January 3, 1914. 
FOREST AND STREAM 
19 
destruction of food fish is not confined solely to 
the fish fertilizer factories. It was to cover other 
abuses that I introduced another measure which 
aims to give the protection of the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment to fish not remaining the entire year 
within the waters of any state or territory, and 
authorizes the Department of Commerce to de¬ 
fine the seasons and to regulate the manner un¬ 
der which they may be taken. It would enable 
the Department of Commerce to regulate seining, 
as well as prescribe open and closed seasons for 
fishing. An important provision in this bill speci¬ 
fies that it shall not apply to fish when they may 
be in waters solely within a state or territory, 
which waters are not the outlets of streams hav¬ 
ing their sources beyond the borders of said 
state or territory. In other words, I have taken 
care to frame these measures so that not the 
least possible protest can be made upon the 
ground that they infringe upon the rights of any 
state.” Both bills were referred to the House 
Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 
where hearings may be had by any one interested 
either in approval of or opposition to these meas¬ 
ures. The author of the bills hopes to have the 
measures favorably reported from the committee 
and passed by the House during the present ses¬ 
sion of Congress. 
The Bureau of Fisheries reports that during 
the present season it has taken 450,000,000 white 
fish eggs in Lake Erie, by far the greatest number 
ever taken at one time, as the number mentioned 
equals 13,000 quarts of the tiny eggs. Although 
the Government hatching plant at Put-in-Bay, 
on Lake Erie, was built to care for only 100,000,- 
000 eggs, the bureau by farming the eggs out 
among the various state hatcheries and among its 
own plants elsewhere, is taking care of this 
year’s enormous catch. The supply of white fish 
has been diminishing so rapidly on Lake Erie, 
owing to poor protection, the fish being under 
four different state and one Canadian province 
jurisdictions, that careful preparations were made 
this year to do as much as possible to replenish 
the supply. In other great lakes also large 
catches of whitefish eggs are being reported, 
Shooting and Fishing 
By W. R. 
S OME few years since, September found my¬ 
self and my good pal George on board a 
twin-screw steamer of a little over forty 
tons, we, with the master, being the sole crew, 
steaming in Shoal Bay, a small settlement on 
Thurlow Island. 
The next day we went on to a small name¬ 
less river in the vicinity, which is an ideal one 
for .trout. It is about four miles long from the 
sea to a chain of large lakes, and abounds in 
beautiful sandbars, pools and ripples. Above all, 
the fly is the best bait; and I have often given 
trout to Indians who were unable to get them 
on their favorite salmon roe, while I was having 
fine sport with the fly. The lowest pool is formed 
only when the tide is out, but there is a fine, 
clear beach to fish from—and it is quite unusual 
to cast without rising at least one fish. Several 
times we had trout on each fly, and twice suc¬ 
ceeded in landing the three, and often landed two 
at a time. They run up to three and one-half 
pounds, and the largest we weighed this trip was 
three and three-fourths pounds; and all very 
game fish. 
The best flies are the Silver Doctor and Jock 
Scott, but any large sea trout or salmon flies do 
170,000,000 having been taken to date this season 
in Lake Michigan. Efforts are to be made also 
to stock some of the northwestern lakes with 
whitefish. All of the eggs mentioned were on 
their way to market, and would have been lost 
but for the arrangements made by the Bureau of 
Fisheries with the fishermen to allow the bureau 
to have the eggs. 
Whether the influence of President Wilson 
and the 'determination of the Canadian Govern¬ 
ment not to alter its stand in regard to the inter¬ 
national fisheries treaty, which has so long been 
in process of negotiation between the two coun¬ 
tries, will prevail against the American fishing 
interests on the Pacific Coast, who have so far 
objected to the ratification of the treaty, will 
largely be determined at a meeting of the Cana¬ 
dian and United States Commissioners to be held 
in Ottawa during the coming week. Dr. Hugh 
M. Smith, chief of the United States Bureau of 
Fisheries, who will attend the meeting, is ex¬ 
pected to indicate the final position of this coun¬ 
try in the matter, either by adopting the present 
provisions of the treaty as it stands, or whether 
the whole matter is to be dropped. 
The Bureau of Forestry is making some 
progress toward the extermination of predatory 
animals in the National forests, according to the 
various forest officers, which show that the total 
number of wild animals killed during the past 
fiscal year was 4.686, compared to 6,082 the previ¬ 
ous year. Of the number killed last year there 
were 206 bears, 3,541 coyotes, 133 mountain lions, 
62 lynxes, 583 wildcats, 64 wolves, and 97 wolf 
pups. The number of these animals in the Na¬ 
tional forests grows less each year, though they 
still cause a serious loss of livestock. The rise 
in the price of furs has attracted many profes¬ 
sional trappers, which has enabled the bureau to 
discontinue to a great extent the assignment of 
employes to kill these noxious animals. It 
would appear unnecessary for the Forestry Bu¬ 
reau to use its employes for the special work of 
destroying these animals when sportsmen might 
well do the same thing with little actual cost to 
themselves. 
in British Columbia 
GILBERT 
here. In fact, it is a very good place to use up 
the collection of old or impossible flies, which 
often accumulates, as at times nothing comes 
amiss. Our first day was 112 trout actually 
creeled, and as this meant more than twice that 
number pricked and lost, it will be seen the sport 
was exceptionally good. 
Naturally, a great deal of time is occupied 
in working to the best places in the best way. 
We used two boats as the banks of the river are 
quite impassable—dense brush, logs, and deep 
sloughs prevailing—and the river is too big to 
wade except in places. 
By skillful use of boats, a large one for the 
first part and a small one which can be packed 
over log jams and bars, all the good spots can 
be reached, and good shallow landing places ob¬ 
tained. As we never carried landing net or gaff, 
these shallow landing places were indispensable. 
We disposed of our fish at Shoal Bay. Return¬ 
ing the next day with a friend, we had an easy 
day, landing 90 trout for three rods, but we did 
not get to the most difficult and therefore the 
best pools. We fished for some days on this 
river, the lightest bag being fifty-four trout; but 
this only meant that we did not fish so persistent¬ 
ly and that the magnitude of the catch was lim¬ 
ited by our ability to dispose of it. 
A few days later, in October, we steamed 
into Loughborough Inlet, one of the magnificent 
fiords which abound on the coast. 
This used to be a very quiet and deserted 
place, and abounded in game, but now had a post 
office, settlers, and numerous logging camps, 
whose noisy engines awaken the echoes for miles. 
Today, for all I know, it may possess a picture 
show. 
However, we heard there were a good many 
bears about, so pushed on about three or four 
miles and anchored at the mouth of a small 
river at the head. The inlet ends in a fork into 
each branch of which flows a creek. We went 
up the right hand one, where, after the mud 
flats, there is a large, grassy swamp, and expect¬ 
ing geese and ducks, took our shotguns with us. 
We found it too early for much sport, as there 
was only one small bunch of geese—Canada 
geese, or “honkers,” the largest wildfowl in the 
country. By a careful stalk up a little creek, I 
was so fortunate as to get them coming close 
overhead and brought down two. I then worked 
up to where the creek comes out of the woods, 
and saw pal George converging to the same spot. 
I also saw a fine black bear on a bar ahead of 
me, shaking himself after swimming, and numer¬ 
ous signs of bear paths and tracks all round. 
On joining George, it appeared that another bear 
had met him as soon as we landed, so we decided 
not to alarm them that evening—having no rifles- 
with us—but to be after them next day, properly 
equipped. Accordingly, armed with a 45.90 and 
a 38.75 (Winchesters), we rowed quietly up the 
river next morning with the flood tide, which 
runs up for nearly two miles. The creek ends 
in beaver meadows and swamps, in a deep valley, 
and the banks are thickly clothed with trees and 
a heavy undergrowth of berry bushes, crab trees 
and devil’s club, through which the bears have 
numerous paths, in some places like tunnels. 
We had scarcely entered this when we saw 
a bear, which disappeared before we could get 
in a shot, but at the next corner we saw another 
high up at the base of a small cliff. He started 
climbing up a long dead cedar which leaned against 
it, and I got in a long shot, which only accele¬ 
rated his movements, and he disappeared quickly 
into the brush at the top. George got him after¬ 
ward, not far from the same place, bringing him 
down with a shot through the shoulders and 
heart, and we found I had just grazed him, the 
bullet having run up his back about two inches 
under the skin. We counted the first day, and 
saw eight separate bears, but were singularly un¬ 
fortunate, for we lost two hard hit and got one. 
The next morning, however, we got a nice one- 
in a small crab tree, after a careful stalk, and 
saw several others in the bushes eating crab ap¬ 
ples, but they were extremely shy and watchful. 
Altogether we got five, and if we had been very 
keen could have added to the number. But the 
skins are not very good in October and trouble¬ 
some to fix and take care of. Moreover, in such 
a country it is very easy to wound and lose 
them. The best way is always to take the head 
shot, when they collapse at once and give no more 
trouble. The next best thing is to hit them 
behind, as this is their weak point, and cripples 
them badly. The shoulder shot is not the best 
where the ground is not open, unless you have 
good dogs, when you may eventually get your 
animal; but it is no joke crawling up tunnels of 
brush and devil’s club on all fours after a 
wounded bear —experientia docet —and they will 
disappear from sight even after the heart is shat¬ 
tered. 
There were a few grizzly bears here (of 
which we got one) and some brown or cinnamon 
