Anglers can look forward to making great catches in Colpoy’s Bay for years to come.
The Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen Association has just stocked Gleason Brook at Oxenden and Colpoy’s Creek on the north side of the bay.
Hatchery Manager Ray Marklevitz says this year they’ve released over 96 thousand rainbow trout.
Marklevitz says while these are baby fish, he’s very pleased with the condition of the adults they’ve been monitoring in the streams.
While collecting eggs this year Marklevitz says most of the fish they handled were 12 to 14 pounders.
He also says 80 per cent of them were fin clipped – meaning they were fish from the hatchery.
Marklevitz says that’s a great success rate for the hatchery and means they are having a direct impact on the rainbow trout population in Colpoy’s Bay.
Since 1968, the BPSA hatchery has stocked nearly 4 million fish.
Marklevitz says not only does the program help with conservation efforts but it also pumps money into the area.
Sports fishing is a 2.5 billion dollar a year industry in Ontario – and it’s believed over 16 million has been generated in Grey Bruce since the 1960s.
Marklevitz says the hatchery process – collecting eggs, rearing the fish, and fin clipping – takes 25 hundred volunteer hours every year.
He says they’re always looking for more volunteers, who must join the Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen Association in order to be covered by their insurance.