MORE LAKES FOR MORE FISHING

Some twenty years ago an employe of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission moaned that this state had reached the saturation point in numbers of fishermen. Surveys showed more anglers on a certain stream than the number of legal trout caught. It was obvious, Arizona's limited trout streams could supply only a certain number of anglers with a satisfying catch-if there were more fishermen, there would be that many more empty creels.But then, the management of the state's fisheries was adjusted to meet the steadily increasing numbers of anglers. The state's trout hatcheries and rearing ponds were turned into "farms" where trout were hatched, raised to catchable size and put into the streams and lakes to be taken out within a few days by the anglers. It was "put-and-take" fishing. And still more fishermen came to Arizona. Several more adjustments were made in the fisheries program. The trout "season" was abolished-anglers were permitted to fish the year long for trout in Arizona, as they did for warm water game fish. This liberal measure spread the fishing pressure over

Daphnia, plankton and small water insects. Tiny, hair-like trout fry released in the early spring grow with fantastic speed, adding as much as two inches of length each month, to become catchable fish in the fall. If the winters were mild, fiveand six-pound trout could be caught the following season. But, if the winters were heavy, with Big Lake freezing over and the ice covered with a blanket of snow, gas, rising from rotting vegetation under the ice, killed thousands and thousands of prime and prize trout. This winter kill at Big Lake was actually a loss of thousands upon thousands of dollars, in trout destroyed. The economic loss of hard dollars was of less importance than the loss of the many hours of what has often been called the finest recreation enjoyed by man, that of fishing.

Over the years, before the enactment of the DingellJohnson Bill, many biologists had tried to solve the problem of the winter kill at Big Lake. The weeds choking Big Lake had been cut by a specially constructed mower and dragged from the lake. Poison had been used to kill the weeds. One fisheries biologist even experimented with a dye, to color the water, hoping to exclude sunlight and So prevent the weeds from growing. Actually, the only sure thing seemed to be the cutting out of a huge block of ice during the heavy winters and thus creating areas of open water. This allowed the accumulating lethal gas to escape and the winds to tumble the open water into waves and thus dissolve oxygen. And finally, lengths of perforated hoses and pipes were laid in the lake in the late summer, before the winter freeze. Pumps were attached to force air through these hoses and pipes into Big Lake and under the ice. The rising bubbles carried oxygen into the lake and brought warmer water from the bottom of the lake to the top, which thawed the forming ice, keeping areas of the lake open all winter. This saved many trout, but these operations were very costly.

The winter kill of trout was studied by the biologists, whose salaries and expenses are now paid by the 10% federal excise tax on the sale of fishing tackle, and it was found that if Big Lake were deepened it would confine weed growth to the shallow parts of the lake. Now, Big Lake is on top of a drainage. In fact, it was the melting snow on only 2,000 acres surrounding the lake that filled it. And that's all the surface water there was.

However, a mile away, across a low ridge, lay a companion body of water, Crescent Lake. Engineering surveys showed that the dam which impounded Crescent Lake was only 1.5 feet higher than a low saddle. Once Crescent Lake filled, the overflow ran out through this saddle and emptied into the canyon below Big Lake's dam. If this extra water could be captured . . . .

Levels were run on the terrain surrounding the two lakes. These showed that if an earthen dike, 1,200 feet long were made across the wide saddle, the overflow from Crescent could then be diverted into Big Lake. This would increase the drainage area of Big Lake from 2,000 acres to 2,960. To store this extra water the dam of Big Lake would have to be raised ten feet.

Big Lake would thus be deepened, widened and lengthened. Weed growth in the deeper part of the lake would be hindered. All this would make a good fishing lake better.

But doing all this created other problems. The Southwest Lumber Mills, cutting timber in the adjacent forest, had a railroad skirting the shores of Big Lake. If the water level were raised ten feet, two fills would have to be reinforced and protected. It was estimated $2,000.00 would pay the bill, so the lumber company agreed.

This project was set up, investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and approved.

Although Big Lake and nearby Crescent Lake are two of the best trout fisheries in Arizona, they are also the haven for thousands of migrating waterfowl. Too, wild turkeys, elk and deer are seen almost daily on the shores of the lake. So, it was obvious that the hunters' interests were great in habitat improvement as were the fishermen's in Big Lake.

A total of $35,296.28 was spent in the improvement of the two fisheries and the habitat for migrating and resident wildlife-financed by money that came from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and the payment of a 10% federal excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition and on all fishing tackle.

Luna Lake, not far from Big and Crescent lakes, is on the head of the San Francisco River drainage on the eastern slope of the White Mountains. This was, and is, a reservoir of water used for irrigating farms in New Mexico. It was only a small lake, but it did supply good

NOTES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS OPPOSITE PAGE

"ASHURST LAKE" BY CHARLES C. NIEHUIS. 4x5 Speed Graphic camera; Ektachrome; f.11 at 1/5th sec.; Ektar lens; November; poor light in late afternoon following rain and clouds; ASA rating 12. Ashurst Lake, a natural lake, 30 miles by oilsurfaced road southeast of Flagstaff. Trout fishing. Accommodations: None, unless you make camp. Nearest cabins, groceries, gas, oil, telephone are at Mormon Lake Lodge on the west side of Mormon Lake, about 12 miles from Ashurst Lake.

FOLLOWING PAGES

"KINNIKINICK LAKE" BY CHARLES C. NIEHUIS. Rolleiflex camera; Ektachrome E-3; f.22 at 1/5th sec.; Schneider lens; November; good light conditions; ASA rating E-3 with a rating of 60. Kinnikinick Lake, a natural lake on the mesa country just southeast of Pine Hill southeast of Flagstaff. Trout fishing. Accommodations: No facilities at Kinnikinick. Cabins, gas, oil, groceries, telephone are at Mormon Lake Lodge, 16 miles to the west shore of Mormon from Kinnikinick.

"ROSE CANYON LAKE" BY S. H. McQUATERS. Hasselblad 1600F camera; Ektachrome E-3; f.11 at 1/5oth sec.; 80mm Ektar lens; October; good light, high clouds, sun slightly backlighting; ASA rating 40. Rose Canyon Lake on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson. Trout fishing. No facilities at the lake except for camping. Restaurant, store, gas and oil available at Mt. Lemmon Lodge. Some summer homes may be rentable.

CENTRAL PANEL

"PLACID WATERS OF RIGGS LAKE" BY R. P. BRACKE. 4x5 Speed Graphic camera; Ektachrome Daylite E-1; f.16 at 1/25th sec.; 127mm f.4.7 Ektar lens; July; bright and clear; Weston Master III 600; ASA Rating 12. Photograph was taken at Riggs Flat Lake on the top of Mt. Graham, which may be approached on the Swift Trail Road about 35 miles from the junction of State Route 666. The lake is 40 miles from Safford. Trout fishing. No facilities except for camping trout fishing. When it was good, it was very, very good. Rainbow trout measured up to 18 inches long, weighing 2½ pounds. But every summer the water level was pulled down, as the farm lands in New Mexico needed water. Sometimes the water level of Luna Lake was so low it killed all fish life.

The problem of Luna Lake was worth solving, and the Division of Fisheries launched a program, first investigation, then a proposal for development.

Biologists found Luna Lake literally asquirm with natural trout food. There were Damsel fly larvae, snails, chironomid and caddis flys. Tiny Daphnia and other plankton were so thick the maximum transparency of the water was held at nine feet, more often less than that.

Too, Luna Lake was a haven for waterfowl-those that migrated in spring and fall and those that stayed to nest during the summer, just as they did at Big and Crescent lakes. And Luna also served as a watering place for range cattle.

When cattle mill around on the shores of a lake, they trample the long grass hiding the nests of waterfowl. Also, the churning of the shoreline pushes vegetable matter into the wet earth to decompose. Overgrazing of the drainages and the resulting exposure of the soils allows water running from rains and melting snows to dissolve soluble salts and carry them into a lake, such as Luna. It was obvious that the problem of making a stable fishery of Luna Lake and improving the habitat of waterfowl would be very complex.

It was solved by the curious, thoughtful minds of the biologists, engineers and conservationists who work to make fishing better in Arizona.

The farmers of New Mexico agreed that if their claim for water to be used for irrigating their farms were honored they would have no objection to development. So a project was planned to raise the dam and to put the outlet from which the irrigation water was to be drawn at a higher level, thus insuring a constant storage of 550 acre-feet of water (enough water to cover 550 acres of land with water one foot deep). This would be a lake of 67 surface acres. And so the loss of trout in the usual summer kill would be eliminated. When the enlarged lake was full, it would have 154.5 surface acres, a maximum length of two-thirds of a mile, and a depth of 24 feet.

Access lanes, so that range livestock could water from the lake were constructed. Upstream, 65 acres of land was closed to all entry and was to be managed exclusively for waterfowl.

The 65-acre plot of fenced-in land that was to be allowed to return to primitive cover would serve a multitude of purposes: it would be a nesting and resting area for tired waterfowl; the vegetation released to grow would filter the surface water running off the grazed watersheds above; and, finally, the 65 acres of rested land will in time return to a pristine condition and be an area of land for scientists to study native plants which have all but disappeared from the surrounding country. Again, as at Big and Crescent Lakes, the interests of both hunters and fishermen were represented-in the ducks and geese, and in the trout. And so, it was a cooperative project, with the outdoorsmen of Arizona financing the building of the dam, construction of fences, realignment of the highway, and all the other incidentals that went into the improvement of Luna Lake, making

WOODS LAKE CAMPGROUND SITGREAVES NATIONAL FOREST

The proposed lake was surrounded by heavy growths of aspen, western yellow pine and spruce. It's high country, cool in summer, an ideal place for a summer vacation. All it needed was a lake. The project was surveyed and proposed, and approved.

A dam was built across Woods Canyon. It formed a lake nearly a mile long, with depth of 36 feet and having 51 surface acres. The lake formed quickly, after the first snow melt in the spring of 1957. But, Woods Canyon Lake had and has its problems, too. In the building of the dam, a hole was found in a substratum of rock-a hole 90 feet by 240 feet by 12 feet, which added a mere $10,000.00 to the estimated cost of construction. The total bill handed to and paid by Arizona's hunting and fishing outdoorsmen was $69,471.26, and this included construction of a mile and a half of road giving public access to the lake.

Biologists and conservationists-the smarter onesare in agreement that we have only scratched the surface of digging into the unknowns of game and fish management. Woods Canyon Lake is proof of this. It is located at 7,000 plus feet, in the Alpine zone-an ideal location for a trout lake. Yet, Woods Canyon Lake has a scarcity of natural trout foods that abound in Big, Crescent, Ashurst and Kinnikinick Lakes. Perhaps it is because Woods Canyon Lake is relatively new, and the necessary ecological changes have not yet had time to take place. In time the necessary aquatic plants may find root in Woods Canyon Lake, and, perhaps, a production of minute insects will begin. But in the meantime, fisheries biologists will wrestle with the problem.

Strangely enough, though, trout fishing is good in Woods Canyon Lake already. And it surely will get better.

Another new lake created by the state's game and fish commission's men is Fool Hollow, near Show Low. The mischievous gods that watch over fishermen must have conspired on this project, because it was beset with problems from its conception.

The original plan was to build Long Lake on Show Low Creek. But before the game department's plans had fully materialized the Phelps-Dodge Mining Corporation obtained water rights on Show Low Creek. In return for relinquishing its claims on the water, the Arizona Game & Fish Commission received a commitment of $225,000.00 for the construction of a lake at another location. Long Lake was never created.

A new site was located, Turkey Track Run, a place near the junction of Fool Hollow and Show Low Creeks. Volcanic formation dictated that the building of the dam and creating the lake would be a complex engineering problem. So, the ground was explored with cuts made by bulldozers, the digging of test pits to determine composition of soils, etc. Diamond drilling revealed underground fissures in the porous rock underneath.

Eventually, after much exploration of the dam site, consultation of engineers and alteration of plans, the dam was built in Fool Hollow, and the lake formed.

It was a beautiful lake-until a leak opened in the bottom. Some way or another, the stored water found its way into an underground cavern, and away it went.

Engineers have found the hole, plugged the leak, and now Fool Hollow is filling again.

When the costs were totaled up for the Fool Hollow Lake, they stood at $229,212.94, which is a sizable chunk of money to come out of any pocket. The most of it went for the construction of the dam and the spillway, but $17,856.80 went into rebuilding old roads and new ones to give public access to the lake. Some $9,924.42 went for the construction of fences to serve as lanes for range cattle watering at the lake.

It was a big gamble, but any man who is a sportsman and likes hunting and fishing is willing to take a long shot now and then.

All the fisheries mentioned have been trout lakes located in the higher, Mogollon Rim country. But there were other locations in the southern part of the state where trout fishing could be created.

Graham Mountain, in the Pinalenos, near Safford, is literally an island in the sky. This mountain rises to 10,516 feet and is topped by heavy snows in winter. So, there is surface drainage from melting snows.

The developers of fisheries saw a possibility of capturing some of this spring runoff and holding it in a lake. Riggs Flat Lake was the logical project. It cost $34,499.40 to build a trout lake having 11 acres of surface area at 8,600 feet, which is quite an investment.

Farther south, the people in Tucson, although surrounded by majestic mountain ranges also needed a lake. There was a site on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalinas and planning was begun. Two small lakes were proposed. Materials and engineering was to be supplied by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, labor by the nearby U.S. Federal Prison, and heavy construction equipment by the U.S. Forest Service. After work had begun, the labor was withdrawn, as was the heavy equipment, and the state's game department was a fourth of the way into the project. However, the Pima County Board of Supervisors had recognized the recreational potential, and they advanced $20,000.00. With this, the representatives of the hunters and fishermen went ahead and completed Rose Canyon Lake. This project cost $123,500.00, and is the only trout lake within easy driving distance of the residents of the second largest city in Arizona.

And still farther south, in the Pajarita Mountains, only 18 miles from Nogales, lies one of the more picturesque lakes, unique because it is in a comparatively semi-arid country. Until this body of water, Pena Blanca Lake, was created by the game and fish department, the nearest fishing lake was some 100 kilometers south, in Mexico.

Pena Blanca, unlike all the other lakes improved by or constructed by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission with money provided by the outdoor-loving sportsmen, is a warm-water game fish lake. It will have bass, bluegills, etc., instead of trout.

Creating this lake seemed to be a natural, the rocky canyon an ideal location, but when $30,000.00 had been spent in excavation of the dam site a hidden fault in the rock stratum was uncovered. The dam had to be relocated fifty yards upstream, which necessitated making a forty-foot cut through solid rock to make a spillway. But, for the fisherman, that's the way the line tangles.

It took nine months to build the dam, which cost a total of $95,855.00, including the amount lost in the hidden fault. Pena Blanca Lake has 49 surface acres and it is kept filled by runoffs from heavy summer rains.It must be quite obvious to you, as it is to me, that the creation of more fishing water in Arizona has been a very expensive program. The hunters and anglers have made a big a big investment in our state, money they've laid out for licenses to hunt and fish and the 10% federal excise tax on all the gear they use. But, implicit in the word sportsman, is the attitude that it is only right to share the good things of life. And certainly the anglers and nimrods have paid to preserve and share something of value-the right of every Arizonan to enjoy the outof-doors and the sports which many feel are without peer as wholesome forms of recreation for mind and body.