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 The quiet before the "storm" of activity |
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 New employee, Alex Stettler and Bill Beyer |
 Bill isn't telling me about the big one that got away. This is the size a walleye should be before it is fished.  Little Falls in the spring |
It was quiet the day I visited. A heavily overcast day, threatening rain seemed a good day for a tour. The activity will start sometime over the next couple of weeks. People from the community will join in an annual event, harvesting eggs and sperm, cultivating and nurturing the fry until they can be released, stocking lakes for fishing in the years to come. I learned a lot from Bill Beyer. He is a passionate man, especially about fishing, specifically about the walleye hatchery, as anyone in Atikokan knows.
The Walleye Hatchery has been going since 1988 when they had their first trial run. In 1994, they moved into this building, beside beautiful Little Falls, just out past the Golf Course. In the years it has been operating, the Atikokan Sportman's Conservation Club has stocked five lakes. Bill said that walleye take five years to get to the reproductive phase, and should not be fished until they are about ten years old. The Atikokan Walleye Hatchery is yet another one of Atikokan's little known "secrets". A tour of the Walleye Hatchery is planned as part of the "Paint the Pits" Party to be held in early May 2001. |
Walleye Links |
| Contact Information: President: Jerry Jefferson Vice-President: John Charbonneau Phone No: (807) 597-6990 Email: ascc@nwconx.net Webpage and words by Shawn Allaire Manager, Atikokan Mining Attraction Email: amaa@atikokan.lakeheadu.ca |
