RECREA TION. 



101 



gine and in this way carried them to the 

 head waters of the Potomac, where they 

 were deposited. From this small begin- 

 ning the river was stocked, and now it 

 is claimed, has no superior in the 

 number, size and gaminess of its black 

 bass. Seth Green said : " The natural 

 increase of the black bass is so great 

 and their growth so rapid that it has 

 never been thought worth while for 

 fish culturists to attempt their artificial 

 propagation." 



While the introduction of the bass in 

 New York, Virginia and New England 

 has been accomplished at a great deal of 

 labor and expense, Indiana has them in 

 great abundance, indigenous to her 

 waters. Professor Jordan, in his cata- 

 logue of the fishes of Indiana, says of 

 the small mouth black bass, " found 

 everywhere," which would seem to be 

 sufficiently comprehensive. They abound 



some four or six weeks before the spawn- 

 ing season, and during this period are 

 found in the shallow waters of the lakes 

 and rivers, when they soon pair off and 

 prepare for breeding. The spawning 

 season, in Indiana, is from May ist to 

 June 15th ; the weather having much to 

 do with the time. A cold backward 

 spring makes spawning later. The spots 

 selected for spawning are sand or 

 gravel beds, or other smooth and even 

 surfaces, in which a partial trench is 

 worked out by the female and male to- 

 gether. In this the female deposits her 

 eggs, which are fertilized by the male. 



After this is completed, the female 

 puts herself on guard and maintains a 

 sleepless watch over the nest, attacking 

 any intruder or enemy that shows itself, 

 and shoving away with her nose any 

 substance that may fall on the bed by 

 accident. In ten or twelve days the eggs 



large mouthed black bass. — Micropterus Salmoidss. 



in every lake and running stream in the 

 state, but in the greatest perfection in 

 Tippecanoe and White rivers. The nu- 

 merous lakes in northern Indiana (of 

 which there are more than one thousand 

 in seven counties) are prolific in bass, 

 both the large and small mouth varieties, 

 as well as the rock bass, calico bass and 

 crappies. Pike are also found in con- 

 siderable numbers and of large size. In 

 1884, I took one on a trolling spoon in 

 Golden lake, Steuben county, Ind., 

 weighing 23^ pounds. 



To be a successful angler one should 

 have an intimate knowledge of the hab- 

 its of the fish he pursues. The bass leave 

 their winter quarters, in the deep waters, 



hatch and from ten to fifteen thousand 

 fry is the usual yield of one nest. They 

 are nearly perfect in form when hatched. 

 Leaving the spawning bed the young 

 grow rapidly. A bass at a year old is 5 

 to 7 inches long, and at two years old 

 will weigh two pounds. He makes a 

 growth of about one pound a year,if food 

 conditions are favorable. Six to eight 

 pounds is generally conceded to be the 

 extreme weight of a black bass in north- 

 ern waters, though in Florida the large 

 mouthed bass grows to a much greater 

 size. 



I have in my room a small mouth, 

 nicely mounted, that weighed seven 

 pounds two ounces when I took him from 



