138 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



[Jm.Y 21, 1881". 



preference to those which are shot. Now what becomes of all 

 the high moral ground assumed when I hey were trying to 

 spring the "Tefrigerattir amendment " on us? We do not 

 know how much of an " official organ' 1 of anything this 

 market journal may be, but if its altitude on the trapped 

 bird business, as indicated in the paragraph quoted, is the 

 stand taken by the maiketmen in general, we may well un- 

 derstand the necessity of a ' ' protective association." Trapped 

 birds — and out of season at that— are to be had at the mar- 

 kets, and game bird eggs for that matter. Will this market 

 journal tell us how game birds' eggs should be packed for 

 shipping to market ? 



Wimbledon.— During the present week the annual 

 meeting upon Wimbledon Common continues, and to-day 

 the Elcho Shield will be again contested for. The weather 

 has been very hot, but the shooting has been up to a good 

 standard and there is no suggestion yet of any crooked 

 marking, such as created such a scandal last year. Mr. Hyde 

 is still in England and is making himself prominent at the 

 meeting. The Canadian visitors were well received and 

 were well satisfied with their preliminuy practice. By 

 next week's issue wc shall be able to give more detailed ac- 

 counts of the shooting. 



Tub Robins' Island C.'r.rjn members propose to build sum- 

 mer residences on the island. Grain has been sowed for the 

 quail, of which there promises to be a good supply for the 

 field trials. 



The IVaveUr is a weekly paper published by C. A, 

 O'Rourke, at the office of the N. T. City Press Association, 

 115 Nassau street. The paper is not veiy old, but it is an 

 assured success, as it was from the first issue. It is an in- 

 dispensable guide for all who go by rail or sea. 



Clay Pigeon Phizes. — As will be seen in our advertising 

 columns, the manufacturers of the clay pigeon will offer a 

 number of prizes for excellence in shooting at their new sub- 

 stitutes for live pigeons. The conditions, rules, etc., will be 

 published iu our next issue. 



To Pcovidr against losses attendant upon accident and 

 physical injury is the act of a wise man; and we know of 

 no better method of doing this than by taking out. a policy 

 with the Travelers Life and Accident Insurance Company. 

 We are familiar with the history and elia racier of the com- 

 pany, and can indorse it iu the most unqualified terms. 



§¥ Mm t i imim 



^onri$f. 



TWO WEEKS WITH THE BASS AND PICKEREL, 



AT iNTfiRMEOIATIC 1,A.KB, ASTKIM Co., MICHIGAN. 



l:Y KINO I ISIIK.U— COSOLtlOKI). 



OUR excursion for trout up Cedar Kiver had been laid out 

 for the next day, and accordingly we were astir long before 

 the young eagles across the lake said a word about approach- 

 ing daylight. The Scribe felt indisposed, or Lad a ptenioni- 

 lion of what was to come, and said ' ; lie believed he would 

 stay in camp and louk after an accumulation of bile"— 

 lazin.es?, .Jim called it— " that was a pesterin' of him." 



Jim and I had, however, made up our minds to bjtve trout 

 for supper, and taking the small boat aud our tackle went to 

 the foot of the lake and down Intermediate Kiver a mile or 

 more till we struck an old log road, used only in winter, 

 leading through the swamp, another mile or more to the 

 ma' n toad on the "laid iund. ' This we followed till we 

 come to the " witness" tree at the intersection of the town- 

 ship lines, where Cutler's instructions said, " Co due south 

 80 rods, and you will field Cedar Kiver." A farmer who hap- 

 pened along put us on the right track, and told us it was just 

 a mile to Die river, and when wc readied the stream we were 

 satisfied he had a higher regard for the truth, or a better 

 knowledge of distances than our fiiei.d C itlcf, 



Striking into the township road, which was a mere trail, 

 a half mile brought, us to ihe biow of a high hill, aud down 

 i.bis llie devi- us path led us through a heavy wood lo the 

 edge of the swamp, through which flowed the river we were 

 iuscatch of Across the swaiup, perhaps a quarter of a 

 mile wide, a corduroy road lad be- n constructed, and two 

 "rude bridges of logs and poles scarcely two feet above the 

 wa'er, spanned the stream, which w ■* heae in two branches 

 and Sep rated by a strip of swamp a few yards witte. The 

 stream itself, what wc cmld see of i', was beautifully clear 

 and cold, aud after our ir.unp through the hot woods a copi- 

 ous draught of its icy water i cf resin d us wonderfully. Be- 

 tween the two bridges we '• camped " and prepared for the 

 sport. 



We had been told it. would be useless to try to us-; fine 

 tackle, as the. "br. s!i" was so thick wc would be sure to 

 break our rods getting tbrcugh it. along the stream, and fly- 

 casting was utterly out of the question fixcept in a v.ry few 

 spo s win re there were no ti-li. 



We had. tlicivb'.re, taken with u = a couple of light cane 

 poles, nine or ten fc t !• m.-. R lino tied to each, of near the 

 same length, honks, and a godd Chunk nl lead to hold the 

 bg.il i' level" in tho rapid wai< r, and a dozen or more mussels 

 (el Ms, tie: ra'ives c ill them) for bait. Mussels are easily pro- 

 curedin thesbailo v v.-aci Blmjg lite shores around the islands, 

 and in shadow places iu V. e rivers. Fha'. your boat over 

 them, and wi h a switch four or rive feet ' »Pg, sharpened |;o a 

 flat point, you may eel a dozen in as many minutes without 

 getting w.t. Tiiey'llfi parlly buried in the sand with -the 

 shell usually op ■ninnri an eigli'h to a quarter of an inch, 

 and into lies opening poke yifiir ^tajirpt ued stick and they at 

 once close on it Willi a grip so firm that you may pull them 

 from 'he sand and gruvel when half buried, and lift them 

 into the boat, 



The buff colored, lough strip next the thiu edges of the 

 shell (the " foot " of the mussel) makes famous trout bait, 



and bass and pickerel take it with good relish when nothing 

 better otters. 



Jim was so caper to take Irs first trout that he baited his 

 hook and wormed his way through the bushes three or four 

 rods below and began to fish, while I finished cutting up the 

 bat'. He «aiil he had heard so much about the delights of 

 trout fishing lhai he warned to get at it right awayl aud 

 astonish l heTfit si " smariy " of a trout that went, for his clam, 

 by the easy and graceful manner in which he would be 

 yanked from his native element. He had read up on 

 " sp::ck!ed bennies," uml the thrills of ccstacy that chase 

 each other through one's frame while playing one of the 

 aforesaid s. b's., and he wanted to go back home and say to 

 his friends that he had been thrilled; that "ketchin' trout 

 was no great shakes after all." Five minutes after he disap- 

 peared in the bushes and 1 heard a heavy splash in the water 

 below, but thinking he had stepped ori a rotten lug which 

 had broken and fallen into the stream, I paid no further at- 

 tention to it. 



A few minutes later the bushes parted and a discouraged. 

 shiftless looking object ; Stepped out on the corduroy, drip* 

 ping with water and listlessly dragging a fish pole after it. 

 It was the frame of Jim, collapsed and shrunken. His pal- 

 lid face, from which all color had fled, looked ghastly, and 

 with chattering teeth and a Mekly grin that tried hard to 

 reach Irom one side of his full grown countenance to the 

 ojhel, he jerked out, 'first trout — to get ; thrills, aud chills- 

 plenty of 'em;" and a few ther similar remarks that the occa- 

 sion seemed to him to require. 



While he unloaded his pockets of soaked matches, smok- 

 ing tobacco, plug ditto, box of fishhooks, pipe, knife, cigars, 

 etc., and spread them on a split log in the road to dry, 1 

 leaned up against the shattered stump of an old cedar and— 

 "rested." A few minutes in the broiling sun took the chill 

 out of him and stopped ihe chatter of his teeth sufficiently 

 to let him tell how it all came about. He had found a nice 

 looking pool forty or fifty yards below the road, wdiich, 

 judging from what, ho had read about trout streams, ought 

 to be a good place for fish. 



The stream was about fifteen feet wide and four or five 

 feet deep, and directly across it at the deepest point lay the 

 moss-covered trunk of an old cedar, the. greater part of it 

 under water. Dropping his bait quietly in above the log, he 

 saw a flash dart from under it, and a smart tug at his line 

 told him that he had a "bite." Thrill number one (with 

 the ecstasy). A fierce jerk wound line, hook and sinker 

 around abranch eight feet overhead that hung over the mid- 

 dle of the stream, without the trout. All efforts lo loosen it 

 (from the bank) were fruitless, and the only way he saw to 

 reach it was from the log across the pool. Stepping cau- 

 tiously out on it, he placed one foot on a limb four or five 

 inches in diameter that projected from tho trunk straight up 

 the stream, and pulling the branch down with the bne in one 

 hand, reached for the hook with the other. He was a Jew 

 inches short, and taking another short step out on the. limb, 

 he stretched for it again, and just, as he touched the branch 

 the bark on the limb slipped, and he went backward bis full 

 length into the icy water. Thrill number two (ecstasy left 

 out;,. He did not slop to examine the formation of the bot- 

 tom, but coming to the surface with a snort, reached for his 

 hat, which had floated off, clambered up on the log and back 

 to the bank, still hanging on to his pole. lie said the first 

 sensation he felt when he struck the wider was that it was 

 boiling hot, and the next that all the blood in him had rushed 

 to his heart, and frozen there in a lump. 



A vicious yank broke the line near the sinker, and he 

 came skulking through the brush back lo ihe road with his 

 carrying capacity taxed to the utmost limit, with wrath and 

 suppressed profanity, which broke loose in full volume as lie 

 wanned up in the sun. Th s little side show spoiled the 

 fishing in that poo], and it was the best looking piece of water 

 wc found during the day. Stripping oil his panls and 

 woolen overshirt, we wrung them out and spread ihcm to 

 dry on the hot, clean logs and poles forming the road, Jim 

 meantime seeking the shade o£ a friendly bush to ponder on 

 the uncertain tenure of rotten bark on a moss-covered Dedal' 

 limb, and group together tho different "thrilP" he had ex- 

 perienced in his first half hour's trout fishing. 



I took my way up stream to try my luck, leaving him to 

 his solitary watch on his fast drying raiment and his reflec- 

 tions. 



After floundering through an almost impenetrable tangle 

 of brush aud fallen trees for three-quarters of an hour; oc- 

 casionally finding a place where I could get to tho water, I 

 returned to the road with a trout of haif a pound to find 

 Jim getting into his nearly dry clothes, aud ready to again 

 try the temperature of Cedar Kiver, if it got in his way. 



We went down the stream, passing the " Editor's Sanc- 

 tum" on the way, Jim stopping a moment to shake his 

 clenched hand at his hook dangling from the branch over 

 the wa'er. Every step of our way was impeded by bushes and 

 branches sweeping the ground', through which we pushed 

 and struggled, dragging our rods after us. Trees aud brush, 

 bushes and trees, uptight trees, leaning trees, fallen trees, 

 crossed and tangled, barred our way, and old logs here and 

 there, covered with moss, green and rotting, helped to fill up 

 the measure of our discomfort. Overhead the thick brandies 

 kept out the sun's rays, except at rare openings along the 

 stream. Once in a while we would find an opening to the 

 water aud poke our rials through it over the stream to try for 

 a rise between the logs and limbs and fallen trees that cov- 

 ered the water like a tangled spider's web, in places a tangled 

 mass, over, aud under, and partly in the water, in SVi H 'v eon 

 ceivable direction, Frequently, as we forced our weary way 

 along the low banks, we would step on a patch of soft green 

 moss and plunge a foot or two into the icy water, where the 

 current, had eaten under the bank, leaving only the treacher- 

 ous carpet of moss as a lure for the feet of the unwary 

 angler, and it was at such little mishaps that Jim's wonder- 

 ful command of language— not in the books— came into play 

 with the most brilliant effects. Dragginga leg out of a hole, 

 he tilted it back in the rear to let the water run out of his 

 boot, and as he rubbed his off eve where a spruce branch had 

 swished into it as I passed ahead, a few fragments caught 

 my ear, such as " IJtalightS of trout fishing— glorious sport- 

 fell iu the stream— broiled in the sun— both shins peeled— 

 boots full of ice-water— one. eye knocked out with a ' bresh' 

 —back bro— " Here a hearty "ho! ho! ho!" changed ihe 

 drift of his thoughts as I tripped over a root and measured 

 my length in a nice bed of soft, black mud. 



After fishing every available spot of water for half-a-inile 

 without a nibble, wc were convinced that Jim had polluted 

 the water to such an extent when he fell in that all the trout 

 that were not paralized had taken refuge in their deepest 

 and most remote hiding places. We sat 'down on a log to 

 rest, and Jim swore a highly polished oath that he wouldn't 

 go a step further for all the trout that could find breathing- 



room in Lake Michigan, and, sinking the'butt of his rod a 

 foot into the ooze at his feet, clinched it, with, "There, 

 blank you ! Stick there till some other lunatic comes along 

 and pulls you out ! Let's go to camp." 



Avoiding the windings of the sticam, we worked our way 

 back through the woods to the corduroy, striking it a few 

 yards from the bridge over the south branch. ^Disliking to 

 go back to camp and face the Scribe wdthout a mess of trout, 

 I prevailed on Jim to wait and rest while I went up the 

 stream to where I took the half-pounder. 



The character of the swamp above the road was much the 

 same as below, if anything a trifle worse. At very few 

 places could I use more than three or four feet of line on ac- 

 count of the overhanging limbs and bushes, but by carefully 

 fishing the south branch for an eighth of a mile, I took eight 

 beaut ifully-marked fish of nearly the same size as the first 

 one, aud lost twice as many more for want of room to handle 

 them iu. Some of them I lifted a foot or two from the 

 water, only to see them shake clear of the hook and fall 

 back in the stream. One hungry fellow took the bait six 

 times, and was twice lifted a foot or more out of the water. 

 The sixth time, the hook buried itself over the barb, and by 

 sliding the rod back of me through the bushes I got hold of 

 the line and dragged him out on the bank. In fact this mode 

 of landing them was the rule and not; the exception. 

 . I am aware it was an unsportsmanlike way of taking a 

 trout, and a Hy-flsher looking on would have smiled at the 

 procedure, but had the best of them been in my shoes ttey 

 would probably have done as I did, or gone back to camp 

 troutless. The fish were not at all shy; on the contrary, 

 some of them would take the bait four and five times while I 

 stood in plain sight. To fish this stream— at least where we 

 fished it — a short, stiff rod and a stout line and hook arc 

 necessary with which to yank them out from betwc en the 

 logs and from under roots before they have time to whip 

 around a limb or snag. Nearer the mouth there are a few 

 pools where neighbor Johnson has cut away the "bresh," 

 and at these places, he said, excellent sport might be had 

 with both bail and fly, but he. carelessly failed to apprise me 

 of this fact till the day before I was ready to break camp. 

 Score one for brother Johnson. 



I am satisfied that the stream is full of trout, but whoever 

 starts in to fishing must keep it steadily in his mind that he is 

 not going to a picnic, but to a day's bard, laborious work. 

 A lusty shout from below and a glance at the sun through a 

 rift ill the foliage warned me it was time to quit if we were 

 to make camp before dark. Back to the road once more, ]. 

 found Jim enjoying a cpiiet Bmoke — his tobacco aud matches 

 having thoroughly dried in the hot sun— and impatient lo 

 start, ttoing back to the boat we twice took a wrong road, 

 adding at least a mile to the weary tramp, but fina ly the 

 sight of the little river gladdened our eyes and put new life 

 into our tired legs. A vigorous use of the oars took us to 

 camp at sundown, and a few minutes later our trout were 

 crowding out the smell of bass and pickerel from two sput- 

 tering, sizzling frying-pans over the fire. So ended the Edi- 

 lor's first day after trout. 



I spent mostof thonext day upthelakc with my old friends, 

 the bass and longfaces, with whom I had many sharp and 

 frequent differences. The boys spent the forenoon in study- 

 ing over and preparing for a contemplated trip down the 

 lakes to Traverse City, back up the bay to Charlevoix, up 

 Pine Lake to the mouth of the Boyne, stage to Boyno Eulls, 

 aud from there to Petoskey by rail. In the afternoon they 

 tied a boat to a stake in the edge of the rushes at the foot of 

 the island, and with the middle and top joints of a bass rod, 

 and four or five feet of a light line, had some rare sport v.iib 

 the suufisb. Around the islands and along the shores of these 

 lakes near and among the rushes are coimtless thousands of 

 these game little fellows, from an inch to seven aud eight 

 inches in length, and the3 r bite eagerly at anything in 

 the shape of bait. They aie clear grit to the last, 

 and besides the sport of taking them, which is the ptime 

 consideration, they diffuse a very "comfortin' odor" from a 

 well regulated frying-pan. 



After supper the question of breaking camp was taken up 

 and disposed of. I had my choice of breaking up, sending 

 the traps with the camp boy to the R. R. to be shipped 

 home, and join them on their trip, or stay, fish out, my fur- 

 lough, pack up and go home by myself. I chose the latter, 

 as I had come just a purpose to fish. Breakfast over next 

 morning, the boys packed a small gripsack with a box of 

 cigars and a paper collar, and waited for one of the Cutler 

 boys to come over with his boat and take them to Central 

 Lake, whence they were to cross over to Knssel's and wait 

 for the steamer for Elk Rapids. While they waited 1 went 

 up the lake and fished till they came along, and when the 

 good-byes wore said they disappeared behind Long Point, 

 and I saw them no more till we met at home. 



When they were really gone, having my man Friday ready 

 to hand iu the person of "Johnnie," I felt a little Cruseoish, 

 but that night about 10 o'clock a party of four young fellows 

 arrived from Chicago for a week's fishing, and knocked all 

 my sentiment and solitude into the lake, and I drifted gladly 

 back into the old, pleasant relations with the fish, the eagles, 

 the loons, the kingfishers and the muskrats. 



Next day I took, with eight others, the largest small- 

 mouthed black bass that we got on the trip, but was unable 

 to get his weight, as the Scribe had locked the scale in his 

 trunk and taken the key with him. He was three inches 

 longer and an inch deeper in front of the dorsal than the one 

 that weighed 6j lbs., and I fondly believed he would have 

 pulled the scale "nigh onto" 8 lbs I 



Somehow, it is nearly always the case that when one lands 

 his biggest fish there is no scale at hand to get his weight, 

 and it is also a well-known fact that the fish is sure to benefit 

 by it in the matter of avoirdupois, but herein is one of the 

 chief comforts of the honest angler, for besides gratifying 

 a natural propensity to tell "fish stories," it displays a char- 

 acteristic trait in the craft in not taking a mean advantage of 

 anythiug, not even a fish, to make it appear smaller than it 

 really is. 



I gave him, with a dozen others, to three neighbor boys- 

 shavers of ten to fourteen years who had fallen into the 

 praiseworthy habit of picking a tin pail full of ripe, red 

 raspberries every afternoon, and bringing them over to us in 

 the evening, anil I am certain the friendly relations existiug 

 between us were not in the least disturbed by not knowing 

 the exact weight of that fish. 



The last four days of my stay I tried a new bait, suggested 

 by using a trout fin, and "the result was most astonishing. 

 It was simply the half of the caudal fin of a 3 or 4 lb. pick- 

 erel. Select a bright-colored fin, leaving enough flesh and 

 skin on to afford a firm hold for the hook, and troll with it 

 with 60 to 7r> feel of line out. The bait does not revolve in 

 the water like a spoon, but dodges from side to side in a 

 orazy, erratic sort of way, and if there is a longf aee iu, 



