More than 500 feisty Eagle Lake rainbow trout from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Tillett Springs Rearing Station are now temporarily calling Powell their home. Next stop: your skillet.

The hatchery’s stock truck rolled up to the gates at Homesteader Park on Thursday to replenish Homesteader Park pond after a lot of the fish were harvested since opening on Kids’ Fishing Day earlier in June. The city buys the first load of the season from the Cody Trout Ranch, according to Parks Department Director Tim Miller. Then the state steps in to ensure there’s plenty of fish for anglers seeking some fishing fun close to town.

Tim Miller said he hopes families will take advantage of the facility through the summer to make sure the beautiful trout don’t go to waste when the pond has to be drained at the end of the season.

Eagle Lake trout are the largest brood stock at the Story hatchery with approximately 3,000 fish. Hatchery personnel collect eggs from ripe females and mix them with milt from selected males. Each female can produce 1,800 to 2,600 eggs and more than two million eggs are typically spawned, according to the department.

Hatchery personnel ship the eggs to Speas, Clark’s Fork, Tillett, Dubois and Wigwam hatcheries for incubation and rearing. In addition, some eggs will be shipped to a hatchery in Colorado as part of the department’s trading program with other states.

Eagle Lake trout is a subspecies of rainbow trout endemic to Eagle Lake, in Lassen County, California. It is a type of trout known for its ability to withstand high alkalinity.

Miller said the bite from the first load of fish usually slows down with pressure from anglers and that the fresh shipment from the department should bring more luck to those looking to catch a meal for the family.

All anglers at the park are required to have a fishing license and follow Game and Fish regulations and limits. The limit is 6 fish and children 14 and under do not need a license. The facility is open from 7 a.m. to dusk.