COMMON FISHES OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER 
213 
cause— possibly the Keokuk Dam. The statistics of the commercial fisheries indi- 
cate, however, that there was no enduring diminution of the species of the lake. 
The yield of the commercial fisheries of Lake Pepin in 1914 was 132,000 pounds; 
in 1917, 118,000 pounds; in 1922, 396,000 pounds; and in 1927, 114,000 pounds, 
using even thousands. As previously mentioned, the catches of all fish in 1927 and 
a year or two preceding were very poor in the region of Lake Pepin. 
Table 8. — Quantities of drumfish taken by Bureau of Fisheries seining crew, 1913-1916 , Lake Pepin 
Year 
Hauls made 
Fish taken 
Year 
Hauls made 
Fish taken 
1913 
438 
32, 977 
32, 998 
1915 
476 
8,005 
4, 860 
1914... 
377 
1916. 
384 
About Keokuk Lake no complaints were heard of the disappearance of the drum. 
Information gained in 1916 indicated marked increase in the catches of drum about 
Montrose and Fort Madison and the approximate maintenance about Burlington 
(at the head of the lake) of the conditions of 1914. The bureau’s statistical reports 
show a marked development of the drum fishery from 1914 (26,860 pounds) to 1917 
(160,554 pounds), but a decline in 1922 (65,040 pounds), which was very distinct 
although not approaching closely the lower stage of 1914. In 1926 the general report 
from Fairport, Iowa, to Canton, Mo., both above and below the dam, was that 
drumfish were as plentiful as ever; yet the statistical report for 1927 showed a decline 
practically to the level of 1914 (27,538 pounds). 
We have recorded the lamentable story of the diminution of several of the most 
important fishery resources. It is pleasant to note that the drumfish, like buffalo 
fish, catfish, and some others of minor importance, appears to be holding its own in 
the Mississippi Basin generally, as shown by the records of catch that follow (figures 
from Sette, 1925, p. 209): 
Pounds 
1894 4 , 478,620 
1898 ... 3 , 149 , 232 
1903 2 , 748,743 
1908 4 , 737,000 
1922 4 , 539 , 165 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS REGARDING THE DRUM 
The drum, a low-priced food fish of the larger rivers in the Mississippi Valley and 
of the Great Lakes, is of best quality when of small size, and only the small sizes 
are common in the vicinity of Keokuk. It is valuable not only for itself but for the 
commercial mussels for which it serves as host. The fish evidently breeds north and 
south of Keokuk, but the extent to which it occurs close about the power plant sug- 
gests that this, to some extent, blocks the normal movements of the fish; these move- 
ments seem not to be related to spawning, and the fish is not generally regarded as 
having a pronounced migratory habit. The drum appears in the vicinity of Keokuk 
to hibernate and to be in greatest activity when the water is warmest. There is no 
evidence of diminution in abundance of drum in the river above the dam, and possibly 
the reverse is the case in the region covered by Keokuk Lake. On the whole, the 
indications are that the power plant has effected no serious injury to the drumfish 
in the Mississippi River. The drum is one of the few important commercial fishes 
that is now captured in the commercial fisheries of the basin in undiminished quantity 
as compared with conditions about 30 years ago. 
