Coin' Fishin' * * * * * 77 



packed in ice, to maintain the temperature of Yellowstone streams across 

 the hot deserts of Arizona, until they could be planted in the cold waters 

 of Shinumo Creek. The planting was entirely successful and fishing is 

 already good in the streams stocked. Similar 

 plantings have since been made in Bright Angel 

 Creek and other waters of the park. 



Some of the best fishing waters in the na 

 tional parks were originally barren of fish. This 

 was due, no doubt, to the high altitudes of the 

 lakes and streams of the parks and to the 

 waterfalls in the parks which barred the up 

 stream progress of the fish. The trout, like the 

 salmon, is able to negotiate difficult rapids and 

 small waterfalls in his search for the head 

 waters in which to spawn, but not such enor 

 mous falls as Vernal, Nevada, and the Yellow 

 stone. Originally all of the northern and west 

 ern waters of Yellowstone were barren of fish. Most of the better 

 streams and lakes of Yosemite were devoid of fish, likewise those of 

 Sequoia, Glacier, and other high-altitude parks. 



In their natural state trout spawn under difficulties at best. As the 

 spawning time approaches, the fish push up toward the shallower waters, 

 where the female selects a spot near the bank of the stream and pre 

 pares her nest by washing out the sand with her tail and pushing aside 

 the gravel with her nose. After forming a slightly concave depression, 

 she deposits a part of her eggs on the newly cleansed gravel, and the 

 male, which up to this time has been playfully swimming around the 

 nest, emits milt upon them almost simultaneously. The female then 

 covers the eggs with the loose gravel. The spawning, impregnating, and 

 covering are repeated continuously until the eggs are all laid. The eggs 

 of trout are heavy and non-adhesive. They will sink, therefore it takes 

 current to wash them away. Often flood waters destroy all eggs laid in 

 a stream. 



When the tiny fish is first hatched, he has a large stomach, like a 

 pollywog, which makes it difficult for him to navigate. He falls easy 

 prey to a passing fish, which may eat hundreds of little fish in a day. 

 Life is a precarious proposition, with the odds all against the small fish 

 until he grows the size of a fingerling and can take care of himself. 



The rangers and the representatives of the United States Bureau of 

 Fisheries and the state hatcheries have sometimes planted in one year as 

 many as eight million fry, just hatched, in the waters of the national 

 parks. It is doubtful if more than one in ten survives the first year, with 

 all the existing hazards. For this reason the rangers are gradually dis- 



