SUPPLEMENT TO THE FISHING GAZETTE 
SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 1893. 
IPcovincial IFlotes 
FROM BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT. 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
A general meeting of the Tenby Piscatorials was held 
at the Tenby Eestaurant, Tenby-street, on Wednesday 
evening, April 19. The meeting, which was above 
the average, as far as the attendance of the members was 
concerned, was presided over by Mr. G. King. The 
business transacted was of a very important character. 
The minutes of the committee, held on April 3, were 
read by the secretary, Mr. J. Plavell, the chief portion 
of which related to the club’s annual contest, the date 
suggested by the committee being July 23 next; this, 
upon being put to the meeting, was unanimously agreed 
upon ; the committee also suggested that the contest be 
fished in the Avon at Twyning Fleet; this was also 
accepted. Mr. Yates, of the Camden Society, was 
appointed referee. The action of the committee in 
promoting a smoking concert in aid of the prize fund, 
to take place at the club-house on May 11 next, was 
unanimously approved of. The chairman informed the 
meeting that a first-class array of artists had promised 
to attend, and he had great confidence in saying that, 
with the aid of the concert, the prize fund would be 
greatly augmented. The balance-sheet for the quarter 
ending March 30, which showed that the sum of over 
£12 was carried forward to the general account, after 
defraying the liabilities, was passed. Mr. G. King then 
presented the society with a challenge cup, to be fished 
for at the club’s'annual contests, together with a framed 
certificate for the first \vinner. Mr. King, in presenting 
the cup, said that he presented it to the club on the 
understanding that it should not be won, but should go 
with the first prize ; the winner to receive a certificate, 
showing that he had won the cup, and also that the 
winner be allowed to hold the cup in his possession for 
twelve months. Mr. White, on behalf of the society, 
accepted the cup, and proposed a hearty vote of thanks 
to Mr. King for his generous offer. This was seconded 
by Mr. Hall, and was carried with acclamation. Mr. 
King briefly replied when the important matter of the 
Birmingham Association Challenge Cup was discussed, 
and it was decided to affirm the principle, and to 
instruct the delegates to support the cup committee at 
the forthcoming meeting. 
The Severn Fishery Board meeting, which was held 
on Thursday last, April 20, at the Queen’s Hotel, 
Birmingham, was held under great disadvantage to the 
members, and also the press. The reasons assigned 
for this being, that the large room usually used by the 
board being engaged, and the meeting had to be held in 
a room anything but suitable for the purpose. Owing 
to the crowded state of the room, the reporters were 
unable to gain admittance, and the reports that they 
obtained were from the information given them by the 
clerk. This state of things is very much to be 
regretted, and I think that the city authorities should 
be asked to provide a room for the board to meet 
in. The chief business transacted with interest to 
Midland anglers was the all-important Avon question, 
and I am informed by the provincial representatives on 
the board that an enquiry will shortly be held in 
Birmingham upon the matter, when certain officers of 
the Severn Fishery Board will attend at an appointed 
place—selected by the Provincial Association—for the 
purpose of taking down in writing all the information 
bearing upon the subject. The evidence will be 
compiled in a proper manner, and, in due course, be 
forwarded to the Board of Trade. Notices of the 
enquiry will be forwarded to all the clubs having an 
interest in the River Avon as a fishery. The date of 
the enquiry will shortly be made known, and an 
endeavour is being made so that it can take place on a 
Saturday afternoon, so that it will not cause some of the 
members to lose their work, and also enable persons 
coming from a distance to be present. If the enquiry 
can be arranged for some Saturday afternoon, as 
mentioned, there will be ten times more evidence 
forthcoming, and of a more forcible character than if 
the enquiry was held on any other day. I hope the 
board will agree to the recinest, so that the matter may 
be brought to a more successful issue. 
A new angling association is being formed at Broms- 
grove. Mr. J. Newell is the secretary. 
FROM DERBYSHIRE. 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
The past week in Derbyshire has again been brilliantly 
fine and most unnaturally warm, the consequence being 
that the streams are all too low for angling, and are 
running extremely fine. In the Wye, Derwent, and 
Dove but little has been done, an odd fish here and there 
being about all that is being taken. Until we have a 
decided downfall of rain I fear that sport on the Derby¬ 
shire streams will be at best intermittent and confined 
to “ locals ” who are always on the spot to take advan¬ 
tage of a rise, and who can fish late. 
In connection with the pollution of the Derwent at 
Belper, I see in a local paper that a writer of notes 
seems to regard the outcry against the pollution of the 
stream by Belper made by the county council, and the 
Trent Board as much more objectionable than the pol¬ 
lution itself. If the writer be in earnest, it serves to 
illustrate the recklessly indifferent spirit in which people 
regard such matters, and serves to emphasize my remarks 
on the question in last week’s notes. I can hardly 
believe, however, that the writer intended to seriously 
advance such an absurd proposition, even though he had 
no direct or indirect interest in fish or fishing. 
Salmon fishing has this week been at a standstill. 
Mr, Wood has, I believe, had one or two trials at King’s 
Mills, but his efforts have met, so far as I am aware, 
with no success. The river is certainly far too low in 
most places for spinning, though a fish might be picked 
up with the worm or the prawn, though the latter lure 
does not seem to find much favour in Trent salmon 
anglers’ eyes. Some portions of the river, frequented 
by salmon, though far from ideal, are not ill adapted 
for its use. In the present low state of the water, it 
would probably, on the analogy of other rivers, prove 
more deadly than any other lure. The lower the water, 
the better the results, within my experience, yielded by 
the prawn, though on sporting ground I cannot find any 
justification for its use, save the compulsion of stern 
necessity. 
In. continuation of my recent remarks as to the possi¬ 
bilities of the Trent as a salmon river, what is un¬ 
doubtedly required by way of improvement, is a com¬ 
plete overhaul of all the fish passes presently existing 
on the river. Averham Weir, above Newark, does not, 
I think, present any very great difficulty to ascending 
fish, though even there the fish require a heavy flood to 
make them essay the weir. The fish ladder here is by 
no means a bad one, but it is far from ideal. In all 
salmon rivers fish will not, of course, run, unless there 
is some sort of “ fresh ” coming down, but so far as I 
can judge, Trent salmon require a heavy flood before 
they show any tendency to move upwards at all. I have 
little doubt but that this disinclination is due to the 
presence of these extremely high weirs, and 
the inadequacy of the passes to serve the pur¬ 
pose for which they have been constructed. 
Once over Averham Weir, there is no great obstacle to 
the passage of the fish until they reach King’s Mills 
Weir, Beeston, andColwick Weir, presenting, especially 
the latter, no great obstacle to their ascent, while Trent 
Weir can be so called only by courtesy. In spite of this 
fact, the fish seem to have developed a habit of resting 
below each and making successive stages in their passage 
upwards according to the succeeding floods. Once up at 
King’s Mills the fish go no further; indeed, they cannot 
do so unless a heavy flood be sweeping down the 
Trent valley. In such long-continued dry weather as 
this, they drop, in my view, back to some such deep 
hole as the Long Swim ; but the fact that they can 
ascend no further at this period of the year does not 
matter, for, in my opinion, the fish are descending (an 
Irish way of putting it), and the Trent is not a spring 
river, though it holds an odd “springer,” the fish at 
present frequenting its higher reaches are not, in my 
view, fresh run, but simply more or less well-mended 
kelts—an opinion which is indorsed by more than one 
competent judge. Apart from the fish which I have seen, 
the fact that no salmon have been observed for a long 
period in the estuary and tidal waters, points to the 
conclusion that there is no marked spring run. Later in 
the year, however, when the main run comes on, the fish 
should have a free passage, and should be able to ascend 
in any state of the water that is not abnormal. As 
matters are they cannot do so, and I am far from being 
certain that they receive that assistance in their 
passage which they might reasonably expect from lessees 
and owners of fishing, and, speaking generally, from 
those interested in their welfare. 
Once above King’s Mills weir, there is no obstacle to 
the passage of the fish to the spawning beds on that not 
very favourable river for the purpose, the Dove. As I 
pointed out, however, last week, the Derwent is, in my 
opinion, the natural home of the Trent salmon, but 
they, as a rule, avoid it, and, if they enter it, are power¬ 
less to ascend Wilne weir. Even if they could pass 
this, however, the sewage and other pollution from 
Derby would drive them back ; if they lived to spawn 
the spawn would not fructify, for pollution is far more 
fatal to eggs and fry than the grown fish. 
What is wanted, therefore, in the meantime, is a new 
series of salmon passes. In one of the Hebridean 
group there is a curious pass (if it may be so called) 
which might with advantage be tried at the various 
weirs of Trent. This “ pass ” is nothing more or less 
than a pipe of very large diameter led out into the sea. 
Through this pipe the water from the small ditch or 
burn connecting the loch with the sea flows. It was 
constructed because the heavy sea on the west coast 
blocked up with sand the mouth of the burn from time 
to time. 'Phe loch above (the sea-trout of three other 
lochs pass through it) is the best for its size attached to 
any hotel in Scotland (especially for large fish). Now, 
if such a pipe were run through the weir at its foot 
with a very gentle gradient, it might, and, I believe, 
would, enable the fish to pass upwards in all states of 
the water. Whatever plan may be adopted, the Trent 
certainly requires new passes, if it is to have justice and 
be given a chance to redeem its reputation as a salmon 
river. 
There is yet another way in which the Trent has dete¬ 
riorated—in fact, ’oeen utterly ruined—and what might 
have been a valuable industry destroyed. I allude to 
the presence of smelts in the river, or “ sparlings ” as 
we call them in the north. Though not directly inte¬ 
resting Derbyshire, yet the river plays such an impor¬ 
tant part in the Derbyshire angling world that we 
regard its interests in all its length as common to all the 
districts through which it passes. I was informed the 
other day by a well-known Lincolnshire proprietor that 
he used to take as many as 3000 smelts from the Trent 
almost any afternoon. You may net the river all season 
nowadays, and not secure a single specimen of this 
valuable and delicate fish. Pollution, pure and simple— 
if the apparent contradiction may be pardoned—is the 
cause of this, and every town from Belper to Gains¬ 
borough is no doubt more or less to blame. It is a great 
misfortune, but one not beyond'remedy, that these valua¬ 
ble fish should no longer frequent the river. 
A good deal of misconception seems to prevail as to 
the state of the law with reference to the taking of eels 
during the close season by means of rod and line. As 
the law at present stands eels are not fresh-water fish 
within the meaning of the 11th section of the Fresh¬ 
water Fisheries Act, 1878 ; but in terms of the Eels Act 
1886 (49 Viet. c. 2), sect. 1, they cannot be angled for 
with rod and line, and are, so far as angling is concerned, 
in precisely the same position as the other kinds of 
coarse fish. The important point, however, in connec¬ 
tion with their exclusion from the fresh-water fish cate¬ 
gory, is that they can be sold, whereas the Act (1878) 
absolutely prohibits the sale of fresh-water fish, where¬ 
soever caught, the 4th sub-section simply saying “ any 
fresh-water fish” (other, of course, than pollan, trout, 
or char, or “ those that migrate to and from the open 
sea ”) and making no mention of the usual saving clause 
“ unless it can be shown that the fish were taken in a 
locality to which the Act does not apply.” I make special 
mention of eels, because I am aware that many anglers 
continue to fish for eels in, I believe, perfect good faith, 
during the close season, especially in tidal waters. How 
the Eels Act affects the general decision in Bradley v. 
Price, and the definition in the Acts that the term fresh¬ 
water fish includes all kinds of fish living temporarily 
or permanently in fresh water, save salmon, I am not 
prepared to state, but it seems to me that, so long as a 
fish—even a white fish—is in the river, it must neces¬ 
sarily come within the letter if not the spirit of the act 
and the decision. If it does not come within the spirit 
of the Act, then its object is defeated, for an angler 
might be fishing for coarse fish or eels in a portion of 
the river influenced to some extent by the tide and 
occasionally frequented by flounders, and urge as his 
defence that he was fishing for flounders—a legal thing 
for him to do all the year round provided locale in no way 
influences the legality of his proceedings. White fish 
are, of course, held in trust for the people by the Crown 
and as ferai natural are res nuUius, to which the fit 
occiipantis phrase of the civil law applies, but I cannot 
help thinking that, despite of all this, it is not legal to 
angle for them during the close season for coarse fish, in 
water frequented by coarse fish and with a lure which 
may take coarse fish, on that very same principle of 
public expediency which prohibits the sale of trout or 
char in England during the close season, no matter 
where caught. The question is all the more important 
by reason of the opinion expressed by Mr. Willis Bund 
in last week’s Fishing Gazette, and I shall be very much 
surprised if that opinion does not lead to some decision 
on the point, as his view is sure to encourage anglers to 
fish in the lower reaches of the Trent, ostensibly for 
white fish. 
The dace and roach in the Trent are now beginning to 
congregate by the banks in the heat of the day, and if 
we have this dry weather much longer we will have an 
outbreak of “ fungus ” to fear, such as occurred towards 
the end of August. This is all the more to be dreaded, 
by reason of the fact that the fish will shortly be on the 
spawning beds. The dace continue, however, to be very 
lively and are rising with great freedom. 
FROM THE LAKE DISTRICT. 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
The dominant sentiment prevailing in our breast 
during the past week or t(vo has been one of sympathy 
for the editors of angling journals and our brother corre¬ 
spondents. Here are we, a conscientious fraternity, 
anxious to make known to others the doughty deeds 
done in our respective districts, and yet with nothing to 
record save the phenomenal readings of the ther¬ 
mometer, and the fact that bare-legged little urchins are 
tramping along the beds of rivers which, during the 
month of proverbial showers, should be at least half 
bank full. Truly our occupation is gone, along with 
that of the angler. Night fishing in the rivers is the 
only sport attempted, and then with but little reward. 
We have heard of one enthusiast who has nightly 
journeyed some half dozen miles and fished homewards, 
for one, two, or three trout per outing ; and this, with 
few exceptions, is the general experience. 
Since the opening of the season, on April 1, fairly 
good sport has been enjoyed on Coniston Lake, showing 
that the operations of the local angling association are 
already bearing fruit. They have again been successful 
in hatching out about 200,000 trout, and during the past 
fortnight these have been distributed amongst the tribu¬ 
tary streams, and in neighbouring lakes and tarns. 
About 5000 have also been placed in the Coniston Hall 
rearing pond ; and these, on attaining a larger growth, 
will, as on former occasions, be turned into the lake as 
yearlings, or two-year-olds. Mr. J. Poole, presiding at 
a sub-committee meeting of the English Lake District 
Angling Association, said that personally he should like 
to see the Coniston Association amalgamated with the 
larger one. This combination may doubtless some day 
be brought about; meanwhile the Coniston gentlemen 
are deserving of all praise for what they have already 
accomplished and intend to accomplish. They have 
set an example that may well be followed. 
On Derwentwater operations have lately been almost 
entirely confined to night fishing, or rather trawling, 
and by this means some fairly good specimens of trout 
and pike have been obtained. Almost everywhere in 
the district are pike regarded as “ vermin,” conse¬ 
quently no close time is observed, and they are taken 
all the year round. Mr. J. Lowther last week, in addi¬ 
tion to a fair number of trout, had a pike of 191b.; other 
