1904 DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES 23 



and says that he has found nothing to equal the waters of Lake St. Clair ; the fish 

 are gamey, and the surroundings are pleasant and easy of access. A serious difficulty 

 they have to contend with is the angler who fishes for the market ; he of course comes 

 as a tourist and takes out a permit to angle in Canadian waters, 'and is on the waters at 

 5 o'clock dn the morning, and stays out all day long, rain or shine, catches all 

 he can, puts them in ponds and keeps them alive until he gets sufficient quantity to 

 ship; he then sends them to Detroit or Mt. Clemens by steamboat, and they are there 

 •sold to the large hotels at a good price, and the proceeds are used to defray the expenses 

 of this so-called sportsman. The months of September and October are the best 

 months for Bass fishing if the weather is warm. There were a few new anglers, too, in 

 th it locality during the year, but they did not remain long on account of the weather 

 being so rough and wet at that time. 



The Johnson and the Bassett are said by the anglers to be the best waters they 

 know of. The Bass are on the increase throuhgout his division. There was a large in- 

 crease in the catch of the different kinds of fish over the previous year, 90 per cent, of 

 the total catch is exported and 10 per cent, is used for home consumption. The close 

 se;.son and other regulations of the Department were well observed, no cases of illegel 

 fishing having come to his notice. 



There is no mill refuse allowed to run into the river, and there are no fishways, in 

 his division. 



He recommends that no spring fishing with nets be allowed, and that the season 

 in the fall be changed from 1st October to the 1st September. This, 'he says, would be 

 satisfactory to the fishermen, also to the public generally. 



Overseer Armstrong, New Liskeard, reports that there were eight licenses issued 

 in his district during the year 1904, which were for local and domestic purposes only. 

 With the exception of fishing done by Indians in some of the remote small lakes, the 

 fishery laws were fairly well observed. 



The district is fast becoming popular as a resort for tourists, there being good Bass 

 and Speck'ed Trout fishing in Lake Temagami, and other small lakes on the Montreal 

 W/er, w 



There are very few game fish in Lake Temiscamingue, with the exception of 

 Bass and Maskinonge ; the former are only found at the lower end of the lake. Other 

 kinds, such as Pike, Pickerel, Shad, Herring, Whitefish, Sturgeon, Channel Cat, and Eel 

 are plentiful; the Whitefish and Herring are reported to be of excellent quality. 



He understands that the Province of Quebec has issued licenses to export fish 

 fr. m Lake Temiscamingue to the U.S.A., and thinks it might be well for the Depart- 

 ment to consider the advisability of issuing licenses for export also. 



He regrets to say that the local saw-mill owners are still disregarding the act re- 

 specting sawdust, and are allowing k to be carried into the lake by high water in the 

 srnng and fall. More stringent steps will have to be taken to stop this violation 

 of the act in order to protect the fish. 



Overseer Barr, Renfrew, reports that there has been a slight decrease in the catch 

 compared with that of last year, owing to a less vigorous prosecution of the fishing 

 by the licensees. 



No fish were exported, the entire catch being used for home consumption. No 

 violations of the close season or other regulations of the Department came to his 

 notice. In many cases the mill owners still allow the refuse from the mills to run 

 into the streams. There are no fishways in the district A few tourists visited his dis- 

 trict during the past season, mostly from Philadelphia. The Bass and Maskinonge 

 fishing in Chats Lake was excellent, and good Speckled Trout fishing was had in the 

 head waters of the Bonnechere and Petewawa. 



