THE FISHES OF GEORGIAN BAY 43 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39b 



been observed to swim out into the deeper water, and return diiving the female 

 before him. She swims into the nest, and the male circles about her, always 

 heading her into the centre of the nest, and biting her lightly but persistently on 

 the side of the body. If at any time she darts away fiom the nest, he immediately 

 follows and brings her back. During the spawning process the two fish differ 

 very markedly in color, the male having a uniform bronze or greenish hue, while 

 the female has a blotched appearance, the body spots standing out strongly on 

 a lighter ground. At the time of desposition of the eggs the body of the female 

 is turned somewhat obliquely in the water, so that one side tends to be uppermost. 

 Only a few eggs, perhaps 10 or 12, are extruded at a time, the extrusion being 

 momentary, and repeated at intervals of about half a minute. It is accompanied 

 by a trembling motion of the body and especially of the dorsal fin. The male 

 fish lies for the most part over the female, but with the body in a slightly different 

 direction. The milt is extruded at intervals corresponding to the periods of de- 

 position of the eggs. After the spawning operation is completed, which may be 

 in one half to three hours, the female either leaves the nest voluntarily or is driven 

 out by the male. The latter then takes up a position over the eggs, fanning them 

 from time to time, or making short excursions from the nest in pursuit of other 

 fish that venture in the vicinity. This is maintained for the few days necessary 

 for the hatchmg of the eggs. The fry, at first confined to the bottom of the nest 

 giadually rise upwards m the water and begm to separate forming a somewhat 

 disorganized school within a certain radius of the nest. They are watched over 

 by the male fish for a few days and are then abandoned to shift for themselves. 

 They are almost pure black in color, and are conspicuous objects in the water. 

 The first food consists of the smallest of the plankton entomostraca. After the 

 feeding process is once established they are extremely greedy, and are often found 

 with the abdomen rounded and distended from the large amount of ingested food. 



Many attempts have been made to propagate this fish by the usual artificial 

 methods, but without success, because of the difficulty of stripping the eggs from 

 the female. The eggs are adherent in the ovary, and under natural conditions 

 are only extruded a few at a time. Doubtless a method of caring for the female 

 fish could be devised by which eggs could be obtained for fertilization, but it is 

 improbable that the number obtained in this way would be sufficient to make the 

 work profitable. A few eggs have been fertilized in the laboratory, and eggs taken 

 from nests have been hatched in shallow pans. The method now in common 

 use for obtaining a supply of young fish, and the only method which promises 

 results is that of natural cultivation in retaining ponds. This method could be 

 applied in the Georgian Bay region by reserving for the purpose a number of the 

 larger lakes inland from the main shore. Ponds cannot be made by excavation 

 on the east and north shores, and the natural ponds and smaller lakes of this 

 region are unsuitable for this purpose in every respect. 



From its wide distribution, abundance in localities not over-fished, and 

 splendid sporting qualities, the small-mouthed bass is easily the foremost of Amer- 

 ican fresh water game fishes, and the shoal areas of Georgian Bay constitute an 

 ideal environment for the species in a region which is most attractive to sportsmen. 



