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<br />abundant. Before the introdudiOll of exotic spt,ties it was the ct'-dOlninant
<br />carnivore in the 10wlanJs, sharing- honors with the Sacramento perch.
<br />In the middle altitudes it competes with treml. Apparently the squawfish
<br />prefers streams typified b~' rell1tiye]y warm water with ample pools.
<br />Though it occupies lowland lakes and sloughs as an adult, it seeks run-
<br />ning water for spawning. :l
<br />'With the reduction in low-]~ving lakes and oyerflow basins in the ~:,
<br />Centra] Yalley, it ha" dedilled in numbcrs. Cold water released from ~
<br />Shasta Dam on the S;leJ'all1ento River has driyen the sfjua,,'fish from -
<br />many miles of the strel1m, below the (lam. in whith it was formerly the ~
<br />dominant earl1iYore. In this same scdioll trout haw now become domi-
<br />nant. III Clear Lake. Lake County, sqllawfish were once (,Ilormousl)'
<br />abundant. III tile sprin~ large Humhers enteft.d the nibut;lry streams to
<br />spawn. They fUJ"JJislled a ('(Hlsiderable "port fislj('r~'. The followill~ quota- ..
<br />tion from tile ::'.larch :?~:, 1!!27 edition of the Lakt' COUllty Ba will iIlus- 0,
<br />trate: "There is a good rUll of pike ill I\:eJ"ey ;lIld Scott Creeks. The sport
<br />will probably last another tin) weeks. Thf'Y are hard fig-htel's :,;('cond only
<br />to stee]head. .A Ko. 2 brass spillner with pork rind is the best lure. " This
<br />species is now practically extinct in the lake. Apparently a combination
<br />of heayy predation by largemouth black bass and other introduced.
<br />species, and deterioration of the spawning and nursery streams, lias
<br />broug-ht about its near disappearance.
<br />:i\Iany of California's smaller streams have become warmer throu!!h
<br />lower sU~lIner flows ana reduced streamside cover. This change has be;n
<br />caused by erosion, diversion. heayy flooding, and fire. As a consequence
<br />of the changed physical conditions which now fayor them, squawfish and .(i
<br />other rough fish haY(' displaced trout in many stretches of such streams, -<.
<br />though without competition trout would survive in these stream sections.t
<br />Squaw-fish appear to partake in extensive local migrations. Periodic
<br />obserYations of the number of squawfish in Sulphur Creek. Sonoma
<br />County, were made at seleeted points from 1947 to ]949. Apparently
<br />laq!t' numbers of squawfish mow into the creek from the Hussian River
<br />in March and April. This movement applies to yearling fish as 'well as tot'
<br />large adults that haw not spawned~ They linger in the stream during the ~
<br />summer and retreat to the Russian River in the fall. }lowever not all ;-'
<br />indiyiduals take part in this movement. A 22.5-inch male squa,,:fish was ~.
<br />captured in ~ large pool in Sulphur Creek .on :!\larch 2,1947, tagged and:,
<br />released. Tlw; fish was subsequently seen III the same pool on March 9,:'
<br />1947; February 26, 1948; May 13, 1948.; September 21, 1948; and Sep-,~
<br />tember 2, 1949. 'When this fish was tagged there were about six ad.ult.~
<br />squawfish in the pool and no young. Later in the season about 30 adults it.
<br />occupied the pool, and large numbers of "fingerling" squawfish could 'f?-
<br />be seen, indicating that additional fish had mowd into that section of-
<br />the stream. The fact that the same tagged indh'idual was seen in the'
<br />same pool on the dates mentioned is a good indication that all individuals
<br />do not migrate, as it is almost inconceivable that it would partake in.
<br />migrations and return to the same place in three successive years. .
<br />The migratory behavior of the squawfish has led to the suggestion
<br />tbat their numbers in a stream could be reduced by constructing a barrier.
<br />to upstream migration, a barrier that would stop the squarish but allo
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<br />SA( 'H.\J\I 1::':>: TO "l,!l'A ,"Flfo:H
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<br />149
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<br />lliigriltiIJI! trout and steelhead to aes ~ v . '
<br />!tf'elJ nrh'anced b.,' various bioJo(rist~ '>'. ;- e ~I al speCIfic pr~posals IJave
<br />rier will no doubt be constructed. '- . ,am at east one experImental bar-
<br />
<br />FOOD HABITS
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<br />A sel'ies of .'31, stom;H:JJS fro fi 1 .
<br />inr:ll(''; ill fork lell!!th was eX~1 . m squ;m ~ J rang-mg- from 1.3 to 7.0
<br />t]II' Hnssian Riwr' near Clo~'er~:~ed. ~~Iese fish "'el"e taken b~" seining' in
<br />J't'f'(lill.!! on aquatic insects th d e o~.._eP.ten:b~r 2. ]!1-i9. They bad been
<br />hrY")r and tl] fi' 1 '.. e sllla I('r m(]]\'Jduals takinO' tim' insect
<br />. '.' Je arg-eJ" s J larO'e insects Tl . r-., .
<br />a la I'~(' riffle. when' the\' were ""J)J' t" b] 'f Jl~ speC'lmens were captured on
<br />T . . . 0 la y eel mg.
<br />. wo speclInens, 10.5 inches and] ') -. ] '. .
<br />Jll ~n]phm' Creek on HJe . _.:) mc H'S ]ong', raptured by ang]inl!
<br />('ant thClt the onl" ]ure t~~~e dat~l h.ad empt~. stomachs. but it is sig-nifi-
<br />Tn addition to thi's larO' won e mterest them was a sma)] minnow.
<br />fish at \'arious tjn;~s. ....e squa"fisIJ hCl \',' heen obsrn-ed capturing- small
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<br />. '1"'0 studies of tJJ(' ff,od of tll(' ell' . ,
<br />eheI111... or('gol1(l1Si~) are avail bl i'1h'o mn )Ja Rn er squawfish (Ptycho-
<br />ined the stom~ehs o"f n- ,Cl (', \. apman and Quistorff (1938) exam-
<br />..., ;7:) squawfish C'"" 3 t ')1 5' h .
<br />the Columbia River and th.. ,,~. . ~'h 0 -: me es m fork length) from
<br />cOlJtained food. Of these ; (9:na e ee Rn'er, qnly 37 ?f the stomachs
<br />remains. and the rest ae ~ 't' -. percent) ,contamed ~llJdentifiable fish
<br />species of fi'] " 1 a IC mseets. Rlcl,er (194]) m a study of the
<br />. S J pre' moo on vounO' ] ( ] ) .
<br />110-1..0) in Cultus T.Jake B' C [ree soc .eye salmon (Oncorhynchus
<br />predatOl'. He found th~t. ,:ou~O' oun~ the squarish to be an important
<br />most important food of s' vi red ,almon up t.o a year of age are the
<br />ing the period from May' ~lS: t~:I~ore/lJan 4.5 inches Io?g, except dur-
<br />fish were netted sevel:a] t' p 7' n the course of thIS study squaw-
<br />These findinrrs led 'to a sYSt~mes. as req~Jently .as any other predator.
<br />predators CFoersteran'ci. Ri~~~:;I(, campaIgn a~amst squarish and other
<br />to about 1/]0 of their 1935 ']e~' 194] )'. r~du('mg their numbers in 1938
<br />salmon from planted fry t .] ,e1. ThIS ~ncreased the survival of red
<br />eggs in. female soekey~ s~~,~,::~:~r~a~~ ~lfir~nts bdy 3.1 times, an.d from
<br />by 4.4 hmes. e Ul a :- to ownstream mIgrants
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<br />The data for the Sacramento sqna di h d he'
<br />~trong-]y suggest that tllev com. et 'f .' s al! t e olumbla squawfish
<br />young. A more subtle re'alm p e OJ ~o?d ':Ith trout and prey on their
<br />J'('(JlIire "living room" a d ?{ ~ompehtlOn IS for space. All organisms
<br />squawfish, which occ~pv ~uclh ~t apparent; that a stream choked with
<br />1JJ1Ich ".li\'in~ room" fo; trout. e same melle a<; trout, does not offer
<br />It )8 elltlre]v possible th t d ,to
<br />a steelhead spa~llinO' and a re ue IOn of the numbers of squawfish in
<br />. . ~ e nursery stream such as S I h C
<br />Inuease the production of d-'" '-t u p ur reek would
<br />times. v",n" ream steelhead migrants by several
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<br />SPAWNING HABITS
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<br />The information available on th . ' .
<br />squawfish is sketchv. Thev s . e spa" DIng habIts of the Sacramento
<br />spawning takes pl~ce in 'A:r~r~~~ ~Va~~mrA In the Russian R}ver system
<br />attached to ro<:ks or !-!"rav I I I " . e eggs are adheSlye and are
<br />have been obsened going ethro~O':r~.~r tstreams groups of squawfish
<br />the lower ends of pools just ab e ha appears to be spawning at
<br />. , . ave were they break into riffies. The
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