Fish Pond Ready for Season

DAYTON - The Juve­nile fish pond in Dayton is ready for fishing this spring. According to Steve Martin of the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board, the pond in the Dayton City Park was stocked earlier this month with rainbow trout. It also receives hatchery steelhead diverted from the Touchet River.

The pond is open for fish­ing by kids 16 and under and disabled adults.

The pond is fed during the spring and early summer months by a feed pipe and pump system that brings fresh water from the adja­cent Touchet River into the south end of the pond. Mar­tin and several colleagues got the system running in early March, but the rapidly declining river water levels necessitated some adjust­ments to the feed pipe (see photo on Page 1).

The feed pipe and pump were installed by the Wash­ington

Department of Fish and Wildlife about a decade ago. "The system keeps cool fresh water flowing through the pond, which is great for the fish," said Martin. He said an outlet at the north end, near the bottom of the pond returns pond water to the river.

Last year, Martin said, the pond dried up earlier than usual and a number of fish died. He said the water level in the river got so low that the inlet started drawing air and the pump eventually burned out. He said that he is discussing with Fish and Wildlife officials ways to lower the inlet pipe in the river.

Besides being stocked with rainbow trout, the pond also receives hatchery-bred steelhead diverted from the river. Each day, Fish and Wildlife personnel check a trap located at the diversion dam, just south of the pond. Natural fish are allowed to proceed upstream to spawn, but hatchery-raised fish (identifiable by a clipped adipose fin) are put in a di­version channel that leads to the pond.

Each year a few lucky kids get a big surprise at the end of their pole.