WILLIAM F. WHITCHER. L 



WE regret to announce the death of Mr.W.F. White her, 

 late Commissioner of Fisheries of Canada, Com- 

 modore of the Ottawa Canoe Club, and a valued corres- 

 pondent of Forest and Stream. Mr. Whitcher entered 

 the service of the old province of Canada in 1846, and 

 managed the fisheries business, then a branch of the 

 Crown lands department, up to the confederation of the 

 provinces in 1867, When the department of marine and 

 fisheries was organized he became commissioner of fish- 

 eries, which position he held until three years ago when 

 he was retired. No man in the Dominion better under- 

 stood the fisheries questions than he, nor were there many 

 salmon anglers equal to him in skill. 



During the sittings of the Fishery Commission at Hali- 

 fax he rendered invaluable service to the British Commis- 

 sioners, and had a great deal to do in preparing the Can- 

 adian case. He was also present in Washington when 

 the Fishery Treaty was negotiated. He was especially 

 fond of canoeing and had acquired an immense fund of 

 information on subjects relating to the fish and game re- 

 sources of the Dominion. He was also a ready and forc- 

 ible writer as well as a man of great industry and per- 

 sorverance ; and to the information collected and arranged 

 by him for the use of the government at the Halifax fish- 

 eries commission the success of Canada's cause before that 

 tribunal was largely due. His death is therefore a loss to 

 the whole country . When appointing men to represent 

 Canada at the Fisheries exhibition held in London a few 

 years ago, the Dominion government ignored Mr. 

 Whitcher, who was the commissioner of fisheries. Some- 

 time afterward Mr. Whitcher wrote a letter to Forest 

 and Stream in which he proved pretty conclusively that 

 the government's expenditure upon fish breeding, as then 

 conducted, was a waste of money, as that service was 

 barren of results. Although in saying this Mr. Whitcher 

 simply repeated statements made by Sir Alexander Camp- 

 bell in British Columbia. Mr. McLelan, the then minister 

 of marine and fisheries, was so enraged that he suspended 

 Mr. Whitcher from duty, and subsequently superannuated 

 him. It is believed by many that the sense of the injust- 

 ice to which he believed he had been subjected preyed 

 upon Mr. Whitcher's mind and aggravated his illness." 



While on a hunting and fishing trip in the Northwest, 

 some years ago, he was severely injured while riding on 

 a hand- car, and his death, on April 2 at his home in Ottawa, 

 was attributed to that. A post-mortem examination of 

 the body was held, when it was ascertained that he had 

 died from the effects of a cancerous formation in the 

 stomach. Mr. Whitcher requested shortly before his death, 

 that a post-mortem should be held in the interest of medi- 

 cal science. 



Mi-. Whitcher was fifty-nine years old in August last. 

 He was an enthusiastic sportsman, and was never happier 

 than when pursuing the sports in which he took such a 

 lively interest. lie had one son, the late Mr. William 

 Whitcher, C. E., and one daughter, the late Mrs. Bruce. 

 Mrs. Whitcher survives to mourn his loss. His father 

 was an officer in the Royal Navy, who afterward settled 

 in Canada. Mr. Whitcher was a man of kindly dispos- 

 ition and generous impulses, and will greatly be missed 

 by a large circle of friends 



TACKLE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Under this heading in your issue of April 5 "H. P. U." 

 asks if the automatic reel can be used for minnow cast- 

 ing. I do not know what the manufacturer or Messrs. 

 Spalding & Bros., who sell this reel, would reply to this, 

 but as it seems to ask for a response from some one ac- 

 quainted with and who has used the reel, I would volun- 

 teer an opinion. I have used one of these reels for the 

 past three years, and while at first prejudiced against it, 

 as many other anglers who are now using it had been, I 

 consider it for fly-fishing, skittering and trolling the 

 finest reel that I have ever used, and if I could not pro- 

 cure another I would not part with the one I have for 

 any consideration. My experience, however, leads me to 

 think that the .reel was never intended for minnow cast- 

 ing any more than an ordinary click reel is, as in this 

 style of fishing it is necessary to have a free-running 

 spool, which the automatic reel has not. For all other 

 styles of fishing than this and salt-water fishing I am 

 that satisfied with it that I would use no other, as I can 

 honestly say that I have taken more pleasure in fishing 

 since I procured a perfect automatic reel than I ever did 

 before and use lighter tackle. 



My tackle for all fishing except minnow casting, and I 

 fish for all kinds of fresh- water fish except salmon, is 

 a lfijft. split-bamboo rod, weighing 7foz., an automatic 

 reel and silk line, and my score book records bass as large 

 as 4flbs. and pickerel up to 7+lbs. Where I have done 

 minnow casting I use a rod known as the Forest and 

 Stream pattern, 8fft. long and weighing lO^oz., and an 

 ordinary double multiplying reel. 



An Angler for Fifteen Summers. 



MR. PAGE BEFORE THE SENATORS. 



IVf R- GEORGE SHEPARD PAGE, of New York city, 

 JltJL whose valuable pioneer work in behalf of fishcul- 

 ture and the distribution of food fishes dates back twenty 

 years or more, and is known to everybody, gave a very 

 unique display of fish and flowers at the Senate restau- 

 rant in Washington on Fridayand Saturday April 6-7, which 

 attracted much attention, and convinced the national 

 legislators that their appropriations for the U. S. Fish- 

 eries Commission had been put to good practical use. 

 The exhibition, which was a novelty to residents of the 

 capital, resembled in its conspicuous features the annual 

 spring opening at Fulton Market. The process of fish 

 hatching was intelligently shown, and eggs and fry in 

 numerous stages of development and growth were ex- 

 hibited. There were 20,000 brook trout fry 10 days old, 

 500 lake trout fry 6 weeks old, 1,000 rainbow trout eggs 

 bursting out momentarily into life, and one and two year 

 old trout weighing a pound. The tanks included speci- 

 mens of grown rainbow trout from California, grayling 

 from Clark's hatchery in Michigan, whitefish (Corego- 

 nus) from Michigan, lake trout (S. namaycush). Loch 

 Leven trout, brown trout, arid /ario from Great Britain, 

 besides some beautiful specimens of the triple-tailed 

 Japanese gold fish, the king-i-yo. 



The flowers and plants were represented by palms, 

 roses, arbutus, jonquils and other early blooms of spring, 

 which were distributed as favors with lavish generosity 



by Mr. Page, whose personal expenditure must have been 

 very considerable. Invitations were especially extended 

 to Senators and Representatives and the chief officials of 

 the Agricultural Department and the Fisheries Commis- 

 sion, but all visitors were cordially received and wel- 

 comed. Rangeley Lake trout, which had been caught 

 through the ice, rainbow trout, Eastern brook trout, and 

 other varieties of fish, as well as terrapin, were served at 

 the tables of the restaurant by Mr. Page's direction, so 

 that all could sample and appreciate. 



Senators Frye and Sawyer, Commissioner Colman, 

 Medical Director Baxter, U.S.A., Prof. C. V. Riley, and 

 many other Senators and men of distinction, were most 

 interested observers and admirers of the display. Mr. 

 Page found a valuable coadjutor in his brother, N. F. 

 Page, who is one of Commissioner McDonald's chief 

 assistants. 



In its entirety and its significance, the exhibit was 

 essentially the outcome of the early efforts of Mr. J 'age 

 in 1868, who was at that time and for eleven years at 

 intervals, subsequently, president or vice-president of the 

 Rangeley Club organization so widely known among 

 anglers. Mr. Page's big 30in. trout appeared conspic- 

 uously as a representative of those famous waters of 

 Maine, and astonished all beholders. As an expression 

 of what has been done already, and an earnest of what 

 may be still further accomplished in the future, the 

 aggregate display was most convincing and gratifying, 

 and Mr. Page must feel a sense of recompense in the 

 satisfaction he has in having been prompted to thus 

 honor the U. S. Fish Commission and illustrate its valua- 

 ble work, and present arguments so tangible and potent 

 that they cannot be gainsaid. Charles Hallock. 

 Washington, April 7. 



PROTECTION FOR RICHMOND CO., N. Y. 



THE following is the full text of Assembly bill No. !50. 

 introduced by Mr. Cromwell— read twice, and, by 

 unanimous consent, ordered to a third reading and printed 

 — ordered, when printed, to be committed to the commit- 

 tee on game laws, retaining its place on the order of 

 third reading, entitled an act for the better protection of 

 fish in the waters of Richmond county: 



Tlie People of the Stale of New York, represented in Senate and 

 Assembly, do enact as fallows: 



Section 1. From aitid after the passage of this act it shall not bo 

 lawful, by day or by night, to put, place, draw, or in anv (Winner 

 use any purse net, pound, weir or other device except tool: and 

 line for the capture of menhaden or other fish in the waters of 

 Raritan Bay within the jurisdiction of the State of New York and 

 limits of Richmond county; nor in any arm, bay, river, haven, 

 creek, basin, sound or kill thereof. But this act shall not ho 

 deemed to prohibit the use of fykes as now allowed by law in 

 accordance with such regulations as the Board of Supervisors 

 may have declared, or may hereafter declare. 



Sec. 2. Any person or persons offending against the provisions 

 of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and in addi- 

 tion thereto shall he liable to a penalty of one hundred dollara or 

 thirty days' imprisonment, or both, as the court may determine. 

 The money collected under this act shall be divided equally 

 between the poor fund of the county and the person or persons 

 making the complaint. 



Sec. 3. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are 

 hereby repealed. 



Sec. 4. This act shall take effect immediately. 



This excellent bill will, if it becomes a law, preserve 

 the waters of Staten Island Sound, the Kills and a great 

 portion of New York and Prince's Bay. These are the 

 great fishing grounds of thousands of anglers, and should 

 be protected from the devastation of pound and purse 

 nets. The fykes are an old institution and are left undis- 

 turbed. We hope it will become a laAv. 



Florida Fishing.— Greenport, L. L, April 3.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: I have just received a letter from 

 my good angling cousin, S. (J. Clarke, of Marietta, Ga., 

 from which I make a short extract: "I returned from 

 Florida Feb. 13, having found the weather there for most 

 of the time cold and damp. I think the sun did not shine 

 more than one-thud of the time at Halifax Inlet, where 

 I was located, and as in winter the good fish will only 

 bite on some sunshiny days, I had but few fishing days. 

 Still I killed about oOOlbs. of fish with rod and reel, but 

 no very large ones; a sting-ray of 201bs. was, I think, 

 my heaviest fish. As to tarpon, which is now the ambi- 

 tion of the New York anglers to capture, there were none 

 around, as yet, in these waters. Further south some very 

 large ones have been killed by anglers from the North. 

 A man should be strong and vigorous, as well as skilled, 

 to tackle such a furious monster with any chance of suc- 

 cess, and his rod, reel, line and hook of the very best— and 

 with all these appliances he might kill one out of four 

 that he hooked. So, I fear it is too late in the clay for 

 you or I."— Isaac McLellan. 



Illegal Fishing in the Mohawk.— Cohoes, N. Y., 

 April 2.— Editor Forest and Stream: I write to you to 

 ask what can be done to stop the illegal fishing that is 

 done here in the Mohawk River? The poachers begin to 

 spear and haul seines as soon as the river opens in the 

 spring and they keep it up till it closes in the fall. Large 

 bass and pike are often caught with marks of the spear 

 on them. In the early part of the fishing season 

 the fishing is good, but by the first of August most all the 

 fish have been netted. I have tried to get the local 

 authorities to do something but cannot. I cannot do 

 anything myself for I am a cripple with rheumatism and 

 can't even fish. I hope you can see some way to remedy 

 this.— W. J. Westover. [First make sure that you can 

 catch some persons violating the law and then send for a 

 State game protector. The protector for your district is 

 Seymour C. Armstrong, Weavertown, Warren county. 

 If he cannot or will not come, write to Mathew Kennedy, 

 of Hudson, and he will attend to the matter.] 



A Correction.— Editor Forest and Stream: In Mr. 

 Orvis's last article the following passage quoted from one 

 of his unnamed correspondents appears: "I do not know 

 whether what is known as the Nottingham style of 

 angling is practiced in the States and Canada; and think- 

 ing you might like to read what has recently been written 

 on the subject, I beg to forward for your acceptance as a 

 present Mr. Martin's book. As Mr. Martin is an un- 

 educated man and quite incapable of writing such a book 

 I am inclined to believe that he supplied only the notes 

 while. Mr. Marston, proprietor of the Fishing Gazette, 

 was the chief author." In reference to this allow me to 

 state that Mr. Martin, though certainly not a literary 

 man, is far from uneducated. He has observed closely, 



can think clearly and expresses himself simply and to 

 the purpose; furthermore, I know Mi-. Marston did not 

 write a word of the book. Mi-. Marston was a novice in 

 the Nottingham style of fishing at the time the book was 

 written, and he placed the MSS. in my hands for 

 revision and correction, paying me liberally for the work. 

 I punctuated, recast and edited the book, but supplied no 

 original matter; the book is Mr. Martin's work. The 

 "Trent Otter" is the first and only book on that delight- 

 ful style of bait-fishing, which, by the way, I hope to yet 

 introduce to the American angler. — j! Harrington 

 Keene (Cossayuna, N. Y.). 



The Bounty on Seals.— The Committee of Fisheries 

 and Game of the Massachusetts House of Representa- 

 tives to whom was recommitted the bill of fixing a 

 bounty on seals recommend a new draft of this bill. 

 It will be remembered that in the previous bill it was 

 provided that the bounties should be paid by the State, 

 and that the Finance Committee of the House to'whom 

 the bill was referred reported it adversely. The new 

 draft of the bill reads as follows: Sec. 1. Any person 

 who shall kill any seal within the limits of this Com- 

 monwealth, and shall under oath produce satisfactory 

 evidence thereof, together with the tail of the seal killed, 

 to the clerk of the city or town within whose limits the 

 seal was killed, shall receive from the clerk of such city 

 or town a certificate thereof stating the fact; and upon 

 filing the said certificate with the city or town treasurer, 

 such person shall be paid out of the treasury of such city 

 or town tbe sum of one dollar for each and every seal 

 bo killed. See. 3. Any city or town paying money under 

 the pro visions of this act, shall be reimbursed therefor, 

 annually, from the treasury of the county in which 

 such city or town is located. Sec. 3. This act shall 

 take effect upon its passage. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co. 



Every person who it sufficiently interested in the National 

 Park to do his share toward securing protection for it, is in- 

 vited to send for one of the Forest and Stream's petition 

 blanks. They are sent free. 



THE MENHADEN QUESTION. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



"Big Keel" says the bays are the natural spawning places 

 of the menhaden, which is a mistake, for they leave our 

 coast full of spawn in November and December, and come 

 back without spawn in the spring, showing that they spawn 

 in the open sea during the winter, Mr. Eugene G. Black- 

 ford made a public statement to the same effect, a few years 

 ago, and his attention being called to its inaccuracy, he in- 

 vestigated, and when he found he was wrong, acknowledged 

 his mistake. The present U. S. Fish Commissioner, Col. 

 McDonald, has fallen into the same error, on which he has 

 built an argument which, has been used by the Rod and Reel 

 Association against tbe menhaden fishermen, and also lately 

 by the Forest and Stream, all of which is wrong, for it 

 rests on a false premise. Col. McDonald's attention has been 

 called to the subject, and he is to make an investigation on 

 his own account. 



"Big Reel" makes a statement in regard to Spanish mack- 

 erel which carries its own refutation, for men don't give 

 away twenty-five fish worth a dollar each, and don't make 

 oil and guano from fish worth twenty-five cents a pound. 

 Fresh fish, as they come from the water, are Avorth about 

 one-half of one centper pound to render into oil and guano. 

 Mr. Martin says he is the champion of hook and line fishing, 

 which is his right, and I am the. champion of fin fishing, 

 and believe that fishermen have the right to utilize improved 

 methods of reaping the products of the sea the same as other 

 men utilize other improvements of the age, and if he is 

 right, it is in order to strike down any imorovement that one 

 may think interferes with their profit or pleasure. The 

 hook and line is only one step forward from tbe barbarous 

 spear. He also says, "My aim is and has been to avoid mis- 

 statements, and to so write as neither to mislead, misinform 

 nor mystify such of your readers as may not have directed 

 their attention especially to the subject of conservation of 

 the Atlantic food fisheries. I write by the record, and with 

 that I am content." All of which has been my desire and 

 intention, and if Mr. Martin had been more familiar with 

 the subject under consideration it would have made his task' 

 easier, for I am bound to say he has not yet produced any 

 evidence to make his position good. 



Mr. George Palmer, with others, asked the Massachusetts 

 Legislature last winter for a law restricting trap and pound 

 fishing, and after be and his friends had stated their case to 

 the committee they gave them leave to withdraw. During 

 the hearing Mr. Palmer stated that there was poor hook 

 and line fishing, which was disproved by the Wood's Holl 

 man; and I will state for the benefit of Mr. Martin, if he 

 does not know it, that sea bass since 1881 have been plenty 

 on the Atlantic coast from the Delaware to Cape Cod. Be- 

 fore 1881 they had been scarce for about thirty years, but 

 since their return have been so plenty as often* to be a drug 

 on the market. Mr. Palmer in his address stated that when 

 Christ invited the fishermen to leave their nets and come 

 with Him and be fishers of men, they accepted, and never 

 since then has a Christian been a net fisherman. Notwith- 

 standing the fact that afterward the same fishermen under 

 the direction of Christ himself made the greatest catch of 

 fish with a net that we have a record of in the Bible. Mr. 

 Palmer's facts and conclusions in regard to fish are as wide 

 of the actual facts as his scripture quotation. Mr. Martin 

 says we appropriate the menhaden yield almost bodily, 

 which I deny by producing G. Brown Goode as authority, 

 wiio says where we destroy one, predaceous animals destroy 

 one hundred million; which, if true, and I think it is, should 

 set the whole matter at rest. 



The trouble with Mr. Martin, when he quotes me in re- 

 gard to menhaden oxf shore, is that he don't understand our 

 3usiness. For days together when fish are at sea they don't 

 come near the surface of the water, then again there is often 

 a rough sea, windy weather, thick fogs, which prevents 

 open sea fishing, while in rivers and protected places on the 

 coast it is easy to prosecute our industry which, if by law 

 we could not use, would destroy the balance necessary for 

 the pi'ofitable prosecution of our business. I assume that 

 Mr. Martin thinks we could profitably carry on our busi- 

 ness if we were not allowed to fish within one-half mile of 

 the coast. 



I am quoted as saying that menhaden is the bait or food 

 of most every hsh in the sea, which is true in the sense I 

 state it. The mackerel fleet use large quantities for bait, 

 and if one hundred barrels of menhaden is fed to them, is 

 it bait or food. No one will contend that mackerel ever stay 

 in the vicinity of live menhaden for the purpose of feeding 

 on them. Twenty-five years ago 100,000 barrels of menha- 

 den were fed to mackerel by the mackerel fleet. Bank and 

 shore fishermen who fish for halibut, cod and haddock, use 



