Evening star., 1936-04-06
Y YEST VIRGINIA, filled with
~ fine trout streams. opens
Y its season April 10. Sew

AN une COuL SlIeamS, opens
v Y its season April 10. Sew
eral days ago we received
q letter from T. M. Cheek, director Of
game and fish propagation in the
State, that reported in his opinion the
best trout fishing will be found In the
South Branch of the Potomac River
above Franklin, Big Run in Pendleton
County, Gandee Greek and Laurel
Run in Randolph County, the Black
water River above Davis, and Cheat
River in Randolph and Pocahontas
Counties.
The streams mentioned furnish 300
miles of good trout fishing. All have
been heavily stocked with fingerlings
and yearlings during the past two
years, and also moderately stocked
late last Fall and during March with
adult trout. Approximately 100000
6-inch trout were released.
THE legal size OF brook trout Is 8
inches, rainbow and brown, 8
inches The bag limit per day on
brook trout is IS and on rainbow and
brown trout, 10, with a season limit
on all trout of $50. A total Of not
more than is trout Of ell species may
be taken in one day.
Fish less than the length prescribed
g inches for brook and 10 inches
for rainbow and brown-must be re-
turned to the water with as little in
jury as possible, Immediately after be-
ing caught.
If a fish has swallowed the hook
into its gills, do not attempt to re-
move the hook, but cut of the line or
leader at the shank Of the hook and
release the fish.
This is good feature Of the West
Virginia fishing laws and it IS said
the number of fish recovering under
these circumstances Is astonishing,
as the hook will be dissolved by
chemical reaction within a compara-
lively short time.
A nonresident fishing license in
West Virginia costs IS for the season,
or nonresident tourist license, good
for one day, may be obtained at a cost
of 81.
A good many trout streams in this
State are closed this year. We will be
glad to furnish the names Of these
streams upon request, either by phone
or letter.
A LAsKA Is becoming so over
= whelmed with trout that their
growth Is stunted, says Ward T. Bower
of the United States Bureau Of Fish
cries in an Associated Press dispatch
from Juneau, Alaska. He suggests
"there would be improvement in some
of the smaller land-locked lakes II
more intensive angling occurred.
These bodies of water may be over
stocked In proportion to the fish food
they are capable Of producing and
as a result the fish grow slowly and
never attain a large size. More
angling in such places would reduce
the fish populations and permit each
individual to attain a larger size.
"In remote places, such as Bristol
Bay, tributary to Bering Sea-" Bower
says, "vast numbers of Dolly Warden,
also other species Of trout, prey upon
the salmon eggs and young salmon.
In consequence, the Territory Of
Alaska and salmon packing companies
have co-operated in providing funds,
under the supervision of the Bureau
of Fisheries, to pay a bounty on the
destruction Of trout in these waters"
1t Is hard to realize that anywhere
in the world such a condition exists.
In the States the cry is, "If you want
more fish, kill less; obey the fish laws"
A size and bag limit is placed on trout
and each State has fishing license
fee. In Alaska more anglers are
wanted. The report further states
that the scanty local population in the
Bristol Bay region is helped greatly by
the bounty of az cents paid for the
tail Of trout and that trout tails
are accepted by traders and merchants
In exchange for foodstuffs and other
'This Is important" Bower adds,
in keeping the residents OF the relief
rolls..