Smith’s Mt St Helena Trout Farm & Hatchery

This was a cool hidden gem on the backside of Mt St Helena. We came here with friends and had a great time. My advice to you: bring a truck or an AWD car. The road leading here was unpaved for like 7mi and climbs up about 1500′. The Unilocal directions on the map were off by a mile as well. There is only a sign about halfway up that lets you know your on the right track still. We thought we were lost but a passerby told us to keep pushing and it would be up ahead. Once you get there you see a pond and a shed. The owner operates out of the shed where he cleans your catches and charges you by the fish. They have free bait and wooden stick poles to fish with. You should definitely bring your own pole but it is like fishing in a barrel with guaranteed catches. The wooden poles do work but if you want more action, bring your own pole

This place was awesome! I wish people would leave more Unilocal reviews! Decided to check it out last minute on a family vacation and we will definitely be going back. We literally had no fishing gear with us, Bob and Helena had everything we needed. Such nice people — the kids and adults had a great time — super laid back and fun — and we had a delicious trout dinner that night:) Also, the drive up is gorgeous. Win win!

This place is so fun! It’s entertainment and lunch all at once, especially for us city people. When you look at it like that, about $ 45 – 50 isn’t bad!
The road here is truly bumpy, so be aware (and come with a not full bladder –oh lo).
First, you visit the booth and grab a box and some bait. They have simple poles available to borrow, though I saw some folks bring some serious gear. Honestly, though, the simple poles they have are sufficient, but the kids in our group had fun casting their hooks using the poles we brought with us. The fishing was so fun — love the accomplishment of catching a fish from the trout that is set there JUST FOR US TO CATCH! It’s the ultimate in easy ego-​boosting… love it. Everyone in our group (who wanted to) caught at least one fish, and some (grown men — ahem) caught well more than their fair share. Keep in mind: if you catch it, you buy it. No tossing the fish back in after you catch it. After you catch the fish, you bring it back to the booth, and they clean it and put it on ice for you (love that we don’t have to get our hands truly dirty). The gentleman who was working, who I think is Mr. Smith, is soooo efficient. They measure the fish and you pay between $ 2 and $ 7 each, depending on the size.
The picnic area is pleasant, with a choice of shaded picnic tables and ones in the sun. There are also grassy areas, so you can bring camp chairs. Gas grills are dotted around the picnic area, not quite enough for one a party — but everyone is generous to share and pass to the next group when done. We steamed and grilled our trout, along with some sausages and other things we brought along to nosh. There’s a Coke machine on site.
With our egos boosted and our bellies full, we hit the road. I learned my lesson and visited the ladies room so my bladder was prepared for the bumpy road back out.
Love this place… we’ll certainly be back.

I have been fishing here for over 60 years, and it gets better every time. It is a beautiful spot with picnic tables and a bar-​b-​que. My grand children love it, and you are guaranteed to catch fish, and you don’t need a fishing license. You will have a wonderful time. The ride up the mountain is twisty and those prone to car sickness my find it unpleasant, but if you go slow it will be O.K.

Great place to get a family together for a summer fun fishing. This place is equipped with bamboo fishing poles and a BBQ grill with no charge to use!
The drive is well worth it. You won’t be disappointed with the experience and excitement. Power bait works great for me and we caught about 13 trouts!
This is a family owned and operated business and they we’re so kind to us. The owner Mr. And Mrs. Smith helped me with my fishing rod earlier because it was my first time fishing and my line got tangled up with my reel I didn’t know how to fix it. Thank you again Mr. And Mrs. Smith! You made my fishing experience the best! I caught my first fish here!

We had heard nice things about this place from other grandparents and tried to learn more on line — Unilocal gave us the most info… and was very helpful.
We «went for it» and we are so pleased we did! Took our kids (4), grandkids (5) out there for Papa’s birthday celebration! We took a picnic lunch, beach chairs and sat out on a lawn area (no blankets allowed… darn). The kids fished, then we ate our picnic (bring hand wipes!) The kids played on the lawn area in the sunshine, grown-​ups sat in our beach chairs enjoying adult beverages until the kids «finally» got to fish again. We did Birthday cake (more hand wipes!) and presents. Our 15 fish were cleaned by Mr. Smith and packed in ice for our ride home. Eveyone agreed our 3 hour stay was well worth the 45 minute ride from Windsor.
If you would like to go:
–road climbs and is a little twisty on the 7 mile ride on Ida Clayton and there is a turn off gravel road with good signage to get you to the pond…
–bring your own rod and reels, their bambo poles do not allow the kids to «reel in a fish»
–we took worms, they have «bait» but to be honest… the fish took the hooks with no bait
–no debit or credit cards are accepted
–bathrooms are clean and cabin-​like
–they have picnic tables and weber charcoal BBQ’s available for your use in the gravel areas around the pond.
–cold water lake, spring fed and well cared for trout
–dogs on leashes were allowed
–alcohol allowed
–any fish 11 inches or over was $ 7– smaller fish priced lower (our 15 fish came to $ 97)
–open 10 – 5 on weekends I believe I saw a sign that said March-​October
–not crowded (Sat. of Memorial Day) families came and went in large and small groups
This is definitely a family experience… you are welcomed by the Smith family and they are there on site to secure everyone has a good experience.

How FUN is this palce!!! Each time we go to the Napa Valley /​Calistoga area, we visit the Smith’s Mt. St Helena trout Farm.
This trout farm is family owned and operated. It’s a neat concept — bring your favorite picnic basket (alcohol allowed) and hang out in the sun while the kiddos go fish for trout. I learned that this place owns several ponds where they raise their own trouts from little fishies to pretty big monsters (like 13−14″ long!).
Bring your own fishing powls, or the farm has bamboo poles for you to use. They even provide the bait (which is some kind of wheat meal that you roll into balls).
My favorite thing about this place is that the owners watch to see which kids (or adults!) aren’t catching any fish. They come out to offer tips on catching the fishes. If that doesn’t work, they throw feeding pellets into the water by your pole, and that attracts the fish.
You are GUARANTEED to catch something here! Super good for the ego!
p. s. If you don’t like to touch the fish, the staff will clean the fish and put it on a bag of ice for you to take home!
FUN FUN FUN!!!

Went here for the first time in probably 8 years. It has not changed one bit. Great family run operation. Got to watch my 2 year old catch his first fish. It reminded me of being 10 again.

We went here with another family and their kids. The kids loved it. The place is very well kept and the fish were so easy to catch (way too easy, as a matter of fact). The fish are priced based on the length of the fish, ranging from $ 1 — $ 6 dollars each. You catch, you must buy. There were picnic tables. We had the fish cleaned so we could grill the fish to eat with the bread that we brought for lunch. A great day with family and friends. I highly recommend this place for families with kids. 4 stars instead of 5, because the fish were somewhat pricey such that the experience costed each family $ 85 total at the end of the day.

This place is the best. It’s a long drive up a windy road, but it’s a beautiful place to fish. Area is grassy and the owner is very friendly — having lived there all his life. Fish are very clean. They provide the fish to all the other fish farms and many other fish planting activities. It is a sure-​catch pond, so don’t expect big challenges. Near Calistoga, so has all the beauty of the Napa Valley. The address doesn’t quite get you there on the GPS — it’s further east up the road (if coming from the west side) than the address indicates. Keep driving and driving, but it’s worth it.