756 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 12, 1906. 

The Attack upon Quebec License Fees. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your issue of April 14, Mr. Pelland, publicist 
of the Department of Colonization, Mines and 
Fisheries of Quebec, defends the Quebec license 
fees. Among other things he quotes the min- 
ister, Mr, Prevost, as saying in the Quebec Leg- 
islative Assembly: “Our American neighbors 
have expressed their entire satisfaction by nam- 
ing the Minister of Fisheries of the Province 
of Quebec to the presidency of the North Ameri- 
can Fish and Game Protective Association.” 
I was on the committee which nominated the 
minister to this office at the recent meeting of 
the Association in Boston, and | wish to correct 
the impression which the above statement may 
give. The Association, composed about equally 
of Americans and Canadians, holds its annual 
meeting alternately in Canada and the United 
States. Next year is Canada’s turn. It has met 
already in’ Montreal, Ottawa and St. John. It 
was therefore very much a foregone conclusion 
that it should meet next year in Quebec. It 
is also a custom to choose the President from 
the State or Province where the next meeting is 
to be held, and to select a man prominently iden- 
tified with fish and game interests. The com- 
mittee decided to recommend Quebec as the place 
of meeting, and most naturally nominated the 
Minister of Fisheries for president, no mention 
of his policy as to license fees, then not fully 
developed, having been made in committee. 
Moreover, about half of the members of the com- 
mittee were Canadians. The same ‘facts are 
true of the Association in its action upon the 
report of the committee and in the election of the 
president. 
The Province of Quebec has long since adopted 
the system of leasing rivers for fishing and tracts 
of land for hunting purposes, and the Department 
owes protection to its lessees in their rights. 
This system prevails to a comparatively small 
extent in any other Province or State, while it is 
general in Quebec. Consequently, the new policy 
of license fees enforced against individuals and 
clubs already holding leases is a very different 
matter from charging such fees to persons fish- 
ing and shooting in and on unleased rivers and 
land. It is this feature, whether legal or illegal, 
the enforcement of an extra charge for uSing priv- 
ileges already leased for a fixed sum, that causes 
the true sportsman’s sense of justice and fair play 
to rebel. The assertion of the right to cancel 
leases, and the reservation that all leases are 
subject to future laws and regulations will not 
help matters. It is to be presumed that the first 
was to enable the Department to get rid of bad 
tenants, and the second to oblige tenants to con- 
form to changes in close times and methods of 
capture of fish and game, etc. Any interpreta- 
tion permitting a change of money consideration 
in a bargain once made, call. it by what name 
you may, will suggest a breach of contract and 
will be irritating to lessees. That high sense of 
honor which is characteristte of true sportsmen 
will feel aggrieved. Is it good policy? 
As I understand it; there is power to except 
lessees from the payment of these fees, and it 
is not too late to do it. 
Non LEASEHOLDING ANGLER. 
Sullivan County Notes. 
Last Friday, May 4, was apparently made to 
order for, fly-fishing. The sun shone warm and 
bright, which is favorable early in the séason. 
The wind was from the southwest, upstream, the 
best of all winds for most of the trout streams in 
this region. The water clear and just the right 
height. Could heart of angler desire more? My 
throat was swollen double size and I dared not 
fish. I hope, however, that the day was enjoyed 
by many good anglers in many parts of the coun- 
try; certainly ‘everthing seemed to be in their 
favor. There is, in my opinion, nothing like this 
soft, upstream wind, strong or a mere zephyr, for 
causing natural flies to hatch out and trout to 
rise freely, 
Some years ago, on a hot July morning, a friend 
and myself tramped in hopeless mood five miles 
up a well known river. We expected poor sport 
but wished to be on the water. It would seem 
to be cooler near it, anyhow. 
o'clock the wind changed and a soft, refreshing 
breeze came up from the southwest. In a few 
minutes a considerable number of small blue duns, 
with long tails, began to hatch and were blown 
up stream as they rose from the water. Soon 
the dimples made by rising trout were seen on 
the still pools and slow flowing water, and our 
spirits rose. By 3 o'clock we had seventy trout, 
divided about equally between us, but the fisher- 
man who stuck to the color of the natural fly 
had much the heaviest creel, having, in point of 
fact, taken all the large trout. He had given 
two of the ‘blue-bodied flies to his friend, but the 
latter, after losing one of them, preferred to go 
on with a pet fly of his own tying (a standard 
fly). At this the small fish rose freely but noth- 
ing over the quarter pound. All were the native 
brook trout, Salmo salvelinus, I do not believe 
that we would have taken a dozen fish unless the 
wind had changed, as described. 
Prospects are now excellent. Nothing except 
heavy rain, causing a freshet, or discoloring the 
water can spoil the sport. Trout are not very 
shy in May, and being hungry after the winter's 
shortcommings, are usually well on the feed. 
Good luck and well stretched lines to all good 
men who dare trust Providence and go a-angling. 
Some fine sport has been enjoyed during the 
past week. The water has been quite low and 
clear, and trout were taking well. The upper 
Beaverkill flows at a high elevation, but the river 
does not appear to feel the effects of the snow 
water as long as some others in the county. Con- 
sequently the fish were rising as soon as the 
freshet of the first few days of the season ran 
out. However, the fishing was not first-rate until 
the week after. Heavy baskets were made on 
May 4; one of 15 pounds .reported to me, The 
outlook at this writing is for rain. 
THEODORE GORDON. 
Bass at Maranocook Lake. 
How would you like to fish where the waters 
hold the gamiest of black bass and an abundance 
of them, as well as fine pickerel and lake trout? 
Many men haye visited the Belgrade Lakes in 
Maine, but comparatively few have stopped over 
at beautiful Maranocook Lake, and that may be 
the reason why it excels, in my estimation, the 
famous Belgrade Lakes as a fisherman’s paradise. 
There is an “old Indian tale concerning the naming 
of the lake that bears repeating. 
In early times a pioneer’s daughter named 
Mary lived beside the lake, and either through 
ignorance or design incurred the displeasure of 
an Indian tramp, who was wont to beg for 
food among the early whites. At any rate, her 
corn bread did not come from the fireplace quite 
rich enough to please his esthetic taste, so he 
grunted, ‘“‘Mary-no-cook,” and in time the lake 
got-the name of Maranocook. Near by, however, 
on the next lake below, lived another maiden, 
Anna, whose cooking more nearly suited the red 
man, so he exclaimed, “Anna-best-cook,” and that 
lake to this day is called Annabessacook. At 
any rate, I found the pleasure of a two weeks’ 
stay at Maranocook was enhanced by delicious 
food, clean rooms and good beds, And such sport 
fishing! 
We were up at six or earlier, and after break- 
fast were off with a guide for the day’s fishing. 
It was but a short walk down to the landing, and 
then hardly any distance to good fishing grounds. 
Fishing for the pleasure of it, I took about thirty 
bass on an average per day, although my record 
was fifty-two. One man who has fished from 
Florida to Quebec, took eight hundred bass during 
his five weeks’ stay, throwing back, of course, 
the most of them, to live and bite again some 
other day, 
It is only a few miles to Wayne Pond, where 
white perch fishing excels any other waters in 
Maine; and Flying Pond and Crotched Pond, 
Belgrade Lakes, Cobbosseecontee and Messa- 
louskee are within easy driving distance. 
No lover of good bass fishing should feel quite 
content until he has essayed to beat his previous 
records by trolling the sparkling waters of Mar- 
anocook, where bass fishing is good from June 1 
to October. iS sed 
Between Io and II: 
Fish and Fishing. 
Ice is Late in Leaving Some Canadian Lakes. 

I HAVE seen later seasons than the present 
spring in Quebec, but I have also seen many 
earlier ones. It is not unusual to get good trout 
fishing in Lake Beauport in the last week of 
April. This year the lake was still covered with 
ice May 1. The ice broke up on the 3d, and there 
was fishing on the 4th. 
Lake Beauport is a perfect gem set in a 
mounting of forest-clad hills and much re- 
sembling a Swiss lake. Its waters are deep and 
contain no other fish than fontinalis. If they 
were not marvellously well adapted for the 
growth and procreation of the brook trout, they 
would long ago have been depleted. The lake is 
only fourteen miles distant from the city of Que- 
bec, and is fished continually during the open 
season by both fly and bait fishermen. Yet there 
seems to be no-lack of fish. If any reasonable 
limit could be placed upon the fishing in Lake 
Beauport its waters would be simply alive with 
trout. They run up to over 2 pounds in weight, 
though the average weight of those which rise to 
the fly is from a quarter to three-quarters of a 
pound. All the fish in Lake Beauport are of a 
brilliant silvery hue. Around its shores are a 
small hotel, two boarding houses and_ severa! 
summer cottages. 
On May 5 I received a telegram from Judge 
Swain, of Toledo, O., inquiring whether Monday, 
the 14th inst., would be too early to leave Que- 
bee for the Triton Club. At that time the ice 
had not left the main lakes on the Tract, though 
a letter written there on May 3 stated that it was 
likely to go four or five days later. After dis- 
cussing the matter over in all its bearings with 
Capt. W. C. Seaton, I wired back that we both 
thought that the 18th or 20th would be quite 
early enough this season to arrive upon the fish- 
ing waters of the Tract. It is usually also about 
this date that the earliest fishing is to be had in 
Lake Edward. ‘This information may be useful 
to other anglers who may think of coming here 
for their spring fishing. 
On Lake St. John the ice still holds firm and 
I would not advise anybody going there for 
ouananiche fishing to arrange for arriving there 
this year before the second week of June. It is 
true that the summer may hasten along much 
more rapidly than it has yet done, but if so, I 
shall endeavor to keep readers of this column 
fully posted as to the changes in the fishing pros- 
pects. 
The Amabalish and Metabetchouan clubs ex- 
pect to be well represented in the spring batch of 
trout fishermen in the Lake St. John country, and 
I hear that a fairly good number of applications 
for accommodations in the month of June have 
reached Lake Edward. 
Lake St. Charles yielded its first trout of the 
season about the 4th inst., but like Lake Beau- 
port, it is within a few miles of Quebec. By the 
time this appears in print the fishing ought to be 
about at its best in Lake St. Joseph. All these 
lakes are ,however, farther south and less ele- 
vated than those on which the ice still holds. 
Enemies of Fish Life. 
It was the good Dame Juliana Berners or 
Barnes that called upon all good anglers and 
lovers of fishing to “destroy all such things as 
be devourers of the game.” It is pointed out, 
however, that among the sportsmen assembled at 
the recent Fish and Game Congress in Montreal 
efforts were made to protect instead af to de- . 
stroy some of the worst devourers of our best 
fishes, It is true, that for the sake of their skins 
there was an attempt to obtain a close season for 
two years on otter and mink, but the Minister, 
among others, was opposed to it, and nothing 
was done. The thoughtful friends of fish life 
know that otters are too much protected already, 
and that in England, for instance, they are syste- 
matically hinted down. One otter on a river 
will do more damage in a week than its fur ‘is 
worth. 
Another animal which it was suggested to give 
protection to is the bear, though it is altogether 
(Continued on page 774.) 
