Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery

06/01/2026

These newly hatched little fish are nearly ready to go to one of our outdoor ponds, where they’ll spend three weeks eating plankton and growing. At just a few millimeters long, these fish currently bear little resemblance to their parents, but that will change soon- these fish grow quickly!

05/28/2026

These tiny yellow orbs are some of the youngest largemouth bass in Illinois right now! We’re incubating them in warm water (around 72 degrees) in McDonald jars, where they’re constantly surrounded by flowing water. These eggs will hatch in a couple of days!

04/14/2026

Bass season is about to start at the hatchery! This fish came out of one of our brood ponds this afternoon and we snapped a quick photo before she was placed in one of our bass holding tanks. We anticipate spawning for the smallmouth bass to begin the second week of May- keep checking the page for updates, or stop by the hatchery for a visit that week if you want to see the spawning setup in person!

04/03/2026

We did many stocking runs this week to get rainbow trout to a body of water near you, this is from the trip to Bloomington, Illinois. The trout took off immediately once they hit the water- not a single one stuck around to say goodbye! We hope you all have lots of fun fishing this trout season! Feel free to share your fishing stories and photos with us, we all love hearing about your adventures and seeing your fish.

03/05/2026

These jars that are used for incubating fish eggs have an interesting feature- the water flows upward! A pipe in the middle sends water to the bottom of the jar of eggs, and the slow flow of water toward and out the top helps the eggs move freely and ensures that all eggs have access to fully oxygenated water, which is vital for their healthy development. There’s a mesh lid on top, so these northern pike eggs will stay safe inside the jar!

03/04/2026

How many northern pike eggs do you think we collected today? We’ll be counting them up this weekend, so stay tuned!

03/03/2026

Hatchery happenings- northern pike spawn tomorrow! IDNR fish biologists brought these beautiful fish in today and we will be spawning the next cohort of northern pike tomorrow. Most of what we’re doing will be visible from the viewing windows in the visitors center, so come check it out!

02/27/2026

Our site interpreter wrote an article about minnows for the most recent edition of OutdoorIllinois Journal! While we don't raise minnows at this hatchery, we rely on them (specifically fathead minnows) as a food source for many of the game species that you know and love. Check it out here!

Looking into the shallows along the shoreline you spot several small fish. Perhaps they are juvenile fish, but it also is likely that you’ve noticed some minnows. Small and unassuming fish, minnows are both interesting and important. Let’s examine the family of fish known as minnows and three...

02/24/2026

These little Chinook salmon get very excited about water! The white PVC pipe you see is where water is flowing into their tank, and these fish are so enthusiastic about it that we have to set up barriers so they don’t end up outside of their tanks from jumping too high. They’re being moved to outdoor raceways (large rectangular tanks with water flowing through them) today, with 10 times as much space to swim in. They’ll be here for a couple more months- call us to set up a tour if you want to see them before they head up north!

02/20/2026

We refill the fish feeders every morning. Every fifteen minutes, the feeder will dispense a small amount of food to the fish in the tank below, helping all the fish maintain consistent growth. The feeder will empty after about ten hours, but at that point, every fish has gotten an opportunity to eat and they won’t need more until the morning.