58 THE SMALL-MOUTHED BASS 



He is a fearless guardian, and is not very easily driven 

 from the nest, even by man. 



This guarding process occupies a week or ten days, or 

 in some cases a much longer time, all depending on the 

 temperature of the air and water and the action of local 

 currents, which aid aeration. 



During this period they apparently take no food, al- 

 though in several cases, after the lapse of a week, I have 

 caught them with minnows, and thereby satisfied myself 

 that the male fish guarded the nest. In no case have I ever 

 caught a female small-mouthed bass or rock bass guarding 

 a spawning bed; it was always the male who was acting as 

 guardian. 



The young fry when first hatched out are very small, 

 probably about half an inch in length; and they usually 

 remain in the vicinity of their nest, still guarded by the 

 male, who herds them close to shore while he swims to and 

 fro on the outside so as to protect them from enemies. Then 

 in a few days they gradually disappear, and may be seen 

 subsequently swimming about in detached shcals in search 

 of food. The most exact and careful scientific observatiors 

 on the spawning habits of the bass have been made by Mr. 

 Dwight Lydell, of the Mill Creek hatchery, of the State of 

 Michigan, an account of which is given in Bulletin of the 

 Michigan Fish Commission, No. 7, by Dr. Jacob Reighard, 

 of the University of Michigan. I reproduce here some of 

 the most interesting statements from this report. 



Nests and Nest Building. The small-mouthed black bass 

 (Micropterus dolomieu) makes its nest by preference on 

 coarse gravel. From the end of April until the end of June, 

 the time depending on the latitude and the temperature of 

 the water, the male fish make their appearance in shallow 

 water an-d may be seen moving about in search of suitable 

 nesting places. The male then frequently puts his snout to 

 the bottom and roots as though to test for the presence of 



