04/05/2018
This is a photo (above) of Canaseraga Creek – a trout stream that runs within a mile of my house. Recently I accompanied state fisheries personnel from the Caledonia Fish Hatchery as they stocked the stream with brown trout along with volunteer helpers from the Dansville Fish & Game Club and a half-dozen excited schoolboys who are on Easter week break.
Two hatchery tank trucks transported 3,000 trout for stocking at various places along the stream, which rises in the town of Nunda in Livingston County and flows through Allegany and Steuben Counties before reentering Livingston and emptying into the Genesee River near Mount Morris. Canaseraga Creek’s 334 square-mile watershed is the largest tributary to the Genesee.
Brown trout are not native to the United States. They were introduced by fish culturist Seth Green over a century ago. He also founded the Caledonia Fish Hatchery, making it the first and oldest hatchery in the nation. Today’s stocking included 12-to-14-inch fish with a number of 2-pounders thrown in to give some lucky anglers the opportunity to catch a lunker.
Helping to stock these trout proved to be an exciting way to spend the day for these boys, who also experienced a lesson in conservation. They made dozens of trips up and down the stream bank from the tank trucks to the water carrying the fish in 5-gallon pails of water. Tomorrow they’re planning to return with their fishing rods.
