Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1915-03-06
SPEAR-HEADS STEAL
OUR STEELHEAD ASSET

Olic iii ust VI tic spear III Tie RTdNel
shadows of stream may destroy
embryo in the spawn, which, granted
the privileges of nature, might be ten
thousand legal-length rainbow trout in
the second year of their swimming
energy" declared deputy state forestry
warden j. H. McGillinray in an address
on wild life and its wardenship, at the
chautaqua. Hesperia, 1915.
GA lunge of steel prongs in the hands
of a reckless poacher,, the quivering
mother fish is drawn from her God
given bed OF maternity, Natures design
is frustrated and this western Michigan
community has been robbed by one
lawless person of tons of future trout,
which are, by every legal and moral
right, the property of us all.
Reviewing the rainbow-steelhead
controversy the representative said:
Rainbow fry is planted in the upper
reaches of your streams. In the fourth
year they have attained weight OF
several pounds and drop down stream
after their spawning season, to where
the kinds of food and the living condi-
tons are more suitable to their require
ments and size. They no longer depend
on the minute water life for food, but
have appetites and capacity for crayfish,
frogs, millerheads, mice, small turtles
and the like. Now the fish is one of
your 'steelheads.
in the sixth year the fish may weigh
eight, ten, perhaps twelve pounds.
Nature talks to the fish and tells it OF
the great waters below, as she tells the
carrier pigeon the way for return flight
home In Lake Michigan year, the
environment has changed again the
pigment of the fish and its appearance.
Now you have your 1and-locked
salmon
"Take your steelhead or your land
locked salmon to any state hatchery
and the eggs will bring you rainbow
fry and the fry will develop into exact
ly the same type of rainbow trout which
you had before in the upper reaches OF
the streams.
'It has been said that the rainbow
your steelhead-will not take the bait.
We will admit that he will not be apt
to do so if you spear him first. But use
the right bait, or cast the right fly,
right, and any experienced fisherman
can secure all the food and recreation
to which he is entitled as one individu-
al or the head of family table. This
has been proven on all but one ofyour
streams to my personal knowledge,
and residents living near the excepted
stream admit that they have not yet
tried the bats which have been eff
fective on other streams.
"The lumberman cut away your
streamside foliage or left on his logging
ground brush litter to abet forest fires
which destroyed it.
"Lack of shade and the food which
multiplied in the overhanging trees,
especially the grubs, as such, or in
transformation to moths and millers,
spoiled our streams for the grayling
trout. The harder brook trout sue
ceeded it, Still less shade and less of
the delicate foods and the brook trout
found fault with his home. Besides,
the sun, unobstructed in its shining,
warmed the waters past his endurance.
"The brook trout never ate the
grayling; the rainbow never ate the
brook trout. These species removed
themselves to the lesser and colder
tributary creeks or dwindled out from
lack of vitality to reproduce themselves
on account of unfit homesand starva-
ton.
''The rainbow is your trout of the
future, both for food and for recreation
"Your streams have repute among
sportsmen and tourists everywhere as
being good fishing streams. Visitors
on this account bring many thousands
Of dollars into your counties each year
and the presence of the rainbow is the
prize attraction.
"Presuming, for example. that you
had a local law which allowed the
spearing of these trout; the local fisher
man would be small factor in the ex-
termination OF this fish which would
surely result from the influx Of out
siders who would come in prong-armed
regiments to despoil your streams.
Then your paying tourist trade would
dwindle away like the grayling.
Next to your agricultural and wood
products, the rainbow trout, in its
appeal to summer visitors, is your big
gest commercial asset. You payed
tax to secure this asset; you pay tax
to protect this asset. Are you, good
citizens, going to let your own money
60 by default when you serve on
jury? Is it your desire that the game
law violator may pick your pocket