But it is a conservative statement to say that for every 

 adult bass removed from the nest, there is a correspond- 

 ing destruction of from 500 to 25,000 eggs or fry, the 

 amount from each nest exceeding the average number 

 of little bass supplied by fishery officials on each appli- 

 cation for stocking purposes. 



In normal seasons the basses have finished spawning in 

 most Connecticut waters on or before July first. During 

 a very late spring the spawning season in cold water 

 lakes may extend well past the middle of July. 



If the nesting bass are protected until the first of July, 

 (as provided by the statutory close season) it is believed 

 that in waters suitable for them they will be able to main- 

 tain themselves by natural reproduction to the limit of the 

 natural food supply. 



However, there may be occasions when the angler will 

 have an opportunity, in open season, to exercise self- 

 restraint — by refraining from taking father bass while 

 he is attempting to guard his nest or young brood. 



Both of the basses (largemouth and smallmouth) are 

 non-indigenous fishes which were first introduced to Con- 

 necticut waters about fifty years ago. They are naturally 

 warm-water fishes, the largemouth especially so, but have 

 in some instances been introduced into cold-water lakes 

 and ponds better suited to some species of trout. In 

 these colder waters the basses cannot be made to yield 

 so large a crop as in the warmer waters. One of the 

 several reasons for this is the fact that the colder waters 

 produce less bass food than do the warmer waters. 



Fortunately, there are two opportunities to improve the 

 bass fishing without resorting to large annual expendi- 

 tures. 



The first is by legislation for the protection of immature 

 fish. The present statutory limit as to the size of bass 

 which may be lawfully taken, coupled with an ever-in- 

 creasing number of anglers, with new and ever increas- 

 ingly destructive lures, results in keeping the number of 

 mature fish reduced to a minimum. It is seldom that a 

 bass is sufficietly mature to spawn when only eight inches 

 long and when a female of such small size is mature she 

 will produce comparatively few eggs. With the growth of 

 another year her productive capacity would at least be 

 trebled. It must be kept in mind that the fish crop is 

 one to be harvested under certain wise restrictions, just 

 as one harvests poultry or other live stock — always with 

 an eye to protecting a sufficient breeding stock to main- 

 tain the supply. 



49 



