February, 1943 
BENNETT: MANAGEMENT OF ARTIFICIAL LAKES 
361 
Table 2—A summary of the fish censuses of 22 artificial lakes in Illinois, showing lake 
areas, types of basin, transparency of water, and total poundages of fish collected per acre. 
Toray 
SURFACE Type TRANSPAR- | WEIGHT 
Bopy or WaTER LocaTION AREA, OF ENCY, oF Fisu, 
ACRES BAsIN IN FEEt* Pounpbs 
PER ACRE 
Weldon Springs Lake....) Near Clinton..../ 12.10 Old reservoir... — 409 
Southside Country Club 
LCL S aan Near Decatur: :.. 8.40 Old reservoir... — 719 
Lower Twin Lake.......} Near Decatur.... 36 Oldtpondiy. +. log 778 
Homewood Lake........ Decaturae te 2.83 Oldspond: 254... iS 699 
PEMA. ok, Scosche bs Near Mount Zion 1.38 Oldtponde- er 0.6 539 
Farmer City Golf Course 
(Re | a ae Harmer ‘Citys. < 5. Ogis Oldeponda... ee) 455 
Priwards Fond : os... 6... Near Kincaid.... 1.00 Oldspond'. <a. TO) 398 
Upper Twin Lake.......| Near Decatur.... 1.08 Old pondia...2 ORS 392 
Crystal Lake Club No. 1 | Illinois, near Bur- 
Dba Oe satis oon lington, Iowa... 0.75 Old ponda — 358 
Black Jack Lake. Illinois, near Bur- 
lington, Iowa...| 4.00 Old pond:..... a 280 
Pea POU os osu beans Jonesborowe7 3 0.80 New pond..... 4.0 234 
Whiners lakes a. Pic. Near Le Roy..... 1.30 New pond..... RAY 230 
Jacks Wakes: eo... Near Decatur. .... 1.50 New pond..... LES D4 
co PS La Ie Sea ee Near Clinton, |— - 10 Old pond ieee Ors 215 
Omizeauiakes 2. ess: faa NearsAltonee..c:. ae Old> pond Waeae- Wh ts 206 
Waltonian.Pond....:...°. Near Rudemont. . 1.10 New pond in 
forest land... 3.0 71 
Buees Pond... :5. io. e. Near Monticello. . 8.60 Oldioxbow...=- nS 1,145 
iryétal lake. e062. Urbataeseera cc: 6.30 Old oxbow..... 0.8 658 
Duck Pond, Pollywog 
INSS@CIATLON Ge cc esa 5s: Near Oakwood. . 3.10 Old strip mine. Aee, 673 
Triangle Pond, Pollywog 
AESOCIAGON: 305. = ses Near Oakwood. . 2,50 Old strip mine.. Neel 487 
Duck Island Farm Lake.| Near Banner..... 4.90 New gravel pit. in 316 
Sportsmen’s Lake.......| Near Lincoln... . =eyhl) Old gravel pit.. SEO 341 
PEE OCR othr h Ve ce CCR See ee yd oes 1.73 446.5 
*Secchi disc transparency at time of renovation. 
ciated with large crappie populations and 
vice versa, as crappies seem to be the main 
competitors of bass. 
Smallmouth Bass 
Micropterus dolomieu Lacépéde 
The smallmouth bass is not suited to 
artificial lakes that depend on surface 
drainage for water supply. It was present 
in only 3 of the 22 lakes censused, al- 
though it had been stocked in others. One 
lake contained only two specimens, both 
of legal size. Another lake of 1.3 acres 
contained 21 of these fish, the largest 
weighing 1.25 pounds; a few small ones 
were collected, indicating partial spawn- 
ing success. Associated with these small- 
mouth bass in the 1|.3-acre lake were small 
bullheads, green sunfish and more than 
8,500 blunt-nosed minnows. 
‘The smallmouth is common in most 
Illinois streams and is frequently stocked 
in artificial lakes from this source. Almost 
without exception, the species of fish seined 
from small swift rivers are worthless for 
stocking lakes, either because they cannot 
tolerate lake conditions, or because they 
are of little value in angling. A few small- 
mouth bass, as well as several spotted bass, 
were taken from a strip-mine pond in Ver- 
milion County that had been flooded by an 
adjacent stream. 
White Crappie 
Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque 
‘The white crappie was present in 17 of 
the 22 lakes, and in one lake constituted 
38 per cent of the total fish population. 
‘This species is well suited to artificial lakes 
and reproduces very successfully. In 13 
