Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery

The Mt. Whitney fish hatchery is one of those places that I return to again and again. I first visited it in 1951 with my twin brother Greg when my Mother was filming the “Lusty Men” in and around the Owens Valley. We stayed in Lone Pine and a room cost $6.00 in that far off time. I watched my Dad kill a rattlesnake on the bank of Shepherds Creek the same day I went to the hatchery.

Ally at a holding pen, 1995

It is a place of respite and solitude in the summer’s scorching heat. I have seen Kamloops trout fry and Tiger trout reared in its’ tanks. All my kids have trekked there to toss small brown feed pellets to the hefty brooders in the front pond. Although these were not wild trout being reared, they provided hours of fun and enjoyment when we were young boys. The limit was 25 fish per person and I still remember my brother and I struggling to hold up a day’s catch on a stringer at the Frontier Motel.

Michael, checking out the Brook Trout, 1986

I resolved many years ago to only kill a few trout. I chose to do this knowing that enjoyment is in the pursuit not the head count and maybe, because the following had something to do with it.

Dad and Michael, brood pond, Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, 1986…oh, PINKY too…

Here - is some good news about the hatchery after a devastating flood in 2008…

Testament