to prevent the escape of mainstream fish into it. 

 Care was taken to spray all sidepools and spots 

 where rainbow trout fry might escape the rote- 

 none in the mainstream . 



A total of 54 pounds of the toxicant was 

 used in the reclamation. The fact that the con- 

 centration and duration of exposure were ade- 

 quate in the lowermost mile of mainstream was 

 demonstrated by the deaths of test fishes held in 

 a livecar. The test specimens included white 

 sucker, a hogsucker, longnose dace, blacknose 

 dace, shiners, a stoneroUer, a darter, and 

 several sculpins . All were dead by the time 

 that the toxicant cleared the station . 



The bolt of rotenone reached the final 

 checkpoint at Indian Creek Falls at 3:20 PM and 

 passed by 6:15 PM. Potassium permanganate 

 solution was applied immediately above the falls 

 at 2.5 ppm during the 3:20-6:15 PM period to 

 detoxify the bolt before it entered Deep Creek . 

 The rotenone was toxic for a short distance be- 

 low the falls until it was oxidized by the potas- 

 sium permanganate. A few carp and suckers, 

 16 rainbow trout, and 5 brown trout were picked 

 up there helpless but alive. Seven of the rain- 

 bows and 1 brown trout were held overnight in a 

 livecar in fresh water and all recovered. 



Toxication mortality 



Dead trout were observed during the 

 preliminary treatment of the headwaters and 

 tributaries but the 3 -man crew had no time to 

 collect them . A 12 -man crew participated in 

 the treatment of the mainstream and several 

 devoted themselves to the collection of fish. 

 Five-hundred-ninety-two rainbow trout, weigh- 

 ing 58 . 6 pounds and ranging in length from . 9 

 to 13.7 inches were collected with scap nets 

 and check seines. Also, 85 longnose dace 2.4 

 to 5.5 inches long were taken. There is no 

 doubt that many dead trout and dace escaped 

 detection and pickup when they lodged under 

 banks, rocks, and streamside debris. Cray- 

 fish were observed removing some. Further, 

 it was impossible to collect the numerous dead 

 rainbow fry which were only 0.9 to 1.1 inches 

 long. Their size permitted them to slip through 

 the nets and seines and they were almost in- 

 discernible on the stream bottom . 



Measurements were made on 513 of the 

 rainbow trout and 77.5 percent were under the 

 minimum legal length of 7 inches (table 3). 

 Scale samples from 213 trout had from 1 to 4 

 annuli. Including the fry there were at least 5 

 age groups of trout in the stream. The majority 

 of yearling fish were in the 4.0-4.9-inch size 

 group and the majority of age II fish were in the 

 6.0-6.9-inch group. Most of the age IV fish 

 were 10.0 to 10.9 inches long. The data indi- 

 cated that some of the yearling trout would have 

 reached legal size during their second summer 

 and that most of the age II fish would have been 

 7 inches or longer during their third summer. 

 Of the 298 trout sexed, 155 (52 percent) were 

 males and 143 (48 percent) were females . 



Restocking 



Twelve -thousand Appalachian -strain 

 brook trout were stocked in 6.5 miles of Indian 

 Creek and 1 mile of Georges Branch in June, 1957. 

 They ranged from 2 to 4 inches long and num- 

 bered about 60 fish per pound. Their survival 

 and growth through the summer were good but 

 their number was reduced sharply during the 

 winter. In mid-December, specimens collected 

 with an electric shocker ranged from 3.5 to 6.1 

 inches long. 



Samples and creel checks taken in May 

 1958, shortly after the fishing season opened 

 included fish that ranged from 4.7 to 8.3 inches 

 long. All were highly colored and in excellent 

 condition. Subsequent surveys indicated that the 

 fish were cropped so closely under relatively 

 heavy fishing during the 3. 5 -month season that 

 few survived to spawn in the fall . The stream 

 was stocked again with 12,000, 2- to 4-inch 

 fingerling brook trout in June 1958 . Stocking 

 will continue until natural reproduction is ade- 

 quate to sustain the population. 



Reclamation results 



Since September 1957, 2,033 yards (1.2 

 miles) of Indian Creek have been surveyed 

 with an electric shocker. The fish col- 

 lected included 562 brook trout, 35 rainbow 

 trout and 12 longnose dace. It is significant 

 that the only rainbow trout and longnose dace 



10 



