The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Bass, Culture of

BASS, Culture of. The artificial cultureof American bass is of recent growth, owingprincipally to ignorance of the proper methods.Considerable pond-space is required, certaintythat the water is clean and that the temperatureis not likely to fall much below 60° F. duringthe spawning season. Bass will not spawn inwater colder than 50°. A good pond an acrein extent ought to yield 50,000 to 75,000 youngfish; four or five acres is about the limit insize. Every pond should be of even depth(about three feet) over the greater part, with adeep place (the “kettle”) near the outlet; onthe shallow “shelf” the fish will nest and maybe hatched and cared for. This main, or“brood” pond, should contain aquatic plants.In addition there should be many separatesmall shallow “fry ponds” for the segregationand rearing of young fish sorted according toage. Wild stock of the large-mouthed blackbass may be caught and introduced at any timeof the year; but the small-mouthed breeding-stock(to which most of what is to be saidapplies) must be introduced only in the autumn.They are then supplied from day to day withminnows and crayfish, and also are graduallyaccustomed to take chopped beef, liver andlungs or other food, but this artificial feedingmust be artfully done or it will not succeed.

Bass lay their eggs in May in saucer-likenests constructed of pebbles on the bottom ofponds. These nests are made and kept cleanby the male fish, until he can induce a gravidfemale to deposit her eggs therein. They arethen kept clean and guarded until they hatch.When hatching the young cluster on the nestin a compact mass, but soon begin to risetoward the surface, and at last the male, whichhas theretofore herded and protected them,drives them into a jungle of water-weeds andabandons them to their fate. They then becomethe prey not only of every other bass or perchin the pond, but the smaller are killed andeaten by the larger among themselves. Hencevery few reach maturity. To avoid this,breeders of small-mouthed bass furnish thepond with a large number of artificial nests,consisting of shallow, open boxes half-filledwith sand and pebbles. These are occupied andarranged as nests by the fish. When the fryappear a “crib” consisting of a framework ofiron, covered with cheese-cloth, sufficiently largeto enclose the nest-box, and tall enough toreach a little above the surface of the water, isset around the nest and firmly anchored. Thenexst-box is then lifted out, and the fry left togrow within the crib, safe from molestation.Such cribs are also placed around any naturalnests found in the pond. These young fish arefed until they have absorbed the yolk-sac, andthen are captured in scoop-nests andtransferred to the proper fry-pond. Artificial nestsare not used for the hardier and slowerlarge-mouthed bass, but cribs may be placed aroundtheir natural nests.

Success in bass-culture depends on a goodsite and good water for the ponds; but evenmore on the proper care and feeding of theyoung. Full directions in both these particularsare to be found in W. E. Meehan's, ‘Fish-Culturein Ponds’ (New York 1913).