3l8 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



RpCr^ J>ass; I(ed-I^e (Ambloplites rupestris Rafinesque). 



Centrarchus aenens DeKay, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 27, pi. 2, fig. 4, 1842, Lake Cham'plain; Great 



Lakes; streams of Western New York; Hudson River. 

 Ambloplites rupestris Bean, Fishes Penna., 105, color pi. 10, 1893; Jordan & Evermann, Bull. 47, 



U. S. Nat. Mus., 990, 1896, pi. CLVI, figs. 419, A, B, C; Meek, Ann. N. Y. Ac. Sci., IV, 



313, 1898; Eugene Smith, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. Y. for 1897, 33, 1898; Mearns, Bull. Am. 



Mus. Nat. Hist., X, 319, 1898; Bean, 52c! Ann. Rept. N. Y. State Mus., 104, 1900. 



Color olive green with a brassy tinge and much dark mottling; the young are 

 pale or yellowish, irregularly barred and blotched with black; adults with a dark 

 spot at the base of each scale, the spots forming interrupted black stripes; a 

 dark spot on the opercle; soft dorsal, anal and caudal fins with dark mottlings; 

 iris golden overlaid with crimson. 



The rock bass is known under a variety of names. Among them are the 

 following: red-eye, red-eyed perch, goggle-eye and lake bass. It is found in Lower 

 Canada, Vermont and throughout the Great Lakes region, West Manitoba, and 

 it is native in Minnesota and Dakota ; southward it ranges through the Mississippi 

 Valley to Texas. 



Under circumstances favorable as to water and food supply the rock bass 

 grows to a length of fourteen inches and a weight of two pounds. It increases 

 in depth and thickness with age. The largest example we have examined is one 

 of two pounds weight, length fourteen inches, from the James River, Va., taken 

 near Richmond. Dr. William Overton reports that rock bass weighing three and 

 three fourths pounds have been taken in his vicinity at Stony Creek, Va. 



In February and March this fish frequents the mouths of small streams, and 

 in summer it seeks shady places under high banks or projecting rocks. The 

 species is gregarious, going in large schools It thrives where there is not much 

 current and is very well adapted for culture in artificial ponds. It is as common 

 in lakes and ponds as in the streams. Sluggish, pure dark water suits it best. 



The fishing season begins in June and lasts till the approach of cold weather. 

 The rock bass feeds on worms, crustaceans and larvae of insects early in the 

 season; later its food consists of minnows and crawfish. The young feed on 

 insects and their larvae. The spawning season is May and June, and gravelly 

 shoals are resorted to for depositing the eggs. 



The rock bass bites very freely and is a fair game fish and excellent for the 

 table. It fights vigorously, but its endurance is not great. Suitable baits are 

 white grubs, crickets, grasshoppers, crawfish and small minnows. Common earth- 

 worms are also successfully used. 



