Fish Story

 by Macy Johnson

“Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore.

It was full of large fish, 153,

but even with so many the net was not torn.”

(John 21:11 NIV)

 

While camping at Moccasin Creek State Park on Lake Burton, my husband and I walked next door to a Georgia Trout Hatchery. During two prior camping visits to the park we endured distractions of construction noises across the creek. The park ranger suggested we check out the facility’s new additions.

 

We were met with the head of the operation, a nice, middle-aged man who relocated from Oregon ten years prior. After working in a salmon hatchery with eighty-seven raceways, he was content to now be in charge of only four.

 

He explained the process of acquiring baby rainbow trout and raising them to place in the waterways of North Georgia. Lakes, rivers, and streams are stocked so anglers can enjoy the sport of trout fishing.  

 

As he talked, I couldn’t take my eyes off the constant motion of fingerlings in the raceway at our feet. They were about four inches long, swimming in schools in a lane of three-feet-deep water. Their movements were mesmerizing, and an occasional fish jumped out of the water to snatch a perceived bug.

 

The director asked us to guess the number of rainbow trout in that one raceway. I looked at the mass and tried to make a rough estimate. “Over seventeen thousand!” he stated. That was in only one of the four raceways in use!

 

It made me think of the Bible passage in John 21 when Jesus and His disciples were on the beach after His resurrection. As in that story, our benevolent God always provides waters teeming with “fish” for our needs. 

 

I thank my heavenly Father for providing so many creatures of the sea to glorify Him. I hope you will, too!