Planting hatchery fish

           This is a photo journal of two trips. We planted thousands of fingerling's into 7 mud holes and two healthy looking reservoirs while driving nearly 800 miles. There are reasons for planting in what I would call a "mud hole" but the wildlife biologists dictate where to put the fish. Some of the reasons are in studying growth, and survivability.

        If we can't get close enough to the "mud hole" we have to net the fish out and transport them down in a bucket to the water.

Regen, my mentor, humping the buckets down to the water...and he is two years older than I.

The actual size of "Big Rock" reservoir, which even in early spring is only half full.

Warner Pond was the healthiest water that I thought we put fish in, but it is less than two acres large.

We had an audience waiting for us. Unfortunately for her, the fish were about 3 inches long. Regen takes water temperature of the water at every fish plant.

The one unsettling thing for me in an obscure place like 20 miles down a bad dirt road,

was pulling up and finding three guys packing pistols wondering where all the fish are?

They turned out to be a very polite group of  guys from Medford that run around on quads, fishing the "mud holes"and shooting anything legal like rabbits, marmots and coyotes. Those quads don't have extended handle bars...they are rifles.

After two straight days of driving on at least 70 miles of dirt roads in the off beaten area's of Southern Oregon, we did see some spectacular views.

Drove by a fire in the Warner Ranger on the way home.