Bulletin ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY sio.s -^*, 'X KJ J J,»J c Printed by Authority of the State of Illinois A Biological Investigation of the Fishes of Lake Chautauqua, Illinois WILLIAM C. STARRETT ARNOLD W. FRITZ juri STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION Urbono, Illinois ^jy„^^ Hjjjjgy ^^^^^ SEP 29 1965 mmt STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION BOARD OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION John C. Watson. Chairman; Thomas Pauk, Ph.D., Biohiy; L. L. Si-oss, Ph.D., Geology; Rocek Adams, Ph.D., D.Sc. Ckimiitry: Robert H. Ande«son, B.S.C.E., Ensinciring; Charles E. Olmsted, Ph.D., Fortstry; W. L. EvERiTT, E.E.,Ph.D., Riprticnting the President oj the University of Illinois; Delvte W. Morris. Ph.D., President of Southern Illinois University NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION, Urbana, Illinois SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL STAFF Harlow B. Mills, Ph.D.. Chuf Hejibert H. Ross, Pli.D., Assistant Chief Robert O. Watson, B.S., Assistant to the Chief SecHon of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification H. H. Ross, Ph.D.. Assistant Chief and Head Milton W. Sanderson, Ph.D., Taxonomist Llwis J. Stannard, Jr., Ph.D., Taxonomist Philip W. Smith. Ph.D., Taxonomist Leonora K. Glovd, M.S., Assistant Taxonomist H. B. Cunningham, Ph.D., Assistant Taxonomist Robert T. Allen, M.S., Technical Assistant George L. Rotramel, B.S., Technical Assistant Bernice Sweeney, Technical Assistant Bess White, A.B., Technical Assistant Marvin E. Braasch, B.S., Laboratory Assistant Gerald L. Nordin, Laboratory Assistant John D. Unzicker. M.S., Research Assistant* TosHio Yamamoto. M.S., Research Assistant* Section of Wildlife Research Glen C. Sandlrson. Ph.D.. Wildlife Specialist and Head F. C. Bellrose, B.S., Wildlife Specialist H. C. Hanson. Ph.D.. Wildlife Specialist Richard R. Grader. Ph.D., Wildlife Specialist Ronald F. Labisky. M.S., Associate Wildlife Specialist William R. Edwards, M.S., Associate Wildlife Specialist William W. Cochran. Jr., Assistant Wildlife Specialist Keun Shil Shin, M.S., Technical Assistant Ethelyn L. Kirk, M.A., Technical Assistant Helen C. Schultz, B.S., Technical Assistant Nancy Kott, B.A., Technical Assistant Howard Crum, Jr., Field Assistant Jack A. Ellis, M.S., Research Associate* Bobbie Jo Verts. M.S.. Research Associate* Ralph J. Ellis, M.S.. Research Associate* Gerald G. Montgomery, M.S., Research Associate* William L. Anderson, M.A., Research Associate* George B. Joselyn, M.S., Research Associate* Gerald L. Storm. M.S., Field Ecologist* Stanley L. Eiter. M.S.. Research Assistant* Ronald L. Westemeier, B.S., Research Assistant* Roger J. Siglin, B.S., Research Assistant* Steven L. Wunderle. B.S.. Techniccl Assistant* Keith P. Dauphin, Project Assistant* Section of Publications and Public Relations Tames S. Avars. B.S.. Technical Editor and Head Blanche P. Young. B.A., Associate Technical Editor Artha Sue Lev, M.A.. Assistant Technical Editor WiLMER D. Zehr. Assistant Technical Photographer Technical Library Doris F. Dodds, B.A., M.S.L.S.. Technical Librarian Patricia F. Stenstrom. B.A., M.S.L.S., Assistant Tech- nical Librarian CONSULTANTS: Herpetolocy. Hobart M. Smith, Ph.D.. Professor of Zoology . University of ///tnoi/.- Parasitology, Norman D. Levine, Ph.D., Professor of Veterinary Parasitology and of Veterinary Research, University of Illinois; Wildlife Research, Willard D. Klimstra. Ph.D.. Professor of Zoology and Director of Co-operative Wildlife Re- search. Southern Illinois University: Statistics, Horace W. Norton, Ph.D., Professor of Statistical Design and Analysis. University of Illinois. Section of Economic Entomology George C. Decker, Ph.D., Principal Scientist and Head J. H. Bigger, M.S., Entomologist W. H. Luckmann. Ph.D., Entomologist Willis N. Bruce, Ph.D., Entomologist John P. Kramer, Ph.D.. Associate Entomologist Richard J. Dysart, Ph.D.. Associate Entomologist Ronald H. Meyer, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist Robert D. Pausch, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist James E. Appledy, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist Ralph E. Sechriest, Ph.D.. Assistant Entomologist Joseph V. Maddox. M.S., Technical Assistant Augustine Okonkwo. M.S., Technical Assistant Dannel McCollum, B.A.. Technical Assistant John T. Shaw, B.S., Technical Assistant Gregory P. Marsh, B.S., Technical Assistant David Kennedy. Technical Assistant Sue E. Watkins. Junior Scientific Assistant H. B. Petty, Ph.D.. Entomologist in Extension* Stevenson Moore, 111. Ph.D., Associate Entomologist in Extension" Roscoe Randall, M.S., Technical Assistant in Exten- sion* Clarence E. White, B.S.. Technical Assistant in Exten- sion* Amal C. Banerjee. M.S.. Research Assistant* Jean G. Wilson, B.A., Research Assistant* Ayten Hatigoolu. B.S., Research Assistant* Section of Applied Botany and Plant Pathology J. Cedric Carter. Ph.D., Plant Pathologist and Head J. L. Forsberg. Ph.D., Plant Pathologist G. H. Boewe, M.S., Associate Plant Pathologist Robert A. Evers, Ph.D., Associate Botanist Robert Dan Neely, Ph.D., Associate Plant Pathologist E. B. Himelick, Ph.D., Associate Plant Pathologist Walter Hartstirn. Ph.D., Assistant Plant Pathologist D. F. Schoeneweiss, Ph.D., Assistant Plant Pathologist Peggy Rath. Technical Assistant Section of Aquatic Biology George W. Bennett, Ph.D., Aquatic Biologist and Head William C. Starrett, Ph.D., Aquatic Biologist R. W. Larimore, Ph.D., Aquatic Biologist David H. Buck, Ph.D., Associate Aquatic Biologist Robert C. Hiltibran, Ph.D., Associate Biochemist Donald F. Hansen, Ph.D., Associate Aquatic Biologist William F. Childers, M.S., Assistant Aquatic Biologist Charles E. Birkeland, B.S., Research Assistant Mary FRAN Martin. Technical Assistant Robert D. Crompton, Field Assistant Claude Russell Rose. Field Assistant Charles F. Thoits, III, B.A., Research Associate* John A. Holdrook. II. B.S., Research Assistant* David L. Thomas, B.S.. Research Assistant* Dennis Lee Dooley, Field Assistant* •Employed on co-operative project? with one of several agencies: University of lUinoia, lUlnois Agricultural Exten- sion Service, Illinois Department of Conservation. National Science Foundation, United States Department of Agri- culture, United States Fish and Wildlife Service. United States Public Health Service, and others. ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY Bulletin Volume 29, Article 1 . . I Ar\£.c Printed by Authority of March, 1965 the state of Illinois A Biolosical Investigation of the Fishes of Lake Chautauqua, Illinois WILLIAM C. STARRETT ARNOLD W. FRITZ STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION Urbana, Illinois CONTENTS Materials and Methods 3 Collection of Data 3 Creel Censusing 3 Trotline Fishing by Sportsmen 3 Commercial Wing-Net Fishing 3 Commercial Trotline Fishing 4 Commercial Seining 4 Test-Net Fishing 5 Minnow Seining 5 Use of Rotenone 5 Electrofishing 5 Department of Conservation F"ishing 5 Tagging 5 Classification of Fishes 5 Measurements and Aging Materials 5 Calculations 7 Length-Weight Relationships 7 Average Indices of Condition, C 7 Growth Indices 7 Statistics 8 Records of Water Levels 8 Fish Removal 9 Removal by Commercial Wing-Net Fishing 9 Removal by Commercial Seining .11 Removal by Angling 11 Removal by Trotline Fishing 11 Removal by Department of Conser- vation 12 Total Removal 12 Description of Lake Chautauqua 12 Historical Background of the Lake 12 Present Status of the Lake 13 Water Levels 16 Vegetation 16 Sedimentation and Turbidity 16 Water and Soil Chemistry 16 Bottom Fauna 17 Sport Fishery 17 Commercial Fishery 18 Kinds of Fishes in the Lake 18 Family Petromyzontidae 19 Chestnut Lamprey 19 Family Polyodontidae 19 Paddlefish 19 Family Lepisosteidae 19 Shortnose Gar 19 Longnose Gar 20 Family Amiidae 20 Bowfin 20 Family Clupeidae 20 Skipjack Herring 20 Gizzard Shad 20 Family Hiodontidae 20 Goldeye 20 Mooneye 20 Kinds of Fishes (continued) Family Esocidae 20 Grass Pickerel 20 Northern Pike 20 Family Cyprinidae 21 Carp 21 Goldfish 21 Creek Chub 21 Golden Shiner 21 Suckermouth Minnow 21 Emerald Shiner 21 Spottail Shiner 22 Bigmouth Shiner 22 Red Shiner 22 Sand Shiner 22 Silvery Minnow 22 Bullhead Minnow 22 Bluntnose Minnow 22 Fathead Minnow 22 Stoneroller 22 Family Catostomidae 22 Bigmouth Buffalo 22 Smallmouth Buffalo 23 Black Buffalo 23 Quillback 23 River Carpsucker 23 Northern Redhorse 23 White Sucker 23 Spotted Sucker 24 Western Lake Chubsucker 24 Family Ictaluridae 24 Blue Catfish 24 Channel Catfish 24 Yellow Bullhead 24 Brown Bullhead 24 Black Bullhead 25 Flathead Catfish 25 Tadpole Madtom 25 Family Anguillidae 25 American Eel 25 Family Cyprinodontidae 25 Blackstripe Topminnow 25 Family Poeciliidae 25 Family Percopsidae 25 Trout-Perch 25 Family Aphredoderidae 26 Pirate Perch 26 Family Serranidae 26 White Bass 26 Yellow Bass 26 Family Centrarchidae 26 Smallmouth Bass 26 Largemouth Bass 26 Warmouth 27 Green Sunfish 27 Pumpkinseed 27 Bluegill 27 Kinds—Centrarchidae (continued) Orangespotted Sunfish 27 White Crappie 27 Black Crappie 27 Family Percidae 27 Sauger 27 Yellow Perch 28 River Darter 28 Logperch 28 Bluntnose Darter 28 Mud Darter 28 Family Sciaenidae 28 Freshwater Drum 28 Family Atherinidae 29 Brook Silverside 29 Growth and Age of Fishes 29 Growth Rates of Species 29 Bluegill Growth Rates 29 Largemouth Bass Growth Rates 31 Warmouth Growth Rates 31 Pumpkinseed Growth Rates 32 Green Sunfish Growth Rates 32 White Crappie Growth Rates 32 Black Crappie Growth Rates 34 Yellow Perch Growth Rates 35 Channel Catfish Growth Rates 36 Freshwater Drum Growth Rates 37 Bigmouth Buffalo Growth Rates 38 Carp Growth Rates 39 White Bass Growth Rates 40 Yellow Bass Growth Rates 41 Age Composition of Catch 42 Freshwater Drum: Age Compo- sition of Catch 42 Bigmouth Buffalo: Age Compo- sition of Catch 44 Carp: Age Composition of Catch 46 Channel Catfish: Age Composi- tion of Catch 47 Bluegill: Age Composition of Catch 49 White Crappie: Age Composition of Catch 51 Black Crappie: Age Composition of Catch 52 Yellow Bass: Age Composition of Catch 52 White Bass: Age Composition of Catch 53 Population Dynamics 53 Sampling Techniques 53 Commercial Seining as a Sampling Technique 54 Tagging and Test-Netting as Sampling Techniques 59 Standing Crop 60 Population Changes 62 Freshwater Drum: Population Changes 62 Channel Catfish: Population Changes 63 Bigmouth Buffalo: Population Changes 65 Gizzard Shad: Population Changes 66 Caip: Population Changes 67 Crappies: Population Changes .68 Bluegill and Yellow Bass: Popu- lation Changes 70 White Bass: Population Changes 70 Growth and Condition of Fishes 71 Factors Affecting Growth and Con- dition 71 Water Levels and Vegetation 71 Population Density and Fish Removal 73 Growth and Condition Data 75 Bluegill: Growth and Condition Data 75 White Crappie: Growth and Con- dition Data 77 Black Crappie: Growth and Con- dition Data 79 Channel Catfish: Growth and Condition Data 80 Gizzard Shad: Condition Data 81 Bigmouth Buffalo: Growth and Condition Data 81 Freshwater Drum: Growth and Condition Data 82 Carp: Condition Data 83 Effects of Fish Removal on Fishing 85 Effect on Commercial Fishing 85 Effect on Sport Fishing 87 Discussion 87 Summary 91 Literature Cited 94 Index 99 This report is printed hij aiithoritij of the State of Illiriois, IRS Ch. 127, Par. 58.12. It is a contribution from the Section of Aquatic Biology of the Illinois Natural History Survey. The fishing investigation reported in this paper was done as a cooperative project of the Illinois Natural History Survey, the Illinois Department of Conservation, and the V. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Some funds from D-J Project F-14-R were used in preparing the manu- script. William C. Starrett, Aquatic Biologist with the Natural History Survey, was in charge of the investigation. Arnold W. Fritz, Fisheries Biologist tvilh the Illinois Department of Con- servation, was assigned to the Natural History Survey in 19.56. (97408—65011—S-IM) ,j^g^o2 iii %^Jil^-^ •I c^ I A Biological Investisation of the Fishes ^^- oF Lake Chautauqua, Illinois WILLIAM C. STARRETT ARNOLD W. FRITZ THIS PAPER is based on a 10-year biological investigation of the fishes of Lake Chautauqua, a lateral-levee reser- voir of approximately 3,500 acres lo- cated near Havana, in Mason County, Illinois. The reservoir, a floodplain lake adjacent to the Illinois River, is federal property managed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a refuge for migratory waterfowl. The biology of the Illinois River and its floodplain lakes was of considerable interest to early biologists working in Illinois (Bennett 1958:165-166). Some of their studies, and those reported by Thompson (1941:209-210), indicate that the floodplain lakes contained an abundance of fish foods and supported large standing crops of fish. Drainage of Illinois River floodplain areas was begun before 1900. By 1929, about 200,000 acres of the floodplain had been drained and leveed off from the river for agricultural purposes (Mulvihill & Cornish 1929:36). Forbes & Richardson (1919:153) pointed out that the decline in the fishery of the Illi- nois River in 190S-1913 coincided with the increased drainage program of the period. In 1947, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, consider the possibility of acquiring five drainage and levee districts totaling 27,200 acres (formerly Illinois River floodplain lakes) for flood control reservoirs; the areas were to be used as public hunting and fishing grounds except in times of great floods (Jenkins & Walraven 1950: 29). This recommendation stimulated a renewed interest in floodplain lakes among conservationists in Illinois. As a result of this interest, representatives of the Illinois Natural History Survey, the Illinois Department of Conservation, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service met in December, 1949, for the purpose of organizing a cooperative fishery re- search investigation at Lake Chautau- qua. The objectives of the investigation, which was started in April, 1950 ( Star- rett& McNeil 1952:4), were "(1) to de- termine the values of the sport and com- mercial fisheries of an Illinois River bot- tomland lake; (2) to develop manage- ment practices that would increase the yield of sport and commercial fishes; (3) to study the biology of the fishes present; and (4) to estimate the dy- namics of the fish population." The economies of the fishery were discussed in an earlier paper (Starrett 1958). The calculated fishery value of the lake in 1954 was $103,294.28, or $29 per acre. In 1950 and 1951, the Illinois Depart- ment of Conservation, through news re- leases and radio programs, informed anglers of the fishing possibilities at Lake Chautauqua. In 1952, a report was released on the sport fishery, based upon data from the previous 2 years of creel censusing (Starrett & McNeil 1952). This report stated that most an- glers lacked knowledge on how to fish the lake and described successful meth- ods of fishing, with the purpose of in- creasing the hook-and-line yield. An- other effort to increase the hook-and- line yield was made in June, 1951, when a fishing "college" for anglers was con- ducted at the lake. Liberalized bass fishing regulations (continuous open Frontispiece,—Aerial view showing part of Lake Chautauqua, a small section of the Illinois River, and a series of agricultural fields that were leveed off from the river in about 1920. Some of these fields were formerly covered by Thompson Lake, once a renowned fishing lake. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Alt. 1 season and no size limits) were fol- lowed at Lake Chautauqua prior to their inclusion in the Illinois code. The liberalized regulations permitted an- glers to remove more bass than was pos- sible under the former restrictions "without measurably reducing the pop- ulation of these fish" (Starrett 1955). Crappies were taken in nets and seines by commercial fishermen and re- moved from the lake on an experimen- tal basis in the period 1951-1954. This period was prior to enactment of the Illinois law that permitted the harvest- ing of crappies by commercial fisher- men. Most of the crappies removed in the 1951-1954 period were taken in the 10 months beginning with September, 1951. The removal of crappies had no apparent effect upon the sport fishing (Starrett & Fritz 1957:14). The yield of commercial fishes was greatly increased by permitting fisher- men to use drag seines (beginning in 1951) and roundup fishing with wing nets (beginning in 1952). Formerly, fishermen had been allowed to set indi- vidual wing nets only. In this paper, we are concerned large- ly with the various kinds of fishes and their relative abundance in Lake Chau- tauqua, their biology, the dynamics of their populations, and the effects of commerical fishing on them. We con- ducted some limnological investigations concurrently with the fishery research program. In 1950, engineers of the Illi- nois Water Survey made a sedimenta- tion survey (Stall & Melsted 1951). Jackson (1954) collected a series of water samples for which dissolved oxy- gen determinations and water tempera- tures were recorded. Jackson & Starrett (1959) measured turbidities under vari- ous conditions. Paloumpis & Starrett (1960) made bottom fauna, chemical, and bacteriological studies. We are indebted to a number of per- sons for their assistance during this in- vestigation. The investigation was made possible through the efforts of Dr. George W. Bennett and Dr. Harlow B. Mills of the Illinois Natural History Survey and Mr. Sam A. Parr of the Illi- nois Department of Conservation. Dr. Bennett gave guidance and encourage- ment during the investigation and later made helpful suggestions in the prepa- ration of the manuscript. Messrs. Les- lie L. Layton and Larry Bohm, sup- ported under the D-J Project F-14-R for Illinois, gave aid in preparing the manuscript, and Dr. Donald F. Hansen of the Ilhnois Natural History Survey made many helpful suggestions and criticisms. Messrs. Louis Ellebrecht ( now deceased ) , Lyle Schoonover, Robert Abney, C. Arthur Hughlttt, and K. Duane Norman of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service extended us excellent cooperation while they were serving as refuge managers of the Chautauqua Na- tional Wildlife Refuge. Messrs. William Nuess, Walter Hart, Robert Crompton, John Schilling, and Howard Crum, present or fomier employees of the Illi- nois Natural History Survey, were help- ful with field work. Mr. Frank C. Bell- rose of the Illinois Natural History Sur- vey was very helpful in giving advice and information on problems relating to waterfowl, aquatic plants, and the history of Lake Chautauqua. The fol- lowing boat livery operators cooperated helpfully: Messrs. James Bridgeman (now deceased), John Lane, Paul Rid- dle, and Burt Sperry. All of the com- mercial fishermen who participated in our program were fully cooperative, and without their efforts the program would have failed. Messrs. P. L. McNeil and William Bain gave assistance while as- signed to the senior author by the Illi- nois Department of Conservation. Dr. Milton B. Trautman of Ohio State Uni- versity and Dr. Reeve M. Bailey of the University of Michigan identified sev- eral species of fish. Mr. James S. Ayars of the Illinois Natural Histoiy Survey edited the manuscript. Mr. WilHam E. Clark and Mr. Wilmer D. Zehr, as Sur- ^ vey staff members, made the photo- ' graphs; Mrs. Anne R. Dreyfuss, Miss Marguerite M. Verley, and Miss Artha March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz; Fishes of Lake Chautauqua Sue Loy made the graphs; Mrs. Blanche P. Young read the proof and dummied the pages. Miss Loy drew the maps ( Fig. 4 and 5 ) from original maps pre- pared by the junior author. Financial support of this study was given by the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Illinois Department of Conser\ation. MATERIALS AND METHODS The fishery program on which this study is based included 10 growing sea- sons at Lake Chautauqua. The field work was started on April 15, 1950, and was concluded on October 10, 1959. Collection of Data During the 10 years of field work, va- rious types of fishery data were col- lected by our staff. Some of the data were collected from commercial fisher- men, some from the owners of boat liv- eries, and some from the Illinois De- partment of Conservation. Most of the data were obtained through creel cen- susing by the staff or cooperators at boat liveries, through wing-net fishing and seining by commercial fishermen, and through minnow seining and test- netting by the staff. Commercial fishing on Lake Chau- tauqua was done by local fishermen who used wing nets, trotlines, and drag seines. These fishing devices have been described by Starrett & Barnickol (1955). Creel Cexsusing.—A creel census was conducted at all Lake Chautauqua boat liveries in 1950-1954 (Starrett 1958:41-43) in the manner described by Starrett & McNeil (1952:5-6). Burt Sperry has continued to make creel cen- suses at his boat livery. Sperry's catch data are considered to represent about one-half of the total sport yield for the lake; this figure was determined by di- viding the catch data recorded by Sperry for 1953 and 1954 by the catch data for the entire lake in these years. Trotline Fishing hy Sportsmen.— Trotline fishing, limited to 50 hooks per person, was permitted at Lake Chau- tauqua after 1953. A complete record of trotline fishing by sportsmen at the lake was kept in 1954 ( Starrett 1958:42, 44). Thereafter, a record of the trotline catch by sportsmen was maintained by Sperry at his boat livery. Sperry's records of trotline fishing and his creel census data were extrapolated each year after 1954 to give estimates of the annual yield of the total sport fishery at Lake Chautauqua. Commercial Wing-Net Fishing.— Commercial fishing with wing nets of legal mesh (li/9-inch-square mesh or ^''Z^'' ,'^WING K^-FOOT OPENING ^ STAKE -WEBBING Fig. 1 .—Diagram of a typical commercial roundup set with wing nets as used on Lake Chautauqua. The fishing crew consists of two men, who drive fish into the corral. When the fishermen believe sufficient numbers of fish are in the corral, they shut off the open end with lead netting and drive the fish into the wing nets set in the corners of the corral. larger) was permitted on Lake Chau- tauqua in each year of field work from February or March through September. An effective method of commercial wing-net fishing ( roundup ) for big- mouth buffalo was developed and used by commercial fishermen in 1952 and afterward ( Fig. 1 and 2). The commer- cial fishermen using wing nets were re- quired by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Illinois Natural History Sibvev Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 Service to furnish monthly catch re- ports. In the years 1950-1959, 1,376,770 pounds of fish were removed from the lake by wing-net fishermen, or an aver- age of 137,677 pounds per year. During the fishing months of 1951-1954, wing- net fishermen were required to deliver all crappies and white bass caught by Commerclal Seining.—Each Septem- ber, 1951-1958, a program of commer- cial seining was conducted in the lake. No seining had been allowed before 1951, and there has been no seining since 1958. The drag seines used in the program were operated by local com- mercial fishermen who had previously ', -!«,**S H-..^ ll -4 Fig. 2.—Commercial wing nets set for roundup fishing. This method of fishing proved to be an efficient way to catch bigmouth buffalo during periods of low water at Lake Chautauqua. them to a live crib located on the lake near the Natural History Survey Lab- oratory. Some of the white bass were tagged by our staff and returned to the lake. The other fish were given to the Illinois Department of Conservation for disposition. Commercial Trotline Fishing.— Most of the commercial trotline fishing at Lake Chautauqua was done illegally. Estimated weights of channel catfish removed illegally and sold by trotline fishermen were obtained by us through contacts at local fish markets. The ille- gal removal of catfish by trotHne fish- ermen in 1950-1959 was estimated to be 67,500 pounds. signed a special seining contract with the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Illinois Department of Conserva- tion. The fishermen were under bond to carry out the stipulations of the con- tract under the supervision of the sen- ior author. The lengths of the seines ranged from 500 to 1,450 yards; the bags of these seines were of li/j-inch- square mesh and the remainder of 3- inch-square mesh or larger. During the 8 years of September seining, 348 hauls were made; the cumulative total was equivalent to 310,210 yards of seine. Fishermen furnished us with daily weight receipts covering the sales of their fish. Weights of gizzard shad and March, 1965 Stabbett & Fbitz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua garfishes removed and discarded were estimated by fishermen and the senior author. On most hauls, we made counts of the various species of sport fishes caught. In the 1951-1958 period, seiners removed 1,271,854 pounds of fish. Test-Net Fishing.—In late Septem- ber and early October of each year, 1950-1959, test-netting with 1-inch- square-mesh wing nets with leads was done by our staff at 11 or 12 sites on the lake. The number of net-days of fishing in a fall varied from 47 to 94. During the 10-year period, 14,373 fish were caught in the 1-inch-square-mesh wing nets. Minnow Seining.—In the years 1950- 1959, 196 minnow seine hauls were made by our staff at various places on the lake. Most of the hauls were made with either a 20- or a 30-foot Common Sense minnow seine (one-eighth-inch mesh ) . In the minnow seine collections, 23,527 fish were taken. Use of Rotenone.—Each summer, 1952-1959, one or two small areas (about one-eighth to one-fourth acre each) were treated by our staff with ei- ther powdered or emulsifiable rotenone. An attempt was made to collect with dip nets all of the fish that surfaced in the treated areas. The fish collected were identified, counted, and meas- ured in the laboratory. In the rotenone operations, 1,484 fish were collected. Electrofishing.—A boom shocking device (230-volt a-c generator with three electrodes ) was used by our staff to collect fish in 1959; 509 fish were col- lected with this shocker. Department of Conservation Fish- ing.—Each year of the study, large num- bers of sport fishes were removed from the lake by Department of Conserva- tion personnel for the stocking of other lakes and ponds. These fish were caught in 1-inch-square-mesh wing nets. Records of the numbers of these fish were maintained. Tagging.—Several thousand fish, prin- cipally crappies and white bass, were caught in test-netting or commercial fishing operations, tagged, and returned to Lake Chautauqua. Each of these fish was marked either on the opercular bone or dorsal spine (few white bass) with No. 3 monel strap tags. Tagging operations were confined to the fall and early spring months. In September and October in the years 1950-1954, 4,295 crappies of 7 inches or longer, total length, were tagged and returned to the lake. Most of the marked crappies that were re- captured were caught by angling or by commercial wing-net fishing. In the years 1951-1954, 605 white bass were caught in commercial seines and commercial wing nets, tagged, and returned to the lake. Most of the marked white bass that were recap- tured were caught by angling and commercial wing-net fishing. Classification of Fishes In this study, we have followed the classification of fishes as used by Bailey (1956, 1960) or by Trautman (1957). Upon recommendation of Dr. Bailey (letter of November 4, 1964, to Dr. Philip \V. Smith, Taxonomist, Illinois Natural History Survey ) , the spelling of the author name Lesueur ( LeSueur for- merly) is emended as it will appear in future editions of the list of fish names. Most of the specimens collected were identified in the field. Representative specimens that could not be identified in the field were preserved for later de- termination by ourselves in the labora- tory or were, in a few instances, sub- mitted to Dr. Trautman or Dr. Bailey for identification. Specimens of the im- common species of Lake Chautauqua fishes were deposited in the collections of the Illinois Natural History Survey, the Chicago Natural History Museum, or the Ohio State University Museum. Measurements and Aging Materials Length and weight data, and scales, spines, and opercular bones for aging fish, were obtained from fish collected at Lake Chautauqua by test-netting. 6 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 coiiimeicial seining, wing netting, an- gling, and electiofishing. We measured the total lengths, rather than the stand- ard lengths, of fish to the nearest 0.1 inch; we determined weights to the nearest 0.01 pound on Chatillon scales. During the investigation, we weighed and measured 52,214 fish and, in addi- tion, measured 12,814 small fish. Of the fish collected, we aged 23,812. For species other than carp and catfish, we used only scales in making age de- terminations. For carp, we used scales, opercular bones, and dorsal spines. For catfish, we used pectoral spines. In ag- ing fish by the scale method, we used a Bausch & Lomb microprojector for magnification of the scales. Most of the scales and spines were collected in Sep- tember or October, and we consid- ered a summer of growth prior to Sep- tember 1 as a full year of growth. In the tables that show lengths of fish of vari- ous ages, an age 2 fish has one annulus, but it has completed two summers of growth. For example, a fish spawned in May, 1954, is classified as a 2-year-old fish in September, 1955. We made back calculations from tlie scales of several species to determine the first year's growth. In 1953 and 1954, we collected oper- cular bones and scale samples from 466 carp. We were unable to separate the many checks and false annuli from the true annuli on these carp scales. In some instances, scales collected from carp that we thought were 1-year-old fish showed as many as four possible annuli. Other workers also have experi- enced difficulties in the use of scales for determining the ages of carp ( McCon- nell 1952:138; English 1952:530-531). The method of aging carp from opercu- lar bones, described by McConnell (1952:141, 143) and English (1952: 536-538), we attempted with the Lake Chautauqua material. The first and sec- ond annuli appeared to be quite distinct on the opercular bones; however, on fish of 3 years and older we could not ascertain the annuli with anv certainty. To further explore the problem of aging carp, we decided in 1957 to look for an- nuli on the dorsal spines. With this ob- jective, we removed 263 dorsal spines from carp taken in the September com- mercial seine hauls of 1957 and 1958. Fig. 3.—Magnified cross sections of carp spines collected at Lake Chautauqua. The cross sections show, A, two annuli, B, three annuli, and, C, six annuli. After the spines were thoroughly dry, we cut four thin cross sections of each with a jeweler's saw. The first section in each instance included the base of the spine. We placed the sections from each spine in a petri dish containing water and examined them under a bi- nocular dissecting microscope. The an- nuli appeared as translucent lines on the sections (Fig. 3). English (1952:536- 538) found that sections of the dorsal March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua spine were satisfactory for determining the age and growth of carp np to 2 years old but difficult to interpret on older fish; he reported that the opercle was more satisfactory for aging carp of various ages. We believe that for aging Lake Chautauqua carp the dorsal spine was better than the opercular bone. In examining the 263 dorsal spines, we dis- agreed on the agings of 10 fish. Those fish were not included in our age data of carp. We aged catfish by counting the an- nuli on cross sections of pectoral spines. Following a method similar to the one described by Sneed ( 1951 ; 176-177 ) we cut the cross sections through the artic- ulating portions of the spines with a jeweler's saw. We then placed the cross sections in a petri dish containing water, examined them under a dissect- ing microscope, and counted the an- nuli in the cross sections. Calculations For some of the abundant species of fish in Lake Chautauqua, we calculated the relationship between length and weight, the average index of condition, and the growth index. Length-Weight Relationships.—To calculate weights (Lagler 1956:164- 165) for various species of Lake Chau- tauqua fishes, we used the least squares method. In calculating weights for spe- cies in which only a limited number of data on lengths and weights were avail- able, we combined the data for all years. For most of the abundant species, we calculated length-weight relation- ships from data collected each year in the months of September and October. The yellow bass, however, was an ex- ception since the data for this species were collected in the spring months, rather than in September and October. The length-weight relationship data for the various species have been de- posited with the Illinois Natural His- tory Survey Library, Urbana, Ilhnois, and with the Midwest Inter-Library Center, 5721 Cottage Grove Avenue. Chicago 37, Illinois, and are available upon request from either library. Average Indices of Condition, C— Average fall indices of condition, C, were computed for eight abundant spe- cies in the lake. In computing C for the various species of fish, we used only length and weight data collected in September and early October, except that in 1954 we combined the Novem- ber bluegill data with data for early fall. First, we computed the index of con- dition (Thompson & Bennett 1939:17) for each one-half-inch length group of a given species by determining the value of C in the following formula W 10,000 in which W is the mean weight and L the length for the group. Then we computed the C value for the species by calculating the average of the C values determined for the various one- half-inch length groups of the species. The one-half-inch length groups for each species remained constant throughout the study. Ranges of total lengths used in calculating average C for the various species were as follows: freshwater drum, 10..5-16.5 inches; big- mouth buffalo, 16.0-25.5 inches; gizzard shad, 10.0-14.0 inches; carp, 16.5-24.5 inches; channel catfish, 14.5-19.5 inches; bluegill, 5..5-8.0 inches; black crappie, 7.0-10.5 inches; and white crappie, 7.5- 10.5 inches. Growth Indices.—To show year-to- year changes in growth patterns of Lake Chautauqua fish, we calculated growth indices for each of six species. Each index figure was a measure of the deviation from an 8- or 10-year average of the total lengths for a given species. The growth indices provided measure- ments that could be used for compar- ing growth with population changes, fish removal, and varying water levels. The method used for determining a growth index was based on a formula used by Purkett (1958:1-2): Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 Factor = 1 Average length xioo Instead of using the average length for a year, as was done by Piirkett, we used the sum of the average lengths for as many years as we had reliable data. In the following computation of the 1951 growth index for the drum, the data are from Table 1: Factor 1 38.8 X 100 = 2.577 The factor is then applied to the ap- propriate figure in the column "Sum of on formulas stated in the references given below. The analysis of variance (F) of the commercial seine haul data was done in accordance \\'ith formulas and procedures given by Simpson, Roe, & Lewontin (1960:272). Determina- tions of sample size relative to the num- ber of seine hauls necessary to detect fluctuations in population were based on formulas presented by Paloumpis (1958:585). The t tests made in con- junction with the seine haul data were computed from formulas given by Star- rett & Barnickol (1955:342-344). Cor- relation coefficients ( r ) used on the age Table 1.—Growth indices of freshwater drum in Lake Chautauqua, 1951—1958, and data used in computing them. Lengths given are in inches and are total, rather than standard, lengths of fish. March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 9 FISH REMOVAL One of tlie ultimate objectives of this study was to increase the removal of fishes from Lake Chautauqua and to determine if the increased removal had any effects upon the fish popula- tions. The methods of fish removal are described in this section of the paper. The effects of increased fish removal are discussed in a later section. Fishing pressure on Lake Chautau- qua prior to 1951 was comparatively light. Commercial fishing on the lake up to that year was restricted by gov- ernment regulations to the use of in- dividual wing nets. However, some lo- CL^l fishermen engaged in illegal trotline fishing. The reported legal commercial re- moval of fish in the period 1942-1949 ranged from a low of 21,912 pounds in 1947 to a high of 123,106 pounds in 1948. (Statistics prior to 1950 were fur- nished by the late Lou Ellebrecht of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.) These weights do not include several thousand pounds of fish that were re- moved each year by fishermen using trotlines illegally. Sport fishing pres- sure was comparatively fight on the lake both before and during the study period. In the period 1942-1949, we be- lieve, the total annual removal of fish from the lake by all methods ( legal and illegal) ranged from an estimated low of 12 pounds per acre to a high of 45 pounds per acre, with an average an- nual removal of 30 pounds per acre. Removal by Commercial Wing-Net Fishing In 1950 and 1951, the water levels at Lake Chautauqua were unusually favorable for commercial fishing with individual wing nets. The reported commercial wing-net catches at the lake in 1950 totaled 145,753 pounds and in 1951 they totaled 154,479 pounds, as shown in Table 2. These were the highest annual catches made with in- dividual wing nets in the period 1942- 1959; the annual wing-net catches given in Table 2 after 1951 included the roundup catches made with wing nets. In 1952, two commercial fishermen began roundup fishing with wing nets and in August and September of that year caught 17,304 pounds of fish, of which buffalofishes accounted for 96.8 per cent ( Table 3 ) . In most years, very few fish were caught in the individual wing-net sets after the first of July. Roundup fishing offered the commer- cial fishermen a method of catching fish with their wing nets during sum- Table 2.—Estimated pounds of fish removed from Lake Chautauqua by various fishing devices and methods, 1950-1959. 10 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin \'o1. 29, Art. 1 i-^ a c 3 5 I O o ^ c2u C M 3 5o s Oh U (£ d March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 11 nier months when water le\'els were usually low and catches in indi\idiial wing nets were poor. In the years 1952- 1954, catches from roundup sets and individual wing nets were recorded sep- arately. A summary of these separated catch data is presented in Table 3. In 1953 and 1954, the individual wing-net catches were quite poor compared with those made in the 3 pre\'ious years (Tables 2 and 3). The roundup method of fishing produced a relatively high catch during periods in which the catch usually was poor with individual wing nets. The catch data in Table 3 clearly indicate the selectivity- of the roundup method for buffalofishes. The combined catch of both methods of wing-net fishing in the years 1950-1959 amounted to 1,376,770 pounds. Without the adoption of roundup fishing, the wing-net catch probably would have been less than one-half of this amount. We were unable to obtain accurate data on the catch per net day because of irregularity in the raising of nets by the fishermen. Removal by Commercial Seining Commercial seining was done each year in September, 1951-1958. The ef- Table 4.—Number of completed com- mercial seine hauls, yards of seine used (cumulative yardage), and number of seine crews fishing in September at Lake Chau- tauqua, 1951-1958. 12 Illinois Natural History Sur\'ey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 Table 5.—Estimated number of pounds of fish removed from Lake Chautauqua in each ing, commercial fishing (Including crappies in experimental program!, and fishing with wing Kind of fisli March, 1965 Stabbett & Fbitz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 13 year, 1950—1959. The figures include removal by sport fishing, legal and illegal trotline fish- nets operated by Illinois State Department of Conservation personnel. 14 Illinois >Jatural History Survey Bulletin Vol 29, Art. 1 Eci E March, 1965 Starbett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 15 16 Illinois Natural History Surney Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 Hutchinson (1957:123-125). The lake is over 6 miles long and varies in width from one-half mile to II/2 miles. At normal pool elevation ( 435.0 feet above mean sea level), the surface area of the lake is 3,562 acres ( Stall & Melsted 1951:10). The depth of Lake Chautau- qua, which depends upon the magni- tude and duration of high waters oc- curring in the Illinois Ri\-er, varies con- siderably each year; at normal lake stage, most of the lake is 2 to 3 feet in depth. Water Levels.—During the period of our 10-year study, water levels at Lake Chautauqua were not affected by flood waters of the Illinois River until the latter reached heights of about 437.5 feet above mean sea level. At this stage, river water began to flow into the lake and increased the depth of the lake 2.5 feet or more, the depth de- pending upon the magnitude of the flood. Usually personnel of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service would open the control gates between the lake and the river before the 437.5-foot stage was reached. The fluctuations of the water levels at Lake Chautauqua and the Illinois River at Havana are dis- cussed in another section of this paper. Vegetation.—Since 1944, sago pond- weed, Potamogcton pectiimfus, has been the only submergent aquatic plant to grow abundantly in Lake Chautauqua. Its abundance in the pe- riod 1950-1959 varied considerably from year to year. Sago pondweed was seen growing only during the warmest months of the year; it flourished only in years when the water levels were stable during the growing season. During the period 1950-1959, there were only two growing seasons ( 1953 and 1956) in which the Illinois River did not overflow into the lake. In those two years, the growth of sago pond- weed was heavy, whereas, in other years (except 1959), the growth of pondweed varied from none to mod- erate, the extent of growth depending upon the time high water levels oc- curred and the duration of their occur- rence. In 1959, water levels reached 437.5 feet on only one day, in early June; after that date, the lake level was dropped by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel to a level of 6 inches lower than in any previous summer during the study. The shallow, stable water levels in 1959 resulted in the heaviest stand of sago pondweed ob- served in the lake. Sedimentation and TuRBmiTY.—The sedimentation survey of the lake made in 1950 revealed that silt or sediments deposited in Lake Chautauqua during flood periods on the Illinois River in 23.8 years had reduced the lake's stor- age capacity by 18.3 per cent (Stall & Melsted 1951:1). Jackson & Starrett (1959:160) stated that The sediments in Lake Chautauqua are mostly of a fine te.xture and form a loose, flocculent "false bottom" ( not similar to the type found in bog lakes) over the original lake bottom. A slight disturbance of tlie "false bottom" causes particles to become resuspended and so increases the turbidity of the water. According to Stall and Melsted [1951], the largest sediment particles of Lake Chautauqua begin to settle after the disturbance ceases; however, it takes from 7 to 12 days for much of the sediment in the lake to settle to tlie bottom. Observed tiubidity in the years 1953- 1957 "ranged from less than 25 to 800 p.p.m." (or units). In the absence of sago pondweed, the turbidity of the lake, caused by re- suspension of sediment particles, was affected by wave action and water depth. The relatively low turbidity re- sidting from the presence of vegetation in years of low stable water levels might be expected to favor sight-feed- ing fish. In years of low and stable water levels, additional food was avail- able in the form of the vegetation it- self and of immature insects, which tended to flourish on the sago pond- weed. Water and Soil Chemistry*.—.\ sum- mary of chemical analyses of water samples taken at Lake Chautauqua in 1953 and 1954 by Paloumpis & Starrett ( 1960:407) showed the following mean March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 17 chemical determinations in parts per million or miits: pH (8.2), POj (0.4), SiO.> (5.7), SO4 (68.8), NO3 (1.1), NH4 (0.3), Na (8.5), alkalinity as CaCO;, (141.7), and hardness as CaCO:j (209.8). We belie\ e that waterfowl as well as flood waters of the Illinois River have increased the fertility of Lake Chautau- qua. Paloumpis & Starrett (1960:427) estimated that in the fall, winter, and spring of 1954-55, waterfowl deposited organic material in the lake on a per- acre basis as follows: 12.8 pounds of nitrogen, 17.1 pounds of total phos- phate, and 8.1 pounds of soluble phos- phate. Stall & Melsted (1951:12) re- ported the chemical and physical characteristics of four sediment samples collected at Lake Chautauqua. These authors stated that The total carbon and total nitrogen values are extremely high, indicating an accumula- tion of organic matter in the lake far in excess of any amounts that could be accounted for through soil erosion. These large accumu- lations of nitrogen and carbon must, there- fore, be attributed to wildlife excreta. Jackson (1954:82) did not detect any thermal stratification in Lake Chau- tauqua. He attributed the lack of strati- fication to the shano\vness of the lake. During our 10-year investigation at Lake Chautauqua, the senior author observed only two summer fish kills, one of which is described by Jackson & Starrett (19.59:164). Both of these kills were localized, and they occurred dur- ing periods of prolonged hot weather and in the presence of heavy blooms of blue-green algae. Bottom Fauna.—Bottom fauna stud- ies conducted on Lake Chautauqua in 1952-1956 by Paloumpis & Starrett (1960:420) showed that the lake sup- ported a large dipterous larva popula- tion composed principally of the genera Pelopia, Froclcidius, Coclotamjpus, and Tcndipcs. The maximum annual pro- duction of dipterous larvae, in temis of weight, was estimated to be approxi- mately 2,400 pounds per acre. Sport Fishery.—In 1950-1954, the annual pole-and-line catch per fisher- man at Lake Chautauqua varied from 0.6 to 0.8 fish per hour (Starrett 1958: 43 ) . Most of the fish caught by anglers were crappies, bluegills, yellow bass, and freshwater drum. In this period, the number of anglers fishing the lake annually varied from 5,675 to 13,717. Their total annual catches in that pe- riod ranged from 9,414 to 36,442 jjounds Fig. 6.—Anglers fishing for crappies at a man-made brush pile in Lake Chautauqua, in 1950-1954, the annual number of anglers at the lake ranged from 5,675 to 13,717, 18 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 of fish. Most of tlic fish were caught by still fishing (Fig. 6) in which hve bait was used. Freshwater drum, bullheads, and channel catfish comprised most of the trotline catch by sport fishermen in 1954 (Starrett 1958:44). Commercial Fishery.—The reported annual catch of fish taken legally by commercial fishermen at Lake Chau- tauqua in 1950-1959 ranged from 144,- 254 to 326,808 pounds. Bigmouth buf- falo, carp, freshwater drum, and chan- nel catfish were the principal species taken by the commercial fishermen. These figures do not include some of the fish included in Table 2. KINDS OF FISHES IN THE LAKE During periods of high water levels in the Illinois River, Lake Chautauqua is contiguous with the river and at such times the various species of fish in the river have easy access to the lake. Since 1926, the year the property of the Lake Chautauqua Drainage and Levee District was flooded, perhaps 90 or more species of fish have had an oppor- tunity to invade Lake Chautauqua from the river. In the present study, we identified 64 species of fish taken from Lake Chautauqua. At least 30 of these species were either rare or rare-occa- sional in their occurrence. Most of these rare or rare-occasional species collected were probably transient in- dividuals that had moved into the lake during high water and had failed to move out when the river water receded. Twenty-one additional species ranged in abundance from occasional to com- mon in the lake. Of the 64 species re- corded for the lake, only 13 occurred abundantly or very abundantly in 1 or more years. They are the following; Bigmouth buffalo (very abundant) Gizzard shad ( very abundant ) Carp ( very abundant ) Freshwater drum (very abundant) Bluegill (very abundant) White crappie ( very abundant ) Black crappie (very abundant) Yellow bass ( common to very abundant ) Channel catfish ( abundant ) Shortnose gar ( fairly abundant ) Emerald shiner ( scarce to abundant ) Spottail shiner ( scarce to abundant ) Brook silvcrside ( scarce to abundant ) Several biologists studied the fishes of Lake Chautauqua prior to the pres- ent investigation. Schloemer (1939:60) included a series of bluegills collected from Lake Chautauqua in his age and growth study of that species. Hansen (1942:198), who conducted a partial creel census on the lake in 1941 and 1942, reported that anglers caught the following kinds of fish: the largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, crap- pie ( kind or kinds not specified ) , other sunfisli, yellow perch, yellow bass, sheepshead, bullhead, channel catfish, bufi^alo, dogfish, eel, carp, and others. Hansen (1943:175) also reported a large die-off of the yellow bass and smaller die-offs of the white crappie, black crappie, sheepshead, gizzard shad, and bluegill at Lake Chautauqua. In a later paper, Hansen (1951:234, 256) mentioned the occurrence of lymphocystis on the white crappie in Lake Chautaucjua and recorded total length of two age-classes of this species in the lake. In a paper on sport fishing at Lake Chautauqua, Starrett & McNeil (1952:8) listed the species commonly caught by anglers at the lake. Larimore (1957:65), in liis paper on the ecology of the warmouth in Illinois, included age and growth data on 30 individuals of that species taken from Lake Chau- tauqua. All of the species reported above by other workers were taken in the present investigation except the smallmouth bass. In this section, we include all of the species taken by us in the period 1950- 1961 and indicate the relative abun- dance of each species as determined from our collections. I March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz; Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 19 Family Petromyzontidae This family was represented by one species in the Lake Chautauqua col- lections. Starrett, Harth, & Smith ( 1960: 345), who studied the parasitic lam- preys of Illinois rivers, considered lam- preys scarce in the Illinois Ri\er above Florence, which is se\'eral miles below the La Grange navigation dam near Beirdstown. Chestnut L.\mprey, Ichthyomyzon castaneus Girard: Rare.—Beginning in 1949, commercial fishermen were re- quested by the senior author to save all lampreys taken from Lake Chautau- qua. In the period 1949-1960, only two specimens were collected. Both were identified as the chestnut lamprey. One specimen (7.4 inches total length) was collected from a carp on May 12, 1959. The other specimen (6.3 inches) was found on April 11, 1960, in the bottom of a fisherman's boat shortly after he had raised his nets. No lam- prey-scarred fish was noted by us in the commercial catches. Family Polyodontidae The paddlefish 's the only representa- tive of this family in North America. Paddlefish, Polyodon spatliiila ( Wal- baum ) : Occasional.—During the inves- tigation, only 214 pounds of paddlefish were removed from Lake Chautauqua by commercial fishermen. This species, which has some local commercial \ alue, is sold under the name "spoonbill cat." The largest paddlefish taken from the lake weighed 29 pounds. Another speci- men measured 47.5 inches in length and weighed 21 pounds. Paddlefish were taken in Lake Chautauqua only during years of sustained high water levels, such as occurred in 1950 and 1951. We are of the opinion that the specimens taken in Lake Chautauqua had moved up the Ilfinois River during high river stages. At a high river stage, tlie wickets of tlie La Grange naviga- tion dam near Beardstown are lowered, thereby allowing fish to pass through without obstruction from the Missis- sippi River up the Illinois River to Ha- vana. The paddlefish is not known to spawn in the Illinois River system. Forbes & Richardson (1920:17) in about 1908 considered the paddlefish as "rather rare" in the Illinois River above Meredosia. Family Lepisosteidae At the time of our stuidy, the garfishes were of no commercial value in the Havana area. The shortnose gar was fairly abundant, and the longnose gar was taken occasionally. Gars taken by commercial fishermen were usually killed and discarded. Anglers using minno\^'S for bait frequently hooked garfish. Only a very few anglers con- sidered the gar as a desirable food fish. We belie\'e that garfishes spawTied in Lake Chautauqua; however, only three young of this family (shortnose gars of 1.0 to 4.0 inches ) were taken in minnow seine collections. In 1958, approxi- mately 5 pounds of garfishes were caught per 103 yards of commercial seine. The spotted gar, Lepisostetis oculatus (Winchell), which closely resembles the shortnose gar, was not found at Lake Chautauqua, Lake Matanzas, Quiver Lake, or in our Illinois River collections abo\e Havana. The only spotted gars collected in the immediate area were three specimens taken on February 12, 1960, in a commercial seine haul at Ben's Lake, a small over- flow lake adjacent to the Sangamon Ri\er, in Mason County. The speci- mens ranged from 13.6 to 13.9 inches in length. The silted waters and lack of peiTnanent vegetation in Lake Chau- tauqua evidently provided a more fa- vorable habitat for shortnose gar than for spotted and longnose gars. Shortnose Gar, Lepisostetis plato- stomiis Rafincsque: Fairly abundant.— The heaviest shortnose gar measured 2S.3 inches long and weighed 3.29 pounds. The average weight of sliort- nose gars in the test-net collections was 1.57 pounds. 20 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 LoNGNOSE Gar, Lepisosfeiis osseiis (Linnaeus): Occasional.—This species was much less abundant in Lake Chau- tauqua than the shortnose gar. The largest longnose gar measured 47.1 inches total length and weighed 12 pounds. Family Amiidae The only Lake Chautauqua repre- sentative of the bowfin family is of minor importance as a commercial species in Illinois. It is sometimes sold as "catfish" to unsuspecting customers. Most people do not care for the bowfin as food because of its "mushy" flesh. Bowfin, Amia calva Linnaeus: Com- mon.—At the time of our study, the bowfin was not abundant enough in Lake Chautauqua to have much effect on the fishery as a predator. Anglers occasionally caught bowfins while fish- ing with minnows for bass or crappies. The commercial catch of bowfins at Lake Chautauqua in 1950-1959 amount- ed to 3,271 pounds. The largest bowfin caught in a 1-inch-mesh wing net meas- ured 27.1 inches long and weighed 7.45 pounds. No young bowfin was collected during the study, but we believe that the species probably spawned in the lake. Family Clupeidae The skipjack herring and the gizzard shad were the only members of the herring family taken at Lake Chautau- qua. Skipjack Herring, Alosa chnjsoch- loiis ( Rafinesque ) : Rare.—On October 2, 1951, two adult specimens of this species were collected while we were test-netting at Lake Chautauqua ( 17.6 inches, 1.89 pounds; and 15.6 inches, 1.30 pounds). The specimens probably entered the lake from the Illinois River during a period of high water. Gizzard Shad, Dorosoma cepe- dianum (Lesueur): Very abundant.— This species was one of the most abun- dant fishes in Lake Chautauqua during the period of our study. It was of no direct value to the sport or commercial fisiieries of the lake; however, it was thought to be of great importance as a forage fish for the crappies, large- mouth bass, white bass, garfishes, chan- nel catfish, freshwater drum, and pos- sibly the yellow bass and the bowfin. The largest shad collected was 16.5 inches long and weighed 1.57 pounds. Family Hiodontidaa A few adults of the mooneye family were taken at Lake Chautauqua. In all probability, these fish had entered the lake from the river during periods of high water. Anglers occasionally hooked a goldeye or a mooneye. These fish were too scarce in the lake to have been of any importance to the fishery. Goldeye, Hiodon alosoides (Rafin- esque): Occasional.—The goldeye ap- peared to be less abundant in the lake than the mooneye. The largest goldeye taken was 12.0 inches long and weighed 0.61 pound. Mooneye, Hiodon tergisiis Lesueur: Occasional.—The largest mooneye taken in the test-net collections was 10.6 inches long and weighed 0.39 pound. Family Esocidae The grass pickerel and the northern pike were the only members of the pike family taken in Lake Chautauqua. Grass Pickerel, Esox americanus vcnnicidattis Lesueur: Rare to occa- sional.—A single specimen of this spe- cies was taken at Lake Chautauqua in 1950. None was collected after 1950 until 1959. In 1959, six adult specimens were caught in nets, and one was caught by an angler. During high water, the grass pickerel probably moves into the lake from adjoining Quiver Creek, where the species is quite common. The largest grass pickerel taken in Lake Chautauqua was 13.3 inches long. Northern Pike, Esox lucius Lin- naeus: Rare.—We have the record of a single specimen from Lake Chautau- qua. On April 3, 1961, a female pike, 24.1 inches in total length and 4.02 March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 21 pounds in weiglit, was taken in a com- mercial wing net set in the lake by Sam Kelly. The northern pike is now rather rare in the Havana area, and the speci- men taken had probably entered the lake during high water. We have only one recent record of a pike that was caught in waters near Lake Chautau- qua. On February 26, 1958, Edward W. Kelly brought us a northern pike (23.2 inches in total length and 2.61 pounds in weight), which he had just captured in a commercial wing net set in Quiver Lake. Quiver Lake lies adjacent to Lake Chautauqua, and the two lakes connect with one another during high water. Family Cyprinidae This large family, the minnows and carps, was represented by 15 species in Lake Chautauqua. Carp, emerald shiner, and spottail shiner were the only species of this family that we found occurring abundantly in the lake. Carp, Cijprinus carpio Linnaeus: Very abundant.—This was one of the most abundant fishes occurring in Lake Chautauqua in the years of our study. Few carp were caught by anglers, but the species was of some importance to commercial fishermen. In the period 1950-1959, commercial fishermen re- mo\'ed from the lake 522,704 pounds of carp valued at $22,540. The average weight of carp taken in the commercial seine hauls at Lake Chautauqua was 4.S2 pounds. The largest carp handled was .36.4 inches long and it weighed 28 pounds. Only one carp observed from the lake exhibited the knothead condi- tion usually associated with polluted water (Thompson 1928:317). This in- dividual probably originated from up- stream in the Illinois River, where pol- lution was more severe than in the Havana area and where the knothead condition of carp was quite common. Goldfish, Carassius aurattis (Lin- naeus ) : Rare.—An orange-colored gold- fish was taken in a commercial seine haul at Lake Chautauqua in 1957. The specimen was 10.0 inches long and weighed 0.78 pound. Goldfish were very abundant in the polluted waters of the Des Pla nes River, part of the Illinois River system, and in the upper part of the Illinois River above the Starved Rock navigation dam. We have caught as many as 103 adult goldfish per net-day in our sets made in the Des Plaines River. Most of the speci- mens collected by us in the Illinois River and the Des Plaines River were brownish or bronze in color. Goldfish were taken only occasionally in the Illinois River below Pekin. One gold- fish-carp hybrid was caught at Lake Chautauqua in a commercial seine haul in 1956. The fish weighed 5.44 pounds and was 20.4 inches in length. Both the goldfish and the goldfish-carp hybrid probably came into the lake from the river. Creek Chub, Semofilus atroviacula- tiis ( Mitchill ) : Rare.—Two immature creek chubs were collected from Lake Chautauqua in 1958. These fish prob- ably came into the lake from the ri\'er during a period of high water. Golden Shiner, Notemigonus cryso- leiicas ( Vlitchill ) : Common.—This spe- cies varied in abundance from year to year during our 10-year investigation. Most of the specimens taken at the lake were less than 3 inches in length. One specimen 7.5 inches long was taken in a 1-inch-mesh wing net. The golden shiner was not sufficiently abundant in Lake Chautauqua to be of much importance as a forage fish. The oc- currence of the golden shiner in min- now seine collections was 2.3 fish per haul. This species spawned in the lake. SucKERMOUTH MiNNOw, Plwiiacobius Diiiabilis (Girard): Rare. — Only four specimens of this minnow were col- lected from Lake Chautauqua. These fish had probably moxed into the lake from the river during high water levels. Emerald Shiner, Notropis atheri- noidcs Rafinesque: Scarce to abundant. —This species and the spottail sliiner were the only abundant minnows other than carp collected from Lake Chan- 22 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 tauqua. No specimen of the emerald shiner was collected in the lake in 1954 and 1956; in 1957, this species was very abundant and averaged 49.2 fish per minnow seine haul. The emerald shiner averaged 14.4 fish per haul in the min- now seine collections of 1950-1959. This shiner spawned in Lake Chautau- qua. Spottail Shiner, Notroi)is liudsoniiis (Clinton): Scarce to abundant.—In the minnow seine collections of 1950-1959, this species averaged 15.7 fish per haul. Our data for the 10-year study showed the spottail shiner slightly more abun- dant in the lake than the emerald shiner. The spottail shiner spawned in Lake Chautauqua. The emerald shiner and the spottail shiner were both con- sidered important forage fishes. Bigmouth Shiner, Notropis doisalis ( Agassiz ) ; Rare to occasional. — This typical stream fish was taken in 10 dif- ferent minnow seine hauls at the lake. The specimens collected probably en- tered the lake during high water. The average occurrence of this species in all the minnow seine collections was 0.2 fish per haul. Red Shiner, Notropis lutrensis ( Baird & Girard ) : Rare to occasional.—The oc- currence of this species in the minnow seine collections at Lake Chautauqua was 0.1 fish per haul. The red shiners collected probably entered the lake during high water levels. Sand Shiner, Notropis stramineus (Cope): Rare to occasional.—Prior to 1958, only one specimen of the species had been reported taken in Lake Chau- tauqua. In 1959, 94 sand shiners were taken with the minnow seine over sand bottom. This species may have had some success in spawning and estab- lishing itself in the lake. Its occurrence in the minnow seine collections was 0.6 fish per haul. Silvery Minnow, Hybognathiis nu- chalis Agassiz: Rare to occasional.— This species was taken at Lake Chau- tauqua only in 1959. However, in that year, it was caught in six different min- now seine hauls. We have taken the sihery minnow quite regularly in our Illinois Ri\er collections in the vicinity of Havana. The specimens collected at Lake Chautauqua probably came into the lake from the river. Occurrence of the silvery minnow in the minnow seine collections at Lake Chautauqua in 1950-1959 averaged 0.1 fish per haul. Bullhead Minnow, Pimcphales vigi- lax ( Baird & Girard ) : Occasional.— A few specimens of the bullhead minnow were collected from the lake in most years of our 10-year study. The occur- rence of this species in the minnow seine collections averaged 0.1 per haul. Bluntnose Minnow, Pimephales no- tatus ( Rafinesquc ) : Rare to occasional. —The bluntnose minnow was collected at the lake in three different years. Al- together, 36 fish of this species were taken, none of them adults. The occur- rence of the bluntnose minnow in the minnow seine collections averaged 0.2 fish per haul. Fathead Minnow, Pimephales pro- melas Rafinesque: Rare. — Only eight specimens of this species were collected from Lake Chautauqua for our study. Stoneroller, Campostoma anoma- him ( Rafinesque ) : Rare.—During our investigation, only seven specimens of this species were collected from Lake Chautauqua. This typical stream species probably entered the lake during high water. Its occurrence in the 196 min- now seine collections, 1950-1959, aver- aged less than 0.1 fish per haul. Family Catostomidae Members of the sucker family, other than the bigmouth bufFalo, were not abundant in Lake Chautauqua in the period 1950-1959. Nine species of this family were collected. Bigmouth Buffalo, Ictiobus ctjpri- nellus (Valenciennes): Very abundant. —In terms of standing crop (pounds of fish per acre ) , the bigmouth buflFalo was the most abundant fish in Lake Chau- tauqua. Evidently the shallow and often turbid water of the lake furnished a March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 23 good habitat for the bigniouth buffalo. This species probably spawned each year; however, only in 1953 during our 10-year study was a large brood pro- duced. During the study, only a few buffalo were caught by anglers. The bigniouth buffalo was the most important commercial fish in the lake. In the period 1950-1959, commercial fishermen caught 1,467,389 pounds of buffalo, of which nearly all were the bigmouth. The value of the catch to the fishermen during that period was $156,- 045. The average weight of the big- mouth buffalo in commercial seine hauls was 6.21 pounds ( 1951-1958 ) ; the larg- est bigmouth buffalo measured 32.5 inches long and weighed 26.5 pounds. Smallmouth Buffalo, Ictiobiis bii- balus (Rafinesque): Occasional.—The smallmouth buffalo probably moves into Lake Chautauqua from the Illinois River, where it is sometimes taken by commercial fishermen. The largest spec- imen handled weighed 18.5 pounds. Black Buffalo, Ictiobiis niger (Raf- inesque ) : Occasional.—This species, like the smallmouth buffalo, was not abundant enough in Lake Chautauqua to be of any commercial importance. Most of the black buffalo were readily distinguishable from the smallmouth buffalo; a few fish appeared to be inter- grades between the black buffalo and the smallmouth buffalo. The largest black buffalo handled was 28.9 inches long and weighed 16 pounds. Quillback, Carpiodes cypiinus (Le- sueur): Occasional to common. — We experienced difficulty in accurately sep- arating Carpiodes cypiinus from forbesi collected from the Illinois River and Lake Chautauqua. A series of adult specimens from the river and Lake Chautauqua was submitted to Dr. Mil- ton B. Trautman of the Ohio State Mu- seum. Dr. Trautman informed us (per- sonal communication, June 23, 1960) that: "At present, I believe that this is a hybrid population. You have typical joi- besi, typical cypiinus, and a nice series of intergrades in between." Later, Bai- ley & Allum (1962:81) stated that they regarded forbesi not as a separate spe- cies but as a modification of cyprinus. We are in agreement with this conclu- sion and therefore name all of our speci- mens of the forbesi-cyprinus pair as cy- prinus. The largest quillback identified by us was 17.5 inches long and weighed 2.62 pounds. River Carpsucker, Carpiodes carpio (Rafinesque): Common. —The adult and subadult river carpsuckers were easily distinguished in the field from other species of Carpiodes occurring in Lake Chautauqua. The river carpsucker occurred more abundantly in Lake Chautauqua than did the other species of carpsucker. Carpsuckers were not taken by anglers. A few pounds of carp- suckers, largely of this species, were caught each year commercially and sold as silver carp or carp. The largest river carpsucker handled was 19.3 inches long and weighed 4.4 pounds. Northern Redhorse, Moxostoina macrolepidotuin (Lesueur): Rare to occasional.—In the years 1950-1953, 13 adult specimens of the northern red- horse were taken in the test-net collec- tions at Lake Chautauqua; no adult was taken after 1953. A few young-of-the- year fish identified as Moxostoina sp. were caught with a minnow seine in later years; these may have included young northern redhorses. The northern redhorses taken in the test-net collec- tions ranged in length from 10.9 to 17.2 inches. The heaviest weighed 2.55 pounds. White Sucker, Catosioiniis coinmcr- soni ( Lacepede) : Rare.—A single speci- men of the white sucker was collected at Lake Chautauqua in 1951. The fish was 12.9 inches long and weighed 0.92 pound. In 2 months of continuous wing- net fishing at Lake Chautauqua in 1940, Donald F. Hansen of tiie Illinois Nat- ural History Survey (personal commu- nication, January 13, 1963) caught 16 white suckers. Evidently the species was more abundant in 1940 tiian in the period of our study. 24 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin \'ol. 29, Art. 1 Spotted Sucker, Mimjtrcma mcla- nops ( Rafinesque ) : Rare.—One speci- men of this species was taken in a 1- inch-mesh wing net at Lake Chautau- qua in 1952. It was 8.1 inches long and weighed 0.28 pound. Western Lake Chubsucker, Erimij- zon sucetta kennerhji (Girard): Rare.— Five adult chubsuckers were taken at Lake Chautauqua in 1958 and 1959. In 1958, James La Buy of the Illinois De- partment of Conservation (personal communication in September, 1958) found a rather large population of this species in Rice Lake, an Illinois River bottomland lake 6 river miles upstream from Lake Chautauqua. Permanent types of submergent vegetation flour- ished in Rice Lake at the time La Buy made his investigation. Donald F. Han- sen of the Illinois Natural History Sur- vey (personal communication of Janu- ary 13, 196.3 ) considered chubsuckers scarce in the lake in 1940. In 2 months of netting, he caught only three chub- suckers. Family Ictaluridae Seven species of catfishes were re- corded from Lake Chautauqua during our investigation. The channel catfish was the only one of these species that occurred quite abundantly. The lack of permanent stands of submergent vege- tation and the abundance of predatory fishes in the lake probably had an ad- verse efiFect upon the bullheads. The blue catfish and the flathead catfish were the only species of catfish taken that did not spawn in the lake. Blue Catfish, IctaJiinis furcatus ( Le- sueur ) : Rare.—Only two specimens of this species were taken at Lake Chau- tauqua during our investigation ( 17.6 inches, 2.00 pounds; 19.4 inches, 2.92 pounds ) . Both fish were aged as 4-year- olds. These specimens were taken in commercial seines in 1958. Blue catfish are occasionally taken in the Illinois River at Havana by commercial fisher- men during periods of high water. Specimens of blue catfish examined by us at a commercial fish market in Ha- vana were about the sizes of fish taken at Lake Chautauqua. Local commercial fishermen informed us that they have never caught large blue catfish in the Havana area. Evidently only the blue catfish of small sizes move vip the Illi- nois River from the Mississippi River dining high water. Forbes & Richard- son (1920:179) in about 1908 consid- ered the blue catfish to be rare in the Illinois River. Channel Catfish, Ictalurus piincta- ttis (Rafinesque): Abundant.—During the period of our study, this species was important both as a sport and a commercial fish at Lake Chautauqua (Starrett 1958:43, 46). Seines and trot- lines were the two most effective de- vices used for taking catfish. Channel catfish were a premium fish for the commercial fishermen since the whole- sale undressed price during the 1950's remained consistently at about $0.25 per pound. The other abundant com- mercial fishes fluctuated in price and were usually sold for less than $0.10 per pound. The reported legal com- mercial catch of catfish for the lake (1950-1959) was 87,863 pounds valued in the rough at $21,146. The average weight of catfish in the commercial seine hauls ranged from 1.8 pounds in 1958 to 3.4 pounds in 1952. The largest channel catfish examined in the investi- gation was 32.5 inches long and it weighed 16.75 pounds. Yellow Bullhead, Ictalurus nafalis ( Lesueur ) : Occasional.—Only very few specimens of this species were taken at Lake Chautauqua after 1953. Of the two largest yellow bullheads measured, one was 15.6 inches long ( 1.82 pounds) and the other was 15.0 inches long (2.10 pounds). Brown Bullhead, Ictalurus nebulo- sus ( Lesueur ) : Common.—Most of the bullheads caught in the commercial seine hauls at Lake Chautauqua were brown bullheads. The majority of these fish weighed over 1 pound apiece. The largest brown bullhead handled was March, 1965 Stabbett & Fritz; Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 25 15.6 inches long and weighed 1.80 pounds. The brown bullhead was not nearly so abundant as the channel cat- fish but was more abundant than the black bullhead. Black Bullhead, Ictalunts luclas (Rafinesque): Common.—This species was the most common bullhead taken by anglers at Lake Chautauqua. Com- mercial fishermen legally removed 1,- 452 pounds of bullheads, all species combined, from the lake in 1950-1959. Most of these fish were black bullheads and brown bullheads. The heaviest black bullhead handled was 14.4 inches long and it weighed 1.80 pounds. Flathead Catfish, Ptjlodictis olivaiis (Rafinesque): Rare.—Two flathe:id cat- fish weighing approximately 2 pounds apiece were taken by fishermen at Lake Chautauqua; they were identified by the senior author. Also, commercial fishermen reported catching a few pounds of flathead catfish in their wing nets. The flathead catfish occurs in the Illinois River and its large tributary streams and evidently strays only oc- casionally into Lake Chautauqua when there is high water. Tadpole Madtom, Noturus gijrinus { Mitchill) : Occasional.—This small cat- fish was of no direct value to the fishery at Lake Chautauqua. In one area of less than one-quarter acre to which rotenone was applied, 19 madtoms were collected. The largest specimen taken from the lake was 3.1 inches long. Family Anguillidae The American eel is the only mem- ber of its family occurring in Illinois waters. Very few eels are taken com- mercially in the state, and there is very little demand for them as food in Illi- nois. American Eel, Anguilla rostrata ( Lc- sueur) : Rare to occasional.—During the 5-year complete creel census program at Lake Chautauqua (1950-1954), an- glers caiiglit 21 eels. In 1954, trotline fisiiemien captured 8 eels. During the fall test-netting program, 8 eels were caught; their sizes ranged from 27.5 inches long (1.82 pounds) to 39.0 inches long (4.75 pounds). The mesh of the nets usually used by commercial fishermen is too large to retain eels. Family Cyprinodontidae This family has several representa- tives in Illinois waters. However, only one species was taken in our collec- tions at Lake Chautauqua. Blackstripe Topminnow, Funduhis notafiis (Rafinesque): Rare.—One adult specimen of this species was collected from Lake Chautauqua with a minnow seine in 1958. Family Poeciliidae Forbes & Richardson (1920:216) re- ported taking Gambiisia affinis (Baird & Girard) as far north as Pekin (prob- ably 1903 or before); they reported the species as common in extreme southern Illinois. Krumholz (1948:5) mentioned a report that "Gambusia," or the mos- quitofish, was taken in 1941 from the Illinois River at seven places betsveen Pekin and the mouth of the river. In 1957, 10 mosquitofish were collected by us in a series of four minnow seine hauls at Lake iVIatanzas near Havana. These were the only mosquitofish we took in the Havana area in the 1950- 1959 period. The mosquitofish was not collected from Lake Chautauqua; how- ever, the presence of the species in nearby waters indicated that it might sometimes occur in Lake Chautauqua. Family Percopsidae In some parts of the United States, the trout-perch is usually considered as a fish found in deep waters where there is a sand or gravel bottom (Trautman 1957:465). In Illinois, however, this species is frequently taken in shallow- waters over a soft mud bottom. Trout-Perch, Pcrcopsis omificovuiii- ciis ( \Valbaum ) : Rare.-The trout- perch was taken with a minnow seine on three different occasions in Lake Chantaiifiiia. This species has occurred 26 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 regularly in our minnow seine and elec- trofishing collections from the Illinois River. Seventeen trout-perch were taken by us in one minnow seine haul at nearby Quiver Lake in 1959. Family Aphredodcridae In central Illinois, the pirate perch is usually found only in small sluggish streams over mud bottom. Pirate Perch, Aphredodenis saijaniis (Gilliams) : Rare.—A single adult pirate percli was taken in an area treated with rotenone at Lake Chautauqua in 1959. Family Serranidae This large family of sea basses is rep- resented in Illinois waters by the white bass and the yellow bass. Both of these species are considered important sport fishes in the rivers of the state. White Bass, Roccus chrysops (Raf- inesque): Common.—The size of the white bass population at Lake Chautau- qua varied considerably from year to year during our investigation, and, as a result, the species was of only sporadic importance to anglers. In the 5 years of the complete creel census at Lake Chautauqua, the anglers" catch of white bass was as follows: 14 fish in 1950, 805 in 1951, 909 in 1952, 69 in 1953, and 319 in 1954 (Starrett 1958:43). Most of the white bass taken by anglers were 1- or 2-year-old fish. The largest white bass measured at Lake Chautau- qua during this study was 16.3 inches long; it weighed 2.46 pounds. Yellow Bass, Roccus mississippiensis (Jordan & Eigenmann): Common to very abundant.—Fishing success for yel- low bass at Lake Chautauqua varied from year to year and depended upon the size of the population and the water levels. Anglers usually had their best success in the spring months when the water was high. The best yellow bass fishing occurred in 1959, when the an- glers' catch was estimated to be 13,000 fish. The yellow bass taken by anglers in most years were of satisfactory size; the average weight of yellow bass caught by anglers was 0.46 pound. The largest yellow bass observed from Lake Chautauqua was caught by an angler in 1950; this fish was 12.2 inches long and it weighed 1.07 pounds. Family Centrarchidoe Eight species of the sunfish family were collected in Lake Chautauqua during our investigation. Crappies and bluegills were the only members of the family that occurred abundantly in the lake. All eight species spawned in the lake with varying degrees of success. Smallmouth Bass, Microptenis dolo- miciii Lacepede: Possible occurrence.— Although Hansen (1942:198) reported the catch of a single smallmouth bass by an angler at Lake Chautauqua, he told us (personal communication, No- vember 20, 1961) that he did not see this fish and suggested that we not ac- cept his report as a positive record of occurrence of the smallmouth in Lake Chautauqua. We had a report from a boat liveryman that in 1950 a small- mouth bass had been taken in Lake Chautauqua and brought to his boat- yard. Since we did not observe the smallmoutli bass in any of our collec- tions from Lake Chautauqua, we prefer to list the species as of only possible oc- currence in the lake. The species is known to occur in some of the Illinois River tributary systems within the gen- eral area of Lake Chautauqua. How- ever, to date, we have not taken the smallmouth bass in any of our collec- tions from the Illinois River between Browning and Pekin. It is quite possible that a smallmouth bass could move from a tributary stream into the Illinois River and thence into Lake Chautau- qua during a period of high water. Largemouth Bass, Microptenis sal- moides (Lacepede): Common.—In the years of our study, very few anglers came to Lake Chautauqua to fish spe- cifically for largemouth bass. Most of the bass that were caught were taken by anglers fishing for bluegills and crappies (Starrett 1955:6). The annual I March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 27 catcli of largemouth bass taken by an- glers in the period 1950-1934 ranged from 564 to 1,347 fish. Anglers took very few bass over 15.0 inches in length. Bass larger than 15.0 inches were scarce in our collections made with the various fishing devices employed in tliis study, including commercial seines. The larg- est bass handled from the lake was 20.2 inches long; it weighed 4.45 pounds. Warmouth, Chacnobiyttiis gulosiis ( Cuvier ) : Common. — The warmouth never occurred abundantly in the lake during the 1950-1959 period. This spe- cies was of only minor importance as a sport fish. The largest warmouth meas- ured was 8.3 inches long; it weighed 0.57 pound. Green Sunfish, Lepomis cijanel- his Rafinesque: Common.—This species was taken less frequenth' by anglers than the warmouth. The largest green sunfish handled was 7.0 inches long; it weighed 0.30 pound. PuMPKiNSEED, Lepomis gibbosiis ( Linnaeus ) : Occasional.—This species was too scarce in Lake Chautauqua to be of any importance to the sport fish- ery. The largest pumpkinseed meas- ured was 8.1 inches long; it weighed 0.56 poimd. Bluegill, Lepomis macrochinis Raf- inesque: Very abundant.—The bluegill was one of the most important sport fishes occurring in Lake Chautauqua during our investigation. Bluegill fish- ing was particularly good at the lake in the years 1954-19.58. In all years, the best bluegill fishing occurred in the months of May and June. In most years, anglers were pleased with the sizes of the bluegills they were able to catch (0.34 pound average). The largest bluegill observed during our study was 9.2 inches in length and 0.77 pound in weight. Oranges POTTED Sunfish, Lepomis hiimilis (Girard): Common.—Orange- spotted sunfish in Lake Chautauqua seldom attained a size large enough to attract the interest of anglers. An or- angespotted sunfish 4.8 inches long and weighing 0.10 pound was kept by an angler. Nearly all of the specimens col- lected were taken with the minnow seine. White Crappie, Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque: Very abundant.—The white crappie was one of the most abundant fis!ies occurring in Lake Chautauqua. This species spawned in the lake each year of our study except possibly 1953; however, the strength of year-classes was quite variable. The white crappie formed an important part of the an- glers' catch, particularly in the years 1950-1956. In most years, it occurred in the lake much more abundantly than the black crappie. The average weight of white crappies taken by anglers was 0.41 pound. Very few white crappies were observed that weighed over a pound. The largest white crappie ob- served was 14.1 inches in length and 1.53 pounds in weight. Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigiomacii- latiis (Lesueur): Very abundant.—The black crappie was usually less abundant at Lake Chautauqua than the white crappie. The average weight of the black crappie in the anglers' catches was 0.39 pound. The largest black crap- pie measured was 12.6 inches long; it weighed 1.3S pounds. Family Percidae Six species of fish of the perch family were taken at Lake Cliautauqua in the period of our study. Only the yellow perch and the logperch were common in our collections. Saucer, Sfizostedion canadcnse (Smith): Rare.—Only three saugers were collected at Lake Chautauqua in the period of our study; they were taken in our 1-inch-mesh wing nets. One spec- imen ( 13.7 inches long, 0.78 pound ) was caught in October, 1952, and two more were taken in April, 1961 ( 13.7 inches long, 0.91 pound; 13.9 inches long, 0.90 pound). The last two speci- mens were nearly ripe females. The saugers collected at Lake Chautauqua evidently came into the lake from the 28 Illinois Natural History Survky Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 Illinois River during high water. Sau- gers are now caught occasionally in the river by commercial fishermen. We have not collected any young-of-the- year saugers from the lake or from the river in the Havana area. Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens ( Mitchill ) : Common.—Earlier in this paper, we mentioned that the yellow perch was formerly abundant in Lake Chautauqua. In the period 1950-1959, perch spawned in the lake in most years but failed during this period to produce a single large year-class. We attributed this poor spawning success to the lack of submergent vegetation during the spawning season. Prior to 1943, submer- gent vegetation flourished in the lake, and the yellow perch was abundant and formed an important part of the anglers' catch (Hansen 1942:198). Fishing was very poor for perch in the 1950-1959 period. The anglers' annual catches of the yellow perch in the years 1950-1954 ranged from 194 to 806 fish. The perch caught by anglers were usually of a size satisfactory to them. The largest yellow perch we observed was 11.5 inches long; it weighed 0.70 pound. River Darter, Percina shiimardi (Girard): Rare.—A single specimen of this species was taken in a minnow seine haul at the lake in 1959. Our identification of this specimen was con- firmed by Dr. Milton B. Trautman of Ohio State University (personal com- munication, January 22, 1960). Logperch, Percina caprodes (Rafin- esque): Common.—This was the only species of darter taken regularly in our collections at Lake Chautauqua. Young- of-the-year logperch were taken in se\'- eral different years. Seven specimens of this species were submitted to Dr. Reeve M Bailey of the University of Michigan for examination. He informed us (personal communication, March 4, 1960) that the specimens from Lake Chautauqua appeared to be of a sub- species intermediate between P. cap- rodes carbonaiia and P. caprodes semi- fasciata. Bluxtnose Darter, Etheosfoma chlorosomum (Hay): Rare to occa- sional—Nineteen specimens of this spe- cies were collected from Lake Chautau- qua through our use of rotenone and minnow seines. This darter possibly spawned in Lake Chautauqua, as evi- denced by several small specimens taken in our collections. Mud Darter, Etheostoma asprigene ( Forbes ) : Rare.—Forbes & Richardson (1920:307-309) reported that the mud darter, known to them as Etheostoma jcssiae, was very common in the Illinois River at Havana (probably 1903 or be- fore). This species has occurred only occasionally in our collections from the Illinois River at Havana. Three speci- mens of the mud darter were collected at Lake Chautauqua; these were taken in areas treated with rotenone. Family Sciaenidae The freshwater drum is the only rep- resentative in Illinois of a large family of marine fishes. This drum, known in Illinois as the white perch and the sheepshead, is of importance as both a commercial and sport fish in the Illinois River and the Mississippi River. Freshwater Drum, Aplodinottis grunniens Rafinesque: Very abundant. —The freshwater drum was one of the most abundant fishes in Lake Chautau- qua during our study. In most years of our study, this species spawned quite successfully in the lake. The drum formed an important part of the creel in years of high water levels. Starrett & McNeil (1952:22-23) reported that the best fishing conditions for the drum in 1950 and 1951 were in periods of high or rising water. In 1950, an exception- ally good year for drum fishing because of the high water levels, anglers caught 9,459 drum. The drum comprised 15.2 per cent by weight of the legal reported commercial catch at Lake Chautauqua in the years 1950-1959. In this period, commercial fishermen remo\'ed from the lake 312,946 pounds of drum valued at $19,807. The largest drum caught March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 29 during the investigation was 28.2 inches long; it weiglied 11.64 pounds. The av- erage weight of indi\'iduals in the com- mercial seine hauls ranged from 0.94 pound in 1956 and 1958 to 1.46 pounds in 1954. Family Atherinidae Only one member of this family oc- curs in Illinois waters. Brook Silverside, Lahidesthes siccit- hts ( Cope ) : Scarce to abundant.—The numbers of this species caught in the minnow seine collections varied consid- erably from year to year (0.0 to 20.9 fish per haul). The species was most abundant in 1950, 1957, and 1958. In those years, it was probably of some importance as a forage fish because of the size and abundance of individuals. GROWTH AND AGE OF FISHES From the age and length data col- lected during our investigation of Lake of the fish. For example, a fish collected in September with scales or spine show- ing two annuli plus a summers growth was called a 3-year-old fish and was placed in age group III of Fig. 7-16. Bluegill Growth Rates.—Age and length data for the Lake Chautauqua bluegills we studied in 1950-1959 are summarized in Tables 6-9. The size distribution of young blue- gills taken in the 1959 minnow seine and rotenone collections ( Table 6 ) was rather typical of the distribution found in the collections made in previous years. The data indicated evidence of at least two major spawning periods in 1959. By early fall, the majority of the young bluegills in the minnow seine collection were 1.0-2.0 inches in length. The calculated first-year growth of bluegills of four different year-classes averaged 1.8 inches in length (Table 7). The first year's growth of bluegills at Lake Chautauqua was considered as Table 6.—Number of bluegills of less than 1 year old in each of several size groups in the 1959 minnow seine and rotenone collections at Lake Chautauqua. 30 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Alt. 1 being only fair compared with growth made by bluegills in Clear Lake, Iowa. Di Costanzo (1957:23) determined the first years grow tii of bluegills in that lake to be 2.39 inches. The average first year's growth in 56 northern Indi- Table 8.—Average observed lengths and weights of bluegills of various ages, excluding I -year-old fish, at Lake Chautauqua. March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 31 in Lake Chautauqua, our study sho\\ ed. Throughout our entire study period, only four bluegills were foimd that had reached an age of 7 years (Table 8). Schloemer (1939:13, 60), who examined scales of 115 bluegills collected from Lake Chautauqua in 1936, did not find any of the fish to be over 5 years of age. He aged too few bluegills from Lake Chautauqua over 2 years of age ( 12 fish) to give any real comparison with the age data in the present study. Average sizes attained by bluegills each year in the period 1949-1959 are presented in Table 9. Data in the table show that the 3-year-old fish tended to vary in size slightly more from year to year than did the 4- and 5-year-old fish. Because in most years too few 2- and 6-year-old fish were aged to furnish in- formation of much value to this study, fish in these age-groups were not in- cluded in Table 9. Largemouth Bass Growth Rates.— The age determinations for the bass collected at Lake Chautauqua in 1950- 20.0 32 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 Table 1 1 .—Average observed lengths and weights and calculated lengths of warmouths of various ages at Lake Chautauqua, 1950—1959. March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 33 nell 1954:7; Hansen 1951:252; Lewis 1950«:310; Purkett 1958:19; Ricker & Lagler 1942:89; Schoffman 1960:5; Stroud 1949:68; and Witt 1952:177). Fish oxer 5 years of age were not com- mon in any of our white crappie collec- Table 14.—Average observed lengths and weights of white crappies of various ages at Lal U) *^ (U 4. O c "O X :£ — .n 00*^ C I 3 >- 5i5: 3 c-^3 (/I "O QJ QJ t: -D o :t ™ 3 X ^ c «cx= o (Tj W) (U 3 " «| « 00 "^^ - (u _fa c^ D :: jj t a'" ° o J in-oTJ xo\"o »; 3 ^ 1 y C S " x,i; c ^ -tiin - ra«o c 5 _9 '— ^ u. "i "-^ "^ ^ H- o '0 *- M- *- (^ - c O <1J " (U 1/1 m — '— {- ^ ?i CO c/2 O JS <*= hJ « ^J PQ # 0) u > 3 T2 c/: c/5 Q n fM M ol oq o o o o Tt Tf -q" ^ Ol Ol c-l (M 00 CD March, 1965 Stabrett & Fritz; Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 57 Table 32.—Number of seine hauls required to detect various percentage changes in the populations of carp, buffalofishes, freshwater drum, and channel catfish at Lake Chautauqua in September of 1954 and 1957.* Year and Kind of Fish Number of Hauls Actually Made Number of Hauls Required to Detect a Population Change of the Percentage Indicated 10 58 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 ences existed among the sections in 1954 (Table 31). However, in 1957 the catch of catfish in the lower lake was significantly greater than the catches in the other sections. The analysis in Table 31 indicates that no significant differences existed among the mean values for the catches of bufFalofishes and drum in the three parts of the lake seined. The catches of these species varied considerably be- tween hauls within a section. Gizzard shad had a distribution similar to the distributions of buffalofishes and drum. Since so much variation occurred among hauls, we wished to determine the number of hauls required per sein- ing period to detect population changes from year to year. In making our analy- sis for detecting population changes, we assumed that within 30 days ( month of September ) very few fish were added to the commercial fishery through growth of fish, and we knew there was no recruitment of fish from the river or escapement of fish to the river during the seining period. The analysis, as we had anticipated, indicated that imprac- tical numbers of seine hauls (438 or more ) in 1 month were required to de- tect a 10 per cent change in the popula- tions of the most numerous fish species ( Table 32 ) . Sufficient numbers of hauls were made to detect 40 to 50 per cent changes in the populations of buffalo- fishes, drum, and channel catfish. The analysis indicated that the data for carp, which were concentrated in one section of the lake, were of little value in detecting other than more drastic population changes. The carp and bigmouth buffalo of less than commercial sizes taken in the seine hauls were returned to the lake. Sight estimates were made of the oc- currence of these subusable-size fish in the seine hauls, and some length and weight data on them were collected. ^Ve were interested in making stand- ing crop estimates of the large abun- dant fishes from the seine haul data. In making these estimates we needed first to discover a method for determining the area covered by the seines in a sein- ing period so that the catch data could be converted to pounds of fish caught per acre. The pounds of fish caught per acre could then be referred to as a crude estimate of standing crop. Commercial fishermen at Lake Chau- tauqua used three basic methods for laying out their seines, each seine usu- ally about 800 to 1,000 yards in length. An important device employed in all three methods was a backstop, a wire mesh fence usually 30 to 50 feet long, tall enough to extend about 4 feet above the water, and held in place with stakes driven into the lake bottom. In the first method, one end of the seine was at- tached to one end of the backstop, the seine was laid out in the form of an ap- proximate circle, and the other end of the seine was brought to the other end of the backstop. In the second method, the seine was laid out in the form of a trapezoid, with one side of the trape- zoid parallel with the backstoo and with approximately 100 yards of open water between each end of the back- stop and the nearest end of the seine; the open areas were closed soon after the fishermen started hauling in the seine. In the third method, a section of seine 100 or more yards in length was attached to one end of the backstop, ex- tended in line with the backstop, and staked. The seine proper was secured at one end to the free end of the backstop and laid out so that with the backstop and section of staked seine it formed an open end or partial D, with open water between the free end of the seine proper and the staked seine. Finally, the free end of the seine proper was dragged across the open water to the nearer end of the staked seine. We calculated the areas covered in various seine hauls made by each of the three methods outlined above. The areas were of various shapes, but most of them were roughly circular. We found that close approximations of the actual areas covered in the seine hauls March, 1965 Starbett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 59 could be made if we considered the seines as the circumferences of circles. The methods we used in estimating the area covered in an average seine haul and in estimating our catch of various species per acre are shown below. The figures are for 1954, in which the cumu- lative length of seine used in the total number of hauls was 49,650 yards. 1) To estimate the number of linear yards or feet of seine in average haul when 49,650 yards=cumula- tive length of seines used in 1954 and 57=number of seine hauls made in that year: 49,650 543,827.8 =12.5 57 =871.1 number of yards (2,613.3 feet) of seine in average haul 2) To estimate the number of square feet covered in average seine haul ( 2,613.3 feet, the length of seine in average haul, is assumed to be equal to the circumference, C, of the roughlv circular area covered in a haul):' C a) Diameter (d)^— ; TT 60 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. ] discussed the technique in 1896 ( Ricker 1958:81). Although in our Lake Chautauqua studies we tagged and released crap- pies ( both species ) and bluegills in 1950-1954 and white bass in 1951-1954, the number of tagged fish recovered was so small that, in estimating popula- tions or standing crops, we were able to use only the data on crappies tagged in 1950 and 1951. We estimated the stand- ing crops of crappies in the fall months of 1950 and 1951 by using Chapman's variation of the Petersen method (Ricker 1958:85), which was based on the number of marked and unmarked fish caught in a given period of time. The procedure we used in 1950 was similar to that described below for 1951. In October, 1951, the Natural His- tory Survey test-netting crew caught, tagged, and released 547 adult crap- pies (both species). From October, 1951, through April, 1952, anglers and commercial fishermen removed 21,514 adult crappies from the lake. During that period, 41 tagged fish were recap- tured. Crappies caught by anglers were checked for tags by boat liverymen, and those caught by commercial fisher- men were checked by Natural History Survey personnel. The computations made in determining the size of the standing crop of the 1951 fall crappie population are shown below. Not con- sidered in the computations was ( i ) the possibility that the mortality rate of tagged fish might be higher or lower than that of the other fish or (ii) the possibility of recruitment from and loss of fish to the Illinois River. As no tagged white crappie was recovered from the river, we assume that few if any fish of this species were lost to the river. N = (M + i)(c + i: M = number of fish marked C = number of fish caught R ^ number of tagged fish recap- tured 1) (547 + 1) (21,514 + 1)^ ' 41 + 1 number of adult crappies in lake 0.5 pound = average weight of adult crappies 2) 280,719x0.5=140,360 number of pounds of adult crappies in lake 3,562 = number of acres in lake „. 140.360 _. • . , . Growth of freshwater drum in Oklahoma. Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Rep. 78. 15 p. HuiSH, Melvin T. 1958. Life history of the black crappie of lakes Eustis and Harris, Florida. Southeast. Assoc. Game and Fish Commis. Proc. for 1957, 11:302-312. Hulsey, Andrew H. 1957. Effects of a fall and winter drawdown on a flood control lake. Southeast. Assoc. Game and Fish Commis. Proc. for 1956, 10:285-289. Hutchinson, G. Evelyn. 1957. A treatise on Umnology. Vol. I. Geography, physics, and chemistry. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 1,015 p. Jackson, Harry Owen. 1954. Limnological investigation of three Illinois bottomland lakes. Master of science in education thesis, Illinois State University, Normal. 99 p. , and William C. Starrett. 1959. Turbidity and sedimentation at Lake Chau- tauqua, Illinois. Jour. Wildlife Manag. 23(2):157-168. Jackson, Samuel W., Jr. 1955. Rotenone survey of Black Hollow on Lower Spavinaw Lake, November, 1953. Okla. Acad. Sci. Proc. for 1954, 35:10-14. Jenkins, Carter, and W. B. Walhaven. 1950. Survey and report on potential con- servation areas along the lUinois River from Hennepin to Grafton. Illinois State Depart- ment of Conservation, Springfield. 80 p. Jenkins, Robert M. 1951. A fish population study of Glaremore City Lake. Okla. Acad. Sci. Proc. for 1949, 30:84-93. . 1953. Growth histories of the prin- cipal fishes in Grand Lake (o' the Chero- kees), Oklahoma, through thirteen years of impoundment. Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Rep. 34. 85 p. -, AND Ronald E. Elkin. 1957. Growth of white bass in Oklahoma. Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Rep. 60. 21 p. . , and Joe Finnell. 1955. Growth rates of si,\ sunfishes in Oklahoma. Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Rep. 49. 73 p. . AND Gordon E. Hall. 1953. The influence of size, age, and condition of wa- ters on the growth of largemouth bass in Oklahoma. Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Hep. 30. 43 p. , Edgar M. Leonard, and Gordon E. Hall. 1952. An investigation of the fish- eries resources of the Illinois River and pre- impoundment study of Tenkiller Reservoir, Oklahoma. Okla. Fish. Res. Lab. Rep. 26. 136 p. 96 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin \'ol. 29, Art. 1 JoBES, Frank W. 1952. Age, growtli, and production of yellow perch in Lake Erie. U. S. Fi,sh and Wildlife Serv. Fish. Bill. 52:205-266. ( Fish. Bui. 70.) Kawanabe, Hiroya. 1958. On the signifi- cance of the social structure for the mode of density effect in a salmon-like fish, "Ayu," Plecoglossus altivelis Temminck et Schlegel. Kyoto Univ., Col. Sci. Mem., Ser. B (Biol), 25(3):171-180. KoFoiD, C. A. 1903. Plankton studies. IV. The plankton of die Illinois River, 1894- 1899, with introductory notes upon the hy- drography of the Illinois River and its basin. Part I. Quantitative investigations and gen- eral results. 111. Lab. Nat. Hist. Bui. 6(2): 95-629 + 50 pi. Krumholz, Louis A. 1948. Reproduction in the western mosquitofish, Gainbusia affmis affinis ( Baird & Girard ) , and its use in mosquito control. Ecol. Monogr. 18:1-^3. Lagler, Karl F. 1956. Freshwater fishery biology. Second ed. Wm. C. Brown Co., Dubuque, Iowa. 421 p. Lambou, Victor W. 1959. Fish populations of backwater lakes in Louisiana. Amer. Fish. Soc. Trans. 88(1):7-15. , AND Herbert Stern, Jr. 1959. Pre- liminary report on the effects of the re- moval of rough fishes on the Clear Lake sport fishery. Southeast. Assoc. Game and Fish Commis. Proc. for 1958, 12:36-56. Langlois, Thomas H. 1954. The western end of Lake Erie and its ecology. J. W. Edwards, Publisher, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich- igan. 479 p. Larimore, R. Weldon. 1957. Ecological life history of the warmouth ( Centrarchidae). 111. Nat. Hi.st. Surv. Bui. 27(l):l-83. Le Cren, E. D. 1949. The efl^ect of reduc- ing the population on the growth rate of Pcrca fluvkitilis. Verhandlungen der Inter- nationale Vereinigung fiir Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 10:258. Lewis, William M. 1950a. Fisheries inves- tigations on two artificial lakes in southern Iowa. II. Fi.sh populations. Iowa State Col. Jour. Sci. 24(3):287-.323. . 1950/;. Growth of the white bass, Lepihema chrysops (Rafinesque), in Clear Lake, Iowa. Iowa State Col. Jour. Sci. 24(3):273-277. and Kenneth D. Carlander. 1948. Growth of the yellow bass, Morone inter- nipta Gill, in Clear Lake, Iowa. Iowa State Col. Jour. Sci. 22(2): 185-195. Low, Jessop B., and Frank C. Bellrose, Jr. 1944. The seed and vegetative yield of waterfowl food plants in the Illinois River valley. Jour. Wildlife Manag. 8(l):7-22. McCaig, Robert S., and James W. Mul- LAN. 1960. Growth of eight species of fishes in Quabbin Reservoir, Massachusetts, in relation to age of reservoir and introduc- tion of smelt. Amer. Fish. Soc. Trans. 89(1):27-31. McCoNNELL, William J. 1952. The oper- cular bone as an indicator of age and growth of the carp, Cyprimis carpio Lin- naeus. Amer. Fish. Soc. Trans, for 1951, 81:138-149. Marzolf, Richard C. 1955. Use of pectoral spines and vertebrae for determining age and rate of growth of the channel catfish. Jour. Wildlife Manag. 19(2) :243-249. Miller, Robert Rush. 1960. Systematics and biology of the gizzard shad ( Dorosoma cepedianum) and related fishes. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Serv. Fish. Bui. 60:.371-392. (Fish. Bui. 173.) MoEN, Tom. 1953. Food habits of the carp in northwest Iowa lakes. Iowa Acad. Sci. Proc. 60:665-686. . 1955. Food of the freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque, in four Dickinson Countv, Iowa, lakes. Iowa Acad. Sci. Proc. 62:589-598. Moody, Harold L. 1954. Adult fish popula- tions by haul seine in seven Florida lakes. Fla. Acad. Sci. Quart. Jour. 17(3) :147- 167. Moyle, John B., and William D. Clothier. 1959. Effects of management and winter o.\ygen levels on tlie fish population of a prairie lake. Amer. Fish. Soc. Trans. 88(.3): 178-185. , Jerome H. Kuehn, and Charles R. Burrows. 1950. Fish-population and catch data from Minnesota lakes. Amer. Fish. Soc. Trans, for 1948, 78:163-175. Mulvihill, Wm. F., and L. D. Cornish. 1929. Flood control report: An engineer- ing study of the flood situation in the State of Illinois. Illinois Division of Water- ways, Springfield. 402 p. Muncy, R. Jess. 1959. Age and growth of channel catfish from the Des Moines River, Boone County, Iowa, 1955 and 1956. Iowa State Jour. Sci. 34(2) :127-137. Paloumpis, Andreas A. 1958. Measurement of some factors affecting the catch in a minnow seine. Iowa Acad. Sci. Proc. 65: 580-586, , AND William C. Starrett. 1960. An ecological study of benthic organisms in three Illinois River flood plain lakes. Amer. Midland Nat. 64(2) :406-435. Parsons, John W. 1950. Life history of the yellow perch, Perca flavescens (Mitchill), of Clear Lake, Iowa. Iowa State Col. Jour. Sci. 25(l):83-97. Patriarche, Mercer H. 1953. The fishery in Lake Wappapello, a flood-control res- ervoir on die St. Francis River, Missouri. Amer. Fish. Soc. Trans, for 1952, 82:242- 254. March, 1965 Starrett & Fritz: Fishes of Lake Chautauqua 97 PiHOGNDCOFF, P. L. 1927. Materials concfrn- ing age and growth rate of rudd (Rutilus rut. lactistris Pallas ) from tlie [Lake] Chani. Laboratory Ichthyological in Siberia Re- ports 2(5):1-17. (Citation from English summary, unnumbered p. 17.) Powers, Edwin B., A. Randolph Shields, AND Mary E. Hickman. 1939. The mor- tality of fishes in Norris Lake. Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 14(2):239-260. PuRKETT, Charles A., Jr. 1958. Growth rates of Missouri stream fishes. Mo. Conser\'. Commis., Fish and Game Div., D-J Ser. 1. 46 p. Raitt, D. S. 1939. The rate of mortality of the haddock of the North Sea stock, 1919- 1938. 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Reelfoot Lake Biol. Sta. Rep. 4:22-42. . 1941. Age and growth of the drum in Reelfoot Lake. Reelfoot Lake Biol. Sta. Rep. 5:100-110. 1942. Age and growth of die carp in Reelfoot Lake. Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 17(l):68-77. 1943. Age and growth of the gourd- head buffalo in Reelfoot Lake. Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 18(1):.36-46. 1953. Growth of the largemouth black bass in Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 28(l):3-7. 1954. Age and rate of growth of the channel catfish in Reelfoot Lake, Ten- nessee. Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 29(l):2-8. -. 1958. Age and rate of growth of the yellow bass in Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee for 1955 and 1957. Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 33(1):101-105. 1960. Age and rate of growth of the white crappie in Reelfoot Lake, Ten- nessee, for 1950 and 1959. Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 35(l):3-8. Scidmore, W. J. 1955. Notes on the fi.sh population structure of a typical rough fish-crappic lake of southern Minnesota. Minn. Dep. Conserv., Div. Game and Fish, Bur. Fish. Invest. 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Wis. Conserv. Dep. Pub. 2.30. 14 p. 98 Illinois Natural Histoby Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 Sprugel, George, Jr. 1955. The growdi of green sunfish (Lefwmh cijancllus) in Little Wall Lake, Iowa. Iowa State Col. Jour. Sci. 29(4):707-719. Stall, J. B., and S. W. Melsted. 1951. The silting of Lake Chautauqua. 111. Water Surv. Rep. Invest. 8. 15 p. Starrett, William C. 1955. Liberalized largemouth bass fishing at Lake Chautau- qua. III. Wildlife 10(4):6-7. . 1958. Fishery values of a restored Illinois River bottomland lake. 111. Acad. Sci. Trans, for 1957, 50:41^8. AND Paul G. Barnickol. 1955. Ef- ficiency and selectivity of commercial fish- ing devices used on the Mississippi River. 111. Nat. Hist. Surv. Bui. 26(4) :325-366. , AND Arnold W. Fritz. 1957. The crappie story in Illinois. Outdoors in 111. 4(2):11-14. (Citation is to the reprint, which contains additions and changes, in- cluding order of authorship. ) -, William J. Harth, and Philip W. Smith. 1960. 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Age and growdi of the white crappie, Pomoxis annularis Raf- inesque, in Missouri. Doctoral thesis. Uni- versity of Missouri, Columbia. 213 p. Wood, Roy. 1951. The significance of man- aged water levels in developing the fisheries of large impoundments. Tenn. Acad. Sci. Jour. 26(3):214-235. Yoshihara, Tomokichi. 1952. Effect of pop- ulation-density and pond-area on tlie growth of fish. Tokyo University of Fish- eries Journal 39(1):47-61. INDEX Page numbers in italic type indicate principal references. Fish species liaving names of more than one word are hsted with the words in normal rather than inverted order: for ex- ample, Bigmouth buffulo rather than Buffalo, higmouth. Cross references are given only if be- lieved necessary. Because Angler(s), Anglers' catch{es), and Angling are in close proximity in the index, no reference from one to the other is given; however, after Angler{s), reference is given to .tport fishermen. Age composition of catch {see also under in- dividual species), 29, 42—53 Age group ( defined ) , 29 Aging fish, 5—7 Algae blue-green, 17 filamentous, 84 Alosa chrijsochloris, 20 American eel, 25, 25 Amia calva, 20 Amiidae, 20 Amphipods, 84 Anas americana, 89 discors, 89 platyrliynchos, 89 Angler(s) {see aha sport fishermen and pole- and-line), 11, 19, 20 black crappie caught by, 68 bluegills caught by, 86 buffalo caught by, 23 carp caught by, 21 carpsuckers not caught b>-, 2.3 channel catfish caught by. 86 crappies caught by, 60, 68, 86 drum caught by, 28 fishing for bluegills, 26 fishing "college," 1 fishing for largemouth bass, 26 freshwater drum caught by, 86 green sunfish taken by, 27 interest in orangespotted sunfish, 27 kinds of fish caught by, 17—18 largemouth bass taken by, 27, 86 number, 17 perch caught by, 28 pounds per acre removed by, 86, 87 pounds of fish, 11, 17-18 warmouth taken by, 27 wlute bass taken by, 26 white crappies taken by, 27 who fished for yellow bass, 42 yellow bass taken by, 26, .52, 86 Anglers' catch (es), 11 black crappie, 27 bluegills, 48, 49, 70, 77 crappies, 70 drum, 70 largemouth bass, 70 white bass, 26 white crappie(s), 27, 49, 51-52, 69 yellow bass, 53, 70 yellow perch, 28, 70 Angling, 6, U, 31, 68, 69, 74 crappies caught by, 5 pounds of fish per acre, 11 white bass caught by, 5 Anguilla rostrata, 25 Anguillidae, 25 Aphredoderus sayanus, 26 Aphroderidae, 26 Aplodinotus gruntuens, 28—29 Aquatic plant(s) {see also vegetation), 2, 13, 16, 88 Arrowleaf, 88 Atherinidae, 29 "Ayu," 74 B Bacteriological study(ies), 2 Baldpates, 89 Bass {see also largemouth bass), 20, 87 liberalized regulations, 1—2 Bigmouth buffalo ( see also buffalofishes ) , 3, 4, 12, 18, 22, 22-23, 62, 66, 75, 81, 90, 91, 93 age composition of catch, 44—46 C factor, 76 growth and condition data, 81—82 growth rates, 38-39, 81 in minnow seine hauls, 42 population changes, 6.5 pounds. 65, 85, 86-87 range of lengths in calculating C, 7 sought by seine crews, 55 Bigmouth shiner, 22 Biology of fishes, 1, 2, 91 "Black bass" {see also largemouth bass), 12 Black buffalo, 23, 23 Black bullhead, 25 Black crappie(s) (see also crappie), 11, 18, 27, 27, 62, 91, 92, 93 age composition of catch, 52 C factor, 76, 78 growth and condition data, 79—80 growth rates, 34-35, 78 in minnow seine ( hauls ) , 35, 52 range of lengths in calculating C, 7 tagged, 68 in test-net (collections), 35, 51, 52 Blackstripe topminnow, 25 Blue catfish, 24, 24 Bluegill(s), 7, 11, 18, 26, 27, 62, 69, 73, 74, 75, 79, 83, 90, 91, 92, 93 affected b>' water levels, 72 age composition of catch, 49 in anglers' catch (es), 48, 49, 70 C factor, 76 caught by anglers, 17, 18, 86 in commercial .seine hauls, 49 die-offs, 18 growth and condition data, 75—77 growth rates, 29—31 indices of condition, 77 indices of growth, 77 in minnow seine hauls, 43 per cent of catch, 12 population clianges, 70 pounds, 12-13, 70, 86 range of lengths in calculating C, 7 99 100 Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin Vol. 29, Art. 1 removal by Department of Conservation, 12 tagged, 54 in test-nets, 60 Blne-wingcd teals, 89 Bluntnose darter, 2S Bluntnose minnow, 22 Boat livery operators ( owners of boat liveries, boat liverymen ) cooperating in program, 2 crappies cheeked by, 60 data collected by, .3 smallmouth bass reported by, 26 Bottom fauna, 17 sUidy(ies), 2, 17, 91 Bowfin, 12, 20, 20 Brook silverside, 18, 29, 91 Brown Inillhead, 24-25, 25 BuHalofishcs (buffalo) ( sec o/to bigmouth buf- falo), 11, 57-.58, 62, 85, 87, 91, 92 caught by anglers, 18 growth rates, .39 per cent of yield, 12 pounds, 9, 10, 12-13, 56, 59, 60-61, 86- 87 seine hauls required to detect population changes, 57 sought by seine crews, 55 tagged, 65 Bullhead(s), 11, 12, 18,24, 74 Bullliead minnow, 22 C {see also indices of condition and condition factor), 7, 75, 76, 77, 83, 85 Calculations, 7—S Campostoma anomalum, 22 Carassius aurat'is, 21 Carp, 18, 2J-22, 23, .57-58, 62, 74, 75, 90, 91, 92, 93 age composition of catch, 46—47 age and growth, 7 aging, 6-7 C factor, 76 cauglit by anglers, 18 in commercial seine hauls, 45 condition factor, 83 food habits, 84-85 growth rate(s), 39—iO, 83 in minnow seine hauls, 42 per cent of yield, 12 population changes, 67—68 pounds, 10, 12-13, 56, 59, 60-61, 67, 85, 86-87 range of lengths in calculating C, 7 seine hauls retiuired to detect population changes, 57 Carpiodes, 23 carpio, 23 cijprinu.s, 23 forhesi, 23 forhesi-cijprimis, 23 Carpsuckers, 12 Carrying capacity, 62, 73, 80, 90 Catfish (es) (see also channel catfish), 24—25, 62 aging, 6-7 "Catfish," bowfin sold as, 20 Catostomidac, 22-24 Catosloin'{s commersoni, 23 Centrarchidae, 26-27 CeratoplujUum {see also coontail), 87 demersum, 13 Chaenolni/ttiis pulosus, 27 Channel catfish (sec also catfish), 11, 13, 18, 20, 24, 24, 25, 57-58, 62, 67, 75, 91, 92 age composition of catch, 47—49 C (factor), 76, 80 caught by anglers, 18, 86 in commercial seine hauls, 46, 47 growth and condition data, 80—81 growth rates, 36—37, 80 per cent of catch, 12 population changes, 63—65 pounds, 10, 12-13, 56, 59, 60-61, 64, 80, 85, 86-87 range of lengths in calculating C, 7 removed illegally, 4 seine hauls required to detect population changes, 57 standing crop, 64 trotlinc catch by sport fishermen, 18 Chemical study(ies), 2, 91 Chestnut lamprey, 19 Chufa, 88 Clams, 84 fingernail, 84, 85, 93 Classification of fishes, 5 Clupeidae, 20 "Coarse fish" ( see also rough fish ) , 84 Coelotanijpus, 17 Collection of data, 3—5 Commercial fish(es), 23, 24, 28, 75, 76, 85, 89, 93 management practices, 1 yield, 2 Commercial fi.shermen, 4, 11, 13, 14, 19, 64, 83, 85, 86, 91, 93 hluc catfish taken by, 24 buffalo caught by, 23 bulUieads removed by, 25 carp removed by, 21 channel catfish a premium fish for, 24 crappies taken ( caught ) by, 2, 60 data collected by, 3 drimi removed by, 28 Hathead catfish caught by, 25 methods of laying out seines, 58 participating in program, 2 saugers caught by, 28 smallmouth buffalo taken by, 23 total catch, 10 using wing nets, 3, 9 Commercial fishery (catch), 1, 5, IS, 20, 43, 86, 92 annual catch, 18 effects of, 2, 91 Commercial fishing, 4, 9, 46, 69 devices, 36, 37 effect on sport fishing, 87 effects of, 2 effects of fish removal on, 85-87 Commercial seining as a sampling technique, 54-5.9 Condition factor(s) {see also C and indices of condition), 79, 81, 82, 83, 93 Condition and growth of fi.sh^s {see also under individual species), 71—85 data, 75-