(Left) 



Cypress Trees Grow in the Open 



Waters of the Lake 



(Right) 



Don Hansen Measures a Carp at 



the Ferry Landing 





t K 



more shallow with depths ranging from one to six 

 feet. 



A small creek about 25 feet wide feeds Horseshoe 

 Lake from a large area to the north and east. In 

 addition, a dredge ditch about six feet deep drains 

 the hills from the north and west. During heavy 

 rains these streams bring in a great deal of muddy 

 water which often extends well down the lake. Al- 

 though Horseshoe Lake is brownish in color, it is 

 sufficiently transparent to allow bottom to be seen in 

 one to three feet of water. Submerged aquatic vege- 

 tation is scanty. 



The climate of this southern tip of Illinois is much 

 milder than most upstate citizens realize. Cotton is 

 grown in this vicinity; mistletoe parasitizes the elms 

 and maples; and cane brakes are scattered in the low- 

 lands. The fish have a growing season nearly twice 

 as long as that of northern Illinois and pole-and-line 

 fishing goes on throughout most winters. 



History 



In 1930 the old dam holding Horseshoe Lake 

 washed out. The lake drained and lay completely 

 dry for a year. The only water left was in the 

 dredge ditch which feeds the lake. A permanent dam 

 of concrete with deep foundations was built in 1931. 

 Rains in late summer and early fall of that year par- 

 tially filled the lake. In December, 1931, a stock of 

 small bass, crappies, bluegills, channel cat, bullheads, 

 small carp and buffalo were brought from the Illinois 

 River at Havana and put in Horseshoe Lake. This 

 was followed by some larger bass stocked in the 

 early spring of 1932. Apparently a few other kinds 

 of fishes survived the draining of Horseshoe Lake in 

 the pools of the dredge ditch. The most important 

 of these were the flier sunfish, the spotted sucker, 

 and three species of forage fish — the live-bearing top 

 minnow (Gambus/a), the golden shiner and the giz- 

 zard shad. 



Fish Surveys 



Zoologists of the Natural History Survey have 

 watched the course of events in Horseshoe Lake each 

 year since it was rebuilt. In 1934, 1936, 1937 and 

 1938, a crew of men, outfitted with boats, nets and 

 a miscellany of scientific equipment, caught, identi- 

 fied, measured, weighed and took scales from large 

 numbers of fish. This information has made it possi- 

 ble to estimate the abundance of the important spe- 

 cies in the lake, their rates of reproduction, rates of 

 growth and death rates. 



The first three of these surveys were made by Mr. 

 Francis D. Hunt, then field naturalist for the Natural 

 History Survey. In order to make the fishing meth- 

 ods for all years as uniform as possible, Mr. Hunt, 

 who is now fish culturist for the Department of Con- 

 servation, assisted in making the 1938 survey. 



Twenty-five kinds of fish were taken in hoop nets 

 during these four surveys. Eleven of these kinds 

 represent one percent or more of the total. A list of 

 species and the numbers taken is shown in the accom- 

 panying tabulation, along with average lengths for 

 each year of the more abundant kinds. From year 

 to year the same nets were used and set in about the 

 same places in the lake. As these nets were one- 

 inch mesh, the small fish, up to a size of about four 

 inches in circumference, escaped. 



The same nets were used in the years 1932-1937 

 to catch fish for the population measurements in 

 the lakes of the Illinois Valley. There it was 

 found that in the warm weather of spring and sum- 

 mer each net caught the fish from about one-tenth 

 of an acre in one day. The total number of fish 

 taken during these four surveys in Horseshoe Lake 

 represents the catch from about 20 acres of water. 

 This makes it possible to estimate within certain lim- 

 its the total number of individuals in the lake of 

 each of the more common species. Certain kinds of 

 fish are caught in these nets much more readily than 

 others. These differences in behavior have been 

 taken into consideration in estimating the total num- 

 bers shown in the tabulation. 



Estimates of Total Poundage 



At the present time it is estimated that Horseshoe 

 Lake is supporting about 150 pounds per acre of 

 bass, crappies and sunfish. The bullheads amount 

 to an additional 65 pounds per acre. In addition to 

 the above fish which may be taken readily on hook 

 and line, there are probably about one-half million 

 pounds of carp and buffalo, or about 200 pounds per 

 acre. It appears that the total of all kinds of fish 

 of edible sizes in the lake is about one million pounds 

 or 400 pounds per acre. 



The 1937 Flood 



In late January and early February, 1937, the 

 Ohio River flooded, covering a large part of several 

 southern Illinois counties. The flood water backed 

 up Bay Creek a few miles, cut across to Cache River, 

 following its valley across the southern tip of the 



