46 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



closing order on the 11th day of April, 1928. This will insure an ade- 

 quate number of golden trout for all the lakes and streams in which 

 this species will thrive. 



We have recommended in our budget for the biennial period begin- 

 ning July 1, 1929, and ending June 30, 1931, the building of a perma- 

 nent cabin and its equipment at this station. Heretofore the egg-col- 

 lecting crew camped out and had to operate under adverse conditions 

 that were often very difficult as the lake is situated at an elevation of 

 approximately 12,000 feet above sea level. A comfortable cabin should 

 be erected for the accommodation of the help, as no doubt in a few years 

 the output of golden trout eggs will be increased by the protection of 

 the spawners, and a large number of this species must be planted each 

 season as there will be more of this species caught when the public 

 learn of the results obtained by stocking the barren lakes. The fry 

 planted from Mt. Whitney Hatchery are now thriving in many lakes 

 and streams, particularly in Desolation Lake, Duck Lake and the Dusey 

 lakes. They are reported as thriving in Dorothy Lake, Virginia, Treas- 

 ure, Genevieve, Morgan and Sherwin lakes, situated in the High Sierra, 

 north and west of Bishop. These fish were hatched at Mt. Whitney 

 Hatchery and the majority of them planted by members of the Rain- 

 bow Club of Bishop. They thrive only in high altitudes where the 

 water is pure and cold and free of any organic matter that will in any 

 way pollute the waters. The golden trout have been successfully intro- 

 duced in the lakes and streams of the upper San Joaquin River and 

 other waters in the southern High Sierra range. Years ago many 

 adult fish were distributed in barren lakes by the deputies from the 

 Fresno office. In many of the High Sierra lakes aquatic plants and 

 insects should be introduced to furnish an abundance of feed for the 

 golden trout that are being planted, as well as to introduce the same 

 into waters already stocked. 



RAE LAKES EGG-COLLECTING STATION 



These lakes are producing but very few eggs. During 1926 the sta- 

 tion was not operated. The season of 1927 being one in which the collec- 

 tion of eggs from wild fish did not open favorably, we opened the station 

 at Rae Lakes in an effort to collect a larger number of eggs if possible. 

 The crews were sent to the lakes the latter part of June just as soon as 

 they could cross the pass and reach the lakes. The station was closed 

 on July 24th as the small run of adult fish was over. The total take 

 was only 60,000 eggs. 



After the introduction of aquatic plants and insects into Rae Lakes, 



a number of years ago, the condition of the fish improved, but the 



excessive fishing soon depleted the supply, although it is a fish preserve. 



Recommendations were made in our last biennial report that this lake 



be posted and the law enforced. It is at an altitude of 10,700 feet 



above sea level and would require the services of a warden during the 



entire season to prevent the anglers from fishing and it is doubtful 



whether the number of fish that the lakes would furnish will justify 



the expense. 



FERN CREEK HATCHERY 



This hatchery was built during the summer of 1926 and produced 

 very fine vigorous fish that are distributed in June Lake, Gull Lake, 

 Rush Creek and the lakes and streams of Mono County. The average 



