118 EEPORT OF ONTARIO GAME No. 52 



that its excessive and totally unexpected increase in certain localities 

 is held by the majority of sportsmen to have worked considerable havoc 

 both in regard to the sporting fisheries and the wild duck shooting. 

 However this may be, it must at least be acknowledged that there is a 

 substratum of truth to their accusations, and that, consequently, the 

 instance of the carp well emphasizes the dangers which attend the in- 

 troduction of new varieties of fish into waters already well stocked 

 with fine species and from which no human agency as j-et devised can 

 ever entirely remove them. The rainbow trout is a native of the Pacific 

 coast region, and as noted in a previous section is alread}^ comparatively 

 abundant in the Canadian waters of the Soo and vicinity, and further, 

 is apparently spreading into other waters which are the habitat of the 

 speckled trout. The comparative sporting qualities of this fish with 

 those of the Kpeckled trout afford material for a divergence of opinion 

 amongst sport'smen, but it would appear in general that the two varie- 

 ties do not, as a rule, harmonize well, and that, therefore, as the rain- 

 bow will usually attain the greater size, it is the speckled trout which is 

 the most likely to suffer. The region of the north shore of Lake 

 Superior is so Avell furnished with and adapted to speckled trout that 

 no improvement from the point of sport could have been desired other 

 than that these fisheries should have been jealously conserved and main- 

 tained to the highest point of abundance. The advent of the rainbow 

 trout, however, will almost certainly have some effect on the speckled 

 trout in this area in the future, particularly in the lower reaches of the 

 rivers which are, as a rule, the warmest and, therefore, the most favor- 

 able to its growth, and this fact is to be deplored, for not only is there 

 doubt as to the sporting merits of the rainbow as compared Avitli the 

 speckled trout, but unquestionably the historic sporting qualities of the 

 latter fish render its attractive power in regard to angler visitors vastly 

 greater than those of the less famous rainbow. While plainly nothing 

 can now be done to check its natural encroachment on this region, at 

 least it would appear the part of wisdom not to assist it by permitting 

 any further plantations in Canadian waters throughout this district. 



There are cases in the Province of more or less isolated waters 

 destitute of sporting fishes, and other cases, such as the Rainy River 

 District, where the pickerel and lake trout, in none too great abundance, 

 are practically the only high class sporting fishes to be found through- 

 out a considerable area, where the introduction of some sporting variety 

 of fish would be of material advantage to the neighborhood. Undoubt- 

 edly in many of such instances scientific research would disclose the 

 possibility of successfully introducing one or other species of game fish 

 to be found either in the Province or without its borders. The ouin- 

 aniche of the eastern Provinces, the goldeye of Manitoba, and the cut- 

 throat trout of Alberta are, for instance, game fishes of the highest class 

 and might be used for this purpose where favorable conditions were 

 found to exist in addition to or in preference to provincial varieties. 



