REARING TROUT STATIONS UPDATE

UPDATE:  Rearing Pens were removed on 4/7/08 to accommodate high water flow when flood gates were to be opened on 4/8/08.

Trout Rearing Pens (by Tom Atwood)

The rearing pens, which were removed earlier this year, turned out to be in much worse shape and a much bigger project than originally projected. Much of the metal mesh was deteriorated to the point of being worthless. When the algae dried and the metal was exposed to air, it was very easy to simply punch a hole in it by hand. Since this metal was previously coated with a heavy galvanization process, this deterioration was amazing. I have never seen metal in fresh water corrode to this point as quickly as it did.

That having been said, all of the mesh has been replaced with at least one and sometimes 2 gages heavier metal. The pen sections next to the heaviest water flow were reinforced with heavier mesh. The screen areas are now supported with heavier cross bracing where before there were large areas that were unsupported and subject to vibrational stress.

The entire structure(s) were sandblasted and powder coated with a heavy three step process. First an under coat was applied. After the undercoat was baked, two finished coats were applied and baked separately. In an outdoor environment this process would last in excess of fifty years. However, in the hostile conditions we will use them, life expectancy is unknown.

In my opinion, and after seeing the damage caused by the water and conditions previously mentioned, I believe we should expect between 3 and 5 years serviceable life from the pens. However, this is not a guarantee. We should start planning now for the successor method of trout rearing.

I would like to express my gratitude to Pat Waters for his assistance in rebuilding, welding, grinding, lifting and moving the different panels. He has proved that he is much more than simply the trout whisperer. All told there is probably more than 80 man hours involved in this rebuild. Also thanks to Jesse King and George Winton (a friend who was in the wrong place and the wrong time) for assistance in removal of the pens.