7/31/22
Air temp 93 degrees
My brother David, his girl and their kids came up from Arizona to spend some time and visit. I thought what better way to spend a day with them and the kids than to take the kids where they could catch some fish. I decided to take them up to the Smith’s Mt St. Helena Trout Farm & Hatchery located on Mt. St. Helena just outside of Middletown CA. If you have never been it’s pretty fun for the kids. If you don’t have rods and reels they supply bamboo poles with line attached and a hook and also they have bait balls. The bait balls are a dough like substance that are actually used to feed the trout.
We got all the kids setup and baited and started fishing. First we started off with all of them using the redworms. My niece Jessilyn caught the first one. Then my son Liam caught one almost flinging it into the trees lol. Then my nephew David caught one. The bite was a little slow at first so I went and got one of the bait balls they provide. That was the ticket as soon as the ball would disappear out of site they were eating it. You didn’t even have to make a long cast. They were eating it 3 feet off the shore. It was awesome standing there helping my son, my nieces and nephew catch and net trout. They had a blast. The smiles on their faces were priceless. What an awesome day hanging out.
The Smith Trout farm charges a 10 dollar admission per car and the price per fish range from 4 to 10 dollars a fish depending on the size. They are open on Saturdays and Sunday from 10 am till 5 pm. I believe the close the doors for the season in September and reopen in April but not 100 percent sure. To see how happy the kids were was so worth the money to take them fishing. Till the next adventure I hope that you guys enjoy this little article, tight line and remember when you can take a kid fishing they may get hooked for life.
RB BASS Outdoors Angler
Vern Westberg II
Smith’s Mt St. Helena Trout Farm & Hacthery
18401 Ida Clayton Rd. Calistoga Ca 94515
(707) 987- 3651
