REPORT OF THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. af 
ascend the river. The present open season for salmon, from October ff 
to December 8, for market fishing on the Eel River is a well-timed 
season under normal conditions when there are rains during September, 
October and November, particularly during October, so that a fair por- 
tion, at least one-third of the run can ascend the streams to spawn. 
During the fall of 1917 very few salmon ascended the river after 
December 1. | 
Close inquiry regarding the salmon run on the upper reaches of the 
river and the different tributaries, resulted in the statements that 
salmon were very scarce, and in some tributaries very few, if any, were 
seen. There is one interesting fact in regard to keeping up the supply 
of salmon in Eel River, and that is it requires less fry to keep up the 
run than any other stream of which we have knowledge, as the enemies 
of the young salmon are less than in any other stream in the state. 
There are no predatory fishes except the young steelhead trout, and 
they seldom feed on salmon fry in the Eel River. There are no over- 
flows where the young salmon can perish and there are no irrigating 
canals to divert the water. We hatched and reared approximately 
1,000,000 salmon fry from the eggs that we-collected at our egg- 
collecting station at Bryan’s and from other eggs shipped to the Fort 
Seward Hatchery from the Sacramento River stations. These fry 
were held until they were in good condition and planted near Fort 
Seward Hatchery in the ereek and in the main river. There is only 
one remedy for such conditions as prevailed on Eel River last season, 
and that is to give to the Fish and Game Commission plenary power to 
open and close the season if abnormal conditions prevail. The board 
should have the power to close the season earlier if such conditions 
exist that the fish are being caught in such numbers as to endanger the 
run of spawning fish, or to open the season earlier during the periods 
of drought and low water, so that the fish can be taken at a time when 
they are in good condition and a sufficient number of them left in the 
stream for propagation. 
The following is a brief report from Mr, W. O. Fassett, Superin- 
tendent of Fort Seward Hatchery, regarding the egg-collecting opera- 
tions at Bryan’s during the fall of 1917: ° 
‘‘On October 10, upon orders received from Mr. W. H. Shebley, in 
charge of fishculture, we started work putting in racks across Hel 
River, at Bryan’s, with the object of collecting chinook salmon eggs. 
The racks were completed and everything in readiness for operation 
October 26. 
‘*Several weeks prior to October 7, the date when the open season for 
salmon commences on Eel River, the salmon were entering the river and 
congregating in that part of the river below Fernbridge, the river being 
too low to allow them to proceed farther. By October 7, the opening 
day of the salmon season, vast numbers of salmon were congregated in 
