FOREST AM) STREAM. 



1G7 



A couple of "brook sports" went through a stream toward the 

 the lower end of the county one day last week and caught 

 86 trout; the largest was over eight indies long; others say 

 they have Caught as high as 50 and GO in a day. We think 

 that successful fishing, like all other gaming sports, depends 

 very lunch upon the natural instincts of the individual. 



Another fisherman, one night last week, having had two 

 hoop-nets set in the mouth of one of our silvery streams 

 which empties into a large, dam, reports two splendid 

 "hauls;" one net contained 18G good sized cat-fish, and the 

 other contained 75 chubs and 10 eels. DomPedeo. 



District OoiittMBiA. — Washington, April lath. — Ducks are re- 

 ported to be more, numerous on the. Lower Potomac now 

 than at any time since last fall, and they are affording ex- 

 cellent sport to those fond of aquatic shooting, though 

 they are not so plentiful as they were many years ago in the 

 Chesapeake, when the hands employed at an iron forge at 

 Havre de Grace, once upon a time, refused to work because 

 they were fed on canvass-back ducks instead of bacon. B. 



Ytkoinia — Norfolk, April Wlh. — One. morning last week a 

 magnificent flight of swans passed over. It was, indeed, a 

 pretty sight to see the early morning sunbeams gilding the 

 pure white feathers that shone out in their matchless purity 

 from the azure background above. Snipe shooting still in 

 order. This storm ought to bring more around. Some 

 rousing big bass and drum in market, last week, James 

 Biver sending down its quota of sturgeon. W. H. S. 



South Cabolina. — Port Royal, April 11.— I wrote under date 

 of March 23d that warm weather was promised. I was mis- 

 taken, as we are getting the exact converse. Pierce galea and 

 heavy rain storms have prevailed up to this day, and we 

 have, in fact, the latest kind of a late season. Overcoats are 

 still in demand, and vegetation is backward. Bay snipe are 

 soarce. It has been too windy for them to move about. 



B. 



Georgia. — Sfacon, April Sik. — This afternoon a hurricane of 

 rain, hail, and wind unroofed houses and tore up trees in the 

 twinkl ng of an eye. The thunder and lightning was terrific. 

 The wind brought into tho city thousands of wild ducks, which 

 are supposed to have been driven from the coast, soruehundred 

 and fifty miles distant. They must have made that journey 

 in about half an hour, and when they struck the buildings 

 head first, many had broken necks and were easily caught 

 after the storm. ' A large number of grasshoppers, big ones, 

 were also brought in by the wind. Altogether it was a scene 

 the like of which I never expect to witness again. B. 



Florida. — SI. Augustine, April Wilt.— The season just clos- 

 ing has been a successful one in every respect. The huntiug 

 and fishing was never better. In less than two months over 

 600 English snipe have been shot, besides the vast numbers 

 of quail. Drum fish weighing seventy pounds and upwards 

 have been caught - the sheepshead, bass, etc., in abundance. 



Tim. 



Massachusetts. — Salem, April KWi..— A pigeon shoot recently 

 occurred between 0. W. Jones and B. L. Newcomb, 10 birds 

 each, New York rules, 21 yards rise, ground traps, with the 

 following result: 



Name. TotaL 



C. W.Jonea 110 10 10—1 



R. L. Nmvcomb 1 110 10 111 0-7 



There was considerable interest excited by this match. 

 There was also a sweepstake shoot by a dozen others, but the 

 affair of the day was the first match. Teal. 



Sizes of Shot. — A Philadelphia correspondent writes that 

 Thomas Spark's Philadelphia drop shot, number six, con- 

 taining 267 pellets per ounce, comes the nearest to the New 

 Castle chilled shot, the difference being only three pellets, 

 the chilled containing 270 pellets to the ounce. 



— In our notice of tho proposed removal of J. Walker & 



Sons, in our last issue, the types made us say that this firm 



would remove from 55 Dey Street to 14 Spruce, whereas it 



should have been No. 14 Dey Street. We take pleasure in 



making the correction, and trust the public will bear the 



number in mind. 



»•*■ 



LOADING PAPER SHELLS. 



Mound Crrx, m., March 28, 1877. 

 Editor Pokest and Stream. 



AS I had never seen any satisfactory means in use for 

 confining the charge 'in paper shells for shot guns, I 

 have adapted a plan of my own. That is, I believe it to be 

 my own. My objections to creasing the shell is that it is 

 not effectual;* the crease gradually vanishes as the shell is 

 handled. "While the plan of crimping the end of tl m U 

 in on to the wad causes the crimped end to blow off, render- 

 ing the shell useless for further filling, it also has to a certain 

 extent the same objection as creasing. Some of ray acquaint- 

 ances use mucilage, and even glue on their top wads to re- 

 tain the charge. The objections to this method are so ob- 

 vious that it will not be necessary to mention them further 

 than to say that in so doing you present a rough, sticky edge 

 to the wad", where you should have a smooth lubricated one. 



My plan is this: 1 stick a common pin through the diame- 

 ter of the shell close against the top wad, or sometimes I use 

 two crossed in the center; this last in my large shells with 

 heavy charges of shot. I choose as small wire as I can find 

 in the pin, "and after it is placed as above described, I pinch 

 the head and point off close to the outside of the shell with 

 a pair of nippers. I have made a simple device for insert- 

 ing the pin. It can be made by any one of ordinary genius, 

 and I will give a description of it to any one addressing me 

 for it, I would give it here but it would require a sketch, or 

 drawing, which, of course you could not insert. The only 

 objection raised by those who have seen my plan is, that 

 there is danger of' scratching the barrels with the pins. But 

 I have fired hundreds of them through my new gun and can 

 see no marks from them. Very truly yours, 



John E. Whebby. 



Our correspondent's plan may he a very good one, hut we 

 confess we should object to trying it in a tine gun. As for 

 his remark regarding the ends of crimped shells blowing off, 

 we certainly have never met with any such experience, and 

 ;::t\v in our office a common Ely brown paper shell 

 ■been reloaded (with Dittmar powder) some eight 

 or ten times, it is true that the charges in crimped tor 

 turned in) sheila ime, particularly 



earried loose in the pocket, become loose, but one turn of 

 the crimper makes them as tight as ever. 



— This is the season when tho editor shouts trp the pipe to the 

 printer, "The poem sent up yesterday, headed, 'Spring is 

 Come,' you can keep over for another week." 



— Insanity, once, unknown among the negroes, lias become a 

 great and increasing affliction. To relieve it, Virginia has 

 established an insane asylum for negroes — the only one in the 

 world— where more than 300 of them are cared for. 



£e* md §iver ^ishitifl. 



FISH IN SEASON IN APRIL. 



Speckled Trout, Batmo fonllnalU. Land-locked Salmon— Salmo gloveri. 

 White Perch, Morone Americana*. Shad. Alma sajiidiisima. 



For trout flies in April, 6 



r iesue of March 29th. 



Fish in Maeket. — The first Connecticut Biver shad of the 

 season arrived in Fulton Market on Friday last and sold for 

 $1.25. Some of them weighed six pounds each. Fresh 

 caught "Kennebec" salmon, from Nova Scotia, are coming 

 forward and find ready market at. $1 per pound. Prawns 

 from South Carolina ore abundant at $1 per gallon. Striped 

 bass are very scarce. North Biver shad have not been taken 

 in any large quantities as yet, but largo hauls are expected 

 this week. Our quotations for the week are ob follows: 

 Striped bass, 20 to 25 cents per pound; smelts, 12 

 cents; salmon (frozen), 35 cents; green, SI. 25; shad 

 (southern'), 30 to 50 cents each; native, do. 40 to 60 cents; 

 Connecticut Biver, 75 cents to $1; white perch, 12J cents 

 per pound; Spanish mackerel 50 cents; green turtle, 18 

 cents; terrapin, $15 per dozen; frostfish, S cents per pound: 

 halibut 18 cents; haddock, 8 cents; codfish, 8 cents; black- 

 fish, 15 cents; herrings, 6 cents; flounders, 8 cents; sea bass, 

 20 cents; eels,. 18 cents; lobsters, 10 cents; scoUops, $2 per 

 gallon; white-fish, 15 cents per pound; piokerel, 15 cents; 

 salmon trout 15 cents; Long Island trout, $1; hard shell 

 crabs, $3.50 per 100; red snappers, 18 cents; prawns, $1.50 

 per gallon. 



Oqtjossoc Angling Association. — The annual meeting was 

 held on the 10th of April, and the following persons elected 

 trustees for the ensuing year: George Shepard Page, John 

 H. Kimball, Lewis B Beed, Lewis T. Lazell, Dr. F. N. Otis, 

 James A. Williamson, Adon Smith, Jr., George P. Bowell 

 and William B. Wood. At a meeting of the trustees on the 

 same day the following officers were chosen : President, John 

 H. Kimball of Bath, Me. ; Vice-President, Lewis B. Beed, of 

 New York; Secretary and Treasurer, James A. Williamson, 

 of New York. 



Massachusetts.— Mio Bedford, April 13, 1877.— Notwith- 

 standing the cold northeast storms of the past week our 

 markets ore well supplied with halibut, cod and herring. 

 A very few shad have been taken thus early. The trout 

 sportsmen report small fares, although some of the knowing 

 ones have had good luck. Concha. 



Fishing Matters. — The number of fishing arrivals re- 

 ported at this port since our last issue has been 24, 4 from 

 the Banks and 20 from Georges. Fish receipts about 500,- 



000 lbs. codfish, and 325,000 lbs. halibut. 



The fish market continues quiet, with a rather better caU 

 for Georges cod. The stock of cured is small, and it is diffi- 

 cult to fill orders readily with prime fish, but with better 

 weather for curing, the supply will soon be sufficient for the 

 demand, although the quantity in bntts is smaU for the 

 season. It would be difficult to fill orders at less than $5 

 per qth, although we hear of special transactions at 12J cents 

 off this price. Grand Bank cod are in small stock, and 

 held at $i] -@4i per qtl. as to quality. The stock of frozen 

 herring hasTbeen closed out and the fleet are seeking bait 

 elsewhere. Fresh halibut have been in moderate receipt 

 and prices have ruled favorably. The stock of smoked 

 halibut is entirely inadequate to meet the demand. — Cape 

 Ann Advertiser, April 12. 



v ' New Jersey. — lunacy's Ashley ITottse, Harvfgat Inlei, V. J., 

 April 8th. — Flounders have, commenced biting. Some six 

 boats met with good success Saturday. One New York sloop, 

 the Hope, has met with great success in the oodfish lino, 

 taking as high as 3,000 lbs per day. B. 



Floetda. — jY>7<i Smyrna, April 9. — The unusual coldness of 

 the season has interfered with our sport this season, though 



1 have killed the largest bass (30 lbs.) this winter that I ever 

 Heeured with rod and reel. Sevend others of equal size have 

 been killed by visiting sportsmen. S. C. C 



' District Columbia. — Washington, April lGlh. — Our fishing 

 season has already commenced, and quite a number of fine 

 bass have been captured in the Potomac, most of them at the 

 foot of the Great Falls, which is their favorite haunt at this 

 Beason. Others have been caught in the neighborhood of 

 the Little Falls, but they ore not so plentiful at. the latter 

 place as above. White perch fishing near the Chain Bridge, 

 to which I referred at length in a recent letter, is now excel- 

 lent: they are biting rapidly, and fine ones are caught 

 dailv. Two gentlemen who went up yesterday 7 took over 

 seventy splendid ones in less than two hours. Owing to the 

 backward spring, this sport will continue this year until 

 about the 1st of 'May, as the perch have not ascended the 

 river as early as usual. B. 



ViuolNia.— The Legislature of Virginia has recently passed 

 an act to prevent the destruction and to promote the multi- 

 plication of fish in the streams of that State. It provides 

 that during the next six years no fish shall be caught other- 

 wise than by angling in any streams above tidewater. It is 

 made unlawful to take mountain trout between September 15 

 and April 1 by any process whatever, and at other periods 

 only by angling, a similar prevision applying to black bass 

 between May 15 and July 1 of each year ; possession of these 

 fish within the prohibited periods to be prima 1'aaia evidence 

 of the violation of the law. The penalty for infraction of 

 the law is fixed at a fine in saeh case of S20 and imprisonment 

 until the line be paid. Tho offender is also to forfeit his 

 boats, nets, or other illegal contrivances in such taking of 

 fish. The act is now in foroe. 



BASS FISHING AT HALIFAX INLET, 

 E. FLORIDA. 



"It in acovratrlo full of havon«, rivor» and Hands of auoh fruitful- 

 ueaa n« cannot by tongim ba eitpreasud, ami eo many gortaa of ratios 

 0»r, y<- may tala th.nu without nut or angle no maiiy a» ye will."— 

 f«n Hiaault's Tayaft U, Term Florida,, ISS-J. 



WE dropped our anchor on a bank between the two 

 rivers in tibont three feet of water. Bariolo waded off 

 towards the shore, and with two or three easts of his net 

 secured a dozen mullet, a fish from six to twelve inches Ion-. 

 bright and silvery, which when cut into three or four , 

 makes the best bait for the fish of this region, except the 

 sheepshead, and even thev will often take a mullet bait. 

 Then we began lo cast for bass, throwing out the baited hook 

 from the reel with a two-ounoe sinker, into four feet of water, 

 about titty feet from the boat. In a few minutes my bait was 

 seized with a sharp tug, and I was playing a lively fish, which 

 after a shot t run shook the hook from its mouth and escaped. 

 I wind up my line, put on a fresh bait, the other having suf- 

 fered from the teeth of the bass, and cast again. Now C. has 

 one, which ho secures after a long struggle, a bass, as here 

 called -the red drum of Virginia, or the red fish of the Gulf 

 coast — weighing about six pouuds. By this time lhad hooked 

 another of about six pounds, which I saved. The bass taken 

 here in winter average about five pounds, running from two 

 pounds to thirty, the large fish being rare at this season. In 

 the summer and fall they run much larger, sometimes as 

 heavy as fifty pounds. These over twenty pounds are called 

 " channel bass." 



Holbrook, following tho older naturalists, calls this fish 

 mrvina ocellatn; the new school of naturalise at "Washington 

 have given it the name S-:.-,;. ._-.,. s •; ■.-."ore. Having little Latin 

 and less Greek, I am unable to Bay which is best. Under 

 whatever name he swims, however, the red bass is a game fish, 

 in habits something like the striped bass of more northern 

 waters; and when in season, a valuable food fish. When 

 dried and salted, it makes a very good substitute for dried 

 codfish. 



Three or four more of moderate size were taken, when I 

 hooked a heavy fish, which took as I was drawing in my line. 

 It took out thirty yards at tbe first dash, and fought hard for 

 fifteen minutes, when I brought it within reach of the gaff in 

 the experienced hands of Bariolo. It weighed after reaching 

 home fifteen pounds, and was in fine condition. When fresh 

 from the water, the bass is r brilliant fish; those from the sea 

 are silvery in color; those from the mouths of fresh-water 

 rivers are of a bright golden hue; tbe scales are large and 

 strong; teeth in the mouth small, but it is furnished with 

 teeth in tho throat, which are like a pavement of enamel. 

 C. hooked a small shark which soon cut off his hook and 

 departed, but the marauder had scared away the bass, and 

 we left the ground with a score of eight, not, however, until 

 I had hooked a big sting Tay, Trygon hastata, which moved 

 off seaward with irresistible power, taking out my whole 

 line of about seventy yards at one rush, and parting it at the 

 reel, so that I lost 'it all. I have several times killed rays of 

 thirty pounds to fifty pounds with the rod, but when they 

 get to be 100 pounds in weight, nothing can be done with 

 the rod and reel; they ore too heavy to be turned; their play 

 is so slow that they cannot be tired' out as active fish are, by 

 their own exertions," and something must give way. Ihave seen 

 one ten and one-half feet long and" five feet wide, weighing 150 

 lbs, killed with a strong hand line. It is a dangerous tishto.deal 

 with, on account of the formidable weapon which it carries in 

 its tail, a sharp bone four or five inches long, barbed along 

 the sides, and covered with a black slime supposed to be 

 very poisonous. The ray lashes with its long tail when 

 drawn towards the boat, and sometimes inflicts very painful 

 and dangerous wounds. These rays are numerons 'and very 

 troublesome to the fishermen in these waters, and would be 

 more so but that they are the favorite food of their cousins, 

 the sharks, which eat them up, all but the tail, which is often 

 found on the beach, looking much like one of the bull whips 

 used by wagoners on the plains . 



"I have had enough of tin's, Bariolo,'' said I; "too many 

 sharks and rays here; where shall we go ?" " I think," said 

 he, "we'd better go up yonder big creek; the wind is too 

 strong outside, and we will find a sheltered place under the 

 mangroves." So we up anchor, and rowed about half a mile 

 up one of the numerous creeks which cut up the marshy 

 region on the coast into a thousand islands, covered prin- 

 cipally with the red and black mangrove brushes, though 

 some of the larger ones contain dry hammocks, with cabbage 

 palms, live oaks, and pines. When we came to a spot where 

 throe of these creeks met, forming a wide bay, we anchored at 

 one of them, In another creek, not far off, we saw three boats 

 with fishermen. " Who are those people? " inquired Mr. C. 

 "Some of tho Sneymaites. They have found out this creek 

 since ,they saw me catch some 'channel bass here a while 

 ago, but they don't know the best spot. You'll be likely to 

 hitch abig one here." We anchored near the shore where" the 

 channel was about six or eight feet deep, and the fir,. 

 was a large salt-water trout, hooked by Mr. C, which was 

 gaffer] after five minutes play; it weighed seven pounds v. ben 

 brought to the scales at homo— a most beautiful fish, dark 

 green or olive on the back, sides and lower parts like silver, 

 with three rows of black spots on the upper part of the sides, 

 like the lake trout of the Adirotidacks, which it exactly 

 resembles in form, except that instead of the small adipose 

 fin of the salmons, this fish, called by the learned, Oyiwsciou 

 Carol.inen.iis, has a double dorsal. It is a near relation to the 

 weak-fish or squeteage. We caught two or three small b^ss, 

 aud then I hooked a very heavy one, which ran out forty 

 yards of line. I had mounted a new one of 150 yards, and 

 fought for a long time at a distance from the hoot and deep 

 in the water, so that I could not see the fish, though Bartolo 

 pronounced it a large channel bass. At last it broke water, 

 and showed a tail eight or tea inches broad, but appeared as 

 strong as ever; when at this moment Mr. C. booked another 

 heavy fish aud we were but playing them at the same lime, I 

 at the bow, and C. at the stem of the boat; bartolo standing 

 between us, gaff in hand, ready for action. One of (be other 

 boats, seeing the struggle from afar, came towards us to 

 witness the result, whicii soon took place by my iish being 

 brought exhausted on his back to the boat, where he was 

 nearly gaffed by ,I3a.ri°lo, after a struggle of thirty minutes. 

 In due course the other fish was secured, and proved to be 

 a chanuol bass of about the same size, weighing at home 

 twenty-eight pounds, and mine twenty-nine pounds; it was 

 forty-one inches long, and twenty-three around the shoulders. 



S. C. 0. 

 » ■ » 



— Mr. John Blakely of Philadelphia caught a drumfish 

 weighing 71 pounds, in tii, Yi.iinnghs River, two miles 

 south of St. Augustine, Florida, the past season. Mr. T. C. 

 Bowe took four druuni ' 195 pounds in the 



aggregate. All taken with rod and red. 



