1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 123 



the law, and declaring that if no more than eight bass of legal siize could 

 be angled for, even though the uninjured fish were carefully returned 

 to the waters to furnish sport for themselves or brother anglers on some 

 future occasion, not only would they and their immediate friends, who 

 desired to abide by the spirit of the angling regulations, refrain from 

 angling in the future, or discontinue their annual visits to the Province, 

 as the case might be, but that thousands of others would be similarly 

 affected, thus clearly indicating the great economic factor at stake in 

 the decision of this problem. 



The black bass can be captured on a variety of baits, those in most 

 ordinary use being the common trolling spoon with a three hook gang 

 at the rear end, the single hook or, possibly, two small hooks with an 

 angle-worm, minnow or frog attached thereto, and the fly, which is, of 

 course, a single hook. In a great man^^ cases, but more especially when 

 the single hook is being used, the fish will be hooked in the tough mem- 

 brane of the lip or mouth, and in such instances the hook can be re- 

 moved without in any way injuring the fish if care is taken first to wet 

 the hand before handling it, the rubbing of a dry hand being liable to 

 cause fungus to appear on the fish if it is subsequently returned to the 

 water. The bass, indeed, is such a hardy fisili generally that unless it is 

 hooked in the gills or swallows the bait so that the hook or hooks cannot 

 be removed without injuring the gills, it will suffer no evil effects either 

 from its struggles or from the slight handling that is necessary to re- 

 lease it, and, in fact, has been known beyond dispute to take the bait 

 again within a short period of its return to the water. Hence it will be 

 seen that there would be reasonable grounds for complaint in a regula- 

 tion which forbade the " fishing for " more than eight fish of legal size 

 where the uninjured fish were carefully returned to the water by the 

 angler. 



Undoubtedly it may be argued that there is ij. danger, if it is deemed 

 lawful for an angler to catch as many bass as he chooses, provided that 

 he does not kill or injure more than the legal limit, thus leaving it to 

 his discretion to decide as to which fish are uninjured, that instances 

 might occur where seriously wounded fish would be thrown back into the 

 water, but it is to be noted that the same danger exists if the angler is 

 restricted to " fisihing for " eight fish of legal size, so that it does not 

 materially affect the question. Moreover, in most localities where it 

 would be possible comparatively often to exceed the limit if so desired, 

 which ever way it might be construed, a great proportion of the angling, 

 especially that done by visitors, is carried on under the ejes of licensed 

 guides, who not only by virtue of their licenses are bound to see that 

 the angling laws are obeyed, but have also, as a rule, the additional in- 

 centive or personal profit to urge them to do so, seeing that if the fish- 

 eries wane, so in proportion will the number of tourists who provide 

 them with such profitable employment. These men, therefore, could in 

 the majority of cases, at least, be counted on to see that injured fish 



