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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1916)
mwottT) jrxxn frntppifls, Mmtoni), orrwoy, ntmy, awm, ?y tow w rwiirmi- - r i--t fn ' ' rmr i r - i 1 'i i iniin I r siiJswwssas"'a'"''llss ,i, ...-, PAGH TOCTHB mPHm ! Bfc K . . K V si LHEADAHGUNG NOT 'AFFECTED BY CANNERY iCLEAY Commercial Fishing Operation De Jailed by Cannerymen Offers ta Pay Expenses of Investigators and forfeit $1000 If They Find He Is yiolatlng Uw anil Taking Trout. Tho following letter1 from n. L. Mnclcny, prcsi'd'ent of tho Mnclcny Esato Co.j owners of ona of tho snl mbh canneries nt Wedderburn, nt tho mouth of Rogue river, Btntoa tho enn norymnn's point of view regarding fishing in llogno river. Ho denies that commercial fishing m conduct ed nt present interferes In any way with nteelhcnd nngling. Mr. Mno leny hns offered to pny tho expenses nt Wcdderbuni of investigntors sent by tho Slnto Lengnu of Sporlwnon's Clubs nnd to 'forfeit $1000 if it enn ba establisheit , tlmt hp is violating the law or t.nking stcelhends. Tho lettpr follews: "To tho Editer: LuiBitttah ns thoro is n belief nmong aoin.a 0, tho residents of tho Itqguii Hiver vulley tlmt tho pominer ciul fishing lit tho mouth of tho river wiih tho ouuMo of tho unmitiHructory fly fishing for Btuclhond. trout in. tho Rogue river during tho pnRt Rcnson, I nm writing this letter hoping you will publish it irt your pupcr, so tlmt (linen Sn(pr(til mnv beeomo convor- nnnt with tho fuots in tho't-nso nnd not continue, to bo misled, ns may hnvo been, by statements emanating from untrustworthy or uninfopnod sources, or from sources interested in causing trouble between tho Jackson county peoplo nnd tho commercial f wiling interustu at tho mors moutn I hnvo Bpent three fishing seasons nt tho mouth of tho river, nnd I have cnrofully obsorved tho run nnd hab its of fish of all kinds, inohlding ohinook. stcelhends nnd pilversides, nnd from, tho experience gained by this observation I cnu stnto confi dently that tho commercial fishing is in no way connected with tho absence from or tho presence in tho rivor of stcolhcnd trout. Winter Stocl Heads I wish to stnto first of all that tho stcolhends which ionnoriy woro com mercially taken were onught in Janu ary, February and Mnreh, and nro known ns winter stcolhends. They woro taken in vory considerable quan tities. For instance, in 1007, 30,103 stcelheads woro caught in nets, nnd in 1008, 17,374 stcolhends woro takon. Theso fish woro froren in tho cold-storngo plant and shipped in rarlojida to tho east and to foreign ' points? aet thoy cannot bo canned. ;Oa -tho other- hand, tho stcelheads that run. in tho Roguo river in tho hpring and summer, nnd which nro tho fish which furnish tho sport for tho fly fishermpn in tho uppor rivor, soem to bo of a different variety, for tho following Tnsens: When tho win ter stcolhends enter Jim Roguo river nljout the first of tho year they do not ascend tho river to its source, but cntcr tho first tributaries of tho river in largo quantities, turning into Indian creekt Saunders creek, Jim Hunt crook, Iobstor orcek, Cosntono creek, Silver creek and tho Illinois river. These crooks constitute tho ninin tributaries of tho Roguo river between tho Illinois rivor and tho ocean. IMffcrejico In Variety I think it will bo noticed thnt vory few of tho winter steclhcnds ascend the river as far ns Medford, although undoubtedly some few fish get up that far. It is on this account thnt tho steelhead fishing in winter is not gjod on tho upper Roguo rivor, nnd I understand that fishing is not in dulged in to any extent during the wjntcr time. Fuithcrmoro, tho win ter steelhead is a larger fish than tho summer ateeihqnd, averaging in wpight over eight pounds, whereas tho summer steelhead. averages from four to five pounds. The summer stoelhond wheu it uu- tors tho river in tho spring and sum mer does n,at turn into any of tho tributaries of tho tower river, except in individual eases, which is proved by tho fact of their absence in tho tributaries of tho lower river, the rea. sou being thnt tho summer steelhead ascends tho river towards its source without turning into tho tributaries of the rivor. It is evident therefore that tho hnWa of tho -winter steel head differ from, tho bnbits of the summer Bteelheadin that the former is a much larger fish, has. uirforent habits and enters the rivor at an en tirely different season of (ho year. 8h rower FW Xever Usel I mwitHon tins matter in order to make it clear that wheroas the fan ning kteVests nt tho mouth of tho rivor formerly caught many stepj heads, they wero.not after the sum mer steeUwads at all, iuuj at thi Wflliitf It fan he laivt truthfully Hint Urn summer fllcplhendu In le Hogtin river hnvo but ft mnll com mercinl vnluc. In nddliion It 1. pro- liihited by Jaw to lake or catch or have in one possession nay moci- lioml trout of any description, tho only exception to this is tho steel howl that nro cfuilit with rod nnd line, commonly called nngling. This law hns been in effect for more than threo years, during which period tho commcrcinl interests nt tho river's mouth hnvo operated . canneries nnd nnckinc nlnnts for tho pneking of chinook nnd stcclhcnd salmon. Wardens hnvo always been sta tionca on tno river to cniorco tno laws nnd in addition tho locnl au thorities have had authority to en fotco tho law. Nevertheless there have been no nrrcsts or prosecutions pf nny ennnorics for breaking the law in rccurd to. tho illegal taking of Hteelhcnds. This ought to convince nny fair-minded man thnt no sucli infractions of tho law huvo taken place. It should be considered nlso that there is no motivo for n can ncry to, break tho stoelhcnd law on acdount Of tho fuct that fltcolheads ennnot bo sold or shipped, and in ad dition, U)0 prico of summer stcel hends in tho market pan hardly jus tify tho oxpenso of taking them. It is a fncl, easily susccptiblo of proof, thnt tho stcelheads aro not nken commercially by tho ennnerics: that is to gay, noithor the Bummer stecl hcnds nor tho winter steelheadfl, and nnv statement to tho contrary is false, cithor intentionally or tho re sult of ignorance, misinformation or mnl ice. ()vei-n(lon.ot Ne( Statements lmvo been made that on nucount of tho number of drift nets mid set nets in tho wators of tho Hoguo river during tho fishing sea son, tho nscending summer steelhead is hindered or barred in its journey to tho minor riven Thin stnlement m not in accordance with tho facts. It should bo homo in mind that during tho spring nnd summer soason tho nets thnt aro used for fishing in tho Hoguo river nro of u mesh of 8V2 inches or moro (ns a matter of fact, wo uso nn 8-inch and 0-ineh mesh) and aro designed to cntch chinook salmon only, which Inst yenr wcro of an average weight of 20' pounds each. A not designed to catch fish weighing 20 pounds on tho nverngo cannot cntch fish which weigh on the nverngo only ono-fourth of thnt amount. It is impossiblo to catch steelhead trout in nno of theso nets, for the reason that tho stcelheads can swim through 'tho meshes without do ing gilled, and it follows, therefore? that tho number of nets in the nvor lias nothing to do with tho hindrance to tho steelhead. Astitfcniorit has boon circulated to tho effect that set nets hnvo been overlapped to such an extent that tho rivor bus been blocked by tho nets. nnd thnt tho stcelheads could not pass theso obstructions. This stftto- ment is not in nccordnnco with facts, nnd I would bo glad to explain this matter at length to any interested parties. Slro of Nt-to Vsed It is not until tho 10th of Septem ber .that nets .with mesh smnllcr than 8' inches nro used in tho Roguo river, at which timo fl-inch mesh nets nro. used for tho taking of silvorsido salmon. At that season of tho year, namely, tho last part of Scptcmbor nnd tho first pnit of Qetobcr, thoro nco no steclhcnds in tho lower Itogud rivor. If thoro woro stcelhcuds in tho rivor at that period somo of them might bo caught by tho smaller mesh nets, provided they wcro of tho winter variety of steolhonds, but I vory muoh doubt if tho summer steelhead could bo caught with tho 0-inch net, except in the' case of largo individual fish. I have gone into this matter at Corns Corns Off Like Banana Peel Wonderful, Simple "aU-It" Never fails to Bemove Any Corn Easily, "Wouldn't U Jar youT Hera Wo been golnp along for years, with one lo Micro, to porn aCUtr another, trying to Got rid of them with aulvei that UUI Cm furs "OcU-U" far ThsM CftHlmyTHtrlJfa4'yvf ImiI eat oK the tots, tafia tbal tlck to tho Ntorklnar. tiandases and plasters that xnak a package of th.e toi, try In? blood-hrlnglni; raxora and tela aors. Then I triud tlota-U' Just once nnd you ought to have ceen that corn come oKJuit Ilka a banana, peel." It's oljnple. wonderful. It's the new way. palnleis, applied la two second, nev er hurts healthy llesh or Irritates. Nothlntr to press on tho corn. Never falls. Quit tno old ways for onco any way uhi try "aeU-H" tonight. For corns, calluses, warts and bunions. "Gets-lt" Is sold everywhere. 25a a bottle, or sent direct by K. Lawrence &. Co., Chicago, 111. Sold In Medford and, rccoMMSwisded, the world's N-st Co WsinaJy by I.MQBl Js UlMatMs ornr length In order la havt Ifiiil the number of drift nets or ct nets in the river or the distance between net net, hn nothing 10 do with thn sum mer fliculliorid I now conio to the matter of sein tlfp, (ill the fly Wiinic In th upper tivrt, U vfe w'mfd n4tm, tor the suke of nrgtihient, thnt twrflfy-flver fly fishermen nt llicj month of the riter nnnunlly cnnght twenty-five dntmncr ing. It hns been stated thnt tho gteolhrads cnch,it would amount to eines in the river dcilrov n Inrgc fnr morfl than the number of teel- quantity of summer stcelheads, This statement is no true. It may be re called that nt about tho nmo timo it wai stated that n woven wire fence had been placed across tho Itoguo river in order to stop this xalmon nnd stcelhon'lH from ascending tho river. AVIro Kcnco Cnnnnl The master fish warden of the stnto descended tho river from Grants I'nss to tho ocean in n rowbont, look ing for this fence. There wns, of course, no fence to find, nor over had been, nnd thcro is just about ns much txuth in tho story thnt tho sines destroy it large number of sloelhondi ns thcro is in the story of tho wiro fence. Unfortunntcly thcro nrom peo ple wl(o lmvo on interest in circulat ing theso fulso reports, and I appeal to the fair-minded people of Jackson oounty thnt although snob stories will, continue to bo circulated to de fer judgment on tho matter until both sides hnvo been heard. It is mnnifestly unfair to condemn tho notions of tho commcrcinl fish ing interests on hearsay, and in this connection at is well to remember that a committed hns been appointed by tho Oregon Sportsmen's league to in vestignto tho conditions of steelhead fishing at tho mouth of tho river. It is my understanding thnt this com mitted will go down to tho mouth of tho river nnd mnko a thorough inves tigation, nnd no credeneo should bo phieed in rumors calculated to injuru tho commercial fishing interests until this committee has mndo its investi gation nnd rendered n report, Kcfktt Investigation Tho committee referred to, as I understand it, hns been instructed to go down to tho Itoguo river during tho fishing seuson hud observe for themselves what goes on. I only re gret that this qotion had not been taken in. previous years, for I know very well that tho investigntion will show that tho seining operations o jiot destroy tho fish in largo quan tities. It is noasihlo that during tho sein ing senson ono or two hundred steel-, heads' may bo killed by tho oporation of tho 'seines, because in tho taking of thousands of largo chinook snl mon it occasionally happens that somo steclhcnds nro tnkcu with them in tho scino, nnd in tho struggles of thp largo fish a fow of tho tcclheads may bo killed, This if unavoidable, nnd is a mutter that does not affect tho main question, becnuso tho de struction of ono or two hundred steel heads can hnvo no bearing, in pruc- hcads that nro unavoidably killed in the commcrcinl fishing, and I nm sura no objection would bo mndo by the Jnckson county pcortc to the taking of tho stcelheads by the fly fishermen at tho mouth of tho river. Must Ito Give nnd Tako There must bo a little "gitc nnd take" between tho siwrtsmen nnd the rommort'inl fishing interests, nnd I fed inasmuch as tho canneries aro barred from taking tho winter nnd summer stcelheads, preserving them in their thousands for the fly fisher men, whorens bn nil other rivers tho commcrcinl interests nro allowed to tako stcelheads at will, that tho sportsmen should bo willing to over look tho fact that a negligible quan tity of steclhcnds nro unavoidably killed in tho transaction of n largo and legitimate business. So far ns 1 know, tho Itoguo river is tho only river in tho .state of Oregon, or tho stnto of Washington, or in Alnskn, where there is commcrcinl fishing, whoro the steelkqads aro reserved ex clusively for the sportsman, nnd it seems to mo that it is unreasonable to rniso n tow 'over tho matter of tho killing of n fow steelhends' when it docs not' nffect thu main question of tho fly fishing.- Coming now to tho real reason why tho fly fishing in tho Itoguo rivor during tho past season was very poor, I wish to stale that I am firmly con vinced thai it wns on account of tho fuct Hint the slcolheads did not en ter the river in 1010 except in vory sinull quantities. To those who nro not ncquutiitcd with tho habits of fish, it is only just to hnvo them con sider thnt tho runs of fish vary ev ery year, not only tho run of Hteel hcnds, but tho run of silvcrsidos and chinooks ns well. Tor instance, in 11)05 tho commercial fishing interests nt tho mouth of tho river took 09, .'144 chinooks. In 1000 thoy took only 15,555 chinooks, or less thnn one-fourth 6t the .amount taken four years previously. Vnrlatoiii in Kuivs This shows thutvhero wcro not ns many chinook in, tllo rivor in 1000 as in lOOf), and tho same fact applies to silvcrsides, because in 1010, 20,808 weratnken nnd in 1005 only 855 woro caught, nnd in ljG only 4129. In 1007 rieurly 40,000 fitcolhcads were cnught in nets, and in 1005 only 2000. - - I give theso few. figures in order to show thnt in some' years largo quantities of fish of different vari eties cntor tho rivor, and In other yenr (inly a tctv mnlr number of the different vArlfOfM of flh enter lite fi(-r. tn 101ft it wn evident that there ra ft very ffrtrtll qnnntily of snmmer steplhcnds in the river, nnd I can confidently ntaie that if there had been no commercial fish ing at the month of tho rivcir, the fly fishint; would hftrc been poor for the simple rcnson that tljcro were very few stcelheads in tho river Jin 1015. Also tho Itognc river had less water in it thon in nny other year in the memory of people living at tho mouth of the river, and on account of tho water being very warm nnd tho rivor being extremely low. it i3 pos siblo that the few summer stcelheads that did enter tho river did not as cend in nny great numbers beyond tho long reaches of deep pools which nro in tho river between Agness and Mule creek. In order to present tho entire feitu ation with clearness it would bo nee essury to write at very great length. Thoro nro many points npon which have not elaborated, hut I nm' willimr to answer any questions that an one will address to mo in connection with tho matter of commercial fishing in thp Hogue river. HHrrtprt of Carry Comity l lmvo understood tlmt thoro is a movement, on foot in McdlWd and its vicinity to try to closo tho Itoguo river to commcrcinl fishing by inili ntivc law. I maintain with entire sincerity that tho operations of tho commercial interests arc not tho cnuso of tho poor fly fishing, and I feel that it very thorough investiga tion should bo made before any na tion should bu taken looking toward tho closing of tho river. Thoro nro malicious persons in ov cry community, but tho actions of such persons should not influence tho community to perform nn unjust net, particularly when it is evident that thoy have been misinformed us to tho facts in (ho case. -ino liHiiing ministry is mo main sourco of support nnd revenue in central Curry county, nnd tho closing or tho river would bo n disaster to tho community and would moan tho confiscation of 'a largo sum of In vested capital without any compen sating advantages to tho sportsmen of tho upper rivor. I am, yours truly, IIODHIIICK I,. MACLEAY. Portland, On, Miri'Ii. 25." Medford Boosters fcnolce Tho Medford -Hint Mt. Pitt Cigars. I ASK FOR ts4 GIT. 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