find perch, sunfish, or bass in these trout waters. As these ex- 

 plorers crossed the Continental Divide into the Columbia River drain- 

 age, their "game fish" list changed somewhat, embracing the cut- 

 throat trout, Dolly Varden trout, and whitefish, but again carp, 

 sunfish, perch and bass were absent. 



Fishermen speak of fishing success declining since the "good old 

 days" but in many instances they are not even talking about the 

 same kind of fish. Many introductions of non-native fish have been 

 beneficial, but many others have been harmful. 



There are a great many instances of unwise introductions of 

 fish, particularly rough fish. Game fish can be as undesirable as 

 rough fish when they are found in habitats not suited to them. Perch, 

 sunfish and bass have been introduced quite universally into some fine 

 trout lakes and in a few of the larger trout streams such as the 

 Missouri River. They do not do well in Montana on the whole from 

 the fisherman's viewpoint. They grow slowly and become stunted, 

 usually producing very large populations of fish that do not attain 

 large enough size for fishermen to bother with. In competing with 

 these fish, trout often fall off in abundance until fishermen all 

 but quit using the water. Thus it is evident that fishing pressure 

 cannot be blamed for poor fishing in this large segment of the State's 

 trout waters. 



Almost everyone is familial- with the presence of chubs in Hebgen 

 Lake, carp and perch in the main stem impoundments of the Missouri 

 River, carp in Dead Man's Basin Lake, carp and sunfish in Cooney 

 Reservoir, and many other similar instances. These rough fish are 

 not native to Montana and have contributed noticeably to poor fish- 

 ing. Overabundance of some of the native rough fish also accounts 

 for poor fishing. An example is suckeis in Cooney Reservoir, Suther- 

 land Lake, Lake Martinsdale, Harris Lake and many other waters. 

 Adjustment in management measures, not reduction of fishing pres- 

 sure, will again make fishing good in these waters. 



The eastern brook trout has 

 also caused many problems in 

 Montana. These are not isolated 

 instances, but are problems 

 common to every bit of the 

 trout waters in the western part 

 of the State. The brook trout 

 does well in a very few waters, 

 particularly in the ranch ponds 

 of Eastern Montana. Then, 

 there are a few parts of the 

 State, particularly in Central 

 Montana, where the brook trout, 

 while it does not do too well, 

 is furnishing fishing where 



PINKHAM 



CREEK 



28-29 40-4 9 



6 0-6 9 



30-39 



5 0-5 9 



70-79 



60-89 



Surveys conducted in Pinkham Creek, a 

 tributary oi the Kootenai River near Eureka, 

 shows that the major portion oi eastern brook 

 trout in the stream were less than six inches 

 long, at a time when the minimum length 

 limit on this species was seven inches. 



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