26 FISHES OF THE CONNECTICUT LAKES. 



forked; anal similar to dorsal, but smaller; origin of ventral under origin of 

 dorsal, fin not reaching vent; pectoral small, broadly falcate, reaching slightly 

 more than half distance from its posterior base to ventral; lateral line curving 

 abruptly downv^^ard over anterior part of pectoral, straight for rest of its 

 course. Description from a specimen 13 inches long from First Connecticut 

 Lake. 



Back olive ; cheek purplish and brassy ; side with brassy or golden rertection ; 

 posterior margin of scales black; dorsal and caudal dusky, other fins pale. 



Other names by which this widely distributed fish is known are 

 fallfish, windfish, dace, silver dace, and chevin. It occurs commonly 

 in eastern Canada and the United States east of the Alleghenies as 

 far south as Virginia. Its size varies greatly in different waters and 

 in the same waters, but becomes larger northward than in the south. 

 In small streams and ponds it is correspondingly smaller, and in 

 small brooks it reaches maturity when only a few inches long. The 

 chub was common in First Connecticut Lake and the Main Inlet, 

 Perry and Indian streams. It was not obtained in Second or Third 

 Lake or in Round or Mud Pond. In First Lake it could be caught 

 at any time at the mouth of the sewer leading from the lodge, and 

 usually from the wharf. The largest size, however, was not"^ found 

 here, but out in the lake and in the dead water of the inlet large ones 

 were common. They were taken in the lake by trolling; in the inlet 

 on a fly and by gill-net. A gill-net set one night across^the inlet took 

 18 chubs and 19 suckers. 



The variation in appearance of the chub at all seasons is almost as 

 great as the variation in size, and in breeding season the sexes differ 

 much in color and somewhat in other respects. Little adult fish re- 

 semble young of larger ones, being silvery, and having a dark stripe 

 along the sides. Larger fish are silvery with the stripe showing but 

 faintly or not at all, and still larger ones show no stripe and have 

 dusky posterior exposed margins to the scales. The largest individ- 

 uals have sexual and age variations, but in general it may be said that 

 in these the colors are more evident and pronounced, the head being 

 black, purple, and blue, yellow with golden and bronze reflections; 

 back olive green; sides purplish or bronze; belly yellowish silvery, 

 or white; posterior margins on lateral scales black. The metallic 

 luster and iridescence is beyond graphic description and the artist's 

 brush can but inadequately represent the varying hues and reflections. 

 The chub is almost omnivorous, eating everything that a trout 

 w^ill eat and much that the trout will not; if there are sewers or 

 drains entering a lake or stream it will always congregate about 

 the mouths. It will bite more readily than the trout, but is, how- 

 ever, sometimes wary and capricious. Hot sunshiny days are un- 

 favorable for catching large chubs. Small chubs usually take the 

 hook more readily than large ones. As a game or food fish the chub 



