REPORT OF THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 43 



creeks dry up as the siininici- advances, except some small springs used 

 for domestic purposes. 



The Green Spot Springs rise near the foot of Sugar Loaf Mountain 

 and ^low througli a shallow ravine towards Baldwin Lake. The water 

 is used by tlie Shay Brothers, on their stock ranch after it leaves the 

 hatchery. There is approximately twenty inches of water in the spring. 

 It is cool and free of any organic substances and is excellent hatchery 

 water. 



Dining the summer and fall of 1919, we planned to make general 

 improvements at North Creek Egg Collecting Station and to erect a new 

 l\atehery at Green Spot Springs, with a capacity of 1,500,000 fry. The 

 work was begun early in September, but owing to delays in getting 

 materials, was not finished until late in November. At the hatchery at 

 North Creek p]gg Collecting Station, a portion of the eggs are hatched 

 each season and the fry held until they are swimming well; then they 

 are distributed in the most favorable places in Bear Lake, where there 

 is an abundance of natural food. The fry can not be held in North 

 Creek Station later than the middle of July as the water in North Creek 

 fnils by that time. The remainder of the fry reared for Bear Lake are 

 h(>ld in the hatchery at Green Spot Springs until later in the season, 

 when they are distributed in the lake in the shallows and other favorable 

 spots. The condition of the water in Bear Lake has been very murkey 

 and discolored for the last three seasons. Owing to the growth of algae 

 and its decomposition during the period of low and warm water, the 

 fish are compelled to go to the deep water, where the effects of the de- 

 composing algae are not so great. The minnows and aquatic insects are 

 in a measure affected in the same way and consequently, they seek the 

 depth for the same reason that the trout do. The trout having an 

 abundance of feed do not bite well or take any kind of a lure to a great 

 extent during the warm weather. This condition will change when the 

 normal amount of rain and snow falls on the water shed surrounding 

 the lake, filling the streams running into the lake and thus carrying the 

 organic matter away by the flood waters. 



During the spring of 1918 a total of 3,500,000 rainbow^ trout eggs 

 wove collected at the North Creek Station. Eight hundred thousand 

 eggs were transferred to the Bear Lake Hatchery at Green Spot Springs 

 and tlie resulting fry were liberated in Big Bear Lake and in streams of 

 San Bernardino County. The balance of the eggs were shipped to 

 '^^ount Shasta, Mount Whitney and IMount Tallac hatcherie.s. 



Four million eight hnndicd thousand eggs were collected at North 

 Creek Station in 1919. Owing to the extreme di'ought and unfavorable 

 weather conditions generally, in the Big Bear Lake country during the 

 spring of 1920, our operations were practically a failure as far as egg 

 collecting work wa.s concerned. Despite all of our new equipment for 



