88 Conservation Department 



near the lakes, it is here that this style of angling- is most common. 

 However along the Oswego and other rivers as well as along the 

 waters of ponds and the larger creeks, live bait fishermen are 

 often seen. The numbers of minnows and other small fish thus 

 destroyed are doubtless great. 



The majority of these are taken from the streams for it is gen- 

 erally easier to obtain larger and more suitable minnows here 

 than in the lakes. Certain creeks are netted very thoroughly for 

 this purpose and, due to this cause, some of these creeks are 

 doubtless injured in their productivity of game fish owing to 

 the consequent decrease in the food of the latter. However the 

 actual harm done in this way is difficult to estimate because of 

 other factors operating toward a decrease in the number of food 

 fish. In the few streams not containing game fish, and not directly 

 tributary to other streams containing such, the damage done by 

 taking minnows may be negligible. 



The commercial bait fisherman and in many cases the angler 

 taking bait for personal use only, often destroy an unnecessarily 

 large number of small fish. This is mainly due to the fact that 

 there is often a considerable loss from fungus disease when num- 

 bers of fish are kept crowded together for several days. This is 

 especially true in summer. 



Anglers prefer to use the more silvery varieties of minnows, 

 although they may often use whatever they are able to obtain. 

 For the black basses and pickerels large baits are used. To take 

 perch, calico bass and other smaller game fish, fishermen use 

 minnows of a smaller size. In general the fish used in angling 

 are not those species which are of value as food or game but, un- 

 fortunately, such varieties as sunfish and yellow perch are some- 

 times used for northern pike and other pickerels. 



The more common bait fishes in our region are : common shiner 

 (both subspecies), golden shiner, silvery minnow, blunt-nosed min- 

 now, and barred killifish. Numerous other species may be 

 occasionally used not excluding several food species such as the 

 two just mentioned. Sawbellies and ciscoes are used, when obtain- 

 able, as lake trout bait. 



Habitat Preferences. — Fish seem to have decided preferences 

 in the matter of environment although some species are quite 

 versatile in this respect, occurring in many types of waters. Par- 

 ticular factors must be met, however, for the various species. 

 Among these factors are size of stream, current, type of bottom, 

 temperature, chemical and gaseous content of the water, type 

 and abundance of food, shelter and spawning grounds (Greeley*). 



In the case of a particular species of fish, the requirements as 

 to one condition of environment may be more rigid than that re- 

 srarding: another. Brook trout seem not to be limited to any one 



* Greeley, J. R. A Biological Survey of the Genesee River System. Part 

 IV. Fishes of the Genesee Region with Annotated List, N. Y. State Con- 

 servation Dept. 1920 



