The Great Trout Heist
On the way home today I stopped by the Peaceful Valley Trout Farm and met Jim Bowman, the owner. Seems that the perpetrators were doing a little night fishing at 4:00 am. They were scooping the trout out of the holding pond with a net and dumping then into a big cooler. The sound of the fish flopping around in the cooler woke Jim's wife, who lives next to the pond with Jim. He called the Alleghany Sheriff's Department who arrived in less than five minutes and arrested the perpetrators who had fled the scene of the crime when they saw the flashing lights coming down Air Bellows Gap Road and hid under a bridge over the creek. The case of The Great Trout Heist will be heard in court next Tuesday.
I learned that the Peaceful Valley Trout Farm has been around for a long time. In fact, one man made his livelihood from it before he ceased operations and retired. Jim bought the farm in ruins and restored operations.
The trout — all rainbows — are hatched from eggs on the site every three months. Before the eggs arrive, the trout undergo a game of musical chairs as each progressively larger batch is moved into larger quarters, thus making room for the new batch of eggs in the first container. The largest trout go into the holding ponds around the hatchery where you can catch them and take them home for dinner for $3.00 a pound. Jim or CB will also clean them for you for $0.25 a fish, regardless of size.
The trout eat a special trout food throughout the entire process. The only thing that varies is the pellet size as they get larger.
Based on the number of fishermen I see at the ponds, I had often wondered how the place stayed in operation, especially in winter. Most of the trout raised there, it turns out, are sold to restaurants and it is truly a trout farm.
It's all an interesting operation involving quite a bit more sophistication than meets the eye as one passes by the place.
I learned that the Peaceful Valley Trout Farm has been around for a long time. In fact, one man made his livelihood from it before he ceased operations and retired. Jim bought the farm in ruins and restored operations.
The trout — all rainbows — are hatched from eggs on the site every three months. Before the eggs arrive, the trout undergo a game of musical chairs as each progressively larger batch is moved into larger quarters, thus making room for the new batch of eggs in the first container. The largest trout go into the holding ponds around the hatchery where you can catch them and take them home for dinner for $3.00 a pound. Jim or CB will also clean them for you for $0.25 a fish, regardless of size.
The trout eat a special trout food throughout the entire process. The only thing that varies is the pellet size as they get larger.
Based on the number of fishermen I see at the ponds, I had often wondered how the place stayed in operation, especially in winter. Most of the trout raised there, it turns out, are sold to restaurants and it is truly a trout farm.
It's all an interesting operation involving quite a bit more sophistication than meets the eye as one passes by the place.
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