BLUEGILL 
PER CENT OF CATCH 
5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 
——— 1950 SUMMER ANGLING 
JUNE 16 — SEPT. 14 
282 FISH MEASURED 
—-—--— 1951 SUMMER ANGLING 
JUNE I6—SEPT. 14 
354 FISH MEASURED 
7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 
TOTAL LENGTH IN INCHES 
Fig. 16. -- Size distribution of bluegills caught by anglers at Lake Chautauquain the summer months 
of 1950 and 1951. 
fishery could have been due to several causes, we 
have tentatively concluded that the decrease in 
vegetation was probably the principal one. 
Yellow perch were caught occasionally in 1950 
and 1951 by anglers fishing for bluegills and yel- 
low bass. The perch was too scarce to be of much 
importance to the sport fishery of Lake Chautauqua. 
Channel Catfish 
The channel catfish is highly regarded by Lake 
Chautauqua anglers, though very few of these an- 
glers actually fish entirely for catfish. Most 
catfish are caught by anglers fishing for bluegills, 
black bass, or freshwater drum. 
Live minnows, dead minnows, and worms are 
the baits usually used for catfish at Lake 
Chautauqua. Catfish are caught in hollow stumps, 
in the buckbrush, and in water flowing through cuts 
in the levee during periods of high water. 
22 
Creel-census data indicate a positive correla- 
tion between rising or high water levels and an 
increase in the catch of catfish, fig. 17. 
In 1950 and 1951, channel catfish comprised 
2.6 per cent of the catch at Lake Chautauqua, table 
2. In 1941 and 1942, very few of these catfish were 
caught at the Lake Chautauqua boat yard studied by 
Hansen (1942). In those 2 years catfish averaged 
only 0.1 per cent of the anglers’ catches. 
Freshwater Drum 
The freshwater drum comprised 40.6 per cent 
of the anglers’ catch at Lake Chautauqua in the 
summer of 1950 and only 26.3 per cent in the sum- 
mer of 1951, table 3. 
The best fishing conditions for drum in 1950 
and 1951 were during periods when the water level 
was rising or at a high stage, fig. 18. During such 
periods, anglers had their greatest success in fish- | 
