SOME PECULIARITIES IN SPAWNING HABITS OF 

 LARGE -MOUTH BLACK BASS 



BY J. J. STRANAHAN. OF BULLOCHVILLE, GA. 



Do fish s])awn more than once a year ? This is the usual way 

 that the layman puts the question to the fish culturist and the 

 answer is in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred in the nega- 

 tive. This would have been ray answer nine years ago, or prior 

 to my residence in the south. Of course we all know that carp 

 and some other fishes of that family lay their eggs a few a day 

 over a considerable period of time, but that is not the real ques- 

 tion as applying to the more common fishes reared in confine- 

 ment, such as the basses and other meml)ers of the Centrarchioae 

 family. 



I know of no place where the haljits of fishes can be so well 

 oljsorved as at the C^old Spring Station of the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries at Bullochville, Ga. The water is extreme- 

 ly clear and most of the ponds are comparatively free from 

 aquatic growth. The smaller ones are so restricted in area that 

 observations can be made of all parts of the ponds in favorable 

 weather. The writer has kept careful watch over the spawning 

 operations of the large-mouth bass during the nine seasons dur- 

 ing wliich time lie has been in charge of tliis station, although 

 the larger size of the ponds and the growth of aquatic plants 

 made this work less satisfactory after the first two or three years. 

 However, it is known as an absolute certainty that the large- 

 mouth Ijass at tliis station s])awn several times a season, extend- 

 ing over a period from early in March to the last of July, and 

 usually in small numbers into August. Li fact, we had one case 

 where a male liass liad a l)roo(l of fry numl)ering several thou- 

 sand about an inch long on October 11. Fortunately, Hon. 

 George M. Bowers, commissioner of fisheries, was present and 

 saw this sporadic hatch. 



There are generally individuals with distinguishing marks 

 which })ermits us to identify them in these duplicate hatchings 

 so that there is not a shadow of dou])t as to the accuracy of these 



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