Get thee to a fishery



A couple weeks back we went for a quick visit to Rochester's Powder Mill Park Fish Hatchery. No intense gardening going on here, but it was kinda cool to spend some time with some Steelhead and brown trout, as well as some Chinook salmon. The trout grow up to 12 lbs., the salmon to 25 lbs. The tanks were divided by fish type and age.

This 1933 hatchery was originally owned by Monroe County to support local sport fishing. It's currently a non-profit organization that receives eggs from the state of New York and the fish are released each spring into Powder Mill Park and Irondequoit Creek.

There are 25 cent "bubble gum machines" of fish food that can be purchased to feed the fish. It's a great activity for kids. There were plenty of them running around. Much to our surprise, no kids fell in the tanks while we were there.

Just down the road from the hatchery, really just walking distance, is a private home locals call the Mushroom House (or Pod House, or Floating House). Designed by architect James Johnson and built in 1970, the house supposedly took its design inspiration from the stem of Queen Anne's Lace. It was featured in HGTV's Off Beat America TV show.

Comments

  1. That is cool! We have a fish farm about 45 minutes from here. I usually see the blue heron fishing there:) Will have to see if we can visit sometime. I can see the fish in the picture-way cool.

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  2. We love taking our boys to the fish hatchery in Athens Texas.

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  3. That is a cool house!

    I love to look at fish...but, I have a seafood/fish allergy. :-(

    Nontheless, the fish are really neat.

    Cameron

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  4. tina & aunt debbie/kurt's mom,
    I don't know of any fish hatcheries in my immediate area. I'll have to check on that. It's a fun thing to do with little ones.

    Cameron,
    Seafood allergy? Bummer. i don't think life would be worth living without seafood.

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  5. It is a bummer! What I lose out in seafood, I make up for in chocolate!

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  6. For the last 25 years I worked on Fish Hatchery Rd. in Madison, Wi. Giving people directions or telling someone the mailing address was always amusing. NYC or west coast folks really could not seem to figure out what we were talking about.

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  7. ms. wis,
    Just outside of Rochester, NY is a well-known street named Cheese Factory Road. To my knowledge, there is not, nor has there ever been a cheese factory on that road. I could be wrong, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a silly name for a road.

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  8. I should have said that the Dept. of Natural Resources' fishery was, in fact, just down the road and was clearly where the street name originated.

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