170 PRACTICAL BAIT CASTING 



generations, the fish and game resources of the state. 

 Due to the shortsightedness of the people most inter- 

 ested, game and fish laws and their enforcement are 

 necessary. In the language of one of the comic news- 

 paper characters: "Them is harsh words," but the 

 situation, to one who has studied the facts, demands 

 harshness. 



In many ways the fish laws of most states are quite 

 uniform, modified only to suit local conditions. For 

 example, in most northern states the open season for 

 bass begins at or near the average end of the spawn- 

 ing season. Only two states in the Middle West, 

 Illinois and Indiana, have no closed season; the latter 

 state, however, fences off the spawning beds and per- 

 mits no fishing on them up to July ist. 



The decrease of game fishes would be a great deal 

 more noticeable if it were not for the breeding and 

 stocking operations carried on by most states. Certain 

 fishes, such as trout, salmon, perch, pike-perch, pickerel, 

 and muskellunge are hatched artificially by stripping 

 the eggs from the female and fertilizing them with 

 milt stripped from the male. The eggs are then 

 placed in jars or trays and water of a certain tem- 

 perature kept flowing over them. Incubation takes 

 place, depending on the species and the water tem- 

 perature, in from 25 to 90 days. 



The equipment for hatching fish need not be elabor- 

 ate, the work is not difficult nor complicated, and 

 many individuals and clubs are taking up the artificial 

 hatching of fish with very good results. As many 



