Raising Trout (FishTaco Chronicles)

[Mikey]

Jess Ranch Lakes in Apple Valley has been a family operation since the 50’s. Robert’s father married Jess’s daughter. In 1994 Robert left Iowa to come home and work with his father doing housing construction on the ranch. Robert then went to work in the Aerospace industry locally but came back to work on the hatchery in 1999. He has been there ever since. Fish Taco Chronicles communicated with Robert and tried to find out the ins and outs of raising trout.

How long has Jess Ranch Lake been raising trout?
RL-Jess ranch has been raising fish since the 1950’s. It shut down in early 90’s then I re-opened it in 2001. In 2005, we had a large fish kill where we lost most of the fish due to a power outage. We were able to rebuild slowly and now we are one of the two remaining commercial rainbow trout hatcheries left in California. Mt. Lassen is the other. It is not easy to do this type of operation in California. Calaveras shut their doors this last summer due to water shortage. It is a great source of pride that we are still going.

Your fish are called Ruby Reds. Why did you come up with that name?
RL-I delivered fish to a lake a while back and some one described my fish as looking like “Ruby Red” It stuck ever since. The name has become quite popular.

I know that your fish have become very popular locally. What lakes have bought trout from you in the last few years??
RL-WOW, a lot. All the San Bernardino County lakes, Santee, Cuyamaca, Green Valley, Gregory , Lake Arrowhead, Spring Valley Lake, Sunnymead Ranch, The Lakes C/C, Troutdale, Menifee, Ontario, Big Rock Creek Camp, La Quinta, La Habra, La Brea, Beaumont Cherry Valley, Laguna Niguel and Mt. Lakes. We have also in the past stocked Corona, Santa Ana, Hesperia lakes...but not for a few years. This year we will add all the Orange County lakes. There are probably more but this is all I can think of at this time.

How much does it cost to raise a trout??
RL-That varies...this is a loaded question and there is really not a true answer. But more than you might think.

Some grown up fish from Jess Ranch Lakes
Some grown up fish from Jess Ranch Lakes

Something that I am real curious about is how long does it take to go from egg to a one pound trout??
RL-Again, it varies. Each group of eggs will have stronger faster growing fish, “Tops” and smaller slower growing fish, “unders”. On average it takes from 14-16 months with Triploids

Do you have to do anything special to the smaller fish (otherwise known as frys) such as keep them inside or keep them isolated?
RL-All fry and swim ups are separated in the “fry tanks” until they are ready to be put outside into grow out ponds. We do all we can to insure that they grow up to be adults.

These frys will one day be nice size trout
These frys will one day be nice size trout

So after all of this work to separate them and doing what you have to, to insure they become adults, what percentage make it into adulthood?
RL-This is another tough question. It varies from group to group, but I would say that 80% for the most part make it.

Before the trout are frys they are eggs. What do you have to do to get the eggs?
RL- To get the eggs you have to do paperwork and get permits and then open your wallet and write a fat check.

What is the optimum water temp for raising trout?? Is there a different optimum water temp for small ones and big ones?
RL- 59 degrees is the ideal temperature. It is no different for smaller ones or big ones.

It has been pretty warm. How do you keep the water at 59 degrees??
RL- We pump lots of water from underground where the water is cooler.

I have gone to state hatcheries and seen diseased fish. What measures do you have to take to make sure diseases are at a minimum?
RL-We do regular pathology checks and regular routine treatments for gill and parasite controls

If you find one sick fish what are the chances the others are infected??
RL-If we find one sick fish, depends on what the problem is, we will do further checks on that group of fish. After we determine what the problem is we will treat the entire group of fish as necessary. The least amount of problems we have the better so we do what we can to prevent not cure.

Notice the screen to keep the birds and the critters out
Notice the screen to keep the birds and the critters out

I am sure it can be quite expensive to feed all of the fish. How much food do you go through per month to feed the trout?

RL-Again, it varies but on average around 10k to 15k a month. There is a reason there are only two hatcheries in California. It is expensive and can be hard work, but to me it is enjoyable and rewarding.

I am sure that in addition to the cost and work, there is lots of government red tape to fight through.
RL- It is not that bad, I have gotten used to it. Just the standard Pathology testing and permits.

Robert I want to thank you for your time. I know I have learned a lot and hope my readers have too. Now I can’t wait to go out and catch a Ruby Red this winter.