FISHES OF THREE WISCONSIN LAKES 59 



from the sportsman's point of view. Lake Geneva has been a 

 resort for fishermen for many years, yet continues to produce 

 considerable numbers of game fishes. 



For commerical fishing a lake should produce a constant 

 supply in considerable numbers and for a long period of time. 

 These conditions can of course be met only in large bodies of 

 water, and continual fishing should not be carried on in small 

 lakes. 



For the production of large numbers of fishes a lake should 

 have much food and vegetation. To permit fishes to develop 

 to large size a lake should offer a variety of habitats or condi- 

 tions for living. For the production of game fishes a lake 

 should possess special features which favor the development of 

 the species desired and exclude undesirable species. Lake 

 Geneva, with its beautiful rocky shores, great depth, clear water, 

 low temperatures in deeper strata, and scanty shore vegetation, 

 is a poor place for carp but an admirable habitat for game fishes. 

 Lake Pepin, which is a highway to all the varied habitats along 

 the Mississippi, and Lake Michigan, with its enormous food re- 

 sources in deep water, will long continue to serve the commercial 

 fishermen. The Mississippi is not itself a particularly favorable 

 habitat for fishes. If the swamps, lakes, and slews, which 

 furnish the bulk of the food and variety of habitats for its fishes 

 are destroyed or cut off from it, the fishes must decrease. Lake 

 Michigan, while it is not inexhaustible, gives its commercial 

 fishes a more certain tenure, because its food resources are less 

 likely to be destroyed. 



