One and a half million fry have been planted in these lakes this 

 year (1921) and the outlets have been screened to control their de- 

 parture. 



In June, 1920, sockeyes were planted in Hicks Lake, an originally 

 barren lake lying at an altitude of 500 feet, three miles east of Harri- 

 son Lake Hatchery. No migration occurred the first summer. The 

 outlet at the lake is shallow and weedy and doubt was expressed as 

 to whether the fish would find it. A close watch was kept and on 

 May 5 we were agreeably surprised to find the creek swarming with 

 yearling sockeyes, and the run continued to the 19th when it ceased 

 as decisively as it had commenced. As there are two falls with a 

 combined height of 100 feet in Hicks Creek, which drains the lake, 

 a flume 500 feet long, three to five feet wide, and tw6 feet deep, 

 was constructed of split cedar to provide a safe descent for the 

 migrating fish. The first fish to come down were eight inches long 

 and the length gradually decreased to five inches as the migration 

 progressed. This again demonstrates that the size of the fish is a 

 factor in the seaward migration, as the largest fish were the most 

 anxious to leave this lake, which has an area of about 400 acres and 

 a depth of 200 feet. 



A heavy run of these seaward migrating natural yearling sockeyes 

 occurred from Cultus Lake in April of this year then, the average 

 length being only three inches. The diminutive size of these year- 

 lings indicates a shortage of food, and shows that the feeding capacity 

 of the lake was severely taxed to feed them in addition to the per- 

 manent fish life of the lake. 



The time-worn assertion of Fraser River fishermen that small fish 

 at the beginning of a fishing season is an indication of a big run of 

 fish thus receives corroboration, for it is quite reasonable to presume 

 that in nature the more numerous the fish the less food each individual 

 will receive. Incidentally, 30,000 of these fish were marked by re- 

 moving the adipose and right ventral fins, to try to settle the much- 

 debated question as to whether the Cultus Lake sockeyes enter the 

 Fraser River during or after the regular fishing season. 



Natural sockeye yearlings were also collected from Cultus Lake 

 in 1919, when there was a very small migration due to a poor run in 

 1918. The average size of these fish, however, is fully an inch 

 larger than those taken in 1920, corroborating the foregoing state- 

 ment in regard to food supply. 



The sockeyes reared in the ponds at Harrison Lake Hatchery at 

 six months old were four inches in length and were fed four months, 

 first on the bodies of the parent fish and later on chum salmon, liver, 



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