294 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



|May l, 1890. 



TROUT IN CONNECTICUT. 



BETHEL, Conn. , April 26.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 I herewith send a few notes on the trout fishing of 

 this section. The season opened with good weather and 

 clear streams, and there were some good strings caught 

 during the first two weeks. The trout were all up in the 

 small upland brooks earlier than usual on account of the 

 open winter. Ice did not form on any of the swift 

 streams and did not last long even in the swamps. On 

 Fast Day I saw a string in which were some 20 odd trout 

 and nearly as many horn dace. The trout I thought 

 would weigh on an average ^lb. each. It was a goodly 

 sight. I afterward heard that most of them were taken 

 from a small stream known as Dibble's Brook, with a 

 small scoop-net which could be carried in the pocket. 

 The stream is very narrow with numerous small pools, 

 and the fish could not escape a net. Another party 

 brought in about the middle of the month from a stream 

 known as Little River what was perhaps the largest 

 string of big fish ever caught in this vicinity. Fourteen 

 weighed 161bs., two or three of which weighed 31bs. each; 

 they were not weighed until several hours after they were 

 caught. The weighing was done by a grocer and was 

 witnessed by a number of men. 



The brooks in this vicinity have all been stocked with 

 several thousand fry. It was done during the years of 

 1885, '86 and '87, the expense of stocking being paid by 

 taking up collections from everybody who was willing to 

 chip in from 10 to 50 cents. We are now reaping the 

 benefit by catching more and better trout than ever. I 

 have not been fishing myself, but two of my brothers 

 have, and caught quite a number, five of which I meas- 

 ured and weighed. The measurements were from the 

 tip of the nose along the side to end of tail, and around 

 the body just in front of the anal fin, using a common 

 tape measure. The fish were weighed with a small spring- 

 scale such as are sold by fishing tackle dealers. Follow- 

 ing is the result: 



Length, Girth, Weight, 

 inches. inches. ounces. 



No. 1 12J4 7 14 



No. 2 m V$ 12 



No. 3 9y s 6« 6 



No. 4 9 4U 4 



No. 5 11 fii 8 



I took pains to measure and weigh correctly, so that 

 the above is as near right as possible under those condi- 

 tions. E. T. J, 



Breaking up the Illegal Nets.— State game and fish 

 protectors are active in New York, working in conjunction 

 with the associations and clubs, to suppress illegal nets. 

 The secretary of the Anglers' Association of the St. Law- 

 rence River sent out last week the steamer R. P. Flower, 

 manned with eight good men, with Game Protector Star- 

 rett at the head. They succeeded in capturing over oOO 

 rods of gill nets, 61 hoop and trap nets and some pound 

 nets. They were taken in Chippewa Bay, Eel Bay, and 

 above Tibbets Point and along the shore adjoining Hpii 

 derson. The cash value of the nets amounted to several 

 hundred dollars. State Gime Protector Drew was pres- 

 ent and was hearty in his congratulations over the suc- 

 cess of the raid. The Syracuse Courier has the follow- 

 ing: "Illegal fishing in the waters of Onondasm Lake 

 has suddenly ceased. For the last ten clays State Fish 

 and Game Protector Carr, of Union Springs", has been in 

 the city and given Ma attention to the seine and gill 

 net fishers of Onondaga Lake, who seemingly ply their 

 vocation with impunity. During his stay he collected 

 some valuable information. Stturday Mr. Carr issued 

 summonses against 29 individuals, citing them to apppar 

 before the county judge to answer for allegpd violation 

 of the game law. In his good work, Mr. Cirr not only 

 has the backing of the Onondaga Sportsmen's Club, 

 which is working in the same divectiou, but the sympa- 

 thy of all genuine sportsmen. The penalty for 'illegal 

 fishing in this county is from $25 to $50." 



A Good Winter for the Pickerel.— Brockton, Mass. 

 — From all sidesome com plaints against the open winter, 

 became the pond-- won't freeze over »nd let the plaintiffs 

 go pickerelirg. I wonder if any Forest and Stream 

 readers besides the undersigned are interested in the 

 p'ckerel's behalf. To be sure, he is a nuisance in a pond 

 stocked with other fi-h, and if a wish could kill, I am 

 afraid it would go hard with the piekerfl in a certain 

 pond, where on dressing them I have found inside trout 

 6 n. long. But I have in my mind a pond where the 

 pickerel reign supreme, where there are neither ba*s nor 

 trout, and where they have a perfect risrht to live. Many 

 a cloudy half day have I enjoyed wading the shores of 

 that pond, and many a fine string of pickerel has re- 

 warded me. It isn't a pleasant sight for me to see the 

 pond covered with traps in winter and pickerel enough 

 to feed a regiment lying on the ice. Ponds containing 

 bass and trout are visited hy the ice fisherman, too: but a 

 visitor will see nothing but pickerel lying about. Is a 

 biss or trout that happens to spy the wiggling bait, han- 

 dled carefully and returned to the watei? In a few cases 

 he is, but generally he is concealed and smuggled home 

 by the man who can't catch him in his season by fair 

 means. A few open winters may be just what we want, 

 after all. — Darby. 



Netting Fish in Kentucky.— Ironton, O.. April 24.— 

 Editor Forest and Stream: Black bass are being caught 

 in quite satisfactory lots in Tygart Creek, at Bennet's 

 Mill. George Howl and, the old veteran, caught six extra 

 fine ones there. The fishing will be entirely ruined if 

 there is not a stop put to netting. They put nets in the 

 mouths of branches in time of high water and catch 

 them by the half barrel. I know one man who said he 

 took 20 or 25 nice black bass out of his net at one time, 

 and has caught five big pike this winter. All this is in 

 violation of Kentucky law and deprives the visitor of any 

 chance. — D. 



Chicago and the West.— Chicago, 111., April 25.— 

 Day before yesterday, near Davis, Ind., on the Kanka- 

 kee, a girl of 18 and her two little brothers, aged 14 and 

 11, caught seventeen fine black bass, on tackle not of the 

 best. The bass are also biting in the Fox Lake system. 

 At Rushville, 111., the pot fishermen have been seining in 

 Crooked Creek, and so destroying the large numbers of 

 game fish the high water has brought in, that popular 

 indignation has been aroused, and detective officers have 

 been put out to arrest the offenders.— E. HoVgh. 



Adirondack Waters.— Northern New York, April 24. 

 —Editor Forest and Stream: The ice went out at Num- 

 ber Four about ten days ago, at Beaver Lake the 16th, 

 inst. and at Still Water the 21st inst. The snow has dis- 

 appeared in that region, so probably the other lakes in 

 that section are free from ice. When the season opens 

 there will be no necessity of waiting until the snow- 

 water has gone from the brooks, as it went some time 

 since. In fact all the signs foretell excellent fishing 

 from the opening day. Manv fishermen labor under the 

 delusion that there is better fishing on the Fulton Chain 

 than in this section. This is a great mistake, as we have 

 better fishing and larger fish. In years past I labored 

 under this delusion, so I know whereof I speak. — 

 Osceola. 



Canadian Fisheries. — We have received the annual 

 report of the Department of Fisheries, Dominion of Can- 

 ada, /or 1889, too late for review in this number, and will 

 reserve it for future notice. From the fact that a trans- 

 lation of G. M. Dannevig's report on hatching salt-water 

 fishes, lobsters, oysters, etc., in Norway, is given in the 

 Appendix, we assume that Canada intends to devote more 

 attention to marine fishculture, and we are glad to see 

 this evidence of progress. 



E4.RLY Mackerel. — Mackerel made their appearance 

 in New York markets from Cape Cod traps last week, 

 about a fortnight earlier than in 1889. The first one re- 

 ported was taken at South Harwich, April 23. 



FISHCULTURE AND FISHWAYS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The following tables, showing the results of opening the 

 dams with good fish ways, and without any aid from the 

 hatcheries and amid an abundance of sawdust, will be in- 

 teresting to many of your readers. 



The St. Croix River, forming the boundary between Maine 

 and New Brunswick, had been closed up for many years by 



provided 



whether any fry have been planted here or not. 



Salmon, 

 Year. Lbs. 



1871 



1872 



1873 (Fish way built). 



1874 



1875 



1876 



1877 



]878 2,500 



1879 3,000 



quite sure 



Alewives, 





Salmon, 



Alewives. 



Bbls. 



Y^ar. 



Lhs. 



BWe. 





1880.... 



.... 2,600 



330 





1881..., 



.... 2.500 



350 





1882 



4,000 



360 





1883 



,•3,500 



400 





1884 



. . 14.800 



550 



"50 







600 



COO 



1886.... 



.. . 5,000 



600 



250 



1887 



6 000 



650 



300 



1888 



5,000 



300 



The dams on the Medway in Nova Scotia were opened in 

 1873; no planting has been doue on the river; moreover, the 

 dams are located some distance above the head of the tide, 

 and, besides, the dams were low and some fish succeeded in 

 passing over them every year, hence there were always some 

 fish Id the river. Below I give the yield siuce the fishways 

 began to take effect or could produce any results: 



Salmon, lbs. Trout, lbs. Smelts, lbs. Alewives, bbls. 

 78 22.871 .... 70 



1878 22.871 



1879 11.8H6 



1880 5.323 



1881 ... 7,615 



1882..... 8.388 



1883 21 169 



1884 20 315 



1885 30,230 



1886 2>.UU5 



1887 22.A84 



1888 18 450 



1889 12,900 



915 

 1,650 

 2.050 

 2 378 

 2 615 

 2.775 

 4,*00 



2,000 

 4 OU0 

 3.7*0 

 7.400 

 8,5*0 

 J 5.200 

 16 000 

 18,250 

 21,500 

 22,7(0 

 24,300 



262 

 725 

 4.864 

 2,747 

 3 262 

 3,0S3 

 3,005 

 3.505 

 3.837 

 29 6 

 3,805 



During the four years from 1879 to 1882 the salmon fisher- 

 ies declined largely all round our coasts, and judging from 

 the falling off in the catch for 1888 and 'b9 we are entering 

 upon another period of decline, caused no doubt by natural 

 influences and confined to no locality. No river in N va 

 Scutia has been so abundantly supplied with mill refuse and 

 sawdust during the past hundred years, aDd is so still, as 

 this river. 



The river Clyde is another marked iustance of wonderful 

 improvement caused by simply opening the dam with a good 

 fish way, no planting being done, but an abundance of saw- 

 dust and mill reluse running all the while. 



Sa'mon, 

 Lbs. 



1871 

 1872 

 1873 



1874 



1875 



1876 



1877 



1878 . 



1879 fPlshway built). 



1880 



Alewives, 

 Bbls. Year. 



188L. 



1882 



1883 



1884 



18»> 350 



1886 2.480 



1887 3,570 



1888 3,975 



1880 4,050 



Salmon. Alewives, 

 Lbs. Bbls. 



10 

 20 

 35 

 120 

 90 

 130 

 3u0 



This river produced but, scattering fish for many years be- 

 fore 1871 I have started with that year to show that the 

 river produced no alewives until three years after the dam 

 was opened or salmon until five years, and exactly the same 

 state of things has developed on the St. Croix, it will be ob- 

 served. 1 have selected these rivers for two reasons; first, 

 because no artificial aid was applied to tbem, and secondly, 

 because they have been abundantly supplied with sawdust 

 and all other mill refuse. Many other rivers in these prov- 

 inces can be named where salmon fry have been planted and 

 which give similar but no better results. 



Shad, too, have been successfully passed over dams 17ft. 

 high, and over natural falls much higher. They ascend 

 wooden fishways of proper construction as readily as any 

 other anadromous fishes. I have never been able to dis- 

 cover any timidity on their part, but they seem to be as en- 

 terprising in their efforts to ascend as any other fish, but 

 cannot overcome as much foice of water as the salmon or 

 trout. 



In view of the foregoing indisputable facts it is clear that 

 the most important m vtter in connection with the improve- 

 ment of the fisheries, is to open the dams, go for the poach- 

 ers without much mercy, and plant all the yearling fish 

 possible to aid nature. The planting of fry I am sure is a 

 losing game, and will have to be abandoned. 



Referring to fishways, unless they are properly located in 

 the dam, as well as properly built, in nine cases out of ten 

 they wiil fail. And like everything else, the necessary 

 knowledge must be acquired by experience, as almost every 

 dam and locality requires different treatment in order to 

 successfully overcome local difficulties, which are often 

 very great. 



I have read Mr. Gilchrist's formidable indictment of saw 

 dust as a fish destroyer with much interest, having had a 

 lifelong experience in fishing and milling, with about a 

 quarter of a century's close study bf the s'utrje'ct as Inspector 



of Fisheries for this Province, where mill dams, sawdust 

 and anadromous fish abound in all our streams. Opportu- 

 nities for obtaining facts, therefore, exist in abundance. 

 Besides myself there are over thirtv overseers of fisheries in 

 the various counties of the Province, many of whom are in- 

 telligent and close observers, and after a quarter of a cen- 

 tury's connection with the service nearly every man of them 

 has come to the same conclusion with myself, and the same 

 is largely true of the adjoining Province bf New Brunswick, 

 while all practical men and most of our native sportsmen 

 hold the same opinions. They have been forced to their 

 present views by actual existing facts, to which all honest 

 men should bow, and these views are "that sawdust is not 

 injurious to fish in any way." The belief that it is has no 

 facts to sustain it, but, rests entirely upon fancy. Wherever 

 sawdust exists in a river there is likely also to be an impas- 

 sable dam, which is the real fish destroyer, and the dust 

 being in bad company bears the blame; that's all. This has 

 been demonstrated over and over again in these Provinces, 

 wherever the dams have been provided with eood fishways 

 for any number of years. A compilation of these facts, to 

 a certain extent, will be found in the report on the subject, 

 prepared by myself in 1889, a portion of which you kindly 

 reproduced at the time. The statements therein revealed 

 should either be proven to be false or accepted as conclusive 

 by all impartial men. Mr. Gilchrist has added nothing new 

 to this controversy. Mr. S. Wilmot and others have been 

 for years regaling us with just such dogmatic faucies, which 

 they seem to think sufficient to offset with authenticated 

 facts. • 



1 am not acquainted with the rivers of Outario, of which 

 Mr. Gilchrist speaks, but conclude that mill dams, sawdust 

 and anadromous fish bear about the same relation to each 

 other everywhere, and 1 know that wherever salmon or trout 

 spawn, or where their ova would hatch, sawdust will not 

 lodge, and in still waters or pools where alewives or shad 

 spawn it does no harm, as the hatching process only occu- 

 pies three or four days, and they will hatch upon sawdust 

 as readily as upon anything else. Nor does it interfere in 

 the slightest degree with the food supply, but on the con- 

 trary rather promotes it. When continuously under water 

 it does not decompose, and hence is no more iujurious than 

 wood in other forms, with which the waters forming the 

 rivers have always been abundantly supplied, as well as 

 with autumn leaves, evergreen buds and all forms of vege- 

 table products, which lodge in thebottoms of pools and still 

 waters and cover up the beds of the rivers even more effect- 

 ively than sawdust. In lakes and still waters, however, it 

 may to some extent injure the navigation, but fish of any 

 sort are not injured in the slightest degree by its presence. ' 



Those who held that the world was flat instead of round 

 and the fanatics who held that a certain type of old women 

 were witches and should be burned, had about the same 

 proofs for their belief as our modern anti-sawdust people 

 have for theirs; there being absolutely no existing facts to 

 sustain the idea, it will soon be relegated to the rear with 

 hosts of other myths of the past, driven there by advancing 

 intelligence, the result of closer investigations on the part 

 of those who desire to know the truth. Even now there are 

 scarcely two opinions among those best informed upon the 

 subject. 



Let me here produce a few facts from the St. Croix River, 

 a considerable stream, much of which forms the boundary 

 line between the State of Maine and New Brunswick. Im- 

 mense quantities of lumber have been cut there during a 

 whole century. Mill dams completely obstructed the ascent 

 offish. Sawdust and mill refuse was all thrown into the 

 stream; the fish which were formerly abundant gradually 

 disappeared. For many years not a pound of salmon or 

 barrel of alewives appears in the fishery returns as having 

 been caught there. In the view of most people sawdust was 

 the cause. During the years 1873-3 fishways were put in the 

 dams. The mills have continued to do their work as form- 

 erly. Now, let us see how the fish have been affected by au 

 abundance of sawdust and mill refuse, for no stream in the. 

 country has been more bountifully supplied with it. Be- 

 tween one and two hundred million feet have been cut there 

 for many years past. As I have said, not a pound of salmon 

 was taken there for many years, nor until some six years 

 after the dams were op<med. From that time, during the 

 seven years from 1875 to 1881, the river yielded lO.TOOlbs.. or 

 l,5141bs per annum, though the first four years of the 

 pt-riod yielded nothing, while during the seven years from 

 1882 to 1S88 the catch was 38,000!bs , or an annual averatre of 

 5,lS51hs„ as against 1.5l41bs. during the former period. 

 The catch of alewives shows about the same satisfactory 

 results, while one of the best fly-fishing pools in the United 

 States is located just below the miliar and is full of saw- 

 dust continually. 



Another splendid pool exists on the Penobscot right below 

 the mills, where all the sawdust from the mills on the larce 

 river passes into it. It is also true that both the smelt and 

 frost fish spawn and the ova hatch right in and among the 

 sawdust, and these fish keep up their usual snpplv •notwith- 

 standing the death-dealing dust. These are facts, and it is 

 also a fact that no dead or dying fish are seen on these rivers. 

 If sawdust is really so deadly in its effects upon fish, how 

 could this state of things bs brought about where it so 

 abundantly exists? And this same state of things can be 

 pointed to all over these Provinces, on many rivers even 

 more markedly than on the St. Croix. Mili dams and 

 poachers are the real enemies of our river fisheries. 



Direct your energies against them. Mr. Gilchrist, and you 

 will be working to some purpose. W. H. Rogers. 



Amhebst, Nova Scotia. 



%t Menmh 



FIXTURES, 



DOG SHOWS, 



Mav6 to9.-SecoTid Annual Dog Show of the Souther* Cali- 

 fornia Kennel Club, at Los Angeles, Cal. H. W. Wilson, Super- 

 intendent. 



June 3 to 6.— The Cincinnati Kernel Club's Fourth Annual 

 bhow. at Cincinnati, U. Geo. H. Hill. Superintendent,, 

 ^^^•r ^ 3 — Th *^ 1 Aniiuul Doer Show of the Michigan Kennel 

 Club, at Detroit, Mich. M. V. B, Saunders, Sr-cretarv 



i^pt. 15 to is.— Interna lional Dog Show of th« Dominion of 

 Canada Kennel Club, in connection with the industrial Exhi- 

 bition at Toronto, Canada. H. J. Hill. Secretary. 



Sept. 23 to 26.— Second Annual Dog Show of the Central Canada 

 Exhibition Association, at Ottawa. Alfred Geddes, Chairman 

 Committee. 



Oct. 0 to 11.— Ninth Annual Dog Show of the Danbury Agricul- 

 tural hociety, at Danbury Conn. B. C. Lynes, Secretary. 



FIELD TRIALS. 



November.— Second Annual Field Trials of the Brunswick Fur 

 Club, at Brunswick, Me. J. H. Baird, Secretary, Auburndale, 

 Mass. 



Nov. 17.— Twelfth Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field 

 Trials Club, at Otterburn Springs, Va. W. A. Coster, Sm-atogo 

 Springs, N. Y\, becretary. 



Dec. i.-Second Annual Field Trials of the Central Field Trials 

 Club, at Lexington, N. C. C. H. Odell, Mills Building, New York, 

 Secretary. 



1891. 



Jan. 19.— Eighth Annual Field Trials of the Pacific Kennel Club, 

 at Bakersfield, Cal. H. H. Brings, Secretary. 



Feb. 3.— Third Annual Field Trials of the Southern Field Trials 

 Club. T. M. Brunby, SteCTet'ary, Marietta, Ga. * ^ 



