In April and May, two bass 9.5 Inches long were taken which might have reached legal 

 length (10 inches) by June. After June, the average size of the bass collected was smaller 

 than earlier in the season. Exceptions were three fish, 10.5 and 11 inches long, taken in 

 August and September. These fish probably reached the legal length of 10 inches at 13 to 

 14 months. Most of the bass captured late in the summer were between 6.5 and 7.5 inches, 



TABLE 4. —LENGTH DISTRIBUTION OF BLUBGILLS TAKEN FROM 

 FORK LAKE DURING 1939. 



The numbers of bluegllls of different lengths are shown In table 4. In this table, 

 the three groups — original breeders, 1938 brood and 1939 brood — ^are separated. The range 

 of lengths in the 1938 brood was much greater in March than in April and May. Small indi- 

 viduals did not appear in the collections of the last two months, presumably because they 

 had been eaten by the bass; the increase in average size between Iferch and April Is not 

 entirely due to growth. 



Fig. 1 shows the growth of the 1938 brood and the original breeders during 1939. 

 sexes are shown separately. 



The 



The original breeder bluegllls grew rapidly in 1938, perhaps because they did not have* 

 to compete with other large fish. During 1939 they grew scarcely at all. At this time I 

 they were competing for the same kinds of food with active young fish nearly as large as I 

 themselves. During 1939, the yearling bluegllls showed substantial growth from month to 

 month until late October, when growth stopped completely. By this time the water tempera- 

 ture, recorded at 3 feet, had dropped from 58 to 45 degrees F. 





