47] STUDY OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN FISHES— CAEN 47 



where they attain a length of just under two inches by the end of the 

 summer. During the winter the fish bite in water 6 to 10 feet deep, and 

 thousands are caught in Oconomow, Pewaukee, Okauchee and other lakes 

 where ice fishing is practiced. The best bait is any of the shore minnows 

 of small size, and rarely are they caught on angle-worms. An excellent 

 pan fish, not as large, however, as the white crappie. These fish seldom 

 attain a weight of over a pound, half a pound being normal size. 



64. Ambloplites rupestris (Raf.). Rockbass. 



An abundant species in every lake and in all of the rivers, less frequently 

 taken in the smaller creeks. The rockbass seems to prefer the shallow water, 

 though occasionally taken from the weed beds off the edges of the bars. 

 They prefer weeds as their environment, and are commonly caught in the 

 midst of heavy masses of Potamcgeton. They spawn in the shallow water 

 along the shore, often among rushes, where a slight depression is made in 

 the sand or gravel, the adults keeping guard until the young hatch. The 

 young rockbass is found in the shallow water weeds all summer, attaining 

 a length normally of hardly more than an inch by fall. These are handsome 

 little fish, with a coloration entirely different from that of the adult, being 

 heavily mottled with very large pattern. The food is composed of about 

 equal parts of insects, fish and crayfish, the young of the latter being the 

 dominant food during the late summer and fall. They bite on almost any 

 bait, worms, minnows, chub, or spoonhook, but are not game fighters. 

 While they are really a very good pan fish, they are looked upon with 

 distaste by local fishermen because of an entirely mythical infection of 

 "grubs." They are, however, often parasitized rather heavily with the 

 cysts of (?) Diplostomulum cuticola, as are the perch, which, notwithstand- 

 ing, are regarded as an excellent table fish. 



65. Chaenobryttus gulosus (Cuv. & Valen.). Warmouth Bass. 



A rather uncommon sunfish, which is not ordinarily separated by local 

 fishermen from the rockbass, which it somewhat resembles. A fish of the 

 smaller lakes — Laura, Skidmore ponds, Genesee — it prefers soft, muddy 

 bottoms to sand or gravel, and is tolerant of dirty water. It inhabits the 

 dense weed beds of these lakes, feeding upon insects and small fish, and 

 to a much less extent upon crayfish. It bites readily upon worms or min- 

 nows (N. blennius), and puts up about the same sort of fight as the rockbass. 

 It reaches a length of about 8 inches, 6 inches, however, being nearer the 

 average size. Not highly ranked as a pan fish because of its small size and 

 resemblance to the ill-favored rockbass. 



66. Lepomis cyanellus (Raf) . Logfish; Green Sunfish; Blue-spotted Sunfish. 

 An abundant inhabitant of rivers, and to a less extent of lakes, though 



quite common in lakes of muddy rather than clear water. Weeds are 

 essential to their habitat, and Potamogeton and Ceratophyllum afford 



