104 REPORT OF ONTARIO GAME No. 52 



special measures for artificially maintaining it are introduced, it can- 

 not be denied that the prime benefit to be derived from the possession of 

 fisheries, in a land wliere those fisheries belong to the public, lies in 

 affording the greatest pleasure and satisfaction to the greatest number, 

 botii of residents and visitors, so tJmt, although it might be advisable 

 in certain instances to set aside brook trout rivers for fl}' fiKhing only, 

 in general it would be inadvisable to introduce any such restrictions. 

 The paraimount necessities are to prevent netting, to stamp out com- 

 mercial trading in the fish and to safeguard the waterfloAV and shade. 

 If the^e matters are attended to the fame of the brook trout fisheries of 

 the Province, in the north land at least, Avill continue to grow, to tlie 

 material benefit not only of the residents in the localities wliich furnish 

 the sport, but of the citizens of the Province at large. 



The Mascalonge. 



The mascalonge, sometimes called the maskinonge, or muskellunge, 

 longe or lunge, is the largest and most formidable member of the pike 

 family to be found in the waters of the Province. The markings of this 

 fish are so many and various, even in the same locality, that it is not 

 always easih^ distinguished from the pike by those not well acquainted 

 with its general appearance and general characteristics. In the young 

 the upper half of the body is, as a rule, covered with small, round black 

 spots, but these usually change their shape or disappear as the fish 

 increases in size. In mature fish the spots are more diffuse, sometimes 

 enlarging to an inch and more in diameter, or else, by coalescing, form 

 broad vertical bands, while in others again there are no distinct dark 

 markings at all. The majority of mascalonge in provincial waters 

 appear either to be unmarked or to shoAv only faint bars, the spotted 

 form being the most uncommon. 



The distribution of the longe is somewhat irregular. It occurs in 

 the St. Lawrence River, chiefly about the Thousand Islands, in the 

 waters of the Trent Valley, Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and many of the 

 lesser inland lakes. Again in Lake Erie and the Georgian Bay it is 

 comparatively common, the most famous district for it, perhaips, in the 

 whole Province occurring in these latter waters, in and in the vicinity 

 of French River. Further west it is still to be met Avith in certain por- 

 tions of Lake of the Woods, in spite of the fact that netting would appear 

 greatly to have reduced its numbers in those waters, and there would 

 seem to be little doubt but that as the range of the angler extends over 

 the country in the Lake of the Woods region, it will be found to exist in 

 various of the waters of its lesser lakes. How far the range of the fish 

 extends to the north has not yet been accurately determined, but it 

 does not appear to occur north of the height of land. It is evident, 

 however, that the very localized distribution of this fish must endanger 

 its perpetuation unless the most stringent measures are taken to sup- 

 press illegal netting and to ensure that the bag limit is enforced. 



