Mt Lassen

Mt Lassen is our name and the heart and soul of the entire operation. The mountain is 10,000 feet in altitude and it towers over us, a constant reminder of the role it plays in our valley’s geography. Mt. Lassen is an active volcano, although for now, it’s sleeping. Its volcanic lava flows have created a mineral-rich soil and the snow that accumulates on Mt Lassen is what feeds the aquifers and gives us our unique water quality. Everything from the pH to the high mineral content in our spring water comes from filtering through ancient, volcanic soil. Mt Lassen provides the unique natural environment that surrounds our farms, featuring an amazing variety of flora and fauna and over 300 different animals including the great Bald Eagle.

Fresh Mountain Springs

Water is pretty much everything here. You can go for miles and miles around here and there’s no water and then all of a sudden, coming out of a lava tube is 4,000 gallons a minute of spring water just gushing out of the ground. These fish are raised in a higher velocity of water than most any other place around. It’s creating a more muscular, a more vigorous fish.

We figured out a while ago that they weren’t making any more of these springs. So Phil had the foresight years ago, to go out and identify many of these springs around the base of Mt Lassen and establish ourselves on many of these sites. Literally he went up in a bush plane and looked for the green areas amid the arid landscape. He knew that’s where the mountain springs emerged from the depths of their underground aquifers.

It’s pure mountain spring water, it’s a unique, high-mineral-content water chemistry we have, filtered through Mt. Lassen’s volcanic soil. Having seen different fish hatcheries we can’t think of a better place to raise fish.

High Velocity Water

You can go for miles around here and there’s no water and then suddenly from a lava tube there’s 4,000 gallons of water a minute just gushing out of the ground. It’s some of the highest velocity water anywhere and it is this high velocity water that acts as a treadmill for our trout. It means that our trout are always swimming in a fast moving current and therefore building up thick, muscular torsos that result in a firm, meaty experience for the chef and her customers.

Sustainability

We have noticed this is a word people like to throw around a lot. We think more about conservation. Here in Northern California we have to conserve our water. We respect this resource, this mountain spring water from beneath Mt. Lassen, it’s our fish’ habitat. We rear our fish in earthen ponds and raceways and it is this system that Seafood Watch considers best choice / green rated.

There’s other measuring sticks for sustainability but one that we like to use is how we give back to the environment that sustains us. This past year we cooperated with US Fish and Wildlife and hatched and nurtured endangered California King Salmon fry at our hatchery. When they were grown enough, we released them back into the Sacramento River to enhance the population. We hope to continue doing this for years to come.

Our natural environment. Our water source. Our earthen ponds. Mt. Lassen. To us it’s all about conservation and sustaining our natural environment.

Seafood Watch

Earthen ponds and raceways for trout and steelhead in California are Best Choice/Green Rated by Seafood Watch.

California’s Local Fish Producer

For us California isn’t Hollywood and beaches, it’s the advantage of being located in America’s breadbasket and being the local trout producer for great chefs around the state – from San Diego and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley, The Bay, Sacramento and the Central Valley. Our fish is in kitchens within a day or two after leaving its mountain spring water. Our trout is California-grown.