264 Second Annual Report of the 



waiting for these large fish to bite. Maskalonge were planted in 

 this lake in 1912 to help reduce the over supply of minnows. 



Dunham's Bay creek, an arm of Lake George, is one of the 

 greatest natural breeding grounds known for the pike, locally 

 called " pickerel " in Lake George. This creek meanders through 

 a level flat for a distance of about three miles. It has numerous 

 short tributary branches and the whole Hat is densely covered 

 with the reeds, rushes and other aquatic plants about which the 

 pike deposits its eggs in the early Spring, as soon as the marsh 

 is free from ice. During dry seasons the back flow of water 

 from the lake is insufficient to cover the marshes, and the fish 

 spawn in the creek. The pike of Lake George is an excellent, 

 food and game fish and is well worthy of propagation upon a 

 large scale; but its introduction into waters in which it is not 

 native would be a serious mistake. The first attempt of the 

 Commission to hatch pike eggs artificially resulted in the planting 

 of 5,000,000 of fry, Dunham's Bay creek and surrounding 

 marshes should be fully utilized by the Commission as a great 

 nursery for the pike and other fishes. Owing to its habit of 

 spawning early in the Spring in very shallow water just after 

 the ice leaves the lake, it will be easy to collect vast numbers of 

 the eggs. The hatching period is short, and the fish would 

 naturally be distributed as young fry. If the Commission should 

 add this species to its list, the annual output of fish would be 

 enormously increased at very small expense, and it is not likely 

 that this would interfere with the increase of any other fish in 

 the lake, as the pike frequents the shores and the very shallow 

 water. 



Pickerel. 



The Commission has many applications for pickerel annually; 

 but it does not propagate this fish and, consequently, does not 

 furnish any for planting. 



Maskalonge. 



At the Chautauqua station in 1912 the e^g collections exceeded 



all previous records. Some of the eggs first taken were hatching 



on May 13th. A qnart of egg's is estimated to contain 42,000. 



The foreman counted 1,312 eggs to the ounce. The first eggs 



