318 With Rod and Gun in New England 



new waters (whether or not the fry come from lakes that contain large or 

 small fish), will depend on the feed and water in which they are planted. 



Some years ago the United States Fish Commission took salmon 

 eggs at Grand Lake stream — these were from small fish. Some of these 

 eggs, which were turned over to the Maine Commissioners, were hatched 

 and distributed in lakes in Maine that contained no salmon. Some of 

 these fish became large salmon, but the others were small, like their parents. 

 This leads me to believe the size of salmon depends on the feed and water, 

 and not on any particular breed. The same conditions that are favorable 

 to the growth of salmon, do not seem to apply to the trout. While the 

 salmon run large in Sebago, the trout run small, when compared with those 

 of other lakes, hardly ever exceeding four pounds. 



That the landlocked salmon is the king of fresh-water fishes, all who 

 have angled for him will admit, but that he is the most erratic and uncer- 

 tain in his disposition or inclination to take the lure I, at least, have 

 found to be true. When " on the feed," which event is of short duration, he 

 is voracious. Then for days nothing will tempt him to break his fast. He 

 will stand more fishing and thrive than any other game fish we have ; will 

 afford more sport to the angler when hooked, and he is a prize that his 

 captor may be proud of. When introduced into good trout lakes where he 

 will thrive he is a great acquisition. 



In this connection a few words in relation to the work of the Maine 

 Fish and Game Commission will not seem out of place. 



That the laws of Maine, which tend to protect the fish and large game 

 of the State, are of immense value to the State and to the sportsman, is a 

 fact now almost universally conceded. That the influence and work of 

 the commission which labors to enforce these laws has been productive of 

 much benefit to the State is also admitted, practically without exception, 

 by those who are in a position to know what that work has been. And 

 the fact that only the efforts of a commission, supported by the will of 

 the people, can preserve for the State this bountiful source of profit and 

 of pleasure, is getting to be better understood as the days go by. 



In order to best understand what the commission has done for the 

 preservation and increase of the big game of Maine, it is necessary first 

 to understand what the past condition of the game was. 



Twenty-five years ago the game in the woods of Maine was of the 

 same nature but of widely different character from what it is at the present 

 time. Moose were quite plenty, and these monarchs of the forest were 

 not confined to one section of the State, but could be found in all the 

 denser portions of the woods. Prior to that time I have often seen them 

 on the shores of Rangeley lakes, or swimming in those placid waters. 

 Tracks of these big creatures were plenty on the sandy shores of many an 

 inland body of water, and the hunter had no difficulty in finding a moose, 

 did he so desire. 



