Streamside Incubators
It’s hard to believe, but MCTU has had an incubator program in place in our watershed for over twenty years. Over that period, two million eyed brown trout eggs have been hatched into the Muddy Creek watershed. Muddy Creek TU is the only PA Chapter working with the PFBC to hatch trout directly into the stream. The fish never see a food pellet and save the PFBC and our chapter feed and maintenance costs while providing a quality “wild fish” experience throughout the Muddy Creek watershed. – John Snyder/ President MCTU
This facinating project begins at a springhead where a capped PVC pipe captures 52 degree spring water and delivers it to a modified refrigerator.
The refrigerator is placed on a streambank of a small, step-across size tributary.miles form Muddy Creek’s main stem.
Eyed trout eggs are placed in Witlock/Vibert boxes that are placed in the refrigerator. Plexiglass baffles channel the water through the boxes.
A few day to two weeks later the eggs hatch and the egg sac fry leave the boxes to live in the dark compartment of the refrigerator.
Ten to 20 thousand fry hatch from the boxes.and fill the bottom of the refrigerator.
Notice the egg sacs on the bottom of the fry.
Four to five weeks after hatching the fry absorb the egg sacs and travel as swim up fry to the discharge tube where they are released into the stream.
This fingerling was netted along with numerous others in the tributary about 6 months after the eggs were placed in the boxes. As you can see these fish resemble wild fish in the fins and spots. Notice the red adipose fin.
For a more detailed report of the first year we employed this practice to put fish into Muddy Creek and its tributaries