Dec. 8, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
907 
In Pennsylvania Waters. 
As a rule most anglers in Pennsylvania put 
away their rods the last of October and spend 
the time until April 15 in talking over what they 
did catch in the past season and what they ex¬ 
pect to catch in the next. But this year the 
weather, when November was ushered in, was 
so pleasant and the fishing so good that the 
enthusiasts kept on with their sport. About 
the fifth or sixth there came a cold snap and a 
snow storm which swept over the greater part 
of the State, but in a day or two the temperature 
rose, the snow disappeared, the waters did not 
appear to be too high, so to the surprise of 
every one good fishing continued throughout 
the month. A very large number of bass were 
caught in the deep waters in nearly all the 
principal streams, and in the Susquehanna River 
“salmon” fishing has been superb. 
The Susquehanna River may be considered 
to-day one of the finest wall-eyed pike streams in 
the country. Large catches of good sized fish 
are very common. David Weaver, Jacob 
Hackert, the Rev. D. S. Curry and Samuel 
Dennes, of York, caught in one day the second 
week of November forty wall-eyed pike, and 
their catch is said to have been less than those 
of several Harrisburg men on the same day. 
The favorite method of fishing for wall-eyed 
pike is by means of a copper trolling spoon 
with the burr hooks removed and a gang of two 
small hooks substituted, to which is attached a 
lamprey. But some of the very enthusiastic 
anglers when this lure is not at hand use all 
sorts of odd contrivances as make-shifts, and 
often with success. For example, Walter Van 
Bamen and Vincent K. Keasey, of York, find¬ 
ing they had nothing better, fastened a bunch 
of keys to their line and attached their hooks 
thereto, and with this device caught seventeen 
wall-eyed pike. E. S. Herman and J. M. Shelly, 
of Harrisburg, caught twenty-four in one day, 
ranging from one to five pounds each. Dr. 
John C. Bucher, of Lebanon, caught twelve at 
Marysville which averaged over four pounds each. 
The wall-eyed pike fishing will continue un¬ 
abated until the weather becomes cold, that 
fishermen can no longer hold rods in their 
hands. The west branch of the Susquehanna 
afforded quite as good sport as the lower river. 
While the catches of black bass have naturally 
been diminishing, those of the wall-eyed pike 
are keeping the fishermen in an ecstasy of de¬ 
light. The Juniata and the Swatara and the 
Conodoguinet, all tributaries of the Susque¬ 
hanna, are affording first-class sport. Little 
has been heard of the north branch of the Sus¬ 
quehanna, but that little indicates a slight falling 
off in bass but not in “salmon.” 
The Allegeheny River, above the source of 
dreadful pollution, has been yielding excellent 
fishing as far up as the Indian Reservation. As 
was the case on the Susquehanna, the leading 
fish has been the wall-eyed pike. Ernest Lantz, 
of Oil City, caught three four-pounders on the 
eighth at Thompson’s Eddy. Dr. Delmar 
Richey, of Pittsburg, caught a seven-pound 
muscallonge and a three-pound bass at Trunkey- 
ville. Morris LaLonde, of Oil City, who has 
been complaining of ill luck throughout the sea¬ 
son, in one day caught nine bass from the Alle¬ 
gheny, the smallest weighing two. and most of 
the catch tipping the scales at over four pounds 
each. Harvey Fritz, of the same city, captured 
four bass at Thompson’s Eddy that weighed 
twelve pounds. 
It is not often we hear much from the south 
or southwestern part of the State, except of 
dynamiting, but Frank Wood and Stacy Smith 
on the first day of November captured a num¬ 
ber of fine bass at South Bend. 
It is hardly likely that there will be much 
fishing done in December, hence the angling 
season in Pennsylvania may be said to have 
closed in a blaze of glory and with returns such 
as the fishermen have not experienced in years. 
Even those who swore at the fish laws and 
howled at what they called the persecutions of 
the fish wardens, admitted that the fishing has 
been better in Pennsylvania than in very many 
years, and that it is due to a large 'extent to 
the work of the Department of Fisheries, and, 
as is usual where there has been good fishing 
and in spite of the general admission that it 
has been due to planting and protection, there 
is a movement on foot to change the fish laws 
so as to open the doors wider to reckless, fish¬ 
ing. Here are a few of the provisions that 
some of the most conservative of the “open 
door” anglers want the Legislature to enact: 
To repeal the law forbidding fishing on Sun¬ 
day. 
To make it legal for one man to fish with 
four to six lines for everything but strictly 
game fish. 
To permit snaring for everything but trout. 
To permit gigging. 
To allow at least five tip-ups. Some want an 
unlimited number. 
To abolish the provisions making violations 
of the fish laws “summary proceedings” and to 
substitute jury trials. 
The Commissioner of Fisheries has expressed 
himself as favoring in a modified form two or 
three of these provisions, but is opposed to 
enactment of most of them. He announces that 
he will present a bill himself to take place of 
the present act, and that it will be more liberal 
than the one now on the statute books, but 
more clearly expressed. It will embrace not 
only fish, but frogs, fresh-water terrapin and 
fresh-water shell fish. 
The Department of Fisheries is having a warm 
time with the fishermen at Lake Erie these days. 
Under an act of the Legislature in 1905, fishing 
with nets was prohibited from Nov. 15 to March 
15. Last year, as neither Ohio nor New York 
had passed a similar law, although bills were 
pending in both Legislatures, the commissioner 
issued employment papers to all the captains of 
boats who applied to catch whitefish and herring 
on their agreeing to turn in spawn of these fish. 
It would naturally be supposed that with such 
a privilege the fishermen would have exerted 
themselves to furnish the department with an 
abundant supply of eggs. But not so. Some 
of the boats did not take the trouble to bring 
in any eggs. Some stripped the females and 
did not fertilize the eggs. Others just brought 
in enough eggs to swear by. Less than a half 
dozen boats brought in a satisfactory amount. 
To use an expression of one of the captains, 
“they thought the commissioner was an easy 
mark.” This fall they have learned different, 
hence a row. Ohio passed the close season law, 
and this fall Commissioner Meehan and Com¬ 
missioner Paul North, of Ohio, agreed that, as 
States, they would issue no employment papers 
nor permits for the capture of fish for spawn 
purposes for the State hatcheries. They agreed 
to place the work of spawn gathering entirely 
in the hands of the United States Bureau of 
Fisheries; that in Pennsylvania waters no gill- 
nets should be used even by the United States, 
and that in Ohio the main fishing should be 
west of Vermilyea; that the boats designed by 
the United States Bureau of Fisheries should 
be given papers signed by Mr. Paul North, of 
Ohio, or Mr. W. E. Meehan, of Pennsylvania, 
as commissioners of the respective States. The 
Pennsylvania commissioner was immediately 
overwhelmed by howls from the fishermen at 
Erie with the allegation that Ohio was issuing 
permits, and they appealed to Congressmen, 
Mayors and any one they thought had a pull to 
induce Commissioner Meehan to break the 
agreement with Ohio. This he refused to do. 
Under the agreement he signed two papers, one 
to a boat to use pound-nets for whitefish and 
herring eggs and one large mesh gill-net for lake 
trout. If the fishermen in Erie have their way, 
Commissioner Meehan will be out of a job be¬ 
fore long, and all because he is enforcing a law 
which they themselVes asked for. 
There is, however, a rift in the clouds. Dur¬ 
ing the autumn there was an unexampled run 
of whitefish of all sizes. Three and four-pound 
fish were common, and one day to the amaze¬ 
ment of the fishermen a. trial net captured 
twenty-four lake trout, weighing 490 pounds, 
from a ground which several years ago had 
been swept barren by the fishermen’s nets, and 
every indication points to ,an abundant harvest 
of this fish. It is declared by the fishermen 
that the reappearance of the whitefish and lake 
trout in large numbers has been due entirely to 
the millions of young fish hatched at the Erie 
hatchery by the State and planted in the lake. 
Superintendent Berkhous, of the Torresdale 
hatchery, while lifting his nets one day in 
.November from the Delaware River, where he 
had set them for catfish, found two large shad 
therein. It is generally supposed by fishcultur- 
• ists that shad as soon as they have finished 
spawning in June, leave at once for the sea, but 
some of the river fishermen have declared that 
every autumn there is a fair run of shad. Mr. 
Berkhous’ catch seems to indicate that the fish¬ 
ermen are right and the fishculturists wrong. 
The shad caught by Mr. Berkhous weighed over 
three pounds each. 
A few years ago there were members of the 
Legislature who freely designated the fish com¬ 
missioners as “dude fishermen who like to whip 
the streams with $40 rods, and who did not 
care for anybody’s interests excepting the swell 
city fishermen.” 
Judging by what he is doing, this charge can¬ 
not be laid to the door of Commissioner 
Meehan. His announcements and acts are for 
close attention to the wants of the masses. One 
of his first acts on becoming commissioner was 
to go into the propagation of yellow perch on 
a large scale. Next he undertook to rear bull¬ 
frogs, remarking dryly when asked why he did 
it, that he could not see why the boys should 
not have a chance to exercise their skill at 
stone throwing as well as the trOut fishermen 
with the artificial fly. This was followed by his 
hatching 100,000,000 or so of pickerel last spring, 
and in November he announced that he had 
ordered the building of ponds in nearly all the 
hatcheries of the State for the rearing of cat¬ 
fish. He says he sympathizes with Peck’s Boy’s 
love for the bullhead. He distributed this year 
more than 12,000 of the humble but youth be¬ 
loved catfish, and he promises from seven to 
eight times that number this year. Some of 
the trout fishermen are grumbling at the at¬ 
tention given the bewhiskered fish. They say 
they think he is making a mistake, but the mem¬ 
bers of the Legislature are overwhelming him 
with applications for catfish for their con¬ 
stituents. 
The offices of the Department of Fisheries 
in the Capitol are one of the show places of that 
magnificent building. The majority of the 
thousands of visitors to the “Hill” every week 
ask the guards to direct them to the Governor’s 
room, the halls of the Legislature, the Supreme 
Court room and the Fish Department. The de¬ 
partment has three rooms—all beautifully furn¬ 
ished. In the commissioner’s private office the 
walls are hung with a series of large photo¬ 
graphs showing the entire process of hatching 
