THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 171 
at the outlet of the lake the creek seemed to be literally alive with 
these beautiful trout. Rods were prepared as quickly as nervous, 
excited hands could do it, and in about forty minutes’ actual fishing 
for each of the party of five, we had landed forty of the most perfect 
specimens of Rainbow trout I had ever seen. There was not a bruise 
or a blemish on one and the fighting was magnificent. Several times 
during the sport each of the five had a trout hooked at the same time. 
It was a busy scene. There were many more than forty caught, for the 
female fish were returned to the creek. The fish taken would weigh 
from two and a half to three and a half pounds each, and were very 
fat. The trout had evidently come out of the lake to spawn and were 
on the way back. However, the first party to visit the lake reported 
seeing at least fifteen hundred of the fish near the outlet and con- 
cluded that these were spawning in the lake; but it is possible that 
the fish were on the journey to the spawning place a short distance 
below the dam, 
Had it not been that I am certain that all the fish of the size 
caught and seen belonged to the ones placed in the lake three years 
ago, I should have placed the estimate of those seen at a much larger 
figure than five thousand. It is difficult to think in thousands after 
the sight described. 

W. P. Johnson taking Rainbow from small creek at outlet of Four Mile Lake. 
The writer does not undertake to account for this unprecedented 
result; right temperature, unusual food conditions and every factor 
that goes to make a perfect trout must prevail. But the best part of 
the story, from the standpoint of the angler, is that last year the 
Fish and Game Commission planted one hundred and sixteen thousand 
Rainbow fry in this lake. Some of these have been seen in another 
