Fishing for Sale 257 



With selected individuals using his property, he is required to spend a 

 minimum of his time for general supervision. 



Recreational facilities other than adequate roads into the area and 

 parking lots are minimal. A creel station where fishermen weigh, measure, 

 and record their catches is, of course, a necessity, and picnic areas are 

 desirable. 



Income from trespass-fishing may vary with size of the water area, the 

 facilities available, the location, and type of fishing. 



Catch-out Ponds 



Catch-out ponds, or pay-as-you-fish ponds, are small heavily-stocked 

 bodies of water. As fish are caught, anglers pay a small fee at so much 

 per pound or inch. In 1959, a general survey was made of the catch-out 

 ponds in the United States through a questionnaire sent to the conversa- 

 tion departments of each of the (then) 49 states. ^^ There were about 1500 

 of diese ponds in operation with Pennsylvania (238 ponds) in the lead. 

 Not all states had catch-out ponds; in those that had them, many had been 

 in operation for less than 10 years. However, in some western states, 

 catch-out ponds for trout had been in existence for a much longer period, 

 for example, more than 58 per cent of the catch-out ponds in Colorado 

 exceeded a 10-year operation period." 



Most states have passed special legislation to cover the licensing and 

 operation of these pay fish ponds. In some states, both the fisherman and 

 the operator of the pond must have a license; in others, such as California, 

 no fishing license is required (Dr. Leo Shapovalov: personal communica- 

 tion). Pond-owner licenses usually varied from $5.00 to $25.00 per year. 



In the survey,^^ 55 per cent of the pond owners used trout only, 16 

 per cent used warm-water species only, and 29 per cent used both. Trout 

 usually were rainbows or brooks, rather than browns because the latter 

 were more difficult to catch. Some ponds contained all three trout species. 

 Warm-water fishes were largemouth bass, bluegill and miscellaneous sun- 

 fishes, channel catfish, black, yellow or brown bullheads, flathead cat, 

 carp, and drum. A few pond owners offered pike, muskellunge, perch, 

 and walleye. 



All of the trout came from private hatcheries or ponds as did some of 

 the warm-water fish. Bullheads, catfish, carp, and drum were purchased 

 from commercial fish dealers. 



The amount of net income from a catch-out pond must be directly 

 related to the number of fishermen who will pay to patronize the facility, 

 minus the cost of the fish to keep it stocked. A satisfactory supply of fisher- 

 men are to be found near most medium and large-sized centers of popula- 

 tion. The least expensive source of fish is through direct purchases from 



