196 First Annual Report of the 



Pike. 



On January 19, 1911, the attention of the Forest, Fish and 

 Game Commissioner was called to the presence of a great breeding 

 ground of the pike in Lake George, and it was stated that eggs 

 could be collected in enormous quantities in very shallow water 

 soon after the ice leaves the creek and that they could be easily 

 hatched in floating boxes and placed in the lake where this fish, 

 locally called " pickerel," is highly prized as a food and game 

 fish. 



Late in April, 1911, some fyke nets were sent from the Lin- 

 lithgo Station to Lake George for the use of Mr. E. S. Cassel- 

 man, of Dorset, Vt., who was selected to carry on the work of 

 pike hatching in Dunham's bay, Lake George. Mr. Casselman 

 was on the spawning ground April 15th, and examined the breed- 

 ing swamp in company of Mr. William H. Burnett. He wrote, on 

 April 19th, that the pike had not yet begun to run up to the breed- 

 ing grounds. The lake was very low and consequently the water 

 had not set back over the vast marsh as usual, and therefore the 

 pike would have to suawn in the deep channel of the creek, and 

 their eggs could not be collected in the shoal water of the bogs ; but 

 the fish would have to be caught in the creek in nets and stripped 

 artificially. 



Mr. Casselman corroborates the reports of the Fish Culturist 

 to the effect that Lake George and its vicinity furnish favorable 

 grounds for artificial culture of the pike and various species of 

 the salmon family. 



The pike began to run April 24th. On April 25th the first eggs 

 were taken from pike caught in fyke nets. A gill net was used 

 later for the capture of males, but this required constant watch- 

 ing so as to liberate the pike before injury was caused by the net. 



On May 1st the last eggs were taken. The eggs were hatched 

 in twelve Seth Green shad boxes. 



The whole number of pike netted was 237, of which 54 were 

 egg-bearing females. The number of eggs obtained was esti- 

 mated at 30 quarts, and they were hatched with a loss of about 

 25 per cent. Some of the boxes did not yield this percentage of 

 fry and others exceeded it. The weight of the females taken 

 varied from 4 to 8 pounds. 



