398 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 4, 1890. 



A CROPPIE ROOST. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I presume every one has heard of a pigeon roost and a 

 crow roost, but who has heard of the '-croppie roost? 11 

 Well, we hare at Creve Coeur Lake, a lake about twenty 

 miles from this city, what I call a croppie roost, and it is 

 a made roost. Near the shore there is a space in the lake 

 about 40x60ft. where about a dozen large piles haye been 

 driven. Between these piles some one has filled in with 

 brush, so that the bottom of the lake is covered there- 

 with to the depth of a couple of feet or more. Here the 

 croppie gather in large numbers, and the space is a veri- 

 table roost. The fishermen use only short poles and a 

 few feet of line. Some men have five and ten poles in 

 use at once, hanging over the edge of the boat. Of 

 course, this is pot-fishing of the worst kind, but that has 

 nothing to do with the roost. T presume ten thousand 

 croppie at least have been taken this summer from this 

 small space of 40x60ft. The point I would make is that 

 this roost gives a good hint to angling clubs as to how to 

 protect and build up good fishing grounds. 



I was pleased to see the article on the fresh-water drum 

 in the last issue of Forest and Stream. In Missouri the 

 fish is known as drum fish, rook perch and stone perch, 

 and is found generally in the lakes and rivers and even 

 in the smaller streams, I have caught the fish with live 

 minnows both in Michigan and Missouri, and it makes a 

 good fight equal to any bass, except it does not break 

 water like that fish. If it were more edible it would un- 

 doubtedly rank as a game fish. That the fish is eaten I 

 know, for I see it frequently at the fish stands in the 

 Union Market, where it is sold as "rock perch." Some 

 time ago some correspondent to your paper said the fish 

 was very palatable if properly cooked. Suppose he tells 

 how the cooking should be done. Izaak, Jr. 



St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 21. 



VERMONT FISH AND GAME LEAGUE, 



ETJTLAND, Vt., Nov. 26.— The Vermont Fish and 

 Game League for the purpose of securing and en- 

 forcing proper restrictions upon the taking and killing of 

 food fish and game, the promotion, culture and introduc- 

 tion of new species of the same, was organized at the 

 Pavilion parlors Monday night with 110 charter mem- 

 bers. The officers elected for the ensuing year are: 

 President, H. R. Dorr, Rutland; Vice-Presidents, M. R. 

 Colburn, Manchester; Henry Ballard, Burlington; Thad 

 M. Chapman, Middlebury: W. "W. Miles, Barton; Hfrbert 

 Brainerd, St. Albans; E. J. Titus, Wilmington: George 

 W. Hooker, Brattleboro; Treasurer, J. W. Brock, Mont- 

 pelier; Secretary, J. W. Titcomb, Rutland. Executive 

 Committee — Addison county: W. R. Peak, Bristol; Ben- 

 nington, C. F. Orvis, Manchester; Caledonia, J. Ritchie, 

 St. Johnsbury. Chittenden, Wm.. W. Henry, Burlington; 

 Essex, Nathan Hobson, Brighton: Franklin, E. C. Smith, 

 St. Albans; Grand Isle, N. W, Fisk, Isle LaMotte; La- 

 moille, C. S, Page, Hyde Park; Orange, R. J. Kimball, 

 West Randolph; Orleans, W. W. Mile?, Barton; Rutland, 

 Ed. Smith, Pittsford; Washington, John E. Hubbard, 

 Montpelier; Windham, F. W. Childs, Brattleboro: Wind- 

 sor, F. S. McKenzie, Woodstock. Committee on Mem- 

 bership, H. R. Dorr, J.W. Titcomb, M. S. Colburn. Audit- 

 ors, E. C. Orvis, H. W. Kemp, W. W. Walker. 



A constitution and by-laws were adopted and the ad- 

 mission fees and annual dues fixed at $5 each. 



We start off under more auspicious circumstances than 

 we bad anticipated. In the face of the most parsimoni- 

 ous legislature on record we have secured an appropria- 

 tion of $'2,400 for a fish hatchery. This after defeating 

 the World's Fair bill and a,ppropi'iation for the immigra- 

 tion commission. J. W. Titcomb, Sec'y. 



BLUEF1SH AND SPANISH MACKEREL. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice in the Forest and Stream Nov. 27, that Dr. 

 Hugh M. Smith states that the bluefish are known in 

 Rhode Island waters as Spanish mackerel. Will the 

 Doctor kindly inform me through your paper in what 

 section they are thus known? In our vicinity both blue- 

 fish and Spanish mackerel are well known, and. very large 

 numbers of the bluefish are taken. Several gangs of gill 

 net fishermen are located in the summer on what is 

 known as the second beach, and I think for the number 

 engaged in the fishing that more bluefish are taken at 

 this point than any other in the United States. Several 

 takes of lifts of the nets, which are made twice daily, 

 have yielded over a ton to a gang during the past season, 

 and there are miles of nets used here for the capture of 

 bluefish. Spanish mackerel are taken here, but in no 

 large quantities, in the set nets. They are, however, to 

 be found in all the principal markets during the season, 

 and are received daily from the New York and Boston 

 markets, and are as well known as any variety of fish in 

 this locality. I was much surprised to learn that bluefish 

 and Spanish mackerel should be confounded in any 

 Rhode Island waters. The natives of Rhode Island, that 

 is many of the inland portion, call the bluefish horse 

 mackerel, and in fact I have heard many of the fishermen 

 use that name, but I never heard of their being called 

 Spanish mackerel before. Wm. M. Hughes. 



POUND FISHING IN LAKE ERIE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Has Cattaraugus any rights in the waters of Lake Erie? 

 The north line of that county joins Erie and Chautauqua 

 about four miles from the mouth of the Cattaraugus 

 Creek, which is about fifty miles long and nearly the 

 whole distance bordering on Cattaraugus county. Large 

 numbers of bass, pike and pickerel used to run up the 

 creek from the lake before the destructive pound net fish- 

 ing was carried on near its mouth in Lake Erie. Since 

 that has been permitted the fish have diminished from the 

 creek until it is rarely that one is caught in that stream 

 with hook and line. There was comparatively no scale 

 fish caught last season with hook and line within three 

 miles of the mouth of the creek. The pound net which 

 has been set within a mile of the mouth of the creek, is 

 so constructed that almost every fish passing along within 

 a mile of the shore is taken. A bar net is extended from 

 near the shore about a mile out into the lake where it 

 connects with the pound, and the fish running against 

 that turn and work along toward deep water and get into 

 the pound, where they take them by the tons, including 

 scale lish as well as sturgeon. 



The rapidly diminishing number of bass and pike 

 ought to admonish the people that it is time to put a stop 

 to . pound-net butchery, It was not until Chautauqua 

 Lake was nearly depopulated that spearing through the 

 ice was prohibited. The fishermen pretended that spear- 

 ing fish increased the number, for the grown fish de- 

 stroyed the smaller ones, and many were so credulous as 

 to believe it, but a resolute member from that county in 

 1885 put an end to it by procuring the passage of a law 

 forbidding the use of a spear in that lake. The subse- 

 quent increase of fish there has demonstrated the fallacy 

 of such a theory. 



The interior of the counties of Cattaraugus and Erie 

 have a right to the natural advantages offered them by 

 their connection by the creek with the lake, and the 

 supfrvisors of Chautauqua have no right to muzzle the 

 mouth of the creek with pound nets under a pretended 

 authority conferred by Chapter 122 of the Laws of 1878. 

 On the payment of a mere pittance of about $70 a year 

 to the board the fisherman's story is credited that by 

 netting the sturgeon the bass increase, for the reason that 

 the sturgeon destroy the bass spawn. If this is so, why 

 do the bass constantly diminish where pound nets are. 

 used? The black bass is the boss of the pool, except as 

 against the bill fish, and has more resources for safety 

 than any other fresh water fish, and their instinct teaches 

 them to keep away from dangerous ground. Besides 

 sturgeon are caught in water from twelve to forty feet 

 deep and bass invariably go in shallow water near the 

 shore to spawn. No man can truthfully say that he saw 

 bass spawning beds in water twelve feet deep. 



Again fishermen say their pound nets will not take a 

 two-pound bass. That is not true. Ciscos and pike are 

 taken in by the barrel, not exceeding one pound in 

 weight. There is no scale fish that escape. Last of all 

 the fishermen's argument is that they do not catch any 

 scale fish in their net, that they can prove it by their men 

 who work the nets. This is equally false. Fish carts are 

 supplied almost daily with fish from their net, weighinj 

 from half a pound to four pounds and upward. 



The lake in Erie county is forbidden ground for pound 

 net fishing, and there is no reason why that part in Chau- 

 tauqua should not be. It is a parsimonious policy that 

 permits it, and if Chautauqua cannot get along with her 

 shore line of forty miles without blocking Cattaraugus 

 Creek, the State ought to grant the supervisors an annuity 

 to compensate their loss, and leave unobstructed the dis- 

 tance of a cannon shot from the junction of the waters 

 of the lake and creek for what of right belongs to Catta- 

 raugus. It may be that the number of scale fish taken in 

 the pound net does not account for the scarcity in the 

 creek and the vicinity of its mouth, but one thing is cer- 

 tain, the fish are gone, and all agree that that is the 

 cause. The same has proved true wherever pound-nets 

 have been used for any length of time. Even now the 

 report comes from San Diego Bay, Cal., that pound-nets 

 have used up the fishing there for game fish. The same 

 intelligence that tells the wild goose to mount aloft and 

 fly from the approach of the Arctic winter tells the fish 

 that it is unsafe to go where none ever return. 



If Chautauqua persists in the barbarous practice Catta- 

 raugus should demand that no pound-net fishing be per- 

 mitted in the lake -within five miles of the mouth of Cat- 

 taraugus Creek west of the Erie county line. Justice. 

 Gowanda, N. Y. 



SMALL RED SALMON. 



ON Nov. 26, 1888, and Oct. 8, 1889, Professor O. B. John- 

 son, of the University of Washington, Seattle, Wash., 

 collected for the Smithsonian Institution a series of fishes 

 from the waters in the vicinity of his city. Among them 

 were a number of mature males and females of very small 

 red salmon. Some of the individuals do not much exceed 

 Sin. in length, yet their ovaries were full of large and ap- 

 parently ripe eggs; the males also had the spermaries well 

 developed. These salmon belong to the form described 

 manyyears ago by Dr. Suckley as Kennerly's salmon, which 

 is now believed to he only a small race of the red salmon 

 (Oncorhynch us nerka). Professor Johnson writes that the 

 fish were taken in a small stream tributary to Lake Wash- 

 ington, near Seattle. They were not accompanied by any 

 large fish except an occasional silver salmon (OncorJiyrtchvft 

 Msutch. Out of a thousand or more taken the females 

 were as plentiful as the males. The Professor further states 

 that the large red salmon (O. nerka) is nob so common at 

 the mouth of Lake Washington as the others, and does not 

 run up the stream much south of the Noohsack River. 

 Kennerly's salmon was first described by Dr. Suckley from 

 Chiloweyuck Lake near the Fraser River. Mr. Gibbs had 

 the fish from theNahoi-al-pit-kun River, west of the Cascade 

 Mountains. Dr. Kennerly found his specimens in a small 

 stream tributary to the lake. Vast numbers of fish were 

 seen. In company with Captain Woodruff aud several men 

 Dr Kennerly went to the brook Aug. 17, and the party 

 caught 180 of these fish. He was informed by an Indian 

 tbat the fish are common in two other lakes of the region, 

 and that they never descend into smaller streams and never 

 go to the salt water. The Doctor believed the fish to be 

 peculiar to Chiloweyuck Lake, appearing at the mouths of 

 all the small streams emptying into that lake about the 10th 

 of August in such immense numbers that they can be naught 

 with the hand. The chief enemy of the little salmon was 

 the Uhewagh or salmon trout of the region. In trying to 

 escape their enemies they crowded into shallow brooks, 

 where they are readily caught with hand nets. The Indians 

 of the Chiloweyuck Lake region call them Tsi-mia. Dr. 

 Kennerly states that the fish disappear very suddenly about 

 the first of September. The Chewagh is the Pacific red- 

 spotted salmon trout of Dr. Suckley (Salmo campbclli), 

 now known as the dolly varden or malma.. 



Florida Fishing.— The special Florida Number of the 

 F quest and STREAM for Jan. 9, 1890, contains an elabor- 

 ate paper on the fishes of Florida and the fishing for them. 

 There are illustrations of all the chief varieties. Florida 

 tourists should have this number in their gripsacks. 



ONONDAGA ANGLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



FROM the Syracuse Times we take the following very creditable 

 record of the year's work of this live association: 

 The work done by the game and fish authorities during the past 

 few months toward routing the fish pirates from their stronghold 

 on the shores of Oneida Lake is deserving of more than a passing 

 word. It is highly probable that the determined efforts of the 

 authorities now being put forth will, in the course of a year at 

 furthest, result in the extinctlen of one of the most dangerous, 

 fearless aud determined bands of miscreants that ever existed in 

 this part of the State. For years a bitter war has been carried on 

 between 1 be State game authorities and the pirates, though the 

 former has never made so determined and vigorous attack upon 

 tbem as it has during the past few months, thanks to the. Syracuse 

 Anglers' Association. The pirates, in their crimes heretofore, 

 have proven themselves craftsmen not Unworthy of their name 

 and calling. All efforts on the part of the criminal authorities 

 to detect the perpetrators of the ill deeds committed have been 

 ineffectual, and the pirates have escaped from their just deserts 

 at the hands of the law. Such good fortune, of course, had the 

 effect of rendering them more daring in their crimes, and less 

 fearful of detection and the law. So inconstant was the war 

 carried on, however, that latterly the pirates, believing that fear 

 of them would be their protection, have carried on their practices 

 openly and with the greatest freedom. However, they reckoned 

 without their host, for their own acts served to make the authori- 

 ties more circumspect and wary in their operations. The crimes 

 of the pirates served another purpose. It served to make those 

 who would have otherwise been their friends their enemies, and 

 who determined to route them from the lake. A few years ago 

 many people who are now in favor of exterminating the pirate 

 were just as strongly in favor of letting people fish as they pleased 

 and when they pleased. About five years ago a raid was made on 

 the nets of Oneida Lake, and at the time George Crownheart, who 

 was keeping a hotel on the shores of the lake, was prominently 

 identified with the game officers. As a result Crownheart's hotel 

 was laid in ashes. 



Charles Shackelton owns valuable property on the lake shore 

 near Bridgeport. Lately he has been fighting the gang, partly 

 from personal motives, for success to them meant disaster to him 

 in that it depreciated the value of his property, and partly because 

 he is paid by the Onondaga Anglers' Association for doing so. As 

 a result of Mr. Shackelton's efforts to rid the lake of the pirates, 

 an attempt was made to blow up his house with gunpowder. But 

 Shackelton secured the co-operation of the State authorities and 

 began in earnest the deadly strife against the pirates. 



The authorities now say that the pirates may burn every house 

 on the lake shore and may resort to even more violent deeds, but 

 they will be pursued until not a net will dip the waters of Oneida 

 Lake or any other adjacent lake. The end is here, they say. Up 

 to the present time the authorities have succeeded in "pulling" 114 

 nets this season. On the average these nets are worth $40 each. 

 Some of them are worth much more, but the average is fair. At 

 this rate, the value of the nets destroyed tbis season will already 

 amount to $4,560 and the hunt is by no means at an end. One of 

 the largest nets ever captured in Oneida Lake was taken by Mr. 

 Shackelton and his party one day last week. The net had above 20 

 bushels of fish in it. Mr. Shackelton, in speaking of the raids on 

 the nets, said to a reporter that all the nets taken bad been cap- 

 tured in deep water. "We had to hunt for them," said he, "at 

 least a mile from the shore." 



The search for the nets is generally carried on in row boats. 

 The men start out over the water to be searched in boats a few 

 rods apart. If they do not succeed in finding nets they change 

 their course and traverse new ground, and so on until they find 

 that which they are seeking or are satisfied that there are no nets 

 in the water. The smallest number of nets taken at any one raid 

 during the season has been two, the greatest number fourteen. It 

 is claimed that some of the pirates make as high as $100 per week 

 by shipping fish to the New York markets. 



It is very doubtful if this determined war upon the fish pirates 

 would have been carried on had it not been for the Onondaga 

 Anelers' Association. The association is not a large one nor is it 

 a rich association. Since the recent raids were started this asso- 

 ciation has been under a continuous expense which averages $15 

 per day. They are now threatened with bankruptcy, but, they are 

 determined as ever t-o rid Oneida Lake of the dangerous clasB 

 that has for years defied the authorities and openly violated the 

 law. The Anglers' Association is young, but it includes some 

 determined men among its members. So hard pressed have they 

 been lately tbat they have issued the following call for help: 



ANGLERS, ATTENTION. 



We are doing great work. The association needs money. Our 

 expenses are $15 per day. We want new members and money. 

 Our initiation fee is $3. Any contribution, large or small, will 

 help us, as the few members cannot stand the whole of the ex- 

 penses. If you do not assist us the work will have to stop. 



Send postal addressed to Onondaga Anglers' Association, stat- 

 ing if you will be a member, or how much you will contribute 

 toward the good work. Onondaga Anglers' Association. 



While great credit is due the association for the work they are 

 doing, Edward Hawn, the deputy game protector, who has been 

 working directly under the auspices of the association since July 

 last, is no less deserving of praise. Had it not been for his earnest- 

 ness and sagacity the association might have expended many 

 dollars in vain. At the present time the association is in need of 

 nothing so much as members and the $2 they will each contribute. 

 A prominent member of the association said last night that it was 

 a shame that so few of the anglers of the city were identified with 

 the work. Auburn has an anglers' club and the club has 5,000 

 members. The Onondaga Association has but 150 members. Five 

 hundred new members at the present time would put the associa- 

 tion beyond want, and secure for the fishermen of the city and 

 surrounding places good sport for all time to come. 



It is not generally known, but it has been hinted that in the near, 

 future a State hatchery will be located on the lake. 



Willis S. Barnura was served with papers yesterday in an action 

 brought by Deputy Game and Fish Protector Hawn to recover a 

 penalty of $125 for having a fish spear in his possession and using 

 it in the waters of Onondaga Lake in the town of Geddes. Mr. 

 Barnum admitted last night that he had speared suckers and bull- 

 heads, but claimed that the spearing was done on his own land, 

 which is now flooded. Mr. Barnum is proprietor of Maple Bay. 



Potomac Bass.— Washington, D. C, Nov. 29.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: I notice in your issue of Nov. 20 that 

 black bass fishing in the Potomac has been very poor this 

 fall. This has probably been the case; but on Friday last, 

 Nov. 28, Harry K. Hodes, a High School boy, 15 years of 

 age, landed a black bass from the waters known as the 

 Little Falls measuring 23in. in length and weighing over 

 51bs. A number of the older fishermen hereabouts were 

 granted the privilege of seeing the fish, which brought 

 out expressions of congratulation from them all.— T. 



Channel Bass by Moonlight.— Mr. B. C. Rude has 

 made a discovery of interest to those who like bass fish- 

 ing. He says no matter what the tide may be, these 

 large fish bite best in the evening when the moon is shin- 

 ing brightly. Recently when there was a full moon he 

 went down.and threw in his hook and took five almost as 

 fast as he could haul them in. On other evenings he was 

 quite successful, on one occasion taking in a 6ft. shark in 

 addition to the bass,— St Augustine News, 



PENNSYLVANIA FISHCULTURE. 



THE report of the State Commissioners of Fisheries of 

 Pennsylvania for the years 1887 and 1888, recently pub- 

 lished, contains the usual account of the proceedings of the 

 board, records of fish and eggs distributed, and of the con- 

 dition of the hatcheries at Allentown, Erie and Corry. A 

 brief description of the construction and location of carp 

 pondsis drawn from Logan's ''Carp Culture." Illustrations 

 are given of the exterior and interior of the hatcheries, and 

 of a number of valuable fishes, which are reared and dis- 

 tributed by the Commission. The appendix is devoted to a 

 compilation of the laws of Pennsylvania relating to fish and 

 fishing, by Frederick Geiger, Esq. This extremely valuable 

 compendium was prepared for the Anglers' Association of 

 Eastern Pennsylvania, now the Pennsylvania Fish Protec- 

 tive Association, and presented to the Commissioners of 

 Fisheries of Pennsylvania. 



The condition of affairs in this State is very encouraging, 

 as may he seen from the following paragraphs of the report: 

 "It has afforded the Commission much gratification to see 

 the steady and rapid development of public sentiment in 

 favor of the object for which it was created. 



"The people realize that fish propagation is no longer an 

 experiment. Hundreds of depleted trout streams now re- 

 stored to good condition and filled with fish attest the suc- 

 cess of restocking. Large numbers of carp ponds, with their 

 prolific tenants, give to our agricultural population removed 

 from the larger streams and rivers of our Commonwealth, 

 food fishes for domestic consumption and profit. 



"The increase in the catch of shad in the two great rivers 

 of the Commonwealth, the Susquehanna and Delaware, 



