108 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



operations l)eing stopped when the ice exceeded several inches in thickness. Part 

 of the catch was frozen, several hundred of the fish having been seen by the writer 

 during this trip. 



INVESTICxATIONS IN NUSHAGAK REGION, FALL OF 1923. EXAMINATION 

 OF TIKCHIK LAKE SYSTEM 



At the end of the commercial fishing season of 1923 in Bristol Bay, 

 a number of the bureau's employees, under the direction of Warden 

 A. T. Looff , were assigned to the work of destroying predatory fish in 

 Aleknagik Lake. J. Paulsean, master of the bureau's patrol vessel 

 Scoter, was actively in charge of this work, which continued from 

 August 3 to October 1. Operations centered in the vicinity of the 

 main inlet of the river entering from Nerka Lake until August 16, 

 and from that date until August 26 at the outlet of Aleknagik Lake; 

 again at the inlet from August 27 to September 17, and thereafter at 

 the outlet until the departure of the crew on October 1. 



The total number of predatory fish destroyed during this period 

 was 2,389, approximately 95 per cent of which were Doily Varden 

 trout, the remainder being pike and rainbow trout. Fair results 

 were obtained during most of the time with gill nets, seines, and hand 

 lines, but very poor catches were made with baited traps and their 

 use was soon discontinued. On September 10 a period of heavy 

 rainfall began, which raised the level of the lake 74 inches from noon 

 on September 11 to noon on the 14th. Very few trout were caught 

 thereafter on account of the high water. 



A careful examination of all spawning areas in Aleknagik was also 

 made during this period, and trips were taken to all tributary streams. 

 It was estimated that 7,500 red salmon spawned in five of the nine 

 main tributaries, but they did not enter the others. It was also 

 estimated that 9,000 red salmon spawned along the lake shores, 

 making a total of 16,500 in Aleknagik Lake and its tributaries, or 

 approximately half the number estimated to have spawned there in 

 the season of 1922, 



While operations were being carried on at Aleknagik Lake Warden 

 A. T. Loofi^ made a trip to the Tikchik lakes. S])awning grounds 

 were inspected and a map made of the region, showing the lakes 

 and their tributaries and connecting rivers and the drainage system 

 into Bristol Bay. Mr. Looff 's report on this trip is as follows: 



Before beginning the examination of the Tikchik lake system inquiries were 

 made of prospectors and natives residing in Bristol Bay regarding the district 

 to be visited, and it was found that practically nothing was known of the Tikchik 

 district except that it is a region of numerous large lakes. Most maps of this 

 section of Alaska show one or more lakes, known as the Tikchik lakes, lying to 

 the north of the Wood River lake system and flowing through the Tikchik 

 River into the Nushagak River. In the preparation of this report and the accom- 

 panying map the nomenclature of the natives of the Tikchik region is used with 

 respect to the main features. F. A. Waskey, who was prospecting in the district 

 and is very familiar with the Innuit language, was authority for the proper 

 spelling of names and for information regarding some of the upper features of 

 the district. 



The Tikchik lake system lies directly to the north of the Wood River lake 

 system and constitutes the main lake source of the Nushagak River. It comprises 

 six lakes — First Nuyakuk, Second Nuyakuk, Chauiskuktuli, Cbikoominuk, 

 Nishlik, and Uppnuk^ — and derives its name from the Tikchik River, a small 

 stream flowing from the two last-named lakes into First Nuyakuk Lake. The 

 district is drained to the southeast by the Nuyakuk River, which flows into the 

 Nushagak River, and the latter theoi e^npties into Nushagak and Bristol Bays. 



