382 Lake Maxinknckee, Physical and Biological Snrvey 



part of the body and having a tendency to form narrow vertical 

 bars ; dorsal and caudal fms marked with green ; anal fin pale, 

 nearly plain ; fins very high, but lower than in the calico bass. 



43. CALICO BASS 



POMOXIS SPAROIDES (Lacepede) 



(Plates 21 and 23) 



This fish is found through the Great Lakes region and south to 

 New Jersey and Texas. Among the Great Lakes and throughout 

 the upper Mississippi Valley it is an abundant and well-known 

 species. As to choice of habitat, it prefers lakes, ponds, bayous and 

 sluggish lowland streams. At Lake Maxinkuckee it is quite com- 

 mon, and is frequently seen and caught. Although a relatively 

 shallow water fish it does not frequent the shore very much except 

 on special occasions, but seems to inhabit the zone of 8 to 14 feet 

 of water. For this reason only a few (12 or 13 specimens) were 

 taken during the seining operation. It sometimes basks near the 

 surface in relatively deep water. On April 29, 1901, a great num- 

 ber of fishes were noted splashing in the region of the deepest 

 water of the lake. The fishes would be lying on the side and go 

 under with a splash when the boat came near. On cautiously ap- 

 proaching the school it was possible to get close enough to recog- 

 nize the species, and it proved to be the Calico Bass. 



In Lake Maxinkuckee it is far more abundant than the Crappie, 

 Pomoxis annuktiis. It is, however, usually mistaken for that 

 species and called "Crappie" by most of the anglers who know it 

 from this and other lakes of northern Indiana. There are a few 

 who are able to distinguish the 2 species, and they usually speak 

 of this as the Strawberry Bass, Paper-mouth or Tin-mouth. The 

 first of these three names has reference, of course, to the color of 

 the fish; "Paper-mouth" was doubtless given because of the great 

 ease with which the mouth tears, releasing the hook and allowing 

 the fish to escape; and the name "Tin-mouth" has reference to the 

 thinness as well as the color of the jaws. Occasionally a visiting- 

 angler will speak of this fish as the "Silver Bass", or sometimes 

 as the "Campbellite". 



As a game-fish the Calico Bass does not hold a high rank, 

 though there are many anglers who find that catching it is full of 

 pleasure and satisfaction and not without excitement. It is a fish 

 which can be caught any month in the year; in the early spring 

 shortly after the ice goes off, it, along with other sunfishes, bites 

 well from piers, and a number were caught near the Ice-houses 



