LAKE CUYAMACA
Recreation and Park District
Trout Raising Program
Current prices for stocked Rainbow Trout vary from $7-12+ per pound. As a not for profit special district, LCRPD has a limited trout stocking budget and as prices have increased it has made it harder for the Lake to continue stocking at the levels of the past.
In an effort to combat the increasing costs of trout stocking, Lake Cuyamaca has been raising Rainbow Trout from the 'eyed egg' stage for nearly 5 years.Triploid rainbow trout eggs are received from Trout Lodge out of Bonney Lake, Washington and are received by our rangers. On average each order is 25,000-30,000 eggs. Not all eggs will survive through all stages of development, but LCRPD estimates an average success rate of %85 or better of these eggs will make it to the water of the Lake.
During this stage the trout will not grow very much but they will mature enough to be able to start eating solid food.
Once received, the eggs are immediately placed into a McDonald-type hatching jar, as seen to the left.The movement in this jar simulates the stream environment, moving the eggs as to aerate and oxygenate them.
The eggs remain in the hatching jar for 7-10 days at which point the fry release from the eggs and spend anywhere from 3-5 weeks surviving off the nutrients on their embryonic sac, as seen below
We are still working on the info for this page, but please check back soon as we will be adding more shortly!