Maboh 24, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



iyi 



|*>a and $ivtr Jfishin" 



FISH I IV SEASON IN T1IAKCH. 



FRESH WATER, 



Pickerel, Ew,-x rettmdatm. 

 Pike or Pickerel, K.iox iueitu. 

 Pike-perch <waU-eyea pike) 



Stizot&tkiuw. aniericunum, 8, 



nrimum, etc. 

 yellow Percli, Perea fiuviatilin. 

 Striped Bass, Kaccm /meatus. 



SALT 

 Sea Bass, Centroirri&tiR atrariiw. 

 Slnncri Brss, Xocchs lineatus. 

 Wlille Perch. Moron* amerioana. 



Wlllte Basa, Moccux cDrysopn. 



Hock Bass, Ambloplim. (Two 

 species). 



War-moutll, Cha-iwbryttu* gulosms. 



Cranple, Poinoxys nigrvmaculatm. 



Bachelor, Pomoxys annulariv. 



Cliul), Semntili-s corporate. 

 WATER. 

 I Smelt, Qtmierub vwrdax. 



Pollock, PottaokiuH carbonariutt. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF TROUTING IN SWITZERLAND 



UPON the grassy banks of British trout streams n spike 

 that screws into the butt of the rod is most invaluable 

 to, and is, indeed, generally used by the angler, enabling him 

 to slick his rod into the ground in an upright position when 

 it is necessary for him to disentangle his line from the boughs 

 of trees, rocks, snags, or any other of the numerous enemies 

 that assail the temper of the" fisherman. 



It was in the palmiest days of the Second Empire that, as a 

 lad, I was about to step on board the train at one of the rail- 

 way sta' ions in Paris, my thoughts intent on Alpine trout 

 streams, and entirely oblivious of the paternal nature of the 

 government under whose protection I had temporarily placed 

 myself. 



In my hand I carried the weapon of our craft clad in its 

 orthodox drab case— the most harmless-looking piece of per 

 sonal property one would have supposed, and little calculated 

 to rouse the suspicions of the most vigilant officialism. 



Possibly the rod itself might have passed unnoticed, but, 

 alas, I had neglected to unscrew the steel spike that was 

 attached to theTmtt, and its formidable point protruded be- 

 yond the case in which the rod was wrapped at once trans- 

 forming its bearer in the eyes of the suspicious Frenchmen 

 from a harmless and youthful tourist (w a ferocious and 

 bloody conspirator 



Stern hands were laid upon my shoulders; a sea of mus- 

 tached faces and gestulating arms waved around me ; my 

 little ten-footer was solemnly arrested aud made the subject o'f 

 a m- >st serious and prolonged investigation. It was a dagger ! 

 It was a spear ! A veritable assegai! The emperor's life had 

 been but recently attempted and the keen scrutiny and 

 sharpened wits of these worthies were amazing to behold. 

 The case was evidently too important to be disposed of in such 

 an informal manner, and I was requested to remain with one 

 of these green functionaries of Bonaparte while it was car- 

 ried to a higher court. 



Wh^t transpired within those closed doors I know not ; 

 hut when the procession returned bearing the rod in front of 

 them I was given to understand that if the spike (the cause 

 of offence) was removed, I should no longer be considered a 

 specially dangerous character. 



Now, the s'pike had rusted into the butt of the rod and the 

 screw refused to turn, which was probably the reason of its 

 being there. Two officers were appointed to affect the im- 

 portant and onerous duty of removing it One was told off 

 to hold the butt of the rod tight, another to twist the screw — 

 and at it they went 



By this time quite a crowd had collected and formed a 

 circle within which these imperial satellites leaped and 

 twisted, puffed and grunted, snorted, wheezed and sacre'd in 

 their endeavors to draw the tooth of the offender. 



I sat in the meantime upon a trunk, an amused spectator, 

 and made an entry of this official war dance in my sketch 

 book. 



At last, however, the efforts of the Government were re- 

 warded. Napoleon ceased to tremble upon his throne and I 

 walked forth a free man . 



Talking of I onliuental officialism reminds me of a story a 

 Tirginian friend used to relate ut his father, who, having got 

 into some scrape with the railroad officials in Switzerland, 

 turned, by a strange antic, their ruffled dignity into mirth 

 and good hum oi. 



The old gentleman was iu his way an inimitable actor and 

 mimic, but being distinguished as a financier rather than a 

 linguist, was at a loss in this case for words to make the ex- 

 cited officials understand that he was describing a starting 

 train. Without more ado, however, he deliberately took his 

 hat off, and, going down upon his hands and knees, traveled 

 along the platform through the crowd, blowing and snorting 

 like an engine. The spectators shouted with delight. The 

 officials embraced one another in the exuberance of their 

 mirth, and the old gentleman more than gained his point, for 

 he came out of his difficulty not only unscathed but, with 

 flying colors, and was offered a large sum by the manager of 

 a traveling theatrical company who was present to come on 

 his establishment as a comedian. 



At the time of which I write the Engadine was beginning 

 to he famous as a place of attraction to tourists, and the 

 great bare hotels at Pontresina and St- Moritz, upon the 

 chain of lakes that form the headquarters of the river Tim, 

 were receiving hundreds into their cheerless halls. In both 

 lakes and streams were and are still to be found in greater or 

 less numbers, even at the highest elevation, where the latter 

 first emerg- from the icy caverns of the glaciers where (heir 

 water is as yellow and foul from the moraines as if it had 

 been draining some great manufacturing city, a few lean and 

 pale specimens of the trout kind stem the roaring flood, xnd 

 eke out an existence the miserable character of which is 

 demonstrated by their insipid and flavorless bodies. 



The lakes of the Engadine, however, are fresh in color, 

 and so is the river Tun, which connects them, and winds 

 from one to the other through meadows whose coloring and 

 fertility are in strange contrast to the cold white peaks and 

 sterile slopes that overhang them. 



Few anglers in those days were to be met with either by 

 lake or river— that is to say, foreign anglers. The natives, 

 though, were in tremendous force, fishing for the hotels, and 

 to judge from their tackle and their success it must, have re- 

 quired at least two piscators to keep each guest in fish. I 

 have seen rods in the Virginia mountains of considerable al- 

 titude; specimens, too, I have seen in the backwoods of 

 Canada that might lay claim to distinction as regards length 

 and stoutness, but they would have been caBt into the shade 

 by comparison with the gigantic instruments with which 

 these Switzers hurled forth their clumsy lines. What flies 

 they were, too! Black or led cock hackles, tied rudely on 

 to the hook, not even twisted round them. The sight of one 

 of these hardy patriots returning at even with his spoils was 

 one of the most disproportioned sporting pictures that could 



well be imagined. First came the pole, enormous and un- 

 wieldy ; apparently staggering beneath it came the man, aud 

 dangling from his hand would lie two or three small trout, 

 the product for the day ol this great apparatus. Their grati- 

 tude for a. well made fly or two was boundless. I Temember 

 making a present of half a dozen to an angling waiter, at the 

 little hotel that stood then upon the "Sils Maria," and tears 

 of thankfulness trickled down his furrowed cheeks. He 

 fished in the lake, I heard, the whole of the two following 



A friend from college, on the trip in question, joined me 

 at Chin, and from theuce, with knapsack on back, we look 

 the road. 



I), was not by any means an angler — at that time, in fact, 

 he looked with the greatest contempt upon the whole busi- 

 ness, and considered my passion for it as a harmless phase of 

 lunacy. He was a great muscular Christian, though ; re- 

 garded Charles Kingsley as the greatest of men, weighed him- 

 self once a week aud carried dumb-bells in his knapsack, 

 which might fairly have, been considered the last stage Of the 

 mania. He was as much bent, too, on scaling giddy heights 

 as I was on snaring the wily trout, but, being a sociable being. 

 he considered that there would be more difficui y in forcing 

 an unwilling horse up the thousand feet thau in keeping him 

 company at the bottom ; so he bought a native rod -under 

 protest — not less than twenty-two feet long, in tine piece, and 

 carried it for fifty miles along the road through villages and 

 roads like a standard, to the wonder of the inhabitants 



The Sils Maria, before mentioned, was, in spite of the ill- 

 success of the natives, a capital lake for fishing in those daya 

 It must have been, if memory serves me aright, some t ivu or 

 three miles long, bordered by meadow-lands aud pine woods 

 and overhung by lofty mountains. On windy days we wonld 

 fish with flies from rocky headlands and catch greni numbers 

 of trout. In the river, too, that poured out Oi the- lake and 

 lost itself in the larger waters of the " Silva Plana," we bad 

 rare luck on more than one occasion. I say we, for D. soon 

 became an enthusiastic fisherman aud fairly forgot the snow- 

 capped peaks that had once had such an all ruction for him. 



We used to get in terrible hot water with the riparian pro- 

 prietors, as the hay crop was uncut, and the Swiss law of tres- 

 pass is very stringent as regards rivers that are I minified by i uea 

 dow lands I say we used to get into hot water, but 1 could 

 only judge so (neither of us beiug distinguished as Gurniau 

 scholars) from the long and continuous orations that elderly 

 gentlemen, with passion written on their faces, used to hurl ill 

 us from afar, but we were schoolboys or next door to it, and 

 lads at that age are not as sensitive on such matters with 

 pleasure in view as their elders perhaps, and we fished si might 

 ahead, and afforded occasionally considerable amusement to 

 the passers-by who happened to come in for these one-sided 

 interviews. 



There was a beautiful lake at a place called " Le Prese," 

 lying, if I rememher right, on the Italian side of theStelvis 

 pass that fairly teemed with the pink-fleshed lake trout, very 

 much like those of the famous Loch Leven in Scotland, and 

 averaging about one pound apiece. From the garden of the 

 snug hotel that invited visitors to stop upon the shores you 

 could see upon a summer's evening the whole surface of "the 

 water covered with rings as they were feeding on the top. 

 The cross line, as used in parts of Scotland I was surprised to 

 find here in rogue. Cross-line fishing on a lake with boats 

 consists of a. Jong gut line stretched between two boats, which 

 row cautiously and quietly along, keeping at that esact dis- 

 tance from one another which will maintain the line ''taut" 

 without breaking it, a more difficult matter with such light 

 tackle than might he supposed. From thiscrossline arehung 

 at. intervals of every two feet or so flies upon gut droppers, 

 so arranged as to skim the top of the water. The trout, rise 

 and hook themselves, and when several are secured the haul 

 is taken in. This a most deadly and unsportsmanlike mode 

 of killing trout, of course, but" in the latitudes we speak of 

 sporting instincts as understood by Anglo-Saxon communities 

 do not, exist. 



The. ordinary brook trout of Switzerland when once you 

 get out of the immediate influence of the glacier water is ex- 

 actly similar to his namesake of North America. I have dire- 

 ful recollections though of an ugly trick ihc hotel keepers had 

 of serving him— boiled and cold. Fancy a cold, boiled 

 craarter pound brook trout, qualified as it was in those days 

 in the Engadine hotels with alternate courses of tough kid 

 and incivility! Things are doubtless changed now since all tli e 

 world and his wife have taken to going there, and wheu, even 

 in the dead of winter, the frozen lakes ring, I am told beneath 

 the skakes of men and women, who, at a lower elevaliun, the 

 dead hand of consumption would be claiming for its own 

 and who would be adding to the number of those unfortu- 

 nates who in wraps and respirators crawl along the seashore 

 ot the watering places of South RiNowood. 



The Succulent Catfish — Savannah, Tenu., March 5. — 

 I am glad to see that your paper is turning some attention to 

 the catfish. This fish although it has for a long time fur- 

 nished a large part of our population with an excellent and 

 cheap article of food has been treated with contempt by the 

 press. In fact, aB I have had occasion to remark before, it 

 is a fish more generally abused and more generally eaten than 

 any other that swims in our waters. We have in the Ten- 

 nessee River and its tributaries three species of catfish : 

 the blue or channel eat, the yellow or mud cat, and a mottled 

 variety with a long, broad and somewhat flattened head, 

 known here as the tortoise-shell cat. 



The first named of these is a game fish, and grows to a 

 larger size than the other two speecics. This fish affords 

 considerable sport to the angler, and while not so rapid iu its 

 movements and not coming to the surface and leaping from 

 the water when hooked as the bass does, still makes long runs 

 and fights long and stubbornly before he gives up. Herbert 

 includes this fish in his book of fishes, but evidently knew 

 little of it from actual experience. The largest fish of this 

 kind that has been taken here for many years was caught 

 some two years ago by the sheriff of this county, and weigh- 

 ed 156 pounds. 



The catfish are taken in a great, number of ways, in bailed 

 nets, in traps, on trout lines, throw lines and by jugging or 

 float fishing. It seems to be in fine condition at all seasons 

 of the year, being always fat, and is in fine state for the table 

 during the hot summer months when the bass are full of 

 parasites, and the down and buffalo are, not fit to eat. 



It seems to be a fact peculiar to the catfish that the flesh of 

 the very large ones is as fine grained and as tender as that of 

 the fish of "the smaller size. There is a preference given in 

 market to medium sized fish of from 1 to 6 lbs weight. 

 This is due to a prejudice against the diet of the big fish, 

 which are generally regarded as a race of fresh water scav- 

 engers. The catfish is Omnivorous and will bite at anything 

 edible. The bait generally used on trot lines iB small cray- 



fish and perch, but beef, liver or fresh meat of any kind is 

 equally good. The methods of cooking vary according to 

 the size of the fish. The small ones "are generally fried, 

 wh le. the larger sizes are baked or boiled, the very large 

 ones aie cut into steaks. When sliced across the grain 

 and fried with salt pork the catfish is considered very flue. 



Fi a- my own eating I prefer a medium sized yellow cat 

 boiled in salt water and served with egg sauce aud walnut, 

 catsup. When properly cooked sud a fish is as good as any 

 we can procure away from the salt water, a< d the baked fish 

 are nearly as good as the red snapper. ffiu. 



THREE DAYS' SPORT ON THE RANGELEYS 



A JOLLY trio it was that pushed their boats off the 

 Middle Dam Camp Landing one fine moruing early in 

 the month of June last, for we well knew that sport, was near 

 at hand, as we could see trout breaking water only a few 

 rods below. 



Armed with the latest edition of split bamboo rods and a 

 good selection of flies, we felt able to kill any fish that dare 

 lake one. 



We were Boon in position, with our boats some five rods 

 apart, and just at the upper edge of the rapid water. Ten 

 minutes found us ail busy, as the fish rose well, and a merry 

 time we had of it for two hours, taking about forty trout, 

 which weighed from one-half to two pounds. By this time 

 the small fish had been well cleaned out, and we began to 

 wonder where all the larger ones were, when suddenly a, yell 

 of delight broke upon the air, and, "Jerusalem! what a, 

 trout !" came across the water. Turning my eyes toward 

 that, veteran angler, Chesebro, I beheld that worthy well 

 braced in his boat, with both hands firmly clutching his rod, 

 which was bent to a half circle, with the reel singing and 

 boat swaying first to right and then to left, with such excla- 

 mations, "yanked" out in monosyllables, as, "Great— 

 gnuctrjUS— see— how— he— pulls ! See ! he has started for the 

 upper dam, Ed, as true as I live, but I will stop him or smash 

 this roil," eaine distinctly across the water, when a splash 

 greeted my ears, the water was dashed into my face, ami my 

 line was hauled off the reel some fifty feet before I knew 

 what I was about, and I bad all the business I could attend 

 to. After a good, square fjgln of twenty minutes I landed a 

 three and one-half pounder, and we kept up the sport until 

 the did Ml at, camp pealed out its -welcome call for dinner. 

 Sixty pounds of trout were landed that forenoon, and it is 

 safe to say no other fishermen were ever better satisfied with 

 a half day's sport than we were, 



The next day the gates of Mid lie Dam were shut down, 

 which stopped the current, on the rips above and spoiled the 

 fishing ; so Sargent, of Upton, a most excellent guide, whis- 

 p red the fact to me that the Ashing would be good at Cedar 

 Stump, five miles down the river. But how to get a boat 

 down there was the next conundrum to crack. I sugg sted 

 to Sargent to run the rapids in his boat to Pond-in -River, then 

 haul down on buck-board. The old guide said no man had 

 ever run the rapid river in a light boat and come out alive, 

 that he knew of ; but, getting his blood up, he finally said he 

 would do it, or smash the boat. 



So early next morning the boat was shoved through the 

 sluice-way, the old guide and trapper stepped in, and away 

 she flew like an arrow from a cross-bow Down through the 

 seething current, rushed the light, boat, with the guide stand- 

 ing erect, well back of the bow, with the oar poised ahead to 

 guide her clear from the rocks that cropped out of the river 

 in many places; with his hair streaming in the wind and 

 stern, set visage, he looked the hero that b- really was. 

 Plunging through some narrow gorge, the boat would lift 

 itself half its length clear of the water, as it shot, over some 

 falls and balanced its quivering form on the whirling eddy 

 below. On and on she plowed, leaping and struggling for 

 very life through Rapid River for a Utile, until at last she lay 

 floating like a feather on Poud-iu-the-River, while on the 

 face of her master could be seen a look of perfect satisfac 

 tion. 



At about, 10 a. m the boat was landed at Oeda> Swamp. 

 Iu the centre sat, the guide to handle the boat and net the 

 risb, in the bow myself, and in the stern a young " Nimrod," 

 who takes to hunting and fishing as readily as a"" duck takes 

 to water," aud as this was his trial trip he wished to test his 

 skill a little. 



I have spent many months in the Maine woods, but never 

 did 1 have two hours better fishing than from 'en to twelve 

 that day. At the end of an hour a large fish rose, and was 

 struck by "Nimrod." 



If the one who reads this ever handled a four-pound trout 

 in a swift current, he can appreciate the situation for the 

 next half hour. Up the river he would work his way, then 

 down the stream wiha rush that would make the line hisf 



as it cut tl 

 test 



thn 



as th 



side, and he 



h : water ; but no fish could stand that 

 t mottled Hne was creeping gradually up 

 er the reel with its fearful tension, the. 

 yielded and finally gave up the fight, aud 

 i'hs gently passed unde-- his great - golden 

 id in the bottom of the boat, a "war 

 whoop " that echoed and re-echoed for miles arouud came 

 from the throat, of Nimrod, who had handled his fish belter 

 than most old fishermen would have done. Our catch was 

 not so numerous, but eleven tiout weighing twenty-three 

 pounds was the number and weight of them. 



The nest day we decided to go to "Trout Cove," as Fred 

 Barker had sent word that the fish had struck on up at the 

 Cove, and not a sportsman at Upper Dam Camp. So Nimrod 

 and I took steamer for that place, and at 11 a. m. we were 

 at it. and whipped Trout Cove for three hours. When we 

 struiig our fish we counted just sixty trout, weighing from 

 one-half to one and a half pounds. When we ungirted our 

 rods that day, we declared no two men had ever enjo} T ed 

 three days' finer sport than we had. E. T. W. 



Putnam, (\>un., Dec. 25, 1880. 



The Fit-Casting Tournament.— Those who contemplate 

 giving prizes to this tournament will do well to read the 

 article in our issue of the 17th inst., headed "N. T. Associ- 

 tion," which refers to the elaborate programme of nearly 300 

 pages iu which the advertisements of all donors of valuable 

 prizes are to be placed, subject to certain conditions. Those 

 having charge of the matter promise that the fly-casting will 

 exceed in interest aud number of prizes anything before 

 attempted, and an arrangement of prizes which will be ac- 

 ceptable to amateurs, who have heretofore heen deterred 

 from entering the lists on account of there being only one 

 class, in which well-known champions were entered. This 



