The Lake Tahoe Historical Society introduced David Long, who for 1 1/2 hours, held our undivided attention while he shared An Incomplete History of Hatcheries and Sports Fishing at Lake Tahoe.
I can't even begin to reiterate all the incredible information Mr. Long shared. What surprised me the most was how very interesting it all was.
Native people fished the streams around Tahoe for thousands of years. Yet in 1870, the California State Legislature passed "An Act to provide for the restoration and preservation of fish in the waters of this State", creating rules to help save native species and unfortunately introduce some non-native ones as well. In 1889, a permanent hatchery was built at Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City. Millions of Lahontan cutthroat trout were reared annually here and yet none exist in the Lake today.
We learned about species that were introduced and the repercussions from them. We were told of the commercial fishing that came and went. Mr. Long shared the demise of Sport fishing due to the decline in large fish. It was a diverse and intriguing history lesson.
Also surprising was the fact that John Steinbeck worked for the Tahoe City fish hatchery and while giving a tour, he met his future wife. Just another tidbit we learned. We enjoyed this history lesson at Historic Camp Richardson. Who knew fish were so interesting!
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