The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-05-17
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FRANK B. HOWE, Editor and Publisher
TROUT FISHING


An editorial special to the Free
Press from Bennington announces that
Editor Frank Il. Howe of the Banner
and Postmaster Collins Nj. Graves
have gone to Brattleboro to inyesti-
gate the trout fishing in Windham
county under the special Windham
county trout law. While neighbors
may receive prompt evidences of the
success of the expedition, the chan
ces are that an official report will be
reserved for the next session of the
Vermont legislature Huntington Free
Press.
No lengthy report is necessary. The
only thing lacking to make the fish
ing season i'm Windham county howl
ing success is fish and we fear the
same difficulty prevails in other coun-
ties. We are inclined to believe how
ever, that the Windham county law is
proving a success for that county and
ought to be extended to the other
counties
in the first place, with the season
opening April IS, the fishing started
very gradually in Windham county,
and yet in the course of the month of
April 10 to May Is, nearly everybody
who fishes there had tried his luck.
No big catches were made anywhere
in the county, thus disproving the the
| np.r to 10 "a
out of the big holes where they lie in
the early spring while the weather is
cold
Secondly the mobbing of trout
brooks with one grand rush on May
10 is prevented In Bennington coun-
ty and doubtless in the other coun-
ties of the state, on Saturday, May Is,
the streams were lined with fisher
men and the streams were skinned all
in day One fisherman on the Bat
tenkill below Arlington states that at
one time he could count 81 fishermen
in sight at one time. All along the
Kill and other principal trout streams
similar conditions prevailed. The
best of the fishing is over for this
year. This condition is avoided in
Windham county under its new law.
We were surprised at one thing
though. Scores of people in Wind
ham county told us that very few peo-
pie over there pay any attention to
the six inch law unless they suspected
they were being watched. Now in
Bennington county the six inch law is
generally lived up to. not only out of
Prospect to the law but in behalf Of
good craftsmanship
No mere law alone can save the
fishing in Vermont with the steadily
increasing number of fishermen
There is need of much more stocking.
especially with fingerlings. We have
hopes that the new hunters license
law will furnish revenue to enable
stocking on a vastly larger scale in
the future. We believe too, that the
season must be still further shorten
ed, that it ought to begin April 10 as
it does now in Windham county and
close not later than July 1.
Personally also we favor the per
manent closing under heavy penalties
of head streams and small tributaries
where the trout breed but never at
tain any considerable size. With
these permanent sources of supply
provided for we would reduce the size
limit to five inches in the main
streams and stock every stream every
year if possible even If we had to pay
small fishing license to raise the
needed funds. And on top of it all
there should be a general agreement
among those who fish to obey the law
and see that others do the same. Will
these provisions we feel sure that the
fishing in Vermont might be greatly
improved and kept good not only fol-
the present but for future genera
lions.