Pictorial Who Knows what tales this male chinook salmon could tell a little girl of his younger days at the Feather River Fish Hatchery and his migration to the ocean where he lived for 2–3 years before returning to spawn the next generation. The hatchery handles about 8,000 fall-run chinook salmon each year. This year’s bountiful return kept Department of Fish and Game staff busy, artificially spawning the salmon from late September to mid-November. Their season opened on Saturday, September 25, during Oroville’s Salmon Festival. It was the first time since the hatchery opened in 1967 that the operations were conducted on a weekend to let festival visitors see how the hatchery supports the sports and commercial fishery. Although the artificial spawning operations occur only from September to November, the hatchery opens every day, from 8 a.m. to sundown. For more information, call (530) 538-2222.