April 26, 1902. J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
881 
The fishing season in the Kennebec Valley, Me., is most 
-•emarkably early. Hon. C. F. Johnson, of Waterville, 
ias landed a squaretail from Great Pond, Belgrade, of 
51^2 pounds. Right off the wharves at this pond some 
arge trout were taken last week. One weighed 4 pounds 
3 ounces, and another 3 pounds 8 ounces. The lucky cap- 
tors were Dr. E. L. Jones and C. C. Gay. At Lake Cob- 
(josseecontee the ice went out most remarkably early, and 
some good fishing days have been experienced, though 
:old winds have prevailed a good deal of the time. Com- 
missioner H. O. Stanley has been the guest of Com- 
tnissioner Carleton at the home of the latter, not far from 
the lake. Commissioner Stanley hooked a trout that 
proved to weigh 4*4 pounds. When he had the fish well 
Ihooked he remembered that his landing net had been 
■left behind. He had to play the fish till he could be 
llanded by hand, a job requiring considerable time. Mr. 
■Carleton also caught a large trout. Other fishermen have 
(had fair sport there. The new trolley line from Augusta 
■to the lake promises to be completed early in the summer; 
■then this lake may be reached easily any_ day. Great 
preparations are being made for the fishing in the waters 
'of Franklin and Oxford counties, where fishing is not 
legal till May 1. At Varnum and Clearwater lakes, not 
far from Farmington, everything is ready, and May 1 will 
see these waters covered with boats. From Sebago there 
are no very satisfactory reports of catches since the first 
few days after the ice went out. Henry Alexander, of 
Portland, made a record there last week along the east 
shore. He caught three salmon, the largest weighing 12 
pounds. C. Walker caught five salmon in three days' 
fishing, the string weighing 25 pounds. F. Haines, of 
Biddeford, has taken three salmon in one day there this 
spring. It is a curious fact that about a salmon a day 
is considered good sport at Sebago; more than that, ex- 
cellent. This would not do for most other waters in 
Maine. 
At Newfound Lake, N. H., boats are out every day 
when the weather permits. Last week a Mr. Wood 
■caught two salmon, the total weight of which was 10 
pounds, and a trout weighing sVa pounds. Mr. Robinson 
-caught a salmon of 3 l / 2 pounds and a trout that tipped the 
scales at g x A pounds. Mr. Lambert has caught a salmon 
of 6Y 2 pounds and a trout of A l A pounds. Local fisher- 
men have taken their share of the trophies. Patrick H. 
Adams has caught eleven salmon since the season opened, 
total weight 41 pounds. He has also taken a trout of 
6V2 pounds. Harrv S. Morgan has a trout of 6 l A pounds 
to his credit; George Nelson, trout of 7 pounds; Oral 
Nelson, trout of 7 pounds; C, C. Martin, trout of zflt 
pounds ; A. F. Cate, six salmon, total weight, 32 pounds ; 
Frank W. Calley, two salmon, 8 pounds; A. Burpee and 
C H Turkey, one salmon each, 4 pounds. At Winm- 
pisaukee, Frank N. Bates, of Wollaston ; J. E. Dutton, of 
Melrose, and A. W. Millett, of Salem, Mass., had great 
luck from Mr. Bates' camp at Lock's Island. They 
landed in one day nine fish, the string weighing 47^ 
pounds. 
Fishing has been a failure at the big salmon pool at 
Bangor, Me., so far this season. Very few fish have 
been taken. The second fish weighed 18 pounds, taken a 
week ago Saturday. The record will have to pick up or 
the Bangor Pool will be a thing of the past. Still, the 
weirs are permitted in the river below at different points, 
and how can the pool be good for angling? At the 
Verona weirs three large salmon were taken last week— 
17, 19^ and 21 pounds. No good catches are yet re- 
ported from Grand Lake, though the ice went out very 
early Boston anglers are not enthusiastic about trying 
those waters in April. At Canton, Me., a few salmon 
are being taken from Lake Annasaguntecook. A. Hay- 
ford has caught one weighing 4?4 pounds. There are 
no reports of fish taken at the Winthrop, Me., lakes, al- 
though the ice went out very early. 
The ice is nearly out of Moosehead Lake, at the writ- 
ing and any hour the telegraph may announce that it is 
entirely clear, though ice has frozen for at least three 
nights during the past six days. 
6 Special. 
Massachusetts Trool. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Representative Karl M. Ebert, who is a member of the 
Fish and Game Committee, has recently had a trout fish- 
ing experience In southeastern Massachusetts which was 
a great delight to him. It has also had the effect of 
giving him a better idea, perhaps, than he had before of 
the capacity of the Old Bay State brooks to produce fine 
specimens of the speckled beauties, even in .the face of 
the existing thicklv settled conditions. Mr. Ebert is from 
Lowell and feels that his visit down Bristol county way 
is an event that deserves a red-letter assignment in his 
calendar. ■ . 
With two companions he spent part of three days in 
whipping the streams. They were actually engaged m 
fishing about a total of two hours, since only a short 
time each day was spent with the rood and reel. As a 
matter of fact, it was not necessary to spend much time 
on the streams to get all the fish they wanted. This will 
'be evident when it is stated, on the authority of Mr. 
Ebert, that, in addition to the fish eaten, the party took 
home sixty fine squaretails, of a size and beauty that 
would do credit to the finest streams in Maine. It is not 
perhaps surprising that Mr. Ebert is very enthusiastic 
and feels that the trout fisherman still has something to 
live for without going to Maine or Canada. Another 
enthusiast, who has whipped the streams of the northern 
tier of States, and who is now at my elbow, says : Great 
Scott! there are better trout to-day in Massachusetts 
brooks than can be .found in any of the small brooks of 
Maine or New Hampshire." That seems to be a fact, as 
well as patriotic. Bay State. 
The Springfield Republican reports of the opening of 
the Massachusetts season : No more perfect day for the 
opening of the trout season could be desired. It was 
bright and warm, and only a gentle breeze. The brooks 
are just the right height, and the fish hard and gamy. 
From the four points of the compass come the usual 
first-day fish stories, but the results of the fishing done in 
the North and South branches, "the king and queen of the 
local trout streams, are taken for standard. The strings 
from the South Branch were larger in number and size 
perhaps, but there were not as many on the brook. Most 
of the members report strings numbering between twenty 
and twenty-five, with some fish weighing as much as half 
a pound. On the North Branch the strings were smaller, 
but the fish more uniform in size, and large at that. The 
average was about twelve. 
From the north come reports of catches weighing six 
pounds, and others of forty-five fish, while Connecticut 
seemed to be neglected entirely yesterday. The brooks 
in Hampden were fished by their owners with good re- 
sults, and from all sides come reports of larger fish than 
last year. Some anglers tried to use flies, but the trout 
would not rise well, as it is still too early in the season 
for fly-fishing. The fish are mostly in the swift water at 
the heads of the holes, and yesterday morning they seemed 
very greedv. taking the bait at once if at all. Yesterday 
was so successful in every respect that many fishermen 
will probably try it again to-day, if the weather holds 
good. Saturday" will be an awful day for the trout, how- 
ever, especially if it is bright and warm. It is Patriots' 
Day, and about every one will have a holiday and take to. 
the woods or brooks. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
time or other, quite fabulous stories attached to them. It 
was long stated that the "landlocked salmon," or 
ouananiche. was found in Trout Lake, and there came also 
the same stories regarding the lakes near Ely, on the 
west coast of Lake Superior, as well as from similar lakes 
in Minnesota. The fish is the same as the trout of the 
Great Lakes, with the exception of certain changes of 
coloration and contour due to the changed environment of 
the smaller lakes. It is reported to be a good table fish, 
and is much valued by certain sportsmen who fish for it 
in the early spring and late fall, which are the only times 
it can be taken in anything like sportsmanlike manner, 
since at that time it comes out into the shallow water. 
There are some fishermen who take a secret joy in "chug- 
ging" for this fish in 100 feet of water during the sum- 
mer months. This sport is pursued the same as chugging 
for bass in the Johnson Channel on the St. Clair Flats and 
other places. A pound weight is allowed to drop down to 
the bottom and comes bumping along as the boat is pulled 
along. A few feet above this sinker is attached a 
Wabbling* spoon and not a revolving spoon. A minnow 
is also sometimes used, but the slowly moving spoon is 
said to be the best bait for the so-called "landlocked sal- 
mon" of Wisconsin. 
E. Hough, 
Hartfokd Building, Chicago, III. ' I',' 
Better Lock at Cedar Lake. 
Chicago, 111., April 20.— The work of rejuvenation, 
renovation and general reformation of Cedar Lake, Ind., 
still progresses, and this week the officials in charge can 
report progress. The warm days of spring seem to have 
brought the fish in within reach of the 500-foot seine. On 
Thursday the big net took in about 1,000 pounds of crop- 
pies, 400 black bass, some hundreds of bullheads, a few 
buffalo fish, dogfish, carp, suckers, etc. The game fish 
were all returned to the water and the less noble varieties 
were distributed among the populace. It is thought that 
the work of seining at Cedar Lake will continue for sev- 
eral days yet, and perhaps the net results, so to speak, 
will work to the betterment of that locally famous water. 
Bass not yet Biting. 
Bass are still reticent withal, and although the season 
would seem to be fairly well advanced for the date of the 
month, no great numbers of bass have yet appeared, so 
that our fishermen who have been out thus far report 
very indifferent success. A party of three anglers will- 
go to the Fox Lake district of Illinois to-night, but the 
reports which have come in during the week have been 
so discouraging that most of the fishermen have concluded 
to hold their trips back for another week. A week from 
to-dav there will be a general exodus to the northward 
and southward, and then the bait-fishermen will do busi- 
ness with the big-mouths. There ought to be some bass 
fishing in the Kankakee River during the coming week, 
but Indiana and the waters thereof seem to have fallen 
into oblivion for the current two years ; hence we do not 
hear so much of that mystic region as we did formerly, 
The Trout Season in "Wisconsin. 
The trout season has begun fairly well in the State of 
Wisconsin, more especially for such lower waters as the 
White River, Wautoma Creek, etc., which are among the 
early fishing localities north of us. On one or two pre- 
served streams the trout have been reported rising fairly 
well, but to the northward as far as the Prairie River 
the weather for the first few opening days of the season 
was not especially propitious, so that the trout did not 
come to the fly with any great eagerness. The early 
reports obtainable from Wisconsin at this date would indi- 
cate that the trout supply was better this year than it 
was five years ago ; that it has decreased in one or two 
streams, but on the whole promises very well for the 
future. Of course the upper peninsula of Michigan is 
closed for a couple of weeks yet, as well as the lower 
peninsula so that we cannot tell what will be the reports 
from the Wolverine State. It is generally believed that 
Michigan is doing more in planting trout than any 
Western State, and meeting with better success. I talked 
with an official of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad a 
couple of weeks ago, and he said that the officials of 
his line plant millions of trout every year, and intend to 
keep up this policy, which they believe to be a winning 
one for their railroad property. The State officials of 
Michigan arc to be congratulated upon the character of 
their work for thoroughness and efficiency. 
In Wisconsin there have been several hundred thousand 
trout fry planted this spring. I met a few days ago Mr. 
Brooks," of Tomahawk, Wis., who is just back from a 
trip up the Prairie River, where he acted as special com- 
missioner of Mr. James C. Nevin, superintendent of the 
trout hatchery at Madison, Wis. Mr. Brooks is 
simply a friend of the trout, not an employe of the 
State Commission, and has for some years assisted the 
State Commission in distributing fish over the upper part 
of Wisconsin. He had with him eight cans of trout fry, 
two or three hundred thousand in all, which were planted 
in the Prairie River near Dudley's place, below the upper 
dalles of the Prairie. He also planted some trout m a 
branch of the Pine, not far from the Prairie, as well as 
vet another consignment in the north branch of the 
Prairie. He will soon plant several hundred thousand 
wall-eyed pike in the waters of Wisconsin, including 
some lakes near Tomahawk. Mr. Brooks tells me that 
last year, in connection with Mr. W. H. Bradley, of 
Tomahawk, he undertook a little proposition of his own, 
looking toward the introduction of lake trout into the 
waters of the Wisconsin River. With the permission of 
the State Commission and with the backing of Mr. Brad- 
ley, he took nets and men and went to Trout Lake, Wis., 
where he succeeded in capturing sixty-five good speci- 
mens, some of which weighed 12 to 15 pounds. Pie 
planted these in the upper reaches of the Wisconsin 
River a sort of lake or bay, and is now patiently awaiting 
results. This is the first attempt I have ever known of 
introducing the lake trout into the rivers of Wisconsin. 
It is quite likely that these fish will quietly vanish and 
leave no record of their going. It is, of course, well 
known to all Chicago and Western anglers that Trout 
Lake, Wis., has long prided itself upon the possession of 
these landlocked salmon trout which have had, at one 
The Restricted Inland Range of Shad 
And its Effect on Natural Reproduction. 
There is no species of fish more important to residents 
of the Atlantic seaboard than the shad, and none whose 
preservation immediately concerns a larger portion of the 
population. The total number of persons actively en- 
gaged in this fishery numbers about 25,000, and the catch 
approximates 15,000,000 fish annually. However, there 
are few species whose geographical range and local 
abundance are more easily affected by agencies of man or 
which require greater attention for their maintenance. 
Ascent to the spawning grounds in the headwaters of 
rivers is necessary for shad to reproduce. For this pur- 
pose they ascend the St. John in Florida a distance ap- 
proximating 375 miles; the Altamaha a distance of 300 
miles; the Edisto, 281 miles; the Santee, 272 miles; the 
Neuse, 360 miles, and the Delaware River a distance of 
240 miles from the sea. However, these distances do not 
equal the extreme range in the early part of the nine- 
teenth centurv. Then shad ascended the Savannah to 
Tallulah Falls, a distance of 384 miles, instead of 209 
miles, as at present- They ran up the Pee Dee to Wilkes- 
barre, a distance of 451 miles, whereas the present limit 
on that river is Grassy Island, 242 miles from the sea. 
On the James River the former run was 350 miles in 
length, while the present limit is Bosher's dam, 120 miles, 
The greatest decrease exists in the Susquehanna River, 
in which shad formerly ascended to Binghamton, 31S 
miles from the mouth and 513 miles by water-course 
from the sea, whereas at present they do not appear to 
pass beyond Clark's Ferry, 84 miles from the mouth of 
the river. 
An examination of twenty-three of the principal At- 
lantic coast rivers, aggregating 8,113 miles in length, 
show that shad formerly existed throughout 6,052 miles, 
or 74 per cent, of the length, whereas at present they are 
to be found in only 4,107 miles, a decrease of nearly 2,000 
miles. This summary comprises only the principal rivers, 
and if minor streams and tributaries were included, the 
total length from which shad have been excluded would 
doubtless appear more than twice as great. In much of 
that length shad were quite numerous, the catch in many 
instances exceeding the yield in the portion to which the 
fisheries are now confined. In the James River, accord- 
ing to the late Col. McDonald,' the annual catch of shad 
in the 230 miles from which they are now excluded "was 
at one time far in excess of the now (1880) catch on the 
entire river." The present excluded length of the Sus- 
quehanna formerly yielded several hundred thousand an- 
nually.. It was estimated that at the beginning of the 
nineteenth century the annual shad yield in the M err i" 
mac River ranged from 500,000 to 1,000,000 in number, 
whereas none ascend that river at present. 
This decrease in the range of shad in the rivers is the 
result of several agencies, the most important of which 
are (1) artificial dams, (2) pollution of water, (3) agri- 
cultural operations, and (4) extensive fisheries. 
Most of the Atlantic coast streams having their sources 
above the coastal plane have been made impassable for 
shad at a short distance above the escarpment line by 
means of artificial dams built for developing water power 
or for navigation improvements. In this class are the 
Savannah, the Santee, the Cape Fear, the James, the 
Susquehanna, the "Housatonic, the Connecticut, the Mer- 
rimac, the Kennebec and the Penobscot. Numerous at- 
tempts have been made by the erection of fishways to en- 
able shad to pass above these obstructions; among the 
costly contrivances being those in the Savannah at 
Augusta, the Potomac at Great Falls, the Susquehanna at 
Clark's Ferry, the Housatonic at Birmingham, the Con- 
necticut at Holyoke, the Merrimac at Lawrence, and the 
Kennebec at Augusta. And although these are modern 
constructions, designed by engineers of ability, familiar 
with the principles of hydraulics and the habits of fish, 
none of them appear to be successful for shad, this fish 
being so timid that it will not enter fishways readily used 
by salmon, alewives and other species. True, a few in- 
dividuals may pass through some of the fishways, but the 
number is not sufficiently large to be of any practical value, 
and in a majority of instances where shad are reported 
above a dam, they have swam over th e crest during 
freshets, or have passed through breaks in the obstruc- 
tion. " 
. The utility of the spawning areas below the dams has 
also been impaired by chemicals, sawdust, and other 
refuse from mills and towns on the river banks. In a 
number of small streams these have almost completely 
destroyed the spawning and feeding areas. But regula- 
tions against this practice now exist in most States. 
The most important factor in reducing the inland range 
is the extensive fisheries near the coast. In the first 
half of the present century shad were caught all along 
1 
