32 



MONTANA STATE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



B2ill irout (■(tKf/lit ill .sciiK in Flathead lake 



There can be no doubt in the mind of any well informed fisherman that the 

 catching: and marketing- of the bull trout caught with the whitefish will be of great 

 aid in future efforts at raising the whitefish. The fact that the bull trout are 

 caught in the same net, in the same vicinity and at the same time would indicate 

 that the bull trout has a habit of lingering around close to its food supply. 



The habit of the bull trout of feeding upon whitefish is fully established by 

 the observations of Dr. Elrod of the University of Montana and has been reported 

 upon in his annual reports. 



Catch the bull trout, then, and add to the efficiency of work later to be done, 

 at the same time derive a revenue and supply food of a most desirable kind to 

 the people. 



It is not known how wide a market can be supplied, nor has it been deter- 

 mined with any degree of certainty how widely distributed the fish are in the 

 lake. It will require much time and effort upon the part of the fishermen to 

 determine in what part of the lake the fish are most numerous. 



It may not be out of place to state that in a single year the Great Lakes have 

 yielded to fishermen of many varieties 113,000,000 pounds and that the supply 

 does not seem to lessen. It is stated on good authority that 12,000,000 jiounds of 

 whitefish are taken in a year and are widely distributed as food. 



It is rumored that some objections have been raised to the action of the state 

 fish and game commission in allowing these fish to be taken from the lake by 

 nets. The objection raised is that game fish will be destroyed. This will depend 

 upon the kind of net used. A gill net would kill all fish coming to it or that 

 may be caught in it. A pound net, on the contrary, would work no such result. 



If the Dolly Varden, or bull trout (Salvelinus Malma), should be classed as 

 a non-game fish, its destruction would be a good thing. It is well established 

 that the bull trout is destructive of all other kinds of fish, that its food is largely, 

 if not entirely, of smaller fishes, and that the whitefish is the greatest suffei'er 

 in this respect. 



Aiiotlnr liciv of the caiiiiHinl huU trout, caiifiht in the whitcfixh .seine in Flathead lal:r. 

 Its stoiiiiieh iras filleit irith .s-niiill trout. Xotr the Jiufie head and jaw.s. 



