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NADiyvN Sportsman and Natuaali 



No. 7. 



MONTR K A I,, JULY 15th, 1881. 



Vol. I. 



TO ANGLERS. 



We will publish the salmon scores of gentle- 

 men fishing Canadian rivers this season, pro- 

 vided the)' are thoroughly vouched by one of the 

 parties. We would be pleased to have scores 

 already concluded sent to us in time for our 

 August issue. 



SALMON FLY CASTING. 

 Gentlemen fond of surface fishing, and who 

 have had experience in the art of casting the 

 fly, have, generally speaking, a fair knowledge 

 of the sporting value of Canadian rivers. A 

 rough estimate of the product of a river can be 

 given by any one who for a few seasons has 

 handled the rod on its pools. Those who have 

 studied the salmon run of a river, can give a 

 rough calculation of the number of fish entering 

 it. Independent of the annual score of a good 

 surface fished river, the average amount of 

 salmon passing the pools to the spawning 

 grounds can be ascertained . Ask any one of 

 the proficient fishermen of the Departuu-nt at 

 Ottawa, the cause of the late scarcity of salmon 

 in Canadian waters, and he will give you as 

 much information on the subject as astrono- 

 mers do regarding the late comets. There are 



several maritime rivers which should be a 



source of revenue to the Dominion, and they I Fishery Department in which salmon enter that 



dent of an expert fisherman's report thai the 

 river was worthless for surface fishing. The 



truth is that he could not hook a fish becau«e 

 he did not understand the proper mode to fish 

 the Trinity, and the river was therefore thrown 

 off the list of salmon rivers for rears past. 



Residents on the coast know that i> 

 or at least that Salmon entered it, therefor* 

 of them made a proposition to the Fishery 

 Department, offering to make a trial of the river 

 if the Government would pay for his time in 

 company with two Indians. The offer waf 

 cepted, and he proved that the Trinity was a fair 

 salmon river, he having hooked fish with the th- 

 ou the first trial, while the expert sent from 

 Ottawa could not get a rise. The way in which 

 this is accounted for is simply that the casting 

 of the fly cannot be the same on all river.-. We 

 have been informed that this is a well-known 

 fact to parties who have fished various ri 

 For instance, the casting of a salmon fly on the 

 Mingan is different from the mode of casting it 

 on the Trinity, and since the parties who now 

 lease the latter river, have discovered the stvle 

 they sometimes procure as good sport as on 

 other rivers on the same coast. Now, after 

 deriving this knowledge, it occurs to us that 

 there may be several rivers on both sides of the 

 Lower St. Lawrence within the ken of the 



are evidently neglected by the Fishery Depart- 

 ment. Not that alone, but it seems as if ignor- 

 ance prevailed in regard to what constitutes a 

 salmon river. We have an instance of this in 

 the Trinity River near Pointe des Monts, which 

 is delightfully situated, and on which a guar- 

 dian has been placed for years past. The 

 Trinity could not be leased for surface fishing, 

 although a Government official made annual 

 repeated attempts to fish it with the rod. It was 

 abandoned. It is known to us that the Trinity 

 River could be leased for years past, indepen- 



are rejected, because they were never properly 

 fished. We have penned the above for the 

 simple reason that we are aware that the mari- 

 time rivers are not properly looked after by the 

 Fishery Department, and besides we consider 

 that too much money is being expended on lake 

 fish breeding, to the detriment o\' the salmon 

 rivers, which should receive more attention. 

 Take the Godbout for example : look at the 

 improvements made on it by the present owner, 

 who has profited by the outlay, by pleasure and 

 comfort. 



