The Hayspur Fish Hatchery is located on Loving Creek in Blaine County, about 30 miles south of Sun Valley.
To visit the hatchery, travel north on State Highway 75 from Twin Falls. When you reach the intersection with U.S. Highway 20 turn right or go east. Go east on U.S. Highway 20 for about 7 miles and turn left, north, into the entrance of Hayspur Hatchery. Travel up the road three-fourths of a mile to the hatchery.
Hayspur Hatchery was the first Idaho hatchery and was built in 1907. Egg collection from broodstock dates back to 1910. Hatchery work and stocking occurred in the early 1920s.
Related Location
71 Hayspur Lane
Bellevue, ID 83313
United States
Fish culture facilities include an incubation building with 18 vertical eight-tray incubator stacks and 10 recirculating incubators for trout eggs, a hatchery building with 20 early rearing vats, 15 covered 24-foot circular ponds, four small raceways, and four large production raceways. Water sources include a covered spring that supplies 5.5 cubic feet per second (cfs) and three pumped artesian wells, producing 2.5 cfs at 52 degrees (11.6 C). The spring and well water are both considered Specific Pathogen Free water supplies.
Hayspur Hatchery is a license-funded resident salmonid broodstock facility. During the summer it distributes catchable rainbow trout to area waters. Rainbow trout broodstock at Hayspur are subjected to photoperiod manipulation, so adults are able to be spawned year-round to increase temporal availability of fish eggs. The eggs are held until the egg develops an eye spot (eyed-egg) and are then enumerated and shipped to other state of Idaho facilities for final rearing and the production of fingerlings or catchables for state waters. Hayspur produces and ships about 5 million eyed-eggs annually. All Hayspur rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are maintained on station with several brood years of various ages in production. Eggs are collected from mature age 2, age 3, and age 4 adults. All rainbow trout eggs produced, with very few exceptions, are pressure shocked and made sterile to protect native fish in state waters that are stocked with the Hayspur stock.
Hatchery is open to walk in visitors from 8 am-4pm seven days a week to look at the fish in designated areas. Large group guided tours are available during normal business hours. To schedule a guided tour, please call the hatchery office at (208) 788-2847. For any questions not directly related to the hatchery, please call the IDFG Magic Valley Regional office at (208) 324-4359. There is no charge to visit the hatchery.
Hatchery personnel maintains an on-site public campground, a Family Fishing Water (Gavers Lagoon), and a trophy stream fishery. Many people visit, camp, and fish Gavers Lagoon, Butte Creek, Loving Creek, or Silver Creek (across the highway). Gavers Lagoon is a great place for physically challenged individuals and children to fish for trout. Gavers Lagoon is stocked regularly from May through September with rainbow trout and has a six-fish limit with no gear restrictions.