LAKE SIMCOE 



In the fall of 1964, Lake Simcoe was set up as a separate Fish Management 

 Unit under the direction of a biologist, assisted by a Fisheries Management 

 Officer. This Unit, with headquarters at Sibbald Point Provincial Park near 

 Sutton, will be obtaining information necessary for proper management of fish 

 within the lake. 



The major activities of this Unit during 1965, included a creel census of ice 

 fishermen on Lake Simcoe during the winter of 1965-66. Results showed that 

 1,672 anglers fished 6,421 man hours for a catch of 4,376 fish, or a return of 

 about 0.68 fish per hour spent angling. 



Work was begun in 1965 to determine the fecundity and age at maturity of 

 the whitefish. This study will be continued during 1966. 



Also, started in 1965, was a study to determine the value of stocking lake 

 trout yearlings. Ten thousand were stocked in 1965 and each was marked by 

 removal of the adipose fin. This programme will be continued and augmented with 

 a tagging programme on the native wild trout captured during the fall netting 

 operations. 



Trap netting also formed an integral part of the work carried out by the 

 Lake Simcoe Unit. During the spring and summer of 1965, trap nets were set to 

 sample the fishery and obtain pertinent information on growth and the distribution 

 of Lake Simcoe fishes. In conjunction with this netting, 323 smallmouth bass, nine 

 largemouth black bass, 85 walleye, 49 whitefish and one herring were tagged. 



GEORGIAN BAY 



A study of walleye populations in Georgian Bay and Shawanaga Basin near 

 Pointe au Baril was continued for the fourth year. An additional 894 fish were 

 tagged. Tag losses have been eliminated by the use of monel metal jaw tags in 

 1964 and 1965. 



Recoveries of tags in 1965 totalled 607 through recaptures on the project, 

 75 from anglers and 40 from commercial fishermen. Movement patterns detected 

 in 1965 were similar to previous years. Some increase in movement of fish 

 between Shawanaga Basin and Shawanaga Bay was noted. A relatively insignificant 

 number moved between Shawanaga Basin (inland), and Groundhog Island (six 

 miles out in Georgian Bay) compared to the number that stayed in their respective 

 tagging areas. No large scale spawning migrations in any direction are evident. 



LAKE OF THE WOODS 



The Unit carried out its study on the southern section of the lake during 

 1965. The study area not only encompassed the heavily glaciated precambrian 

 shield along its northern fringe, but also terrain of low relief and shallow waters, 

 the varved clays of old Lake Agassiz. 



The survey crew worked from Sand Point outpost camp. Located fifty miles 

 from Kenora, this is the most remote of the five study sections. 



The work programme continued in line with the established methods designed 

 in 1962. 



Three water stations were established early and were sampled bi-weekly from 

 spring to fall for chemical and physical characteristics. According to research's 

 analysis of plankton species, these waters more closely reflect the eutrophic waters 

 of the Bay of Quinte than the typical oligotrophic waters of northwestern Ontario. 

 Dense phytoplankton blooms were encountered by mid August. 



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