Biological Survey.— Oswego Watershed 69 



at forty foot intervals brails were attached to prevent rolling of 

 the seine, especially on grounds with a heavy vegetation. Three 

 men were regularly employed to handle the equipment, but as the 

 work progressed it was found necessary, especially when the 

 bottom was rough, for the game protector detailed to this unit to 

 assist in the hauling of the seine. 



A preliminary survey of the carp feeding grounds on Oneida 

 lake showed the advisability of confining the major seining opera- 

 tions to a few stations. It was found that large schools of carp fed 

 in Fisher's bay, at Lakeport, and in the vicinity of Oneida creek. 

 The bottom of the lake in these regions was well suited for seining, 

 possessing large areas of shallow water comparatively free from 

 obstacles such as tree stumps, rock piles or dense vegetation. 

 The north side of the lake would have several excellent seining 

 grounds if the bottom Avere free from obstacles. Seining was 

 carried on continuously at Fisher's bay from May to the middle 

 of October with occasional hauls being made at other stations on 

 the lake. 



It was customary for Mr. Howard to make a scouting trip in 

 his small boat early in the morning or late in the afternoon in 

 order to locate schools of carp. If the fish were feeding their 

 presence could be seen by the roily condition of the water, at 

 other times they were located by fish jumping, while again the 

 carp might be seen lying in shallow water. On locating fish the 

 large seine, was laid out around the school, the power boat was 

 anchored inshore from the net and the seine then drawn in by 

 the aid of the winch engine. During the operation the net was 

 watched constantly to guard against its catching on snags or 

 rolling up. In most cases the catch was landed on the shore. 

 Occasionally this was impractical due to the absence of a beach 

 and at such times the bag was drawn up to a back stop, made 

 from a part of the seine, and the catch removed to a scow. The 

 feeding grounds for the carp on Oneida lake are for the most 

 part in shallow water which makes it unnecessary to use a deep 

 water seine or a back stop. Fisher's bay is such a good carp 

 feeding ground, with an abundance of food, protection against 

 wind and its proximity to deep water, that the use of bait such as 

 corn or potatoes does not produce a marked increase in the number 

 of fish. It does however cause the fish of one or more schools 

 to congregate in one place and thus increase the size of a single 

 haul. Because of this two bushels of corn were scattered each 

 week over an area about equal to the space which the seine would 

 encompass. 



The seining operations of the scientific staff were confined to 

 the taking of small numbers of carp and game fish inhabiting 

 the seventy-two carp stations made on the lake. Most of the 

 carp were caught in a. two hundred and fifty foot gill net (three- 

 inch stretch) laid out loosely around a school of carp. The fish 

 were then driven into the net and seized before they could work 

 themselves free. The gill nets were also used for catching game 

 fish for population studies and to show the movement of fishes. 



