^Tn^Z^Ei*] - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

•"Ompt Action Saves
Fish At Stellfox Pond
Thousands of fish were saved from death
'ecently by prompt action of two fire departments.
The perch, sun fish, blue-gills and cat
•H, which were stocked in the Stellfox Pond
I*' the lower end of South Renovo, were
l^rishing rapidly when the water level fell
^ddenly.
The Chapman Township Fire Department,
^ing their new tank truck equipment,
Jished to the scene and gave the fish a
J^ance for life by emptying 1000 gallons of
*esh water into the artificial lake. They
^ade the trip twice more, supplying a total
H 3000 gallons to replenish the rapidly dry-
^g pond.
b Meantime the Citizens Hose Co. of South
5 6n °vo were busy placing 1600 feet of hose
*°m the nearest connection of the borough
*ater main to give the fish an additional
^Pply. With the reservoir at Halls Run
JJttining over the south-side borough with
* e best water resources in the state ap-
ared to have an ample supply despite the
^y spell. President of South Renovo Bor-
? u gh Council Frank Bissett said that the
^•"wishing of water to the popular recreation
Bpt could continue as long as this surplus
as evident.
This could be the example and answer to
"hilar situations in other parts of Pennsyl-
Jaia.
° r adford Sportsmen Win
Prizes for Large Fish
IA contest for the largest trout caught in
/J e Bradford, Pennsylvania area and which
as promoted by a local hardware coms
ail y, closed with the following results.
700k Trout class—First prize, Millie Stew-
||. R.F.D. 2, Bradford, weight 2 lbs., length
^A in. Second prize, Roy Groves, 2 Shee-
S Place, Bradford, weight 1 lb. lloz.,
h e,1 gth 12y4 in. Third prize, James Kahle,
K'^-D. 3 weight 1 lb. 8*4 oz., length 16% in.
fovm Trout Class—First prize, George
pchner, Corydon, Pa., weight 6 lb. 10 oz.,
Rgth 26V4 in. Second prize, George Sapko,
3 Clinton St., weight 5 lb. 4 oz., length
in. Third prize, Thomas Hart, 31
!* *&ton St., weight 5 lb., length 25 in. Raini!,
0 ^ Trout Class—First prize, Red Swift,
N 0r ydon, Pa., weight 2 lb., length 17 in.
, 6c ond prize, Jack Gault, Mt. Alton, weight
K lb. 11 oz., length 16Y4 in. Third prize,
j.^ry Irshman, 51 Seaward Ave., weight
."• 3 oz., length 15% in. Three awards
6r
e made in each division.
WHAT'S NEW
(From page 9)
an early curiosity about this fascinat-
, g hobby, and a short introduction to fly-
*Uig would have fitted beautifully into the
attern 0£ ^g D00k However, this subject
i S!^ best be handled in another special
I v °k for boys and until such a book apj,
ars there is always that old favorite—
ISwifl American Trout Lures by Rube Cross.
j |he Boy's Complete Book of Fresh and
I f ft Water Fishing is enthusiastically
I hh Conimen ded by this column. A boy will
c °bably read it through from cover to
j 1 Ve r at first, and then—the more important
f,^ of a good book—will consult it fresJ
6,l tiy thereafter for help on specific
Ogling problems.
EMBER^1949
Small Fish Aid Fight Against Mosquitoes
Small, darting fish, a species which gets
credit for aiding the building of the Panama
Canal, have entered the Dallas fight against
mosquitoes.
Aquarium Director Pierre Fontaine said
that he has supplied the health department
with numerous Gambusia Affins, which have
been prescribed for scores of Dallas' private
fish ponds, to keep down the breeding of
mosquitoes.
The Gambusia Affins, a species common
to Dallas and Texas, is known as the
fish that built the Panama Canal because
of the part it played in wiping out malariabearing
mosquitoes in the tropics.
The tiny surface-feeding fish—maximum
size for females is one and one-half inches
length and males one inch—feed largely
• on mosquito larvae, destroying the insect
before it becomes dangerous.
When U. S. Army engineers faced the
problem of wiping out malaria in order to
complete the Panama Canal, hundreds of
thousands of Gambusia Affins, also known
as mosquito minnows, were shipped to the
canal area and released in fresh water
streams, lakes and swamps.
Visitors to the Dallas Aquarium probably
never realized the importance of the diminutive
animal as they watched its lightning-like
aquatics.
The little fish has another distinguishing
note, according to Director Fontaine. It was
the first domestic fish sold in the United
States as a tropical fish. In the late 1800's
a Gambusia Affins sold at about $2, and
granddad was probably sure he was getting
an imported pet.
The little warrior against mosquitoes is
a live-bearing fish. The female will bear
25 to 75 young at one time and she bears
every 28 days, Fontaine said.
A surface-feeding fish, thit Gambusia
Affins has great difficulty in picking food
from the floor of a lake, stream or aquarium.
The shape of its mouth is such, however,
that it has no difficulty in attacking insect
larvae on the top of the water.
Because of its liking for mosquito larvae,
the tiny fish still upholds its reputation as
an aid to public health and as the fish
that built the Panama Canal.—Dallas Times-
Herald.
Forecasting Weather by Cloud Formations
Cloud formations are harbingers of
weather to come and boaters who can interpret
them correctly can determine whether
or not to go boating or fishing.
All clouds are water vapor condensations,
caused when the air is cooled below its dewpoint,
the term "dewpoint" referring to the
temperature to which air can be cooled
without causing condensation. The form
they take indicates the weather.
Cirrus clouds generally indicate a spell of
good weather followed by rain. Composed
of ice crystals, they are wispy, detached
clouds of delicate and fibrous appearance.
They appear in varied form; sometimes in
isolated tufts, in bands drawn against a blue
sky, or in branching featherlike plumes.
The cirrus are usually colored bright yellow
or red before sunrise or sunset, but are
otherwise without shading and white in
color. They are the highest cloud formations
of the troposphere.
Although the cirrus mean a warm air
invasion, they usually bring the stratus, or
rain clouds, in their wake. Appearance of
the stratus indicate rain. The period between
the first sign and the actual rain may
be two days or more and the storm usually
will last as long as it took to arrive.
Stratus clouds are gray, heavy cloud layers
which give the sky a hazy appearance. They
are low cloud layers and have their base
near the surface. When they rest on the
ground, fog is formed.
Cumulus cloud formations indicate good
weather. Small, white, and wooly, they have
a flat base and rounded outlines. Their
shape is very irregular and they may be
piled or massed in fantastic forms across
the sky, or stretched in dainty, puffed balls
of white. They generally develop when high
clouds are lacking and dissipate by nightfall.
Whenever they grow in size a shower
can be expected.
Cumulonimbus clouds are the clouds of
thunder. A mountainous mass of condensed
vapor from whose base rain or snow falls,
they bring torrents and wind. Cumulonimbus
cloud formations have great vertical
development and their summits rise in the
form of mountains or towers to tremendous
heights. The upper parts of the summits
form the anvil. The anvil top is a veil effect
that pushes out ahead of the cloud from
which the direction of the storm can be
determined. — O. B. C.
Bass can be taken from what would seem
to be impossible muddy water by fishing a
plug with spinners attached just under the
surface of the water, fish it slow and if a
strike is missed give him another chance as
he will be waiting if not nipped by the hooks.
1 1
i)
Using a flat-fish, David Guthrie, of Marienville,
Pa., took these fine muskies from Tionesta
Dam. The larger one measured 40 V4" and
weighed 19J4 lbs., while the smaller one measured
32" and weighed 1 lbs.
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