The Trout Fishery of Sagehen Creek, Nevada County, California

DOCTORATE DISSERTATION: The Sagehen Creek trout investigations were started in 1952 under the direction of Dr. Paul R. Needham and terminated at the end of the summer of 1961. The purpose of these studies was to gain knowledge of the ability of a small Sierra-Nevada stream to produce trout without stocking hatchery reared fish. The investigations have yielded valuable information on the factors controlling population numbers and on the effects of hydrological conditions on the number of adult trout and on recruitment of different species of trout. The main sources of information are from a creel census and a pump and drain operation. The creel census provides estimates of the fish production and the pump and drain records provide estimates of the standing crop of fish present in the stream in mid-august. This information has been combined to estimate certain parameters and rates pertinant to the dynamics of a (self-sustaining) fishery.