460 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. m, 1896. 



POTOMAC FISHING. 



Washington,. D. C, Nov. 14.— We might almost call 

 our notes now "Winter Angling," but for the fact that 

 they are records of long drawn out seasons. Angling for 

 black bass in the Potomac opens up in the spring of the 

 year, when smaller fish, usually known as "bucks," are 

 running. These movements of the fish are from the deep 

 water winter quarters to the purer waters of the spawn- 

 ing beds. Just what effect this early fishing has on the 

 natural propagation of the bass is hard to determine. 

 That fish with developed ovaries are taken is not to be 

 questioned; however, we are assured by anglers that the 

 fish as a rule are small males, and" that very few well- 

 developed females (mother bass) are caught before the 

 natural spawning season, so it is possible this spring fish- 

 ing is not very injurious. 



As to the season running late, we have records of good 

 fishing last week, excellent hook and line bass fishing in 

 the Potomac at Point of Pocks, where Mr. H. A. Parker, 

 of this city, fished Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8 and 9, 

 being the guest of Mr. Dave Conrad, near the Point. On 

 Friday twenty -one bass were taken, the total weight being 

 221bB. The largest weighed over 41bs. On Saturday the 

 fishing was good again, and Conrad and Parker had a suc- 

 cessful two days of it. 



Dave Conrad has fished at Point of Rocks for years. He 

 knows the haunts of the bass. The past season has been 

 a successful one for him, although the water has been ex- 

 ceedingly low and clear. Parker says they saw plenty of 

 bass in the water. Used the river chub (known around 

 the Point as suckers) for bait. 



Point of Rocks is well patronized by Washington 

 anglers, owing to its location and the good bass fishing. 

 The Baltimore & Ohio R. R. runs by the Point, and being 

 but an hour's ride is especially accessible to business men. 



One of the habitues of the Point is— as angling goes — 

 an oddity, as well as being a school teacher. This partic- 

 ular gentleman resorts to the Point every Saturday to 

 fish for bass. He fishes seven lines without a rod. The 

 lines are connected with a windlass (reel if you like), but 

 are operated more as hand lines. The bait used are large- 

 sized catfish, ranging in length from 5 to 10in., and this 

 fisherman invariably takes home two bass of the giant 

 mossback order. He says he does not care for many fish, 

 but will not have them under 4lbs. weight. Calls 

 l-pounders little trash, and now most of the boys are 

 beginning to blackguard him. 



Several members of the Anglers' Club have taken bass 

 during the past week below the Great Falls. 



Speaking of the late season here for bass, an old fisher- 

 man and the writer were discussing the subject a few 

 days since. He said that he had recently taken eight 

 bass at the Long Bridge, here at the city, and that he has 

 taken them there as late as Dec. 16 or 18. It seems only 

 to depend upon the condition of the water. Last week 

 the weather was warm, the water clear and the bass were 

 biting. 



To-day in market I saw a small pickerel, several yellow 

 perch and a small-mouthed bass on the same string. These 

 were apparently fresh-caught Potomac fish. I wonder 

 who hooked them out with a net I Bart. 



THE PERE MARQUETTE WATERS. 



Saginaw, Mich., Nov. 9.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 I send you a copy of the Lake County Star; the most im- 

 portant thing in it is the article relating to the Pere Mar- 

 quette Club waters. As you have already noted in the 

 columns of Forest and Stream, we have been bothered 

 there with poachers. Whenever we have made an arrest 

 for trespass we have won our suit, but the fine was so 

 small (6 cents and costs) that it had very little effect. 

 There is a State law, making it a crime for any one to 

 enter upon waters that are used for the private hatching 

 and rearing of fish, and it was on the strength of this 

 that we hoped for criminal convictions. Public sentiment 

 has awakened somewhat in our favor, and yet many of 

 our big breeding trout have been stolen and other 

 depredations committed. 



This paper is published in the heart of the hunting and 

 fishing section, and you will notice is full of items relat- 

 ing thereto. 



We got home from our Western trip about ten days 

 ago and had a splendid time. We did not find as much 

 game as usual, but enough for a dozen men to eat during 

 the three weeks we were away. The trip was replete 

 with thrilling incidents, and I hope I have not grown so 

 old and lazy that I cannot write an account of the Saginaw 

 crowd's doings for Forest and Stream, I am sorry to 

 Bay I was the only one of the old original crowd that went 

 along this year. Some have died, some are on the sick 

 list and others moved away so far that it was impossible 

 for them to go with us. 



I am happy to say that the game laws are being rigidly 

 enforced in Saginaw county. Deputy Game Warden 

 Carpenter is a hustler and doing good work. The law 

 prohibiting the sale of quail, woodcock and partridges is 

 being enforced, and will no doubt greatly increase our 

 local game supply. Our county board of supervisors fixed 

 the county warden's salary at $500 per annum, a wise 

 move, I think. A few years ago they laughed at game 

 protection and would pay nothing for a warden. 



W. B. Mershon. 



From the Luke County Star. 



At the last term of the Circuit Court held in-this village, 

 Henry A. Rudd was prosecuted criminally for fishing in 

 the waters of Kinne Creek, which is a private stream 

 owned by James B. Peter and George B. Morley, trustees, 

 of Saginaw, for certain gentlemen who are using the same 

 as private fishing grounds and are engaged in propagating 

 speckled trout for the purpose of stocking said stream to 

 be used for suuh purposes. 



By the order of the Circuit Judge the defendant was 

 discharged, the court holding that the act of the Legis- 

 lature under which he was prosecuted did not apply to 

 such a stream as this so as to make the fishing in the creek 

 a crime under the statute, and holding that the waters 

 covered by the act of the Legislature, making such fishing 

 a crime, would be either a lake or a pond not connected 

 with any public water. In rendering this opinion, how- 

 ever, the Judge used language which is of interest to every 

 resin nc of this county, and fully determined and decided 

 the question as to the rights of anybody to fish upon said 

 stream without the consent of the owners, and on that 

 subject we quote from the opinion of the Court. Judge 

 McMahon said: 



"The owners of the banks own the bed of this stream, 

 whether it is navigable or non-navigable, and these pro- 

 prietors of Kinne Creek and of the lands adjoining its 

 bank own the stream and the soil under the water in the 

 same sense in which they own all the land of which they 

 have the title, unlesB it be that if the stream be navigable 

 it is subject to the public easement of navigation and 

 must be held subject to that easement. * * * In a cer- 

 tain sense the waters of Kinne Creek are certainly private 

 waters. The owners of the banks and shores of the bed 

 of the stream in fee are the absolute owners of these 

 waters, subject to the easement only of which I have 

 heretofore spoken in case it is navigable, but that ease- 

 ment in no sense impairs their title, and they may do with 

 this stream anything not absolutely forbidden by statute 

 which does not impair a public right. * * * And 

 therefore in this case the proprietors of Kinne Creek may 

 do as they please with it. It is theirs in the largest sense, 

 and therefore these waters are private waters in the 

 largest sense, and the owners may protect it against all 

 trespassers. 



"There is no question, therefore, that when any person 

 goes upon the banks of Kinne Creek, or wades within its 

 current to catch fish, he is a trespasser and liable to be 

 prosecuted in a civil action for trespass. He is a wrong- 

 doer and has no business there whatever. It is the same 

 as though a man comes into my orchard and robs my 

 fruit trees or goes into my garden and pulls up my vege- 

 tables and flowers; it is a trespass of wrong. This is pri- 

 vate property in the full sense so far as the law governing 

 trespass and private right is concerned. * * * I have 

 no sympathy with this defense. This club has come on 

 there and instituted a public improvement. They have 

 improved this stream, propagated large numbers of fish, 

 and put them in this stream and other streams in Lake 

 county. They come here in considerable numberB, men 

 of property and influence, and advertise the affairs of Lake 

 county and community, and they should be treated as 

 gentlemen and respected ; and there is no reason why 

 interlopers should be allowed to go and catch their fish at 

 random, and that policy is the policy of the man who 

 killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. To drive these 

 men out of this county is an outrage. There are plenty 

 of waters for the rest of us to fish in without disturbing 

 them. There is no harm to the public in their owning 

 that stream and having their club house there and fishing 

 on it. I therefore wish to say that I have no sympathy 

 with the defense, and making the decision I do in this 

 case merely because I believe it is the law, and I never, at 

 least knowingly, allowed my sympathies to control my 

 judgment in deciding a case. Gentlemen of the jury, you 

 will bring in a verdict of not guilty." 



Jgisfonttnm 



New Jersey Fish and Game Interests. 



From the annual report of the New J er sey Fish and Game Commission. 



Annual Report. 



IN submitting our annual report we desire in the first place 

 to call attention to the fact that there is perhaps no State in 

 the Union better adapted for the preservation of fish and 

 game than the State of New Jersey. Nature has been lavish 

 in her gifts in this direction, for we have not only the prime- 

 val forest with its many hiding places for game, but also the 

 clearest and purest streams and lakes in this part of the 

 country.' If it were possible for science to follow in the foot- 

 steps of nature and create a vast preserve for game and fish, 

 no better model could be found than the State of New Jersey. 

 Our woods are admirably adapted for the propagation of aH 

 the different kinds of game that thrive in temperate climes; 

 our streams and lakes furnish in abundance natural homes 

 for the finest fish created by nature, and along the eastern 

 boundary of the State sweep the waters of the (Atlantic, 

 carrying to our State a never-failing and inexhaustible 

 supply of fish. 



It is perhaps on account of this wealth of natural advan- 

 tages that the State of New Jersey has in the past paid so 

 little attention to the preservation of fish and game. Other 

 States have for many years enforced the most stringent laws, 

 laws so severe in their provisions that the people of New 

 Jersey would never have permitted of their enactment here. 

 States younger in statehood and far less advanced in civili- 

 zation than New Jersey have for years annually spent thou- 

 sands upon thousands of dollars in maintaining hatcheries 

 and competent corps of officers for the protection and propa- 

 gation of game. One of the most important duties of their 

 legislatures has been the enactment of laws to regulate the 

 taking of fish and game and the keeping up of a supply of 

 food fish. Not only the commonwealths immediately conti- 

 guous to our State, but those removed from us by hundreds 

 of miles have deemed it prudent to enforce laws absolutely 



Erohibiting the export ot fish and game. The past decade 

 as been an era of advancement and progress, so that the 

 scientists of the country have become so thoroughly ac- 

 quainted with the habits of game and fish that with judicious 

 laws and their proper enforcement there need be no lack of 

 either in any State offering even mediocre advantages. For 

 many years New Jersey did not join in this march of 

 advancement; we were so well supplied that we could afford 

 to be extravagant. But even as the largest patrimony may 

 be squandered, so may the resources of New Jersey become 

 exhausted. The depletion of the woods and waters in the 

 more thickly settled counties of the State called attention to 

 the necessity of more stringent laws and the better enforce- 

 ment of existing statutes. The Legislature at its last session 

 passed a code of laws far superior in many respects to any- 

 thing New Jersey has ever had. 



It was but natural that some of the enactments should be 

 considered irksome by some people who had been accustomed 

 to revel in a plentiful supply at all seasons of the year, and 

 who could not understand why the same source of supply 

 should not be sufficient for an ever-increasing number of in- 

 habitants. But the necessity of these laws has been recog- 

 nized by every person who has made a study of nature and 

 her ways, and there is now a healthy disposition prevalent in 

 the State in favor of taking better care of our resources. 

 Many States with a population far smaller in proportion than 

 New Jersey have found it advisable and at times absolutely 

 necessary to prohibit altogether the taking of fish and game 

 for periods of years; others have practically restricted such 

 taking to their own inhabitants. There is no need in New 

 Jersey for any such measures, for with the laws as we have 

 them at present, perhaps somewhat altered in some respects, 

 and facilities for their enforcement similar to those furnished 

 by the last Legislature, we have a plentiful supply of fish and 

 game not only for ourselves, but also for the stranger within 

 our gates. 



Transplanting Fish. 



The supply and quality of the fish in a great many of the 

 lakes and streams of this State have materially deteriorated 



during the past few years on account of the want of the 

 infusion of new blood. In a great many waters the original 

 stock fish were very few in number, and although these in- 

 creased materially for some years it was but a question of 

 time when the results of inbreeding would be apparent. 

 This was perhaps not so much the case with the indigenous 

 fish as with those brought hither from other States. It was 

 thus found that in some lakes and streams the small- 

 mouthed bass were small and weak; in others a similar oon- 

 pition prevailed in regard to the large-mouthed bass. In 

 some waters the pickerel had been greatly reduced in number 

 and quality, and the pike had altogether disappeared from 

 some waters. Although it will take several years to wholly 

 overcome this evil, your Commission proceeded to take such 

 steps as were deemed necessary for a beginning of the work. 



For the purpose of ascertaining where the fish supply had 

 become exhausted by inbreeding or from other causes your 

 Commission caused blanks to be prepared and forwarded to 

 the wardens, with instructions to fill them out properly. In 

 this way a history of every pond in the State was obtained as 

 far as the fishing interests were concerned, and your Com- 

 mission was placed in possession of information of great 

 value for the carrying out of a systematic replenishment of 

 the fresh waters of the State. It became apparent from the 

 reports received that a great deal of work could be done 

 toward improving fishing without going outside of the State 

 for a supply of fish. In a number of cases it was found that 

 the fish in ponds within a short radius of each other could be 

 improved by taking fish from one pond and placing them in 

 some of the others and vice versa. Unfortunately the season 

 was not well adapted to this work. Transferring fish is at- 

 tended with considerable difficulty and expense during the 

 warm months, and some time before the fall set in there was 

 a cold spell of weather which served to drive the bass and 

 other fish from the shallows into deeper water, where it was 

 frequently impossible to reach them. In a number of in- 

 stances arrangements were made with fishermen, who were' 

 glad to take stock fish for the Commission in return for the 

 privilege of keeping the carp taken in the nets. In this way 

 a number of thousand of stock fish were taken and placed in 

 other waters. The work is still in progress at the date of 

 this report, and consequently the details thereof cannot be 

 here adduced. To publish in this report the information 

 gathered by wardens in relation to the lakes in the State 

 would be an unnecessary expense. But in order that the 

 work done in this respect may be seen your Commission has 

 caused a detailed report to be entered into two books, which 

 are on file with your Commission and which may be seen by i 

 any person interested at any time. Your Commission expects 

 in the early spring to resume the work of replenishing the 

 waters, which will shortly be interrupted by the cold weather, 

 and has no doubt that the good results thereof will be ap- 

 parent in time. 



Carp. 



• The United States Fish Commission, assisted by private 

 enterprise, some years ago introduced into the waters on this 

 side of the Atlantic a number of the different varieties of I 

 English and German carp. This fish, which apparently held 

 an enviable place in Europe, was expected to do well in the 

 waters of the United States and to materially add to our 

 supply of food fishes. It is almost superfluous to state that ! 

 the carp have multiplied very rapidly, easily accommodating ; 

 themselves to the conditions of our waters. As to its value ! 

 opinions differ. Glowing reports have been published by the 

 United States Fish Commission relative to the benefits ac- 

 cruing from the introduction of carp in some of the large 

 lakes and ponds of the West, but your Commission believes 

 that it is perfectly safe to say without chance of successful 1 

 contradiction that the introduction of carp into the waters 

 of New Jersey has been attended by nothing but evil results, 

 and that of the most aggravating kind. In a great many of 

 the waters of this State the carp have practically driven out 

 the far superior indigenous fish, and unless a stop were put 

 to the further propagation of carp it is only a question of 

 time before there would be no fish in our waters but carp. 

 The edible qualities of the carp have not been appreciated in i 

 this State, and viewed from the standpoint of an angler the 

 carp is utterly valueless. The habits of this fish tend to i 

 drive away all other kinds of fish. Not only does the carp i 

 destroy the clearness of our streams, so necessary to the suc- 

 cessful development of American fish, but the carp has also 

 shown a decided liking for the spawn of our native fish. 

 Although the bass and other American fish may successfully 

 defend its young against the ordinary intruder into its nest, 

 it stands no chance whatever against the bulky carp, which, 

 by reason of its strength and size, easily overcomes the 

 weapons given by nature to other and smaller fish. Under 

 these circumstances your Commission deemed it necessary 

 to take energetic measures toward putting a stop to the fur- 

 ther importing of carp into this State. The Legislature was 

 appealed to for help and passed a law making it an offense 

 to liberate carp in any of the waters of this State. This law 

 was not passed a day too soon, for the State was threatened 

 with the introduction of the English tench, in reality noth- 

 ing but a carp of a very inferior quality to those already im- 

 ported. The tench is not regarded anywhere as fit to eat 

 unless it has been fed expressly for this purpose. Some 

 places in other parts of the country may want fish of this 

 kind, but New Jersey, blessed as it is by nature with an ex- 

 cellent and bountiful supply of the finest food fish in the 

 world, has no need for anything of the kind, and nothing but 

 serious harm can result from its introduction. Your Com- 

 mission accordingly instructed the wardens to be espe- 

 cially vigilant to prevent the liberation of more carp in this 

 State. 



But, to a great extent, the evil has already been done and 

 carp are on the increase in this State. Your Commission 

 accordingly entered into correspondence with a number of 

 fishculturists in the country for the purpose of ascertaining 

 whether in any way the multiplication of the carp could be 

 stopped. One fact developed by this correspondence was 

 that a great many other States were engaged in endeavoring 

 to find some means of outgeneraling the carp. Experience 

 has shown that attempts to introduce carp had proven fail- 

 ures in waters inhabited by pike perch, a fish frequently 

 called the wall-eyed pike and later the Susquehanna salmon. 

 This fish had shown a decided liking for the spawn of the 

 carp, and instances were found where the introduction of 

 pike perch was followed by the extinction of the carp. The 

 pike perch, although not as gamy as the black bass and 

 inferior to it in other respects, is regarded by all as a valu- 

 able food fish; it was placed by nature in the streams of this 

 country and its transplanting has been attended with suc- 

 cess in every case where the waters were suitable to its 

 habits. Your Commission at once endeavored to secure the 

 introduction of this fish into the waters of this State, but 

 met with disappointment. Arrangements had been made 

 with the fish commission of a Western State for a supply of 

 this fish, but lack of appropriation prevented the taking of 

 the fish, the Legislature of the State referred to having for 

 once declined to make the annual appropriation. Your Com- 

 mission would have been very glad to have secured a supply 

 of adult pike perch, but was prevented from doing so. 

 Neighboring States, where pike perch had been recently 

 introduced, were naturally jealous as to their removal before 

 they had materially increased in number, and to bring the 

 fish to New Jersey from places where they naturally abound 

 would be attended by so many difficulties that the project 

 was not considered feasible. Your Commission has, how- 

 ever, made arrangements for the securing of a large supply 

 of this fish in the early part of next year. 



For the purpose of preparing our streams for the introduc- 

 tion of the pike perch and also for the purpose of taking 



