About Us

A Bad Day Fishing is Better Than Most Good Days

Founded in 1998, by father and son Dan and Max Menard, Smoky Trout Farm has grown to include their spouses, Joey and Corrie, as well as Max’s brother Ray. More than just a fish farm, Smoky Trout Farm also specializes in lake and pond water management including custom aeration design, beneficial bacteria and nuisance animal deterrents.

Dan, Joey and their three dogs reside on the farm as do Max, Corrie and their son Elliot. Raymond resides in Edmonton with his spouse Bobbi and their five children, although they can also often be found hanging out on the farm as well.

We’re a Family Farm

Smoky Trout Farm was Founded in 1998, by father and son Dan and Max Menard. It has grown to include their spouses, Joey and Corrie, as well as Max’s brother Ray. More than just a fish farm, Smoky Trout Farm also specializes in lake and pond water management including custom aeration design, beneficial bacteria and nuisance animal deterrents.
 
Dan, Joey and their dogs reside on the farm as do Max, Corrie and their son Elliot. Raymond resides in Edmonton with his spouse Bobbi and their five children, although they can also often be found hanging out on the farm as well.

Our Facility and Fish Husbandry

Our recirculating aquaculture facility has been built from scratch, piece by piece. We’ve been our own engineers and designers for the most part. We’re proud of the fact that our barn raises upwards of 400,000 fish per year. In terms of farming, it’s one of the larger cold-water, land-based recirculating aquaculture facilities in Canada. 
 
We operate as a hatchery, using triploid (unable to reproduce) eggs from trusted suppliers. Then as the fish grow, we grade (size) and move into ever larger tanks and then raceways. 
 
Farming fish is an extreme commitment. If something goes wrong we can lose an entire crop in 15 minutes. Either Max or Dan are on the farm 24/7/365.

RAINBOW | BROWN |BROOK | TIGER TROUT FOR STOCKING

OUR TEAM

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MAX MENARD

Cofounder | Fish Whisperer | Water Quality Specialist

345

DAN MENARD

Cofounder

123

RAY MENARD

Business Development Manager | Water Quality Specialist

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BRENDAN

Smoky Trout - Dhaval Vaghasiya

DHAVAL

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DREW

Kasey

KASEY

Sustainable Future

We take sustainability seriously.

Over the years, we’ve spent countless hours designing our barn systems to be as efficient as possible. We also strive to have the lightest environmental footprint that we can. 

  • Our barn retains 99.8% of its water daily.
  • We meticulously clean and recirculate our water. 
  • We use a sequence of biological filters and processes  on any effluent, safely transforming it.
  • Solar has been a part of our power inputs for more than a decade.

Solar Farm in 2024

We now have a fully operational solar array that powers the entire farm! We are striving to be a net-zero facility.

Year-round, the barns require more or less energy depending on the volume and size of fish during the growing season. However, the barn is “on” and uses energy almost every day of the year. These factors combine to make the operation ideal for even more solar than we currently have installed. 

Partnerships

Google Apps for Work

In 2016 our business began using Google in our operations. Take a look to learn more:

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Len Thompson Lures

We’re proud to sponsor the Len Thompson pond in Lacombe Alberta. Our work with Len Thompson Lures supports and encourages the love of fishing for Central Alberta residents.

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