130 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Sept. 8, 1887. 



except that a little pickerel struck and was hauled in 

 only to be thrown overboard again. The day being cool 

 and pleasant we took a canoe trip up the river. It wound 

 around among clumps of willows, through groves of elms 

 and oaks, and in some places was bordered by wide 

 meadows of tall waving grass with here and there larger 

 meadow flowers that stood high above and exhaled a per- 

 fume that sweetened the crisp air and turned it into a 

 life-giving elixir that no compound druggist ever made 

 could equal. As we were passing a large log that lay on 

 the bank of the river there was a sudden rush and a 

 chuckle, and the quick eye caught a glimpse of a wood- 

 chuck as he darted into a hollow in the log. The canoe 

 was allowed to drop down stream a rod or two while John 

 got out his little rifle. In a moment the curiosity of the 

 little animal got the better of its instinct and it stuck its 

 head out of the hole to reconnoiter. The little gun 

 cracked, there were a few shrill whistling sounds and all 

 was over for that "chuck." Canoeing was so pleasant 

 that we ran down to see if the old Mazeppa was safe, and 

 decided to break camp and go home the next day. 



In the early morning, after a night of resting sleep, we, 

 with sad hearts, broke camp and started for the Mazeppa, 

 well satisfied with the exquisite enjoyment our trip had 

 yielded, and willing to leave to conscienceless potters the 

 labor of taking the hundreds of fish that might have been 

 brought to basket. The sailboat was gradually worked 

 through the lily pads to where the fresh breeze filled its 

 sails, and we were off for a day's cruise, as we calculated 

 to sail about the lake and not go home till evening. John 

 threw the troller over the side of the boat, and in less 

 than half a minute had a tremendous yank on the line. 

 At the same moment the water broke about 50ft. behind 

 the boat, and a large fish cut a semicircle in the air at 

 least 3ft. above the surface. 



"Muskalunge, by my troth!" said I, and John com- 

 menced to haul in, but "the fish held to the water for fully 

 ten minutes before he came over the side of the boat, and 

 then as he flopped we saw that it was only a big pickerel. 

 ** To look at," as I once heard a "Hoosier" say, " I should 

 reckon it was right smart of fifteen pounds'" but when 

 the spring scale was applied it proved a trifle short of 

 eight pounds. And so a big fish story was spoiled. This 

 is ^ust about the usual foundation for twenty-five and 

 thirty pound muskalunge. Some one catches an eight or 

 ten pound fish and multiplies it by three, and he has the 

 veritable piscatorial legend of the'season. 



After a day of delightful sailing with a strong, cool 

 breeze, and a dinner eaten under the shade of monster 

 maples where a little spring came bubbling up from the 

 depths of the earth, and where the maids of the woodland 

 had spread the softest of moss carpets, we returned home 

 in the glowing, golden twilight. W. 



BASS IN THE DELAWARE. 



BLACK bass fishing in the upper waters of the Dela- 

 ware at Lacka waxen, Pa., is always good. This is 

 the most accessible and most certain fishing ground for 

 New Yorkers; it is 110 miles distant. The scenery is 

 magnificent and the mountain air bracing. The wind- 

 ings of the river, with its clear waters, deep pools and 

 massive rocks, make it a stream of rare beauty. The 

 splendid stretches of water between the riffs contain bass 

 in its pools and under sheltering rocks in numbers that 

 make angling a success. The mountains rise up in im- 

 posing grandeur all along the river banks, and the eye 

 perpetually rests on beautiful scenery. 



I have visited these waters every fortnight during this 

 summer, going out on Friday nights after office hours 

 and getting on the waters early Saturday mornings, and 

 with a company can always secure twenty bass each in a 

 day, weighing from ilb. to l^lbs., with a two, three or 

 four-pounder thrown in. There are clear cold water 

 springs at intervals along the shore that make good camp- 

 ing grounds. You can have your boat carted up stream 

 four or five miles and fish down, anchoring by the big 

 rocks and pools and fishing there. Lots of excitement in 

 getting your boat over the riffs. If the boat catches on a 

 rock, fish before trying to get off. 



The best fishing is down stream, and best of all right at 

 the village of Lacka waxen. The fishing is done between 

 the riffs, and for thorough enjoyment the angler should 

 set out for the day, float down the river, fishing until late 

 in the afternoon or dark, then have his boat hauled on to 

 the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which runs alongside 

 the river, and row home. Or leave your boat on the river 

 side, and Captain Buck, the host of Lackawaxen, will 

 send for it next morning. You can't row back on account 

 of the riffs and the current in the river. Unfortunately 

 Delaware Eiver black bass, at least in this neighborhood, 

 do not take the fly freely. Bait is the best lure, minnow, 

 larnprey, eels and clippers, the last named the surest. I 

 have seen on several occasions this summer a party of 

 five fishing from two boats, with ladies in the party, 

 land 100 bass. For steady fishing I do not believe any 

 distant river beats this one almost at our doors. The fare 

 is $3.40 there and back if you buy a book of fifty tickets. 

 Lackawaxen, Erie R. E., is the place to go to, and Captain 

 Buck has horses, dogs, boats, bait and men to cater to 

 your wants. Mountain Brook. 



New York, Aug. 37. 



A Pompano in Rhode Island Waters.— Newport, 

 R. I., Aug. 27. — Last week a friendly fish marketman 

 called me in to identify a strange fish. I did. It was a 

 pompano of about fib. weight. I invested a dime and 

 had it for supper. It was caught by hook off the rocks. 

 Its capture furnishes a certain amount of corroboration 

 to the views of those who take more trouble than I feel 

 like taking to prove that the Gulf Stream is either 

 further inshore or stronger or something than usual. 

 Certainly the pompano is a denizen of the Florida keys 

 and even at Key West is comparatively scarce, scarce to 

 such an extent that though I having caught in that 

 vicinity in two seasons say 500 fish, I have but a half 

 dozen pompanos on my list. In 1875 at Wood's Holl, 

 about three were brought to Prof. Baird, caught in pounds 

 in the Sound, and in each case it was a new fish to the 

 fishermen.— Piseco, 



Hudson, Wis., Aug. 27. — Our anglers are having great 

 luck trout fishing. Wednesday, the 24th, Sam Cockburn 

 and Steve Jones caught three rainbow trout that weighed 

 9|lbs.. the largest, weighed 4£lbs. Thursday, the 25th, J. 

 E. Jones caught two that weighed 34 lbs. each. — Beauti- 

 ful. 



A Big Salmon. — A salmon 87-J-lbs. in weight was ex- 

 posed for sale recently in the Central Fish Market, Far- 

 rington Road, London, by Mr. A. Drake. It was a male 

 fish, or what is known in the north of England among 

 fishermen as an "eke." No scales were on it, and it was 

 turning somewhat brown or copper-colored. There was 

 an indentation on the tail part just beyond the umbilical 

 fin, which showed that it had been gaffed or leistered. It 

 was taken in the river Tay, on Mr. Dunn's estate. 



A Connecticut Salmon.— Hartford, Conn., Aug. 29.— 

 I send you a photo of a 101b. Connecticut River salmon, 

 caught last May. It shows that the labors of the Fish 

 Commissioners bring forth results. — Everett S. Geer. 



Dr. M. G. Ellzly, one of the veteran contributors to 

 Forest and Stream, has removed to Woodstock, Md., 

 where he will reside. 



ONTARIO LAW. 



COPY OF AN OKDER-IN-COUNCrL, APPROVED BY HIS HONOR THE 

 LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR, THE 26TH BAY OF MAY, A.D. 1887. 



UPON the recommendation of the Honorable the Commissioner 

 of Crown Lands, the Committee of Council advise that the 

 accompanying regulations under the '-Ontario Fisheries Act, 1885," 

 tie approvedof and established by your Honor. Certified, J. LONS- 

 DALE Capreol, Asst. Clerk Executive Council, Ontario. 

 The Honorable the Commissioner of Crown Lands. 



The Commissioner of Crown Lands has the honor to recommend 

 to the Executive Council that the following regulations be made 

 under "The Ontario Fisheries Act, 1885," namely: 



1. That leases granted for the purpose of conveying the fishinj 

 lights pertaining to public lands adjoining the rivers, streams auc 

 lakes of the Province, shall be for the depth of one chain inland 

 from the water's edge. 



2. Such leases shall be granted, as far as practicable, to respon- 

 sible parties, able and willing to improve the lakes and rivers and 

 guard them well. Applicants having in view the personal use and 

 enjoyment of the fishing rights to be generally preferred to such 

 as may offer higher rents with a view to farming or sub-letting 

 the right to fish. Care to be taken that residents in the Province 

 be allowed to enjoy a due proportion of the fishing rights. 



3. That the valuation of the lands for rent shall be based on the 

 character and condition of the rivers, streams and lakes which 

 they adjoin, as made known to the Department of Crown Lands 

 by reports of official inspectors or private individuals, all such re- 

 ports to be considered confidential, and not to be communicated 

 to other parties without the express authorization of the Com- 

 missioner of Crown Lands. Offers made by applicants for leases 

 not to be communicated to other applicants. 



4. That leases of lands made and granted under the provisions 

 of "The Ontario Fisheries Act," shall not be held to convey the 

 right to work any mine that may be found on such lands, or to cut 

 any timber thereon. 



5. That licenses and permits to fish shall be granted upon the 

 payment in advance of such fees as the Commissioner of Crown 

 Lands may from time to time determine, and shall be valid 

 until the close of the angling season of the year in wRich it is 

 granted. 



6. That excessive or wasteful fishing or killing of fish shall in- 

 volve the cancellation of the lease, license or permit covering the 

 waters in which it has taken place. 



7. That it be obligatory upon any person who has an domicile in 

 the Province of Ontario, and who desires to fish in the rivers, 

 streams or lakes under the control of the Province, to procure a 

 permit or license to that effect from the Commissioner of Crown 

 Lands before beginning to fish. 



8. That no person shall, except under authority of a fishery 

 lease, fishing license, or permit, fish for, catch or kill any fish in 

 any inland lake, river or stream adjoining the ungranted lands of 

 the Province. 



9. That no person shall, without lawful authority, fish for, 

 catch, or kill, by any device or means, any fish during their 

 spawning time, or disturb or destroy their spawn or spawning- 

 beds. 



10. That it shall not be lawful to fish for, catch, or kill, brook 

 trout, salmon trout, whitefish, bass, pike, pickerel, maskinonge, 

 tulifcee, grayling, herring, or perch, in any inland lake, river, or 

 stream under the control of the Province, by any device or means 

 other than by hook and line, or angling, except in waters leased or 

 licensed for the express purpose of net fishing. 



11. That it shall not be lawful to us any explosives, or chemical 

 material, or compound, for the purpose of killing or catching 

 fish. 



12. That fishing by torch-light, or other artificial light, placed in 

 or above the water is prohibited. 



13. That no person shall fish for, catch, kill, buy, sell, or have in 

 possession any fish at times when the taking or killing of fish is 

 prohibited by lawful authority. 



14. That parties holding leases under the provisions of "The On- 

 tario Fisheries Act" shall not have any recourse against the 

 Government of the Province for any hindrance to their use and 

 enjoyment of the fishing rights pertaining to the lauds leased, by 

 the operation of any law enacted or that may be hereafter enacted 

 by the Parliament of Canada, or by any action of the Government 

 of Canada, or any person employed thereunder. 



15. It shall not be lawful to use or set in any of the inland riveis, 

 streams or water courses within the Province, any net, rack, trap, 

 weir, or obstruction for the purpose of catching fish, or whereby 

 the free passage of fish up and down the same may be obstructed 

 or prevented. 



16. The catching, killing or molesting of fish when passing or at- 

 tempting to pass through any fishway or fish-pass, or in sur- 

 mounting any obstacle or leaps, the use of any invention to catch, 

 kill or molest fish in the mill-heads or water-courses appurtenant 

 thereto, are hereby forbidden. 



17. It shall not be lawful to put into any waters, in any inland 

 river, stream or lake in the Province where fish are taken, any 

 offal, blood, putrid brine, putrid fish or other deleterious substance, 

 and all fish, offal or filth of any description whosoever accruing 

 from the catching and curing of fish, shall be burned or buried 

 twenty yards distant from the water's edge of said river, stream 

 or lake. 



Close Seasons. 



It shall not be lawful to fish for, catch, kill or have in possession: 

 Speckled trout, between the 15th .September and 1st May. 

 Pickerel (dore), between the 15th April and 15th May. 

 Bass and mackinong6, between the loth April and loth June. 

 "White fish and salmon trout, between the 1st November and 

 30th November. 



T. B. Pardee, Commissioner of Crown Lands. 

 Department of Crown Lands, Toronto, May 5, 1887. 



^ishcnUurt. 



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



MIGRATION OF LAKE SUPERIOR FISH. 



BY W. D. TOMLIJf. 

 [Read before the American Fisheries Society.] 



THE whitefish of Lake Superior waters is prized for its 

 edible qualities, and the increasing scarceness is caus- 

 ing much concern among those whose tastes incline toward 

 this really fine fish for table use; already the supply is being 

 drawn largely from Canadian waters and from Lake Winni- 

 peg; year by year men engaged in fishing have seen their 

 feeding grounds almost deserted and the numbers still 

 diminishing, until at last to find a large whitefish in their 

 nets is indeed a curiosity. The present season's fishing finds 

 scarce any body of fish north of* Ontonogan, Michigan. 



The fishermen of Wisconsin and Minnesota are thus de- 

 prived of any chance of obtaining this fish by the gradual 

 desertion of the old spawning grounds. I have said gradual 

 because the disappearance has been fluctuating; some years 

 the catches were prolific, then growing scarcer. 



In the memory of men living in Dututh to-day, whitefish 

 could be seen in Sucker Bay, twenty years ago, so thickly 



crowding one another that the water seemed alive with , 

 them. A thousand barrels of whitefish could have been put 

 up from this single spawning or feeding ground. 



Captain Vose Palmer, an old fisherman who owns property 

 on this bay, states that twenty-five years ago it was enough i 

 to send an enthusiast wild to see the immense quantities of 

 fish come in on the swells until the waters were apparently 

 a compact mass of fish. 



Captain R. H. Palmer, a brother of Vose Palmer, who has 

 fished Superior waters nearly thirty years, says that begin- 

 ning at Sucker Bay or Stony Point, and following the north 

 shore line eastward up to Thunder Bay. near the mouth of 

 the many rivers and streams that come tumbling into Lake 

 Superior, you could find the feeding grounds of the white- 

 fish, and in the bays near to them millions of young white- , 

 fish could be seen in their season. 



Captain Alex. McDougall, a lake captain, whose earlier 

 years were spent in fishing, has cruised in almost every bay, 

 creek, river or stream in this end of Lake Superior, and has 

 carefully noted the habits of the whitefish, and knew both 

 their spawning grounds, and feeding grounds, and has seen 

 the young fry of whitefish byNfche million along the shores 

 both of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Captain McDougall has 

 endeavored for years to call attention to the alarming decrease 

 of whitefish and to find some remedy for the same. 



With the demand for whitefish, and the opening up of 

 towns in the great Northwest, larger areas of nets were 

 spread, more men were employed in the business, steam tugs 

 were employed to carry the fish to the trains that delivered 

 the fish to the towns on the prairies of the West and beyond 

 the Mississippi ; then came the first notice of any spasmodic 

 migration or variation of the schools of fish on their feediug 

 grounds. It became so noticeable as the years rolled by that 

 the most observant and intelligent fishermen counted the 

 years. There came an immense glut of fish, markets were 

 overstocked, the nets in the water were filled, and before the 

 men could dispose of the first catch aud get to their nets, the 

 fish were dead and thus useless. That season much fish was 

 destroyed, not by any carelessness, but by such immense 

 schools coming into the nets that the men could not take care 

 of them. 



The year following the season's catch was a diminution of 

 the usual catch, the next season was still smaller, the fourth 

 season was almost a failure; these singular periods vary, 

 sometimes coming every fourth or fifth year, and until the 

 men ceased expecting catches of whitefish they almost knew 

 about the proportion of whitefish they might expect. These 

 facts are confirmed tay Captain Martyn Wheeler and Captain 

 Ed. S. Smith, both engaged in fishiDg for some years, as 

 well as fishermen of other nationalities who have been fish- 

 ing these waters for more than twenty years. 



The fishermen were at one time prodigal of the fishing 

 wealth of this inland sea; it was each for himself, and un- 

 doubtedly grew careless taoth of the manner of netting and 

 the disposing of offal when cleaning the fish for the market. 

 When the facts began to present themselves in fierce array, 

 "that there was a possibility of over-fishing Lake Superior/' 

 then the fishermen began to enlarge the size of the mesh of 

 their nets, and to discontinue the use of the pound nets; and 

 using only seine nets for their work, the size of meshes was 

 increased from 3>^in. to 4in. Still finding their catches 

 diminishing they inquired for causes; at this point the U. S, 

 Pish Commission by some means had circulated along the 

 chain of the Great Lakes the information that all offal 

 dumped into the lake near to spawning grounds was injuri- 

 ous to spawn, and that taoth trout and whitefish would seek 

 other grounds to spawn if fish offal was dumped into the 

 lake. 



One after another all the old grounds had taeen deserted 

 until fishermen who went to Sucker Bay. twenty miles 

 from Duluth, now have to go one hundred miles away, and 

 then only get an occasional whitefish; while the fishing 

 grounds proper lay in the body of the great lake, too far for 

 fishermen at the eastern end of Lake Superior to reach them. 

 It looked as if the fishermen had "killed the goose that laid 

 the golden egg," not by any greed or gross carelessness, but 

 by ignorance and inadvertence. 



Many of them believe firmly that the coming of the schools 

 of whitefish and lake trout are spasmodic, though they 

 cannot assign causes for this. They think that after a sea- 

 son of unusual northeasterly gales succeeding spaAvning 

 time the spawn is destroyed tay a too violent agitation of the 

 waters. And as Lake. Superior eastern storms are often long 

 continued and of destructive force, the next season's supply 

 of young fry is very small in numbers. Another cause may 

 be the careless dumping of fish offal on the feeding grounds, 

 this causing the whitefish to seek new grounds until this 

 substance is destroyed, and thus in three or four years the 

 fish have returned again to the old feeding grounds. 



The fishermen of Lake Superior have learned that the 

 whitefish is a very timid fish; that continued netting for two 

 or three seasons will drive them to seek new grounds; and 

 that once driven away it takes years for the schools to come 

 to the same grounds again. The sentiment is increasing 

 that the utmost care must be taken not to drive away the 

 young fry that have been planted by the Minnesota Fish 

 Commission and are finding their way to feeding grounds 

 that were fished ten years ago, 



Dumjth, Minn. 



w 



THE NEW YORK FISH COMMISSION. 



E recently noticed the report of the Commissioners, 

 promising to do the same with the reports of the Su- 

 perintendents. The first report is of the Caledonia Station, 

 and is simply an account of fry and eggs distributed in 1886, 

 without other note or comment. The following is a con- 

 densed tatale of the distribution : 



Lake trout 1,921,000 



Brook trout 1,937,000 



R aintaow trout 1,142,000 



Whitefish 430,000 



Hybrids 45,000 



Brown trout 116,000 



Total number of fry 5,894,000 



Lake trout eggs 251,000 



Whitefish eggs 100,000 



Brook trout eggs 25,000 



Brown trout eggs 1,500 



Rainbow trout eggs 546,100 



Total number of eggs 923,600 



The report from Cold Spring Harbor goes more into detail 

 of the work that has been done on the grounds, as well as 

 with the fish, and an interesting article on the hatching of 

 the smelt is given quite at length. There is also a figure of 

 a new automatic tidal hatcher, especially designed for float- 

 ing eggs, which is not only ingenious but very effective. 

 The following is the table of distribution from this station: 

 Penobscot salmon— Hudson River. .297,873 

 f Lake Ontario. . . 99,200 



St. Lawrence... 45,500 



446,573 



Landlocked salmon— Franklin county. . . 31,020 



Brook trout 195,000 



Lake trout 100,000 



Brown trout 26,500 



Whitefish 943,300 



Smelts... 2,100,000 



Tomcods 2,225,000 



Lobsters 4,000 



Total. 



..6,0-70,393 



