May 9, 1889.] 



CROSSING OF SALMON AND TROUT. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Will brook and salmon trout cross ? There is a pond in 

 Madison county, N. Y., which contained speckled trout, and 

 which some years ago was stocked with salmon. Now 

 many claim that the trout is a cross. Certainly the trout 



SUNAPEE LAKE TROUT. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I began fishing in Sunapee Lake in 1857, at North 

 Point, a ledge on "the northwestern shore of Sunapee. We 

 used to catch only the speckled native trout, but they 

 were plenty and we caught hundreds of them weighing 

 from 1 to' 61bs. each. Jacob R. Hutchinson and I have 

 been fishing together all these years. The St. John's 

 River trout have been put into the lake since that time, 

 so have the landlocked salmon and black bass. Trout 

 lishing is now best carried on in depths of 40 to 80ft. , 

 black bass are near the shore. Trout fishing is what we 

 old fishermen care most for, and we have pulled out some 

 big ones in deep water. Mr. Amos Woodbury a few years 

 ago caught a trout that weighed dowui pretty well, but I 

 guess I took the biggest prize last July. I started from 

 home early in the morning and got on to the water be- 

 fore sunrise; it was so foggy that I hardly knew where 

 T went, but rowed for Hedgehog fishing ground. I 

 anchored and put out my line, in a few minutes some- 

 thing nibbled at my bait. I took the line in hand and 

 found a big trout had the hook. For thirty or forty 

 minutes I pulled and he pulled, it was a hard pull and a 

 long pull, but I hauled him in and steered for the nearest 

 cottage to weigh him. Mr. Cheney weighed the fish im- 

 mediately upon taking it out of the water, and Ms weight 

 was 151bs. ; after being out of the water a few hours he 

 was somewhat lighter in weight, but was pronounced 

 the largest trout that had ever been taken out of Sunapee 

 Lake. The length of the fish was about 30in. Until this 

 catch, my friend Mr. Woodbury rejoiced in being the 

 champion fisherman of Sunapee Lake; but I understand 

 that the people of Sunapee now record Sullivan Marston 

 as the man who won the day and the biggest trout. I 

 expect to get his mate the coming summer. If I do I will 

 write again. Sullivan MARSTON. 



Nbwpobt, New Hampshire. 



The First Striped Bass.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 I caught two striped bass in the surf yesterday, fishing 

 with rod and reel and using white worms for bait. These 

 are the first taken on this coast this season in the above 

 manner, and, as far as I have been able to learn, the 

 earliest on record. My eldest boy caught a Southern 

 sculpin (Cottus octodecim spinosus) to-day. Are they 

 common so far north or at this earlv date? — Big Reel 

 (Ocean Beach, N. J., May 1). [Mr. V. N. Edwards, of 

 Woods Holl, Mass. , has obtained striped bass in his vicinity 

 on the following early dates: April 24, 1877, Falmouth, 

 Mass., 1; April 23, 18S0, Martha's Vineyard, 1; April 27, 

 1880, Martha's Vineyard, 156: April 25, 1S83, New Bed- 

 ford, Mass., 1. The eighteen-spined sculpin is a winter 

 resident on the New Jersey coast, seldom arriving there 

 before the month of November; it is much more abundant 

 northward, extending at least to Labrador.] 



Fishing Prospects in New Brunswick.— The present 

 season in New Brunswick is one of the earliest on record, 

 and no one can remember ever having seen nature 

 arrayed so soon in its garb of green. Mr. Robert Orr, 

 fishery warden for the Upper Miramichi, informs me that 

 upward of 125 salmon (spent fish) have lately been taken 

 with the fly in that river at distances varying from six to 

 eight miles above Boiestown, a circumstance never before 

 known. — Edward Jack (Fredericton, N. B., May 1), 



Mackerel at Provtncetown. — A mackerel was caught 

 at Provincetown, Mass., May 1. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Fined for Illegal Fishing. — Editor Forest and 

 Stream: Our fish are enjoying a rest, the first in many 

 years. This rest, unexpected alike to both fisb and fish- 

 ermen, was brought about by the sudden appearance of 

 our fish warden, John W. Hague, Esq., of Pittsburgh, 

 who has been hard at work for montbs gathering evi- 

 dence against our illegal fishers. On Monday, the 15th 



Price of Shad. — In the markets of Washington, D. C, 

 shad were sold at retail, May 4, for five cents per pound. 

 Roe shad are offered at an equally low price. 



FISH CULTURE IN OHIO. 



DAYTON, Ohio, May 6. The protection that the State 

 has given the fish in the rivers, and the regular plant- 

 ing of fry in the streams has given Ohio as fine fishing 

 waters as can be found anywhere. The close season begins 

 May 1 and continues until June 15, and the bass are now 

 spawning. The rivers are full of bass, goggle eyes, rock 

 bass and channel catfish, and anglers will have greater sport 

 this summer than ever before, if there is a good stage of 

 water. 



President Oshorn, of the Ohio Fish Commission, reports 

 that the 150 jars of pickerel spawn in the State establish- 

 ment at Sandusky are hatching out rapidly, and that al- 

 ready a large quantity of the fry have beeu planted in the 

 streams of Michigan, and that within the next ten days 

 many millions will be deposited in the inland rivers of Ohio. 



One half acre of land on Peach Point, Put-in-Bay Island, 

 in Lake Erie, has been deeded to the Government as a site 

 for the fish hatchery, and .John Brown, Jr., a son of old 

 Ossawatomie Brown, is making the survey. The shores of 

 Peach Point are a wild stone bluff, and very picturesque, 

 niched and caverned. The heavy growths of cedar and 

 forest trees, wild vines and shrubery must be cleared away 

 before the building can begin. 



CANADIAN FISHERIES.* 



HPHE report on the fisheries of Canada for the year 1888 is 

 J. made up of the following elements: A brief introduc- 

 tion containing a general survey of the whole subject by the 

 Deputy Minister of Fisheries, a series of eight appendices 

 giving a statement of fishing bounties and the fishery 

 statistics of the inspectors and overseers of the various 

 provinces, a report on fish hreeding, and a report on the 

 fisheries protection service. 

 The yield of the fisheries in 1888 was as follows: 



Nova Scotia #7,817,080.42 



New Brunswick 2,941,80:-! 05 



British Columbia 1,902,105.50 



Quebec. 1,860,012.90 



Ontario 1,&39,809.09 



Prince Edward Island 870.802. 74 



Manitoba and Northwest Territories 180,677.00 



Total #17,418,510.76 



There has been a decrease of $967,592.99 as compared with 

 the returns for 1887. The greatest falling off has occurred in 

 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, while Ontario has shown 

 a large increase. The fisheries that have declined most 

 markedly are mackerel, sardines, lobsters, smelts, cod and 

 salmon, named in the order of their diminution. A notable 

 improvement is recorded in the catch of whitefish, hake, 

 eels and "pickerel" (wall-eyed pike). The cod yields nearly 

 one-fourth of the whole catch of the fisheries of Canada. 

 The decline in the mackerel fishery amounted to nearly half 

 a million dollars, or about one-third of the yield of this 

 species in 1887. In Nova Scotia "herring were plentiful and 

 prices fair. Shad and alewives appear to be on the increase, 

 while a slight shortage is noticeable in cod, undoubtedly 

 due to stormy and unfavora ble weather for boat .-fishing. 

 Herring fishing was, on the whole, remunerative, while 

 mackerel utterly failed. The assistant inspector lays great 

 stress on the damage occasioned to this fishery by the use of 

 purse seines, and he urgently recommends the utter pro- 

 hibition of this mode of fishing." 



In New Brunswick the returns show a decrease of over 



*Annual Report of the Department of Fisheries, Dominion of 

 Canada, for the year 1888. Ottawa, 1889. Pp. xxx-f 255+69+24. 



321 



a half million dollars from the yield in 1887, and of more 

 than a million dollars from the catch of 1886. The decline 

 was almost entirely in salmon, smelt and lobsters, and is 

 attributed to over-fishing. 



The fisheries of British Columbia show a decrease of 

 $76,691.50, due chiefly to the failure of the Fraser River sal- 

 mon fishing. By an order in Council, passed Nov. 26, 1888, 

 certain regulations were established for the protection of 

 this fishery. Nets, boats and other apparatus cannot be 

 used without a license from the Minister of Marine and 

 Fisheries. The minimum size of the meshes of salmon nets 

 is fixed at 6in. Drift nets are confined to tidal waters and 

 must not obstruct more than one-third of any river. No 

 salmon nets of any kind shall be used for salmon in fresh 

 waters. Fishing for salmon and the use of apparatus shall 

 be discontinued from 6 o'clock on Saturday morning to 6 

 o'clock on the following Monday morning. 



The value of the fisheries of Ontario was $1,839,869, being 

 an increase of $30S,019 over the amount of 1S87. This result 

 arose from judicious protection and a strict enforcement of 

 the fishery laws. 



In Priuce Edward Island there was a decided falling off in 

 the catch of mackerel and lobsters. The decline of the lob- 

 ster fishery is attributed to over-fishing and constant oppo- 

 sition to all restrictive measures. It is found also that the 

 oyster industry is being ruined for the w r ant of an adequate 

 close time. The present close season of three months and a 

 half is insufficient to protect the oyster. 



In Manitoba and the Northwest Territories the value of 

 the fisheries showed a considerable increase, the catch of 

 whitefish being nearly double what it was in 1887. Great 

 destruction of fish during the breediug season is wrought by 

 Indians, who, under pretense of fishing for their own use, 

 catch large quantities of fish at a time when others are pro- 

 hibited from doing so, conceal them and afterward sell 

 them to traders. 



Six new fish ways of the Rogers model were built in 

 streams in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Eleven 

 hatcheries were operated by the Dominion Government. 

 These are located at Newcastle and Sandwich in the Pro- 

 vince of Ontario; Miramichi and St. John River, New Bruns- 

 wick; Fraser River, British Columbia; Magog-, Tadoussac, 

 Gaspe and Ristigouche, Quebec; and at Bedford and Sydney 

 in Nova Scotia. 9S,214,000 eggs were placed in the hatching 

 houses, and the number of young fish distributed during the 

 season of 1888 was 88,109.000. The kinds of fish deposited 

 were Atlantic salmon, two species of Pacific salmon — the 

 quinnat and the blue back — lake trout, brook trout, white- 

 fish, wall-eyed pike and small-mouthed black bass. 



In the following table are shown the values of the fish- 

 eries exceeding 8200,000 in amount, arranged in the order of 

 their importance: 



Cod $4,203,508.00 



Herring 2,354.234.90 



Salmon 1,907,400.00 



Lobsters 1,483.3S8.56 



Mackerel 981.659.01 



Haddock 948,732.00 



Whitefish 702,324.2-S 



Trout 510,061.00 



Hake 486,540.00 



Pollock 484,284.00 



Fish oils 390,650.90 



Eels 321,348.70 



Fur seal skins 279.830.00 



Fish for bait 231 ,5S6. 50 



Smelt 222,674.66 



Coarse and mixed fish 208,851.63 



The number of persons engaged in the fishery service of 

 Canada was 910, of whom twenty-five were special fishery 

 guardians employed for short periods during the close 

 seasons. 



In the Province of Ontario, Parry Sound and Muskoka 

 divisions, Overseer A. H. Smith, in charge of Lakes Joseph, 

 Rosseau. Muskoka and other waters in the District of Parry 

 Sound, reported as follows; The season opened early. With 

 the exception of bass, which were scarce, fishing proved 

 highly successful to anglers and troll ers. Pickerel were 

 clean, bright and of a good size. The species referred to 

 under this name is evidently our wall-eyed pike. At the 

 head of Lake Rosseau 10 to 161bs. pickerel were common; 

 while a 201b. lunge [lake trout] was landed from Sparrow 

 Lake. Tom'ists were not quite so numerous during last 

 summer, but the influx of hunters, including foreigners, 

 was larger. Game is more attractive than fish. Spearing 

 is almost completely stamped out. A most difficult question 

 to manage is the sawdust nuisance. Mill owners seem well 

 disposed to comply with the statute, but the burners erected 

 to dispose of the sawdust proved defective. 



Overseer J. G. Rurnsey, of Huutsville, who has charge of 

 the inland waters of twelve townships in Parry Sound and 

 Muskoka, reports that speckled trout appear to he getting 

 scarcer, notwithstanding the fact that the only fishing is 

 done by sportsmen and a few settlers for local use. The 

 decline of fish is accompanied by a falling off in the num- 

 ber of tourists. The overseer attributes the scarcity of 

 trout to the want of fishways in the dam at Burk's Falls. 



Overseer Fred Webber reports a steady improvement in all 

 kinds ot fish, except speckled trout, in Lake Couehiching 

 and the Severn River. This is especially true of the black 

 bass, and is due to the extension of the close season and the 

 more general observance of the fishing laws. Muskellunge 

 are scarce in Lake Couehiching, but it is believed that 

 the prevention of spearing in the spring will soon restore 

 their numbers. The Severn River is reported by anglers 

 and tourists from the States to be better than ever. Scarcity 

 of speckled trout is ascribed to extreme low water during 

 the winter, causing the death of many young fish. A 

 number of trout fry were placed in Coldwaxer River by a 

 gentleman last year, and other parties have promised to con- 

 tinue the. work. A large school of whitefish was seen last 

 summer in Lake Couehiching as the result, it is believed, of 

 fishculture, some fry having been sent to this lake a few 

 years ago from the Newcastle hatchery. The principal fish 

 of Lake Couehiching and the Severn River are bass, pick- 

 erel (wall-eyed pike) and muskellunge. At Moose Deer 

 Point, Georgian Bay, whitefish and lake trout began spawn- 

 ing Oct. 14. Capt. Alfred F. Holmes, commanding the 

 steamer Cruiser, reports the spawning time for whitefish 

 and lake trout to extend from Oct. 15 to Dec. 1, and for black 

 bass from April 1 to June 15, with slight variations due to 

 tern perature. 



Mr. F. C. Gilchrist, fishery overseer of the Qu'Appelle 

 River and adjoining lakes, in his very interesting report 

 for the year 1888 gives notes on several of the important 

 species of his district. His comparison of the two kinds of 

 black bass deserves the careful attention of the readers of 

 Forest and Stream. "It has been recommended that the. 

 large-mouthed black bass be used for stocking our waters. 

 There are many lakes where they would be a valuable ad- 

 dition to the list of fishes. * * * I would, however, pro- 

 test against putting them into waters that are connected 

 with lakes wfiere there are whitefish or which are suited to 

 stocking with the CoregonL In shallow lakes with muddy- 

 bottoms and weeds, and where there are only the predaceous 

 varieties, they would do well, but my examination of the 

 stomachs of hundreds I have caught in the Otonabee, Trent 

 and other rivers in Ontario, led me to the conclusion that 

 they were almost entirely piscivorous, preying very largely 

 upon the young of other fash that had taken to'the weeds for 

 shelter. Unlike the small-mouthed black bass, which ap- 

 pears to hibernate in the winter, they are voracious the 

 entire year. * * * The large-mouth are much inferior to 

 thv *mall-mouth in thepan, andinfinitely so upon the hook, 



LAKE AND BROOK TROUT HYBRID. 



are lighter tha n most brook trout and the red spots not so 

 clearly defined. 



Nof rnanv trout have been taken thus far this spring, 

 but all the followers of Sir Izaak are waiting for a warm 

 rain, and then they expect to have some sport. Wing. 



[There is no evidence that any of our salmon and trout 

 cross naturally, but many crosses have been produced by 

 artificial fertilization. A cross between the salmon trout 

 (namaymsh) a nd the brook trout (fontinalis) was described 

 in Forest and Stream Jan. 17, 1889. Since this descrip- 

 tion was published we have examined specimens of the 

 hybrid in alcohol and are now able to complete the account 

 or the teeth ami the pyloric eceea. The teeth on the vomer 

 (middle of roof of mouth) are as in the lake trout, and 

 there is a well developed band of teeth on the root of the 

 tongue. The stomach is very large, siphon -shaped, and 

 the cceca number about sixty, being more numerous than 

 in the brook trout, but not nearly so abundant as in the 

 lake trout. In all characters of great importance, as in the 

 shape of the tail, size of the scales, and the dentition, the 

 cross has received its impression from the lake trout, while 

 in coloration, general form, and number of ccecal append- 

 ages the impression came from the brook trout. In other 

 words, in mattprsmost subject to variation, fontinalis has 

 left its impress, but in characters of greater permanence 

 namaycush has left its unmistakable mark. The figure 

 herewith published will give a perfect knowledge of the 

 proportions of the cross as well as of the distribution of 

 color areas: for a description of the fresh fish the reader is 

 referred to the article above mentioned. The specimen 

 was an undeveloped male about 20in. long.] 



inst., he exploded bis bomb, and shocked our quiet com- 

 munity bv arresting Bernard (better known as "Ike") 

 Lazarus, Rochester's Chief of Police and county detective, 

 taking him before A. R. Moore, J. P., who fined him $50 

 and costs for fishing with a seine within a quarter of a 

 mile of the clam, at Bridgewater. Then came Thomas 

 Lukene, who plead guilty and was lined $50 and costs for 

 like offense. He was followed by Jacob Stahl, a profes- 

 sional fisherman, in whose possession the warden found 

 a complete outfit, which he ordered the sheriff to destroy. 

 Stahl's fish box contained many fine fish, which were at 

 once returned to the Big Beaver, from whence they had 

 been forced. Stahl said "Guilty," and the Justice of the 

 Peace said "$50 and costs." Geo. B. Hoyt, "for seining," 

 etc., $50 and costs, followed by "Col." Joseph Reed, Sr., 

 fined $25 and costs for having nets in possession; and the 

 last to date, Joseph Reed, Jr., $10 and costs for taking 

 black bass with rod and line, Mr. Hague says the work 

 has only commenced, and that he is determined that ille- 

 gal fishing shall be stopped in his district.— G. A. Scroggs 

 (Beaver, Pa., April 29). 



A Great Catch of Bass.— On April 1 Mr. C. A. Ham- 

 let, of this city, took 56 black bass, ruuning from t to 

 4|lbs. , the totai catch weighing 851bs. He used a Ooz. fly- 

 rod and "chub" minnows. This is the largest catch of 

 bass on record here. Last season Mr. G. H. Asper, of 

 Chicago, 111., captured the largest black bass ever taken 

 in our waters with a rod; the gamy fellow weighed 61bs. — 

 Mac (Glasgow, Ky., April 30). 



