The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-04-24
MORE COMMENT ON
BROOK TROUT LAW
Intended for Interest of All Concerned.
Says Newfane Man-Attempts
to Get Fingerlings Fail.

I>NANSi VI 1hc iNClO1HltI
1t has been with great interest that [ |
have read in The Reformer the discussion
OF late about fish and the criticisms of the
Vermont law covering the protection of
same and the carrying out of the law
The ground has been pretty well cover
ed IN the various printed articles and it
would appear that in the different sides
that have been maintained, the ones that
made the divers statements, were like the
blind men of Hindostan, who were "all
within the right and all within the
wrong, more or less.
The point made by The Reformer that
the cost of propagation of fish in the
state and the protection of them is de-
frayed by the no!r.y that is taken in
through the sale Of fishing licenses is
well taken
7 Clumsy as our laws may be, as well as
the carrying them out, still their intent
IS for the interest of all concerned and it
is just such constructive criticisms as have
appeared in your paper that tend to bet
ter legislation upon the subject.
That there will always be fish hogs
goes without saying Public opinion in
the matter of taking short fish has more to
do IN their protection than anything else
and the observation of the short trout and
other laws is growing The time that
one went out and brought in a pan full
of short trout is past. No honorable
sportsman viii retain a short trout In
other words 1T isn't being done in the
best families
The superstition that trout will in
varibly die after being hooked and re-
| turned to the water is all WRONG With
| a small amount Of care they will live only
those whose gills are so torn they cannot
| breath or one hooked through the brain
will perish. Ask any close observer \
| dead trout will float and if one kills a
| trout it will wash down into some still
pool where, if fishing down stream, it will
be noticed. Without exaggeration / would
| say 80 per cent live. / know some wag
will say, speaking personally, that doubt
less that % per cent would not float be-
| cause they met an obstruction called a
| frying pan. But try it out yourself and
above all be careful in unlocking them
and don't throw them bang into the
water but slip them in thinking all the
| while what a ripping time you or some
| other sportsman may have with that
same trout when you come again after
he has grown up man size or perhaps
granddaddy size.
| In the majority of cases catching
\ short trout is merely an education fo
him, as the next lure that floats down b,
will become extremely critical of
i Without doubt a major portion OF the
fish fly and fingerlings propogated by tn,
state die from the fact that they are Kill
ed by clumsy handling after leaving the
states hands at the baggage car door
g - IafN
care is planted properly Either they ar
placed too low down in the stream wher
they are consumed by larger fish or els,
care is not taken to equalize the tempesi
ture of the water in the fish container
and that of the brook. The careles
|, dumping of fish fry and fingerlings kill
many Of those that have escaped tn
perils Of transportation. This work shoul,
be done by local wardens thoroughly in
structed in the work These same ward
ems draw good pay for loafing along tn
. streams. WHY not have them earn a
least part of it, even if it does represen
real labor? 1t has always been persona
Z pipe dream to have the compulsory stocl
ing Of all natural trout streams of Ne1
=. mont. raising the cost of the fishin
L licenses so the plan would be self SUI
ard way Of furnishing fry and fngerlings
very unsatisfactory if not unfair. In th
: spring of 1918 | made application to tn
state for fngerlings to put in the broo
running through this village. ! receive
an acknowledgement and an assurance
should get them, but l got no lingering
In the spring of 1919 / again made a
plication and wrote letter calling attel
e tion to the fact that ] was in arrears f
t, fingerlings the season before. | receive
/. another letter in which | was promise
o enough fish to make up for the preceedir
: year and to cover that springs orde
But | received no fingerlings. | co
!, n cluded they were struck by an early fro
y or something. If there had not been
= few old hen trout scattered along tn
brook. trout would be as extinct as L
;. dodo before | could get supply from t
~ state 1t must take politics to get ther
= Newfane, April %. w c. Ballou.