40 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Repeated trials with a small collecting seine at tlie mouth of the creek were made, 
but nothing was taken in it. Only one fish, thought to be a redfish, was seen, and it 
escaped under a fallen tree. Unsuccessful hauls were also made from a half to three- 
quarters of a mile upstream. Hook-and-line fishing was also tried, with the same 
result, salmon eggs being used for bait. At the mouth of the creek a salamander was 
found, and this was the only form of life seen, except the supposed redfish. 
On December 11 gill nets were set in a number of places, from a half to three 
quarters of a mile apart, in Squak Slough at the head of Lake Washington, in 9 and 10 
feet of water. They were visited twice in 48 hours, nothing being found in them. The 
bottom temperature in the places where they were set was 44 J°, surface 45£°. During 
the entire investigation the water in the slough was unusually high, and this prob- 
ably had a great deal to do with the scarcity of fish here, for at such times, instead of 
following the main channel, fish would naturally scatter over a large area, thereby 
greatly lessening the chances of taking them. Troll fishing was tried, but with unsat- 
isfactory results. 
Nearly all of December 18 was spent in sounding and taking water temperatures. 
In the afternoon four nets were set on the north side of Meydenbauer Bay; depth, 102 
feet; bottom and surface temperature, 46°. Nothing being in the nets the following 
niorning they were taken up and set on the north side of Mercer Slough, nearly 3 miles 
farther down the lake. A trial for 48 hours resulted in the capture of one female 
cut-throat trout, the eggs of which were approaching a state of ripeness. Two other 
specimens subsequently taken showed the same amount of development. Several 
creeks on the west side of the lake were investigated but no fish were found. 
Whitefish. — There is no satisfactory evidence of whitefish ever having been caught 
in Lake Washington, though several persons claim to have seen them. One person 
says in the fall of 1892 he caught a specimen, but no accurate description was given 
as to its shape or color, and Prof. O. B. Johnson and State Fish Commissioner James 
Crawford doubt whether it was the genuine whitefish, and believe that the whitefish 
planted in the lake no longer exist. The investigation strengthens this opinion. The 
Columbia chub ( Mylocheilus caurinus) is a common species in the lakes of this region, 
and is by many people known as 11 whitefish.” It is not improbable that all the 
so-called “ whitefish” which have been reported from Lake Washington were really 
this species of minnow. Williamson’s whitefish ( Coregonus williamsoni) doubtless 
occurs here, but no specimens were seen. 
Other fishes of Lake Washington. — The various species of fishes collected during 
these investigations, as well as all other species known to occur in Lake Washington, 
are listed in another part of this report. The principal species are the cut-throat 
trout, Columbia River chub, squawfish, Columbia River sucker, a blob, two or three 
other species of Cyprinidce, and the redfish. Salmon are said to enter the lake 
through Black River early in the fall, but none was seen. They are probably the 
large form of the redfish or sockeye ( Oncorhynchus nerka). Redfish are said to run up 
into shallow places during the latter part of October and a part of November, but 
repeated trials resulted in collecting only a few specimens. Those familiar with the 
different runs of fish on the lake attribute the scarcity of redfish this season to high 
water. In Squak Slough, where they are said to run in great numbers, not a specimen 
was seen or taken, though before the water began to rise in the slough a considerable 
body of these fish was reported as passing through. Black bass are occasionally 
