FISHING
Angling amid scenes of towering, multicolored cliffs in heavily trout-stocked waters of deepest blue is an experience long to be remembered. Trout bite readily in Crater Lake and are caught in goodly numbers. These trout are not small nor do they submit easily after they are hooked. Trout as long as 36 inches have been caught; the average is around 2 pounds each and the length 16 inches.
The crystal-clear waters of the lake provide good fly fishing. Experienced fly casters have reported success many times, using a wide assortment of lures. During certain hours of the day fish jump lustily along the shore line, and here flies are placed to effective use. Trolling, however, is the popular method, with results satisfactory in most sections of the lake. Spoons or spinners are principally used, although plugs are occasionally a part of the tackle.
The limit of a day’s catch is 12 per person, extending during the summer season. No fishing license is necessary.
Although today Crater Lake literally teems with rainbow and silverside trout, in addition to a lesser number of steelhead, German brown, and speckled trout, some 50 years ago the lake was devoid of piscatorial life of any kind.
The first fish were planted September 1, 1888, by Judge William Gladstone Steel, but with little success. A few years later a California minister succeeded in planting 200 fingerlings, but after that plantings were rare for many years. Since the park was established in 1902, fish have been systematically planted, especially during the past decade. So well has this work been done that the lake is now abundantly stocked and care is being taken not to overstock this body of water.
The trout are largely dependent for food on an abundance of small crustaceans in the lake. Research carried on in 1934-36 revealed that while 53.7 percent of the food came from crustaceans, 47.1 percent of this classification was confined to Daphnia pulex (water fleas). The figures were determined after the examination of 224 trout stomachs. The water fleas are most commonly found at a depth of 75 feet and are the most abundant of several types of food found in the lake depths.