Inks Dam
Plan Your Visit
Recreational opportunities abound at the Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery including walking, hiking, fishing, wildlife and bird-viewing, and picnicking. Wildlife is abundant around the facility’s 30 production ponds and it is always surprising what shows up.
Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery provides many exciting visitor opportunities for a up close view of the fish production process from egg collecting to pond harvest. The facility has approximately 200 acres to explore so it’s easy to find an activity that will appeal to you.
Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery is located approximately 60 miles Northwest of Austin, Texas, in the beautiful Texas hill country. The facility borders the Colorado River below Inks Lake and is nestled between Inks Lake State Park and Longhorn Caverns State Park. The hatchery is reached by traveling State Highway 29 West from Burnet, Texas for nine miles, and then Park Road 4 for four miles to the hatchery entrance.
The facility can also be reached by traveling approximately nine miles North of Marble Falls on State Highway 281 and turning West onto Park Road 4 and following that for eleven miles to the hatchery entrance.
Activities
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Featured Species
Get Involved
Whether you want to further conservation, learn more about nature or share your love of the outdoors, you’ve come to the right place. The hatcheries provide many opportunities for you to help your community and fish and wildlife by doing what you love.
Services
Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery’s primary mission is to produce and provide channel catfish in support of recreational fishing programs on Tribal lands across the four state Region of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The hatchery has 30 ponds for fish production, a feed storage building, holding house for egg and early fish development, raceways, and circulars. Additionally, the hatchery continues a long-term reimbursable conservation agreement with the Fort Hood Military base to produce catchable-size channel catfish for recreation.
The facility also contains an Endangered Species laboratory including aquariums, an in-vitro laboratory for freshwater mussel culture, and a host fish laboratory. The hatchery maintains the only captive refuge population of the federally endangered Clear Creek gambusia and cultures six native Texas freshwater mussels.
About
Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery has raised sportfish for distribution throughout the American Southwest since its establishment in 1938. The hatchery acts as a science-based refuge for the endangered Clear Creek gambusia and researches cultural production methods for native Texas freshwater mussels. Staff are dedicated to producing quality sportfish that benefit the public while working with partners to conserve and enhance aquatic resources for future generations.