128 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



with the completion of the new hatchery 

 building everything was in readiness for 

 the season's work. All four of the salmon 

 hatchery buildings at this station will be 

 crowded to capacity this season. As soon 

 as the embryo fish reach the swimming 

 stage, we will commence feeding them, 

 and will hold and feed the fry in the 

 hatcheries and nurseries until they have 

 attained such size as will insure their 

 being well able to protect themselves from 

 their natural enemies, when they will be 

 released in waters suitable for them. 



The spawning of the Eastern brook and 

 Loch Leven trout at Sisson Hatchery has 

 been completed. About 1,757,000 Loch 

 Leven and 1,198,000 Eastern brook trout 

 eggs were taken from the fish in the 

 ponds at this station. The eggs are 

 hatching and the embryo fish are in excel- 

 lent condition. During the coming month 

 we will commence spawning the rainbow 

 trout in the Sisson Hatchery ponds, and 

 the indications are that we will secure a 

 nice take of eggs from these fish. 



The preliminary work for opening up 

 the rainbow egg collecting stations, auxil- 

 iary to Sisson Hatchery, has been com- 

 menced. As the two stations, Camp 

 Creek and Bogus Creek, on the Klamath 

 Kiver, were put in excellent shape for 

 operations last season, very little repair 

 work will be necessary this season. Both 

 plants have been inspected during the 

 past two weeks and were found to be in 

 excellent condition for the season's opera- 

 tions. During the coming month we will 

 send a crew of men to these stations to 

 put in the traps and prepare for the run 

 of spawning fish. 



During the past year I have thoroughly 

 investigated the Pit River country, with 

 the idea of increasing our rainbow trout 

 egg collecting operations. I found that 

 rainbow trout ascend the tributaries of 

 the Pit River in considerable numbers. 

 From my investigations I found that 

 Burney Creek seemed to have the largest 

 run of fish, and I, therefore, selected a 

 site suitable for carrying on the work. A 

 lease was secured on the site selected, and 

 I have just completed the final survey for 

 the installation of the racks, trap, etc. 

 Within the next two or three weeks I will 

 have a crew of men on the ground, pre- 

 paring the station for the season's opera- 

 tions. I believe that the Burney Creek 



Station will prove to be one of the best 

 egg-collecting stations in the state. 



During the spring of 1914 the old Snow 

 Mountain Station, located at Snow Moun- 

 tain power dam, Mendocino County, was 

 operated by this commission, in an en- 

 deavor to ascertain whether it would pay 

 to operate the plant on a large scale. The 

 results obtained from the experiment were 

 very gratifying and we collected a very 

 good take of steelhead trout eggs. Accord- 

 ingly, I made arrangements during the 

 summer to have the station enlarged and 

 put in first-class condition. The fish lad- 

 der over the dam was in poor condition 

 and the traps were old and nearly useless. 

 During the past fall, I had a crew of men 

 engaged in putting everything in readi- 

 ness for this season's work. The ladder 

 was repaired, traps installed, eyeing 

 troughs and bviilding enlarged and re- 

 paired, and a new water supply system in- 

 stalled. The work was completed during 

 the fore part of this month and every- 

 thing is now in first-class condition. We 

 should collect a large take of steelhead 

 trout eggs at this station this season. 

 Part of the eggs collected will be shipped 

 to the Ukiah Hatchery to furnish fry for 

 stocking portions of Mendocino and 

 Sonoma counties, and the balance of the 

 eggs will be hatched out at Sisson Sta- 

 tion for stocking steelhead waters 

 throughout the entire state. 



During the month of March the Tahoe 

 Hatcheries will be opened up. Traps will 

 be installed in Blackwood Creek, as in 

 past years, and the seining crew will com- 

 mence operations at the mouth of Taylor 

 Creek as soon as the black-spotted trout 

 of Lake Tahoe commence to run up the 

 streams to spawn. This work will be 

 under the supervision of Mr. E. W. Hunt. 



The Scott Creek egg-collecting station 

 will be operated to its fullest capacity 

 this season. It is the desire of the board 

 ♦ o collect a large number of steelhead 

 trout eggs this season, so that the work 

 of stocking (he coastwise streams with 

 large, well developed fry, may be carried 

 out on the same lines as in the past two 

 years. 



At the Price Creek Hatchery 3,000,000 

 salmon eggs are now hatching. The fry 

 obtained from this hatch will be distrib- 

 uted in Mad River and the streams flow- 

 ing into Humboldt Bay, as well as in the 



