6. BARK LAKE (PEMBROKE DISTRICT) 



In an effort to determine the effect of water fluctuations on the spawning 

 success of lake trout, the following studies were conducted during the summer and 

 fall of 1965. 



A shoreline survey was carried out to determine the areas that appeared to 

 be most suitable for lake trout spawning. During this survey, aquatic vegetation 

 was mapped, and active bass nests were also noted. Random sampling with gill 

 nets was carried out during the summer to establish the relative population 

 proportions in the lake. Bottom samples were collected from spawning beds 

 which were reported to be used by lake trout prior to the construction of the 

 Hydro dam. Intensive netting was conducted on shallow and deep water spawning 

 beds during the fall to determine the depths at which lake trout were presently 

 spawning. 



7. LAKE TIMAGAMI (NORTH BAY DISTRICT) 



During the latter part of May and early June, a tagging programme was 

 carried out on Lake Timagami by North Bay district staff. 



A total of 4,375 fish were captured and, of the 1,378 game fish taken, 553 

 were tagged including 487 walleye, 59 lake trout and seven smallmouth black bass. 



Other data gathered during the programme has helped reveal more accurate 

 information on tagged fish released in the 1959-61 project, and has created con- 

 siderable fisherman interest in the proposed 1966 creel census programme. 



This programme is designed to determine walleye and lake trout population 

 densities, fish migrations, utilization by sports fishermen and, in the case of fin 

 clipped hatchery stock, to determine the contribution made by the planting of 

 hatchery reared stocks. 



8. MISSISSAGI RIVER (SAULT STE. MARIE) 



A study of the walleye in the lower Mississagi River and the north central 

 waters of the North Channel of Lake Huron was begun in 1961 and continued 

 throughout 1965 to determine the relative effects of angling and commercial 

 fishing on the population. 



Angling improved by 62% in 1965, according to creel census data and the 

 walleyes harvested by this means are estimated to have numbered nearly 4,900. 

 In contrast, the commercial catches of walleye in the waters under study fell to 

 1,441 pounds from the 1964 total of 2,437 pounds. The 1962 year class, vulner- 

 able to angling over the entire season and to commercial fishing late in the season, 

 dominated the walleye catches of both fisheries. Additional support for the angling 

 fishery was provided by the 1963 year class which, on entry in the fall months, had 

 considerable impact on angling success. 



A total of 250 tags were returned in 1965, including 206 of the 1,309 tags 

 affixed to walleyes in the spring of that year. From these returns, estimates of 

 fishing mortality and walleye numbers at several ages have been derived together 

 with estimates of total mortality over different age ranges. 



Most phases of the study will be continued for another year at least to confirm 

 present findings and to secure additional information on tag loss. 



9. PATRICIA AREA 



The Patricia Fisheries Inventory Project initiated in 1959 was terminated in 

 1965. The purpose of the project was to survey the important waters, examine the 



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