Syracuse.com - Hullars give everyone a chance to catch trout

[HuntingNY-News]

A cork bulletin board hangs on the wall in the small fish house on the property, pinned with photos of people young and old who have visited Spring Ponds. Many were photographed after their very first catch, grinning and holding up their prized trout.

Michelle Gabel/The Post-StandardSusan Hullar, who runs Spring Ponds Fishery, feeds trout at her family's property in the village of Fayetteville.

By Hannah Doolin

Contributing writer

With pink lipstick, hoop earrings, and silver bracelets that jingle as she walks, Susan Hullar may not look like your typical angler.

But once she nets a 15-inch trout, grabs it by the gills, and holds it up for you to see, you’ll have no doubt that she knows what she’s doing.

Each morning around 8 a.m., Hullar pulls on her black, rubber boots and walks down a gradual slope from her Fayetteville home to feed about 25,000 rainbow trout in five ponds at Spring Ponds Fishery on Highbridge Street in Fayetteville.

When she arrives, orange bucket in hand, the fish dart in her direction, eager for their first meal of the day.

“They’re just like my pets,” said Hullar, 52.

Spring Ponds Fishery, in business for 39 years, is a private, pay-to-fish operation. Open mostly on weekends, and occasionally by appointment during the weekdays, individuals, families and groups can fish for rainbow trout that grow up to 26 inches long in the blue-green, spring water-fed, ponds. No fishing license necessary.

Anglers can keep the fish they catch, paying $5 a pound. They can bring their own fishing pole or rent them.

Hullar’s father, Jacob Hullar, built the ponds on land that was initially marshlands full of cattails.

She said she learned how to swim and fish in the ponds. Today, she lives in her childhood home, just up the hill, with her two sons. She took over the fishery from her father in 2008.

The ponds opened for business this spring on April 1 and will remain open “from now until the snow flies,” Hullar said.

A pavilion and grill sit alongside the ponds, providing a shady resting spot and gathering place for picnics or card games. The fishery grounds attract several types of birds, including green heron, osprey, bald eagles, turkey vultures, ducks, and geese that nest in the same spot every year.

Michelle Gabel/The Post-StandardA trout, like those that can be caught at Spring Ponds Fishery, under the grasp of Susan Hullar.

“I just want people to come and appreciate the wildlife,” she said.

Every year, Hullar buys rainbow trout eggs from the state of Washington and raises them on a small hatchery near the ponds. When the fingerlings grow six to eight inches long, they’re moved to outdoor tanks on the property and then into the ponds.

There are no chemicals added to the pond water, nor is there a filtration system.

In addition to taking care of the trout, Hullar enjoys teaching youngsters how to fish. She shows beginners how to work their fishing rods and gives them safety tips, such as looking behind themselves before they cast.

Hullar, known by her young visitors as “Miss Sue, the fish lady,” says that watching a child hook and land his or her first fish is the best part of her job.

“I get to see it over and over and I never get tired of it,” she said.

A cork bulletin board hangs on the wall in the small fish house on the property, pinned with photos of people young and old who have visited Spring Ponds. Many were photographed after their very first catch, grinning and holding up their prized trout.

Spring Ponds hosts several veteran and youth groups and also puts on birthday parties for children. While cleaning the fish, Hullar teaches short lessons for the kids about the trout’s anatomy, showing them the organs and removing the heart to demonstrate CPR.

“They absolutely love it,” she said. “Especially the girls, because they see me doing it.”

Hullar was the only member of her family interested in taking over the fishery when her father retired. One of her two sisters, Nanette, runs the nearby Hullar’s Restaurant, where Spring Pond trout can sometimes be found on the menu.

Although she serves this dish, Nanette Hullar can’t stand to see the trout being cleaned, according to Susan.

“She wants nothing to do with it,” she said. “I’m the tomboy in the family.”

Having raised the trout from eggs, Hullar said she feels too guilty to eat them. But she quells this feeling by considering their relatively long life span in the ponds. “I know that they’ve had a good, healthy life here,” she said.

For Hullar, cleaning the fish comes with the territory.

“It’s hell on a manicure, though,” she said.

Spring Ponds Fishery

Location: 5186 Highbridge St., Fayetteville

Phone</strong>: 637-6311

Hours:</strong> 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; during the week by appointment.

Cost: Admission is $2. Bring your own equipment, or rent a fishing pole for an additional $2. Take home your catch for $5 per pound. Have your trout cleaned for an extra 50 cents per fish.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog