Nebraskaland

November 2024 • Nebraskaland 47 Statewide, fi shing became increasingly popular. As roads were developed and cars became a household staple, more people were traveling to fi sh. This also meant fi sh production and transportation of the fi sh would have to change with growing needs. By 1940, the Commission's number of adult fi sh for spring stockings was increased by about 30 percent from the year before. However, at this point, Rock Creek's maximum capacity levels had been met, and if more fi sh were to be produced there, the hatchery would need to be expanded. To meet this demand, the largest spring at Rock Creek was evaluated. This spring sat about 3,000 feet above the hatching house and that water was running into the creek, meaning the fl ow of 2,000 gallons of water per minute was not being utilized. To tap into this unused water supply, an 18-inch concrete pipeline to a surge tank near the hatching house and a group of circular pools were constructed for growing adult trout. By doing this, up to a quarter million adult trout could be grown at Rock Creek annually. A Relentless Task Feeding the fi sh at Rock Creek was a relentless task. In the early years, trout were fed liver; staff would walk from pond to pond with a kitchen cheese grater and beef liver, scraping off chunks of meat into the water as they went. As the trout grew and required larger pieces of liver, the grater was turned over and the cabbage shredder side of the utensil was used. As more fi sh were reared, more food was needed, and the hatchery turned to horse meat that was butchered in Benkelman and ground up at the hatchery. Sometimes, the meat arrived spoiled and infested with maggots, which would later become an innovative way of feeding the fi sh. Frank Weiss, the new superintendent, discovered that trout loved maggots and seemed to thrive on them. So, he designed a wooden box with a hail screen, a galvanized wire mesh covering, on the top and bottom and suspended them over the ponds. "We'd shoot a few jackrabbits and put them in the boxes and leave the rest to the fl ies," he stated. As the maggots developed, they'd drop from the box and the trout fed on them. During World War II, fi nding fi sh food meant coming up with diff erent sources. Weiss began seining carp from area lakes, transferring them to hatchery ponds. The carp were then seined again when needed as food. They were frozen overnight and run through a large meat grinder. From 1943 to 1945, trout production was dramatically impacted at Rock Creek due to the lack of meat products for feeding the fi sh and the lack of In 1981, an adult female rainbow trout jumps up the 18-inch concrete pipeline that was constructed for growing adult trout at Rock Creek Hatchery. This pipeline is no longer in use. ROCKY HOFFMANN, NEBRASKALAND

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