Kernville Hatchery Down Indefintely?

[flyboy]

I stopped by the hatchery and all of the races were dry. Rumor has it that there are mechanical issues and they don't have the funds to fix. Does this mean they aren't able to stock going forward? Sure are a lot of people fishing the river between KR3 and Kernville Park. Combat fishing at its finest. Fishing between Fairview and HQ very tough so I'd guess those areas won't have many trout over a footlong for a while :-((( as it has not been stocked in a year and a half. How long is this going to last????

[Calduke]

Flyboy - I hope someone can answer your question. It seems reasonable and sane
Innocent and non-intrusive

I went to the hatchery 2 years ago, parked in the visitors area and entered the gate.
I was treated like an intruder.
Why are you here?
To visit
What do want?
to see your facilities and learn about your program
Why?
Sorry, I have to leave

I stopped their 1-1/2 weeks ago and the place was closed and no water in the flumes.
I posted some questions last week about stocking and no one seems to have an answer.
Good luck with the DFG - they are an empire onto their own.
They get nervous when an outsider asks questions.

[admin]

We are looking for information also. Apparently another shakeup has occurred within the volunteer group Friends of the Hatchery. We have no reports that the hatchery is closed. However, the volunteers are the ones that handle visitors. We were told that this has no effect on stocking and that all previous stocking locations would be taken care of. When we get to bottom of issue we will be sure to post. Meanwhile we're told they're catching them all up and down the river.

[flyboy]

Thanks admin. Last week I drove by the hatchery and all of the races were dry. How are they able to stock with all dry races? A conversation a friend of mine had in the last 3 days with the hatchery manager indicated that they would be able to stock again in 2 weeks "if" they got the funds to repair the hatchery but there is concern that the budget crisis will make funding potentially tenuous at best. Too bad the Kernville hatchery website hasn't been updated for years :-(

My friends who have fished between Fairview Dam and Kernville have been mostly skunked the last month but have done well at Kernville Bridge and other spots close to town. They had lots of company and saw a lot of people taking more than 5 fish limits :-(

[admin]

Yep, I keep hitting up the "Friends of the Hatchery" to give me updates for the site but they change people every week seems. I don't think they have much of a future anymore, at least with active volunteers & members. Every time a new group takes over they have their own ideas and few more walk away frustrated. Dealing with the government isn't the most encouraging either. Used to be 30 to 40 hard core volunteers and project fund raisers. The museums, and various tour attractions were all funded and manned by volunteers. But slaps and burn out of volunteers doesn't take long in this valley. There's been around 4 hatchery websites launched since we did the original back in 2000. All the others have disappeared and I heard a couple more are planned. Everyone is a web designer or graphic artist now. If they ever get their act together and finally settle on days, hours and what will be available to visitors, I'll update the site. I've been doing it pro bono for years and just want it accurate for our readers.

We're told that the water tanks were contaminated and fish had to be released quickly. They are trying to solve that problem right now. Stocking can continue temporarily with fish from other sources. Right now they are looking for volunteers to man the museum. They'd like to talk to anyone who could spare 3 hours a month...or more. Send me an email if anyone is interested and I'll pass it along.

[flyboy]

I called the hatchery manager and he hopes to have the hatchery operational in less than two more weeks - that would be the week of April17th if all go as planned. No plantings have occured since the mechanical failure on March 13th. I hope he can manage to get everything fixed by then as the river is beginning to rise fast and it will become much more treacherous to fish soon as the spring melt gets into full swing. Gotta love the decent snow pack for a change!!!