12 



will take pleasure in furnishing such information as they can in re- 

 gard to the building of ponds and the care of fish, and will also sug. 

 gest the kind of fish suitable for the ponds to be stocked, upon the 

 request of applicants and the necessary information as to location 

 and size of pond, its capacity and the nature of the water supply. 



Paris, III., 1902. 



B-on. N. H. Cohen, President Illinois Fish Commission. 



Dear Sir — In response to your request for a report as to the success of 

 plants of game fish made at Reservoir Lake, by the Illinois Commission, I 

 am pleased to say that they have been in every respect most gratifying. The 

 lake is an artificial bady of water, constructed for the purpose of obtaining 

 a city water supply. It covers an area of 105 acres, when the water is level 

 with the top of the dam and has a maximum depth of 17 feet, gradually 

 shelving off into shallow water, a mile above the dam. The conditions are 

 excellent for the propagation of fish, in that there is plenty of natural feed- 

 ing ground and through careful surveillance, fishing has been strictly limited 

 to hook and line. 



Five plants have been made by your Commission, being for the most part 

 of black bass, though a plant of crappie, made in the fall of 1901, has yielded 

 slight returns. A few pickerel have been included in the shipments, but no 

 one has caught any of them, so far as reported. The bass fishing, however, 

 is excellent and grows better year by year. During the season of 1902 a 

 number of very fine fish were taken ranging in weight from one pound up to 

 six pounds. It is not thought to be an extravagant estimate, to eay that an 

 average of 50 pounds of fish per day, was yielded by the lake from May to 

 October. Very large strings are not common, but nearly everybody is more 

 or less successful, indicating that the fish are well distributed. Our people 

 greatly appreciate the work of the Commission in providing this fine fishing 

 resort, which is certainly not surpassed anywhere in tbis part of Illinois, it 

 may mterest you to know that the prize catch at the lake last season was made by 

 a woman, Mrs. I. N. Sheppard, landing without assistance, a bass, weighing 

 six pounds and two ounces. Very respectfully yours, 



h. dollarhide. 



Clinton, III., 1902. 



Nat Cohen, Esq., State Fish Commissioner, Urbana, Illinois: 



Dear Sir: — The undersigned having been appointed a special committee 

 by the Board of Directors of the Weldon Springs of Clinton, Illinois, to look 

 attor the fishing interests of said Springs, respectfully call your attention to 

 thti fact that we have not been supplied with any game fish by the S'ate for 

 Woldon Springs Lake for the past two years, and ask you to kindly furnish 

 U3 with a supply of bass and crappy for the sea-son of 1903. We would like 

 a consignment of large bass and a consignment of fry. You will remember 

 some four years ago, you furnished us with a nice supply of large bass, and 

 no doubt will be interested in a report from our lake. Those bass we pro- 

 tected for a year by allowing no fishing aad during the seasons of 1900 »nd 

 1901 the bass flsbing was excellent, and Weldon Springs became a popular 

 resort of the citizens of this community. One of the undersigned causrQt 19 

 bass in 30 minutes with a fly, returning 16 of them to the water, savine only 

 thrtio of the larger ones, one of which weighed four pounds. The w.hII eyed 

 pike and crappy that you supplied us with, while not multiplying as rnpidly 

 as the bass, have done very well. Last season the crappy made their appear- 

 ance in great numbers, and furnished excellent sport and the wall eyed pike 

 made their appearance, and havrf attained a size of about six pouuds. A 

 great mistake was made last season in allowiog fishing in the early spring 

 bHfore the fish had spawned, and our lake was nearly depleted of bass, hence 

 we ask you for a consignment of large bass and one oif fry. We are now adopt- 

 ing resolutions that no fishing is to be done until June 15. thereby obtaining 

 all the natural increase in numbers. No bass is to be takin from tti;> water 



