Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-27
MANY. FISHING CLUBS

foey seek to ReSt0ck ana EroCect the
Streams-Put a Stop
to Netting.
| Special Correspondence of The Evening Star
PONTOIsE. near Paris. August "A. 1904
| The man with the rod and line Is show
| Ing his power today in France.
| A great popular movement, extending all
over France. has brought about a remark
| able change in the status Of fishers and
| fishing.
It centers around the formation of local
sport-for-all fishing clubs. One of Its great
aims Is the protection Of fish. and one OF
its first effects has been to wrest the
| Of net fishers.
| The net fisher is a professional. Doubt
less he is an honest man. worthy Of respect.
Nevertheless. he has done great harm in
Franco land where the government pre-
| tends to a kind of eminent domain in this
respect over all important streams.
Up to within couple of years ago the
government cut up the fishing rights of all
| these streams into so many lots. Then 1t
| rented them out for varying prices, accord
| Ing to the locality and many other consid-
eratfOns
| a. The professional net fisher either paid
| a rtdiculously small fishing rent and the
| state|.e., the community-practically lost
| its fishing: or (2). pushed by competition. he
| bid high. and had to gut the stream to
make both ends meet.
Nothing In the way Of fishing Is more
remarkable than the new sentiment against
| this old-fashioned wasting of the streams of
France. The net fisher Is being forced out
of business.
There are endless arguments against him.
| He simply ruins small streams. dragging
them night after night when the water Is
| low. But it is not so much the quantity Of
| fish he takes. 1t is notorious fshing-club
fact that there are sports who, with rod
and line. will take as much as 20 kilos "a
pounds) of valid eatable fish in their day.
| This really equals, weight for weight. what
| the net yields as a good average, two men
and a boy to a boat doing well when they
net 40 kflos SS pounds
Depopulated the Streams.
admit these figures say the line-fish-
| ing-club men admit them without going
| into the uncertainty Of line takings. depending
on Temperature weather. etc. Admit that
there are immensely more line fishers than
net fishers. That makes no difference.
Here is the point: The line takes only the
fish that is fit to be taken-the adult. the
eatable fish. 1t leaves the little fellows to
grow up In peace. But the net of the
gudgeon-specalist, made fine for the pur-
pose. makes daily and nightly massacres
of the young, at the same time destroying
incalculable quantities of eggs"
The gudgeon-passion among the French
is thing that is now being frowned
down in consequence. 1t Is the passion
for the friture-the mess of tiny, tiny fish
fried crisp brown in batter-not as big
sardineS, eaten, pop. bones and all. They
are supposed to be gudgeons; but In real
ity they are the young or all kinds or
fresh water fish; and the consumption of
each pound of them means the destruc-
ton of ten or fifteen pounds of adult fish.
1t Is the president Of the Matinale de
Chatelleraut' fishing society who says
this: .lft
Everything the net fetches from the
water is irrevocably lost-adult fish, the
young and the countless eggs that it
destroys by gudgeon- taking out of sea-
son. Line fishing, on the contrary, takes
only the fish that ought to be taken.
Line fishing never depopulates stream.
This is an observed fact.
1t is only few years ago, as l have
said, that the rod and line fishers of
France were an isolated lot of amateurs,
scarcely tolerated on the margin of off,
cial fishing They found themselves con-
tinually warned off this or that stretch
of stream. The country police (gardes
champetres) fought with them over bait
for example. they were refused the
right to take perch with little finnish"
net fishers renting from the government
by their continual complaints made
sport burden.
Thanks to the Clubs
Today all this Is changed. thanks to
these extraordinary fishing clubs, whose
growth has been a wonder. Doubtless
they were coming into existence and |
growing quietly powerful during |
several years previous to their open
triumph in the law of January 20. 1902.
AS matter of fact the fishing clubs by
their influence and insistence, brought |
the law into existence. In single word, |
the new law authorized the adjudication |
of fishing lots to rod and line clubs and |
societies.
1t was this clause that made the great |
change. By it's terms rod and line clubs |
are not only placed on an equality with |
professional renters for net fishing but |
they are also authorized to treat direct |
with the authorities. on the expiration of /
professional leases. without running the |
risks of public adjudication
All this may need a word Of explana-
ton. In America where the right of as
ISOLATION is as free as air, we can hardly
understand the position of a French
fishing club previous to this law of 1902 |
Ac a corporation, legal entity it had
no existence-it had no right to bid for
a lease, nor could 1T bind itself to pay for
one
The effect of the law was magfca, II
was passed in 1902 Today there are $50 !
OF these rod and line clubs in fiourishjnp |
existence and not week passes without |
seeing the foundation of new ones
The "Matinale de Chatelleraut" (matfnaIa |
means early in the morning) is model
club, as have already said. It's member
ship is made up OF all classes of society
workingmen clerks employers and profess
sional men of the town, and farmers and |
peasants of the country. 1t Is absolutely |
democratic. the day laborer sitting with his
two lines beside the patron Cboss) with one
for one of the advantages of belonging to
a line club Is (by the new lawn the |
right to fish with two lines. The clubs now
clamor for three. oand the government is
about to grant it. b
With veryalow entrance fee and annual
dues, this club possesses ten Kilometres (six
and one half milesl of well-stocked fishing
streams, anduthe stocking with young fish
is continued Annually.
Another Model Club.
La Gaule Champagnolaise" {gaule means
fishing rod. and champagnolaise refers TO
the locality-the town OF Champagnoie in |
the Jura district is another model club.
Though only two Years old, it's leases ex-
tend over FIVE celebrated trout streams,