November, 1954 
was considered “‘large,’ and any bull- 
head of 7 inches or more in length was 
placed in the same category. The 57 carp 
taken in 1947 averaged almost 7 pounds 
each and those in 1951 about 4+ pounds 
each; no “small” carp (less than 12 inches 
in length) were taken. 
Comparison of tables 3, +, and 5 will 
show that following each draining census 
many bass and bluegills were not returned 
to the lake. Only in the year 1943 were 
bass smaller than 8 inches total length 
returned to the lake. Most of the fish 
making up the early 1943 population of 
small bass (bass other than the 1941 
original stock) were 6 to 9 inches in 
length. In the 1943 census operation, 
the population of small bass was reduced 
by about 58 per cent (4,754 reduced to 
1,973, according to tables + and 5). Only 
1,500 of the 4,281 bass actually taken in 
the 1943 census were returned to the lake 
as marked fish. However, other small bass 
were later found to be in the lake. Dur- 
ing the summer of 1943 when Ridge Lake 
was not opened to the public, Natural 
History Survey personnel took, and re- 
leased, 363 bass of the size range of the 
1941 and 1942 broods; 276 of these were 
fish that had been marked and 87 were 
unmarked fish. On the basis of the rela- 
tionship between unmarked fish and 
marked fish in the catch it was calculated 
that, in the lake, there were about 473 
of these small bass that had escaped cap- 
ture, possibly by remaining, at the time 
of the census, in the blind stream channel 
between the mouth of the diversion ditch 
and the dam. This number and their 
interpolated weight were added to the 
census tabulation, table 4, and to the 
tabulation of small bass actually replaced 
in the lake following the census, table 5. 
In the 1949 census, there was a large 
number of unmarked bass ranging be- 
tween 9 and 10 inches in length. These 
fish could be expected to grow to 10 
inches or larger during the 1949 fishing 
season and, as fishermen were asked to 
bring in all bass caught, regardless of 
size, it was assumed that these fish might 
add to the 1949 yield, even though they 
failed to reach the 10-inch legal length. 
For these reasons, bass of 9 inches or 
larger were returned to the lake follow- 
ing the 1949 census. In the 1951 census, 
BENNETT: LARGEMOUTH Bass IN RipcE LAKE 241 
277 unmarked bass 8 to 10 inches long 
were marked and returned to the lake, 
along with 342 unmarked bass of 10 
inches or longer, table 5. 
At the time of the 1945 draining census, 
only 61 of the 129 bluegills with which 
Ridge Lake was stocked in 1944 were 
recovered, table 4. These had produced 
a large number of young in 1944, rang- 
ing in size from 1.5 to 2.5 inches by 
March of 1945. A rough estimate of 
the number that came through the screen 
below the outlet was 10,000, weighing 100 
pounds. Others probably remained within 
the lake basin, although the blind stream 
channel near the dam had filled in con- 
siderably since the 1943 draining. 
The 61 bluegills remaining from the 
1944 stock were returned to the lake 
following the 1945 census. In the 1947 
census 2 years later, the bluegill popu- 
lation was found to consist of 2 of these 
61 fish; 6,873 other bluegills of 6 or more 
inches in length, weighing 1,104.53 
pounds; 49,754 bluegills of 3 to about 6 
inches in length, weighing 2,223.69 
pounds; and approximately 10,000 blue- 
gills of 1.5 to about 3 inches in length, 
weighing approximately 150 pounds. 
These groups made a total of 66,629 fish, 
weighing 3,479.07 pounds, table 4. 
Following the draining operation in 
1947, 1,759 of the larger unmarked blue- 
gills were fin-clipped (left pelvic fin) and 
returned to the lake along with the 2 
fish from the original stock of 1944, mak- 
ing a total of 1,761 fish weighing 284.1 
pounds, table 5. When the fish popu- 
lation was censused again in 1949, only 
90 of these marked bluegills were retaken 
and the entire bluegill population, ex- 
clusive of an unestimated number of fish 
about | inch in length, numbered only 
19,714 fish, weighing 1,564.31 pounds, 
table 4+. This poundage was less than 
half of that collected in the 1947 census. 
An attempt was made in the 1949 
draining census to remove all bluegills 
from the lake. Although 19,714 of these 
fish were removed, table 4, and none re- 
turned, and the stream channel and di- 
version ditch were treated with a heavy 
dosage of cubé (5 per cent rotenone) to 
poison the escaped fish, the attempt was 
unsuccessful. In March, 1951, when the 
fish population was again censused, nearly 
