June i, 1907.] 
FOREST AND 'STREAM 
861 
? 
In Pennsylvania Wafers 
j! Harrisburg, Pa., May 25.— Editor Forest and 
i Stream: Trout fishermen in Pennsylvania 
scarcely know whether to be pleased or dis¬ 
gusted. The catches have not been heavy, but 
i it is generally admitted that the streams are full 
j of fish and of good size fish at that. The re¬ 
ports of anglers in April concerning the large 
luantity of trout in the streams have been fully 
borne out by those who have been fishing this 
: month. Everywhere there are fish, but the 
weather has been so cold and the water either 
'.very high or very low, that only the most skill¬ 
ful or the bait-fishermen have gone home with 
?ood scores. Fly-fishermen say the trout which 
: nave risen have lacked snap and the bait-fisher- 
j nen say that the fish have come from the water 
without a struggle. Heavy snows in the moun¬ 
tain district on May 11 contributed largely to 
destroying the gameness of the trout. 
Here and there are some exceptions. Monroe 
rounty is one. There throughout the month of 
May the sport was fine. As far as can be learned 
he largest catch was by John S. Sutphen, of 
''lew York city, who caught forty trout weighi¬ 
ng twenty-nine pounds from his private stream. 
The largest fish is reported from Hayes Creek 
11 Carbon county; its size is l 83 ^ inches, weight 
; pounds 2 ounces. Its capture caused some good 
latured comment and quite a few smiles, and 
i yhen those who indulged in the latter were asked 
or the reason they simply winked and said: 
There should not be too close inquiry about the 
dtumber or size of fish reported from Hayes 
Creek. You know there is a commercial hatch- 
■ry on that stream.” 
1 he bass, wall-eyed pike and sunfishing sea- 
on begins on June 15 and the prospects for a 
tood season are bright. From nearly all sec- 
ions bass and wall-eyed pike are reported num¬ 
erous. One notable exception is the bass in the 
Susquehanna River from Sunbury to the Mary- 
and line. Everywhere else the bass are reported 
(is making their nests and it is on this that prog- 
• lostications of good fishing are based. Sports- 
nen in the central part of the State are deeply 
tirred up over the number of poachers who are 
ishing for bass in the tributaries of the Susque- 
! 1 anna, taking the fish from the newly cleaned 
. tests. One man was reported in the middle of 
day as having caught twenty-seven in one day 
rom the Yellow Breeches. Wardens are trying 
o locate him and if caught his day’s work will 
ost him about $250. 
\ Sportsmen are also angry over the new law 
/hich permits gigging for carp, suckers, mullets 
| nd eels. Gigging is lawful in public waters in 
*hich trout are not established or have not been 
lanted by the State. Within a week after the 
1 lOvernor had signed the bill giggers were re- 
orted from all parts of Pennsylvania and com- 
! laints were flooding into the Department of 
I isheries that conscienceless people were gigging 
; ^all-eyed pike, bass and everything else in the 
pay of fisb. There is a peculiar mystery about 
| ie gigging bill. An amendment was made in 
ie Senate when it came from the House, ex- 
luding gigging from streams in which game 
sh of any kind existed and no one remembers 
ie Blouse refusing to concur, yet the bill pre- 
f inted for signature had no such provision. Rod 
ud line fishing for carp is growing in favor, 
specially on the Schuylkill River and the North 
■ranch of the Susquehanna. Quite a number 
■ f fish weighing from 15 to 30 pounds have 
I beady been caught. 
Every one within reach of the Susquehanna 
nd Delaware rivers is happy over the return 
f the shad. For seven years this magnificent 
I sh has steadily decreased in both waters. The 
mted States Bureau of Fisheries last year sent 
At a warning that unless the States controlling 
lose streams took some decisive action there 
j ould soon be no shad left. The Pennsylvania 
j apartment of Fisheries joined in deploring the 
^crease of shad and agreed with the Connnis- 
[ oner that inoperative or poor laws formed a 
ictor in the decrease of shad, but held that the 
; r 'ncipal cause of the decrease was in an ab- 
i ^rmallv low temperature of water in April and 
| [ay. This seems to be borne out by the results 
II the shad fishing this year. The water tem- 
| 
1 
perature of the Delaware during April and May 
averaged from 60 degrees to 63 degrees, and fish 
have been coming into both rivers in greater 
numbers than for several years. Owing to cloudy 
water the gill net fishermen on the Delaware 
are having better luck than those who use haul 
semes. From twenty-five to fifty at a drift is 
not uncommon. The fishculturists, however, on 
both rivers are not at all jubilant because while 
the water temperature is about right for the 
migration of the fish, it is not right for ripen¬ 
ing the roe. Four out of every five fish are 
nearly ripe. 
1 he Legislature having adjourned, those en¬ 
gaged in fishing both for sport and the market, 
are able to breathe more freely because they know 
the best and worst that can happen for the next 
tw'o years. Three measures have been enacted 
and signed by the Governor; one which allows 
an unlimited number of rods and lines for game 
fish, another which allows unlimited number of 
tip ups for ice fishing, and a third which allows 
NEW ZEALAND BROWN TROUT. 
Taken on the fly in the Tongariro River by W. A. Prouse. 
gigging for carp, suckers, mullets and eels. A 
curious blunder was made in the unlimited rod 
act. It was "an amendment to Section 2 of the 
Act of May 29, 1901, which referred to game 
fish exclusively. Another section of the same 
act provides for a rod, hook and line or a hand 
line for fish not specifically described as game 
or food fish, to wit: suckers, catfish, eels, etc., 
and that section was not amended. Therefore 
it appears as though it is lawful to use as many 
rods and lines as desirable for game fish, but only 
one rod and one hand line for suckers. 
There are two bills in the Governor’s hands, 
one of which it is believed he will veto. If it 
should become a law it would completely wipe 
out the fish in Pennsylvania waters excepting 
in the Forestry Reserves in a very short space 
of time. It authorizes owners of inclosed lands 
to give permission to people to fish in the waters 
running through their property in any manner 
whatever for fish not described as food or game 
fish, excepting with a fish basket. Authority 
could thus be given to use dynamite, nitro 
glycerine and lime and poisons of all kinds and 
gill nets and clubs, or in fact any device which 
might occur to the fish hunter. As there is a 
law on the statute books allowing fish baskets in 
any water on the payment of a license fee, it 
will thus be seen that no device will be barred. 
The Commissioner of Fisheries has announced 
that from incomplete reports from the superin¬ 
tendents of the various hatcheries the output of 
fish by the State to the first of June will ex¬ 
ceed 600,000,000 and perhaps reach 700,000,000, 
or very nearly double the enormous output of 
1906, which in turn exceeded the aggregate out¬ 
put of the three previous years. Of the vast 
quantity hatched this year, the bulk has been 
wall-eyed pike, yellow perch and pickerel. 
Bonifacius. 
Canada Fish and Fishing. 
Quebec, Canada, May 25.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: .The season is making progress toward 
good fishing weather. Until the last of the snow 
water runs out the fly-fishing is seldom good in 
the northern lakes, though open rivers may af¬ 
ford fair sport. Nearer to Quebec the season 
is naturally better advanced and good lake fish¬ 
ing is reported from Lake St. Joseph and Lake 
St. Charles. A few good catches are also re¬ 
ported from Lake Beauport. The rivers in the 
vicinity of Valcartier and the Riviere aux Pins 
have been clear of ice for several days, and the 
fishing in the Montmorency continues good. 
Word has just come in from Lake St. John 
that the first rod and line fishing of ouananiche 
for the season has occurred in the mouth of the 
Metabetchouan and that very fair sport is being 
had. This fishing should last three or four 
weeks, both here and in the mouth of the Ouiat- 
chouan. Naturally the ice still covers Lake St. 
John, though the mouths of the rivers flowing 
into it are free. It is expected the ice will leave 
Lake St. John next week, and until the season 
opens in the Grand Discharge about the middle 
of June there is sure to be good fishing in the 
lake itself, all along the shores, and especially 
off the villages of Roberval and Pointe Bleue 
and along the southern shore of the lake. 
E. T. D. Chambers. . 
New Zealand Brown Trout. 
^ Wanganui, New Zealand, May 4.— Editor 
1 ‘orcst and Stream: I am sending you a couple 
of photographs of a brace of brown trout which 
I recently caught in the Tongariro River. The 
weights are 24P2 and 19 pounds. These are only 
two out of many. My average catch ran over 
17 pounds, very few fish being below 14 pounds, 
It is true fishing, not trolling or live baiting, but 
just minnow (artificial) or salmon fly. 
In case any of your readers contemplate pay¬ 
ing a visit to New Zealand to catch these mon¬ 
sters, let them arrive about November and fish 
the southern rivers till Christmas, then have 
some fly-fishing (up to 4 pounds) for a couple 
of weeks, arriving at Tokaanu about the middle 
of January. Trolling at Lake Rotorua, in spite 
of the enormous bags, is only fit for women and 
schoolboys. Fly-fishing in Lake Tarawera is 
good, rainbow trout running up to 20 pounds 
and requiring about 200 yards of line. 
W. A. Prouse. 
A Late Season. 
Blue Mountain Lake, N. Y„ May 21 .—Editor 
Forest and Stream: The season is two to three 
weeks late. Deciduous trees are only beginning 
to show their leaves, a quarter grown or less, 
some scarcely bursting the bud. The forests 
have quite an autumnal appearance. The weather 
is in keeping; cold winds, cloudy and yesterday 
the air was filled with flurries of snow half the 
time. Mountain tops white this morning, and 
at 7 o’clock the thermometer registered 33 de¬ 
grees after ten minutes out Of doors. Fishing 
is practically nil and will be until the weather 
is warmer. Juvenal. 
With Light Tackle. 
John Hendricks, of Traverse City, Mich., re¬ 
cently landed a rainbow trout that weighed g l A 
pounds and measured 28 inches in length. It 
was taken in the Boardman River on a light rod, 
and the fight lasted a long time. 
