FISH-CULTUKAL INVESTIGATIONS IN MONTANA AND WYOMING. 
17 
into a miniature bay, which has a fine pebbly bottom, and in which the water is 
not over a foot deep. A line of rocks has been made by some one so as to separate 
this corner from the lake proper. One or two places had been left open, thus 
permitting the fish to pass through. We found a great number of good-sized trout in 
this little bay, but nearly all ran out into deep water upon our approach. Withdrawing 
only a short distance we had to wait but a few minutes until they began to return. 
Very soon the spot was literally alive with trout, when we hurriedly closed the few 
openings in the dam. When thus shut in it was an easy matter to capture all we 
wished with a small seine which we had. In this way we soon caught about thirty 
very fine specimens, which constituted but a small portion of the number in the cove. 
This little cove is evidently used as a spawning ground, and our visit was at the 
height of the spawning season. Nearly all the females were ripe with spawn. In 
several instances the eggs came freely from the fish as we handled them, and a great 
number of eggs were seen lying around among the fine granite gravel. The testes of 
the males were in many cases greatly distended with milt, and both the males and 
females were very brilliantly colored. 
In the third lake, already mentioned, we found trout most abundant. As a result 
of less than two hours’ fly fishing, we took about one hundred and twenty-five, each 
weighing a half pound or less. Quite contrary to our experience with the trout in the 
other lakes, we found them to bite freely, even voraciously, in this lake. It seemed 
to matter very little what wa s used for bait, whether artificial fly, a real fly, trout eye, 
or parts of bright-colored flowers. Several good catches were made with bright- 
colored leaves of a species of painted cup ( Gastilleia ). All these fish were caught. in 
shallow water along the shore, but the best fishing was always at the mouths of the 
little streams flowing into the lake. The fish were all in excellent condition, their 
stomachs were well filled with insect larvse and insects; in a few cases I found a num- 
ber of small bivalve shells. In several instances the stomachs contained quite a lot 
of fine gravel or sand, probably the broken-down cases of caddis worms. Wherever 
examinations were made, suitable food for trout was found in abundance. 
Besides the three lakes which we visited, there are said to be eight others lying 
about the base of the peak of Mount Powell. So far as we are able to learn, these 
lakes have not received separate names, but are known collectively as Dempsey Lakes. 
They all lie at an elevation of about 9,000 feet above the sea, and most of them are 
drained by Dempsey Creek. The elevation of Mount Powell is about 11,000 feet. 
Dempsey Creek, though a rapid stream, does not contain any falls that trout can 
not ascend, and the difficulty of reaching the lakes is, fortunately, so great that they 
are not likely to become fished out very soon. 
Race- Track Creek is also an excellent trout stream. About two miles from its 
mouth we found it about 30 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and with a 3-foot current. 
Browns Gulch Creek. — This is a small stream in Browns Gulch, near Silver Bow. 
We spent some time examining it about a mile north from the railroad station. We 
found it here to be not over 6 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and with a rather swift current. 
The water was not very cold, about 63°, and was somewhat muddy, owing to recent 
rains. The stream is lined by a good growth of willows, and runs through a narrow 
strip of meadow land bordered by low hills. A few trout and a great many suckers 
( Catostomus catostomus) and Rhinichthys dulcis were obtained here, and it was from 
F. C. 13. 1891—2 
