If you are looking to get out of the house and take an Iowa trip, the supervisor of the DNR’s Northeast Iowa regional fisheries suggests visiting one of the state’s hatcheries.
Mike Steuck, says can see a bit of nature. “The outside hatcheries are open…sunrise to sunset. You can go look at the fish int he raceways. The only thing that we have done is we’ve taken away the fish food machines to try and minimize people gathering in one spot or a whole of people touching the fish feeders trying to get the food to feed the fish,” Steuck says.
He says feeding the fish was a popular part of the visit — but they will keep it on hold for now. “We would appreciate it if folks didn’t bring their own stuff to feed the fish, because it is not always good for the fish,” Steuck says. “…we just thought it would be safer for the public that want to come to look at the fish to not have to deal with the fish food and other people trying to get at it too.”
He says you can seek catchable-size fish that will soon be stocked in waterways. “There’s also a whole bunch of fish that are there — the smaller fingerlings in our raceways as well that we’re raising up to be stocked for next year,” he says. “Because it takes about 14 to 15 months to get them to that size for the hatch. We have to start raising them a year in advance for the next year.”
Steuck says it is a good time of year to take a visit. “Especially right now, the fall colors are awesome, the trees are really coloring up, up here,” he says. The northeast Iowa fish hatcheries are located in Elkader, Decorah, Guttenberg and Manchester.