Fig. 5. -- White crappie being tagged. 
and returned to the lake. The size of the population is estimated on the basis of the number of tagged 
fish that are recaptured. 
Kinds and Numbers of Fishes 
In 1950 and 1951, anglers at Lake Chautauqua 
caught and kept 25 different kinds of fishes, tables 
l and 2. The most popular fishes were channel 
catfish, bluegills, crappies, yellow bass, fresh- 
water drum, and largemouth bass. 
In 1950, a total of 36,822 fish, table 2, were 
caught in 10,459 fisherman-days. Most of these 
fish were caught during the spring, summer, and 
fall months. A few fish (812) were caught through 
the ice in late December of 1950. 
In January and February of 1951, ice fisher- 
men caught 14,546 fish in 1,026 fisherman-days. 
Crappies comprised 98.3 per cent of this catch. 
For the entire 1951 season, the catch was 56,289 
fish, table 2, taken in 13,630 fisherman-days, in- 
cluding the period of ice fishing. 
The average annual yield of sport fish at 
Lake Chautauqua for 1950 and 1951 was 5.6 pounds 
per acre. The average annual fishing pressure 
was 18.2 man-hours per acre. 
More than 80 per cent of the anglers in 1950 
and 1951 drove to the lake from distances of 25 
Each fall at Lake Chautauqua, crappies are caught, tagged, 
miles or more. The majority of these anglers came 
from the Peoria-Pekin area, a distance of 40 to 50 
miles. A number of anglers drove 50 to 100 miles 
to the lake from Springfield, Jacksonville, Bloom - 
ington, and Champaign, Illinois. A few anglers 
came from the Chicago area. 
Some Factors That Affect Fishing 
In 1950 and 1951, the species composition of 
the anglers’ catches, and the number of fish caught 
per fisherman-day, varied with water levels, season, 
and the relative abundance of catchable-size fish. 
These various factors, as they relate to individual 
species of fish, are included in the discussions of 
these species. 
Water Levels 
During periods of low, stable water levels, 
fishing in the late spring and summer months of 
1950 and 1951 was consistently poor as compared 
with that recorded for periods of rising and high 
i 
