92 Fish^ Fishing and Fisheries of Pennsylvania. 



irre^lar shaped body in Overfield towuship affords good fishing as 

 does also Marcy's pond in Lemon and Tunkhannocy townships, the 

 largest lake in that section. 



Nearly all the natural lakes in Pennsylvania have been stocked from 

 time to time by the fish commission, and there is not one but has been 

 benefited thereby. In some, certain kinds of fish have been put in that 

 did not thrive, even though the water conditions seemed favorable, but 

 a trial with some other sort eventually succeeded. Black, strawberry^ 

 white and rock bass, pike-perch and lake trout have been the species 

 usually used for stocking purposes, though occasionally some others 

 have been tried with varying success. Of this last class, the rainbow 

 trout have yielded the best results. 



When this far-western game-fish was first experimented with in the 

 east the mountain streams were tried, but for some reason they did not 

 generally seem to thrive. Van Camp's stream, in Pike county; HoUis- 

 ter's creek, in Wayne; Newville, in Cumberland, and a few others else- 

 where, there was greater or less success, but on the whole the experi- 

 ment was disheartening, and except on local applications the work of 

 stream stocking with rainbow trout has been practically abandoned. 

 The reason for this failure has not been satisfactorily explained. Placed 

 in waters apparently suitable, they often entirely disappeared almost 

 immediately to turn up in another creek some distance away, the waters 

 of which seemed not nearly as favorable for their habits or growth. 

 A notable example of this was near Erie a few years ago. Here a cer- 

 tain stream near the city of Erie was plentifully planted with rainbow 

 trout and for a time they seemed perfectly satisfied in their new home, 

 but suddenly not one was to be found in the waters in which they had 

 been deposited. A couple of years later fishes of this species were 

 caught in great numbers in a stream two or three miles distant, where 

 no fish of their kind had been placed. Both brooks emptied into Lake 

 Erie, and it is supposed that not being satisfied with their first home 

 they abandoned it for the lake and made their way into the waters 

 where they were subsequently found. Li this connection it is note- 

 worthy that some of this fish must have remained in the lake, for re- 

 cently they have been caught there in some numbers and they seem 

 to be increasing. 



When the experiment of stream planting with rainbow trout proved 

 generally a failure, lake planting with this fish was attempted. Li this, 

 as remarked above, some success has been met with, probably because 

 in bodies of this character they cannot indulge in their seemingly 

 migratory inclinations. Many mountain lakes of the state, therefore, 

 yield fair rainbow trout fishing, though not, and probably never will, 

 equal the yield that other kinds do. 



