During the biennium the helicopter was 

 employed in surveying 87 lakes. Here are the 

 results: 



Lakes for which fish planting was 



recommended 9 



Lakes not recommended for planting 

 Already overstocked (naturally or 



with hatchery fish) 7 



Adequate self-sustaining game 



fish population 25 



Not suitable (physical aspects of lake 



or terrain) _ 41 



Planting deferred (additional information 



needed or lake being held in virgin 



condition for future management) 5 



Total mountain lakes surveyed by 



helicopter, 1962-63 87 



Our surveys in recent years have shown de- 

 cisively that indiscriminate stocking of cold, in- 

 fertile mountain lakes is not only wasteful but 

 damaging. Damage is possible from overstock- 

 ing and in some cases from introduction of fish 

 detrimental to existing species The need for 

 investigating these lakes before planting has 

 been clearly demonstrated, and the helicopter 

 has proven an invaluable tool in this program. 



Fish Manager Assigned 

 Southeastern Montana 



During the biennium a hsheries manager 

 was assigned to the Fish and Game Headquar- 

 ters at Miles City, the last district without a 

 fisheries manager. In addition to fisheries work 

 on Yellowstone and Tongue Rivers and other 

 streams in the district, considerable emphasis 

 will be placed on developing sport fishing in 

 the numerous ranch ponds and small lakes. 



Paddlefish Fishery in the 

 Yellowstone River 



In April 1962 an unusual fishery was re- 

 discovered at Intake Dam on Yellowstone River 

 just downstream from the City of Glendive — it 

 was paddlefishing. Paddlefish feed on plank- 

 ton (microscopic animals in the water) and 

 will not take ordinary bait. Fishing is done by 

 snagging. 



Intake Dam was built in 1903. "Old-timers" 

 report snagging was excellent in 1914, '15 and 



'16, but after that, sport catches of paddlefish 

 were not heard of until 1962. Starting in 1962 

 snagging has been excellent for a few weeks 

 each spring during the paddlefish spawning 

 migration. As many as 30 fishermen at one 

 time line the banks 50 to 100 yards below the 

 dam. 



Studies are underway on the reproductive 

 rates of paddlefish in Montana, the age of sex- 

 ual maturity, and other phases of their life his- 

 tory. This information will be used in develop- 

 ing a management program to insure perpetua- 

 tion of the paddlefish and, in turn, paddlefish- 

 ing. 



.^:x 



■..'^^ 



Paddlefishing near intake on the Yellowstone River. 



Outlook 



The point has been reached in fisheries man- 

 agement where a hard look must be taken at 

 allocation of the fisheries management dollar. 



The use of hatchery fish is often effective, 

 but expensive. Under many circumstances the 

 use may be ineffective. It presently is the 

 major expenditure in fisheries management. In 

 many waters we have reached the point of di- 

 minishing returns. In other words, on these 

 waters we have reached the point where addi- 

 tional hatchery fish do not improve fishing 

 enough to justify the additional cost. Even 

 more important, money spent on the ineffective 

 fraction of hatchery production is denied to 

 more cKectivo proiirLiiiii;. 



We plan a shift in the fish management pro- 

 gram from over-emphasis on fish planting to a 



22 



