When the Bremner sawmill and dam was constructed on the Susan River, a short distance above today’s well known Hobo Camp, not much thought then was given how it would affect the river’s fishery. It took a little while before the local anglers noticed the trout population below the dam was greatly diminished.
On June 15, 1892, Bud Heap and Ben Hunsinger went on a fishing expedition, traveling by wagon going up the grade west of Susanville for several miles. The ambitious men, then hiked down from the canyon rim and found the fishing par excellent, returning with some twenty pounds of trout. It was from that episode, that had been an ongoing discussion, for the need of a fish ladder at Bremner Dam, gained traction. In the fall of 1892, a fish ladder was installed.
An interesting footnote about that fish ladder. The Bremner mill was destroyed by fire in 1894, along with a major portion of the dam. The fish ladder remained intact until it was damaged by spring floodwaters in 1915.