Oneida Lake Fishes 255 



stimulated. .Some of tlic more intcllificnt of these men oiteii iiim>i lliat the laws 

 are not fair; and not beiii),' fair, tliey have no respect for theni. They consider the 

 ofhcials as working for pay to catch them in illegal acts and lo<jk upon the whole 

 thing merely as a game of wits, to catch and to escape capture. When fishermen 

 are not permitted to take fish of species which arc not sought after by the sports- 

 men, as is the case with rough and cull fish, they feel the injustice the more keenly, 

 and believe that they are morally justified in this warfare. If, however, there 

 could be established a fair division of the field, some degree of harmony might be 

 developed, but at present neither party trusts or respects the other. .\t present 

 also the general public, which should be interested in both sides of the controver.sy, 

 since its interests arc ])aramount, has learned to get along without its fair share of 

 food and game fish. Surely this is not a permanent condition. The aim should l)e 

 to work toward a fair and technical, rather than 'political' control of all these 

 interests." 



Angling at Oneida Lake, .\dams and Uankinson ('16) make the following 

 statements in regard to angling in Onci<la Lake: "It is seldom that a large inland 

 city is located so close to a large lake abounding in game fish. The exceptional 

 o]>portunities about Syracuse for anglers arc much appreciated, as is shown by the 

 large number of persons who iK-long to angling organizations. The oldest and 

 largest organization, the .Anglers' Association of Onondaga, has over 600 active 

 memlyers. .\n active younger Society is the 'Central City Sportsmens' .Associa- 

 tion.' The first named has not only planted millions of fish, received from the 

 Federal and .State authorities, but has recently, in co-i>i)eration with the State Col- 

 lege of Forestry, established a fish nursery at the College l".xi)eriment Station at 

 Syracuse for rearing young fish to a favorable planting age. [This has in recent 

 years been abandoned.] These facts are indicative of the character and amount of 

 interest shown in the game fish. 



"If one attempts to summarize approved nutbods of angling in ( >neida l.ake, 

 nuich divergence of opinion is found. The numlxT of "best methods' is amazing. 

 It calls to miml the difliiculties encountered in any efTort to tietermine the 'l>cst' in 

 politics, automobiles, etc., liccausc of the diverse personal preferences. .\s reprc- 

 .sentative opinion, the following has In-en prepare<I, on riniuest. by Mr. .\. L. Bishop, 

 President of the .\nglers' .\ss<Kiation of Onoiulaga. who states that: 'The Oneida 

 Lake game fish may be rate<l as follows in the order of their preference as game 

 fish: Small-mouthed Black Bass, Pike Perch, I.arge-moutlu<l Black Bass, Yellow 

 Perch, Pickerel and Bullheads. .An approved method for angling for Pike Perch 

 is to troll the liottom with a small sjioon, attached by a copiK-r wire leader 10-12 

 feet long; in June on stony iKittoin of mixlerate depth, in July in dee|HT water. 

 Bass to Ik- taken by still fishing, with live knit (crawfish. Imally known as 'crab*.' 

 ami miimows). or with wimhUu bait with casting uh\. Perch arc taken by .still 

 fishing, live kiit (minnows, 'crabs.' or wonns) fish eyes, or scarlet ventral fin of 

 the iK-rch. Pickerel are largely taken with a large trolling s|¥xin (larger than for 

 Pike Perch"), to a much less degree by still fishing, with minnows. Bullheads arc 

 taken at night with worm'." 



Without a knowledge of Mr. Bishop's precctling sectitm. Mr. \V. H. Weston. 

 Division Chief (iame Protector of the State Conservation Commi'^sion, has pre- 

 pared the following statement, using infonnation from a numlx-r of his wanlcns : 



