1939 floods than we suspect, the bass planted In Sportsmen's Lake will be free from 

 competition by crapples and other carnivorous species now in Lincoln Lakes. Bluegllls 

 offer little competition to bass and should produce an abundance of young for bass food. 

 Considerable numbers of young bluegllls may be expected to survive the summer of 1939 

 and grow too large for bass to eat. 



RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SPORTSMEN'S LAKE 



The bass and bluegllls of Sportsmen's Lake should be fished heavily during 1939 as 

 well as In subsequent years. It Is advisable to remove 100 or more of these bass during 

 1939. Any bass below legal length taken on hook and line should be carried across the 

 levee and placed In Lincoln Lakes. In like manner It Is recommended that 150 or more of 

 the breeder bluegllls be removed. 



There should be no further stocking of the pond. 



Minnows should not be used for bait because of danger of contamination of the pond 

 with undesirable kinds. Artificial baits, worms, grasshoppers, crayfishes, etc., are 

 suggested. 



It Is especially urged that the members of the Sportsmen's Club keep a complete 

 record of the numbers and weights of fish taken from Sportsmen's Lake. These should be 

 recorded in a bound record book along with notes on transparency of the water, sub- 

 merged vegetation, waterfowl, fish predators, dead fish, etc. The equipment for making 

 these observations and the record book should be kept In a locked box set up near the 

 levee. A supply of scale envelopes should be Included for the collection of scales and 

 measurements useful In following the growth of the fish. A gage board should be attache^ 

 to a substantial post or piling near the box. Keys to the box should be carried by 

 those members of the club most Interested In fishing, A rough table nearby would be a 

 convenient place to clean fish and to make observations on them. 



The levee should be built higher than any possible floods on Salt Creek. The In- 

 stallation of a frame with rollers would provide a convenient method for transferring 

 light boats back and forth between Sportsmen's Lake and other parts of Lincoln Lakes. 

 The levee should be planted with Lespedesa or other low, soll-blndlng plants which pre- 

 vent erosion. No further erosion control or planting seems necessary around Sports- 

 men's Lake, No further aquatic plantings seem necessary until the results of last 

 year's planting are learned. 



RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LINCOLN LAKES 



Since the water supply of Lincoln Laikes Is ground water, except for surface drain- 

 age from about 500 acres of farm land and overflow from floods on Salt Creek, it seems 

 advisable to build levees to keep out flood waters from the creek, as these waters make 

 the lake turbid and bring In undesirable fish. It Is probable that the high fish produc- 

 tion in Lincoln Lakes may be maintained through drainage from the surrounding farm land. 



If larger amounts of submerged aquatic vegetation seem desirable, they may be 

 transplanted from Sportsmen's Lake after they have been tested there. 



Much better bass fishing than In recent years seems possible, and more successful 

 methods for taking these bass on hook and line should be sought. Since Lincoln Lakes 

 are unusually deep and relatively free of organic matter, satisfactory amounts of 

 oxygen are present In midsummer at depths as great as 15 feet. This condition suggests 

 that the bass may spend most of their time In deep water. Lincoln Lakes are crowded 

 with large numbers of small, stunted white crapples. White crapples of legal size 

 should be removed as rapidly as possible In order to promote more rapid growth among 

 those remaining and to reduce their competition with the bass. 



A few dozen nest boxes erected at suitable places around Lincoln Lakes may promote 

 the establishment of wood ducks In the area. 



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