This is how the article appeared in print (except pictures were in black and white). I'll be adding more pictures and information soon...
It was a mini-vacation for the Doc and me even though it was a business trip. We stole away for a few days to tour the facilities at Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery and to hand-select some very fine koi. When we arrived in Kernersville, North Carolina where the office is located and most the grading of the fish and shipping is done I immediately felt at home. I’ve always been a “city girl” — born and raised in Atlanta — always yearning for the country. Kernersville is the country with enough activity to keep a city girl like me occupied. It was southern hospitality at its finest. As odd as it seems, It took traveling north to find the true south.
Underneath the laid-back and relaxed atmosphere of Blue Ridge is a well-oiled machine of a company that works 24 hours a day. There is nothing small town about the operation of these facilities.
Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery is family owned and run. Randy LeFever was our “tour guide” while we were there, obviously taking time out from a very busy schedule to cater to the likes of us. I finally was able to meet Martha. She’s customer service with a capital CS. It’s Martha who treats us like royalty when we call and it is she who makes sure that we receive the prettiest koi.
It is truly amazing how many fish are farmed at Blue Ridge. Rows of buildings house the many different grades of many different kinds of aquatic life — from fancy goldfish to butterfly koi to bullfrog tadpoles. Blue Ridge does not grow only koi. Even the feeder goldfish you see at pet stores may have come from Blue Ridge. Regular and butterfly koi are the fish at which they excel. Blue Ridge is the true home of the butterfly koi. The quality of the Blue Ridge butterfly cannot be beat anywhere on earth! The quality of the regular koi is beautiful and continually improving. I’ve seen no imported koi more vibrantly red than some of the premium select Kohakus. I’m always in search of the perfect Shiro Bekko and I just may have found it this trip. I was even surprised to find a beautiful Gin Rin Suragoi which I immediately claimed for our own personal pond. Makes me wonder how magnificent next years’ crop will be.
Ever hear of Mount Pilot? It’s a town that is near Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show. In real life (and near where Andy Griffith was born) there is Pilot Mountain. We passed through this area on our way to the largest location of Blue Ridge’s grow lakes. Blue Ridge owns over 300 acres of land located in the Virginia foothills where they built a series of grow ponds. I knew we were in for a treat when a little old man who lives on the property greeted us with a hearty, friendly wave. Here we met up with Rick, Randy’s uncle, who lives with his family on the property amidst all kinds of animals including cows, goats, a couple of emus and a gorgeous black Australian swan.
The grow lakes are where most of the hatching and growing of the koi takes place. I was surprised to learn that only a few fish are allowed to breed naturally in the grow lakes. Most of the insemination is done artificially by taking eggs from the female. Once again, the casual, laid-back atmosphere gives no clue to the technology involved and the sheer amount of labor it takes to run the farm. In the shop large paddle-wheels were being constructed to add aeration to the grow ponds. Several folks were busy sorting and culling baby koi. The most promising are allowed to go back into the grow ponds for further development. One of the key people involved with the breeding and culling processes is Andre. He has valuable experience with Magnoy in Isreal and since Andre has been with Blue Ridge we’ve seen a noticeable improvement in breeding traits such as consistency of markings and richness of color.
Once we made our selection of koi to take back with us, Rick loaded Cecil and me up on a golf cart and off we went with Randy hanging onto the back to visit the grow lakes and feed the fish. At Blue Ridge feeding the fish is not an easy thing to do. Some of the lakes have automatic feeders that throw food to the hungry little fellows at pre-scheduled times. Rick was very adept at dodging cow patties as we made our way along the sides of the grow ponds. It was like watching water boil when the fish ate. I was amazed at the amount of fish one lake could hold.
Blue Ridge uses no chlorinated city water in their grow ponds. It all comes from a nearby natural river. In fact, you wouldn’t believe the size pumps that are used to pump the water into the lakes. Rick has the ability to know what is happening to each pond’s water quality by the color of the water. He didn’t worry about a few we saw that were in trouble. He knew his brother-in-law Terry would have already found the trouble and would be doing something about it.
Predators can be a big problem at a fish hatchery. Blue Ridge has a great defense against them. I think her name is Shine. (Help me out, Rick, I’m going off of memory) She’s a bird dog specially trained to defend the lakes. Not only is she a bird dog — she’s a picture hound as well. She was not satisfied by all the pictures I took of her. She had to get into others. Look who’s peeking out from under the fish tank while Blue Ridge employees are culling fish and, well, you figure out what the fellow’s doing in the wetsuit...
All during the trip The Doc kept bugging Randy about where he was hiding the really big fish. We found them at Randy’s house. His personal pond is full of big, beautiful brood stock that includes one huge Platinum Ogon who is bigger than “Bill”, a fish that belongs to Gaye & Frank Comtois (those of you who went on the Atlanta Koi Club’s pond tour may have seen him).
This trip was an education for me. I left with a broader knowledge of the trouble taken to insure we get strong, healthy, beautiful fish and perhaps an even deeper appreciation for the fish themselves. We took back with us many excellent quality koi that we picked out ourselves. We knew you guys would fight over them. These fish are located in the round, blue tanks by the fence — all except for “My Bekko” and “Gun Metal” who I’ve taken out so they won’t get sold. When you see them you’ll know why I’m so excited.
I took plenty of pictures during the trip and will have them posted on our website along with even more information about our trip to Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery as soon as I get around to it. It may be a while but you’ll be able to see it here.
Visit Blue Ridge's Website.
From The
Water Garden Edition of What's Up, Doc?, July 2000
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