54 . AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



Unfortunately very many of our most noted streams are not 

 favored with lowlands and swamps, where the fish can find safe 

 refuge, and in these and our mountain streams especially we 

 must unquestionably lookto the larger pools in time of drouth, 

 as the principal places of refuge for the trout, and when these 

 are accessible from every point, the trees are cut and the banks 

 fall in, so that every pool assumes about the shape of a huge 

 wash basin. No system of protection will prevent their being- 

 dragged with nets in the night, or the commission of other dep- 

 redations almost equally destructive of the fish. 



I have the most abundant proof that fishing with nets has 

 been constantly done in our finest Catskill streams, such as the 

 Beaverkill, Neversink and Rondout, and where the trout cannot 

 take refuge under the banks, they must necessarily be taken by 

 the net. 



I have not referred to the foregoing facts as in any wise new, 

 nor in the belief that they may have escaped the observation of 

 angler's ; but rather that their significance has not been gener- 

 ally understood or appreciated. 



When the trout become scarce, the reason most commonly 

 given and accepted is that "the stream is fished out." 



It is not the rod, however, but the axe and the net that have 

 ruined and are ruining our streams. 



The natural homes of the trout are the sluggish waters of the 

 swamp, cold and pure, with their bed of ooze and sheltered bank, 

 or in our upland streams the deep cavities under banks or roots. 



We have destroyed his home, and he has perished. Let us 

 restore it to him again, and he will thrive. 



I believe it possible to restore most of our streams, where the 

 waterflow has not decreased too greatly, especially when they 

 are under the control of clubs or associations who can and will 

 make the effort. 



The remedy which I suggest is briefly as follows : 



First — Prohibit the further destruction of either tree or bush 

 upon or near the bank of the stream. 



Second — Where the soil is wet and suitable, protect the pools 

 by an abundant growth of alders or other bushes. 



Third — Plant trees on the banks wherever feasible, especially 



