The Mena weekly star., 1913-07-03
GIVE BASS A CHANCE
Another Appeal to Pot Fishermen 'o Stop Fishing During the
 Spawning Season.

Spawning Season.
 The following special from It. Smith to the Little Rock Gazette under date of June 2L has slS- nificant bearing on the thoughtles9 practice some men make of fishing for black bass in our nelghborlng streams during the spawning or nesting season:
 A consignment of 5000 black
 bass from the government hatch
 cry at Mammoth Spring was re-
 ceived here today, to be dlstIlD-
 uted in private ponds and streams
 in Western Arkansas. The hsH
 will be liberated in Benton, CraW-
 ford, Sebastian, Polk, Pope, Se-
 vier and Johnson counties, and
 later second consignment Will
 be taken to Little Rock for dlS-
 tribution in Pulaski county. The
 government, it was announced,
 had practically abandoned the
 practice of stocking pubic
 streams in Arkansas because the
 young fish were not given pro
 lection.
 It is a flushing shame that such a statement would have to be made against the state of Arkansas, and yet it certainly is justiliable. for III no other state ill the union Is there so little regard paid to the pro- lection of game fish. While We have an old law on our statutes im- posing a heavy fine for placing dy- namite in the streams for the pur- pose of killing fish, and while this law is Wantonly violated in nearly every part of the state every year. | have never heard OF read of d conviction during the IS years that | have lived in the state. In fact. the dynamite fiend is like the man who applies a match to his nel-h- bOr'S hay moW-it is hard matter to catch him in the act For over two years we have had a law, thanks to Mr. Pipkin our former representative from Polk county, imposing a fine on any person catching a black bass at any time between April 20 and June 70, and yet this law is more openly and commonly violated than the other. There Is no use in making any kind of an appeal to the reason of a man who will sneak out to creek or river about daylight in the morning or dusk in the evening and explode a stick of dynamite in the water gobble up a sack full of dead fish. and sneak back home: but the man who fishes with rod and line generally speaking has some blood of a true sportsman in his veins and is more inclined to listen to reason. Of course. there are pot fishermen as well as pot hunters, and they are all after meat instead of sport. The pot hunter, however. would not think of shooting a mother quail on her nest of eggs while the pot fisher man does not hesitate 10 yank a mother bass from her nest and cut her head off. In killing the quail only IS or 20 little quail would be destroyed. but in killing the bass perhaps 5000 OF 1000 little ones would be left tO perish.
 In this connection fl is really surprising to learn how many enemies in their native element the little fishes have. and what n hard fight the mother has to make to propagate and preserve her brood. While the assistant superintendent or U. $. Fish Hatchery was ex- blaming to me several years ago the great number of inhabitants of the Walery elements that prey up- on the spawn or eggs of game fishes as well as upon the tiny minnovS before they are old enough fo fake care of themselves. we heard inc rroak of buIl-frog in distant fish pond. Seizing a 22-raIihar rllle, the assistant excused him SeIt saying as he rushed out. And there IS the worst one of the lot " m lew minutes there was n sharn report, and dead frog dronned down under the lily pads fpon returning the young man took me into a room and showed me a Iof of glass jars which contained an astonishing number of ugly Ioobing creatures preserved in alcohol ail or which, 1t was explained deslrov- ed the eggs and young of ea1no fishes. No wonder the mother bass puts up such a fight to save har young, and no wonder she hecomos an easy prey of the man who casts ms lure into her nest Don't do if brother, don't do if. Give inc bass a chance, and Uncle Sam will moi De called upon to stock our streams ms Let us all he true sportsmen.
 Yours for Better Fishine
 Co,. T. P Fulton.
 CONe, Ark, June 20 Ioiq