36 FISHES AND FISHING IN SUNAPEE LAKE, 



About the middle of May of this year (1913), Mi\ W. O. Robinson, 

 of Washington, D. C, who had just returned from Sunapee Lake, 

 informed the writer that many chinooks up to 4 or 5 pounds in 

 weight were being caught this sprmg, but scarcely any white trout 

 were taken. (For further discussion of 1912 and 1913 see page 91, 

 footnote.) 



Ohservations upon young cMnooTcs. — It seems to be a general 

 impression among those who handle and plant young chmooks at 

 Sunapee Lake that if planted in the brooks they soon go down to the 

 lake, at least after the first heavy ram following the planting. Their 

 presence in the brooks during and subsequent to the runs of smelts 

 gave rise to the idea that they returned to the brooks with the 

 smelts after having been in the lake over whiter. Particular atten- 

 tion was given to this point during April of 1910. During this time 

 observations were made several times nearly every day and every 

 night at the mouth of Pike Brook and no young salmon were ever 

 observed entering the brook by themselves or with the smelts, but 

 throughout April some young about 3 to 3^ inches long were present 

 in the brook above the dead water. It is not impossible, however, 

 that they entered the brook from the lake prior to the run of 

 smelts, but, if so, it must have been prior to the breaking up of the 

 ice in the lake. 



It was observed that young chinooks planted in the brook at a 

 considerable distance from the lake soon distributed themselves up 

 and down the brook indiscrimuiately. Some planted not far above 

 the dead water distributed themselves in both directions, but the 

 majority went upstream, those going downstream at first stopping 

 short of the dead water, probably affected by the rise in the tempera- 

 ture of that portion of the brook. An interesting and- perhaps 

 significant fact is that the last-mentioned plant was placed m a pool 

 some 3 feet deep which evidently was dhectly fed by a spring, which 

 reduced the temperature of the water to 50° F., that of the rest of 

 the brook m its neighborhood being about 57° or 58° F. No salmon 

 remained in this pool. Several plants were made here, but the fish 

 invariably left it so quickly that in a few hours none could be found 

 in it. It is also shown that while some of the young salmon made 

 their way up the brook for a considerable distance beyond the ])lace 

 where they were planted, none entered the open water of the meadow, 

 where the temperature rose to 59° F. 



At no time during spring and summer were any young chinooks 

 observed entering the lake. In order to ascertain if there were any 

 such movement, a small fyke net set m Pike Brook a short distance 

 above the dead water up to August 16, 1911, contained at any one 

 time only three or four young chinooks and the net almost com- 

 pletely occluded the brook. On the 16th the fyke net was removed 

 to the outlet of the dead water through the beach. About noon of 



