Salmon Fishing In Newfoundland 
The prospect of salmon fishing in Newfound¬ 
land is decidedly promising, says a well informed 
correspondent. As a result of the vigorous en¬ 
forcement of the laws and the efficient patrol of 
the rivers maintained by the board, salmon fish¬ 
ing as a sport has become decidedly more suc¬ 
cessful and more popular. During last year not 
less than 242 non-resident salmon fishers paid a 
rod tax of $10 each, yielding a total of $2,420. 
The season runs from June 1 to September 15, 
but the best months are July and August, and 
within that period excellent sport is to be had 
in practically all the rivers. Formerly, compara¬ 
tively few of them had wardens, but since the 
board has taken control it has gradually extended 
its operations, so that last season no fewer than 
sixty-six rivers were adequately policed, and a 
record of the fish taken from them shows that 
6,004 salmon were obtained by licensed fishermen. 
This is by far the largest number ever recorded 
since the collecting of statistics about this fishery 
began, and in 1913 more rivers were reported on 
and more wardens maintained than ever before. 
Besides this, last season saw the largest fish ever 
taken in Northern Newfoundland. It was caught 
in the Torrent River, Hawk’s Bay, on July 26, by 
Mr. Archibald Douglas, a lawyer, of New York. 
It was measured and weighed by William M. 
Messervey, of Bay of Islands, supervisor of war¬ 
dens for the west coast, who certified to its 
weight twelve hours after it was taken as 36 
pounds. Its length was 43% inches and breadth 
of tail 12 inches. It was taken on a number six 
Silver Doctor in rapid water, on a single-handed 
green-heart trout rod weighing 10 ounces. The 
fish was played fully an hour, and was gaffed by 
Henry Plowman, the guide of Port Saunders, 
Newfoundland. It is believed to be the second 
largest fish ever taken in this island, only one 
larger being ever reported, a 41%-pound fish 
landed in the Little Codroy River in 1910. 
The largest number of fish, 702, were taken 
on the south branch of the Codroy River, and the 
next largest number, 494, at Grand River. Little 
River accounted for 185, Crabb’s River for 108, 
Robinson’s Head for 306, Fishel’s River for 281, 
Harry’s River for 155, Portland Creek for 113, 
Hawk’s Bay rivers for 365, and Main and West 
Rivers for 178. These are rivers all on the west 
coast of the island. On the eastern seaboard, 
Indian Brook, Hall’s Bay, yielded 103, the Gander 
River 280, and the Gambo River and its brooks 
292. Within a radius of a five-hour railroad run 
from St. John’s, the Trepassey rivers yielded 230, 
the Salmonier rivers 473, and the Placentia rivers 
255 ; while on the south coast the principal catches 
taken were in St. Keel’s River, 113; Conne River, 
101, and Grandy’s River, 211 fish. 
One of the most notable results of the policy 
of effectively policing the salmon rivers is that 
the fish are admittedly more numerous, are grow¬ 
ing to much larger size, and are able to spawn 
without such danger of disturbance as formerly. 
In the past the netting of rivers was common. 
People held so-called salmon “posts” or stations 
near the mouths of the rivers, which passed from 
generation to generation, the holders of these 
claiming rights almost as against the Crown. 
Poaching was frequent, and in some cases even 
dynamite was used to kill the fish. Wasteful 
methods were practiced by visiting sportsmen in 
some cases, and instances of the fish being taken 
and left to rot were not unknown. All these con¬ 
ditions helped to lessen the value of the salmon, 
fishery, both commercially and as a sport, and a 
study of the export figures of the salmon fishery 
for the past fifty years shows that the annual out¬ 
put declined very markedly, from 9,766 barrels in 
1869 to 5,903 barrels in 1912. It is confidently 
predicted that the work of the game board will re¬ 
sult in material improvement all round. 
While trout fishing is not so attractive to visit¬ 
ing or local anglers as salmon fishing, yet there 
are thousands in the island whose circumstances 
do not permit of their indulging in the bigger 
sport, who have to be content with the opportuni¬ 
ties that trout fishing affords. For these there is 
now a substantial additional inducement in the 
stocking of the rivers and lakes with rainbow 
trout. A local game club began some years ago 
the hatching of California rainbow trout, having 
procured a number of breeding fish from that 
country; and this hatchery is still worked an¬ 
nually, and steadily increasing numbers of fry 
are obtained. Last year the largest output on 
record was reached, some 200,000. The club en¬ 
joys a lease of two lakes in the suburbs of St. 
John’s in return for supplying the Government 
with 50,000 fry annually as a rental, and any 
number above that the Government buys at a 
fixed price and has distributed, through the 
agency of the game board, in localities decided 
upon, so that the fish are being distributed over 
a steadily increasing area. The native trout of 
the island, which are really a species of char, 
are very fine eating, but do not afford such sport 
as rainbows. A number of years ago Loch Leven 
trout were imported and some of the lakes were 
stocked with them; but they are believed to be 
5ii 
practically extinct, and it is not intended to re¬ 
peat the experiment of importing them. The 
rainbows give much greater satsfaction, and 
trout fishing in the summer months may be de¬ 
scribed as the national pastime of the people. 
On the first holiday of the year, the King’s birth¬ 
day, it is a practice for trouters’ trains to be run 
from St. John’s, carrying from three to four hun- 
ded people, who are dropped off at convenient 
points along the railway line within a radius of 
sixty miles, and who return twenty-four hours 
later with big catches. Rainbows are now being 
distributed in the remoter parts of the island as 
well as near St. John’s, and besides affording 
sport to the people in these localities, they make a 
very acceptable addition to the daily menu. 
SPRING IN NORTH DAKOTA. 
Souris, N. D., March 26, 1914. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Away out here on the big level prairies of 
western North Dakota, six miles from the Cana¬ 
dian line and ten miles west of that big jumble of 
hills known as the Turtle Mountains, old Winter 
is gradually folding up his tents and giving way 
to gentle Spring. We have seen a few flocks of 
ducks and heard the honk of an occasional mile- 
high Canadian “speckle billy.” The sharp tail 
grouse fairly fill the whole world with the boom! 
boom! of their early morning services. So we 
know spring is come. We haven’t seen a meadow 
lark yet this spring; you know we look for them 
out here just as we used to look for the first 
robin back east. But the dear old fellows will 
soon be here, and some morning I’ll hear one on 
yonder post singing away for dear life a little 
ditty 'that sounds something like this : “I — I—can 
eat a potato bug.” 
The winter has been very fine with us—hardly 
any snow or cold weather, and the sharp tail 
grouse has had a picnic of it. They are about the 
only game bird that winters with us, although 
we have quite a lot of the ruffed grouse (par¬ 
tridge) in the Turtle Mountains. Our gun club 
Silently They Lurk Along the Way. 
