362 American Fisheries Society 



during the nesting season had destroyed the nests before the 

 eggs were hatched. At the same time there was an excellent 

 hatch of large-mouth bass in the enclosed harbors, where the 

 storms had little effect. 



More positive evidence of the effect of storms was 

 noted in Mosquito Creek, a tributary of the Miami River, 

 at Sidney, Ohio. This creek, which is an excellent small- 

 mouth bass stream, was set aside as a breeding sanctuary 

 early in the season when the bass were observed making 

 their nests. A series of freshets washed out the nests or 

 silted them under, destroying the whole hatch and, al- 

 though we searched carefully for a mile and a half, only 

 one bass fry was taken and only a few other young fish 

 were observed. The Miami River above Sidney showed a 

 similar effect by the absence of young fish of nearly all 

 kinds, though yearling and older fish were abundant. The 

 fishes present showed the effects of the unusual number 

 of rains by their underfed condition. The water had been 

 high and very muddy all the spring and until in July at 

 the time of our observations, making it difficult for the 

 predaceous fish to obtain food. 



To sum up, the game fish conditions in Ohio are as 

 satisfactory in the lakes and reservoirs as could be ex- 

 pected in a region as densely populated and where there 

 is so much angling. The catch per person has been 

 greatly reduced within the past generation, and even the 

 productivity of the lakes is not as great as formerly when 

 the water level was interfered with less and the water 

 along the shores was not kept as clean. Over-fishing, 

 especially during the breeding season, is also responsible 

 for the decrease in number and size of bluegills and perch. 

 The laws afford much better protection for the basses than 

 for the other species, especially those whose breeding sea- 

 son does not quite conform to that of the basses. 



Conditions in the streams are usually much less satis- 



