The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-06-12
KILLING TROUT.
Being Exterminated
in Worcester Coun-
ty Brooks
BY THE FEARFUL DROUGHT.
Little Prospect Of a Good
Fall Shooting
Season.
BY The FEARFUL DROUGHT.

game interests of central Massachusetts
at heart are viewing with alarm the
disastrous effects of the drought
Trout are suffering. 1t is believed
that should relief come now, it would
be too late to repair the damage and
the opinion prevails that the unprece-
dented continuance Of dry weather
means the total determination Of trout
in Worcester county brooks.
Many of the most famous trout
streams that furnish the sort of heavy
creels that delight the heart of fisher
men are as dry as the proverbial barn
floor. In others, the trout are caught
up stream in shallow water to perish
under the sun. In the warm water,
such as is seldom found in August in
the ordinary season, the fish lie slug
gish and gasping, and in this condition
they become an easy prey to the host
of enemies. In the deep holes trout
are comparatively safe, but the excess
i've drought has put an end to these
places of refuge, and the trout either
perish from lack of water because left
up stream beyond hope Of reaching a
pond or are an easy prey to their enc
mics.
Snakes, turtles, foxes, coons and
above ALL that king of fishermen, the
mink. are particularly fond of the
speckled beauties, and aided by the
drought, have done untold damage to
trout in every Worcester county
stream. Ball brook, Muddy brook,
Schoolhouse, all the grand trout
streams that flow into the Ware river,
and all the near by streams, are nearly
dry-drier than for a quarter century
and the trout are practically extermin-
ated in all brooks, with but few eXcep-
tions. These are in the springfield
brooks such as Poorfarm brook, that
never completely fails, and in a few
streams that are outlets for large
ponds.
The first week or two of June is
usually among the best Of the season
for trout but at present fishing is at a
standstill
Albert w. Andrews during the past
week has been forced to abandon his
old haunts in Worcester county and to
seek sport in Connecticut. He says
the same conditions prevail there, and
trout are not to be had. William c.
Hamilton, Dell c. Hamilton, Henry A.
Mower and DR. Charles e. H. Higgins,
all experts with rod and line made one
ashing trip last week, and after hard
days work at whipping one of Worces-
ter county's most famous trout streams,
the quartet returned with empty creels
the first time for years.
William c. Hamilton believes that the
drought started so early In the season
and has kept so unfailingly on its job,
that the trout have not run the brooks
this season to any extent, and that even
now rain will start the speckled
beauties up stream on their initial trip
Of the year He is, however, alone in
this opinion.
Jay N. Smell, Saturday, found q num-
Der of dead trout scattered along one
OF his favorite brooks in the northern
part of the county, and brought a num-
Der home with him as proof of the work
Of the drought.
Waltons who remember the last
great drought of 1882, appreciate the
dire effects of the dry weather best.
Before that season it was an easy mat
ter for the fisherman to fill his creel
Eandily without being away from the
city more than a half day. Big strings
abounded, and the brooks that had
thoroughly recovered from the drought
or 1863, were teeming with an abund-
ance of large trout. After asTeriod Of
ory weather such as now prevails. it
takes at least Is years for the r4plen-
ishing of the streams and the recov-
cry of trout, and the brooks this spring
gave evidence of having got back into
the good old way. The season opened
with abundant promise of record
breaking sport, only to succumb to
lack of water.
The cutting off of timber lands
through the agency of the portable
steam saw mill and consequent de-
struction Of cover. have aided in the
work of determination. and unless the
prophets are becoming alarmists, it is
all over with local trout fishing for at
least ten years.
Fishermen are not the only sports
men affected. The small army of Wor-
cester county bird shooters will notice
the effects of the drought when they
first go into the covers in the IA. The
standby of the early season before the
flights of migratory woodcock begin, is
found in the native birds. Observers
say that the native woodcock have en-
tirely disappeared. The reason need not
be sought far. The birds exist in the
summer in wet lands and swamp holes.
Before the blazing sun these have dried
up almost entirely, except, perhaps,
along the edges of brooks that are still
flowing, and the woodcock have aband-
oned nesting in a struggle for existence.
Generally the birds have left the coun-
try locally in search Of feeding
grounds.
This means that there will be a de-
cided dearth of native birds this fall.
and except for flights. woodcock shoot -
ing will amount to nothing.
The alarmists say that quail and
partridges have not nested this spring
on account of the drought. Usually the
great desideratum of Bob White and
the ruffed grouse, is a dry nesting sea-
SON. A wet spring is the bugaboo Of