TWENTY-EIGHTH BIENNIAL REPORT. 43 



aljundance of food in the waters of Bear Lake — probably greater than 

 in any other lake of equal area in the state — consisting of all native 

 aquatic insects, as well as gammarus and minnows. There is an abun- 

 dance of food to last for several years to come and the bass will not 

 prey on the trout to any great extent until this supply of food is 

 greatly reduced by the increasing numl)ers of bass. By liolding our 

 trout fry until late in the fall when the bass have left the shallows 

 to return to deep Avater and become torpid, the trout fry can be 

 released and will have a fair chance of maintaining themselves in goodly 

 numbers for a great many years, or until, such time as the bass have 

 destroyed the abundant supply of insects and minnows and begin to 

 devour their own young, as well as the trout. But until such time as 

 this condition prevails, we shall continue the operation of Bear Lake 

 Hatchery, as the trout fishing dui-ing the spring of 1024 Avas exceed- 

 ingly good and promised to hold out during the entire season. As the 

 period of the year during which bass will bite is very short, and as they 

 do not furnish as good a game fish for the anglers as do the trout, and 

 as there are so many lakes and streams in lower altitudes Avhere the 

 water is too warm and full of organic matter for trout to thrive, it is 

 to be deplored that bass Avere ever introduced into this lake by thought- 

 less persons for reasons best knoAvn to themselves. 



NORTH CREEK EGG-COLLECTING STATION, 



This station is located on the shores of Bear Lake. During the last 

 tAvo years the bulk of the eggs furnished the Bear Lake Hatchery Avere 

 collected at this station. The total number of eggs collected Avas 

 3,611,000. Of this number 1.150,000 AA^ere hatched and distributed 

 from the troughs where they Avere hatched after the other eggs Avere 

 eyed and shipi)ed to the main hatchery at Green Spot Springs. Tem- 

 porary repairs to the traps and tanks AA'^ere niade at this station in the 

 spring of 1922, as they Avere damaged in the A\inter by the flood Avaters 

 that came doAvn North Creek. The repairs necessary to be made at this 

 station to maintain it for several years longer are to repair the roof by 

 replacing it with an iron roof ; the general overhauling of the hatchery 

 troughs; and improvements to the trap and tank system. This Avork 

 should be done during this coming fall. 



GROUT CREEK TRAP. 



Grout Creek station AA-as damaged in the spring of 1921, in fact, it 

 was entirely Avashed out and carried doAvn the stream. There has been 

 no AA'ater in this creek since that time to justify the expenditure of 

 any considerable sum of money to install a permanent trap ; but, if 

 there should be a heav;\^ snoAvfall in the Avatershed of this creek, it may, 

 in all probability, be Avell to install a permanent trap to catch the trout 

 that ascend the stream during the spaAvning period. The stream rapidly 

 subsides after the snoAv is through melting, and if the fish are not 

 caught and the eggs collected, a great many of them, in fact, the 

 largest percentage of them, perish on the sand flats at the mouth of 

 this creek or are caught in the pools above the sand flats near the 

 shores of the lake Avhen the Avater recedes ; therefore, it AA^ould justify 

 the expense of installing a fairly good trap to catch these fish and 

 collect their eggs and to prevent the loss of the breeders that are 

 stranded when the Avater dries up in the stream. 



