Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery is considered as the most significant trout manufacturing hatchery in Branson, Missouri. The hatchery is situated in Taney County near the Table Rock Dam and just a few miles southwest of Branson. Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery is one of the best vacation destinations for families who want to gain some knowledge about trout-rearing hatchery in the country. It was in the year 1957 that the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery was created. In 1958, the fish hatchery first made the availability of fish at the facility.
The hatchery normally generates one million trout each year with 300,000 lbs. in total weight. The 80 percent production of the hatchery will go to Lake Taneycomo and the other 20 percent to some trout-management areas in Missouri. The fish hatchery features a wildlife-viewing blind and tower, pavilion and picnic tables, and a 50-seat auditorium. The hatchery also offers guided tours on weekdays with time schedules at 10am, 11 am, 1 pm, and 2 pm. The hatchery also features a visitor center that displays exhibits that show interesting facts about the fish hatchery.
Rainbow and brown trout are some of the common species hatched in the Shepherd of Hills Fish Hatchery. As early as 1883, the brown trout that originated from Europe was introduced into the country. There were about 200,000 brown trout that were introduced in Missouri from 1927 to 1933. Efforts to stock more of the species were made in the Current and North Folk Rivers that expanded to the Ozark streams and Lake Taneycomo. Brown trout is a fish that has small scales and soft-rayed fins. The round black spots with red spots or small orange in its dorsal fins of the brown trout are surrounded by a lighter halo. Rainbow trout has almost the same color characteristics with brown trout with only a few difference in size of black spots and red spots or small orange.
The production of the Fish Hatchery in Branson is the output of brown and rainbow trout that is supplied to the Conservation Departments for its operation needs. This department takes the role in providing fingerlings and eggs for grow-outs at various facilities of the Conservation Department. The fish hatchery has an area of more than 200 acres. The main source of water used at the fish hatchery come from Table Rock Lake which is supplied by way of the law of gravity.
The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery offers interesting facts to more than 250,000 visitors every year and shares a variety of information about hatching different species of fish in the facility. The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery provides tourists the opportunity to see the educational nature of the hatchery that promises future generations to learn the importance of fishing in Missouri.
If you want to learn about the fish stories told at the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery in Branson, you will find the place as the most significant trout manufacturing hatchery in the Midwest.
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