m • THE REPOET UPON No. -14 



In the course of my work of patrolling the Bay of Quinte and other eastern 

 waters, I found the bass fishing good, in many places better than in former years. 



In the Eiver St. Lawrence I believe the regulations to have been well enforced 

 and I found very few opposed to the enforcement, that of requiring the taking 

 out of angling permits by non-residents. 



Ducks and partridge are plentiful. 



I beg to recommend that the season for trapping muskrats be from the first 

 of March to the first of May as I think niany are caught in their houses and 

 in banks. 



From Overseer John McGuire, of Jones Falls, for Rideau River, fronting 

 on the Township of South Crosby. 



During the winter months of 1914 and 1915 nothing very extraordinary 

 occurred, I did considerable driving, mostly on the ice after the ice was safe to 

 drive on, my object being to look after the trappers who if not watched closely 

 by the overseer will be breaking the law by cutting into the muskrat houses. 

 They cannot catch muskrats in winter at all without doing this and nothing 

 but real earnest perseverance will prevent them cutting into the houses or into 

 the runways leading to the house, one is as bad as the other. There are none 

 but unprincipled men will offer to trap for muskrats in the winter season for 

 they know before they commence that they are going to break the law. They 

 cannot get any muskrats without breaking the law. The muskrats are all down 

 under the ice during the months of January and February the ice is thick and the 

 snow is deep, no possible way to get to the rats only by cutting into their houses. 

 The honest trapper never tries to do anything in the trapping line until the month 

 of March when the ice begins to thaw out around the shores, then the muskrat 

 comes up and can be caught without violating the law. Aften ten years' ex- 

 perience as overseer and after a lot of study I have come to the conclusion that 

 the open season should not commence until the first of March, the months of 

 March and April are or should be the open season. J earnestly suggest that 

 this change be made the two months mentioned. March and April are open 

 season enough, any honest trapper will recommend this. 



Muskrats were never so plentiful as this last spring owing, I think, largely to 

 the vigilant warfare that I carried on during the winter months. I watched the 

 trappers so close that they gave it up and there were very few muskrats caught 

 during the winter and when the proper time came the rats were plentiful in the 

 district. Our best trapper here at Jones Falls, former springs used to get in 

 the neighborhood of three hundred muskrats during the months of March and 

 April. During last season (1915) this same trapper caught 500 rats in the 

 vicinity of Jones Falls. This trapper recommends the cutting out of the winter 

 trapping until the months of March and April. 



. Fishing through the ice is carried on quite extensively in this district and 

 to protect the bass requires a lot of exertion on the part of the overseer as it is 

 carried on in so many different places at the same time. 



Last season from the time of setting hoop nets until the time of taking tliem 

 up, viz., the 15th of April the fishing was good. 



The fishermen of my district wore a smile certainly last spring. Good fishing, 

 large catches and good prices — part of the season as high as 12c. per pound for 

 dressed bullheads and 6c. for rough or undressed sunfish was realized by the hoop 

 net fishermen. At the present time the prices are not quite so good as last 



