FOREST AND STREAM 
447 
Spring Fishing Prospects in Canada 
FISHIN’ TIME. 
By Robert Page Lincoln. 
Dig sum bait, it’s time I’m fishin’, it’s ’bout time 
I’d wet my line; 
I can feel it creepin’ o’er me an’ I'm gittin’ so’s 
I pine! 
When the ice upon the big lake gits all saggin’ 
down an’ wet— 
Dig sum bait, it’s time I'm fishin’, an’ it’s time to 
cure this fret! 
When the saw gits dull an’ creaky an’ it won’t cut 
worth a cent, 
An’ I ain't got spunk enough to, in the log make 
one deep dent; 
Then I know that lazy feelin’—it comes creepin’ 
up my spine, 
An’ my mind it gits to wander, for it’s time to 
wet my line! 
I can feel it stealin’ o’er me an’ the saw hangs 
weary-like, 
An’ ambition gits to dyin’ when I ought to fish 
for pike; 
Yes, for pike—Gosh, an’ all blame it, what’s the 
use to saw in wood—- 
When the ice is out an' wiltin’ an’ 'the fish are 
bitin’ good ; 
Wish that I could hold this here saw quite as 
steady as this pole—• 
Wish that I could saw this woodpile in an hour—• 
but bless my soul: 
When I’m started I git to thinkin’ that the fish 
are out for bait, 
So I lay my saw beside me—an’ I sit me down 
to wait! 
Such a day—an’ here it’s passin’ when I’d oughto 
be down there, 
Sittin’ on the bank a-smilin’, speculative-like an’ 
fair; 
O this Toil, this Grim Hard Slavery, an’ the saw 
is Rusted Good— 
An’ it binds before I’m started in this nameless 
Birchen Wood! 
O that I were strong an' husky—with one hand 
could push this saw; 
Heave away the severed timbers into Toil’s wide- 
gaping maw— 
But I’m weak, an’ I am sleepy—I could sleep 
right where I sit, 
While around me flying fishes ever by me softly 
flit. 
O it’s thus when spring' is on us, an’ the sun is 
warm an’ high—• 
It is thus when we are wishi.n’, an’ when fishin’ is 
our cry; 
When the line is dry and dusty and needs wettin’ 
bad or worse 
An' to saw wood in the springtime, anyhow is 
but a curse! 
Dig sum wums, it’s time I’m fishin’, it’s ’bout 
time I’d wet my line; 
I can feel it creepin’ o’er me an’ I’m gittin’ so’s 
I pine! 
When the ice upon the big lake gits all saggin’ 
down an’ wet— 
Dig sum wums, it’s time I’m fishin’, an’ it’s time 
to cure this fret! 
Ottawa, March 26th, 1914. 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
Canadian anglers as a rule do not have the 
opportunity of the early fishing which falls to 
their more fortunate brethren south of the line. 
The open season on speckled trout, salvelinus 
fontinalis, does not begin until May 1st, although 
the fishing season for grey trout extends from 
December through to the end of September or 
into October. Bass fishing opens June 16. 
The ice on Canadian lakes usually does not 
go out until May. There is no use prophesying 
when it will go out this year. The winter has 
been a very cold one and the lakes to the north 
are still firmly icebound. After the first week 
of May, however, and certainly after the 15th 
of May, anglers who wish to take advantage of 
the spring trout fishing in Canada ought to find 
conditions to their liking. Fly fishing will be at 
its best in May and June, and even the grey 
trout, known to the average summer tourist as a 
fish which must be sought for at the end of a 
half mile or more of heavy copper line, comes to 
the surface of the water early in the season, and 
puts up a fight when hooked that makes him a 
real game fish. Some of the lakes north and west 
of here teem with this trout, and those who are 
fortunate enough to penetrate the Gatineau dis¬ 
trict or the Algonquin park this spring will find 
fishing to their heart’s content. 
The grey trout has been known to take the fly, 
but the best way to get him is by trolling. Al¬ 
most any sort of a spoon answers where the fish¬ 
ing has not been overdone, but American camp¬ 
ers last year had great success with a contrivance 
called the “silver soldier,” a flat German silver 
imitation of a shiner. 
This troll is made either with one hook at the 
end of the tail, or with a gang of three hooks, 
although the real sportsman angler discards the 
gang and uses the single hook. Grey trout in the 
spring will be found around small rocky islands 
or near rocky shores. When they strike they 
put up a fight equal to that of any bass. Later 
in the season, when they are sought for in the 
deep water, the sport is not worth while, as a 
fighting proposition, although the grey trout 
properly cooked is always a luxury. 
There are some enormous square tail trout to 
be found in many lakes in the province of Quebec. 
One district which is coming into great popular¬ 
ity is the Gatineau country, beyond the railroad 
terminus at Maniwaki, ninety miles north of Ot¬ 
tawa. Several American clubs have invaded this 
region, and have leased lakes to the northwest 
and northeast of Maniwaki, and report some of 
the finest black bass and trout fishing on the 
American continent. There is not much stream 
fishing to be had in the Laurentian Hills, but lake 
after lake stretches out between the mountains, 
and as they have been fished but little, they pre¬ 
sent excellent opportunities, particularly for bass 
and lake trout fishing, for few people ever get 
into the country in time for the early spring trout 
angling. The speckled trout in the lakes in the 
province of Quebec take the fly greedily during 
months in the year, when the fish remain in 
deeper water. The Laurentian region north of 
Montreal is another famous trout country, and, 
in fact, almost any place in the province of Que¬ 
bec offers its advantages to the angler. 
One thing which the May or June visitor 
should bear in mind is to go into the Canadian 
woods equipped with a full supply of fly repellant, 
head veils and gloves. The black fly is at the 
height of his glory during these two months, and 
there is no denying the fact that he is an infernal 
nuisance. Prepared for him, however, the angler 
need not be deterred from venturing in. He will 
see nature at its best, and the chances are that, 
he will have perfect weather, although in passing 
it should be remarked that warm clothes ought 
to be taken, for the nights at this season are 
sometimes very cold. As for rods and other 
equipment, the usual trout outfit will answer per¬ 
fectly, and a moderate selection of flies, includ¬ 
ing the Parmachenee Belle, etc., etc., will be suffi¬ 
cient for every purpose. H. M. B. 
TO PROTECT IOWA PHEASANTS. 
W. H. Ware, of Council Bluffs, la., advocated 
the establishment of breeding grounds with 
pheasants perpetually protected therein, at a re¬ 
cent meeting of the Council Bluffs Fish and 
Game Protective Association. He pointed out 
the rapidity with which the game birds increase 
under protection. In 1910, he said, seventy or 
eighty birds were turned loose in the county, 
and at the present time there are between 7,000 
and 10,000 in the county. The hen lays about 
thirty eggs a year, he explained. 
He called attention to the fact that the closed 
season on the pheasant would expire in 1915, and 
suggested that certain localities in each county 
be designated by the legislature, and that hunt¬ 
ers be forbidden to interfere with the birds on 
these preserves. He said that each pheasant con¬ 
sumed about a pint of insects per day. He em¬ 
phasized the great saving to farmers in the pro¬ 
tection of growing crops from insects as the re¬ 
sult of the presence of these birds. 
TO STOP BUSINESS OF TRAPPING. 
The co-operation of Massachusetts sportsmen 
is sought by State Commissioner Frank J. Beal 
in an effort to prohibit trapping as a business. 
He also recommends the issuance of a state 
license good for both hunting and fishing at the 
present rate of $1 for residents and $10 for non¬ 
residents, and he wishes to limit the number of 
pounds of fish that may be taken through the ice. 
It is his intention to call conferences relative to 
these matters in each county prior to the next 
meeting of the legislature, and at the same time 
interest fish and game clubs in the different 
counties to start a movement, with the state’s 
co-operation, toward maintaining propagation 
farms for the purpose of restocking the forests 
and streams. 
Out of the 135,000,000 railroad ties used each 
year in the United States, New York supplies 
about 6 per cent, and consumes about 16,000,000. 
