Clipping fins at Wizard Falls

Clipping adipose fins on young rainbow trout is hard work. From 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a brief lunch break, the clippers are standing in one place doing nothing but picking up slippery little fish, clipping the adipose fin, depositing clipped fish into a holding tank and repeating the process hour after hour.

Jim Plank, along with Jeff Crow, both of Sisters, are two of the dedicated fish-clippers at Wizard Fall Fish Hatchery on the Metolius River.

"In a day's time I think each of us clips about 13,000 little guys a day," Plank said. "But there aren't many who come out here to do this that can stick with it."

Many would like to do it, but few have the stamina to stand all day in one place and get into the rhythm Jim and Jeff do to clip a total of 26,000 fins a day.

They get paid for it: minimum wage, $8.50/hour - and if they're really good at it they can get all the way to $9 - but as one Wizard Falls employee said, "I don't think they do it for the money..."

They do it because it has to be done if fishery biologists are going to learn more about the sport-fishery in our high lakes, rivers and streams.

The main purpose for clipping adipose fins is to tell the difference between hatchery and wild fish.

"Evolutionary speaking, the adipose fin no longer has any purpose," says Mike Riehle, Sisters Ranger District fishery biologist. "Therefore (clipping) doesn't interfere with the fish's welfare; clipping is a good way to mark hatchery from wild fish."

Riehle also has used this tool to mark wild salmon recently released for a Chinook salmon study.

In the case of the high lakes - where the clipped rainbow trout from the hatchery are headed - it is up to the angler to inspect the fish caught to determine if it is a hatchery or wild fish. It is best to check the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Fishing Regulation bible for the lake you're fishing to see the latest changes in the regulations.