Crossing of Salmon and Trout

May

9, 1889.]

CROSSING OF SALMON AND TROUT.

EditorForest

and

Stream:

Willbrook andsalmontroutcross? Thereisapondin Madisoncounty,N.Y.,whichcontained speckledtrout,and which

some

years ago

was

stockedwith salmon.

Now many

claim that the troutisacross. Certainly thetrout

SUNAPEE LAKE TROUT.

EditorForest

and

Stream:

Ibegan fishing in Sunapee

Lake

in 1857, at North Point,aledgeon"thenorthwesternshoreofSunapee.

We

usedto catchonly the speckled native trout, but they wereplentyand

we

caught hundreds of

them

weighing

from

1 to' 61bs.each. JacobR.HutchinsonandIhave been fishing togetherall these years.

The

St. John's River trout have been putintothe lakesincethat time, so have the landlocked salmon andblackbass. Trout lishingis

now

best carried on in depths of40to80ft.

,

blackbassare near theshore. Trout fishingis

what we

oldfishermen caremostfor,and

we

havepulled out

some

bigonesindeepwater. Mr.

Amos Woodbury

afewyears ago caughtatroutthatweigheddowui prettywell,butI guessItook the biggestprize lastJuly. I started from

home

earlyin the morning andgotontothewaterbe- foresunrise; it

was

sofoggythat I hardly

knew

where

T went, but

rowed

for

Hedgehog

fishing ground. I anchored and putout

my

^line, in a

few

minutes some- thing nibbledat

my

bait. Itook the line in

hand

and found a big trout had the hook. For thirty or forty minutesIpulledand hepulled,itwasa hardpulland a longpull,butIhauled

him

inandsteeredforthe nearest cottagetoweighhim. Mr.

Cheney

weighedthefishim- mediately

upon

takingitoutofthewater,and

Ms

weight

was

151bs.;after being out ofthewaterafew hours he was

somewhat

lighter in weight, but was pronounced thelargesttroutthathadeverbeen takenoutofSunapee Lake. Thelengthofthefish

was

about30in. Untilthis catch,

my

friend Mr.

Woodbury

rejoiced in being the championfishermanofSunapee Lake; butI understand thatthepeopleofSunapee

now

record SullivanMarston asthe

man who won

the day and the biggest trout. I expecttogethismate^thecoming summer. IfIdoI will

write again.

Sullivan

MARSTON.

Nbwpobt,

New

Hampshire.

The

First Striped

Bass.—

EditorForest

and

Stream:

Icaughttwostriped bass in the surf yesterday,fishing withrodandreelandusingwhite

worms

forbait. These arethefirsttakenonthiscoastthis season in the above manner,and, asfaras Ihave been able to learn, the earliest on record.

My

eldest boy caught a Southern sculpin (Cottus octodecim spinosus) to-day. Are they

common

so farnorth or at this earlv date?

—

Big

Reel

(Ocean Beach, N. J.,

May

1). [Mr.V. N. Edwards,of

Woods

Holl,Mass.,has obtainedstripedbassin his vicinity onthe following early dates: April_{24, 1877,}Falmouth, Mass., 1; April23,18S0,Martha'sVineyard,1; April27, 1880, Martha's Vineyard, 156: April 25, 1S83,

New

Bed- ford,Mass.,1.

The

eighteen-spined sculpin is a winter residentonthe

New

Jerseycoast,seldom arriving there beforethe

month

ofNovember;it is

much more

abundant northward, extendingat least toLabrador.]

FishingProspectsin

New Brunswick.—

The present seasonin

New

Brunswickisoneoftheearliestonrecord, and no one can

remember

ever having seen nature arrayed so soon in its garbof green. Mr.RobertOrr, fishery

warden

forthe

Upper

Miramichi,informs

me

that

upward

of 125salmon(spentfish)have latelybeen taken withtheflyinthatriver atdistancesvaryingfromsix to eight milesaboveBoiestown, a circumstanceneverbefore known.

—

Edward Jack

(Fredericton,N.B.,

May

1),

Mackerel

at

Provtncetown. — A

^mackerel

was

caught atProvincetown,Mass.,

May

1.

FOREST AND STREAM.

Fined

for

Illegal Fishing.

—

Editor Forest

and

Stream:

Our

fishareenjoying arest,thefirstin

many

years. Thisrest,unexpectedalike tobothfisbandfish-

ermen, was brought about bythe sudden appearanceof our fish warden,

John W.

Hague,Esq., of Pittsburgh,

who

has been hard at

work

for montbs gatheringevi- denceagainst our illegal fishers.

On

Monday,the 15th

Priceof Shad.

—

In themarketsofWashington,D.

C,

shad weresoldatretail,

May

4,for five cents perpound.

Roe

shadareoffered atanequally

low

price.

FISH CULTURE

IN

OHIO.

DAYTON,

^Ohio,

^May

^{6. Theprotection} that the State has given thefishintherivers,andthe regularplant- ingoffry inthestreams has given Ohio as fine fishing watersascan befoundanywhere. The close season begins

May

1 and continues until June 15,andthe bassare

now

spawning. The rivers are full ofbass, goggleeyes,rock bassandchannelcatfish,andanglerswillhave greatersport this

summer

thanever before,ifthere isagood stage of water.

PresidentOshorn,ofthe OhioFish Commission,reports that the 150 jars ofpickerelspawn inthe Stateestablish-

ment

at Sanduskyare hatching outrapidly,andthat al- readya largequantityofthefryhave beeu planted inthe streams of Michigan, and that within thenextten days

many

millionswillbe depositedintheinlandriversofOhio.

Onehalf acre of land onPeachPoint,Put-in-BayIsland, inLakeErie,hasbeen deeded to theGovernmentasasite for the fish hatchery,and .John Brown,Jr.,a son of old Ossawatomie Brown,ismaking thesurvey. Theshoresof Peach Point are awild stone bluff,andverypicturesque, niched and caverned. The heavy growths of cedar and foresttrees,wildvinesandshruberymustbeclearedaway beforethebuildingcanbegin.

CANADIAN FISHERIES.*

HPHE

^reporton thefisheriesofCanadaforthe year 1888 is J.

made

upofthe following elements:

A

briefintroduc- tioncontaining a generalsurveyofthewholesubjectbythe DeputyMinisterof Fisheries,a seriesof eight appendices giving a statement of fishing bounties and the fishery statistics of the inspectors and overseers of the various provinces,a reporton fishhreeding,and a report on the fisheries protectionservice.

Theyield ofthefisheriesin 1888wasas follows:

Nova

Scotia #7,817,080.42

New

Brunswick 2,941,80:-!05

BritishColumbia 1,902,105.50

Quebec. 1,860,012.90

Ontario 1,&39,809.09

PrinceEdward Island 870.802. 74

Manitobaand NorthwestTerritories 180,677.00

Total #17,418,510.76

There has beenadecrease of $967,592.99 ascomparedwith the returnsfor1887. Thegreatest fallingoffhas occurredin

New

BrunswickandNovaScotia,while Ontario hasshown a large increase. The fisheries that have declined most markedlyare mackerel,sardines, lobsters, smelts,cod and salmon,

named

inthe orderoftheirdiminution.

A

notable improvement is recorded in the catch ofwhitefish,hake, eelsand"pickerel"(wall-eyedpike). Thecodyieldsnearly one-fourthofthe whole catch ofthefisheries ofCanada.

Thedecline inthe mackerelfisheryamountedtonearlyhalf a million dollars, orabout one-third of the yield of this species in1887. In

Nova

Scotia"herring wereplentifuland pricesfair. Shad andalewivesappeartobe onthe increase, while aslight shortageis noticeable in cod,undoubtedly duetostormy and unfavorable weather for boat.-fishing.

Herring fishing was, onthe whole, remunerative, while mackerelutterlyfailed. Theassistant inspector lays great stresson thedamageoccasionedtothis fisheryby the useof purseseines,and he urgentlyrecommends the utter pro- hibition of this

mode

offishing."

In

New

Brunswickthe returnsshow a decrease ofover

*AnnualReportofthe DepartmentofFisheries,Dominionof Canada,fortheyear1888. Ottawa,1889. Pp. xxx-f255+69+24.

321

a halfmilliondollars from theyieldin 1887,and of more thanamilliondollarsfrom thecatch of1886. The decline was almost entirely in salmon, smeltand lobsters,andis attributedtoover-fishing.

The ^fisheries of British Columbia show a decrease of

$76,691.50,duechieflytothefailure ofthe Fraser River sal-

mon

fishing.

By

an order inCouncil,passed Nov.26, 1888, certainregulationswereestablished for the protection of this fishery. Nets,boats and other apparatus cannot be usedwithout alicense from the Minister of Marine and Fisheries. The

minimum

sizeofthemeshesofsalmonnets isfixedat6in. Driftnetsareconfinedto tidal waters and must not obstruct more thanone-third of anyriver.

No

salmonnets ofanykindshallbeused forsalmon in fresh waters. Fishingforsalmon andtheuseofapparatusshall bediscontinuedfrom 6o'clock on Saturday morning to 6 o'clockon the following

Monday

morning.

Thevalueofthefisheries ofOntario was $1,839,869,being anincrease of $30S,019overthe

amount

of1S87. Thisresult arosefromjudicious protectionandastrict enforcementof thefishery laws.

InPriuce

Edward

Islandtherewasa decidedfallingoffin the catchofmackerelandlobsters. Thedecline of the lob- ster fisheryisattributedtoover-fishing andconstant oppo- sition toallrestrictivemeasures. Itisfound also that the oysterindustryisbeing ruinedforthew^rantofanadequate closetime. Thepresentcloseseasonofthreemonths anda halfisinsufficient to protecttheoyster.

InManitoba andthe NorthwestTerritories the valueof thefisheriesshowed a considerable increase, the catch of whitefishbeing nearly doublewhat it was in 1887. Great destruction offishduringthebreediug seasoniswrought by Indians,who,underpretenseof fishing for their

own

use, catchlargequantities offishatatime

when

others are pro- hibited from doing so, conceal them andafterward sell

themto traders.

Six

new

fishways of the Rogers model were built in streams in

New

Brunswick and

Nova

Scotia. Eleven hatcheries were operated by the Dominion Government.

Thesearelocated at Newcastle and Sandwichin the Pro- vince of Ontario;MiramichiandSt.JohnRiver,

New

Bruns- wick; FraserRiver, British Columbia; Magog-, Tadoussac, Gaspe andRistigouche,Quebec;andatBedfordand Sydney in

Nova

Scotia. 9S,214,000eggs were placedinthe hatching houses,andthe

number

ofyoungfishdistributedduring the seasonof 1888was 88,109.000. The kinds of fish deposited were Atlantic salmon,two species of Pacificsalmon

—

^the

quinnatand the blueback

—

lake trout,brooktrout,white- fish,wall-eyed pikeand small-mouthed blackbass.

In the following table areshown thevaluesofthefish- eries exceeding8200,000inamount,arrangedinthe orderof theirimportance:

Cod $4,203,508.00

Herring 2,354.234.90

Salmon 1,907,400.00

Lobsters 1,483.3S8.56

Mackerel 981.659.01

Haddock 948,732.00

Whitefish 702,324.2-S

Trout 510,061.00

Hake

486,540.00

Pollock 484,284.00

Fishoils 390,650.90

Eels 321,348.70

Fursealskins 279.830.00

Fishforbait 231,5S6.50

Smelt 222,674.66

Coarseandmixed^fish 208,851.63 The

number

ofpersonsengagedinthe fishery service of Canada was^910,of

whom

twenty-fivewerespecial fishery guardians employed for short periods during the close seasons.

In the Province ofOntario, ParrySound and

Muskoka

divisions,Overseer A. H. Smith,inchargeofLakesJoseph, Rosseau.

Muskoka

andotherwatersinthe District ofParry Sound, reportedas follows; Theseasonopenedearly.

With

the exception of bass,which were scarce, fishing proved highly successful to anglers and _{troll ers.} Pickerel were clean, bright andof a goodsize. Thespecies referred to underthis

name

is evidently our wall-eyedpike.

At

the head ofLake Rosseau 10 to 161bs.pickerelwerecommon;

whilea201b.lunge [lake trout]waslanded from Sparrow Lake. Tom'ists werenot quite so numerous during last summer,but theinflux of hunters, including foreigners, waslarger.

Game

^ismore attractivethan fish. Spearing isalmost completelystampedout.

A

mostdifficultquestion to

manage

isthesawdustnuisance. Millowners seemwell disposedtocomplywith thestatute,buttheburnerserected to dispose ofthesawdustproveddefective.

Overseer J.G.Rurnsey,^of Huutsville,

who

has chargeof the inland waters oftwelve townshipsinParrySound and Muskoka,reportsthatspeckledtroutappearto he getting scarcer,notwithstanding the factthat the onlyfishing is

done bysportsmen and afewsettlers for local use. The decline offish isaccompaniedby afalling offin the

num-

berof tourists. The overseer attributes the scarcity of trouttothewantoffishwaysinthe

dam

atBurk'sFalls.

OverseerFred

Webber

reports asteadyimprovementinall kinds^{ot fish,} except speckled trout,inLake Couehiching andthe SevernRiver. Thisisespecially true ofthe black bass,andisduetothe extensionofthecloseseasonandthe moregeneral observanceofthefishing laws. Muskellunge are scarce in LakeCouehiching, but it isbelieved that the preventionofspearinginthe spring will soonrestore theirnumbers. The Severn River is reportedbyanglers andtouristsfromtheStates to be betterthanever. Scarcity ofspeckledtroutisascribed toextreme low water during the winter, causing the deathof

many

young fish.

A

number

oftroutfrywere placed in Coldwaxer River by a gentlemanlast year,andotherpartieshave promisedtocon- tinuethe.work.

A

large school of whitefish wasseen last

summer

inLakeCouehichingastheresult,itisbelieved, of fishculture, some fryhaving been sent to this lakeafew yearsago fromtheNewcastlehatchery. The principalfish ofLake Couehiching andtheSevern Riverare bass, pick- erel (wall-eyed pike) and muskellunge.

At

Moose Deer Point,Georgian Bay,whitefishandlaketroutbeganspawn- ing Oct. 14. Capt. Alfred F. Holmes,

commanding

the steamer Cruiser,reports thespawning timefor whitefish andlaketrout toextendfromOct. 15 toDec.1,andforblack bassfromApril1 toJune 15, withslight variationsdueto ternperature.

Mr.F. C. Gilchrist, fishery overseer of theQu'Appelle River and adjoining lakes, in hisveryinteresting report forthe year 1888 givesnotes onseveral ofthe important species of hisdistrict. His comparisonofthetwokinds of black bass deserves thecareful attention of the readersof Forest

and

Stream. "Ithas been recommendedthatthe.

large-mouthed black bass be usedforstocking ourwaters.

Thereare

many

lakeswheretheywouldbe a valuablead- dition tothelistof fishes. * * * Iwould, however,pro- test against puttingthem intowaters thatareconnected withlakes wfiere there are whitefish orwhichare suited to stocking with theCoregonL In shallow lakes withmuddy- bottomsandweeds,andwherethere areonly the predaceous varieties,theywould dowell, but

my

examinationofthe stomachsofhundredsIhave caughtintheOtonabee, Trent and otherrivers inOntario, led

me

tothe conclusion that they were almostentirely piscivorous,preying verylargely upontheyoungofotherfashthathadtakento'theweedsfor shelter. Unlikethesmall-mouthed black bass,whichap- pears to hibernate in thewinter, they arevoracious the entire year. * * * Thelarge-mouthare

much

inferior to thv*mall-mouthinthepan,andinfinitely souponthe hook,

LAKE AND BROOK TROUT HYBRID.

arelighterthan most brooktroutandthe redspotsnotso clearly defined.

Nof

rnanvtrouthavebeentaken thus far this spring, butallthe followersof SirIzaak are waitingfora

warm

rain,

and

then they expecttohave

some

sport.

Wing.

[Thereisnoevidence that

any

ofoursalmon and^trout crossnaturally,but

many

crosseshave been produced by

artificialfertilization.

A

crossbetweenthesalmontrout

(namaymsh)

andthebrooktrout(fontinalis)wasdescribed inForest

and Stream

Jan.17,1889. Sincethisdescrip- tionwaspublished

we

have examined specimens^{of the} hybridinalcoholandare

now

able tocompletetheaccount or theteethamithepyloriceceea. Theteeth on the

vomer

(middleofroof of mouth)are as inthe laketrout,and thereisa welldeveloped bandofteethontheroot ofthe tongue.

The

stomachisverylarge,siphon -shaped,and the cceca

number

aboutsixty,being

more

numerous than in thebrooktrout,butnot nearlyso abundantas in the laketrout. In^allcharactersofgreat importance,as inthe shapeofthetail,sizeofthescales,andthedentition,the crosshas receiveditsimpressionfromthelaketrout,while in coloration,general form,and

number

of ccecalappend- ages the impression

came

fromthebrooktrout. In other words,inmattprsmostsubjectto variation,fontinalis has left itsimpress, but in charactersofgreaterpermanence

namaycush

hasleftitsunmistakable mark.

The

figure herewithpublished willgive a perfect knowledgeof the proportionsofthe crossaswellas ofthe distributionof color areas:fora descriptionofthe freshfishthe readeris

referredtothearticle above mentioned.

The

specimen

was

an undeveloped male about20in.long.]

inst.,heexplodedbisbomb,and shockedour quietcom- munity bv arresting Bernard (better

known

as "Ike") Lazarus, Rochester'sChiefofPoliceand countydetective, taking

him

beforeA. R. Moore,J. P.,

who

fined

him

$50 andcosts for fishingwithaseine within a quarter of a mile of theclam, at Bridgewater.

Then came Thomas

Lukene,

who

plead guiltyand

was

lined$50andcostsfor likeoffense.

He was

followed by JacobStahl,aprofes- sionalfisherman,in whose possession the

warden

found acompleteoutfit,which heordered thesherifftodestroy.

Stahl'sfishboxcontained

many

fine fish,which wereat once returnedtotheBig Beaver,from

whence

theyhad beenforced. Stahlsaid"Guilty,"andthe Justiceofthe Peacesaid"$50andcosts." Geo.B.Hoyt,"for seining,"

etc.,$50andcosts,followed by"Col."JosephReed,Sr., fined $25

and

costs forhavingnetsinpossession;andthe lastto date,Joseph Reed,Jr., $10 and costsfortaking black basswithrod

and

line, Mr.

Hague

says the

work

hasonly

commenced,

andthatheisdeterminedthatille- galfishing shallbe stoppedin hisdistrict.—G.A.Scroggs (Beaver, Pa., April29).

A Great Catch

of

Bass.— On

April1 Mr.C.A.

Ham-

let,of this city, took 56 black bass,ruuning fromt to 4|lbs.,thetotaicatchweighing851bs.

He

usedaOoz.fly- rodand "chub"minnows. This is the largestcatch of bass on record here. Last season Mr.G.H.Asper,of Chicago,111.,captured the largestblack bassevertaken inour waterswith arod;the

gamy

fellowweighed61bs.

—

Mac

(Glasgow, Ky., April30).