Egg-sorting at Dungeness Hatchery with Friends!

“The eggs have eye’d up!”

This, my friends, is the signal that it’s time to gather at the local fish hatchery for some good old-fashioned egg-sorting.

My friend Dave Croonquist invited me to join him and the Puget Sound Anglers (North Olympic Peninsula Chapter) at the hatchery in Sequim, WA.

Egg-sorting is the process of removing unfertilized or unhealthy eggs from the healthy ones. It happens about 30 days after spawning day, depending on water temperature. Since we did spawning day for five weeks, the eggs “eye up” over that same five-week span.

Dave advised me to arrive early, but my dog doesn’t walk as fast as she used to. I was five minutes late… and every spot at the trough was taken. I promised myself I’d be early the next week, but I was five minutes late again! Fortunately, there was a spot and I was able to participate that time.

I wish I could say I was early every time after that, but the truth is I’ve been consistently five minutes late each week. Sometimes I get to sort, sometimes I don’t.

Regardless, I love being there. Egg-sorting is a highly communal activity, and the conversation flows steadily — fishing, crabbing, life in the PNW, and the next adventure to plan. It’s become a real sense of community for me.