8 American Fisheries Society 



fish, — for reasons see Bulletins published by the Depart- 

 ment. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



It was very noticeable that the ponds that had the best 

 supply of vegetable matter were the ones that produced 

 the most and best fish. Ponds that had but little vege- 

 tation, and consequently but little food, furnished but 

 few fish. The fish taken from such ponds, if there were 

 many in them, were small, thin and poor. This was 

 especially true of the crappie. The bass taken from 

 such ponds were sometimes unusually large, but as a 

 rule there were not many of them and dissection showed 

 that they were cannibals or were feeding extensively 

 upon other kinds of fish that might be in the ponds. In 

 fact the young black bass in all these ponds were large 

 for their age. Many of them ranged from five to ten 

 inches in length in October, November and December. 

 One bunch measured and weighed November 2, 1913, av- 

 eraged in length 7% inches and in weight 6V2 ounces. Most 

 of these young bass were taken from ponds that had been 

 stocked with bluegill sunfish and goldfish as food fishes 

 for the bass. The lengths of some of these young bass, 

 in inches, taken just as they came ran thus : 7.6, 7.7, 8.3, 

 7.8, 7.2, 7.4, 8, 7.3, 7.8, 6.9, 6.8, 7,6 and the corresponding 

 weights were, in ounces: 6.5, 7, 7, 8, 8, 5.5, 6.5, 8.5, 

 5, 4.5, 4.5, 6.5. 



It was very apparent that the ponds that had unfixed 

 and unsettled banks and whose shores were being cut by 

 the waves, produced but few fish. We are more con- 

 vinced than ever that it is necessary for ponds to have 

 suitable spawning grounds or they will not yield a good 

 supply of fish. What we call suitable spawning grounds 

 for the common kinds of fish such as we raise are de- 

 scribed in our Bulletins on fish culture. An unsuitable 

 spawning ground for the large mouthed black bass, for 

 instance, can be found in a pond where the waves cut 

 the banks and where there is little or no vegetation. 



