American Fisheries Society 141 



have spawned in our ponds before we go out to catch them in the wild 

 waters. We have had excellent success in that way, but before that 

 we used to go out early in the spring and get them from the fishermen 

 at Saginaw Bay, or somewhere around there ; and the conditions at the 

 hatchery have more to do with it than the bass themselves. If the 

 gentleman would adapt himself to his surroundings he would have 

 better success. 



The rearing of adult bass for breeders I think is possibly one of the 

 problems we must figure out; we must have more room to do it in. We 

 have at Mill Creek Station a wild stock pond and we dump in every sum- 

 mer all the large fingerlings. In the last two or three seasons when we 

 seine them up in the spring we get 10 to 50 nice breeders large enough 

 to put into our breeding ponds, and we in that way help to keep up our 

 breeders. Still we have to go every year and get a few from outside 

 waters. 



Mr. W. H. Safford, Conneaut Lake, Penn. : Our small-mouth pond 

 covers about 4>^ acres. The temperature of the water is about 82 

 degrees. The depth is just a trifle under 4 feet. We have had no 

 difficulty in carrying our bass over. We only lost two last year out of 

 about a hundred. This spring they appeared to be in the finest condi- 

 tion possible, as fat and plump as could be. That pond produced this 

 year 85,000 No. 1 fingerlings. We have a double system of overflow — 

 an overflow for each pond. The water is about 3 feet 10^ inches deep. 



Mr. Clark : The water in those ponds runs in temperature from 32.5 

 to 33 degrees through the winter. 



Mr. Nevin : We had a large number of small-mouth bass which 

 spawned the 21st of May, and there were about 30 nests. The eggs 

 were 27 days in hatching from the time the fish were spawned on the 

 nests. A very small percentage of fry was hatched from them. 



Mr. Buck : Perhaps Mr. Lydell could help us if he would tell us 

 what he does in the matter of collecting these young fish. As I have 

 been obHged to run it we have to draw our ponds in order to get our 

 young fish, and that results in the destruction of millions of insects and 

 practically cutting oif the supply of food for young fish for quite a 

 time in that pond. I count on that being the end of the pond for that 

 season. Is that the way you get at it or what do you do? 



Mr. Lydell : We seine up all our number one fingerling and do not 

 draw the pond down at all. Of course the advanced fry are taken 

 from the fry retainers. They are not distributed from the pond at all. 

 The number ones and twos are taken with a seine. The ponds are 75 

 feet long and six feet deep. About this time of the year we com- 

 mence drawing down our ponds and taking out what are left. Previous 

 to that the ponds are never drawn but the fish are taken by the seine. 



Mr. Dyche : I have seven ponds from 2 to 10 acres each, and there 

 IS so much vegetation in my ponds that it would be impossible to put 

 any kind of a seine in there. I cannot get any young fish out unless I 

 send men in with pitchforks to remove the vegetable matter. 



Mr. Meehan : Can't you keep a space clean six or eight feet from 

 the shore? 



