The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-09-29
REALLY BIG CATCHES ARE BE-
COMING RARE.
FEAR He WILL DISAPPEAR
Anglers Say Irrigation bitches Are
Helping to Surely Depopu-
/ate the Streams.

Esome of those who on their excur-
,ions to the various streams are sue
cessful to the extent of catching a
reasonable number of fish may take
issue with those who make the state
ment, but many of the old fishermen
are emphatic in their assertions that
trout are growing fewer and at the
present rate of decrease will soon be
so scarce as to make fishing for. them
useless In support of this
they call attention to the large, some
times enormous strings" that were
caught hereabouts in years gone, not
many years at that, and then compare
them with the catches" made now
adays.
Having been sought almost inces-
sanity, it may be said that the freck-
led denizens of the streams are get
ting wary and no longer bite with the
freedom of other years, but this, old
time anglers say, does not explain the
difference and they attribute other
causes. OF course, fishermen are now
more numerous than formerly and
the vigorous manner in which streams
are whipped has something to do with
the decrease, but the principal rea-
son of the scarcity is the great mum.
ber of fish, large and small, that are
each summer killed by getting into
bitches. Almost every far
mer under one of these canals has
knowledge of vast quantities of fish
that have become stranded on his land
and some of them make it practice
to look out for trout caught thus and
securing fish at the least possible ex-
penditure of labor. Instances are
known where as high as 100 pounds of
| trout have been picked up after field
has been flooded. A farmer who re-
ceives his water from the High Line
ditch was heard to say yesterday that
only few days ago he obtained fully
35 pounds of trout that had been
washed onto his land, and he did not
| attempt to save all, taking only what
| he wanted. He is only one of many
4 who have had like experience. Anoth-
er farmer was heard to advise a dis
4 gusted fisherman, who after whipping
/ one of the streams nearby for an en-
tire day caught no more than a half
dozen, that if he wanted trout to go
to the Big Ditch company's canal and
he could secure plenty.
What can be said of the Yellowstone
river is also applicable to it's tributar
les. In every valley having it's con-
fluence with the Yellowstone are nu
merous bitches and none is supplied
with a guard or gate. Into all great
numbers of fish find their way dur
ing the summer and perish on the
grain and alfalfa fields. Nature il
unable to compensate for this los:
and at the present rate of decrease
a trout will soon be curiosity II
: streams where formerly they abound
ed. It is believed that law exists
providing for the construction OF fisl
guards at the heads of irrigatlnl
bitches, but if so it is observed mor'
by the studiOus neglect it receive
than by any attempt to observe 1t
provisions The ditch companies an
individuals who operate canals say n
practical gate as yet has been dis
:. covered and that to place screens a
the intakes is not feasible becaus
of the manner in which they becom
clogged and obstruct the flow of watel
Doctor Henshall, in charge of tn
government hatchery at Bozeman, ha
devised a guard that he thinks wi
answer every objection of the irrigatc
l. and has made effort to secure II
{. adoption, but sc far without success
unless in a few isolated instance
In a number of ways he has calle
:. attention to the threatened extinctio
/. of the game fishes in many OF II
u streams of the state and has give
u warning that the demand for fry mat
e. on his station is so great that
finds it impossible to supply all wi
seed who make application for it..
NJ Some of the more enthusiastic al