44 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



ties. The rim of trout in the upper reaches of the Klamath was larger 

 last fall during the salmon run than it has been at any time during 

 the last ten years. The trout ascended the river in larger numbers 

 than usual, evidently not being affected by the condition of the river. 



Last fall at our salmon racks at Klamathon, we removed from our 



traps and put upstream above the racks from 150 to 300 Rainbow trout 



per day for sixty days or longer. These were all large fish and there 



was a horde of smaller trout that went through the rack gratings. In 



spite of this, the largest run of trout in the Klamath in ten years, the 



take of eggs was small during the spring of 1930 at all the collecting 



stations, due to the lack of high water, continual cold water in the 



tributaries, and the warmer water of the Klamath River that caused 



the trout to remain in the river and not ascend to the traps in the 



tributaries. This condition is not unusual. The fishing in the river 



up to June 30th has been below par due to many causes, but not to a 



dearth of trout. 



STREAM CLOSING 



The closing of streanLs by the Director of Natural Resources, as 

 recommended by the Division of Fish and Game, has given good results. 

 This work should be continued and where neces-sary should be repeated 

 until the streams are fully restored. While we have planted 62,000,000 

 trout during the biennium just passed, and have for the 1930 distribu- 

 tion 35,000,000 fisli to be planted in waters throughout the state, we 

 again repeat that a larger number of fish should be planted as the 

 ever-increasing population of the state demands, if we are to maintain 

 the present fishing average in our lakes and streams. There are waters 

 suitable for every species of trout in California. Some of our larger 

 rivers and streams in the lower altitudes will not support the native 

 species as they did before the changes brought about by our advancing 

 and ever-increasing population, but exotic species that have become 

 resistant to higher temperatures, bacterial infestations, and a changed 

 natural food supply, will thrive and furnish food and sport in places 

 where our native trout will no longer thrive in numbers great enough 

 to justify the efforts to keep the lower reaches of our larger streams 

 stocked. 



On the arrival of the pioneers, before the beds of streams and large 

 pools were filled with gravel from the thousands of placer, hydraulic, 

 and quartz mines, and before the forests were removed from the banks 

 of the rivers and soil washed into the streams by erosion caused by the 

 rains on cultivated lands, the Rainbow trout descended to the lower 

 reaches of the larger streams. Before the mines were worked out or 

 hydraulic mining stopped, and the forests removed for the lumber or 

 cleared away for farming purposes, the ph^^sical conditions of practi- 

 cally all the larger streams and rivers that had their source in the 

 Sierra were so changed that the Rainbow could not exist in the lower 

 reaches of these streams. Brown trout and Loch Leven are taking their 

 places, as they are more resistant to the conditions now prevailing in 

 these streams. The erection of higli dams and the holding back of the 

 water for irrigation and power, also has a tendency to cause the water 

 to get much warmer during the summer months. The dry period or 

 cycle which has prevailed for approximately sixteen years has had a 

 marked effect on the condition of the water in our streams. 



