— ——-— CHANNEL CATFISH 
WATER LEVEL 
” 
> 
a 
o b 
! uJ 
4 WW 
a ri 
= 2 
ec — 
rT) = 
— uJ 
o > 
= 5 
2 E 
ec 
Ww < 
a = 
x 
at 
uw 
JULY AUGUST 
1951 
Fig. 17. -- Weekly average water levels and corresponding average catches of channel catfishper 
10 fisherman-days at Lake Chautauqua in the late spring and summer months of 1950 and 1951. The 
gtaph indicates that fishing for catfish was best when the water level either was rising or was high. 
ing with worms at places near the levee where the 
tiver water was flowing into the lake. 
Available figures, table 2, indicate that the 
anglers’ catch of freshwater drum at Lake 
Chautauqua has increased considerably since 1941, 
At the boat yard censused by Hansen (1942), drum 
amounted to only 1.2 per cent of the catch in 1941 
and only 0.1 per cent in 1942; in 1950 and 1951 
drum averaged 14.7 per cent of the anglers’ 
catch at the lake. 
Carp 
Carp are abundant in Lake Chautauqua; how- 
ever, only 246 were caught by anglers in 1950 and 
141 in 1951. These carp were usually caught by 
anglers fishing for other species of fishes. 
The majority of the carp in anglers’ catches 
weighed less than 3 pounds each. Carp in the 
commercial catches from the lake averaged 6 
pounds, and some weighed over 20 pounds. 
We have not observed a successful technique 
fer catching Lake Chautauqua carp; however, on 
some waters a No. 1/0 or No. 2 hook baited with 
corn or a doughball is used successfully. 
Yellow Bass 
streaker, formed an 
catch at Lake 
The yellow bass, or 
important part of the anglers’ 
23 
