Largemouth Bass in Ridge Lake, Coles County, Illinois

Abstract

IN 1941, when Ridge Lake, in Fox Ridge State Park, Coles County, Illinois, was completed, it was set aside as a study area for the largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede). Initially, the largemouth was the only species of fish involved in the study. Later, in 1944, the bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, was added as a companion species for the largemouth, and in 1949 the warmouth, Chaenobryttus corouarius (Bartram), was introduced. The present publication is essentially a description of the culling technique of management and its effect upon the largemouth bass in Ridge Lake for an approximate 10-year period beginning with the spring of 1941 and ending after the bass spawning season but before the angling season of 1951. This technique, which is being employed in all recreational lakes built by the state of Illinois, may be depended upon not only to maintain good bass fishing over an indefinite period but to produce superior angling for fish of other warm-water species inhabiting these lakes.