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Show Trout planted 1 before opening day rainbow trout will be raised at each hatchery for stocking in 1982. Almost every rainbow catchable caught by anglers in Utah streams had its beginning in Egan Hatchery. During the fall, winter and spring, hatchery spawning operations are in full swing on the 30,000 brood fish. A needle inserted into the body cavity of a ripe female will usually force out 2,000 tiny orange eggs from each fish (225 to 500 eggs per oz.) In about 12 to 28 days, each fertile egg develops the two eyes of the fish. Fisheries biologists call this "eyeing up," which means the eggs are ready to be shipped out to the hatcheries. Many of the catchables anglers will be catching next year at this time are "all eyes" right now, and are being distributed to the individual hatcheries throughout the state. In the hatcheries, after passing through the sack fry and swim up stages, the tiny rainbow catchables will grow four tenths to eight tenths of an inch per month, depending on the temperature tem-perature ' of the hatchery. Even when the approximately ap-proximately 1.5 million fish are ready for planting, the problems are not over. Stocking catchables in streams is somewhat of an art in itself. Particularly this year, more of these operations may have to be an one-man show, due to cutback in summer help caused by budget restriction. restric-tion. A truck driver stocking streams by himself must dip 25 to 50 pounds of fish out of the tank, jump off the truck, race across rough terrain (sometimes climbing fences or other obstacles) and finally dump the fish into the righ spot. Even so, Utah anglers should experience good catchable trout fishing in 1980. "We know distribution is important to fishermen," says Dexter Pitman, "Our goal is to put catchables where the most fishermen will be fishing... We do not want to waste the fisherman's fisher-man's dollar." Fish tanker trucks loaded with fat, catchable rainbow . trout will be heading out all over Utah during the next few weeks to plant streams, which were too high for stocking before the general season opener. Reports from Utah Division of Wildlife Resources hatcheries concerning catchables are favorable. Paul Harmer, superintendent at Glenwood Hatchery, says his catchables cat-chables are above average in weight. John Leppink, Southern Region fisheries biologist, indicates a better quality of fish feed used at Glenwood, Panguitch and Loa hatcheries may account for a faster growth rate among catchables this year. Charlie Thompson, fisheries manager in the Central Region, and Dexter Pitman, fisheries manager in the Northern Region, say rainbow catchables look good and are averaging about normal weight. The hatcheries have been home for these catchables for the past year to 20 months. Although the number of catchables was cut 15 percent from last year due to financial restrictions, crowded conditions still exist at hatcheries with the closure and repair of several hatcheries in the state. Therefore, hatchery personnel per-sonnel are anxious to continue con-tinue stocking Utah waters with .' the 1.42 million catchable cat-chable rainbow allocated for the 1980 general season. A rainbow . catchable reeled in by an angler this season was in the planning stages two years ago. In fact, some fishermen during the 1980 season may be greeted by a Division officer asking to count and weigh the angler's fish. This survey, called the creel census, is an important factor in determining how these waters may be stocked two years or more from now (1982). The Division tries to maintain the angler's success in catchable waters throughout the state around 0.7 fish per hour. By August of this year, all recommendations must be in on how many catchable |