CXLII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



meshed salmou gill net near one of the breaks in the island, through 

 which the water pours from a tule lake. No salmon had been caught, 

 and he was taking the empty net into his boat (having stowed fully 

 half of it), when suddenly the water was churned into foam near his 

 boat and around his net by a school of striped bass that had evidently 

 just come out of the tule lake. He realized that a large number of 

 fish had struck his net and set about to secure them. One end of 

 his net was close to shore, and he hailed some fishermen on the bank, 

 who began to lift that end of the net, throwing the fish on land, while 

 he emptied the other end into his boat. The catch consisted of 700 

 fish of nearly uniform size, and averaged 30 pounds each. This fish- 

 erman states that if his whole net had been out he would probably 

 have lost all or part of it from the weight of the fish. This catch of 

 21,000 pounds was sold at less than 5 cents a j)0und, in San Francisco. 



Grounds, 7novements, spawning, etc. — Evidence is accumulating to show 

 that the striped bass remain in the tule lands for long periods, or, at 

 least, do not move to and from salt water, as they do on the Atlantic 

 coast. Schools are often found in the delta, and large catches are made 

 without any fish having been caught below, and the fishermen think 

 the fish have cuddenly emerged from some tule lake. The opinion is 

 entertained that the striped bass often become landlocked in the tule 

 lakes, to be liberated by some freshet or high tide, thus explaining their 

 sudden occurrence in a certain place when nets above and below have 

 taken none. Above the Strait of Karquines the fish are usually of 

 uniform size in the difi'erent schools, while in the straits they are apt 

 to vary. Large catches are often made at the outlets of the tule lakes. 



With few exceptions, the food of the striped bass in the fresh waters 

 consists of carp. 



Additional information has been obtained indicating a protracted 

 spawning period for the fish on the California coast. On June 4, 1896, 

 a 15-pound striped bass, examined by the writer in the San Francisco 

 market, was found to be a nearly spent male from which ripe milt was 

 running. On July 3 both male and female ripe fish (sent from Benicia) 

 were observed in the San Francisco market. In October, 1895, a San 

 Joaquin Eiver fisherman, while taking a bass from a salmon net, observed 

 a large quantity of ripe eggs to fall into the bottom of his boat. 



The present abundance and rate of increase of striped bass in Cali- 

 fornia render almost unnecessary at this time the consideration of the 

 question of their artificial propagation. It can not be said that those 

 now taken form a large part of the run. Few persons fish esioecially for 

 them, the largest part of the catch being taken incidentally in salmon 

 nets. When the conditions change, as they probably will in time, the 

 artificial propagation of striped bass in California may become desirable. 



Striped hass trade of San Francisco. — Practically the entire catch of 

 striped bass is consigned to the San Francisco dealers, whose receipts 

 afford an accurate basis for determining the catch. Their receipts 

 during recent years have increased almost 100 i)er cent annually, and 

 in 1896 amounted to about 361,000 pounds. 



