RANGELEY LAKES, MAINE: FISHES, ANGLING, AND FISH CULTURE. 559 



to get these large ftsh, veritable leviathans in size and nature's jewels in glistening beauty, is by deep- 

 water bait fishing. The angleworm is very catching, and a long line of, say, 60 yards is needed. 



In 1896 the following remark by Senator Frye appeared in Forest and Stream: 



From time to time my attention has been called to the fact that in the heat of the summer, when 

 the trout had sought the spring holes for cool water, they were captured by deep fishing with worms 

 and minnows in enormous quantities, all of them killed, many wasted. That this murderous slaughter, 

 in which, I am happy to say, no sportsman participates, has had a serious effect I have no hesitation in 

 affirming, and my knowledge of those waters is certainly equal to that of any other person. If summer 

 plug fishing in Mooselucmagimtic Lake is not prohibited by law, in time serious results will follow. 



In the May 7 number of a sportsmen's journal of 1899 a special notice was pub- 

 lished, as follows: 



The fish commission is to give a hearing at the Rangeley Lake House, May 17, as to the propo- 

 sition to close the whole Rangeley system to all bait fishing after July i of each year. The summer 

 guests at the hotels will oppose the action, but the sportsmen, who usually fish by trolling in the spring 

 and with the fly in the fall, are strongly in favor of some action that shall stop the taking of trout by 

 what is termed "baiting up" in the summer time. Deep water is selected, and minnows, chopped up, 

 are thrown in for several days in succession. When the big trout have been tolled to these feeding 

 grounds, the hooks are brought into requisition, attached to 50 or 100 feet of line, as the case may require. 

 In this way many beautiful trout are taken that have sought the deep water to escape the heat. The 

 petition to the commissioners is directed more especially to the stopping of this sort of fishing. 



Factors affecting trout fishing and the abundance and habits of trout. — 

 Adverse natural and artificial conditions affecting the trout supply and permanent or 

 temporary quality of the fishing have been referred to. Among these may be men- 

 tioned the modifications produced by dams, meteorological conditions, number of 

 anglers, natural and introduced enemies, undue and unseasonable fishing, and the 

 introduction and artificial propagation of other species. 



Effects of modification of lakes by dams upon trout. — The modifications produced 

 by dams that permit of raising or lowering the water in the lakes are most potent fac- 

 tors in modifying the habits of the fish, as well as at times in fish destruction, directly 

 and indirectly. 



Competent observers have, from time to time, called attention to these effects. 

 The general concensus seems to have been that in their permanent and ultimate effects 

 the dams were advantageous rather than otherwise, in that the high water afforded 

 more extensive and protected feeding grounds for trout. But there were some who 

 expressed the view that disaster to multitudes of fish invariably followed the sudden 

 opening or closing of the gates. In 1896 the late Senator Frye wrote, among other 

 things : 



The constant changes in the height of water, making to-day a bar on which to drop a fly, and in a 

 month water over it deep enough to float a gunboat, are disturbing elements. These things only illus- 

 trate the necessity of creative and preservative agencies if this fishing in the lake is to continue to be 

 attractive to sportsmen. 



Height of water. — As has been stated on another page, in every body of water the 

 fishing varies by the season, by the month, by the day, sometimes by the hour, and 

 even shorter periods. A period of success or failure the angler usually tries to account 

 for, commonly ascribing it to the weather or the height of water. Frequently, too, 

 prophesies regarding the fishing prospects are based upon the height of water in the lakes. 

 Usually such predictions have been favorable, although contradictory at times; the 



