FISH AND FISHING. 



211 



dora more than a finger in length. In the 

 waters of the Chesapeake it grows as 

 large as 8 or 10 inches in length, is known 

 as the spot, and is unquestionably one of 

 our best fishes. There is no fixed defini- 

 tion by which a fish can be known as a 

 game or a trash fish. It is a loose term in 

 the statute; but of one thing I am confi- 

 dent, to wit, that a channel cat in the 

 fresh waters of Kansas is perhaps the 

 gamiest in those waters. It is not only a 

 good fighter, but a delicious food fish. If 

 any rulings have been made as to what 

 constitute game fishes the place to look 

 for such rulings is in the decisions of 

 some of the Mississippi river States. 



Jno. S. Wise, 

 20 Broad St., New York. 



PRESERVING THE FISHES OF THE GREAT 

 LAKES. 



I am much surprised that some of the 

 sportsmen who are so fond of rod fishing 

 have not had something to say in Recrea- 

 tion in regard to the protection of fish in 

 the great lakes. It surely becomes us all 

 to look after the fish food supply. It is 

 of more importance than the game, as the 

 poorest person can afford to buy a good 

 meal of fish but can not afford quails or 

 grouse. I have been warden for Lake 

 Erie io years, and every year the supply 

 is decreasing. Fishermen are not making 

 a dollar, but, on the contrary, are losing 

 money. Something must be done to pro- 

 tect the small fishes in the lakes. Pike, 

 perch, herring and white bass are not pro- 

 tected. They should be, as tons are caught 

 and thrown away every year. This is de- 

 cidedly wrong. The day is coming when 

 we shall be glad to have them. We should 

 have at least 3 hatcheries on Lake Erie. 

 The United States hatchery at Put-in-Bay 

 has done wonderful good. If they had not 

 restocked the lake with whitefish we 

 should not to-day have the supply we have. 

 Herring should be propagated, as they are 

 the most staple fish that are caught in the 

 great lakes. Hundreds of tons of small 

 pike are being destroyed in Lake Erie 

 every year. To me it looks like a sin that 

 such a thing should be tolerated by the 

 people. The laws of Ohio are bad this 

 year as regards the protection of the small 

 fishes of Lake Erie. 



Do not think I am not interested in 

 the protection of birds and game. No 

 man likes a dog and a gun better than I 

 do. No one is more anxious to prosecute 

 any violation of the laws for the protection 

 of birds, fish and game than I am; but my 

 reason for taking the stand 1 do in this 

 matter is that something must be done or 

 the supply of fish will not be half enough 

 for the people. Cut off the fish food sup- 

 ply and what would be the price of meat? 

 The poor could not pay the price. The 



workingman's wife is the one who buys 

 fish in the markets. Let every one of us 

 see if we can not do something for the 

 protection of birds, fish and game. Let 

 us all aid in having some good laws passed 

 that will be a credit to all true Americans. 

 A. W. Hitch, Cleveland, Ohio. 



SPEARING FISH IN FLORIDA. 



A small party of us were spending the 

 winter on the West coast of Florida. We 

 bought a trim, swift sailing sharpie, equip- 

 ped her with bedding, cooking paraphei 

 nalia, etc., and made short trips aboard 

 her, cruising for days at a time along thfc 

 coast and up the rivers in the vicinity, 

 stopping at will to hunt or fish. 



On one of these short excursions we 

 sailed up the Myakka river and anchored' 

 for the night near a deserted landing. As 

 darkness came' on one of the party pro- 

 posed going out to spear fish. A lantern 

 was securely fastened to the bow of a 

 small row boat, or dinghy, and in a few 

 moments 3 of us were gliding over the 

 water toward a low island, along the shore 

 of which the luxuriant growth of grasses 

 and reeds, intermingled with low, spread- 

 ing mangrove trees, formed a dense 

 thicket. One of my companions stood 

 near the prow of the boat, spear in hand, 

 watching the water, and the other, stand- 

 ing slightly to the rear, rowed noiselessly. 



As the boat neared the shore ©f the 

 island a number of fish, frightened by the 

 unexpected light, began a wild rush for 

 deep water, jumping 3 feet or more out 

 of the water in their frantic efforts to es- 

 cape us. Some jumped entirely over the 

 boat, and some fell in and floundered 

 around our- feet in a vain endeavor to re- 

 turn to their natural element. Fore and 

 aft we could hear them splashing about in 

 the water. Occasionally the spearman 

 vigorously thrust his weapon into the 

 water. Only once, however, did he suc- 

 ceed in landing a fish. It was a garpike 

 and quite useless. 



Returning to the sharpie we found 9 

 fair sized jumping mullets, or ladyfish, in 

 the bottom of the boat. They had fallen 

 in and had been unable to jump out, prob- 

 ably being stunned by their fall. 



M. A. Bond, Kinsley, Kan. 



GAMIER THAN TROUT. 



The relative game qualities of the brook 

 trout and the black bass are still subjects 

 of interesting, warm, and possibly hot, ar- 

 guments between many good anglers. 



for years, with tongue and pen, I 

 maintained thai (he trout was champion 

 among fresh-water finny fighters. 



I desire to withdraw my affidavit, chew 

 the cud, take water and confess my error. 



It has been my good fortune to lift 



