It's that time of year when area anglers are back on the water, hoping to hook the big one.  There's certainly no shortage of places to cast a line in the Ozarks.

And there's no shortage of fish to catch thanks in part to a decades old hatchery in Chesapeake. 

Maybe you've driven past the Chesapeake Fish Hatchery off Highway 174 in eastern Lawrence County.  Many people do, but don't realize what's going on below the surface.

“We do get people who stop by, and live fairly close by, and they say I never realized what you do here” says hatchery assistant manager Dennis Whelan.

What they do here is raise fish.  Since the 1920's these ponds have been a breeding ground for warm water fish like large mouth bass, blue gill, channel catfish and walleye.

“Some of the fish you catch spawned on their own out in the lakes, but other fish like paddle fish, the walleye, they come from the hatcheries.  And without us, you might not be catching those kind of fish” says Whelan.

Whelan and the team at Chesapeake ship the fish to area conservation lakes and city ponds from early spring through November.  The process of gathering the fish has gotten a little more savvy through the years.  But it’s not all that different from how they corralled the crop back in the early days.

“And they used the old machinery, and horses and the draw buckets and things like that and scooped out pretty much what you see here” says Whelan.

Today Chesapeake is more modern in that the ponds have been relined with rubber bottoms to prevent leaks.   Of course that doesn't keep out the occasional raccoon or snake that simply wants a little snack.

“It's not a big problem.  We always raise more than what we need so there's a surplus here and there so if they get some, that’s dinner” laughs Whelan.

Jokes aside, fun is a big part of the focus at the Chesapeake Hatchery.   They help stock local ponds every year for kids fishing events; hoping to lure more people to the sport that keeps the hatchery in business.

“Gives them an opportunity to go and hopefully get them hooked, on fishing like we say and maybe that'll continue” says Whelan. 

One reason you may not hear a lot about the Chesapeake Hatchery is that it doesn't raise trout.   And it's the trout hatcheries that often draw the most attention.  Chesapeake also has a special endowment program where they stock local farm ponds with fish for free.