Biological Survey — Oswego Watershed 63 



be destructive to trout. Lines baited with worms would also take 

 whitefish, but reduction of the numbers of whitefish could be re- 

 plenished by planting". 



Carp control*: Although we are by no means convinced of all 

 the evil characteristics which have been attributed to the carp, we 

 do believe that it is an objectionable fish in these lakes, which are 

 adapted to fish which are better than the carp. The danger of carp 

 in the Finger lakes is due to the fact that it increases very rapidly, 

 grows rapidly and consumes a large part of the food which 

 should be conserved for the perch, pike-perch and bass. In search- 

 ing for insect larvae, snails and crustaceans it roots up the weed 

 beds and roils the lake, in this manner injuring the spawning 

 beds of many fishes and destroying the cover in which a large por- 

 tion of their food is grown. 



Development of fish food: When existing conditions are inade- 

 quate to maintain the proper supply of fish in the lake a proper 

 planting of fish food should be made an integral part of the con- 

 servation program. Planting fish in a lake where there is no food 

 for them to eat will never make good fishing. The Department has 

 already embarked on the course of planting food for the game fish 

 and Ave believe it should be carried forward at the same time with 

 the development of fry and fingerlings. The alewife, in our esti- 

 mation, is the best small fish for lake trout and other fish to feed 

 upon. It is a plankton-feeder. It ranges widely in the lake, de- 

 scends to the depths inhabited by trout and invades the shallows 

 at all seasons of the year so that it is a good fish food for the perch, 

 pike-perch and bass as well as for lake trout. We see no serious 

 objection to the planting of ciscoes and smelt. But ciscoes do not 

 increase in our lakes as rapidly as the alewife. They do not feed so 

 extensively on plankton, which is the greatest source of food for 

 small fish in the lakes, and the smelt evidently breeds in the tribu- 

 tary streams which are already insufficient for our rainbows, suck- 

 ers and minnows to utilize, whereas the alewife breeds in the 1 open 

 waters of the lake and its young grow very rapidly. Golden shiners 

 are valuable as perch and bass food, and as minnows for bait. 

 These fishes should be encouraged, but unfortunately on account of 

 the scarcity of weed beds they could never become abundant except 

 in the shallows, which are rather restricted in all the lakes, If 

 means could be found of breeding crayfish in large numbers we be- 

 lieve this should be practised as it is a most acceptable food for the 

 black bass, which is the fish most largely sought by the fly fisher- 

 men of the region. The shallow water scud, G-ammarus, was prac- 

 tically absent from Canandaigua lake. It may be that the netting of 

 Gammarus in large quantities in Seneca lake and planting it at the 

 foot of Canandaigua and at Cottage City, Seneca Cove, Vine Valley 

 and the head of the lake might be successful in developing an 

 abundant food for perch in this lake. It certainly ought to be tried 

 as perch in Canandaigua lake, though fairly numerous, are almost 



* See carp control studies, page 67. 



