Oihiilii I.akf l-isliiS 389 



fishes of the lake. Of the two members of the fjemis Hsox found there, this one 

 is readily distiiiguished by the ])resence of scales on l)oth the upiK-r and lower 

 halves of the o|)erculum and of the cheek, and mature examples can jirobably 

 always In; identified by the reticulated character of the markin>;s on the sides of 

 the lxj<ly instead of the rather distinct spots of l:sox liniiis. However, there is 

 great variation in the markinj,'s in dilTerent liKaiitiis and under ditTirent lijjht 

 conditions. 



Urccdnni Jliihils and Life History, .\ccordin),' to testimony, pickerel come 

 to the shallow water of the many marshes about ( )neida l.ake to spawn early in 

 the sprint,', aiiout the time the ice begins to disappear from the shore region. In 

 19JO. they evidently bred about .\pril 1. Kml)ody ('i«. p. J53 ) notes that j)ike 

 and i)ickerel usually enter the marshes and temporarily submerged fields at the 

 southern end of Cayut;a I^ke as soon as the ice leaves, which is usually toward 

 the end of .March, and that si)awnin},' (Kcurs a week or more later when the water 

 temperature approaches 47° K. The ])ickerel ai)parently breeds a little later than 

 tin- pike, but the two may be spawniuf^ at the same time. Wright and .\llen 

 ri.V p. 3) give the breeding time for the Chain I'ickerel as February to June i. 

 The actual spawning time evidently varies with latitude and with the character 

 of the i)articular spring season. According to Kendall ("17. j). _'8) riiie fish were 

 found in Massachusetts in May. in Pennsylvania in .\pril and early May. Ryder 

 ('87. |). 5i()) furnishes notes on the embryology of this sjiecies. 



Kemlall ('17. p. 28) .says that the breeding ])laces are shallow coves, mouths 

 of inlets, approaches to outlets, and sometimes overflowed areas, in water from 

 3 to 10 feet deep, Init not always in the same ])laces each year; and further, that 

 .sometimes the eggs are iie])osited among the roots of submerge<l tree stumps, the 

 branches of fallen trees or bushes, water ])lants. and occasionally on gravel or 

 in crevices among rcK-ks. He (juotes Tomlin (92) who says the fish are found in 

 pairs, gently swinuuing to and fro. sides touching, until the female is ready to 

 spawn. The eggs are laid in glutinous strings of a yellowish color, which often 

 form large masses clinging to submerged objects. Sometimes the strings are as 

 long as nine feet. In Massachusetts it was noted (I.e.. p. 29) that females apiK-ar 

 to ]>reponderate over males. I-'mbody ("iS. ]>. 233) describes the spawning of 

 Pike and Pickerel, which, he says, are practically identical in their sjiawning 

 behavior, as follows: ".\ female, accomjianied by one or more males swims about 

 in a nieauflering jwth. I'-ggs and milt are cast during widely varying intervals 

 and at e.nch emission violent lashings of their tails ten<l to distribute lH)th eggs 

 an<l milt over a comparatively large area." He notes that spawning Pickerel have 

 been observed crossing the paths of spawning Pike { T.so.y Ituiiis) and considers it 

 conceivable that cross fertilization may t.ike phce. resulting in hybrids «>f the 

 two sjK-cies, 



In ( )neida I-ike. the Chain Pickerel noted by us have all In-en small, the larger 

 ones taken ranging front alMiut IJ to iS inches in total length. I'nder favorable 

 conditions this pickerel may reach a weight of as much as five jMiunds in three 

 years, but according to the Massachusetts I-'ish Commission the rate of growth 

 ap|H'ars to vary with lem|H'rature. for in a pond of cold water with iil<"i^ .t i'm-I 

 fbev reach a weight of but 2'i |)<nmds in six years (Kendall. '17. ]• 



