60 



DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 



Taking silver salmon at the Pudding Creek, Mendocino County, egg- 

 taking station. 



Kamloops, Inc., and Steelhead Unlimited. The steel- 

 head are reared to yearling size at Coleman Station, 

 \\here the eggs are taken from wild fish trapped in 

 Battle Creek. The sportsmen's groups pay for the food 

 fed to the young steelhead during the year that they 

 spend at Coleman Station. 



planted Fish Returns 



A total of 378,514 marked yearling steelhead was 

 planted into the Sacramento River during the bien- 

 nium, including 227,113 in 1957 and 151,401 in 1958. 

 Since its inception, the project has marked and re- 

 leased 1,041,754 yearling steelhead. 



Hatchery fish made up approximately 17 percent 

 of the entire run of adult steelhead into the upper 

 Sacramento River system in 1956 and 14 percent in 

 1957. 



COASTAL STREAMS STUDIES 



During the biennium, a total of 209,439 hatchery- 

 reared steelhead was marked and released from the 

 Cedar Creek Experimental Station, in order to provide 

 data with w^hich to evaluate the potentiality of hatch- 

 eries to improve runs of steelhead in the north coastal 

 streams. The specific information which present ex- 

 periments are designed to yield is: 



(1) The size at which young steelhead should be 

 released for maximum returns; 



(2) Relative returns from releases made in upstream 

 and downstream areas; and 



(3) Possible diff^erences in returns from different 

 strains of steelhead. 



The 1957 crop of steelhead totaled 63,609, which 

 were divided into four marked groups for release. 

 They varied in size from 7.9 to 13.9 per pound. Half 

 of each of these size groups were released into the 

 South Fork of the Eel River at Cedar Creek, and the 

 other half were released at Fortuna near the mouth of 

 the river. All of these fish were from eggs taken at 

 the Snow Mountain egg collecting station on the main 

 Eel River. 



In 1958, a total of 145,830 steelhead was marked 

 and released in the same manner as in 1957, except 



that this year two groups of steelhead from Cedar 

 Creek stock were added. These were also distinctively 

 marked and released to provide a test of possible dif- 

 ferences in returns from the two strains of fish. 



Returns from these releases are counted at the Ben- 

 bow Dam Counting Station on the South Fork of 

 the Eel River and at the Cedar Creek Station farther 

 upstream. At each of these points there is a dam with 

 a fish ladder and trap, so that all fish may be held and 

 examined for marks before passing upstream. 



Fish released so far in this study are not expected 

 to begin returning in significant numbers until the 

 1959-60 season. 



SILVER SALMON 



The department introduced silver salmon into the 

 Sacramento River system during the latter part of the 

 previous biennium, when 43,025 yearlings were 

 planted in Mill Creek in March, 1956. This was fol- 

 lowed by plants in Mill Creek of 53,503 yearlings in 

 1957 and 48,800 in 1958. 



Although silvers are found in streams both north 

 and south of the Golden Gate, they were not found 

 in the Sacramento or San Joaquin Rivers prior to the 

 introduction. Silvers are spectacular fighters when 

 hooked on light tackle, and now fill in a gap in the 

 early part of the fall fishing season on the upper 

 Sacramento. 



During 1956, a total of 3,220 two-year-old silvers 

 returned from the sea to the upper Sacramento. These 

 were mainly small males, ranging in size between 15 

 and 22 inches in length. They readily took both arti- 

 ficial lures and bait. In 1957, the Sacramento River 

 silver run consisted of 4,180 two-year-old fish plus 

 2,240 three-year-old fish. The three-year-old fish 

 ranged between 24 and 34 inches in length and reached 

 over 16 pounds in weight. Again, excellent silver 

 salmon fishing was enjoyed on the upper Sacramento 

 in 1957. 



Studies on iVIill Creek in the spring of 1958 showed 

 that there was natural reproduction by silvers, since 

 juveniles were present. Although it is too early to 

 tell whether or not a permanent self-sustaining silver 

 salmon population has been established, the natural re- 

 production by these introduced fish is a good indica- 

 tion of success. 



Improvised ponds were installed in the ditch lead- 

 ing out of Crystal Lake, Shasta County. These ponds 

 were used to test the feasibility of rearing silver salmon 

 in water from Crystal Lake. Tests proved highly satis- 

 factory and demonstrate the possibility for future ex- 

 pansion of Crystal Lake Hatchery for silver salmon 

 propagation. To assure sufficient silver salmon eggs 

 for carrying on the new silver salmon propagation 

 program, an egg collecting station was established, 

 with co-operation of sportsmen, on Pudding Creek 

 near Fort Bragg, Mendocino County. Sufficient eggs 



