Blue Water Anglers Hatchery

The Province of Ontario has a unique working relationship with many of its local sportfishing clubs. In almost all circumstances it's the local clubs that raise Ontario's chinook salmon, brown trout and steelhead that are stocked in the Ontario waters of our Great Lakes. The Bluewater Anglers of Sarnia, ON – a GLSFC affiliated club- and their hatchery, which is located in the shadows of the Bluewater Bridge, is a good illustration of one of these partnerships.

But there's more to the Bluewater Anglers than just the great job they do in managing their hatchery.

The Bluewater Anglers were founded in 1980 to provide people with a common interest in fishing, and the ecology of lower lake Huron, including the St Clair River, and the opportunity of fellowship with men and women sharing these same interests. Since then their membership has grown to approximately 400 members, making them one of the largest and most active fishing clubs in Ontario.

Bluewater Anglers, besides operating a fish culture station, also includes activities with the community in mind. Throughout the hatchery operating cycle they give tours of their facility to any organization that requests one. Early each spring they also run a two day open house, which includes tours of this facility.

In late April or early May they run a 10 day fishing Derby known as the Sarnia Salmon Derby. The Derby has upwards of $50,000 in prizes, and has categories for: salmon , trout (Rainbow, Brown and Lake) and walleye.

Starting in 1998 they began two categories for winning prizes in the Rainbow category; one for shore fishermen and the other for boat fishermen.

The profits from two events – The Sportsman Show and the Salmon Derby generate the revenue that allows the Bluewater Anglers to maintain the hatchery in concert with some donations from the corporate community, as government funds are normally not available.

Each year the club sponsors a number of outings for the area children. One of the outings we are especially proud of is our special kids Derby.

This event allows the mentally and physically challenged youth in the area, as well as the kids affiliated with the Big Brother and Big Sister organizations, the opportunity to spend time fishing.

In addition to the above events, Bluewater Anglers hold a number of club events on an annual basis. Club members receive newsletters informing them about up coming events including but not limited to general meetings, club boat and shore tournaments. family picnics, and store discounts.

In their efforts to develop and improve fishing in the greater Sarnia area, the Bluewater Anglers have worked closely with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and local industry to obtain:

1986 - Completed construction and commenced operation of a full scale salmon facility to raise 200,000 plus Salmon annually.

1992 - Completed construction and operation of a rainbow trout facility to raise 40, 000 fish annually.

The Blue water Anglers operate with a board of directors, hatchery committee, and with the able guidance of their president John (Jake ) Van Rooyen. They can be contacted at P.O. Box 174, Sarnia, ON N7T 7H9 Canada 519-344-9821 [email protected] Jeff (Howie) Glass is press and publicity Director, email address, [email protected]