1907 GAME AND FISHERIES. 29 



The foreign element lie says is very hard to handle. They go about the 

 woods and fields, with their cast iron guns, killing everything in sight from 

 the robin to the ground-hog, anything in that line being considered a delic- 

 acy by those people. TKey are very poor marksmen, otherwise the damage 

 done would be more than is actually the case. Sunday is their favorite day 

 for this kind of work. They are dangerous people to handle, all going 

 heavily armed, and would not hesitate to injure anyone interfering with 

 them. He had some trouble with them during the year and succeeded in 

 putting a sto^to most of the Sunday hunting. 



Overseer Thos. Mansfield, Pichering, reports that the general opinion 

 among the fishermen was that the fishing was a great deal better than the 

 previous year. The whitefish seem to be increasing every year, and the her- 

 ring fishing was also better than for some years past, although the fishing was 

 not pushed much by the fishermen in his district for several reasons. One was 

 the good times and high wages at other callings, which coaxed them away 

 from fishing. The fishermen observed the law very well. But he got some 

 reports of illegal fishing for pike, etc., by parties living in the vicinity of 

 bays and creeks, and he visited Whitby and seized 200 yards of net contain- 

 six pike, but did not catch the parties to whom it belonged. He also visited 

 Rosebank in the west end of his district, looking after things in general, and 

 also with the object of selling angling permits, but found none but residents 

 of Ontario fishing there. He watched for illegal fishing, and dragged Picker- 

 ing Harbor, commonly known as Frenchman's Bay, but got no nets there. 

 The trolling for pike has not been as good for the last two or three years. It 

 seems to be the general opinion that this is caused by the increase of carp, 

 and he thinks that if some way of catching them was allowed so that the 

 other fish could be liberated, and the carp sold to defray the cost of net, etc., 

 it would be a good thing for the anglers. 



Overseer J. C. May_^ St. Catharines, reports that the fishing for the year 

 1907, has been a trifle over the average, the catch of whitefish being about 

 the same as other years ; but there has been a large increase in the herring 

 catch, making it the best season the fishermen have had for some years. 

 Some of the fishermen in his division did very little fishing, excepting in the 

 fall for herring. The laws have been well observed by the fishermen. He 

 has been over his division several times during the season, and has always 

 found them living well up to the law. 



Overseer J. H. Murdoch, Bath, reports that the catch for 1907, as far 

 as he could make out, was as good as 1906. Whitefish and trout were plenti- 

 ful. The catch of coarse fish was small compared with the catch of other 

 years. The anglers were well satisfied with the fishing, and as far as he' 

 knows, the law was well observed. There is no strife there between the gill 

 net men and the anglers. There have been no abuses of the law, and the 

 fishermen have well observed the close seasons. There have been no viola- 

 tions of the Game and Fishery laws. 



Overseer Wm. Sargant, Bronte, reports a small decrease in the catch 

 of fish as compared with previous years. Herring fishing is the chief 

 industry, but had the fishermen fished for trout with the same vigor as they 

 do for herring, the catch would have been a large increase over the former 

 years. They use nothing but six and seven inch mesh, as they find it pays 

 a great deal the best. The German Carp are very numerous in the twelve 

 and sixteen mile creeks, and he thinks some way should be adopted to destroy 

 this noxious fish. Angling has been very fair in the twelve mile creek, but 



