94 FISHES AND FISHING IN SUNAPEE LAKE. 



Salmon. — The foregoing applies to efforts to revive the native trout 

 fishing and to improve the fishing for white trout, which the writer 

 firmly believes can be done only, as said before, by ridding the lake, 

 or allowing it to rid itself, of the undesirables previously mentioned. 

 If, however, it is insisted that there must be salmon, let it be the 

 landlocked salmon. It is undoubtedly as undesirable as the chinook 

 in its fish-eating proi)ensities and capabilities, and with an extensive 

 cultivation of it in the lake the writer must repeat that he firmly 

 believes both species of trout would eventually become extinct. 

 But the landlocked salmon is superior in many ways to the chinook. 

 It probably will reach as large a size as the chinook in Sunapee 

 Lake; it is a much gamer fish; it bites as readily and it takes the 

 artificial fly, which the chinook does not; it does not necessarily die 

 after spawning, which the chinook always does; it is just as good 

 eating; and a supply of eggs or young is much more easily and 

 cheaply obtained. 



Besides all this, Pilce Brook and perhaps some others could be 

 made accessible in breeding time and the stock be made again self- 

 sustainmg. The brook could be made accessible by digging or dredg- 

 ing through the beach and walling the channel jetty-fashion with 

 logs. When the brook is not too dry this would cause a current 

 that would keep the channel clear of sand. There is, however, 

 usually plenty of water in the fall to permit the ingress of salmon if 

 there were a channel of this khid through the beach. 



In the place of gill nets, it is suggested that pounds or traps be set 

 near the mouths of the brooks for the purpose of taking the salmon, 

 as well as the trout, in the breeding season. 



Salmon fry or fuigerlings could be planted m the brooks. If 

 retained in hatchery pools until a year or more old they could with 

 more safety be placed in the lake. The planting of fry m the brooks 

 in spring is recommended, if it is desired to economize in expenses. 

 It is believed that fry planted in the brooks m the spring would pro- 

 duce better results than larger fish in the fall planted m brooks or 

 lake, owing to the greater abundance of natural food at that time 

 and during the summer. The only objection appears to be the pos- 

 sibility of the brooks drying up to such an extent during the summer 

 as to leave the fish stranded. It is not likely that there will be 

 severer droughts than during 1910 and 1911, and it has been shown 

 that during those two summers there was sufficient water in Pike 

 Brook and Little Brook at Blodgetts. Besides, young salmon will 

 endure higher temperature than trout, and the pools of the meadows 

 are always comparatively deep and not too warm for salmon. It is 

 advised that a close time for landlocked salmon be for the same 

 period as the trout. It is suggested that a salmon 12 mches long is 

 a rather small fish of its kind, and the writer would advise makuig 



