24 
REPORT OF BOARD OF FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONERS. 
STRIPED BASS. 
From the commercial standpoint, the striped bass stands next in 
value to the salmon as a food fish in this State. It is also one of the 
most highly prized of the game fishes, being eagerly sought after by 
thousands of anglers throughout the State. The principal breeding 
grounds, so far as we have been able to determine by close observation 
of the subject for the past three years, are in the deltas of the Sacra¬ 
mento and San Joaquin rivers, although after spawning they range 
well into the interior of the State. Specimens have been taken in the 
Sacramento River as far northward as Kennett, in the Feather River 
above Oroville, and in the San Joaquin River as far upstream as 
Polasky. As a table fish they are second to none, and the question of 
maintaining the supply in the State has received our earnest considera¬ 
tion. In the nineteenth biennial report, considerable attention was 
called to the advisability of attempting to increase the supply by 
artificial propagation. The funds of this Commission at that time 
being insufficient to bear the expense unaided, the subject was taken 
up with the authorities of the United States Bureau of Fisheries at 
Washington, with the result that Capt. G. H. Lambson, in charge of 
the salmon hatching work of the Federal Bureau of Fisheries in Cali¬ 
fornia, was instructed to cooperate with this Board. Accordingly, in 
the month of May, 1907, operations were commenced at Bouldin 
Island, on the San Joaquin River, at which point a small hatchery build¬ 
ing was constructed at the expense of this Commission. A small pump¬ 
ing plant for the purpose of raising water into two tanks of 2,000 
gallons each to furnish the necessary amount of water for hatching 
operations was also installed. The equipment of the hatchery, Mc¬ 
Donald hatching jars, were furnished by the United States Bureau of 
Fisheries. That department furnished three, and this Commission two 
men, but we assumed the expense of boat hire. During the first season 
We worked considerably in the dark. There was much to be learned 
concerning the habits of the fishes; how to distinguish those that were 
ready for spawning from the immature ones. It was found that by 
the same methods followed in ‘‘stripping” trout and salmon, the eggs 
and milt could be taken from striped bass, and yet neither the eggs nor 
milt be sufficiently matured to insure fertilization. The result was 
many eggs were taken that were apparently ripe, but which could not 
be definitely determined until after the eggs were placed in the hatchery 
Our total take of eggs for the first year’s operations was upwards of 
eighteen million, which is about three times the amount of which there 
is any record that were taken on the Atlantic coast in a single season. 
The percentage fertilized and hatched, however, was small, and although 
we met with many discouragements, we were greatly pleased at the 
results that were obtained from certain lots of eggs. For example, in 
