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Of the many forms of outdoor sports and recreation indulged in 

 the people of the northern states, fishing easily takes the lead. The 

 states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have within their bound- 

 aries some of the most wonderful fresh-water fishing grounds in Ameri- 

 ca. Of these states Minnesota has the most extensive inland waters. In 

 1940 in Minnesota alone 651,295 residents took out licenses to fish. 

 This figure does not include the boys and girls under the age of six- 

 teen, who are not required to purchase licenses and who no doubt equal 

 in number the adults who do purchase them, thus making an estimated 

 number of 1,302,590 resident anglers. Thus in a state with a total popula- 

 tion of 2,792,300 (1940) nearly half the residents were fishermen, or 

 at least potential ones. In addition 94,458 nonresidents bought licenses 

 in Minnesota. Not only have fishes sporting value, but also they form 

 one of the most valuable food resources of the Lake States. 



For years fishermen and others have been asking the authors for 

 all sorts of information about fishes and fishing. This book has been 

 prepared to answer, in part at least, some of these hundreds of ques- 

 tions. At the same time it presents the results of a comprehensive, sys- 

 tematic study, the need for which has long been recognized by those 

 engaged in the propagation and maintenance of native fishes and by 

 many sportsmen as well as scientific workers. 



The writers have studied fishes mostly within Minnesota, and con- 

 sequently this book is based primarily on fishes of this state. Minnesota 

 extends 5° 54' of latitude, or 400 miles, and is 354 miles from east to 

 west across its widest part. Lying in the center of the continent, it con- 

 tains within its boundaries the headwaters of three great drainage sys- 

 tems. These systems flow, respectively, northward to Hudson Bay, 

 eastward to the Atlantic Ocean, and southward to the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Minnesota has therefore what are commonly recognized as the Hudson 

 Bay drainage system, the Great Lakes basin, and the Upper Mississippi 

 River basin. Each one of these systems contains certain species of 

 fishes not found in one or both of the other systems. All together these 

 species make up a large fish fauna. 



The largest rivers, which are mostly navigable, include the Missis- 

 sippi, Minnesota, St. Croix, Rainy, and St. Louis rivers, the Red River 

 of the North, and Red Lake River. All but the St. Croix have their 

 sources within the state and are fed by thousands of lakes, creeks, and 

 brooks. Minnesota has an area of 84,287 square miles, of which 5637 

 square miles are water. Within the state are well over 10,000 lakes. The 

 largest is Red Lake in the north central part of the state, which has 

 an area of approximately 440 square miles. Other large lakes are Cass, 



