If you want to experience and see the most significant trout manufacturing hatchery in Missouri, visit the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery this springtime in Branson. The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery is the largest trout-rearing hatchery in the country. The fish hatchery is located in Taney County near the Table Rock Dam.
The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery was created in 1957 and it is in 1958 that fish were made available in the facility. One million trout every year is generated normally in the hatchery with a total weight of 300,000 lbs. The hatchery production of 80 percent goes into Lake Taneycomo and the other 20 percent to other Missouri trout-management areas.
The fish hatchery offers guided tours weekdays with scheduled times at 10 am, 11 am, 1 pm, and 2 pm. The hatchery features 50-seat auditorium, pavilion and picnic tables, and wildlife-viewing blind and tower. The hatchery also features a staffed visitor center that displays exhibits. The place has about 3 miles of hiking trails through glades and forests.
Brown and rainbow trout are some of the species that is hatched in the fish hatchery. Brown trout that originated from Europe and the British Isles, was introduced into the country as early as 1883. About 200,000 brown trout were introduced from 1927 to 1933 in Missouri. Stock efforts were made in the 1960s in the Current and North Folk rivers, expanding to other Ozark streams and Lake Taneycomo. Brown trout is a sleek fish with soft-rayed fins and small scales. Its dorsal fin is in round black spots with small orange or red spots surrounded by a lighter halo. Rainbow trout is very much similar to brown trout with some difference in sizes of black spots and small orange or red spots.
The output of brown and rainbow trout are the principal fish provided by the hatchery to supply the operations needs of the Conservation Departments. The unit takes a crucial role in providing eggs and fingerlings for grow-outs at various Conservation Department facilities. The fish hatchery covers more than 200 acres. The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery entertains about a quarter of a million tourists every year and gives a variety of information and facts about the hatchery to the general public.
Table Rock Lake is the main source of water used at the fish hatching facility. It is supplied by way of the law of gravity. Fish development levels are all covered by the fish hatchery. The hatchery facility has bottle type incubation devices as well as fiberglass along with aluminum tanks. The facility uses a dozen exterior concrete channels for intermediate rising, and the end raising is finished with thirty cement channels.
The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery provides millions of tourists yearly the opportunity to see the educational nature of the hatchery that promises future generations to learn the importance of fishing in Missouri. If you plan to visit Branson anytime soon, come to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery.
Return to the Branson Blog Home
