Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-02-11
Extraordinary Fecundity of Fish.

In 1868 there was built in the town of
Weston. Vt, Il reservoir to give increased
supply Of water power for manufacturing
purposes. twas built upon what is known
as Cold Spring brook, a small stream some
two or three miles in length, and almost
entirely made up of springs, one of which
is very large. The reservoir is built on the
upper third of the brook, and flooded with
water boggy meadow and other water
lands covered with small, shrubby timber
to the extent of perhaps about sixty acres,
which had heretofore only afforded a poor
quality of hay and pasturage for the cattle.
The stream, prior to the erection of the
dam for the reservoir, had been somewhat
noted as trout brook, bit was fast com
ing into disuse by reason of having been
g" tished to DEATH anglers getting small
luck and smaller fish every year. Upon
the completion of the reservoir the citizens
of the town thoght it best to have the fish
protected by law, so petitions were gotten
up and the legislature evoked, who passed
an act to protect the fish in Cold Spring
brook and reservoir for three years. The
act expired May, 1871, and up to that time
no fishing has been done, though many n
, poacher had carried away his big string Of
trout, and many sly angler had taken n
peep into the reservoir and told his story
about the abundance of fish there. The
first day of May being the commencement
of our open season, and the law expired
protecting the fish, of course many an
angler resorted thither, and wonderful was
his catch of fish through the season, and
vet no abatement of the fish in the reser-
voir, as the open season of 1873 Il tests.
| There has been yearly since 1871 a steady
| increase in the catch of fish, although as
steadily increased the number of anglers
going there. So constantly was the reser-
voir frequented through last season b., pro-
fessional and amateur fishermen that there
was no day throughout the entire season.
whether foul or fair, but what you could
lind from one to twenty anglers in boats
OF upon the shore fishing. Twenty-Five
pounds of trout have been caught there in
i day very frequently the past summer,
and know professional angler who esti-
mates his catch at three hundred pounds
the past season. while his friends say that
it far exceeded five hundred pounds. The
wonderful increase of trout in this reservoir
is only to be accounted for upon the basis
of augmented food which boggy meadow
will afford when flowed with water.
In the whole history of our State find
but one instance where the increase of fish
has exceeded the account given above,
and that occurred under quite similar cir
cumstances Williams in his history OF
Vermont, page l49, says
1.-The rapidity with which trout and
other species of fishes multiply under IA
vorable circumstances was exemplifed in
I'm astonishing manner at an early day in
rinmouth A stream which was about
twenty feet wide. and which. like other
Streams contained trout and suckers, of
the ordinary size and number, had a dam
built across it for the purpose of supplying
water for a saw mill. This dam formed q
pond, which covered, by estimation, about
one thousand acres, where the trees wert
I thick and the soil had never been cultiva
ted. In two or three years the fish multi
piled in this pond to an incredible number
At the upper end. where the brook fel
in, the fish were to be seen running ove
one another, so embarrassed by their owl
numbers as to be unable to escape from