REPORT OF THE FISH AND (JAMLI COMMISSION. 45 



?:n(l tlirough the open timber near the hike shore where our men are 

 canipod. Snow storms and s<inalls FoHow eat'h other in rapid succes- 

 sion, during the eai'ly spring'. Our men endure liardships that very few 

 api)reciate, unless they have spent tlir spring months in a tent on the 

 sliores of Bear Lake. During I'JID iilans were made to build suitable 

 quarters for the heli) at North Creek Egg-collecting Station, a cabin 

 a new trap on jNIetcalf Creek, and a cabin and trap on Grout Creek. 

 A new trap was built in North Creek and the egg collecting station and 

 hatchery was repaired and improved. 



The principal streams entering Bear Lake, North Creek, Metealf 

 Creek, Butler Creek and Grout Creek were filled with sand from tlie 

 high water nuirk on the lake shore to the waters edge, averaging in 

 length from one-fourth to one-half mile. The creeks are all short, but 

 carry a large amount of granitic sand caused by the disintegrated 

 granite fornuition through which these streams flow. These creelcs had 

 been filling up for several years, until in the spring of 1919 it was 

 almost impossible for the breeding trout to enter them, as the water 

 was spread over such a wide area of sand deposits that the fish could 

 not find water of sufficient depth for them to swim in. We planned to 

 open these channels so that the fish could enter the streams and reach 

 our traps. Teams and scrapers were hired and the channels excavated 

 through the sand deposits so that the water would have sufficient depth 

 at the mouth of the creeks. The spawning area above the traps is so 

 small that it does not justify allowing an^- of the fish to spawn naturally. 

 The streams nearly all dr}^ up before the eggs are hatched, even if they 

 are allowed to ascend the streams and deposit their eggs. The majority 

 of the eggs deposited by the breeders below the traps do not hatch, as 

 they are covered over with the sand that packs so tight over the eggs 

 that they are smothered. Consequently, the stock of fish in Bear Lake 

 must be kept up by artificial propagation almost entirely. 



Years ago when the lake was first stocked the sand deposits were not 

 so great, as the flood waters scoured the streams out each season, l)ut 

 during the last five or six years the sand has accumulated to such an 

 extent tliat the creeks must be kept open by removing the sand every 

 two or three years so that the fish can reach the traps. 



Bear Lake has an abundance of natural feed for the trout. Besides 

 the minnows, there are a great many varieties of aquatic insects that 

 abound in the lake in great numbers. During the last three seasons 

 of drought, these insects have increased, so that it is safe to say that 

 there is not another body of water of equal size anywhere that has the 

 same amount of natural food for trout. 



The excessive fisliing during the last five years on Bear Lake has no 

 doubt considerably reduced the number of fish in the lake, although 

 good fisliing can be had when conditions are right. But owing to the 



