FISH AND FISHING. 



213 



the West, helped to exterminate the buffalo, 

 and killed hundreds of elk for their hides. 

 The next is M. G. Ladson. He seldom 

 does a day's work, but spends his time 

 fishing for the markets in the small lakes 

 about here and in trapping. He cares 

 nothing for game or fish laws, and as^ he 

 has never been disturbed by a game 

 warden he goes out with companions fish- 

 ing and hunting at all seasons. He claims 

 to have caught 1,500 black bass last year. 

 Wallace Bump, Winfield Plumb, Mart. 

 Goit, Jr., Wm. Norton and Jerry Bird are 

 pot hunters. Charles Wayer is a fish hog. 

 He lives adjoining my farm, and while he 

 does not fish for the market, he and some 

 others have nearly depleted my lake of 

 bass and perch. He wants a peck or so 

 to a mess, and wants it every few days. 

 Isaac Strubler and sons are also pot hunters. 

 It may do some good if you send copies of 

 Recreation to these men. Your magazine 

 is highly interesting and deserving of the 

 popularity it has attained. 



Julien Williams, Waterford, Mich. 



A SELF ACCUSED FISH HOG. 



The Saturday Evening Post of October 

 19 contained an article on bass fishing, by 

 J. F. Lawrence, whom the editor men- 

 tioned as "a leading capitalist of Chicago, 

 who has made the study of game fish and 

 their proper protection a life work and 

 who holds the American record for having 

 landed the largest small mouth bass." In 

 his article Mr. Lawrence says : "Real 

 sportsmen will willingly obey the laws and 

 seek to promote the protection of game 

 fish against wanton destruction. Most of 

 this comes from pot fishers and those who 

 lack the sportsman's instinct." 



In another paragraph Mr. Lawrence 

 says : "My prize day's fishing was in 

 Rice lake, Wisconsin, in company with 

 James Downey. We landed 21 muska- 

 longe, and all big ones, too. In the old 

 days in Gogebic lake, with a companion, I 

 took 163 good black bass in a day. That 

 was fishing !" 



No, that's just where you lose the trail, 

 sonny. It was not fishing; it was butch- 

 ery, pure and simple ; and if I were you I 

 would never again prate of "game protec- 

 tion" or of wanton destruction. If ever 

 any man wore bristles, you've got 'em, by 

 virtue of your own boasting. — Editor. 



TWICE TOO MANY. 

 Enclosed find clipping from an Illinois 

 paper. The gentlemen (?) referred to live 

 in Hardin, Calhoun county, 111. I am a 

 regular reader of Recreation, and I hope 

 to see something warm in the magazine 

 regarding these parties. 



D. B., Hardin, 111. 



Following is the item referred to : 



Francis Grassman, Morris Fisher, J. T. Lin- 

 kogle, J. D. Segress and others, caught about 230 

 fish last Friday in Glead slough. 



I wrote these men regarding the truth 

 of this report, and received the following 

 answers : 



There were 5 in the party that made the 

 catch; and if our minnows had not given 

 out we would have caught more fish, for 

 the crappies were biting on just the heads 

 of minnows when we quit. 



Francis Grassman, Hardin, 111. 



Five of us caught 230 fish, mostly crap- 

 pies. A few were bass. Hook and line 

 fishing was good last season. 



J. D. Segress, Hardin, 111. 



An average of 46 fish to each rod. The 

 fish would doubtless average a pound each 

 or more ; so you caught at least twice as 

 many fish as you should. — Editor. 



NIBBLES. 

 Not long since, while I was at work 

 near McMurray, Washington, the children 

 of E. B. Caswell, the superintendent, made 

 a dip net of mosquito netting and went to 

 scooping up all the trout they could find. 

 One day they caught about 300 small trout 

 not over 2 inches long. These fish were 

 so small the women would not clean nor 

 cook them, so they were thrown out in 

 front of the house. As soon as I saw 

 what was going on I went to the children's 

 father and told him it would have to be 

 stopped, as I was local game warden and 

 would prosecute him if he let the children 

 use the net any more. He politely told me 

 to go to h — 1 and prosecute till I got tired ; 

 but when I started for a justice of the 

 peace he got down off his car and took the 

 net away from the kids. 



A. W. Stratford, Shaver, Cal. 



Unlike Mr. Turner, of Munroe, Mass., 

 I think our 6 inch trout law is right. I 

 caught over 200 6 inch trout during the 

 past season. Largest catch, 21. I had to 

 put back a great many, and did not see 

 any die from the hurt. No doubt one oc- 

 casionally dies, but I don't believe one in 

 20 does if they are carefully removed from 

 the hook. Recreation is all right, and a 

 great game protector. 



E. C. Hall, Ashfield, Mass. 



I have just stocked our streams here 

 with brown trout one year old. There are 

 plenty of quails here; saw a bevy of them 

 in the village. 



M. T. Morgan, Nanticoke, N. Y. 



As the blackfish wriggled and gasped on 

 the hot seas little Willie remarked, "I'll 

 bet he is sorry he isn't a sunfish just now." 

 — Exchange. 



