Lost Valley Hatchery Entrance.

Lost Valley Hatchery is the largest public hatchery in Missouri.

The Visitor Center.

Visitor's enjoying the aquarium.

Children of all ages enjoy exploring the native mussel model.

Visitor Center exhibits are designed to be entertaining and informative. Visitors learn how to measure fish correctly in the Hold Me, Release Me, Let Me Go exhibit.

The visitor center includes a nature shop which is stocked with publications and other merchandise.

Channel catfish harvest. Lost Valley Hatchery supplies catchable channel catfish that are stocked at various public lakes around the state for your fishing enjoyment.

Volunteers assist in various ways at the hatchery. They may work in the visitor center or, as this Warsaw High School student, assist with working in the hatchery. If you are interested in volunteering call the hatchery office.

Various species of fish are raised at Lost Valley Hatchery. The eggs in this photo were spawned in July 2000. They represent the spawn of one pair of flathead catfish. They incubate and hatch in the tank shown.

Careful measurements and records are important to good hatchery procedures. Largemouth bass fingerling are being inventoried in this photo.

Spawning of fish occurs in many ways at Lost Valley Hatchery. Fish such as muskellunge (pictured here) are captured and spawned by hand. Other fish such as flathead catfish are allowed to spawn naturally. Brood fish such as walleye and muskellunge are captured annually to provide fish for stocking. The brood fish are returned to the water they were taken from after egg collection.

The muskellunge fingerling picture here are headed for Pomme de Terre Reservoir. Lost Valley Hatchery produces fish of several species which are used to achieve successful management of many of your favorite places to fish through out Missouri.

Eggs taken by hand are kept in egg jars until they hatch. Hatching time is dependent on fish species and water temperature. The eggs pictured here were spawned from walleye. They take about one week to hatch in 60 degree water.

Walleye fry are so small when they hatch that we can't provide them with a balanced diet small enough for them to eat, so they are stocked in hatchery ponds where they forage on their natural diet of plankton. After 45 days in hatchery ponds the young walleye are nearly 2" long.