Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery

The Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery is a walleye, northern pike and muskellunge hatching and rearing station. Production facilities include four egg incubators with a total capacity of 1100 quarts, 20 indoor raceways, six non-drainable ponds and two natural lakes. Water is obtained from Spirit Lake and is discharged into East Okoboji Lake.

Hatching Period

The hatching period begins in late March, when ice cover leaves area lakes. Adult fish are collected when they travel the shoreline to spawn and are captured with gillnets. Fish are transported to the hatchery where eggs are removed and fertilized. All adult fish are returned to the lake in which they were captured. 

Incubation takes place in special jars that allow fresh water to flow over the eggs, supplying oxygen. Walleye eggs are also collected from Storm Lake and Clear Lake, and transported to the Spirit Lake hatchery for incubation. After hatching, fish may be stocked as fry or reared to advanced fingerling stages. Fry are fed a commercial diet in the hatchery or stocked into a nursery lake where they eat natural foods.

Each year, 75 million walleye fry, 100,000 six-inch walleye fingerlings, 25,000 seven-inch walleye fingerlings, and 2 million northern pike fry are produced at the hatchery.

Hours

The hatchery is open year-round Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.; closed on holidays.

• Jeremy Menting