(relaxed country music) - Oden State Fish Hatchery is one of six fish hatcheries in the state of Michigan, that's run by the state of Michigan, we are a broodstock facility and a production facility, whereas we raise production fish to plant in the state of Michigan, but we also have the rainbow trout and the brown trout broodstock.

Now, broodstock are the adult fish, we spawn them, take the eggs out of the females and the milk out of the males, cross them and make fish.

- Production hatcheries help to supplement and restore fish populations throughout the state.

There is a lot of natural reproduction that is occurring, and we're happy for that, but sometimes we need to add fish.

If there's pressure from anglers, that means people are fishing in an area, there's habitat loss, and a big one is invasive species, we might add fish in those areas in order to create world-class fishing and keep that.

The fishing industry brings about I would say $4 billion to the Michigan economy, so it's a win-win, we have this really great place, healthy resource, and people are coming from all over the state and in-state to enjoy what they... We have in Michigan and offer.

- [Person] Michigan's fish stocking story began more than 150 years ago in the mid-1800s.

Invasive species and widespread logging took a toll on rivers and the spawning grounds.

By 1870, the state realized the fish population was in trouble, so it formed the Michigan Fish Commission and built the first hatchery in Cass County to help restore balance to the waters.

(relaxed country music) - So the hatchery's been here originally since 1920, so the original hatchery is now the visitor center, but 2002 is when we built the new facility that's standing, and so, it's relatively new compared to hatcheries, and we have six hatcheries throughout the state.

At the visitor center we have a rail car, so when hatcheries were first produced and started producing fish, the easiest way for us to transport those fish was through railway, so all of our hatcheries had to be located by a good water source and the rail system, and so, we have a replica of the last fish car, the Wolverine, that has some interpretive history in there and how we used to transport the fish, so if visitors come and they go into... They'll see milk cans, and that's where the fish were actually housed when they're about finger-length size, and they were released following up throughout the state.

- [Person] Today, technology has vastly improved the way fish are raised and delivered across Michigan.

It's a multi-year process that begins with tiny eggs and ends up with healthy, mature fish ready to be released into the wild, helping to keep Michigan's waters thriving.

- We're right in the middle of our fish stocking season, we generally stock 700,000 or 800,000 production fish per year.

What we did today is we had three, four compartment trucks that we loaded to go to different lakes around the state, so the technicians were in the raceways of fish, they just walk around with the fish, we have to take a sample to see how big the fish are, we weigh a sample, we count how many fish are in that sample, and then, that can tell us how many fish per kilogram that we use at the hatchery, and once we've figured that out, then we just weigh the fish onto the truck based on how many the... How many fish the local biologist wants in a particular lake or stream.

- People need to know that hatcheries are raising fish and releasing 'em in lakes, rivers, and streams throughout Michigan, and most people don't realize that our funding comes from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.

That's what funds production hatcheries and all the work that we do in the field.

- [Person] The fisheries department closely tracks each delivery, ensuring the right number of fish are stocked to support healthy populations.

After an order form is submitted, staff load specialized transport trucks and send the fish across the state, yet not every fish leaves, some remain at the hatchery.

- So behind me we have our youth fishing program, where we have some youth ages eight to 14, but we kind of accept all ages, and they're learning how to fish, these ponds hold rainbow trout and brown trout that we put in here for the visitors to enjoy, they're actually hopefully trying their hand at catching some fish, and we've had a few successes this morning, but it's not easy to catch rainbow trout and brown trout, and the kids are learning that, but they also learn skills on how to cast, how to bait their hook, how to release their fish safely, so it's a really good program for incorporating and hopefully working at more people fishing in the future.

My favorite part of the job is connecting kids to nature, like, a lot of times they're always on their phones and things like that, and we can stop them and slow them down and realize that there's so much of the world around them, that's what I really, really enjoy, you know, whether it could be a flower, whether it could just be sitting quietly and writing in a journal and realizing that this is something that they can do on... At home, a lot of kids don't get experienced to being outside, and sometimes they're a little bit scared at being outside, but then they realize what a wonderful place it is.

- [Person] My son Maximus came along for this shoot and spent the morning casting a line.

I think he might've had the catch of the day, but it's that smile that really tells the story.

- I think that the... That this visitor center and the Oden State Fish Hatchery is this hidden gem that we have in Northern Michigan, and a lot of people will always say, "I've gone by and I've never stopped," well, we encourage you to stop here, and they find out it's lovely and they return year after year with their families, so this is a great place that you're gonna find something for everyone.

(gentle guitar music)