Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-01-28
WISCONSIN CONSERVATION COM.
MISSION
Division of Fisheries by James Nevin

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CHANGING OF FOOD CONDITIONS
OF THE TROUT FAMILY
Fish and Game Within the State Are
The Property of the People
The degree of success achieved in
planting fish is determined by the con-
ditions of the water in which they are
planted. Some lakes and streams are
more productive of fish and the life
The problem with which we are con-
fronted is how can these conditions
be maintained. The farmer that sows
and reaps without returning anything
to the soil, soon has a barren field.
We have been planting fish in
streams for years and the time has
arrived when many of our streams
cannot support a greater number OF
game fish and the question to be
solved is what can be done to restore
these streams to their former pristine
conditions SO they can be stocked to
meet the increased demand.
The principal food of large and
small trout and which is in most all
spring water fed streams, is a crust
acea that adheres and grows on stones
on the bed of the streams. The cad
dis larva is wormlike creature found
in the streams and looks as if it might
be encased in bark from the tree or
an alder bush and pebbles. Then
again, in most all of our spring water
holes where water-cress will grow,
there will be found vast numbers of
fresh water shrimp found all along
the stream -clinging to roots, logs or
stones as they drift along down the
stream and the fish feed upon them.
Brook trout prefer streams that con-
tain hiding places and clear spring
water with a maximum temperature
of about so. In many of the counties
of the state intensive farming has
caused the removal of brush and trees
from the banks of streams, destroying
the conditions that provided natural
haunts for the fish. Many farmers set
aside for pasture that portion of their
farms through which the stream flows
Cattle and hogs wade and wallow in
the stream, making it unfit for trout,
with the consequence that the fish
move away or die. After a heavy
rainfall, the wash from cultivated
fields also make the streams unfit
for trout. Farmers and others inter-
ested in fish and fish life, it would
be a good idea for them to plant will
low and tag alder along the stream
We have one trout stream in mind
in this state that in years gone by at
tracted more sportsmen and men of
note than any other. Some thirty
years ago when visiting this stream,
we observed that it was bordered by
dense forest Of pine and hemlock
trees. Trees frequently were found
fallen across the stream and logs and
brush formed pools-ideal hiding plac-
es for trout. Several well-to-do sports
men from nearby cities bought small
tracts of land along the stream and
built elaborate summer homes and
| others built cottages, and in time there
got to be quite a settlement along the
stream. Practically all of the market
able timber has been cut except the
small areas that are privately owned
| and used as sites for summer homes.
Time came when the sportsmen
thought the river ought to be cleared
of all brush and logs so they would
be able to fish from the bank of the
stream and also be more convenient
| W "ooN W SdtS1 Iuc ISL. All IuOS6
having an interest in the stream got
| together and raised a sum of money
to have the stream cleared of all logs
| and brush. A man was hired to do
the work and the result was not what
| the sportsmen desired. The condition
| OF the stream was so altered and the
| former haunts of trout removed until
today there is not one trout in the
stream where formerly there were
twenty. The man who cleaned the
stream kept resort and acted as
guide for the accommodation of the
many sportsmen, who visited the
stream each year. Two years ago he
made the remark that he had been
guilty of running his own business and
| the reputation of the stream by accept
ing. the contract to clean outthe river.
He had driven the fish away by des-
| troying their hiding places.