The Elk Mountain pilot., 1913-08-07
GuNNIS0N C0UNTY'S
FISHING INTERESTS
The Advent Of the Rainbow Route Emphasizes anew
the Fact that Immediate Steps Should be Taken
to RepIenish Our Streams with Trout. Let it
Be County Move, on a Scientific Basis

For many years now the puzzline
question has confronted the people
of Gunnison county, why are our
streams being gradually depleted of
the once abundant trout of various
species, and what can be done to
stop this decrease and to stock the
many streams of the Gunnison basin
as they should be stocked? Many
reasons and arguments have been
advanced by those who have made
the question more or less of a study,
but up to the present time there
seems to have been no real solution
of the problem or remedy suggested
that has solved the question.
1t il a well known and undisput-
able fact-that today there is hardly
one-tenthr the number ofsfish caught
per fisherman that there was twenty
years ago, and we doubt very much
if there are nearly so many people
fishing along the streams now as
there was at that time.-NOte the
number estimated in our 20 years
ago" colpmn in this issue, that
were fishing up Taylor river alone
at that time.
For several years, as the number
of fish became noticeably less and
less, it was claimed by many of our
best authorizes on the subject that
one of the main causes was the
pollution ofthe watersfrom sawdust,
silts and other injurious substances
from placer mining and commercial
enterprises, which were carried into
the main streamsffrom various tribli-
taries, that were killing the fish.
Bit for number of years now there
has been little, if any, Of this foreign
matter thrown into the creeks and
yet the elimination of the finny
tribe has gone steady and surely on.
Many have contented, who claimed
to know, that the taking of spawn
by the state for artificial Matching,
has been running the fishing supply
of this section. This, however,
from all good reasoning and accord
ing to all scientific reports, is not
the case. 1t is claimed that nearly
,ninty-five percent of the spawn is
h1tched by the artificial process,
while only about three percent
from the natural spawning OF the
fish in the streams. The natural
spawn is also subject to devastation
by the raids of fungi, fowls, etc,
and the danger of being entirely
destroyed and carried away by the
flood waters which invariably come
down after most Of the spawn has
been deposited in the nests. In
this connection we wish to state,
however, that it is the we'll foun ded
belief of most of our fishermen that
the state hatchery so far has been
of no direct benefit locally and that
the percentage OF fry returned to our
streams has not been sufficiently
large to be of any advantage to US
over natural production.
We understand that last season
for this section of the county only
10000 fry were furnished, with a
like proportion for other localities
in the county. These returns to our
streams are absurd and from a local
standpoint are an injustice. In SO
far as the state is concerned, how
ever, it is state question with them
and the state authorities are COM
PEELED to stock streams of other coun-
ties of the state, as well as our own.
1t is admitted by those in authority
that at least eight or ten counties
are being stocked and benefited
from the spawn taken at the spawn
ing stations Of the Gunnison.
1t is, without question, up to the
people Of this county to take decided