COMMON FISHES OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER 
147 
Statistical canvasses of the commercial fishery in Lake Pepin and Lake Keokuk, 
respectively, were made by the Bureau of Fisheries for 1914, 1917, 1922, and 1927. 
(Reports previously cited in Coker, 1929.) No catch of paddlefish was reported in 
Lake Keokuk in 1914, but 927 pounds were reported in 1917, 27,405 pounds in 1922, 
and 1,249 pounds in 1927. The commercial fishery for paddlefish in the lake in the 
earlier years was thus practically negligible, becoming of interest only in 1922. In 
Lake Pepin we find 8,877 pounds taken in 1914, 2,923 pounds in 1917, 15,971 pounds 
in 1922, and 1,191 pounds in 1927, the percentage of the weight of paddlefish to the 
entire catch for the lake being 1.17 in 1914, 0.24 in 1917, 0.45 in 1922, and 0.73 in 
1927. 
The decreased abundance of the paddlefish in Lake Pepin, evidenced by the 
comparative figures of 1914 and 1917, was confirmed by various observations. 
Wagner (1908), speaking of his observations in 1903 and 1904, said that the paddlefish 
was one of the most abundant fish in the lake throughout the summer. Pearse 
(1921) worked on the lake in 1920 and found the species “rather uncommon.” 
When the author visited Lake Pepin in July, 1913, a catch of several hundred pounds 
of paddlefish in the big seine was not considered an event; while on the occasion of 
a visit in September, 1921, it was learned that the first paddlefish of the season, four in 
number, had been taken the preceding day (September 2). A catch of 20 examples 
on the 3d was greeted by the fisherman as a big find. While there has, no doubt, 
been a reduction in numbers of paddlefish throughout their range within the last 
30 years, the decline of the fish in Lake Pepin seemed particularly rapid during the 
years immediately following the construction of the dam, although in the catch of 
1922 there was a suggestion of recovery in that lake, as in Lake Keokuk. In each 
lake, however, an extreme slump was evidenced by the statistical canvass for 1927. 
In 1926 there were no encouraging reports regarding paddlefish in the general 
vicinity of Lake Pepin, but the last few years have been bad for all fish. At Lynxville 
it was said that paddlefish were being taken abundantly in the Wisconsin River. 
About Fairport, Iowa, paddlefish are still taken, but not in substantial numbers; 
some fishermen regard the water conditions as unfavorable. Reports concerning the 
abundance of spoonbill below the dam (Keokuk to Canton) were not consistent. 
On the other hand, at all points on Lake Keokuk the fishermen were virtually unani- 
mous in the opinion that paddlefish were becoming decidedly more numerous in the 
lake. It is always surprising to hear a commercial fisherman say that any desirable 
fish is increasing in abundance, but in this instance the reports conformed in detail. 
Not only were there more paddlefish, but each year the average size was greater, 
and several had made the usually rare observations of paddlefish 8 to 12 inches in 
length. These reports, taken together with the statistical data and the collection 
of small spoonbills at Montrose in 1916, left no doubt that paddlefish were breeding 
in Lake Keokuk and that the fish had received a new impetus to multiplication and 
growth in that part of the river. However, only a small catch was reported for 1927. 
As regards the effect of the propagation of paddlefish in Lake Keokuk upon the 
upper portion of the river, no definite forecast can be made. The water of the river 
below the twin cities and as far down as Lynxville is reported to be increasingly dirty 
from pollution and lack of volume, and appearances give some support to the reports. 
In the vicinity of Fairport, below the tricities of Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline, 
not only was the appearance of the water bad in August, 1926, but we saw some dead 
fish and quantities of dead yellow sandshells, some empty and some with the meats 
