558 KEPOKT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHEEIES. 



generally true with all storms, whatever their direction, it would 

 surely be known to the fishermen, who utilize this movement of the 

 fish in the river for their capture, as will be explained later. 



As mentioned above, the water level at the upper end of Lake Erie 

 is ver}^ variable. The long axis of the lake lies nearly west- southwest 

 and east-northeast, so that both westerly and easterl}^ winds have a 

 great influence in piling the water at one end or the other. The pre- 

 vailing winds of summer are south w^esterly to westerl}^, so that the 

 level is almost constantly changing. This gives a great resemblance 

 to tides, except that the changes are, of course, much less regular, and 

 generalh' of less amplitude. A strong southwest wind, however, 

 blowing steadily for a day or two, will lower the general water level 

 in Sandusky Bay, for instance, a foot or more, while a long-continued 

 storm ma}" result in an even greater change of the level. As soon as 

 the wind ceases, or shifts around to the opposite direction, as is usually 

 the case in our cyclonic storms, the reverse current sets in, affecting 

 the water for miles up the Sandusky and Portage rivers. 



Just how far this variation of the water level and the consequent 

 reversion of flow of the rivers influence the movements of the carp I am 

 unable to say. This much, hovv ever, is certain. A fall of a foot or even 

 less in the general water level means the la3nng bare of great expanses 

 of marsh land, and the carp which were feeding over this area have to 

 seek deeper water as that on the flats gradually becomes shallower. 

 In this way they work into the smaller streams, and so into the larger 

 creeks, and from these into the river. It is at such times that they 

 are taken in large numbers in a seine which has previousl}^ been 

 stretched across the mouth of the creek, as will be described more 

 fully in connection with the methods of fishing (p. 613). The fish 

 appear to be quick to appreciate the lowering of the water, for they 

 begin to run out very soon after it has begun to fall. Conversely, they 

 run up again and spread out over the marshes as the water rises. 



This movement, which seems to depend upon the gradual lowering 

 of the water in the shallow places, is distinctly different in nature from 

 the ordinary reaction of most fishes to a current of water. As is 

 well known, most fishes, when placed in running water, immediately 

 react by turning head-up into the current.^' That this is true of 

 young carp, I have ascertained by experimentation. It may also be 

 the explanation of the crow^ding of these fish around the inlet when 

 fresh water is being pumped into a pond, a phenomenon which will be 

 described more fully in the discussion of their reaction to fresh water 

 (p. 5(>0). It is equall}^ true that most fish become imeasy as the water 

 in a vessel or other container is gradually lowered without producing 

 a definite strong current. It is probably this "uneasiness" which 

 causes the fish to leave the marshes as described above. 



"For a discussion of the orientation of fish to running water see a recent pajjer by Lyon (1904). 



