(Left) 
(Right) 
more shallow with depths ranging from one to six 
feet. 
A small creek about 25 feet wide feeds Horseshoe 
Lake from a large area to the north and east. In 
addition, a dredge ditch about six feet deep drains 
the hills from the north and west. During heavy 
rains these streams bring in a great deal of muddy 
water which often extends well down the lake. Al- 
though Horseshoe Lake is brownish in color, it is 
sufficiently transparent to allow bottom to be seen in 
one to three feet of water. Submerged aquatic vege- 
tation is scanty. 
The climate of this southern tip of Illinois is much 
milder than most upstate citizens realize. Cotton is 
grown in this vicinity; mistletoe parasitizes the elms 
and maples; and cane brakes are scattered in the low- 
lands. The fish have a growing season nearly twice 
as long as that of northern Illinois and pole-and-line 
fishing goes on throughout most winters. 
HISTORY 
In 1930 the old dam holding Horseshoe Lake 
washed out. The lake drained and lay completely 
dry for a year. The only water left was in the 
dredge ditch which feeds the lake. A permanent dam 
of concrete with deep foundations was built in 1931. 
Rains in late summer and early fall of that year par- 
tially filled the lake. In December, 1931, a stock of 
small bass, crappies, bluegills, channel cat, bullheads, 
small carp and buffalo were brought from the Illinois 
River at Havana and put in Horseshoe Lake. This 
was followed by some larger bass stocked in the 
early spring of 1932. Apparently a few other kinds 
of fishes survived the draining of Horseshoe Lake in 
the pools of the dredge ditch. The most important 
of these were the flier sunfish, the spotted sucker, 
and three species of forage fish—the live-bearing top 
minnow (Gambusia), the golden shiner and the giz- 
zard shad. 
FISH SURVEYS 
Zoologists of the Natural History Survey have 
watched the course of events in Horseshoe Lake each 
year since it was rebuilt. In 1934, 1936, 1937 and 
1938, a crew of men, outfitted with boats, nets and 
a miscellany of scientific equipment, caught, identi- 
fied, measured, weighed and took scales from large 
numbers of fish. This information has made it possi- 
ble to estimate the abundance of the important spe- 
cies in the lake, their rates of reproduction, rates of 
growth and death rates. 
Pee 
Cypress Trees Grow in the Open 
Waters of the Lake 
Don Hansen Measures a Carp at 
the Ferry Landing 
The first three of these surveys were made by Mr. 
Francis D. Hunt, then field naturalist for the Natural 
History Survey. In order to make the fishing meth- 
ods for all years as uniform as possible, Mr. Hunt, 
who is now fish culturist for the Department of Con- 
servation, assisted in making the 1938 survey. 
Twenty-five kinds of fish were taken in hoop nets 
during these four surveys. Eleven of these kinds 
represent one percent or more of the total. A list of 
species and the numbers taken is shown in the accom- 
panying tabulation, along with average lengths for 
each year of the more abundant kinds. From year 
to year the same nets were used and set in about the 
same places in the lake. As these nets were one- 
inch mesh, the small fish, up to a size of about four 
inches in circumference, escaped. 
The same nets were used in the years 1932-1937 
to catch fish for the population measurements in 
the lakes of the Illinois Valley. There it was 
found that in the warm weather of spring and sum- 
mer each net caught the fish from about one-tenth 
of an acre in one day. The total number of fish 
taken during these four surveys in Horseshoe Lake 
represents the catch from about 20 acres of water. 
This makes it possible to estimate within certain lim- 
its the total number of individuals in the lake of 
each of the more common species. Certain kinds of 
fish are caught in these nets much more readily than 
others. These differences in behavior have been 
taken into consideration in estimating the total num- 
bers shown in the tabulation. 
ESTIMATES OF TOTAL POUNDAGE 
At the present time it is estimated that Horseshoe 
Lake is supporting about 150 pounds per acre of 
bass, crappies and sunfish. The bullheads amount 
to an additional 65 pounds per acre. In addition to 
the above fish which may be taken readily on hook 
and line, there are probably about one-half million 
pounds of carp and buffalo, or about 200 pounds per 
acre. It appears that the total of all kinds of fish 
of edible sizes in the lake is about one million pounds 
or 400 pounds per acre. 
THE 1937 FLoop 
In late January and early February, 1937, the 
Ohio River flooded, covering a large part of several 
southern Illinois counties. The flood water backed 
up Bay Creek a few miles, cut across to Cache River, 
following its valley across the southern tip of the 
