416 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



to be the most important element of their food. One example con- 

 tained several darters ; another 19^ inches long contained the spines 

 of another fish; several contained Vivipara contectoides ; one 5 

 inches long contained a backswimmer; and another, a medium- 

 sized minnow. On August 7, 1906, a fisherman reported finding 

 a young musk turtle in the stomach of a straw bass; another ex- 

 ample contained a minnow, a johnny darter and several Sphserium 

 shells; another contained a grasshopper probably bait; and a 

 large bass 19 inches long was found dead on shore with a good- 

 sized bluegill lodged crossways in its mouth a victim of its own 

 greed. Although the bass bite eagerly in the winter, they appear 

 to eat very little then; all the stomachs examined caught by ice- 

 fishing being empty except for parasites. 



The Straw Bass is the most abundant game-fish in the lake, 

 and one of those most frequently caught. They are considered a 

 good deal more loggy than the black bass and the flesh is coarser 

 and not so finely flavored. The best season for catching the Straw 

 Bass is in May and June, by trolling along the edge of bars; one 

 observant fisherman claims that only males are obtained at that 

 time. In fishing for the Straw Bass, almost all sorts of methods 

 are used except fly-fishing, which is not much in vogue at Lake 

 Maxinkuckee. In early summer the fish are caught on bars among 

 the weeds in from 3 to 8 feet of water; later in the year they are 

 often caught in deeper water; some were caught in 30 to 40 feet 

 on October 17. Minnows are the best all-year-round bait gray- 

 back and blue-nosed chub, etc., for warmer weather, and shiners 

 for cold weather. During late summer and early fall the grass- 

 hopper is favorite bait. Bass are also caught on the spoon, spin- 

 ner, artificial frog, meat-rind, pork-chunk, etc. A few anglers are 

 not ashamed to use the Dowagiac minnow, but the better sportsmen 

 regard it as a barbarous device, fit only to be used by a clumsy 

 fish-butcher. 



This fish is the species most frequently caught by ice-fishers. 



Just what might be considered a good catch at the lake depends 

 upon the circumstances, the fisherman, the methods of fishing, etc. 

 With the old methods of ice-fishing where there was no limit to the 

 number of hooks, more could be obtained than in summer fishing. 

 This varied greatly with the individual, as some men who fished a 

 great deal through the ice got very few fish, and for a just com- 

 parison it would be necessary to have the records of the same per- 

 son fishing both winter and summer, and having ample opportunity 

 to fish the whole season through. One of the best ice-fishers got 

 21 Large-mouth Bass in one day (January 15, 1901) ; another, 



