TEOUT FISHING. 263 



are worthless — in the lower superlative ; and they are never known to 

 intermingle. How this should be, cannot well be explained ; for, 

 granting that the excellence of the fish arises from the soil and food, 

 and that the inferior fish improves on coming into the superior water, 

 still there must be a transition state. 



" With this pond I shall close my notice of the south side waters, 

 merely adding that at Moritches, and yet further east, there are many 

 streams and lakelets abounding in fish, though inferior to those of the 

 waters I have enumerated, both in size and quality ; and these are, I 

 believe, all open without limit to all persons who desire to fish them 



" It may be worth while here to mention, for the benefit of strangers, 

 that the houses kept by Snedecor and Carman are by no means 

 country taverns, at which nothing can be obtained, as is often the case 

 in the interior, bnt hard salt ham and tough hens just slaughtered. 

 Being frequented by gentlemen entirely, they are admirable hotels in 

 every respect. 



" I will now turn, for a moment, to the north side, on which there 

 are also many streams .containing Trout, but none, with a single ex- 

 ception, which can show size or numbers against the southern waters. 

 That exception is Stump Pond, near Smithtown, now rented to a 

 company of gentlemen, and of course shut to the public in general. 

 The fish in this large sheet of water are very numerous, and very 

 large, but are for the most part ill-shaped, ill-conditioned, and inferior 

 in flavor — long, lank fish, with very large black mouths. I have been 

 informed that in latter years the fish in this water have been gradually 

 improving, but of this I cannot speak from personal experience ; it is, 

 however, notorious, that occasionally Trout of very fine quality, both 

 in appearance and flavor, have been caught here ; which is somewhat 

 remarkable, inasmuch as the same feeding grounds rarely produce two 

 different qualities of fish. 



" With regard to weather, a darkish day, with a moderately brisk 

 breeze, sufficient to make a strong ripple on the water, is the most 

 favorable. It is somewhat singular, that in spite of the generally re- 

 ceived opinion that southerly or south-westerly weather is the only 

 weather for Trout-fishing, few old Long Island anglers are to be found 

 who cannot state that they have taken as many, some say more, fish 

 during the prevalence of easterly" winds, as in any weather. A friend 

 18 



