Fish and Fishing 



that restrict the catch of fresh- water fish, and 

 from a broad and general standpoint the laws are, 

 in a way, decently obeyed. It is only the loafer and 

 tramp who go fishing out of season. It is not the 

 average angler who fishes out of season, nor is he 

 a pot hunter. He wants his share, as all do. He 

 sometimes wants to possess a little glory over his 

 fellows by landing a bigger fish or a greater number 

 than others, and though he tries 

 vainly to hide the secret satisfac- 

 tion, it oozes out at all points and places. Fortu- 

 nate indeed it is that the many game fish do not 

 spawn at the same season; the sport is divided 

 up into very agreeable seasons both for the 

 nature lover and honest angler. Most fish will not 

 bite just before and during the spawning season. 

 The spawning fish would be captured all the 

 same, by hook or by crook, the latter in the shape 

 of a snare, if the law did not interfere. We have 

 fish and plenty of them because we have laws and 

 keep them, so far as the closed season goes. 



The lesser and minor laws, such as those on net- 

 ting, pollution, dynamiting, and snaring, are of 

 little consequence unless enforced on a large scale 

 against poisoning rivers and breeding places by 

 large acid factories. This the State can and will 

 reform. We will use the trout in brooks or rivers 

 as an instance. Ninety per cent, of these waters 



have been stocked by the State. A 

 Minor Laws „ . . p , V. i i ^ i 



tan- estimate ot the fish caught by 



every method, during the season, would be 80 



per cent, of mature fish that arc able to spawn, 



232 



