Titcomb. — A Permanent Stocking Policy 17 



The information as to whether a pond is reservoired or not is 

 given for the guidance of prospective purchasers of shore property 

 for summer homes. In some instances the reservoiring of lakes 

 is harmless. As to how the fishing will be affected depends upon 

 the extent of the abnormal conditions created by reservoiring the 

 waters and then drawing them at seasons of the year other than 

 the natural ones for a large outflow. On general principles, the 

 lakes and ponds which are most unlikely to be reservoired and 

 drawn — in other words, the waters which are most likely to remain 

 natural — are the ones in which the future fishing can be relied 

 upon to be as good or better than it is now. It is a fact well 

 recognized in other states that the reservoiring of lakes for water 

 power purposes is detrimental to the fishing. For illustration, 

 Rangeley Lake in Maine has been twice raised until now it is 

 eighteen feet higher than the natural level. As a result, the trout 

 fishing in the most famous of Maine lakes has been gradually 

 falling off ever since the water level was raised. 



The question of increasing the food fishes to meet the crisis 

 under present war conditions has led to recommendations 

 indicating that many people do not realize that fish caught by 

 angling are food fishes, even though they are also catalogued as 

 game fishes. It must be borne in mind, however, that many of 

 our waters are better suited to the cultivation of so-called game 

 fishes, like the trouts and basses, than they are for the species 

 of fish commonly described as commercial fishes. 



The selection of a proper species of fish when attempting 

 to stock any body of water is of utmost importance in order to 

 obtain permanent results. It is not necessary to have special 

 application blanks for the different species. The form which 

 is to be filled out by the applicant should give sufficient information 

 to guide the commissioners in the selection of the species of fish 

 to be assigned. The preference of the applicant should be stated, 

 but unless it is a species which will produce the most satisfactory 

 results and be in conformity with a permanent policy, an explana- 

 tion should be sent to the applicant as to the kind of fish assigned 

 and the reason for making the assignment. 



Next, if not equal in importance, to a proper species of fish 

 for stocking a given body of water, is the manner of fish planting. 



