Evening star., 1932-07-03
ROD AND STREAM
by PERRY MILLER.

THE problem Of preventing the un-
J. necessary death of undersiZed fish
inadvertently hooked by anglers is
becoming a very important one, and
one which is receiving the attention
of local authorities in many States,
according to Talbot Denmead of the
United States Bureau of Fisheries. He
points out that every undersiZed fish
which dies as a result of either being
hooked or rough handling deprives
some angler of the privilege of hook
| ing good-sized fish at some later
date. The death of this fish also
places more pressure upon the already
busy propagators of game fish, who
are striving to keep the lakes and
streams of the United States reason
ably well stocked for this and future
generations of anglers.
Denmead points out that the de-
struction Of these small fish, in many
instances at least, is unnecessary and
anglers may prevent large percentage
Of this needless destruction by observ-
ing two outstanding precautions against
killing the small fish accidentally
hooked. The first is care in releasing
the fish from the heck. The second,
the use of a large hook, and when
bait is used, the use of large bait. The
latter prevents the smaller fish gorging
the hook.
If fish is released from a hook in a
rough manner the protecting film over
the scales is broken and dirt and germs
have an opportunity to attack the fish
and subsequently cause its death. If a
small fish either gorges the hook or gets
the hook too deeply imbedded, death is
likely to result regardless of the care
taken in removing the hook. When
larger hooks, and in the case of bait
| fishing, larger bait is used, small fish
are not SO likely to be seriously injured.
Also, the larger bait frequently proves
more tempting to the size of fish the
angler wishes to catch.
The extent to which some authorities
have gone to protect small fish is in
dicated in the laws of Alberta. Sas-
katchewan and the Northwest Terri
tories which require anglers to be equip
ped with diSgorgers, and further state
that underSizsd fish must not be lifted
from the water, but removed from the
hook with wet hands, preferably with
hancS covered with wet cotton or
wooden gloves.
Mr.. Denmead points out that many
States have established size limits in an
effort to protect the young fish from
death before they reach a size which
is considered consistent with efficiency
in propagation programs. The size limit
should be sufficiently large to allow the
fish to spawn at least once before cap
ture. In the case of the black bass, 10
inches will meet this requirement. This
appears to be the popular size for 20
States. Two States have a limit Of
II inches, three states have an 11-inch
limit six have a 9-inch limit, three
States 8 inches, two States inches.
and two States a 6-inch limit The g.
inch limit occurs in two States where
trout are the principal game fish, and
the limit Is on all species of game fish.
GEORGE T. HARRISON, secretary Of
~ the Tilghman Fishermen's Guide
Association of Tilghman, Md, on
the Eastern Shore, writes:
Enclosed you will find the picture
/ of the two cups that are being offered
this year by our association. one cup
is being given by the Claiborne and
Annapolis ferry for the largest drum
caught and the other is given by the
Tilghman business men for the largest
blue fish landed At the end of the
season the TIlghman Fishermen's Guide
Association will hold a crab feast or
oyster roast when the cups are pre-
sented. The only restriction to winning
the cups is that the party must be car
ried out by one of the T1lghman Island
guides. The people of Tilghman's are
not eligible to enter the contest"