PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1925 465 



After being developed to the eyed stage, the entire lot was transferred to the 

 Clackamas station, and the substation was closed for the season. 



Little White Salmon {Wash.) substation. — Fishing for brood chinook salmon 

 began on September 17, and by October 10 a number sufficient to meet all require- 

 ments had been secured. The racks were therefore removed and the remaining 

 fish allowed to ascend the river to the spawning grounds. Due to the con- 

 tinued low stage of the stream much difficulty was experienced in maintaining 

 a depth of water necessary for the maintenance of the fish in the live pens, and it 

 finally became necessary to excavate a location for the pens in the bed of the river. 

 Eggs to the number of 22,640,000 were taken, of which approximately 6,562,000 

 were shipped in the eyed stage to other points. The remaining eggs were incu- 

 bated and the product reared to the No. 2}^ fingerling stage, when they were 

 liberated in the Little White Salmon River. 



A consignment of 200,000 brook-trout eggs, received from one of the Wash- 

 inton State hatcheries, was successfully incubated, and part of the resulting fry 

 were distributed to applicants. The product of 95,000 steelhead salmon eggs, 

 transferred from the Applegate Creek auxiliary, was still on hand at the close 

 of June. 



Big White Salmon (Wash.) substation. — There was an unusually good run of 

 Chinook salmon in the Big White Salmon River and also in Spring Creek, the 

 latter yielding about half the season's take of eggs. An advantage in work on 

 this creek is the entire lack of high-water stages and the fact that no expensive 

 racks. need be constructed and maintained. As they ascend the mouth of the 

 creek, the salmon pass through a fish ladder into a pool, where they are readily 

 accessible. They are simply dipped out, assorted, and the males and females segre- 

 gated in separate inclosures prepared for them in the creek. During the period 

 from September 20 to October 7, a total of 14,420,000 eggs was taken in both 

 streams. On reaching the eyed stage, approximately 5,000,000 were shipped to 

 the Oregon Fish Commission. The young fish hatched from the remaining eggs 

 were reared to the No. 2J^ fingerling stage and then released on the native spawn- 

 ing grounds. The food used in the rearing operations consisted of salted salmon, 

 canned salmon, and cattle spleen. 



Rogue River (Oreg.) substation. — Despite the handicap of a very low water 

 level in the Rogue River during the summer, which necessitated the building of 

 wing dams at each water wheel to insure its efficient operation, the yield of Chi- 

 nook salmon eggs at this point was about on a par with results in recent years. 

 Immediately after the completion of the chinook-salmon run, racks were installed 

 in Big Butte and Elk Creeks for the interception of silver and steelhead salmon, 

 though the equipment in the former was washed out during a later period of 

 high water, allowing most of the silver salmon held below to escape. The egg 

 collections of this species, amounting to 1,336,000, were made between October 

 30 and December 11. The spring collection of steelhead eggs was somewhat 

 above the average, the total amounting to 868,000, as compared with 506,000 

 in the preceding year. Small numbers of eggs of the sockeye salmon and silver 

 trout, received by transfer from other stations, were successfully incubated, as 

 was also a consignment of brook trout eggs donated by the State of Washington. 

 Some of the product of this stock was still on hand when the fiscal year closed. 



Applegate Creek (Oreg.) substation.— Active fish-cultural operations for the 

 season began at this point on November 18 with the collection of the first lot of 

 silver salmon eggs. As the best part of the run of this species occurred during 

 high-water stages, and a majority of the fish were able to ascend to spawning 

 grounds above the dam, the yield of eggs for propagation purposes was small, 

 amounting to only 1,749,000. During the very favorable natural conditions 

 existing in the early spring, a sufficient number of steelhead salmon were cap- 

 tured to yield at least 3,000,000 eggs, but many of the penned fish died later and 

 only 1,771,000 eggs were obtained. On reaching the eyed stage, 500,000 of 

 these were shipped on assignment; the fry hatched from the remainder were in 

 process of rearing when the fiscal year closed. 



Salmon (Idaho) substation. — At the opening of the fiscal year 100,000 young 

 chinook salmon, the product of eggs shipped from the Little White Salmon 

 substation, were on hand. On reaching the No. 3 fingerling stage they were 

 tagged and released in local streams to determine whether it would be possible 

 to establish an earlier run of fall-spawning salmon in the Columbia River. 



In the Lemhi River field egg collections were made from the middle of August 

 into early September, 3,658,000 eggs being taken. The racks in the Pahsimeroi 

 River were installed about 10 miles below the site of last year's operations and 

 eggs were taken throughout the last half of September. Owing to the very low 



