16 FISHES AND FISHING IN SUNAPEE LAKE. 



black-nose dace are quite plentiful, but the presence of the former is 

 due mainly to fish culture. There seems to be a great scarcity of the 

 cyprinid fishes. 



The pickerel is present in some numbers, but can not be called com- 

 mon. In Forest and Stream of March 18, 1886, Dr. J. D, Quackenbos 

 states that in Sunapee Lake all fish excepting the pickerel attain an 

 unusual weight: "Yellow perch, 2 pounds and upward; landlocked 

 salmon, 12 pounds (seven years from the ovum) ; brook trout, 6 to 9 

 pounds; black bass, the unprecedented weight of 7i pounds (2 pounds 

 beyond the limit of the naturalist)." 



The scarcity of pickerel and other fishes may be due to a number of 

 causes, such as unseasonable and over fishing, abundance of enemies, 

 epidemics, scarcity of food, etc. Scarcity of food acts m two ways, 

 i. e., death from starvation and cannibalism. The small size of pickerel 

 or any other fish may be due to the same causes. Excessive and 

 unseasonable fishing, especially ice fishing, removes the large fish, and 

 without sufficient food no fish will attain a large size. The habits of 

 the pickerel are such that they seldom take the fish into deep water 

 where the smelts occur. 



The black bass and landlocked salmon were introduced fish, and 

 Dr. Quackenbos's statement was made a long time after the intro- 

 duction of smelts. The trout and perch are fish whose habits would 

 take them where the smelts resort throughout the year. The large 

 size of these fish, as well as of the salmon, can very well be ascribed 

 to the smelt, and the cyprinids, which were doubtless once more com- 

 mon. The black bass has been diminishing in size for a number of 

 years, probably owing to the disappearance of its once more plentiful 

 cyprinid food. That the pickerel did not and does not attain a large 

 size is doubtless due to the same thing. 



INTRODUCED FISHES. 



With the characteristic zeal and enthusiasm of the early fish cul- 

 turists, the commissioners of New Hampshire began introducing into 

 various waters of the State all kinds of food and game fishes that 

 could be secured. Sunapee Lake was one of the first to receive 

 attention of this kind, and, in the light of our present knowledge, it 

 is possibly a question whether this indiscriminate introduction of 

 alien species into waters whose original forms were all that could be 

 desired in food and game qualities was not a mistake. It was and 

 still is often done at the urgent request or instigation of some influ- 

 ential person or persons who have a commendable desire to improve 

 the declining fishing but lack knowledge of the habits of the species 

 proposed to be introduced and, consequently, of the possible results 

 of the introduction. It has been, and still is, often the result that the 

 remedy merely augmented the disease and the conditions became 

 worse than before. 



