THIRTY-FIRST BIENNIAL REPORT 



39 



IMPORTANCE IN OTHER STATES 



The states of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, 

 Wisconsin, South. Dakota, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Connecticut, 

 Ohio, Oklahoma, and a number of other states not so favored by trout 

 waters as is California, derive a large portion of their license revenue 

 from these spiny rayed fresh water game fishes. They specialize 

 entirely upon the propagation of this tribe of fishes at a cost of from 

 $25 to $40 per thousand. 



With the single exception of the yellow perch, the spiny rayed fishes 

 can not be propagated artificially as are trout and salmon. They can 

 not be stripped of their eggs as are trout, hence the necessity of these 

 states creating seminatural or artificial outdoor propagating ponds in 

 order to maintain the demand by the anglers of these states. Many of 

 these states expend a large amount of their income in the propagation 



Fig. 13. Pot hole in irrigation ditch near Tracy from which striped bass were 

 rescued for transplanting in the Salton Sea. Photo by E. S. Cheney, October, 

 1929. 



of these fish. Arkansas claims to maintain the largest acreage of propa- 

 gating ponds in America — a series of ponds just completed, at a cost 

 of $175,000. The state of Illinois operates eleven seminatural ponds 

 for spinous fish. They also operate four rescue stations with crews. 

 This would indicate the value of these game fishes to these states. 



Such expenditures will not be necessary in this state as long as the 

 fish are rescued from the immense natural propagating areas in the 

 Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. The gromng demand for both 

 large- and small-mouth black bass can be met by setting aside certain 

 natural ponds or lakes which may be acquired by rental and maintained 

 as bass propagating waters. There are many such ponds and reser- 



