GRAYLING 



By H. D. Dean 



I am informed that there were originally no grayling on 

 the west side of the mountains in Montana. I believe this 

 is true. Three years ago grayling were planted in George- 

 town Lake, west of Anaconda and 20 miles distant. It is 

 an artificial lake of 2,600 acres, and I have been told that 

 grayling weighing three pounds have since been caught in 

 that lake. I have seen many that weighed two pounds. 

 Eggs have been taken from them for two seasons now. The 

 fish are there, very plump and fat, and larger than any that 

 are in the native waters on the east side of the mountains. 

 There are, as far as I know, no grayling on the east side of 

 the mountains that approach the size of those in this lake, 

 even at the age of three years. I believe grayling can be 

 reared successfully in any lake that has minute food for 

 the young. 



I believe most of you are aware that the eggs of the 

 grayling are first placed in jars, and that they are left there 

 until they are well eyed. Then the eggs are taken from the 

 jar and placed on trays, where they are kept until they are 

 hatched. Our experience this past season indicated that the 

 period just before hatching was the only dangerous one, as 

 they may smother at that time, but I believe this difficulty 

 may be overcome. 



After they are hatched they go to the bottom of the 

 trough and stay four or five days. Then the fish begin to 

 swim up in the water a little like the whitefish does. At this 

 period they may be transported with safety. We took a can 

 of them last spring when I thought I was going to George- 

 town Lake next day, but something happened to prevent 

 the trip. We had put up 3,000 fish in a can, which was very 

 thin, of course, for fish of that size; but that can of grayling 

 remained four or five days in the hatchery before it was 

 taken out. We had to have room, and so we put them in 



