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<br />166
<br />
<br />CALIFORNIA. "FISH A.'\-rl GAME
<br />
<br />sets in waters of the Alamo River a few miles above the Salton Sea on
<br />October 29, 1942, took only 23 mullet, ranging from 10.0 to 19 imhes in
<br />length, All of these were sexually immature. Only two were o....er 16,5
<br />inches in length; these were males 18and 19 inches long which had been
<br />stranded for some time in a cut-off pool above the Northend Dam, anu
<br />were in an emaciated condition.
<br />The commercial gear (5-inch stretched mesh) used in the Sea aff')rds
<br />but little opportunity for taking mnUet less than 18 inches in lenlrth.
<br />_ None of the experimental netting in the Sea (in February, :JIay, and
<br />October, 1942) produced mullet less tban9,4inches in length. We have
<br />no direct knowledge, therefore, of the early life history of the mullet
<br />there.
<br />
<br />Food. Mr. Chester Woodhull (ms., 1942) examined the stomach contents
<br />of 33 mullet (8.8 to 18.7 inches in len~h) taken from the Salton Sea and
<br />lower Alamo River on February 24, 1942. Those from the Sea (23) were
<br />empty. The predominant food organisms found in the Alamo Rim'
<br />samples were: diatoms; unicellular green algae (mainly desmids) : blue-
<br />green algae; protozoa. A few rotifers and cladocerans were also found,
<br />Since the stomachs contained large quantities of sand and silt in addition
<br />to the food organisms it might be concluded that the fish do not select any
<br />particular food items. A gross examination of the stomach contents
<br />makes it clear why fishermen say, "They live on mud. "
<br />Mullet are frequently seen taking bits of material floating down on
<br />the surface of the canals. Much of this material is composed of masses
<br />of blue-green algae. The fish will lie in schools ranging from side to side
<br />to pick off bits of the scum as it floats towards them.
<br />Thompson and Bryant (1920) reported that they fed on a" gra;;.;<' , ill
<br />the Salton Sea, and Coleman (1929) has a photograph (his Fig. 74 cap-
<br />tioned "~laO'dalena e:rass, food of the famous Salton Sea mullet." ~
<br />Such statem~nts are inco~patible with the observations made by uther
<br />authors on the feeding babits of mullet.
<br />
<br />Place in the Fishery, Its subsistence on the smalle:;,t plants and allimll:'
<br />(especially tbose of the bottom) does not place the mullet in direct C0:,'"
<br />petition for food with most of the otber fishes of the river, In turn, 'Dl'
<br />smaller ones are probably utilized as food by otber fishes. Since they ,E"
<br />also able to exist in the otherwise rather unproductive waters of the .\laDl"
<br />and New rivers and in the Salton Sea, they appear to be a valuable parI
<br />of the fauna. .
<br />It Ciin not be said tbat t.he potential value of mullet either leI' f(")oJ
<br />or sport is entirely realized, however. They are a well-known fo,d thr:
<br />although their flavor is not savored by all Californians who haY" tnd
<br />them, It is a ratber common belief that they caunot be caught with hcw"
<br />and line, and comparatively few people angle for them along the Colorad,.)
<br />However, adherenee to rather specialized methods (with either balt o,~
<br />_ fly) can result in their capture, and when taken on a flyrod, evensmaJ.
<br />mullet make a strong spirited fight. More eommon methods of .. spur.
<br />fishing" include: clubbing, spearing or netting. .
<br />No commercial fisberv for mullet exists in the river. It was carrl"'"
<br />on from 1915 until 1921 in the Salton Sea, and then abandoned -",lun-
<br />
<br />.. This "grasS". whose identity is unknown, is reported by reeid~nts tel ~"l Ie J;s'
<br />o"n<>RT..d In about 1931.
<br />
<br />
<br />._-.~_._- ' .
<br />--"- ------ --- ---.-
<br />
<br />TIm FISHERY, OF THE LOWER CQlJ)R.ADO RIVER
<br />
<br />to the scarcityo.f fish and the difficulty of taking them.,::}:
<br />:tn:pson and Bryant, 1920; Janssen, 1937.) -In 1931 it was pro..c,~.~.
<br />,ltnv. By 1942 the supply of mullet had again increased in the
<br />May ,of that year the commercial fishery was reestablished on
<br />'ental basis under permits issued by the California Division of
<br />Game. The success of the fishery and the regulations concerning
<br />,hediscussed here as they do not directly concern the fishery of
<br />3~doRiver itself.
<br />
<br />}o; fCentrarchidae. Sunftshes and Black Basses
<br />
<br />ers or this', f;~ijy irethe-on1Ytililies'foilifalt1-tbelowerri"er~ ..., - .,,-
<br />:y~t.horacic ventral fins (inserted close to the pectorals). They- -- ._-,---
<br />'$i:I1g1e dorsal fin with spinous and soft-rayed portions closely
<br />e'pt in the largemouth bass), .
<br />
<br />, . Crappie; croppie; calico bass.
<br />
<br />.:~(JTtaracters. The crappies may be distinwshed from the
<br />~(lhids of the river by the following characters: anal fin base
<br />}nlength to dorsal fin base; anal fin with 5 to 7 spines; dorsal
<br />'.." h 6 to 8 spines. '
<br />
<br />.,.pIe below shows the distinctive differences between the two
<br />of crappies.
<br />
<br />Black crappie White crappie
<br />Typically 7 or 8 (rarely 6. Typically 6 (rarely 5 or 7)
<br />9. or 10)
<br />
<br />About equal to distance Much less than distance
<br />from forward end of dor- from forward end of dor-
<br />sal fin to eye suI fin to eye
<br />
<br />Typically mottled TypicallY form rings on
<br />sides
<br />
<br />~i~n; Abundance. Neither of the crappies is native to the
<br />o..and both appear to be comparative newcomers to the lower
<br />:f~wof the residents (except near Yuma) are at all familiar
<br />!=w.;', and report their occurrence only within the last few years.
<br />. ,est record of the occurrence of Pomoxis in tbis area which has
<br />~eattention of the author is that furnished by Mr. J. W.
<br />j'!ho saw "crappies" in Haughtelin Lake in 1934. (Letter to
<br />,i,dated Feb. 14, 1943.) A few crappies were caugbt in Lake
<br />: 'the spring of 1940 and 1941, and one taken in the river below
<br />[ein 1941, according to reports by California wardens. The
<br />,~e species is not known in any of these cases.
<br />~the reports of residents it appears that Pomoxis is more
<br />...the vicinity of Yuma than farther upstream. At Needles
<br />,~rmen told me of "the" one crappie caught in 1941. The
<br />~e by the survey were too small to afford comments on
<br />~:In 1942 black crappie were collected: in the Colorado River
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