ANGLING FOE OPANANICHE 105 



"A ouananiclie of about three pounds' weight will require fully 

 fifteen to twenty minutes or more to kill it, and it will fight hard 

 every moment. 



"Now it will leap from the water anywhere fi-om two or throe to 

 a dozen times, rising fully three or four feet from the surface, re- 

 turning to the water only to make an immediate wild rush towards 

 the bottom. If near a fall it will make many attempts to rush un- 

 der the falling water, or in the rough part of the rapids, there to 

 sulk, pull, and often shake violently to release the hook. Then, 

 perhaps, a rush towards the fisherman, a quick turn and deep down 

 again, a moment's rest and then a violent race to and fro, as far as 

 the line will permit. The jumps are quick, and occur when least 

 expected, often following one another in quick succession. In fact, 

 the fish are never at rest, but change their tactics every moment. 

 Each fish fights differently ; the method pursued in catching one 

 will scarcely apply to the next. The hand and mind must act in 

 unison quickly, and both will be thoroughly occupied. ... Be pre- 

 pared to lose, as a rule, more fish than you save ; that is the com- 

 mon experience.'' 



Lovers of the fish and of the sport that it affords 

 will be gratified to know that so far— that is, up to the 

 end of 1895 — despite the hundreds of anglers visiting 

 the ouananiche waters of Lake St. John, there is no 

 apparent diminution in the supply of the fish, though 

 in his article published in American Game Fishes, in 

 1892, Mr. J. G. A. Creighton expressed the fear that 

 their speedy extinction would follow the opening up 

 of the region to tourists by a railway. Under a for- 

 mer administration of the government of this province, 

 the n&tting of this magnificent fish for the markets 

 was actually permitted for a time. The Hon. E. J. 

 Flynn, the present Commissioner of Crown Lands, has 

 devoted special attention to the protection of the fish ; 

 but, despite the presumed alertness of the gamekeep- 

 ers and fish inspectors, there is still much surreptitious 



