hadn't been to an open hatchery in decades
so off the beaten path we went to investigate.
Along the way the land turns from relatively flat farm fields
to hilly, timbered and with a spring-fed creek running along the road. At the Iowa
DNR hatchery location there are a few one story buildings which are like extended ranch
houses. In the hatchery’s open area tall fences surround holding ponds where
you can see swarms of growing trout. Visitors can feed the fish using a bucket
of fish food and Dixie cups available at the
fence’s corner. Just pour a little in your hand and throw it over the fence,
then watch the water boil in activity as the trout youngsters race to claim the
food pellets.
On the west side of the parking lot a clear creek flows.
There you can see freed trout in the stream which is only a few yards wide. We observed
two anglers, one leaving and the other preparing to fish. The man dressed in
waders walked down to the bridge, turned and began throwing a trout line
upstream. A sign posted nearby proclaims any caught trout under 14 inches in
length must be returned to the water immediately. By just glancing at the
stream’s population of trout it appears that nearly a third of the fishes are
over that minimum.
Need more of an Iowa trout fix? Then go to the DNR’s web site or
see the hatchery’s live trout swimming in the holding ponds at this site.
