AN ANGLER S NOTES ON THE BEAVERKILL 



upon, also the Black Spinner. The Orvis's Red Fox is 

 also the correct pattern for the Beaverkill fly, which is 

 tied in a score of different ways. 



A brown trout will take anything from a Parma- 

 cheene Belle to a brass button. I met a fisherman last 

 year who was greatly exercised over a brown trout he 

 had caught under the bridge below Joe Gammer's ; he 

 thought it looked mighty big and had opened it and 

 found a snake eighteen inches long inside. That was 

 a good story, but not half so good as the famous one 

 told by Jerry Durgin, down in Maine. Jerry was out 

 with a " Sporter " when they " hooked a trout that only 

 measured twelve inches but weighed two and one-half 

 pounds ; they cut him open, when out jumped a mink ; 

 they caught the mink and took it home and put it in 

 a cage, and by and by it had two little minks." An old 

 friend of mine who lives on the Beaverkill told me 

 with considerable excitement of a fisherman down be- 

 low Rockland who had taken three trout that weighed 

 over three pounds apiece. " Did he get them on a 

 fly ? " I inquired. " Yes," he said, " on a fly, or grass- 

 hopper, or something." 



One Sunday in the spring of 1 8gg I was on the bridge 

 at Craig-e-clare, watching the trout rise to the natural 

 fly on the water. I observed that the smaller ones 

 jumped clear out of the water for the fly, but noticed 

 also that the big fellows never came quite to the top, 

 but moved about freely, apparently feeding on the 

 sunken flies. The idea occurred to me to use a small 



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