AMERICAN TROUT FISHING 

 peratures than Fontinalis, and do well in big waters, below the range 

 of the native fish. My point of view is that of a fly-fisher, but in fishing 

 free waters, where any legal method is legitimate, one should be in sym- 

 pathy with all fishermen. It is very annoying to have the trout put down 

 by minnow spinners and bait fishers, who wade as deeply as they can; 

 but they are within their rights, and we cannot complain. Sit down, smoke 

 a pipe and wait a bit until all is quiet. If there are too many in the stream, 

 stick to the biggest pool you know, and then retire to your domicile until 

 next day. Those days when everybody goes a-fishing as if by common 

 impulse are rare. On preserved water owned or leased by clubs or indi- 

 viduals " fiy only " is the rule, and this simple restriction usually ensures 

 plenty of fish and fair sport, even if a club has quite a large membership. 

 The individual who owns miles of stream and invites no one to fish is 

 a monopolist and should be dissolved into his component parts by the 

 " Trust busters." If one loves wilderness fishing and that solitude where 

 none intrude, he can satisfy his desires with no great difficulty. A journey 

 of twenty-four hours, or a little more, will take him to the jumping-ofT 

 place where his guide awaits him. The guide is a great institution, and 

 they are usually good men, quiet in manner and anxious to give their 

 patrons sport and pleasure. In the wilderness all men are equal, whatever 

 they be in cities. I have camped and wandered without a guide and, much 

 worse, without a cook. There is enough to do and you are weary enough 

 at the end of the day without working over the camp fire. There are men 

 who love to cook, but I detest it. 



I am afraid that the giant Fontinalis of the Rangeley region in Maine 

 are becoming rare, that is those of five to nine pounds, but the landlocked 

 salmon seem to thrive in many parts of the State. Large fish are killed 

 every year, but the very biggest that have been seen on the spawning beds 

 have yet to be caught. Smelt are so superabundant that the food supply 

 is always ample. The habit that all game fish have of " going for " any 

 small fish that seems to be injured or in trouble is a godsend to the fisher- 

 man. Without it many of his artificial and spinning baits would be almost 

 useless. A trout twelve inches long has pertinaciously attacked, and tried 

 to eat, one of eleven inches that was being played on the fly rod, and fol- 

 lowed the smaller fish into shallow water, just as if it had been a minnow. 

 I know the size of both fish exactly, as the larger trout was killed on the 

 same fly a few minutes later. Only the other day a small trout was badly 

 skinned by the teeth of a larger one after it had taken the fly. They lay 

 BB 185 



