FISH AND FISHING. 



THE NORTH DAKOTA HERD. 

 Following are the opinions of some 

 Recreation readers regarding the North 

 Dakota fish hogs : 



Calno, N. J. 

 Editor Recreation : 



December Recreation is the best copy of 

 a sportman's periodical I have ever seen. 

 It is rich all the way through. 



I congratulate you on making the North 

 Dakota herd of fish pigs squeal. Their 

 photo in November Recreation indicates 

 that the State of Minnesota should yoke 

 them before allowing them again to ex- 

 hibit their greed for destroying the fish of 

 that State. It is a shame and a disgrace 

 to any State to allow its citizens to set the 

 pace and example of destroying game 

 fishes, especially for judges of courts and 

 editors of papers, all men of supposed in- 

 telligence, and knowing better. Pennsyl- 

 vania and New York have suffered from 

 the robbing of their waters and woods of 

 their fish and game, and men like you are 

 only warning the people of the newer 

 States, whose game is yet abundant, to be- 

 ware of fish and game destroyers. These 

 swine rob the State of its most valuable 

 public property, and remove from all hope 

 of restoration to future generations a rea- 

 sonable share of sport on the waters and 

 in the forests of the country. You 

 have not libelled the Grand Forks squeal- 

 ers. They branded themselves when they 

 called in the photographer to make an 

 indelible impression and a souvenir of 

 their butchery. Was this not a pub- 

 lic admission that they were the actors? 

 If there is a law against repeating in print 

 the truth, as depicted in photographs, will 

 Mr. Ledru Guthrie kindly point it out? 

 The photo of the North Dakota herd 

 showed a wanton case of vandalism, greed 

 and destructiveness, and the whole world 

 should know it so they may condemn it. 

 I have talked to over 50 men of sound 

 judgment, and put the question to them, 

 showing, them the picture of the herd in 

 November Recreation, and letting them 

 read Ledru Guthrie's letter in the Decem- 

 ber number. The usual comment was that 

 Mr. Guthrie had placed himself in line 

 with the North Dakota gang when he at- 

 tacked you. He showed bad form, sense 

 and taste in attempting to take on his own 

 shoulders the burden of the Grand Forks 

 herd, and would improve his character as a 

 lawyer by quitting it. 



M. L. Michael. 



In reply to your request in December 

 Recreation, regarding what the readers 

 thought of the drove of peccaries photo- 



graphed in the November number, page 

 360, I would say if they really made that 

 catch in the time stated, they are even 

 worse than you pronounced them, and 

 ought to be advertised thoroughly, so inno- 

 cent sportsmen might know them when 

 they meet, and show them the special kind 

 of attention due their peculiar breed. You 

 did not roast them half enough. Turn 

 them over and scorch the other side a 

 deep, rich brown. 



Stephen Harley, Scottville, Mich. 



The December issue of Recreation is at 

 hand, and a fine number. Your exposure 

 of the North Dakota fish hogs was highly 

 commendable, and should receive the 

 hearty support of every sportsman who be- 

 lieves in fair play and in practicing mod- 

 eration. Because a man may be highly 

 connected in the business or social world 

 is no reason why he should root out the 

 last potato or appropriate the last fish. I 

 hope you will continue to roast all such 

 "gezers" brown. 



J. A. Newton, Grand Rapids, Mich. 



WHY CREELS ARE EMPTY. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 Editor Recreation : 



Being an L. A. S. member, it gives me 

 pleasure to note the manner in which you 

 dealt with Messrs. Bohn and Morrell, of 

 Spring Valley and Nyack, respectively. I 

 have fished Rockland lake, and so have 

 many of my brother sportsmen, and I have 

 come away with empty creels more times 

 than otherwise. Mr. Morrell says it was 

 considered, for Rockland lake, a good 

 catch of bass. It might be so considered, 

 had he been using a seine. If such deple- 

 tion continues, brother sportsmen, we may 

 look for emptier creels in future. One 4 

 pound fish to each man would be consid- 

 ered good ; and 2 each of those 4 pounders 

 would have sufficed for any sportsman, 

 even with a large family. In a 64 page 

 booklet entitled "Fishing on the Pictur- 

 esque Erie" was published a synopsis of 

 "Laws Relating to Fishing in New York, 

 New^ Jersey and Pennsylvania," of which 

 Section no relates to the legal season for 

 catching bass, while Section in relates to 

 length and number of bass per person. 

 The following is a copy of Sec. in: "No 

 black bass less than 10 inches in length 

 shall be intentionally taken from any of 

 the waters of this State, nor possessed; 

 and in case any such fish is caught or 

 taken, the person taking it shall immedi- 

 ately return it to the waters from which 

 it was taken, without unnecessary injury. 

 No person shall take, catch, kill or possess 



