Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Hauling brook trout, Cecil?

By some stroke of luck I found an Alberta supplier who has brook trout available now. I have ordered 50, 12". He is about 2 1/2 hours from my pond. Any idea of size of container? Last time I picked up 150 rainbows from him,6". I used 2 50 gallon plastic drums with plastic bags inside which he filled with oxygen and tied off, they made it home fine. I would prefer using barrels again as they will fit inside my Explorer vs hauling on a trailer exposed to -25c and the windchill.
Any thoughts? Thanks, John.

Any idea what the water temp will be in the barrels during transport? The lower the temperature you can keep them at the better as you can lower their metabolism and consequently the oxygen they will use. (Adding some ice if you have to would be good)

Are you planting these fish soon as in under the ice?

Cecil, if I haul them on a trailer at -25c outside temps, there should be no problem then? Yes, I will be stocking them in my pond in the next few weeks under the ice, 30" thick presently.

Wood - If you put the drums inside your Explorer and added ambient water (34-39F)to the drums from the hatchery those larger volumes of water should not warm up enough in 2-3 hrs in the vehicle to pose temperature problems. Note, I would not use excessive heater action in the vehicle during the trip home and carry along some ice or snow to adjust temps half way home if any cooling is necessary. Do you plan to add some diffused air agitation to the hauling containers or use oxygen in the bags of the hauling containers? You might want to call the hatchery and briefly discuss their suggestions for hauling options. Ask them what is the water temp where the fish are being held.

By using ice additions during the trip home, I would try to slowly and gradually achieve final water temperatures in the containers at the hauling trip's end that approximate the temps of the final pond water which should be around 37-39F. Water temps measured in a hole just below the surface ice will be cooler than 39F possibly 34-36F. But if you measure the pond water temps at depths greater than 3 ft they should be very close to 39F. With this method, time spent tempering the water temperatures at the end is kept to a minimum.

Bill has good suggestions. I have a commerical tank and oxygen. Bill has hauled fish the way you are.

I agree with Bill. At those temps not sure I'd want to leave them outside to get chilled. You could end up with solid ice and even if temps get too close to freezing your fish could become stressed. I've seen bluegills die in slightly over freezing water. Scooped water from an ice hole to fill a bucket and put freshly caught bluegills in it. They turned belly up almost immediately. Although not trout that should tell you something.

Thanks guys, I will haul them inside the truck as you suggest. I will post back with results.

Wood depending on the volume of water in your containers, you may end up with slightly fewer fish than 50. The hatchery will have the best judgement of how many brookies you can haul based on your specific situation. Maybe take along an extra container (garbage can or large cooler) in case more water volume is needed. It is always better to have too much water than too little when it comes to hauling fish.