FISH AND FISHING. 



455 



the horse. The next morning we built a 

 fish-box in which to keep our fish alive. 



The fishing was good, trout and pickerel 

 falling easy prey to our tempting bait. We 

 were careful not to make hogs of ourselves, 

 however, and took only enough fish each 

 day to supply our wants. Ducks, grouse 

 and woodcock were abundant in the woods 

 on all sides of the lake, but as it was the 

 close season they were perfectly safe from 

 our guns. The creeks around abounded in 

 trout. Mosquitoes, punkies, black flies and 

 deer flies were also numerous. We spent 

 a pleasant week among the mountains, 

 hunting, fishing, rowing and swimming. 

 A. B., Sacandaga, N. Y. 



BLUE HERONS DESTROY TROUT. 



I note W. L. Steward's article in 

 February Recreation in regard to the blue 

 heron destroying young trout. I know, to 

 my sorrow, that the ungainly bird is an ex- 

 pert fisher. A friend of mine near here 

 owns one of the finest trout streams I ever 

 saw. Being no angler himself, he has oc- 

 casionally asked me to visit him and try the 

 trout. The brook was so full of them that 

 it was no trick at all to take a dozen fine 

 fellows in an hour. One summer the fish 

 seemed few, and we wondered why. We 

 had noticed blue herons wading in the 

 stream, but never dreamed they were the 

 cause of our poor luck. One day my friend 

 said : 



"Doc, I know what's the matter with the 

 trout. It's them darned cranes." 



Enough said. Out came the 38 caliber 

 Winchester, and every blue heron heard 

 the hum of lead, and the bones of several 

 lie along the stream. The living ones left 

 those parts to return no more. 



Now, after 2 years, as I steal up to the 

 bank and look over, it is not uncommon 

 to see a red streak dart from cover ; and 

 down under that clump of willows I hear 

 again the splash of some fine fellow as he 

 takes in a grasshopper that made a mistake 

 and did not jump far enough. Personally 

 I have no use for the blue heron. He is a 

 genuine fish hog. 



F. G. Legg, M.D., Coldwater, Mich. 



TROUT ABUNDANT NEAR VANCOUVER. 



I have taken Recreation nearly 2 

 years. It is the D2st magazine of the kind 

 published in America. I like the way you 

 roast pork. It is too bad, that men who 

 are supposed to have some common sense, 

 show such a lack of it every chance they 

 get to make a good bag of game or 

 basket of fish. 



Our trout season has just opened, and 

 I hear of good baskets having been made. 

 But good stream fishing does not begin till 

 about May, as our streams are mostly 

 mountain streams, and the snow melting in 



the spring makes the water high and dirty. 



We have several streams within easy 

 reach of Vancouver, the best of which are 

 the Coquitlam and the Lillooet. I have not 

 fished on the former, but persons who have 

 say the fishing is excellent. This stream 

 is about 20 miles from the city. The Lil- 

 looet is about 30 miles. I spent 3 or 4 

 days on this stream last summer and had 

 some good catches. One afternoon I fished 

 from about 2:30 p. m. to 5 and caught 14 

 fish, which filled my basket. They ranged 

 from x /[ pound to ^A pounds. 



Being an amateur photographer, your 

 photo competitions interest me much. 



W. G. B., Vancouver, B. C. 



TROUT HOGS ON THE POTLATCH. 



Idaho has some of the best trout streams 

 in the world, though people who have not 

 visited the Bitter Root mountains can not 

 realize this. 



In August, 1901, 4 of us cast our lines 

 in the Potlatch, and a happier, more con- 

 genial crowd never got together. The great 

 trees permitted the welcome rays of the sun 

 to reach the earth, thereby insuring us 

 plenty of sport. The weather was delight- 

 ful, the air laden with the odor of pines, 

 the fishing all that heart could desire. No 

 sooner had we entered the water than we 

 saw trout, ranging from 6 inches to 34 of 

 a pound, darting in all directions. Small 

 bunches of moss grew in the river, and be- 

 hind these we made our casts. No sooner 

 did the fly touch the water than it was 

 snapped up. It is at such moments as 

 these that we lose all consciousness of 

 everything else. 



In the one day we took enough trout to 

 supply our tables a week, the total catch 

 being 609 for the dav. 



J. D. Jolly, Troy, Idaho. 



Over 150 trout for each man. You should 

 all be ashamed of yourselves. — Editor. 



ACTIVE WORK IN WISCONSIN. 

 The game and fish wardens of Wiscon- 

 sin are making this a might)' hard year 

 for lawbreakers. Here is a synopsis of 

 their work during the past few months : 



Deputy George Briggs, of Ashland: 5 arrests 

 and convictions for taking whitefish weighing 

 less than li/, pounds each. Several cases un- 

 settled. Deputy Peter Drafahl, of Afton: Seiz- 

 ure of fish and set lines at Lake Koshkonong. 

 Deputy A. W. Gratz, of Madison: Seizure of fish. 

 Deputy Fred Gerhardt, of Milwaukee: 3 seizures 

 of fish and game. Deputy A. J. Klofonda, of Eau 

 Claire: Arrest and conviction for shooting ruffed 

 grouse. Deputy K. Knudson, of Winneconne: 2 

 seizures of fish and nets. Deputy Gustav Pfeiffer, 

 of Sturgeon Bay: Arrest and conviction for 

 shooting deer. Deputy Val Raeth, of Milwaukee: 

 5 seizures of fish, one being of brook trout. 

 Deputy G. K. Redmond, of Neillsville: 2 arrests 

 for shooting deer, one of the defendants being 

 convicted and the case .of the other continued. 

 Deputy J. W. Stone, of Barron: One arrest for 



