The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1923-08-24
STUDY HABITS OF
AMERICAN FISH
Steps Taken to Ascertain Ex.
tent of Seasonal Movements.
70 TAG AHU LIDERATE FISH


/ York In summer ore different from
, those found there In the colder months
OF the year The gentle southwest
hreezes Of late Sprlngtime watt suit
warmed surface water from further
south 10 New Jersey. Long Island and
southern New England. With higher
wuter temperature these nelghb0r-
hoods become agreeable for the weak
Ash, bIueash, summer founder. locally
rallied luke, and various other south
ern species which migrate to us from
| greater or less distances and spend
the GUNNER off our shores.
Then In October and November, j.
| I. Nichols Of the American Museum nf
Natural History, writes In the New
| York Sun. the crisp cold northwest
: wind sends the warm summer surfmrc
water dancing out to sea, and the tenn
perature OF the tide falls from week
one the summer fishes find 1t too cold
for comfort and go elsewhere. To
take their place schools OF cod now
round the cape which hears their
name, and this species. with others
characteristic OF the colder northern
portions Of the Atlantic. give us our
winter dsllins.
Mummy Fish Used as Bait.
There are also certain common fish
that can get along IN Il greater range
of water temperature and that have
no very apparent migration, but are
present at all seasons. For Instance.
there Is the little killfsh. also called
mummy" much In use for bait. The
| blnckhsIi or tautOg is here the year
round. but too sluggish to take the
bait in the coolest weather. and bites
most actively in the spring and fall.
| The winter founder, also called fiat
| Ash, is also permanent resident. 1t
is caught In the spring and fall. for It
seems to lose appetite in summer, when
the largest individuals have also prob
ably moved out into deeper water.
Such, briefly, is the character Of the
migration of marine fishes as 1t Oc-
ours not only near New York but In
| nil parts of the sea where there Is a
| considerable difference between sum-
mer temperature and winter tempera-
| lures.
These mlgratiOns arc not necessarily
of a simple north and south character,
more or less DETECTED to eastward or
| To westward along shore by the trend
| of the coast. There are two other quite
different types to which the EOve-
ments Of given species may belong,
or they may be n combination OF all
| three.
Toadtsh Present Only in Winter.
TO illustrate second type take the
case of the angler, sometimes erron@
ously called toadfsh. This is a large
! sluggish fish with an enormous hend
md wide mouth With formidable teeth.
II Hes on the bottom In walt for
smaller fishes and is said to lure them
within reach by means Of one or more
peculiar flaps of skin at the summit of
slender spines which rise from tho
| top of It's head. The angler is absent
| from the shore waters near New York
| city In summer and present there In
| winter IT is present cOHstwise In New
|, England throughout the year, as also
| In deep water off New York city. From
the depths outside to our bays Is much
| less In actual distance than from New
| ~ \ I'll l.,
sluggish o fish that one can scarcely
conceive of It's undertaking extensive
/ travels and its migration is probably
almost entirely up and down, from
deep to shallow water. and vice verse
The movements OF many fishes meg
partake somewhat Of this characteS,
Just how much It r impossible to say.
All Fish More or Less Migratory.
| A good deal could be written ehout
! fish migration; OF how the young of
tropical species accompany jelly fishes
and seaweed drifting in the trend Of
the gulf stream, and appear Sporadlcal-
| ~ IN late summer and fall hundreds Of
miles north Of whore they belong: OF
how schools OF mpnhaden, not found
north of South Carolina in winter.
and occurring in Nova Scotia In sum
mer. prove an annual trip OF 700 or
500 sen miles each way for that fish:
hut whatever Is known on this subject
merely emphasizes what Is not known.
In our present state Of knowledge.
having eliminated every possible error
from our deductions. those deductions
become fragmentary and hazy In the
extreme.
We lave recently been informes
that there is movement on foot 10
tag and liherate goldfish in tire Allan
tic, with a view to obtain definite in
formation, When these fish are re-
taken. as to extent and direction of
the travels Of an individual Ash. ThIs
method has yielded valuable results
as applied 10 the salmon Of the IN.
cisic coast II seems To have first been
tried in 1908, when. then an assistant
in the United States bureau Of fish
cries. / well remember holding the big
slippery kicking salmon MS they were
drawn from the water of the Columbia
river while Prof. Charles w. Greene
Of the University of Missouri attached
n round metal button. like those used