natural mortality and the lack of younger broods 
of replacement size. Also, increased difficulties 
experienced by anglers in catching large crappies 
will probably affect the catch either in the fall of 
1952 or in 1953. 
If the white crappies at Lake Chautauqua 
follow the pattern or cycle described above by 
Dr. Thompson for the black crappie, a large spawn 
of white crappies will not be produced in the lake 
until the 1948 brood is greatly reduced in number, 
possibly by 1953. If this prediction proves to be 
true, white crappie fishing should be good in the 
fall of 1955. (However, it is possible that some 
other species, such as the black crappie or the 
white bass, may become abundant enough to pre- 
vent the white crappie from successfully producing 
a large and dominant brood.) 
Black Crappie 
The black crappie, fig. 8, comprised only a 
small percentage of the anglers’ catches of crap- 
pies in 1950 and 1951 at Lake Chautauqua. 
WHITE CRAPPIE 
PER CENT OF CATCH 
70 7.5 8.0 
Wing-net catches made during those 2 years indi- 
cated that white crappies were much more abundant 
in the lake than were black. 
In the fall of 1950 the black crappie was rep- 
resented in the catch largely by members of the 
1948 brood, fig. 13; however, the size of this brood 
was quite small as compared with the size of the 
1948 brood of white crappies. Spawning in 1949 
was rather unsuccessful for black crappies. In 
1950, these crappies were moderately successful 
in spawning, and, in 1951, they produced some 
young, as indicated by minnow seine sampling. 
Very few black crappies were caught by an- 
glers fishing in the man-made brush piles. Black 
ctappies were caught in numbers in 1950 and 1951 
by anglers who fished the buckbrush along shore. 
The method and tackle used was described in the 
section on white crappies. We suggest that anglers 
concentrate on fishing in the buckbrush for black 
crappies during years of low white crappie popu- 
lations. The 1950 brood of black crappies may be 
large enough to provide some good crappie fishing 
during 1952 and 1953. 
1950 FALL TEST-NETTING 
SEPT. 26—OCT. 10 
1,684 FISH MEASURED 
——-—— 1951 FALL TEST—NETTING 
SEPT. 29—OCT. 5 
624 FISH MEASURED 
Pr 
/ 
/ 1948 ~\ 
7 BROOD, 
8.5 9.0 9.5 10.00 10.5 W.O I.5 12.0 
TOTAL LENGTH IN INCHES 
Fig. 12. --The size distribution of white crappies caught in l-inch-mesh wing nets at Lake 
Chautauqua in the falls of 1950 and 1951. In both years the 1948 brood dominated the catch. 
18 
