Grove Trout Rearing Station

Fisheries Division

Contact Information: Grove Trout Rearing Station 52072 864th Road Royal, NE 68773 Phone number: (402) 893-5468 E-mail: steve.wilhelm@nebraska.gov

History

Grove Trout Rearing Station is located 2 miles east and 1 mile north of Royal, Nebraska. This 40-acre facility is surrounded by 2,000 acres of the Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area. Trout production began in 1961 through the use of two spring ponds constructed on the facility. In 1962, a diversion dam was constructed along East Verdigre Creek to supply water for a series of eight ponds. These ponds were constructed in an old creek bed of the stream. Improvements continued over the following years some of which included the construction of 12 cement raceways and one additional earthen raceway.

Fish Production & Distribution Information

Today, there are three spring ponds, eight creek fed ponds and 12 cement raceways available for fish production. Normally, Grove Trout Rearing Station utilizes approximately five cubic feet per second (cfs) of water coming in from the East Verdigre Creek and about 2.5 cfs from various springs located on the facility. The creek and spring water quality are ideal for trout production. Optimum water temperature for rearing trout is about 57 F. Water temperature in ponds supplied with creek water range from 36 F in the winter to as much as 65 F in the summer. Water temperature in ponds supplied with spring water range from the mid 40s to mid 50s.

Grove Trout Rearing Station operates year round raising rainbow trout and occasionally brown trout. Trout are not hatched at Grove, instead, four inch fish are transferred from Calamus State Fish Hatchery several times throughout the year. Once the trout arrive they are fed daily, sorted to proper sizes and then stocked year round at about 10 inches in a wide variety of public lakes and streams across Nebraska. Typically, trout are one year old by the time they reach a length of ten inches. Currently, Grove Trout Rearing Station releases approximately 150,000 trout annually. A large portion of the rainbow trout reared at Grove end up in Two Rivers Lake 5, a put and take trout lake located at the Two Rivers State Recreation Area near Venice, Nebraska.

Visitor Information

Visitors are welcome at Grove Trout Rearing Station, the fish production area and visitor shelter is open from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST, seven days a week with limited services from September 30th to May 1. A visitor information shelter is located near production ponds where people can view a video about the facility. Grove personnel also give organized tours to area schools and youth organizations as well as college and senior groups. School and group tours are encouraged to schedule their tours in advance. Feeding the fish is a popular activity among all ages of visitors. Twenty five cent feed machines are located throughout the facility. Fish Feeders are available from April 1 - November 1.