VOL.39 • ISS. 14
removed, a group of 15 volunteers
then descended the pens by rope into
the lake, where they watched the fish
swim free.
“Some of the trout
were eager to fly free,
others were a little
tentative, and others,
like, ‘No way! I’m
staying! I like being
hand fed by Steve and
Merle,’ “ said Tom
Stienstra, program
manager for the Rotary trout pens.
“Watching those big fish swim
free was the closest thing I know to
the feeling of flying a plane for the
first time and lifting off from the
runway,” he said.
The trout averaged 3 to 5 pounds,
with a sprinkling both bigger and
smaller, Stienstra said. Since were
raised in cages instead of hatchery
raceways, they look, act and feed
much like wild rainbow trout.
In turn, the Siskiyou Flyfishers,
which also volunteered to support
June 26, 2020
Rotary Club Releases Big Trout, Donates $5,000
O
n top of last week’s successful
release of 1,000 trophy-quality
rainbow trout from the fish pens at
Lake Siskiyou, Mt. Shasta
Rotary announced a $5,000
donation to youth fishing
programs that will support
3,000 youngsters in the
north state.
The fish release crowned
a six-month program at the
Rotary Trout Pens. Last
November, the Department
of Fish and Wildlife donated rainbow
trout from the Crystal Lake Hatchery
in Shasta County that were placed in
the pens. Under the supervision of
Site Managers Merle Anderson and
Steve Brown, battery-powered, solarcharged
feeders fed the trout multiple
times daily, depending on water
temperature. Over the past six months,
volunteers from Rotary, Siskiyou Land
Trust and Mt. Shasta Trail Association
provided additional maintenance as
needed.
After the lids to the pens were
FISH SNIFFER
COUNTRY
by
Mt Shasta
Rotary
21
It was a magic day this May when 1,000 trophy-quality rainbow trout were released from the
Mount Shasta Rotary fish pens at Lake Siskiyu.
Photo by AUDRA BEYLIK.
Here is a gorgeous trophy rainbow trout at the fish pens prior to release into Sisklyou in
May 2020.
Photo by AUDRA BEYLIK.
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the program, pledged to release their
catches to jump-start Lake Siskiyou
as a site with a trophy trout fishery,
said Will Keller, president of the
Flyfishers.
Rotary’s Greg Juell, owner of Sousa
Ready Mix, designed and fabricated a
portable winch system for the pens, as
well as a system that otter-proofed the
pens, that CDFW called a model for
pen projects.
The trout pen program is operated
under the direction of Monty Currier,
associate fisheries biologist for
CDFW, who also runs the north state’s
Kids Fishing Days.
In concert with Anderson, president
of the Mt. Shasta Rotary Foundation,
Stienstra said Rotary had raised
$5,000 to support Currier and Kids
Fishing Days.
This year’s youth events
at Lake Siskiyou and the
Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery
are pending, Currier
said, with the Siskiyou
Kids Fishing Day likely
in late summer or early
fall. The money will go
to replace aged loaner
fishing rods, buy bait and
tackle, rent Port-a-potties,
buy Walkie-Talkies for
event communication,
and provide new rod-andreels
as prizes. At last
year’s two events in Mt.
Shasta, about 500 youngsters
took part.
Nothing frustrates a
child and their parents to
fishing faster than poor
equipment that doesn’t
work right, Stienstra said,
and this donation will
solve that.
This year’s strain of trout is Eagle
Lake Trout, among the most desirable
trout in the world. They are know for
their brilliant crimson stripe along
chrome-bright sides, black leopard-like
spots on their backs, fighting
characteristics and sometimes elusive
nature that make each trophy catch a
prize for all anglers.
Rotary designed and built the dock
structure with three 10-foot deep trout
pens, funded with a donation by Gary
Bechtel, who promotes and funds
youth outdoors opportunities.
Gary Coe of Kokanee Power
donated the primary food for this
winter’s program, with additional
food in late season provided with a
donation from the Siskiyou County
Board of Supervisors.
The trout are ready for release into Lake Siskiyou.
Photo by AUDRA BEYLIK.