California Beaches Blog

Surprises On The Highway-A Visit With The Trout Man

(One in a Continuing Series)

By C. MacDonald

One of the things that makes living in California exciting is that you never know what you’ll see on the highway. My son and I were headed on a mission this morning when lo and behold we spotted something we’d never seen before–a big truck with “Mojave River Hatchery” painted on its backside. “Lets follow that truck and see where it’s headed,” I said. It went to Huntington Park Lake, near Edwards Hill in Huntington Beach. There, California Department of Fish & Game Technician Dennis Bronson (the name reminded me of the cult TV show “Then Came Bronson,” which aired from 1969-70) released about 400 trout. Bronson said he left the state’s Mojave River Hatchery in Victorville with about 2,000 fish (around 500 pounds worth) this morning. He relocated the 7 to 14-inch beautiful “rainbow wonders” in three other bodies of water at Greer & Carr Parks (HB) and Eisenhower Park in Orange. (Officials said there are a couple dozen such lakes in the OC.)

Watching the fish shooting out of the truck reservoir, through a tube into Lake Huntington was a fascinating thing to bestow. Curious ducks, geese, a couple other people and some fellow fish took proper note of the big splashes. Bronson said he stocks the lakes about every two weeks. State Biologists determine how many fish to supply, depending on a variety of factors, including size of lake, water temperature etc. He said the cost of the fish is paid for with the revenue generated from the sale of Fishing Licenses. Witnessing the event were State Department of Fish & Game Senior Volunteers Linda Gottlieb, Jack Beckner and Larry Harding. “We also educate the public about the requirement of having fishing licenses and we monitor the lakes to assist the Game Warden and the public,” Gottlieb said. All these folks love fishing and no sooner had the trout been released, up popped Gary Wahlenmaier, a fisherman wearing his license around his neck. “I saw on their website that Huntington would be stocked today and I drove down from Lakewood to have fun fishing,” said the affable sportsman, who had the lake to himself and hoped to catch his 5 trout limit. “My wife will cook ‘em for dinner,” said the confident chap, who we left just as Bronson took off, heading down that long, no longer lonesome, highway back to Victorville. (If you want to see when and where fish may be stocked near you, visit dfg.ca.gov/fish/fishing, then click on “Fish Planting Schedules.” Thanks to the proud men and women of the Department of Fish & Game. Happy Trails.)