Subscribe to the Daily Globe

Your Local Connection

print article Print     e-mail photogallery E-mail
Published April 01, 2011, 12:00 AM

Gallery: The Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery

Each year, the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery harvests approximately 100 million walleye eggs during spring spawning.


Collecting semen from a muskie. (Submitted Photo)

  • Collecting semen from a muskie. (Submitted Photo)
  • Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery
  • As the fish begin to develop in the eggs, you can see their eyes.
  • Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery
  • Shown here are 11-day-old northern pike fry. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
  • Marks on the jars containing fertilized eggs are used as a counter. (Submitted Photo)
  • Jars of fertilized fish eggs are placed on a system in which water flows through them continuously. (Submitted Photo)
  • Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery
  • Stirring fish eggs with a soft brush. (Submitted Photo)
  • Fry are stocked into Spirit Lake. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
  • Stripping eggs from a muskie. (SUBMITTED PHOTOS)
  • Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery
  • Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery
  • Fisheries volunteer Willy Wackerbarth adds walleye semen to a batch of eggs for fertilization. (Submitted Photo)
  • Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery
  • Stripping eggs from a walleye.
  • An extreme close-up photo of a walleye fry. Each year, the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery harvests approximately 100 million walleye eggs during spring spawning. Fry, 2-inch and 4-inch walleye reared by the hatchery are then stocked in lakes and rivers across Iowa.