PEOPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1924 411 



bureau nnd to various State fish commissions and associations, in 

 many cases beiniz; exchanged for eyed brook- trout eggs. 



The rainbow-trout spawning season opened April 4, about two 

 weeks earUer than usual, and eggs were taken up to May 22, the 

 total amounting to 2,737,970. The eggs were of excellent quality, 

 and merely nominal losses were sustained during the incubation pe- 

 riod. Very high water stages prevailed throughout the spawning 

 season. At one time the water was over the tops of the racks, flood- 

 ing the surrounding bottom land and releasing about 1,500 of the 

 brood fish that were being held for the ripening of their eggs. 



Incidental to the work with the rainbow trout, a few black-spotted 

 trout were taken in the traps, and from them 6,000 eggs were col- 

 lected, fertilized, and hatched. On June 3 a consignment of 3,000,000 

 green grayling eggs of fine quality was transferred to the Meadow 

 Creek substation by the Montana Department of Fish and Game, 

 with the view of planting the resulting fry in Odell and Meadow 

 •Creeks. This work was completed and the station closed for the sea- 

 son on June 25. 



Glacier National Parle ( Mont.) substation. — There were on hand at 

 the Glacier Park hatchery at the opening of the fiscal year 85,000 

 ■eggs and 70,000 fry of the rainbow trout. These were carried to the 

 No. 1 fingerling stage and then distributed, the entire losses on eggs 

 and fry being less than 'i}^ P^r cent of the original stock. 



Of a lot of 1,000,000 eyed black-spotted trout eggs received in July, 

 1923, from the Yellowstone Park field 329,000 were planted in the 

 -eyed stage in some of the more inaccessible waters of Glacier Park. 

 The remainder were incubated and liberated as fingerlings in August. 

 All of the fry resulting from grayling eggs furnished by the State of 

 Montana were also used for stocking the waters of this park. The 

 Glacier Park Service rendered very efficient aid in connection with 

 the distributions from this hatchery. 



LEADVILLE (COLO.) STATION 

 [C. H. Van Atta, Superintendent] 



In accordance with the usual practice this station operated several 

 privately owned lakes and reservoirs, and with the exception of one 

 lot of commercial eggs its entire stock of brook-trout spawn was 

 ■obtained in this way. During October and November employees 

 detailed from the Leadville station collected eggs of this species at 

 Engelbrecht, Turquoise, Musgrove, Marma, Wurts, and Evergreen 

 Lakes, securing in the aggregate 5,946,000, or 744,000 less than were 

 obtained last season. At Engelbrecht Lakes, where fishing is al- 

 lowed only to a limited extent, the yield was noticeably increased, 

 and at Evergreen Lakes — situated on the station reservation — more 

 •eggs were taken than for several years past. At all other points 

 there was a considerable decrease, especially at Turquoise Lake, 

 where the collections were smaller by 800,000 than last year. The 

 shortage at these lakes is attributed in some degree to excessive fish- 

 ing but weather conditions also figured largely in the results at 

 Turquoise, abnormally high water stages and the formation of ice on 

 the lake early in the spawning season materially curtailing the out- 

 put. The field collections of the species were augmented to the 

 extent of 111,000 eggs purchased from a dealer in Colorado. 



