All Natural, No Cost Fun at the Fish Hatchery in Pittsford, New York

For those who live in the Rochester, New York area, the Reidman Foundation Fish Hatchery, located in Powder Mill Park, Pittsford, is a cherished and well-known (and not so costly) form of natural entertainment.

The Hatchery was built in 1933 to provide area ponds with ample fish for sport fishery. The Hatchery faced closer in 2002 due to lack of funding by the county and was taken over recently by the Reidman Foundation.

Twelve raceways and two ponds sit on the hatchery site. The raceways are twenty-foot long troughs where the fish live and grow before being transplanted into a nearby creek or pond. Each raceway is labeled with the type of fish residing there, and their approximate age. Feeding the fish here is allowed, costing just a quarter from the gumball-like machines, the fish food looks and smells like cat food. But don't feed the waterfowl, who will eagerly come waddling close by for a handout.

The Hatchery boasts rainbow trout, brown trout, Chinook salmon and Steelheads. They are raised from eggs, which are obtained via Monroe County, then released into Irondequoit Creek, or one of the ponds or creeks inside or nearby Powder Mill Park.

The state provides the hatchery with 10,000 to 20,000 "fingerlings." When they reach between two and three inches in length they are released, and some of the fish are retained. The hatchery has five-year-old fish running its raceways, some of them very large, which delights children and adults alike!

Fishing derbies at Irondequoit Creek are held several times during the year with fish from the hatchery - Opening Day Derby, senior derbies and the annual Reidman Foundation Trout Derby are among some of them. Toward the end of April, approximately 7,500 rainbow trout are released into Irondequoit Creek, then 3,000 more brown trout are released toward the end of the season.

Irondequoit creek opens into Lake Ontario, so it is feasible to have some of the fish returning from the lake into the creek.

The Hatchery is expected to survive at least several more years, as the Reidman Foundation signed a ten-year contract with the county. A pavilion is also located on the property, used by individuals and corporations alike in the beautiful setting. As many as two hundred people might visit the hatchery on any given (sunny) day, but everyone knows the fish bite better when it's cloudy.

Ask anyone native to the Rochester area about the Fish Hatchery in Powder Mill Park and they will respond fondly, as it might just be the best, no cost way to entertain your family for a couple of hours.

References:
Stocking the Hatchery
Reminisce with the Fish