River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1922-06-29
Out.Of-Doors
BY Wisco

The fifteenth of June witnessed
the annual pilgrimage of the vast
army Of bass fishermen into their ia
vorite lakes or streams. This year
is no exception to the rule. III signs
point to a great year for the plug
ger and bait caster. In the waters
inhabited by muskies or great north
ern pike, fishermen report that bass
are so numerous and pugilistic that
it has made fishing undesirable on
account of the necessity of having to
return to the water so many bass.
Wisconsin is veritable heaven for
the bass fisherman. All the northern
streams are we'll stocked with the
bronze beauties. The reports indicate
that the bass are on the Increase IN
spite of the vast numbers taken each
wear This is due almost entirely to
the fact that in our state the opening
date has been advanced to June 18th.
There has been quite considerable
adverse comment on the lateness OF
the season, and while there is much
to be said for and against, the fact
remains that the rerpetuation OF our
bass fishing depends upon keeping
the opening date at least as late as
the present. When one understands
TIE true conditions relative to the
propagation of the black bass he can
not do otherwise than believe that
wisdom dictates that the opening
date be left as at present. The black
bass is the only fish that cannot pro-
pogate artifcially. The eggs of
trout, pickeral and wall eyed pike can
can be shipped to hatchery and
there hatched, kept to the proper age
and distributed. Not SO with bass
When the female bass spawns the
male fertilizes the eggs on the spawn
ing bed and there they both remain,
protecting the eggs until they are
Matched and of sufficient age to be led
by the female to shallow water where
they can protect themselves. If the
eggs are left unprotected they very
soon become covered with a scum
which destoys them. This is proven
ed by continual agitation of the
water surrounding the eggs by fan
ing motor of the fish's tail During
this period, when the bass are protec-
ing the eggs, they are particularly
pugnacious and will strike any article
which stikes the water within several
yards of their bed. On account of
this, if bait be thrown near them the
male fish instantly strikes it in an at
tempt to drive it away. If the bait
be cast again in the same spot, the
female will follow suit with result
that several thousands of fish eggs
are left unprotected. When it is UNI
derstcod that the black bass does NOT
finish its spawning until the middle
of June, it can readily be appreciated
what the two weeks additional closed
season will mean for our bass fishing.
Speaking Of bass, can you tell the
difference between the small mouth
and the big mouth? 1t is not as easy
a matter as the names would seem to
suggest. While there is a difference
in the size of the mouth in the two
species, this is not always an easy dis
tinction to make. The mandible, or
lower jaw of the big mouth, runs as
far back as the posterior border OF
the eye. This is theoretically dis
tinction with difference. Practically
however, it does not always work out
according to the rules, in-as-much as
small big mouth bass sometimes have
an oral orfice of smaller dimensions.
The darker color of the small mouth
i. a means of differentiation which is
not always to be relied upon. There
is one means of distinguishing the
different species, however, which is
constant, and that is the number OF
the rows of scales upon the cheek.
The small mouth has seventeen rows.
while his brother, the large mouth,
has but ten or eleven.
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