1914 GAME AND FISHEEIES. 43 



Game is very scarce, and it will soon be a rare thing to see a game bird 

 Quail have not increased in number and are quite scarce, owing to the lack of cover 

 which enables the hunters to completely annihilate any game birds they should 

 find. 



The regulations have been carefully observed and he is pleased to report that 

 he did not find it necessary to make any prosecutions. 



Overseer Richard Little, of Wallaceburg, reports that the commercial fishing 

 in his district has been exceptionally good this season. 



Angling for bass has been better than last season and pickerel have been fairly 

 plentiful. 



On Good Friday last, a terrific wind storm from the south and south west 

 prevailed over the Lake St. Clair district — the wind throughout the day, maintain- 

 ing a velocity of eighty miles an hour — and as a result the fishermen lost all 

 their nets. Prior to this storm, there were in use eight sets of nets and since the 

 storm but three sets have been used and the catch of fish with the three sets has 

 been greater than it ever was with the eight sets ; he is inclined to believe that the 

 storm changed the " bottom " conditions of the fishing grounds, causing the feed 

 to be more plentiful and more fish came into these waters. 



The Indians on the Walpole and St. Ann's Island Indian Eeserve have, for 

 many years, been engaged in catching carp with seines in waters on and adjoining 

 the reserve, which fish they sell to the commercial fishermen of the district. 



Complaints have been made in the past that the drawing of these carp seines 

 damaged the bass spawn on the spawning beds; this year, these Indian fishermen 

 have adopted a new plan to get carp. Instead of travelling over the waters until 

 the carp are located, they now have selected a certain tract where the water is 

 shallow on which they deposit boiled oats as bait for the carp and when a school of 

 carp get on this specially baited feeding ground, the seine is hauled and the 

 Indians have never failed to make a good catch on the baited ground. 



The same ground is baited over and over again and these Indians fish almost 

 no where else, so that no damage is done to the bass spawning grounds. , 



Geese were quite plentiful last spring also ducks, especially canvas-back, red- 

 heads and mallard and black ducks are very plentiful. 



Snipe and woodcock seem to be increasing slightly and quail are reported to 

 be holding their own in some localities, although there are not nearly so many of 

 these game birds as there were a few years ago. 



The Game and Fishery Laws have been fairly well observed in his district 

 during the past year. 



Overseer James McVittie, of Blenheim, reports that the fishing in East Kent 

 and Lake Erie was very good, the catch being large and consisting mostly of 

 herring. Not many whitefish were caught in East Kent, but a good catch was 

 reported at times off Point aux Pines. The fall was very rough and many fisher- 

 men lost all their stakes and some of their twine, this was a big loss to the fishermen 

 as stakes are hard to get and have to be brought from the north of Michigan. Pall 

 fishing for carp in Rondeau Bay was light, no big catches being reported as has 

 been the case other years. It is generally thought that carp fishing is falling off, 

 they are hard to keep track of as at times they go off into the lake and then come 

 back again like a flock of sheep. The spring of 1913 proved to be very good, 

 although the catches have not been large, the prices were good and have continued 

 so all the season. During July and August there were a tremendous number of 



