Fishes of Little Wall Lake, 1967

Little Wall Lake, Hamilton County, Iowa, was dredged in 1953 to increase recreational facilities. Counts in June-August 1967 averaged about 580 man-hours of boating and water skiing per acre, mostly in the 65-acre dredged portion, but sometimes in other parts of the 273-acre lake. The lake also provides about 580 man-hours of fishing per week. Most of the fish are black bullheads (Ictalurus melas) and crappies (Pomoxis annutlaris and P. nigromaculatus), 5 to 6 inches long, and too small to be kept by most fishermen. The angler catch of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus), and other games fish large enough to be kept was less than 0.1 per hour. Mark and recapture techniques estimated the bullhead population at 1,703 per acre, or 123 pounds per acre. Bullheads collected after July 15 were thinner than those collected earlier, but black and white crappies increased in weight. The fish population had not changed markedly since 1956