428 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jture 36, 1884. 



THE CANADIAN SEA TROUT. 



PEOPESSOR JORDAN, in an interesting paper in 

 Forest and Stream, June 12, admits "that it may- 

 be best to recognize tbe above fish as a distinct sub-species, 

 as we do the landlocked salmon." 



Anglers have, I think, always done so, although natural- 

 ists have not. If, as I understand. Professor Jordan is an 

 angler, the concession may be due to that tact. Perhaps he 

 may have killed the Canadian fish on his own rod, and may- 

 have noticed its coloration and habits, sodifferentfromtho.se 

 of the. brook trout, and may have tasted its superior flavor 

 on the table. I notice that he gives it the name Sdliklinu* 

 fontinalix rnmiaculatus — "the unspotted trout," a name 

 which, I think, was first used by Professor Storer, of Boston, 

 on a specimen from Labrador. 



Now the Canadian sea trout, so abundant in the tidal 

 waters and rivers of the Dominion, is a red-spotted fish, 

 much more silvery and brilliant of hue than the brook trout 

 taken in the same' wafers. So obvious is this difference, that 

 all the guides and local anglers of those waters will point it 

 out at once. The fish vary in size in different rivers. Thus 

 in the Restigouche, a large river, 1 have found them in com- 

 pany with brook trout averaging in size about six ounces. 



In the Tabusiutae, one of the most famous trout streams 

 of New Brunswick, but a small river, I found the sea trout 

 very abundant, with a few brook trout, the average size of 

 the former about ten ounces. A lot of fifty, which I cap- 

 tured there in about four hours, weighed thirty pounds. 



In tbe Nouvelle, a beautiful river on the north shore of the 

 Ray of Chaleurs, P. Q., my string of trout, fifteen in num- 

 ber, averaced two and a half pounds. Few, but large, and 

 no brook trout in the stream; all sea trout, almost as silvery 

 as salmon. 



In Wilkie's River, Prince Edward's Island, sea trout and 

 brook trout were found together, about three to the pound. 

 In these waters the fly alone was used, and in the Nouvelle 

 the large trout were taken with the same flies which I had 

 used for salmon the week before. In this river, which is 

 verv swift, icy cold, and clear as crystal, the trout lay in 

 pools like salmon, and were to be found nowhere else. My 

 Indian guides before coming to a pool would go ashore and 

 climb the high bank to look for the fish, which they could 

 easily see in the clear water, then they would place the caDoe 

 near the pool for me to cast from. The trout took the fly 

 under water, like the salmon, and their play was much like 

 that of a grilse or young salmon of three pounds weight. 

 Any on-.' who has killed a grilse will appreciate this praise. 



f have never taken this fish in salt water, and, theiefore, 

 cannot say anything about the sea trout described by Herbert, 

 Perley, and others, "as coming into the river mouths with the 

 tide in great schools, like mackerel. 1 have only met with 

 them in fresh water, and these certainly appear to differ more 

 from brook trout than do the large and small-mouth black 

 bas* from each other. 



This Canadian fish seems to be a mo c t loyal subject of 

 Victoria, always keeping within her dominions, and never, 

 as far as 1 know, si raying, like its fellow subjects, into the 

 richer pastures of Yankee land. 



I could wish that some angler naturalist might do for the 

 sea trout what Dr Henshall has done for the black bass, 

 and settle the vexed questions of identity and nomenclature. 



IMabietta, Ga. S. C. C. 



Exgi.tsti Thout for American Streams.— Paterson, K 

 j, — It is a deplorable fact that our bro<<k trout is fast disap- 

 pearing from the numerous streams where lie once was plen- 

 tiful. "This would not have been the case if the streams 

 were properly protected by.iaHng care not t" cut down the 

 trees which shelter from the fierce rays of the sun the springs 

 flowing into the brooks. In the spring such streams be- 

 come torrents, and in the summer are almost stagnated 

 water. In some of them not a drop of wahr can be found. 

 No trees in the near vicinity of a stream ought to be cut 

 down. A great deal of money has been expended on re- 

 stocking our streams, but without very satisfactory results, 

 because our trout require cold spring water and will thrive 

 in no other. The best trout for re-'ocKins- our streams, I 

 think, would be the English trout; they thrive in almost any 

 slow running water, and I have caught some splendid ones 

 in a sluggi-h canal. The trout of Great Britain grow rapidly, 

 are a beautiful fi-h, and I think they possess more gamene>s 

 than our trout. As a table fish he is excellent. I think that 

 if ttds fish were placed in our streams he would do as well 

 here as in England, and in a few years we would have splen- 

 did fishing for him.— Passaic 



Michigan Fishing — The grayling fishing this season is said 

 to be better than for several years. 1 have heard direct from 

 the Ausable River as well as several other streams containing 

 the dainty beauties, and all reports coincide as to the fishing 

 being above tbe average. Mr. E. S. Baker, of Detroit, has 

 just returned from a two weeks' trouting trip to the Jordan 

 River. During the expedition he had most excellent sport, 

 landing in all over one thousand brook trout. The fish do 

 not rap very large in the Jordan. Tire largest caught by 

 Mr. Baker weighed one pound, while the average of his 

 catch was about six ounces. But their numbers make up in 

 part for their lack of size, for he caught in seven hours' fish- 

 ing over one hundred of the toothsome fishes. Black bass 

 are being taken in small numbers from the Detroit River. 

 The best catch I have heard of in the vicinity of Detroit 

 was that made by Mr. II. B. Bromley, who with his brother 

 landed nine hass'the other day. They also caught the same 

 day thirty -six pickerel averaging in weight from two and a 

 half to three pounds each. These were caught near Belle 

 Isle, and such sport to be had at home and inside three or 

 four hours' time taken from business makes me think that 

 Detroit is a good place for an angler to live in. — Delta. 



Michigan Camp Gkounh.— The finest bass and pickerel 1 

 ever saw and the most of them were at Hubbard Lake, 

 Mich., last fall. Also deer and ruffed grouse in season. Go 

 to Alpena by boat, thence down to Ossineke by daily steamer 

 (fare fifty cents), then by "tote road," nine miles to the lake. 

 It is right in the pine woods. Take tent along. Fine camp- 

 ing ground. I don't tell "fish stories," but if the fishing 

 there does not satisfy any lover of the sport, he must have 

 "an awful appetite for fishing. " — Pedagog. 



West Virginia Fishing Grounds.— Mt. Pleasant, Pa., 

 June 16.— I spent a month lately on the trout streams of 

 West Virginia. One can find excellent sport there. Unfor- 

 tunately for me I was too early. The Upper Cheat contains 

 many trout, and I've taken some of good size, say from 

 fourteen to sixteen inches, that's a good trout with us. If 

 one should go to Cheat, Black Water or Greenbrier after a 

 little while he could have rare sport. I take the Baltimore & 

 Ohio Railroad to Oakland, Md. , thence 28, 35 or 42 miles cross 

 country to Cheat. Conveyance can be had at reasonable rates. 

 Go well prepared to wait on yourself. I found the habitations 

 of man scarce. The greatest event of my trip was the taking 

 of a pike in the Middle Island, a small stream flowing into 

 the Ohio, just above Parkersburg. The water was very 

 clear; bait, a wdiite sucker about eight inches long; tackle, 

 pike hook and staging, and common chalk line; time of 

 battle, twenty-two minutes. This magnificent, fellow meas- 

 ured forty-two and a half inches, and weighed nineteen 

 pounds. I have the head and tail of this monster in a good 

 state of preservation.— Farmer. 



$inl\mlttm. 



Shad in the Connecticut.— Holyoke, Mass., June 23.— 

 The prayers of the wicked availeth* little— for between the 

 wickedness of the Holyoke anglers, and the horde of cow- 

 boys who arc running* the net at South Hadley Falls, and 

 probably a few sins laying on the Fish Commissioner's door 

 steps, few shad have put in an appearance, eight shad only 

 being taken with the hook, and not many more with the 

 net. Several hauls of the net this morniug did not show a 

 scale. The flow of water in the river this spring, up to this 

 mouth, has been the best for many years, yet the shad don't 

 come. If the saying, "as good fish in the sea as were ever 

 caught" is true, can't "you uns down thare" suggest to some 

 of the fish tribes that there would be room and a welcome for 

 them up here, or are all the fish put on tbe Chinaman's 

 ticket; excluded and forbidden to enter the Connecticut 

 River, on pain of a lingering death by poison? — Thomas 

 Chalmers. 



The Windfish.— Sing Sing, N. Y,, June 23.— In a late 

 number of the Forest and Stream inquiry is made as to 

 the proper name of the windfish, which inhabits the streams 

 of the lower Hudson valley. The fish which is usually 

 known by that name in this vicinity is CIMa hudsonia 

 (Clinton) J. & G. It is also known by the name of "river 

 bass." In some of the large streams," as the Croton River 

 for example, it grows to the length of twelve to sixteen 

 inches, and affords considerable sport to anglers. — A. E. 

 Fisher, M. D. [The C. hudsonia does not grow to a size 

 to attract the attention of anglers. It is seldom above a fin- 

 ger in length, and is known as "spawn-eater" at Albany. 

 We suspected the fish mentioned by "N." in our issue of 

 June •"), and by "Niagara," June 19, to he the big chub, dace 

 or fall fish, tkinolikis bullaris, (Raf.) Jot., but the description 

 was too meagre to decide. The size alone determined out- 

 guess.] 



Salmon and Trout in Canada. — Montreal, June 1(5. — 

 Some large catches of trout have been made recently noith 

 of here in the Laurentian waters. Reports of good sport 

 from the eastern township waters are daily received. Camp- 

 bellton, N. B , June 20. — Salmon fishing here so far this 

 season has proved a total failure, as not more than three or 

 tour have been taken in the Restigouche and Maleperlia 

 rivers, and but a very few fish are taken in the nets below 

 tidewater in Bay Chaleur. Trout fishing is also poor, but a 

 lew good catches are reported. The writer and a friend 

 will "to-morrow start tor some small lakes back in the in- 

 terior, and will at a later date report success or failure. — 

 Stan stead. 



Rice Lake Fishing. — Harwood. Rice Lake, Ontario, 

 June 17.— The prospects for summer duck shooting are good. 

 A great many wood and black ducks are hatching here this 

 season. The maskinonge fishing is good and has been since 

 the season opened, May 24. Large quantities have been caught 

 by the Indians and whites trolling. Black bass fishing com- 

 mences about, the middle of July. I see by your issue of 

 June 5 that "W. C. M," wishes to find a place where good 

 bass fishing and partridge shooting can be had in August 

 and September. He can get both here. Abundance of 

 partridges on the islands and main laud. Partridge season 

 commences Sept. 1.— Chas. Gilchrist. 



Oquossoc Association.— Officers of Oquossoc Augling 

 Association were elected as follows in camp, June 4: Presi- 

 dent, Weston Lewis, Boston; Vice-President, Senator Fran- 

 cis Fessendan, Portland, Me. ; Clerk, Galen O Moses, Bath, 

 Me. ; Treasurer, James A. Williarnsou, New Tork. Mr. 

 Carpenter, of Providence, R. I., was elected Trustee in place 

 of Mr. Lockwood, deceased. Other trustees were elected. 



The Maryland Coat of Arms.— Maryland is a paradise 

 of anglers. The State motto is Cremie d nmlliplienmvti, in 

 crease and multiply, and the coat of arms consists of a man 

 who hokls a spade'with which he has been digging worms, 

 and an individual on the right who has just returned from 

 a fishing trip with a string of fish. He is evidently telling 

 the other fisherman that lie was only fishing half an hour 

 aud that he caught a lot, but having a very small family 

 threw the biggest fish back into the stream, — J^swurk (N. J.) 

 Sunday Cull. 



Black: Bass en Connecticut.— A friend and myself 

 recently made a trip on the Hartford and Connecticut 

 VVestern R. II., in search of reported black bass. At Copake 

 Lake we found good fishing near the Beach House, and took 

 many good fish. From there we went to Ancram and found 

 fair "sport on the upper and lower Rhoda, Long Lake, 

 Snyder and Miller lakes, all of which are within easy reach 

 from either Copake or Ancram. — Poke o-Moonshlne. 



Black Bass in Otsego Lake.— Some years ago black 

 bass were put in Otsego Lake, near Cooperstown, N. Y., but 

 there have been no results from them until in the present 

 month. Two small boys lately took over twenty fish which 

 would average two pounds each, in a small stream at the 

 head of the lake. 



St, Claii; Flats.— Star Island House, June 21.— Bass 

 fishing lias just commenced; Mr. Charles Miller, of Chicago, 

 made a fine' catch of 109 in four days. Mr. James Slocum, 

 of the Star Island House, has made 'quite extensive improve- 

 ments since last year, adding thirty -five large sleeping rooms 

 and a dining room with a capacity for 250 people. 



Large Tautog.— A large tautog, or blackfish (Tautoga 

 oniiib) was caught m Long Island Sound, at Little Captain 

 Islaad, off Greenwich, by Mr. P. Scutt, of Riverside, which 

 weighed 10$ pounds. We believe that the largest one on 

 record weighed 13 pounds. 



Seventfen Thousand Men in 1883 were paid cash benefits nuder 

 accident po'icies i:a the Travelers of Hartford, or 54 for every work- 

 ing day.— A'U\ 



PROTECTION OF THE OCEAN FISHERIES. 



I A paper read before the American EMicultural Association.] 



BY E. G. BLACKFORD. 



ONE of the questions that frequently perplexes tbe mind 

 of the fisheulturi-t and the legislator is, how to protect 

 in the best manner the valuable food fisheries of the sea coast 

 aud ocean. 



On the one hand, there are the market fishermen, who use 

 sailing vessels, aud work either in the deep outside waters, or 

 With net and hook, gather their prey alone; the shores and in 

 the bays of our coast. This industry gives employment to over 

 85,000 men, and a capital of over §30,000,000. 



On the other hand, we have the large fleet of steamers that 

 patrol the ocean catching the menhaden, and from them 

 manufacture oil and fertilizers. An occupation involving 

 nearly .$3,000,000 and giving employment to over 2,000 men. 

 These facts give some idea of the magnitude of the interests 

 involved and of the importance of the question under discus- 

 sion. 



For the last live years a large number of the former class of 

 fishermen have claimed that the steamers seriously affected 

 their business, stating that many kinds of fish that were form- 

 erly abundant, are now scarce, and that, unless lavs are passed, 

 prohibiting the menhaden steamers from fislrng within three 

 miles of the shore, or in some way restricting their operations, 

 many kinds of the valuable fishes will be exterminated or 

 driven from our shores. In _ pursuance of this idea, they have 

 petitioned both State and National Legislatures to that effect. 

 The question has been largely discussed by the press, the 

 State and National Fish Commissions, and in the United States 

 Senate. The latter has appointed a Committee on Fisheries, 

 with Hon. E. Gr. Lapham as chairman. This committee has 

 for the past two years taken the testimony of all classes of 

 fishermen, and obtained the views and theories of fishculturists 

 and ichthyologists. And, in addition to this, we have the 

 valuable information and statistics gathered with great care 

 by Prof. S. F. Baird, the eminent Commissioner of Fish and 

 Fisheries of the United States. 



It has been my privilege to assist in obtainiug information 

 on the subject for the Senate Committee, the TJnited States 

 Fish Commission and the New York State Fishery Commis- 

 sion, and I have read with great interest all of the evidence 

 that has been taken by them bearing on this subject. And 

 now, in discussing the question as to the, advisability of any 

 legislation to protect -the ocean or sea fisheries, it is i est t<> 

 look over the facts which have thus far been brought out and 

 see what would be the best way to provide for the continu- 

 ance of the abundant supply that we now enjoy. 



The first thing that we want to ascertain is whether what 

 we know as salt-water fish, are scarcer now than in former 

 times, and I would say here, that the absence of statistics 

 covering any considerable space of time, makes an answer to 

 this question somewhat difficult, but, thanSS to the New York 

 Fishmongers Association, and to the Boston Fish Bureau, a 

 beginning has been made to supply this hiatus, and it is hoped 

 that the National Government will very soon take definite 

 measures for the purpose of getting, annually, correct statistics 

 of the amount of tish caught in the waters and on the coast of 

 th" United States. Having beui a dealer in fresh ftsh in 

 Fulton Market, New York, for the past seventeen, years, I 

 have had the opportunity of noticing during- this period, the 

 varying supply of various kinds of tsh, and 1 beg leave to sub- 

 mit my vie ws'as to the scarcity or plentif illness of some of 

 these various speciea 



First and most important of all our fishes is the cod. I 

 believe that there has been no considerable diminution in 

 quantity in the lastdecade, judging from the quantity brought 

 to market and the prices obtained; and as some indication of 

 the i an >e of price, 1 may say that during the year 1888 cod 

 sold as low as one dollar per hundred weight. In some years 

 there lias been a perceptible decrease in the catch, but it has 

 been followed by such enormous catches that the markets 

 have been glutted. The statistics of the Boston Fish Bureau 

 show the catch of the. New England fleet to be; for 188 L, 

 775,027 quintals; for 1882. SOS. 904 quintals; for 1883,1,061,698 

 quintals, showing an absolute increase in two yea's of nearly 

 300,0110 quintals. Surely these figures need not occasion any 

 alarm or fear that codfish cakes wdl be beyond the reach of 

 the most impecunious fishculturist. 



Next, and Hardly second in importance, is the bluelish. It is 

 a matter of historical record that these fish disappeared en- 

 tirely from our coast in the year 1764. and did not make their 

 appearance again for several years, and then they were taken 

 in vast numbers. Suppose such a disappearance should take 

 place this, snmmer. How quickly the fishermen would appeal 

 to the Legislatures to abolish the menhaden steamers, and the 

 angler would cry out for t e destruction of the pound and 

 trap nets. Each would piobably claim that the scarcity was 

 owing to these instrumentalities. This one instance of the 

 bluelish in 1704 should lead us to be careful and conservative 

 in regard to legislation, and to carefully consider whether 

 there are not some great natural laws that determine the 

 appearance and disappearance of fish on our coast, rather than 

 attribute it to the comparatively puny efforts of man to affect 

 the supoly. 



But let us turn to the question as to their present apparent 

 scarcity or plentif ulness. During the year 1882 bluelish were 

 scarcer than they had been for some years, and the wholesale 

 price did not go below five cents. This scarcity was particu- 

 larly noticeable on the New Jersey coast. But, the season of 

 18SB was unusually productive, and bluefish sold as low as two 

 and a hah cents per pound, and, had it not been for the large 

 quantities that were taken out of the market and stored in 

 refrigerators for winter use, the price would have declined to 

 one cent per pound. 



ft would seem to be a fair inference that the bluefish needs 

 no protection at present. 



Ihe fresh mackerel is another important factor in the food 

 supply of the people, it h;Ts attracted a great deal of the 

 attention of fish economists, aud it is one of the fishes in re- 

 gard, to which, through the statistics of the Boston Fish 

 Bureau, we can speak somewhat intelligently. 



In 1825 the New England catch was 200,nOU bbls. : in 1826, 

 100,000 bbls. ; in 1827, 200.000 bbls. ; in 1828. 240,000 bbls., and 

 in 1881 the largest quantity on record was taken, amounting 

 00 bbls. After this wonderful catch the number 

 steadily declined, until the year 1840, during which season 

 only 55,000 bids, were taken. In 1851 there was another won- 

 derful catch of 330,0110 bbls.; in 1859, only 100.000 bbls.; hi 

 1863, 310,000 bbls. ; in 1808, tso.uuO bbls.; in 1870, 320,000 bbls.; 

 1877 110,0(10 bbls. : in 1880. 245.000 bbls. ; in 1881 and 1882the 

 number is the same— 200,000 bbls. ; 1883, 100,000 bbls. These 

 figures, covering a period of fifty-eight years, would seem to 

 indicate that their plentif ulness or scarcity is not governed 

 materially by the purse, seines of the Gloucester fleet. 



In my own experience in the New York markets I have seen 

 just such fluctuations in the quantity brought to that city, 

 and whenever there occurs a bad season the fishermen and 

 others interested talk of the pi obability of the mackerel being 

 all caught up, and of the necessity of some protection for the 

 mackerel fisheries. 



The opening of the present season has been a remarkable 

 one. 1 he first vessel arrived March 24, and the mackerel were 

 so small that the. captain refused to take off his hatches to 

 show the fish, and insisted upon selling them "unsight unseen," 

 and he was fortunate enough to find a purchaser on those 

 terms, at two and a half cents each. Theie were something 

 like 100,000 fish in the load, and they were so small that it took 

 five of them to weigh a pond. The firm that bought them 



