196 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
IMarch II, 1905. 
Event 17, Friday Afternoon, March 3. 
Another quarter-ounce frog contest off the reel for 
accuracy and distance, and a hotly contested one, with 
averages for accuracy only a few points under perfec- 
tion for three of the men. The conditions were exactly 
like those ruling event No. 7, mentioned in last week's 
issue, but a slight change was made wherein the judges 
instructed the contestants to follow their accuracy casts 
with those for distance, thus saving time and completing 
each score before another contestah twas called up. In 
this way one trial and five casts were made at the 
60-foot target, then an equal number at the 7o-foot 
target, after which the score was completed by five dis- 
tance casts. The total of the accuracy casts was divided 
by 10 and the result deducted from 100, counting as the 
accuracy per cent. The average of the five distance 
casts added to this constituted the score. The judges' 
were H. G. Henderson, Sr., and Lody Smith, with R. 
H. Klotz as referee. C. M. Lucky was first to cast, 
and his score for accuracy was unusually high, his 
furthest cast being less than 6 feet from the center at 
both distances. Backing this up with four casts of 100 
feet or further, he left those to follow with a heart- 
breaker to excel or equal. L. S. Darling almost 
equaled his accuracy average, but had two unfortunate 
backlashes, which pulled down his distance average. 
Reuben Leonard, with a short rod fitted with large 
agate guides, fell slightly below both men on accuracy, 
but averaged well for distance, while Hiram Hawes 
made a remarkable showing after he had made only 
87.3 average accuracy, by rolling up a distance average 
of 81 3-5 with one cast outside the tank. Eddie Mills 
started off well, but got three distance casts outside, 
evidently through trying too hard to exceed Dr. 
Luckey's high average for distance. The score, per- 
centage to count: 
Unwise Fish Protection on Lakel 
Champ] ain. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I wish to call the attenion of your readers,- and es- 
pecially of the game legislators, to the results of mis- 
taken game legislation as applied to Lake Champlain. 
The kernel in the nut-shell is this.: Prohibitory laws 
have protected big fish until they have grown and in- 
creased to the extent that they have become able to 
completely devour and exterminate each year's fish 
crop; very few small fish are allowed to mature. By 
tig fish I mean all varieties of Esox: Esox lucius, 
common pike, called pickerel; also Esox nohilior, channel 
pickerel Or maskinonge; also gar pike, the bill fish of 
the natives. They are of the largest fresh-water fishes, 
and are known to be the most voracious and destructive.' 
of all fresh-water fish. What the sharks are to the 
ocean, these fish are to fresh waters. I have fished in 
Lake Champlain for the last fifty years, and in that 
time have visited nearly all parts of this lake; it has 
always been one of. my greatest pleasures to watch the 
actions and to investigate the varieties and numbers of 
fishes, whenever I had the opportunity. 
Now I am on deck to tell the truth, and will give 
you my testimony. Fifty years ago, and for about 
t\venty years after, the lake was splendidly stocked 
with fish everywhere. Large pickerel were not plenty 
or much in evidence. During the above time I could 
count, on any rocky shore, on a sunny day, from 
twenty to fifty black bass of all sizes from fingerlings to 
large-sized fish. Also, on rocky reefs I could often 
see schools of large bass lying on the surface with 
their fins out of water, sunning themselves. It was a 
common thing to see the whole outline of a reef in- 
C. M. Luckcy 94.0 100.0 110.0 108.0 110.1 ' 
R. C, Leonard 91.3 97.9 104.1 105.9 96.6 
H. W. Hawes 81.3 101.0 m.6 113.0 
L. S. Darling 40.6 15.0 58.6 84.0 70.0 
E. J. Mills 90.0 57.0 
D. T. Abercrombie 28.0 11.0 .... 47.0 51.0 
Event 18, Friday Night, March 3. 
This was open to all, distance only to count, with 
four-ounce rods and any leader, with the usual allow- 
ance for solid reel-seats. R. C. Leonard, using a five- 
ounce rod, with separate hand grasps and solid reel- 
seat, scored 96 feet 8 inches and won first place. H. 
G. Henderson, Sr., and M. H. Smith were the judges. 
The referee was Robert B. Lawrence. The score: 
Ft. In. Ft. In. 
R. C. Leonard 96 OS L. S. Darling 82 00 
H. VV. Hawes 85 08 E. J. Mills 78 06 
Event 19, Saturday Afternoon, March 4. 
An open event restricted to dry fly-casting for ac- 
curacy only, at buoys 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 feet from the 
casting platform. Each contestant, when ready to 
score, was required to make one cast at the 30-foot 
buoy and allow the fly to float on the water a few 
seconds. It was then retrieved as delicately as possible 
and the next buoy cast at, and so on until the five 
casts had been made. When the fly fell within a foot 
of the proper buoy, the accuracy was scored as perfect; 
but if the fly failed to float, or fell more than a foot 
from the buoy, a demerit of i for each fault was scored. 
Robert B. Lawrence and H. B. Leckler were the judges; 
referee, R. C. Leonard. The score: 
Accuracy. Average. Per Cent. 
L H. Cruicksliarik 1 1 2. 0 2 6 98.80 
'G. M. La Branche 1 1 1 4 4 11 97.80 
D. Brandreth 4 2 1 7 20 34 92.20 
L. S. Darling 1 2 3 6 30 42 91.60 
Event 20, Saturday Night, March 4. 
This was an open event, in which each contestant was 
required to cast for ij4 minutes with each hand alter- 
nately until 6 minutes' time had been consumed, the 
largest cast with each hand to count, while the average 
for the four casts constituted the score. R. C. Leonard 
scored 99 feet and averaged 88 feet 9 inches, winning 
first prize. The judges were C. G. Levison and M. H. 
Smith; referee, R. H. Klotz. The score: 
Average, 
Right hand. Left hand. Ft. In. 
R. C. Leonard 99 G4 81 81 88 9 
H. C. Hawes 85 93 80 84 86 6 
L. S. Darling 92.6 90 71.6 75 82 3 
King Smith 80 88 67 68 75 9 
Event 2J, Monday, Afternoon March 6, 
Trout fly-casting for accuracy only, open to all, with- 
out restriction on weight of rod or length of leader. 
Five casts were required at each of three buoys placed 
at 40, 45 and 50 feet, with time to extend line between 
each distance. A fly alighting within a foot of the 
buoy was scored a perfect cast, with a demerit of i 
for each foot or fraction the fly fell, from the buoy. 
The demerit per cent, divided by 15 arid the total de- 
ducted from 100 was scored as the average per cent. 
L. S. Darling won, although N. S. Smith tied this 
score on his 14th cast. The judges were G. M. L. 
LaBranche and Perry D. Frazer; referee, R. H. Klotz. 
The score. 
Total. Per Cent. 
S, L. Darling 0 0 0 0 1 
0 110 0 
1 1 1 2 0— 8 99.47 
N. S. Smith 0 110 1 
0 0 10 1 
. , . , 0 1 0 1 2= 9 99.47 
J. H. Crmckshank 12 3 10 
11111 
1 1 1 3 1—19 98.40 
D. T. Abercrombie 3 4 2 2 1 
0 3 2 2 1 
.119 1' 3— 35 ' ■ 97.66 
In practice this afternodn Miss E. J. Cruickshank 
cast a trout fly with a light rod with accuracy in every 
way creditable to this family of fly-fishermen. 
Distance 
Average, 
Feet. , 
, 1C4'.5 
99.4 . 
81.6 
^.6 
3 e 2 11 
4' 2 4 
5 1 
Accuracy 
Average, 
Per Cent. 
97.1 
Total 
Average, 
Per Cent. 
201.60 
1,4 5 1 -4 
2 2 3 
9 1 
■ 96.8 
195,90 
4 28 27 5 30 
3 16 5 
6 3 
87.6 
169.25 ' 
146.40'^ 
1 3 7 2 1 
3 0 1 
2 11 
96.9 
11 6 5 6 10 
14 4 
8 6 
93.9 
_ , . ( 
I 
10 10 19 10 22 
10 36 10 40 43 
79.7 
dicated by the leaping bass and pike-perch chasing 
small fish. At this time a person with a box of worms 
and a sapling rod or pole could go down to the shore 
almost anywhere, throw out, and catch a fine mess of 
fish of a number of varieties. This I used to do myself. 
The fish could be seen close up ashore. Perch could 
be seen in schools acres in extent, out in the lake. 
I used to see around the rocks fine schools of fall 
fish, or silver chubs, sometimes called the trout's 
cousiiis, because they take a fly and fight precisely like 
the trout when hooked. They are fine fish_ on the 
table. Years ago it was common to catch in Lake 
Champlain the whitefish of the western lakes. The. 
local fishermen called them lake shad — they used to 
catch them with a worm or a small minnow. Rock 
bass and pond-fish were numerous everywhere, and were 
a nuisance if one was fishing with live bait for bass, 
and pike-perch. Smelt and herring could be caught in 
quantities everywhere through the ice in winter. I used 
to spend days fishing for bass with good success; it 
would be useless to do so now. Mark you, the time 
above spoken of was the time, and many years before, 
when free netting, spearing, shooting fish with guns, . 
and no close season, was the rule. One thing I know, 
the great bulk of fish taken by spearing were pickerel, 
because they lie close up ashore in the night, and in 
the spring they lie close up ashore with their backs out 
of water, when they can be shot Avith guns. I think 
the above goes to show plainly that seining, spearing 
and shooting with guns kept the big fish in check, allow- 
ing each year's fish crop to mature, thereby keeping the 
lake finely stocked. 
Let us take a look at the condition of the lake now. 
For the past few years I have looked in vain for bass 
on sunny days around rocky shores ; they are not there. 
I have not seen nor caught any silver chubs, the trout's 
cousin, in a number of years. The rock bass and 
pond-fish have practically disappeared from the lake; 
I have cau,ght only four or five of them in the last three 
years. I find it useless to fish for black bass alone, and 
only once in a while get one, then seemingly acci- 
dentally, and find him poor in flesh and lanky for 
want of food. Years ago they were fleshy and plump 
like well-fed porkers. I3y the best of my judgment, 
pike-perch and yellow-perch, also smelt and herring, 
have decreased in numbers fully 50 to 80 per cent, 
from what they were twenty years ago. Besides this, 
the pike-perch are thinner and more snaky than they 
used to be. Furthermore, I do not see schools of bass 
or pike-perch jumping on the reefs as I did years ago. 
For the last ten years I have fished on the Vermont side 
of the lake, where the fish were- much more plenty 
than they were on the New York /side, thanks to the 
seining allowed by Vermont. But' I -.do find Vnornious 
pickerel on nearly every reef. I manage to save some 
of them, but the largest break loose. I got one thirty- 
eight and one-half inches in length. One I managed to 
get to the surface, and had a good view of, he appeared 
to be fully five feet long; he broke away. I think he 
was a maskinonge. Next season I will rig up with 
shark hooks and cod lines; then we will see if there 
is a God in Israel. 
I will here copy an article in regard to Esox lucius, 
from the Encyclopedia Britannica, which is of the 
highest authority: "Pikes are proverbially voracious; 
there seems indeed to be no bounds to their gluttony, 
for they devour indiscriminately whatever edible sub- 
stances they fall in with, and almost every animal they 
are able to subdue. Tt is,' says M. de Lacepede, 'the 
shark of the fresh' waters; it reigns there a devastating 
tyrant, like a shark in the midst of the ocean; insatiable 
in its appetite it ravages with fearful rapidity the 
streams, lakes, and fish ponds where it inhabits. Blindly 
ferociou.s, it does not spare its species and e'^-en devours 
its own young; gluttonous without choice it tears and 
swallows with a sort of fury the remains even of putre- 
fied carcasses.'" I have caught pickerel that I had to 
throw overboard, on account of the foul stench they 
emitted. "This blood-thirsty animal is also one of those 
to which nature accords the longest duration of years; 
for ages it terrifies, agitates, pursues, destroys, and 
consumes the feeble inhabitants of the waters which it 
infests; and as if, in spite of its insatiable cruelty, it 
was meant that it should receive every advantage, it 
has not only been gifted with strength, with size, with 
numerous weapons, but it has also been adorned with 
elegance of form, symmetry of proportions, and variety 
and richness in color." A singular instance of its 
voracity is related by Johnson, who asserts that he saw 
one killed which contained in its belly another pike of 
large size, and the latter, on . being opened, was found 
to have swallowed a water rat! 
I have seen a statement of an experiment tried with 
some pickerel, Esox lucius, that were kept in confine- 
ment. Live fish were fed to them to see how much 
the gluttons would devour. It was found that on the 
average they would eat their own weight of fish in 
about every three and one-half days. Think of it! 
A pike of twenty pounds would eat nearly one ton of 
fish each year; one of ten pounds weight would devour 
nearly 1,000 pounds in a j^ear; a six-pound pickerel 
would destroy more fish in one year than a summer 
sportsman would catch in one season. Now, a channel 
pickerel, maskinonge,. grows to weigh from forty to 
sixty pounds. Give them a fair chance and they would 
get away with fish by the ton. In my younger days 
there was a shallow lake near my home, three miles 
long, and three-fourths of a mile wide. It was full of 
suckers and dace, and there were more frogs to the 
square rod than I ever saw in any water. We thought 
it would be fine to introduce pickerel. Sixteen were 
placed in the lake; in three years' time all' the suckers, 
dace and frogs had disappeared. 
The garpike is a fiendish invention of the evil one. 
Imagine a thin clipper-built fish, two to four feet in 
length, armed with a bill of hard bone three to ten 
inches long, opening like a pair of shears, whose edges 
are armed with sharp-cutting teeth locking together 
like two carpenter-saws placed edge to edge. Give this 
fish an impenetrable armor that will turn the edge 
of a knife, and you have the garpike. This fish will dart 
like an arrow and is the swiftest fish in the lake. Like 
its cousin, Esox, {i delights to lurk among the lily- 
pads and weeds, ever ready, to dart out and kill any 
unfortunate fish that happens along. It is almost im- 
possible to _take_ this fish by angling, as it generally 
cuts a fish in pieces before devouring it. On sunny 
days they can be seen in some parts of the lake in 
large schools, basking on the surface. As the game laws 
of New York entirely prohibit, by heavy penalties, 
spearing, netting and shooting of fish, these garpike 
have it all their own way. They are left entirely alone; 
none are destroyed by man. Years ago, in the time 
of seining, when the seine was drawn the fishermen 
could detect the presence of hill-fish before thev saw 
them, by the bloody water and the condition of the 
poor fish enclosed. Some of these would have their 
tails cut off, others would be horridly cut and wounded. 
In the days of wooden plows farmers living near . Lake 
Champlain used to nail to the mold-boards of their 
plows the skins of the garpike to preserve them from 
wear. It seems to be the mission of the garpike and 
pickerel family to devastate, ravage and destroy. In this 
work they have been practically protected by the game 
laws of the past years. The supply of fish in Lake Cham- 
plain at the present time is in a bad way,, but worse is to 
come. .Maskinonge, or channel pickerel. , have been in- 
troduced. These grow to forty , or fifty pounds in 
weight; they will increase like common pickerel, and 
what minnows and speckled trout are to common 
pickerel as a prey, will be the pike-perch and black 
bass_, and all other fish under six pounds weight. I am 
afraid the sudden depletion of fish in the lake for the 
last few years comes from this cause. I understand 
that New York has been propagating channel pickerel 
for distribution. This goes to make good the words of 
one of Shakespeare's characters, Puck, when he ex- 
claims, "What fools these mortals be !" 
Some people think the use of explosives has much to 
do with the scarcity of fish. It is true the explosion 
of dynamite on a reef makes barren grund of that 
particular reef for a number of years. It destroys all 
insect life on which the small fish feed, thereby causing 
them to desert that particular localitv— the small" fish hav- 
ing left, the larger fish leave also. When the reef is in the 
region of strong currents, these results are not so 
bad. Of course this causes only local damage, but it 
is bad enough, and should be prohibited by heavy fines 
or imprisonment. 
Now, I do not wish to dictate or to say to the game 
legislator what laws should be enacted, but I sunpose 
every person has a right to express his opinion. There- 
fore I would like to suggest what changes might be 
made to meet the adverse conditions that confront us. 
First — I would suggest that Esox lucius and garpike 
should be outlawed. All persons should be authorized 
to take them at all times, and by any means, excepting 
the use of explosives placed in the water, which should 
be prohibited by heavy penalties. 
_Second — Allow spearing and gunning for fish, both 
night and day, at all times of the year, for the reason 
that the bulk of the fish taken by these means are 
pickerel. (This I know to be true.) If some other 
fish are taken the benefit of killing the pickerel heavily 
overbalances the harm done. ' 
Third — Give hcenses for seining and netting, but 
under supervision as to localities, size of the meshes oi 
nets, etc. Exceptions: No seines or nets to be used on 
or in the immediate vicinity of rocky reefs or places 
where the pike-perch and bass frequent and inhab't 
plentifully. No seines' or nets to be used that "will 
take fish of one-half pound weight or under. No close 
season for seining and nets, except where pike-perch 
and bass resort for spawning purposes. The last clause, 
regarding netting, to be kept in force at least until tb.- 
pickerel and garpike are thinned out of the lake. 
Fourth — AH licences to be issued with the understand 
