So Saturday was a big deal as the Point Edward-based club opened the doors of its hatchery to the public for the first of a two-day open house.
“It’s been good,” Eves said. “They were all gung-ho.”
Officials estimated between 125 and 150 people came through during the first four hours for a rare in-person event amid the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of kids,” he said. “They get a big charge out of it.”
Sarnia resident Mike Denomme brought his four-year-old grandson, Benjamin Deloof, to check out the facility and the fish.
“It’s great,” Denomme said. “We were just going to feed the fish and we found that it was an open house and it’s great, we’ve always wanted to see inside.”
Participants could wander around the facility on their own and check out the tanks of various-sized fish and incubating area, but anglers were also nearby to answer any questions.
The roughly 350-member non-profit club raises fish at the hatchery near the Blue Water Bridge to annually restock Lake Huron. They typically raise between 125,000 and 150,000 Chinook salmon, rainbow trout and brown trout each year, although there is a salmon shortage this spring. The fish will be released in nearby Perch and Cow creeks and in a waterway near Thedford when water temperatures inside the hatchery and outdoors line up at about 8 C.
“It depends on the weather,” Eves said of the timeline.
But it will take place prior to the upcoming salmon derby, the club’s top fundraiser. The 46th annual event kicks off April 29 and wraps up May 8, with more than $50,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs.
The open house runs again Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm Check out the club’s Facebook page for more information.