Humphrey the Bear James MacDonald is a curious bear who tries to fish at the lake as the season opens, but he can’t seem to hold onto a fish once he catches one. Park ranger J. Audubon Woodlore Bill Thompson keeps an eye on the anglers and the bear, noting the challenge of catching anything and the playful persistence of the creature.
When fishing season kicks into full swing, Woodlore decides to stock the lake with more fish. He heads to the hatchery, selects an envelope of fish eggs, fills a tub with water, and drops the eggs in. In a flash, several fish leap up from the water as if they were sprouting like plants from the soil, transforming the scene into a lively, if chaotic, spectacle.
Back at the lake, Humphrey tries to snack on a small fish, only to have it swallowed by a much larger one. He manages to pull the small fish free and even uses it to lure five larger fishes that jump out of the water. Woodlore steps in to measure the catch and declares the small fish too small. To bend the odds, Humphrey stretches the fish to make it look bigger, a trick that earns a sharp rebuke when Woodlore strikes him with an oar, sending the bear under the water.
Humphrey resurfaces with more fish in tow and spots a larger fish that turns out to be a fish balloon being played by a young boy. After the balloon is popped, both the boy and Woodlore give Humphrey a knee-jerk reminder to mind his surroundings when he explains what happened.
Undeterred, Humphrey hatches another ruse. He notices a boy walking along the lake with a toy boat, removes the boat’s bottom, and ties it to his head like a hat. He then submerges himself, creating the illusion of a shark’s dorsal fin to scare the anglers away. With the coast seemingly clear, Humphrey sneaks off with the anglers’ bags of fish, only to end up loading them into Woodlore’s helicopter, catching the ranger by surprise with a full load.
Humphrey then tries to cram himself into the helicopter, which proves to be too small for him and the fish. The result is a chaotic dump of Humphrey, the fish, and water back into the lake, a splashy finale to the caper.
A telephone call from the chief of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service orders Woodlore to stop stocking the lake, noting that fishing season ended yesterday. In protest, Woodlore takes his scissors and cuts the anglers’ rods, then locates Humphrey and announces that fishing season is over. He stamps a red X on the “Fishing Season” sign and flips it to reveal the message “Hunting Season Now Open.” With that, Humphrey tries to flee as shots are fired from all directions, closing the day with a tense and comic chase.
