FISHING HISTORY -- A lucky find in a garage sale in Spokane led to the recovery of fishing-related documentary films made by Montana's fish and wildlife agency in the1920s.

The result of tedious restoration and copying is interesting viewing for history buffs, cinematographers and anglers alike.

One of the silent, black-and-white films, called "Raising Trout for Montana Anglers," was just posted on YouTube by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials. It shows agency employees supplying Washoe Fish Hatchery in Anaconda with fish harvested from Georgetown Lake.

The process the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks used eight decades ago to breed fish is pretty much the same as today, said Mike Gurnett, retired filmmaker for the department.

• See the story about the find from the Montana Standard.
• .See the complete 16-minute video recovered from the film "Raising Trout for Montana Anglers" featuring footage from 1930 of the Anaconda Hatchery and Georgetown Lake. The hatchery was the first in the state and many of the techniques they used in 1930 are still used today. The video offers a rare glimpse into a more primitive version of the lake

The video below is a short segment on the recovery of the history film with 1920s video clips:

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