412 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



IDeC. 10, 1891. 



THE SIX-INCH TROUT LAW. 



A paper read by Gen. W. Y. W. Ripley before the Vermont Fish 

 and Game Leagne. 



I HOPE we are bent on practical work, and that full 

 discixssion as to the best modes of preserving, and 

 even increasing, our game and flsb supply, may be had ; 

 and that a free interchange of thoughts and views on that 

 subject may result in legislation of a more practical kind 

 than some with which we have been afflicted in times 

 past. I have very strong convictions of my own about 

 these matters, and although I am aware that in many 

 respects they differ from other equally earnest workers, 

 I propose to' take this opportunity to ventilate them. 



Legal restraint is the sole and only means of preserva- 

 tion. Just how far that should go and how best be applied, 

 is the question that should interest us most. The only 

 object of such restraint is that the rate of destruction may 

 not exceed the rate of natural increase. 



Do our present laws, fairly well observed as 1 think 

 they are, effect this? I think you will agree with me that 

 they do not, and that the supply of the foiir choicest 

 varieties of fish and game native to our State — trout, 

 black bass, partridge and woodcock — is found less and 

 less abundant every year. 



What is the remedy? Artificial propagation? Such 

 means cannot be applied to the birds at all, and it is ex- 

 tremely doubtful to my mind whether it is the best 

 means of preserving and increasing the supply of trout, 

 and much more so that of the bass. 



In my judgment there is a better remedy, l^'irst, 

 shorten your open season for all fish and for all game; 

 second, make the limitation of size on fish such that it 

 will insure every fish born into the world one chance, at 

 least, to attempt to reproduce its bind. Our laws pro- 

 hibit the killing of trout less than 6in. in length and of 

 base lOin, Now a trout, male or female, that is just 

 under 6in, long on the 31st of August and is put back into 

 the water, on that day is not mature and cannot, as a rule, 



Sropagate its species during the succeeding autumn: next 

 [ay, however, he is of legal size and may be legally 

 killed, and yet has had no chance in the world to do his 

 share in the work of restocking the streams. The trout 

 of 9in. long on the same Hist of August, however, is one 

 year older than hie 6-inch comrade and is fully mature, 

 the female can deposit spawn capable of being fertilized 

 by the male of the same size who is able to perform his 

 functions. These two fish, if thrown back on the last 

 day of the season, or at any time during the season, will 

 breed during the succeeding autumn. 



It is true that both may be killed during the next sea- 

 son, but they will have done one year's work toward 

 keeping good the population of the stream, I shall be 

 met at once with tlie assertion that female trout of 5, or 

 even Sin. in length frequently have spawn in them; this 

 is true, but that spawn, borne by an infant, so to 

 speak, is not capable of being fertilized. They axe like 

 pullets' eggs, the product of an animal with all the iu- 

 stincts of reproduction, but, being immature, are with- 

 out the capacity for successful work in that direction, If 

 my views are correct, and I am supported by the opin- 

 ions of such world noted experts as Seth Green, Spencer 

 F, Baird, Annin, Fred Mather, Livingston Stone and Col. 

 McDonald, is there any logical reason for the existence 

 of a 6in. law? On the contrary, is there not a good rea- 

 son for a 9in, law? Does not the complaint of hardship 

 and injustice of the Gin. law come mainly from people 

 who live high up among the mountains or adjacent to 

 small streams or remote from large ones? where the 

 brooks are small and the trout correspondingly so? Do 

 not they say that the 6in. law is entirely in the interest 

 of the town sportsman who lives near the larger waters, 

 or who has more time and better facilities for reaching 

 them? Do they not claim constantly, clamorously, that 

 the law deprives them of the pleasure of fishing in their 

 small brook for the benefit of others who fish in larger 

 water? if you expect these men to obey your law eheer- 

 f ully you must show them a good reason for the existence 

 of the law, and this 1 think is possible. You must show 

 them also that jou yourselves are willing to forego some 

 part of your own sport for the general good, 



Nor would a 9in. law be a hardship to any one for 

 more than two years, since the Bin, trout of to-day would 

 certainly be above the legal size in 1893. Who shows his 

 basket of 6in. trout with any pride? No one; but a basket 

 of 9 in. trout is a pretty sight, and even in such baskets 

 you will always find the largest on top. If any one 

 doubts the beneficial results of such a law well enforced, 

 he is past my power of conversion. I have been asked 

 frequently why it was that in some brooks trout never 

 grow to be over Gin. in length; my answer is that they 

 do grow to a larger size, but at the 6in. period of life 

 they have outgrown such water and the food supply in 

 them, and leave for broader and deeper waters. It may 

 be that in some ponds entirely land-locked there is 

 found a family of very small trout that breed success- 

 fully. If this is so it is because the food su^jply has been 

 insufficient for, perhaps, hundreds of years; and a race 

 of dwarfs has been the result. There are, of course, ex- 

 ceptions to all rules, and it may be that in very rare cases 

 very small trout have bred and multiplied in free running 

 waters, but the general rule is the other way, and it is by 

 general rules that we must be guided in these matters. 



On bass the limit is 10 in. I am not sufficiently ac- 

 quainted with the habits of these fish to venture an 

 opinion as to the nature of the lOin. bass as breeders, but 

 it could do no harm certainly if the limit was fixed at 13 

 instead of 10 in. Now as to seasons. 



The destruction of game must be kept far within rate 

 of natural increase. There can be no doubt that the 

 number of persons who fish and shoot for sport or profit 

 is much larger than it was twenty years ago, while the 

 pot-hunters are always with us, and the number of these 

 increases in a much larger proportion, I think that we 

 must expect their numbers to increase in the future also. 



The more interest you and I take in these matters the 

 more others will take. This very meeting will add to the 

 number of men who v^'ill go afield next year. Improved 

 weapons and tackle play an important part, also and it is 

 fair to assume, and we must assume, that in proportion to 

 the amount of g.ame in the forests and fish in the waters, 

 a larger percentage is destroyed in each succeeding year. 

 The summer boarder, so-called, plays his part, and it 

 is by no means an unimportant one, in the work of ex- 

 termination. In my judgment there is but one means of 

 checking this diminishing of the supply, and that is 

 shorter open seasons. 

 I would have the open season for trout commence on 



the 15th of May and close not later than the loth of 

 August. This, with the limit as to size made 9in. instead 

 of 6, I think, would be all we could do at ipresent for the 

 trout. If it proved insufficent after a trial of say four 

 years, I would again shorten the season and make the 

 limit of size lOin. 



As to birds I would make the open season for both 

 woodcock and partridges commence on the same day, and 

 that day not earlier than Sept. 15; and the first of Octo- 

 ber would be better. I would have it close as to both on 

 the last day of November. This is in line with the best 

 and most recent laws of the most carefully preserved 

 States. In Maryland the season for quail opens on the 

 first of November and closes on Dec. 24. The same short 

 seasons prevail in many other States, much more favor- 

 ably situated for the natural increase of game than Ver- 

 mont is; and if they find it necessary to so restrict the 

 season, and with fifty birds to our one, are willing to 

 forego a little this year for the sake of next, ought not 

 we to be equally willing? Nay, is it not a greater neces- 

 sity for us to do so than it is for them? 



I would allow of no exceptions to the operations of the 

 general law for any local reason. The application of the 

 laws should be uniform throughout the State. Local 

 exemption is frequently brought in favor of the summer 

 visitor, or more frequently by the landlord. We wel- 

 come all who come among us for health or pleasure, and 

 as becomes good sportsmen, we hold out the right hand 

 of fellowship to all brothers of the rod or gun, but we who 

 live here have also some rights which the visitor is bound 

 to respect. 



Among the other means of destruction the match or 

 side hunt stands prominent for utter infamy, 1 had 

 hoped that relic of a barbarous age had found its last 

 ditch, but some such hunts have taken place in this State 

 this year. Can there be anything more abhorrent than 

 the eight of a whole community, or all that can he pre- 

 vailed on to go, turning out simply for the purpose of 

 determining which side can do the most of the villainous 

 work? Such proceeding should be and is discountenanced 

 by all true sportsmen and might well be the subject of 

 legislative enactment. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



1 PROFESSOR BICKMORE in a recent lecture brought 

 up the old question, why salmon and trout rise to 

 artificial flies. This subject, though more or less thread- 

 bare, is always of interest to anglers, and nearly every one 

 has his own theory which he believes to be correct. There 

 is no doubt, I think, that all creatures, whether fish or 

 fowl, naturally and instinctively snap at anything which 

 resembles food. The most intelligent dog possessing the 

 finest possible nose will snap at a cork if you throw it 

 toward him when he is watching you at the dinner table, 

 and chickens, when expecting food, will rush after a 

 handful of gravel thrown on the ground. So it is with 

 fish, they are usually on the constant lookout for some- 

 thing to satisfy their appetite, and any thin;^ that touches 

 the water is immediately seized, particularly if it resembles 

 in the least what they are in the habit of feeding on, 

 though as quickly dropped if not what they expected it to 

 be. 



1 1, Wild trout that have never suffered from the deceitful 

 practices of man will readily seize a bare hook if moved 

 quickly through the water, and if it is covered with a 

 bit of red or white flannel over even a splinter of wood, 

 it becomes a deadly lure. As they become better edu- 

 cated they require closer imitations, and in over-fished 

 waters nothing but the most carefully dressed midges on 

 the thinnest of gut will induce a decent sized fish to rise. 



One of the best examples of this is found at our fishing 

 clubs. They usually turn out their trout a month or so 

 before the opening of the season; and when first fished 

 for, the members have no difficulty in killing their full 

 allowance; but as the days go by the fortunate survivors 

 become more and more difficult to catch; so that after a 

 month or sis: weeks of fishing they become so well edu- 

 cated that none but experts have any chance to fill a 

 creel. 



I have frequently watched the actions of wild trout for 

 hours at a time. There was a fine pool within half an 

 hour's walk of the hotel at Ralston, Pa., where I used to 

 spend my summers. This pool was just below a fall and 

 was dark and deep. It contained a fair supply of trout 

 from half to three-quarters of a pound in weight. Below 

 the pool the water flowed over a bed of solid rock and 

 was not, as a rule, over a foot deep. When undisturbed 

 the fish would drop down to these shallows and lie in the 

 sun, sometimes a dozen at a time. If a leaf or bit of twig, 

 or, in fact, anything fell on the water, the trout nearest 

 to it would dart at it as quick as a flash, sometimes take 

 it in their mouths and drop it again as if tasting it, and 

 sometimes strike it with their tails as if in play. Often 

 they would play like kittens and chase one another about 

 the pool for several minutes at a time, and occasionally 

 they would seem to lose their temper and indulge in a 

 row which sometimes ended by the weaker one scudding 

 ofl: with a mutilated tail. As trout get older they become 

 more shy and rarely feed at all in the day time, and as a 

 rule, exhibit a supreme contempt for all kinds of artificial 

 lures. After dark they will steal out from the deep holes 

 under the bank and hunt up minnows in the shallows, 

 but during the day they will not venture near enough to 

 the surface to even see a fly. 



The practice of setting aside certain waters as sanc- 

 tuaries for trout seems to be meeting with great success 

 in Maine, and it is high time it was tried in our Adiron- 

 dack waters. The idea is an excellent one. 



SCAKLET-lBlS. 



Ceappibs in PoNDS.~Mr. A. H. Eggbom, of Eggborn- 

 ville, "Va., introduced 11 crappies into a pond in 1887 and 

 now the water is well stocked with them. Individuals 

 weighing from l^lbs. to 3lbs. are found, but most of the 

 fish are too small for the table. They can jump as nim- 

 bly as the jack or pickerel. Mr. Eggbom considers the 

 crappies as next in rank to black bass and brook trout as 

 a pan fish. The species is known in the locality as silver 

 perch. 



Virginia Bass. — Lexington, Va. — Bass have been per- 

 haps more abundant this year than for some previous 

 years, large numbers being caught in the North River and 

 the James. Some good catches were made as late as Nov. 

 5.— T. M. S. 



ONONDAGA ANGLERS' ASSOCIATION. 



IN the Syracuse Courier Mr. Henry Lof tie give this ac- 

 count of the admirable work accomplished by the 

 Association and the State force: 



" People know but little of the work that has been done 

 by protection in this vicinity through the influence of the 

 Onondaga Anglers' Association," said a prominent mem- 

 ber of that organization to a Courier representative last 

 evening. '' Our private protector, Harry Jackson, is paid 

 by the Association and by subscriptions of the citizens 

 of Syracuse. Since last Mai'ch Mr. Jackson has taken 42 

 nets and made 45 arrests. Some cases have been settled 

 by paying fines and others are in the hands of the attor- 

 neys. Jackson could have done more work if the Asso- 

 ciation had had more funds at their command. He has 

 proved himself a very efficient officer and at times run 

 the risk of losing his life. 



"State Game Protector Harry Hawn has taken on 

 Oneida Lake, rivers and Skaneateles Lake 128 nets and 

 made 63 arrests. Some have paid their fines and the 

 balance of the cases are in the hands of attorneys. Mr. 

 Hawn is working under the dkect orders of the State and 

 is dictated to by them entirely. Skaneateles Lake has 

 been thoroughly cleaned of illegal netting and it is 

 claimed at the present time there has not been 50 trout 

 taken this fall where usually they have been taken out by 

 the barrel. 



"Superintendent J. W. Pond, State Fish and Game 

 Protector, has done great work. He is always on the 

 wing, and he comes in on our territory when we least 

 expect him. I know of several raids made in this section 

 by him. He always leads the protectors. He often 

 sends a stranger on the fishing grounds to get the points, 

 and when the x)roper time comes he gets the men and the 

 nets. Every one who knows of his work says he is a 

 most persistent worker and the best superintendent we 

 have ever had, and when we get the annual report from 

 the Commissioners it will surprise some of us. We can 

 then compare Mr. Hawn's work with other protectors, 

 and will see the good work that has been done for pro- 

 tection by Superintendent Pond. 



"I notice the work which has been done by the State 

 force, commencing Jan. 1 and ending Sept, 1 , 1891. is as 

 follows: Number of nets seized and destroyed, 190 fyke 

 nets, 157 trap nets, 1 pound net, 2 purse nets, 240 gill 

 nets, 11 seines, 3 spears, 4 eel racks, total value |16,874, 

 One hundred and ninety-one persons were prosecuted, 

 nearly every one of whom were convicted. Amount re- 

 covered in fines, $6,2&1.46. One hundred and seventy- 

 nine suits are still pending, mostly in Supreme Court. 



"Soon the Anglers' Association will have a meeting at 

 the Business Men's Association rooms and every one who 

 believes in protection and having the best fishing grounds 

 at our door should come to the meeting and join the Asso- 

 ciation which will help us pay our debts and continue 

 this work. We cannot do this work without funds, and 

 it is necessary that every one who loves angling should 

 join the Association. We notice some anglers object to a 

 hatchery on Oneida Lake. I do not think they xm- 

 derstand it. If there is no hatchery there the lake 

 would not be protected as well. The writer knows 

 that when pike run up the stream to spawn other 

 fish follow them and eat up 50 per cent, of the 

 spawn. If the State has a hatchery there, they certainly 

 would give better protection. IE the State has 5,000,000 

 of fry for other waters, they hatch out 10,000,000 and put 

 back into the lake 5.000,000 of matured fish. Would we 

 not have better fishing by having better protection and 

 5,000,000 matured fish put in this lake annually? Oneida 

 Lake cannot be protected by one protector. When it 

 becomes State waters they must then give it better pro- 

 tection, which means better fishing. I, for one, say 'give 

 us a hatchery.' 



"The Commissioners have at all times assisted us in 

 every way they could, for they weU appreciate the work 

 vve have done toward protection in central New York. 

 The writer has fished in most all waters in central New 

 York, and baa never known when the fishing has been a? 

 good and the waters as free from nets and illegal fishing 

 as at the present time. 



"Great credit is due the efficient Commissioner of State 

 Fisheries, President Blackford, who is a worker. Munroe 

 Green is working night and day to hatch the fry to be 

 delivered througnout the State during the winter and 

 spring to stock the different waters." 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



CHICAGO, III, Dec. 2.— After a while there won't be 

 any place at all but Chicago. This, at least, is the 

 inevitable result if the average Chicago man's hopes and 

 beliefs come true. At any rate, it is already an easy 

 saying that the best of everything comes to Chicago. 

 This is true, from the World's Fair down to fresh lob- 

 sters, and equally true in regard to fish. The largest tar- 

 pon ever caught is now in Chicago. It is beautifully 

 mounted and now rests in good similitude of life in the 

 anteroom of J. V. Northam & Co.'s whosesale house, at 

 180 Monroe street, just across the street from my office. 

 This is the fish mentioned so prominently by Forest 

 AND Stream at the time of its capture last season. It 

 was taken by a lady, Mrs. Geo. T. Stagg, of Frankfort, 

 Kv. The record, as appended to the case, gives the 

 weight of the fish as 205lbs., length 7ft. 3in., time in 

 playing 1 hour 25 minutes. The rod, reel, line and hook 

 on which the fish was taken are in the case below the 

 fish. They make only a plain tarpon outfit, the rod being 

 simply a 7ft. stick of natural bamboo, 2in. at the butt 

 and thick as one's finger at the tip. The arrival of this 

 fish at the city seems to have awakened an unusual tar- 

 pon interest here for this wintar. Several parties will go 

 South, probably to Fort Meyers, in the hope that the 

 Caloosahatchie may hold still larger specimens for the 

 City by the Lakes. Chicago is the only real tarpon 

 center. 



Dr. S. P. Bartlett. secretary Illinois State Fish Com- 

 mission, andMr. H. L. Watlington, secretary of thelllinois 

 Valley Association, were in my office to- day. They just 

 came from Mr. Geo, E. Cole, with whom they had had a 

 long talk in regard to the organization of a State league, 

 to be made up of all the different local and protective 

 societies of the State, on the plan first and exclusively 

 suggested in these columns in the issue of Nov, 2(). 

 Among men like these mere schemes or visionary plans 

 hold little weight, but in regard to this project there 

 seemed to be the most favorable opinion, and so the 

 gentlemen above informed me. They further stated that 



