3^2 REPORT OF THE 



20. Lucius ohiensis (Kirtland). Chautauqua Muskallunge.— The muskal- 

 lunge is by all odds the most important fish found in Chautauqua Lake, whethei; 

 considered from the standpoint of the angler or that of the commercial fisherman. 

 It is very different in appearance from the muskallunge of the Great Lakes and 

 apparently deserves to rank as a distinct species. The following color description 

 was drawn up from a fresh example 25 inches long, weighing 4 pounds, caught in 

 the north end of the lake near Mayville, September 26: 



Back nearly uniform dark olive green ; upper ^ of side rich brassy green with 

 some metallic green ; about 25 faint narrow darker vertical bars extending somewhat 

 below lateral line ; lower third of side paler and more brassy, the 25 vertical bars 

 widening into broad darkish blotches, these most greenish on posterior third of 

 body ; top of head very dark green ; scaled part of head brassy greenish, lower part 

 of side of head \vith less brassy and less greenish, and some silvery, especially on 

 lower part of opercle ; rim of lower jaw dusky greenish ; rest of lower jav/ and 

 throat white ; breast with a few round greenish spots ; rest of belly white ; fins dark 

 olive, with numerous darker greenish spots; iris grayish brown. 



The crossbars are rather broad and do not break up distinctly into diffuse spots, 

 and the fin spots are greenish rather than black. The general color is a rich 

 greenish brassy with very indistinct darker green crossbars. 



This species was described in 1854 by Dr. Kirtland from a specimen from the 

 Mahoning River, Ohio. The real home of the fish, however, is Chautauqua Lake, 

 only occasional individuals being taken elsewhere in the Ohio basin. As early as 

 1818 Rafinesque obtained it in the Ohio River. He says " it is one of the best 

 fishes in the Ohio; its flesh is very delicate and divides easily, as in salmon, into 

 large plates as white as snow. It is called salmon pike, white pike, white jack, or 

 white pickerel, and Picaneau blanc by the Missourians. It reaches a length of 5 

 feet." 



It would appear from this that the muskallunge was a common and well-known 

 fish in the Ohio a hundred years ago, even if we make some allowance for a possible 

 misapplication by Rafinesque of some of the vernacular names. 



Although abundant in Lake Chautauqua it is of rare occurrence elsewhere in the 

 Ohio basin — and it is not found naturally in any other. It is said to occur in Lake 

 Conneaut, Pennsylvania ; Kirtland got it in the Mahoning, and we have seen the 

 head of a large example taken in the Ohio near Evansville. 



For more than 10 years the New York State Fish Commission has been prop- 

 agating the Chautauqua muskallunge with signal success. The first attempt, 

 which was in the nature of an experiment, was made in the spring of 1890, under 



