DISCUSSION 

 Largemouth bass fishing at Ridge Lake is principally a local undertziking; thus, 

 travel costs that can be assigned to it are considerably less than can be assigned to fishing in 

 areas of resort development. 



Obviously, a key item in the demonstrated high cost of fishing for largemouth bass 

 is the average length of time required to catch a pound of this species. Many fishermen, when 

 confronted with the rate of catch recorded for Ridge Lauke, will claim that bass fishing must 

 be considered poor there, and that this rate cannot possibly represent their own experience. 

 It nnust be borne in mind, however, that these calculations include all of the unproductive hours 

 as well as the hours that produced fish; human nature being as it is, many fishermen forget the 

 times they have come home empty handed and remember only those times they caught fish. 

 Actually the catch rate at Ridge Lake in 1949 may have been higher than in most Illinois 

 waters because (1) the population of legal-sized bass returned to the lake cifter the March cen- 

 sus was larger than is found in most waters of the state and (2) when the bass were returned 

 to the lake the population was concentrated by low water levels; moreover, (3) bass food, in 

 the form of small bluegills, was nearly eliminated in March, shortly before the fishing season. 



The sudden drop in the catch rate zifter heavy fishing started indicates to the au- 

 thors that bass become aware, in somie way yet unknown, of the danger of striking baits 

 attached to a line. These fish become wary of natural baits (live crayfish and minnows) as 

 well as artificials (Durham & Bennett 1949). Actually the catch rate for the 1949 season 

 averaged higher for some artificial baits than for either live minnows or live crayfish. 



A comparison of the rates of catch during preseason and open-season fishing for T 

 other years at Ridge Lake shows a similar drop in catch rate beginning with the onset of heavy 

 angling. In 1944 the lake was not opened to public fishing until August because, previous to 

 that time, the brood of bass then dominant averaged less than 10 inches in length. Samples of 

 this brood caught by Natural History Survey personnel during May, Jione, and July were taken 

 at a very high rate per hour, but as soon as the lake was opened to the public the catch rate 

 became very low. 



I 



No exact figures are available on the amount of fishing that may be done before bass 

 become wary, nor on the "rest" period necessary before these fish lose their wariness. During 



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