At the March 1926 meeting to the Lassen County Fish & Game Conservation league there were two interesting topics. It should be noted the League was an organization comprised of sportsmen to aid and support the county’s fish and game commission.
The first matter they approved the law to spear bass at Eagle Lake. Even though there was a ban of spear fishing of bass at Eagle Lake, it was ignored and not enforced.
The second issue concerned the Eagle Lake trout and the effects of drought and the Bly Tunnel lowering the lake. The local fish & game commission proposed an egg collection station at Pine Creek and establish a hatchery at nearby Willow Creek. This received enthusiastic support from the league.
The proposal was to intercept the trout during their annual spring run up Pine Creek with nets and fish traps to remove the eggs and then return the trout back to the lake. The commission stated there was a great amount of trout that perished each year with the drying up Pine Creek. With that in mind, the eggs would then be taken to the proposed Willow Creek hatchery and when the fish were sufficiently developed, be planted back into the lake.
These folks were ahead of their time. In 1958, the Wildlife Conservation Board allocated $38,810 for a fish trap/egg collection facility for Pine Creek.
It should be noted the league had a membership fee of one dollar a year. The money raised to provide financial assistance to the fish and game commission.