Jan. 2, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
21 
This is the largest fish that I know of being 
taken in the stream before dark, and the sun 
on this occasion shone right into the pool. 
We kept him on ice for six days, while farmer 
“Bill” spread the news of the catch among his 
neighbors that they might see the fish for them¬ 
selves if they would, and one old lady, who 
boarded fishermen in season, I shall not forget, 
brought her own tape measure, not trusting the 
story of his reported length. Then we skinned 
and ate him, finding the meat, much to our 
surprise, most delicate, of delicious flavor and 
a deep salmon pink. 
After losing about an ounce of blood from my 
Imporiani to Every Angler. 
Bozeman, Mont., Dec. 23 . — Editor Forest and 
Stream: At the meeting of the American Fish¬ 
eries Society, Sept. 21, last, I offered the follow¬ 
ing resolution, which was unanimously adopted 
and a committee appointed to have the memorial 
presented to Congress: 
Whereas, In the irrigating canals already constructed 
by the United States Government in the Western States 
there is no provision made for the preservation and 
protection of fish, either by screening the canals and 
ditches, or by the erection of fishways in the dams con¬ 
nected therewith; and 
Whereas, The Government contemplates still more ex- 
stranded and lost on the irrigated land, while 
those that remain in the main canals will lan¬ 
guish and eventually perish for want of food. 
Some of these canals are of such great extent 
as to take all of the water from the parent 
stream, leaving that portion below the intake 
dam comparatively dry; consequently all fish life, 
under these circumstances, is sooner or later 
destroyed in the canals and ditches as just men¬ 
tioned. 
It has been stated in public print that the 
storage reservoirs to be constructed in the moun¬ 
tain gulches by the Government will be of great 
benefit to fishes by providing large artificial 
I.ANDING A TWENTY-POUND TROUT IN KOOTENAY LAKE. 
From “The (lame Fisheries of British Columbia.” 
knife wound, this brownie weighed six pounds 
and a half and measured twenty-six inches in 
length, and this in a stream where I had fished 
for fifteen years and had caught none larger 
than a pound and a half. You can imagine my 
feelings. And the best of it is that I now have 
the skin mounted at home to show to any doubt¬ 
ing Thomas. 
As to the use of flies for these big fish, the 
largest one on record, so far as I know, taken 
on the fly, weighed three and one-quarter pounds 
and this also was taken at night. My one regret 
is that I did not have one of my many fishing 
friends with me at the time to enjoy the excit¬ 
ing moments of that battle royal, for what would 
fishing be without friends to share the sport? 
But then, the other fellow might have caught 
that trout. Dreadful thought 1 
Edward B. Rice. 
All the fish laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and nozv in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
tensive' systems of reclamation of arid lands, by the 
building of storage reservoirs in the mountain gulches, 
and by the construction of irrigating canals of great 
length and capacity, that are to be supplied with water 
from flowing streams; therefore, be it 
Resolved, That a memorial be presented by this 
society to the Congress, asking for such legislation as 
will provide for building fishways, wherever practicable, 
in all dams connected with the work of reclamation of 
arid lands; and also to provide for the installation of 
some effective device at the intake of all canals and 
ditches in con..ection with said work, in order to pre¬ 
vent fish from entering them. 
The irrigating canals already constructed by 
the Federal Government are smooth-flowing 
streams of uniform depth and width, and many 
years will elapse before suitable conditions ob¬ 
tain whereby fish food can be developed in them 
to any great extent in the light and sandy soil. 
In all such canals it is a question of but a 
brief period before the fish food which existed 
in the water when taken from the parent stream 
will be consumed. In the meantime most of 
the fish in the canals will have entered the dis¬ 
tributing ditches and will, of course, have been 
bodies of water for their support and mainte¬ 
nance. But this flattering unction is of the stuff 
dreams are made of. In truth, such reservoirs, 
being built in the gorges of lofty mountains, will 
necessarily be very deep in order to hold the 
required volume of water. And at such depths, 
as is well known to naturalists, trout and other 
Western fishes that require and are accustomed 
to comparatively shallow and swift waters could 
not possibly survive; moreover, the food neces¬ 
sary for their existence could not be developed 
in such deep reservoirs. 
Viewed in the light of the facts just stated, it 
would seem that the great and indisputable bene¬ 
fits to be derived from the irrigation of arid 
and fertile lands will be at the expense and de¬ 
struction of all fish life eventually, unless the 
proposed measures of relief are realized. 
The object and intention of the foregoing fish¬ 
ways in all is to compel the installation of prac¬ 
tical fishways in all dams at the intake of irri¬ 
gating canals, when constructed by the Govern¬ 
ment, as is the case in most of the States; and' 
