Steelhead Pond, Lilliwaup Hatchery Live Cam

This underwater camera watches steelhead swimming in a rearing pond at the conservation hatchery in Lilliwaup, on the west shore of Hood Canal. Spotted fish with a pink band along their sides glide over the sloping floor of the pond.

Lilliwaup is a community in Mason County, Washington, where Lilliwaup Creek flows into Hood Canal, and the hatchery lies near the foot of Lilliwaup Falls. Steelhead are the sea-going form of rainbow trout. The fish here belong to a program that helps native Hood Canal steelhead recover. Their eggs are gathered from wild nests in the rivers, and some fish are raised to maturity before release.

The lens sits low in the water and looks across the pond floor to the far wall, so fish pass both close up and further back. On bright days sunlight ripples across the floor, and feeding around 11 a.m. livens up the pond.