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r^e %v; n ; ** w/mm OFFICIAL STATE PUBLICATION VOL. XIX—No. 7 JULY, 1950 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION Division of HON. JAMES H. DUFF, Governor A PUBLICITY and PUBLIC RELATIONS * J. Allen Barrett Director PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION MILTON L. PEEK, President RADNOR PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER BERNARD S. HORNE, Vice-President South Office Building, Harrisburg, Pa. PITTSBURGH WILLIAM D. BURK MELROSE PARK 10 Cents a Copy—50 Cents a Year GEN. A. H. STACKPOLE Subscriptions should be addressed to the Editor, PENNSYL DAUPHIN VANIA ANGLER, South Office Building, Harrisburg, Pa. Submit fee either by check or money order payable to the Commonwealth PAUL F. BITTENBENDER of Pennsylvania. Stamps not acceptable. Individuals sending cash WILKES-BARRE do so at their own risk. CLIFFORD J. WELSH ERIE PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER welcomes contributions and photos of catches from its readers. Proper credit will be given to con LOUIS S. WINNER tributors. Send manuscripts and photos direct to the Editor LOCK HAVEN PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER, South Office Building, Harrisburg, Pa. Entered as Second Class matter at the Post Office of Harris EXECUTIVE OFFICE burg, Pa., under act of March 3, 1873. C. A. FRENCH, Executive Director ELLWOOD CITY IMPORTANT! H. R. STACKHOUSE The ANGLER should be notified immediately of change in sub Adm. Secretary scriber's address. Send both old and new addresses to Pennsyl vania Fish Commission, South Office Building, Harrisburg, Pa. * Permission to reprint will be granted if proper credit is given. C. R. BULLER Chief Fish Culturist THOMAS F. O'HARA Construction Engineer Publication Office: Telegraph Press, Cameron and WILLIAM W. BRITTON Chief Fish Warden Kelker Street, Harrisburg, Pa. Executive and Editorial Offices: Commonwealth of ROBERT P. DEITER Comptroller Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Fish Commission, Harris burg, Pa. ^r <_ o <o ASi COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION HARRISBURG. PA. Fish and Wildlife Need Our Assistance By Bill Walsh Almost all of the 16 million Americans who fish and hunt are deeply concerned about the future of those sports. Loud cries from every quar ter of the nation are calling for a greater abundance of game animals and fish and hundred of theories to bring this abundance about are ad vanced each year by the wildlife managers and by the sportsmen. And The Angler there is very little agreement between many of the ideas. Everyone seems to be for conservation—as long as someone else accomplishes it. Even though the nationwide movement for conservation is stronger ~76i& Iteue ... than it was a number of years ago, it is apparent that it is still lacking in that type of "push" and vitality which will make it a success. Ecological Sense or Nonsense Probably the greatest vacuum which must be filled in the sporting By Alvin (Bus) Grove world is in the attitude of the average sportsman concerning his favorite pastime afield. Most of us must confess that while we desire more game Conservation Means Human and more fish, there is very little that we have personally done to accom Resources Too 4 plish our objectives. By Thad A. Bukowski * For example, in Erie County less than 20 per cent of the fishing and hunting license purchasers are members of the Erie County Sportsman's Summer Resort Bass 6 League, the only organized sportsman's club in the area engaged in a By Don Winfers program of stocking pheasants, rabbits, and fish. • It is estimated that if every hunter and fisherman joined his area Nibbles in the Night 7 sportsmen's organization, that about four times as many rabbits could By William Boyd be stocked and about three times as many pheasants would be available » for fall shooting. F|y Fishing for Black Bass 8 In addition, many of the important land improvement measures which By Don Shiner are needed to provide food and cover for game animals and fish could be carried out. Most of these methods are easy to put into effect but they Hu"tin g for Your Fishing .... 10 require expensive labor to carry them out. It has been pretty well By Jack Anderson proven that the sportsmen do not intend to provide the labor with their own muscles, so it is only fair to ask them to provide it with their money. This extra money in the interest of game and fish abundance can F'sh Management Gadgets ... 12-13 By E. F. Westlake, Jr. properly be considered a part of the sportsmen's equipment. In 1949, hunters and fishermen spent almost six billion, yes billion, dollars to pursue their sports. If every sportsman spent an extra dollar on behalf bidden Trout Brooks 14 of his sport, this would only be about 16 million dollars and a small per By Dick Fortney centage of the total spent for guns, shells, rods, reels, licenses, etc. It is also reasonable to expect that as more and more hunters take to d- Reptiles and Amphibians 16 the field and more fishermen crowd the streams that increases in hunting By Hal H. Harrison and fishing license dollars will be asked to keep even with the demand. So let us all give more serious thought to the things that we can per Fish 'ng Isn't Catching Fish 17 sonally do to improve hunting and fishing conditions. Admitting that By Al Wolgast the present day sportsman is more interested in the enjoyment of being out of doors than in the actual bagging of game, there is nevertheless, Stre amside Life 21 no fun in coming home empty handed time after time. On the other By Robert Leo Smith hand, on those days when hunting and fishing is good there is no point in bringing home more than we can use. Many sportsmen impose rules on themselves which are more stringent than the state's bag limits, and take home one less than the limit when '<6e (fate* . that amount is adequate for their dinner table needs. However, let's all resolved to do something during the coming years to preserve the sports p 'bY James ;Balog and was taken at for the boys who are growing up around us. T.L rnen Lake near Green Lane, Pa. p e scene is reminiscent of ma>ny 6nnsylvania vacation spots. Ecological Sense or Nonsense (V) By Alvin (Bus) Grove i HERE are among fishermen some However, introduction may involve browns (18-20 inches in length) ar« T who are of the honest opinion that only the placing of bass in water previ cannabalistic enough to eliminate man)1 fishing now is as good as it has ever ously thought of as trout water, or it of the smaller brook trout rathei been. The possible exception to this may actually involve only the estab quickly, and this they have done ap' opinion may be that the hatcheries lishing of another species of trout, for parently. Obviously introduction i! should raise and stock into our waters example rainbows into water already worthwhile, but it may be dangerou-' more fish, and more trout in particular. holding brown or brook trout. The and deserves serious consideratiof a Another segment of the fishing popula brook trout of course is the native before being undertaken. Its possibly tion is convinced that fishing is a thing of Pennsylvania streams, and both value though can be assayed when ijc of the past and there are no fish to be browns and rainbows are introduc is remembered that such famous trouje caught except the few that are stocked. tions. There is little doubt that certain rivers as the Manistee, Au Sable, an] I These fishermen either have sold or introductions have been very bene Pere Marquette in Michigan are syn | are about to sell their tackle and take ficial and have provided improved fish thetics, insofar at least that trout ther' a up golf. However, a third group of ing. Much brown trout water is not is an introduction. e anglers is sometimes heard from, and suitable for brook trout, and without Propagation has occupied the firs s in my opinion it is this group in which the planting of brown trout some of place in the minds of fishermen durinfs: there lies real hope for the future of our present trout water would be the past twenty or thirty years. Not al fishing. As a group they are not fatal barren. The stocking of bass and pan agree entirely with the program, brtri istic, but they do feel that in many fish into new ponds has in the past and most agree that it is the only apparert fi instances fishing is not as good now as may in the future improve our fishing. method by which large numbers oic it once was. On the other hand they Some introductions have not been suc trout or other fish can be propagate't] can name a stream or two which are cessful and were ill-conceived, either to be placed in a selected stream. Th1 c considerably better now than they by the "Powers that be" or by the business of propagation has becom1 v were ten or fifteen years ago. As a lowly fisherman himself. The empty big business, and a large share of th1 is group they are not particularly vocif ing into the lakes of the contents of fisherman's dollar goes into it. Tb1 c, erous and are often not heard from for bait buckets that include live yellow science of propagation has advance' li long periods of time. In general they perch has posed a problem, and much more rapidly than stream sci;^ are not fish hogs, but neither do they although not quite so serious in Penn ence, and today we understand muclp put back every fish that they catch.