Photos from Perth Remembered
In March I wrote about the adventures John and Leonard McNeely and how they got themseves one heck of a catch of pickerel.
Comments came in like crazy:
Allan Lewis— This is known as the “Mississippi Lake Feeding Frenzy”. My cousin, Garry Burns (was from Carleton Place) and I ran into this phenomenon once on a very hot August day, in 10 feet of water. The pickerel were almost jumping into the boat. It lasted for about an hour. A great day on the lake!
Gail Sheen-MacDonald-– The fish population diminished very quickly. The department of Lands and Forests put in concrete cribs at the rapids to encourage spawning to try to get the Pickerel back. All that succeeded in doing was to block the flow of the river and provide a nesting place for the sea gulls. The gulls created a tremendous problem polluting the river and making swimming extremely dangerous. One of my friends almost lost his life due the bacteria from the bird feces that attacked his heart. I attended many meetings of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority to see what could be done. As it turned out, there was money to put the cribs in, but none to remove them. It is also against the law to shoot sea gulls even though many residents and cottagers wanted to to just that.
Gary Barr— there must have been millions of pickerel as they literally covered the riverbottom at the bridge and all you could see would be a solid layer of fish eyes, side by side, caught in the flashlights of onlookers.
Dave White —I remember the Pickerel Run was crazy. All kinds of people on both bridges, cars parked everywhere, the store doing a booming business. And yes, all kinds of Game Wardens around. I remember we tried to play road hockey when it was on. Bad idea! That’s where the yelling of “Car!!!” came from. The police finally shut us down. It was a huge event in the ‘Ville.
Ron Thornbury– To think, now they have extravaganzas like Orca World, Sea World and the like. Back then we all got into the old Monarch to drive out to Innisville to watch fish swim.
Ross Allen– I came to Perth in Jan. 1970. saw my first run in Mar. of that year. couldn’t believe the number of fish, their eyes flashed in the flashlight beam as far as you could see.
Heather Revill— Remember this well. A yearly trip for my father and I. Forrest Richardson telling Dad to be sure to leave his spear in Perth.
Stephen Fortner— A sign of spring in Perth was spearing red fin suckers in the Little Tay and up at Dam. At James Brothers we sold the spear heads. There. Was also some illegal speaking of pickerel that went on as well.
Cathy Hansen-– Was an annual event and as a child Innisville seemed like such a long drive.
Kat Harry— Now…….hardly any fish …..cannot see them from bridge anymore.
Martyn Thomas-–An annual family trip. I always wondered how far up river these fish actually went.
lindaseccaspina 