108 Reproduction, Competition, and Predation 



in combination with one or several species of minnows. Ball and Ford^ 

 tried a combination of largemouth bass and golden shiners which proved 

 to be very successful. After 5 years, there were still plenty of shiners 

 present as well as bass. Bluntnose minnows were able to maintain a popu- 

 lation over at least a three-year period when confined in a very clear pond 

 (gravel-pit) with smallmouth bass. This pond contained some rooted 

 aquatic vegetation. Smallmouths taken from this pond showed a higher 

 average condition than others taken from a nearby pond which contained 

 only smallmouths. 



The largemouth-bass-red-ear-sunfish combination has been tested ex- 

 tensively in Indiana ^^^ ^^ and Illinois. ^^ In no case where only largemouth 

 bass and red-ears were present has there been any evidence of over- 

 population of red-ears. However, the red-ear sunfish is somewhat less 

 desirable as a sport fish than is the bluegill because the former prefers 

 live bait fished deep and will seldom hit artificial flies or poppers at the 

 water's surface. 



Larimore ^- combined largemouth bass with warmouths in stocking 

 more than 15 ponds in central Illinois. This combination was very satis- 

 factory. The warmouths showed little tendency to overpopulate and 

 both warmouths and bass grew rapidly to useful sizes. 



Jenkins ^^ concluded from his observations in Oklahoma that large- 

 mouth bass, channel catfish, warmouth, and red-ear sunfish produced 

 more harvestable-sized fish in comparison with their total standing crops 

 than any other warm- water fishes. 



In north-central Nebraska several ponds of 5 acres or larger have been 

 stocked with a northern pike-bluegill combination. The pike were re- 

 leased as fingerlings and bluegills as adults so that the latter furnished 

 young bluegills for pike forage during the first season.^''^ Recently, some 

 experiments have been started to test the usefulness of muskellunge 

 (Figure 5.5) in the control of overpopulation of sunfishes. 



Smallmouth bass do well in warm-water ponds if they do not have to 

 compete with some of the more prolific warm-water fishes, such as blue- 

 gills, green sunfish, and black bullheads.^- For example, smallmouths 

 maintained a large population in a 14-acre central Illinois lake until ex- 

 cessive numbers of green sunfish prevented their successful reproduction. 

 This lake was made by damming a pasture ravine and contained no sand 

 or gravel in the shoal areas. 



Several studies have been made of combinations involving three, four, 

 and five species of fishes, such as the bass, bowfin, and bluegill combina- 

 tion of Krumholz ^" or the bass, bluegill, warmouth, and channel catfish 

 combination used in Ridge Lake.^^ The study of Tliompson '^^ of an 

 unfertilized fishing club lake in Macoupin County, Illinois, illustrates that 

 the bass, crappie, bluegill, and bullhead combination in a lake with 



