The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-05-13
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
ADVICE TO ANGLERS.
Washington. D. C.

ADVICE TO ANGLERS.
| Washington. D. c., May 10.-A spe-
cial plea to American anglers not to
waste fish, this season is being made
| by the government bureau of fish
cries The fishery experts say that
anglers annually waste thousands OF
pounds of fish by catching more than
they can eat. with the result that some
are allowed to SPOIL, and also by
throwing away various non-game fish.
which are regarded with aversion by
the sportsmen.
These forms of waste amount in the
aggregate to a great deal. There are
proba bly, at least six million anglers
| in the United States, and since fish
ling is good in most parts Of this
country, their total catch is so small
item of the national food resources.
Furthermore. these fish taken by the
sportsmen are the finest that swim.
| The trout, bass and perch, which are
the favorite American game fishes. are
not generally taken by commercial
fishermen at all, being reserved by
law for sport with rod and line. They
are by far the best table fishes in
American waters. And yet they are
wasted in a way that no commercial
| fishery could afford. The city sports
man, off for his two weeks of-trout
fishing, can seldom resist the tempta-
ton to catch all the fish he is able.
| and that is often more than he and his
party can eat. Not one sportsman in
/ a thousand knows how to cufe the
surplus fish. so that he can take them
nome with him. Now there are easy
methods of drying and sailing fish in
camp. The bureau of fisheries now
has In course of prepa ration a PAM
| phiet which describes methods of
preserving fish in camp, and one has
tail I1~x %,
care for them at home. Thus any
sportsman may learn how to care for
mis- catch, and in these days, when
waste of food in any form is almost
criminal, he should take as much
pride in this knowledge as he does in
knowing how to use his tackle.
i Not only should all the game fish
caught be carefully preserved, but the
inferior species should be either re-
placed in the water or else used for
FOOD. In a great many bass waters.
for example, there are catfish and
cells Many anglers regard these SIM
ply as nuisances, and when they catch
them, the fish are killed and thrown
away. Yet catfish and cells are excel
lent food and there is no excuse TO.
wasting them. If properly preserved
they will be very welcome at the table
in the winter.
In some sections, sportsmen have
already adopted this policy of not
wasting any fish. In the lower Poto-
Washington and Baltimore annually
take thousands of pounds of croaker5.
striped bass, blue fish, sea trout and
other fine salt water fishes. When
the fish are biting a days catch Is
, often fifty pounds or more. and there
IS no legal limit. Many of thes. ang-
lers have now adopted the policy OF
preserving what they cannot use fresh
; for winter use. -. 49,,
II If every man who enjoys a day 81
fishing knew the methods by which
the supply of game fish in American
waters is maintained, it is probable
: that fewer fish would be wasted. For
l the abundance of game fish is by no
means an inexhaustible bounty of ma
ture; it is the result of constant Of
fort by the bureau of fisheries along
the most scientific lines.
, Take, for example, the brook trout
There are hundreds of thousands OF
men in the United Seates who prefer
l a trout stream with the fly-rod to any
t other sport. The game fighting quail
tiles of the fish, the beauty of the
environment in which it is found, and
the fine skill necessary for its taking
make the trout the best of game
fishes Trout fishing seems to have
1 a special charm for men of intel
lect Sir Edward Gray. the famou:
), British statesman, is devotee OF the
, fly-rod. as are many other well known
! Enelishmen., In this country, DAME
Webster was a ut-fisherman of en-
4 thusiasm anG skill. In his day, there
: was excellent trout fishing in almos
every brock in the northeastern quar-
q ter of the United States. Soon, how
4 ever, this was changed. The las
1 trout was taken by anglers from
. many n stream. Others were made
: uninhabitable for the fish by thu
refuse from sawmills and factories
e while the cutting away of forests
About decade ago, the red spotted
brook trout of New England seemed
| to be doomed. Then the bureau O
n fisheries took up the problem. 1t be
r gan restocking from its hatcheries thu
q depleted streams, sending fry. egg
:, and fingerlings to all parts of tht
United states in specially constructed
I cars. State governments co-operatet
by enacting stricter laws, regulating
the size of catches. protecting the fist
during their spawning season. ant
preventing the pollution of streams
e AS. a result. the red-spotted brool
r trout is found again today in almos
all of its native streams, and its rang
has even been considerably extended
l | Furthermore, the rainbow trout of thu
t Pacific coast has been transplanted I,
o the east, and is taking the place o
. tho brook trout in many stream
which are no longer suited to tina
fish. and is furnishing sport il
streams where the brook trout neve
: could have lived.
It This introduction of the RAINBOW
:. trout into eastern streams is still go
g ing forward at a great rate. and is on
r of the most notable achievements q
d the bureau of fisheries Hundreds O
l. streams and ponds have been stocke
: with rainbow trout by the government
during the past year.
isl The great value of the rainboy
t. trout for this purpose lies in the fac
IS that it will live in warmer water tina
o will the brook trout, and also il
l. water which is muddied by floods to
d much for brook trout.
m During the past year rainbow trou
"a have heen successfully PLANTED i