191 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Fishing Movements. — The number of fishing arrivals at 

 this port the past weei has been 24— fi from the Banks and 

 18 from Georges, bringing 288,000 lbs. codfish and 440,000 

 lbs. halibut. Georges fish show a further decline, but it is 

 evident that bottom prices have been roachod, and the 

 market has been lively, orders for moderato quantities being 

 numerous. The stock is small, with no prospect of large 

 accessions, and prices are a trifle better than last year at this 

 time. Fresh halibut are received in sufficient quantities to 

 meet the call, and fair prices are realized. Fresh mackerel 

 have put in an appearance at the South, but the old stock is 

 too light to be affected by this fact. Haddock aro in fair 

 supply, but cusk, pollock, and hake are in light stock, and 

 prices are nominal. 



For the first time within the memory of man, the New- 

 bnryport clam flats have refused to discount. The recent 

 freshet in the river has buried the flats several feet deep 

 with upland, mud, and the succulent bivalves, which have 

 been a staple article of food all through the winter, are not 

 to be "dug." Just such a calamity befell the clam-banks of 

 Seabrook and Hampton many years ago. 



There are but three concerns left in the fishing business 

 at Yarmouth, N. S. 



One of the Newfoundland vessels recently captured in 

 twenty-six days a cargo of seals worth $126*000, the best 

 single trip ever made. — Cape Aim Advertiser, April 28. 



The Cape Cod Country. — Speaking of Eastern Massachu- 

 setts, a correspondent writes : 



*' The Old Colony Railroad runs through what used to be 

 some of the best shooting and fiBhing country in New Eng- 

 land, and some parts of it are still respectable in those lines, 

 viz: Plymouth "Woods (the only place in Massachusetts 

 where deer are now found) which are indented with beautiful 

 lakes, from many of which flow bright sparkling brooks, the 

 home of the speckled trout, and many of the lakes aro well 

 stocked with pickerel, bass, porch, etc. At Wareham is 

 found the luscious Wareham oyster, and all down Cape Cod 

 gunning and fishing of pretty fair quality. At Cohasset Nar- 

 rows we have excellent stripped bass fishing, and from "Buz- 

 zards Bay" may be taken all the varieties of salt-water fish 

 that love to congregate in our northern waters. At Chatham 

 one will find pretty good brant shooting at the right season." 



— The Germantown Telegraph says: Shad-fishermen on the 

 Upper Chesapeake are now hard at work. A correspondent 

 residing on the Maryland shore thus makes public the fact: 

 "The men wbo are about to engage in gilling shad have 

 this week moved to their field of labor, full of hopes and 

 expectations.'' 



—Shad continue unusually scarce in the Delaware and prices 

 are consequently high. The Gloucester Fishery makes six 

 hauls every twenty-four hours, which yield from fifty to 

 seventy-five shad each. The season thus far has been a'very 

 unprofitable one. 



<»» 



BLACK BASS OF THE POTOMAC. 



Georgetown, D. C, April 23, 1877. 

 Editor Forest and Stream. 



A Washington cockney rushed up to me this morning, 

 and, with his eyes half out of his head, told me he had 

 caught a tremendous lot of black bass at the Little Falls of 

 the Potomac, and that I ought to go up there before it was 

 too late. "How did you take them?" I inquired, and his 

 reply was as follows: "I tried them with bait, but they 

 wouldn't bite: and so I borrowed a scoop-net, and I had 

 splendid luck: took twenty-two fish, and some of them 

 weighed seven pounds." After the gentleman had finished his 

 speech, I presented him with my congratulations as follows: 

 "You ought to be hanged for committing such an outrage; 

 and as I am not in the habit of taking fish out of season, 

 nor of killing hens for the table when they are hatching, I 

 shall not visit the Falls at present." 



This incident suggests two or three remarks on the sub- 

 ject of fishing in these parts. It is now more than twenty- 

 five, years since I began to fish in the waters of the Potomac, 

 and inall that time I have never failed to try my luck either 

 in the early summer or autumn. Formerly, our only game 

 fish was the rock fish or striped bass, the season commenc- 

 ing about the 10th of June. They were very abundant, and 

 chiefly taken at the Little Falls with bait and the fly, my 

 own preference having always been for the latter method. 

 The largest number that I ever took at one time was thirty- 

 five in a single morning; and while I have never captured a 

 rock-fish in the Potomac which weiged over twelve pounds, 

 1 have had the fortune to see much larger fish taken with the 

 bait by the following anglers, viz. : Daniel Webster, Sir 

 John Crampton, General W. H. Emory, and Mr. W. H. 

 Dougall of this place. Indeed, the sport of taking rock-fish 

 at the Little Falls of the Potomac I have long considered as 

 only second to that of catching salmon in Canada or New 

 Brunswick. But I must not, at present, trust my pen upon 

 tiis theme. 



My main purpose in this note is to speak of the black 

 baBS of the Potomac. They were introduced into this river 

 from the vicinity of Wheeling less than twenty-five years 

 ago, and they are now- very abundant from Cumberland 

 down to Mount Vernon. They are taken everywhere, 

 generally with the minnow, and by a few anglers in favora- 

 ble places with the fly. Although the laws of New York will 

 allow you to take them thereon the 1st of July, they maybe 

 taken in this region somewhat earlier — say the first week in 

 June. But the great trouble with which we have to contend 

 on the Potomac is this, that the fish are taken in immense 

 numbsrs early in the spring, when out of season, and alto- 

 gether unfit for sport or for the table. The dwellers on the 

 ;_ >e are generally civilized, and pretend to have laws for 

 the preservation of fish, but they have, so much to do with 

 Washington City that they are careless about keeping the 

 laws. All through April and May of each year foolish boys 

 and more foolish men go forth to slaughter the black bass 

 when passing through their spring sickness, and thereby 

 commit an unpardonable outrage against the laws of nature. 

 In my limited sphere I have fought against this custom for 

 Beveral years, and I now recall only two men who have been 

 converted to my way of thinking. One of them took me to 

 a favorite locality in the month of May, and while I allowed 

 him to do all the fishing. I amused myself with the pencil, 

 After he had secured a basket full of bass and we were about 

 to return home, I took one of the fish in my hand and 

 directed his attention to the worms that were hidden away at 

 the root of the fins. He was disgusted; and then and there 

 swore that he would never eat ono of those fish again. That 

 uhs not sensible on his parfc hut his feelings could not be 

 controlled, for from July to November there is no better 

 fish for the table than the black bass. The other conversion 

 alluded to was that of a farmer on the Potomac who had a 



very dear friend, with whom he had been fishing in the 

 month of May, and who lost his life from eating a black 

 bass out of season and when it was a poison. 



For sport, or food I think as highly of the black bass as of 

 the trout; I have caught them in the St. Johns, Florida, on 

 the Upper Mississippi, in the Great Lakes, and in the St. 

 Lawrence; these are associated with the most delightful rec- 

 ollections of my boyhood; and hence, the manner in which 

 they are annually slaughtered on the Potomac fills me with 

 pain and indignation. Charles Lanman, 



!\ Flt-Fishtno Extraordinary.— Mr. H. Chester WilBon, 

 who has probably taken more trout with the fly from the 

 waters of Northern New York than any other living sports- 

 man, has been spending the winter on* the Homosassa River, 

 Florida, where he has made it exceedingly sultry for the 

 members of the finny tribe. Mr. W., being a thorough sports- 

 man, makes it a practice to observe closely the habits of the 

 game which he pursues, andbecame convinced, from various 

 indications, that the alligator was a true game fish and could 

 be taken wfth the fly, providing the proper tackle were used. 

 Consequently he set himself to work with all the ardor which 

 distinguishes the explorer in a new field to prepare himself 

 for this Gargantuan sport. Tying a horse-tail hackle, with 

 coot wings, on a shark hook, he attached to it a five-foot 

 leader of annealed iron wire, in links, and this again to a 

 fine cable-laid salmon line, made of the best Russian hemp. 

 With this apparatus and a springy red cedar rod of some five 

 or six lbs. weight, such as few but the Douglas himself could 

 wield, Mr. W. fished two days, and near the close of the 

 second was rewarded by the capture of an immense saurian, 

 measuring eleven feet nine inches in length.— Had and ffww. 



ffuchting nnd f§o%tin$ 



HIGH "WATER 1'OR THE WEEK. 



DaU. 



Boston. 



New York. 



Charleston 





H. M 



H. M 



H M 



May.. 8 



3 31 



07 



11 48 



May.. 4 



4 SI 



87 



13 



May.. S 



5 15 



1 41 



1, 03 



May.. 6 



6 11 



2 34 



1 58 



May.. 7 



7 06 



3 22 



2 19 



May. 8 



7 56 



4 20 



3 38 



May.. 



8 42 



5 09 



4 27 



The Long PsnAND Yacht Club. — The Long Island Yacht 

 Club held their annual meeting at the club rooms, foot of 

 Thirty-seventh Street, Brooklyn, on last Thursday evening, 

 and elected the following officers: Commodore, R. W. 

 Holmes, schooner yacht Playful; "Vice-Commodore, Frank 

 Beames, sloop yacht Marie; President, Reuben Crelmcr: 

 Secretary, A F. Miller; Treasurer, Frank Bates; Measurer, 

 George Crolins. A resolution was adopted appropriating 

 $50 for a prize for a Corinthian race for cabin sloops. The 

 day for this and for the annual regatta will be fixed at the 

 next meeting. 



The Amabyjxis. — This remarkable craft, modeled after the 

 double canoes of the South Sea Islands, arrived at Brooklyn 

 last week, where she has been visited by crowds of curious 

 people. It will be remembered that the Amaryllis was the 

 craft which beat all the yachts so badly during the Centen- 

 nial regatta in our bay last summer. Mr. Nathaniel G. 

 Herreshoff, her owner, has made a match against time for 

 $500, to start from Bates' and sail to Greenport, L. I., in 

 eight hours. The distance is 140 miles by water. Her 

 owner is confident he can do it without difficulty. 



— The Brooklyn Yacht Club house, now situated at Grave- 

 send Bay, is shortly to be removed to Bay Ridge, where a 

 suitable'site has been selected. The old location was inac- 

 cessible to any members but those owning yachts, and had 

 become very unpopular. 



— Mr. R. W. Holmes, owner of the schooner yacht Play- 

 ful, is willing to match his boat against any schooner in the 

 United States or Canada for a cup of the value of $1,000, to 

 sail twenty miles to leeward. Mr. Holmes is of the opinion 

 that, with a smooth bottom and good crew, the Playful can 

 beat anything that floats twenty miles before the wind. It 

 is rumored in yachting circles that Mr. Holmes' challenge 

 will shortly be accepted. 



— The Analostan Boat Club of Washington has accepted a 

 challenge from the Undine Boat Club of Baltimore, Md., to 

 row a three-mile four-oared shell race on the Potomac River. 

 The race will take place »n the 24th of May next, and the 

 course will be from the foot of G street, one mile and a half 

 down the river and return. 



BOSTON YACHT CLUB. 



Boston, April 26, 1877. 

 Editor Forest and Stream. 



The Boston Yacht Club held its meeting at the office of 

 Treasurer, Augustus Rues, Esq., 15 Pemberton Square. 



Daniel B. Curtis, Commodore pro tern, J. J. E. Rothery, 

 and Commodore Henry J. Flint, of the Providence Yacht 

 Club, were unanimously elected members. Commodore Flint 

 brings his yacht Wanderer into the club. He has been very 

 successful m the regattas of Narragansett Bay. This year 

 the secretary was instructed to issue a club paper, a schedule 

 showing membership, yacht roll, additions and alterations of 

 club rules from last year, etc., instead of going to the ex- 

 pense of a club book,' thus saving some $250. He made a 

 good report, showing some $450 on hand from last year, and 

 $1,000 paid in from assessments and locker rent. On motion 

 of ex-Commodore Barnard it was voted to pay $500 on 

 mortgage, of club house. The Regatta Committee asked for 

 an appropriation of $500 for season, and it was voted to give 

 them $400, in view of contingencies. The first regatta will 

 be June 7th; and an outside race, gotten up for the benefit of 

 larger yachts. The committee aTe in hopes to make this very 

 successful, and thus entice the large yachts to make a better 

 show than ever. 



This race will be followed by a series of three champion 

 regattas, and will be very interesting. Yacht owners 

 generally adopted the resolution of special meeting to back 

 the regatta and house committees in their worthy work 

 of providing club days for non-yacht owners, and thus pre- 

 serving the interest and increasing the membership. It is to 

 be hoped that class will attend with their lady friends on those 

 days. On motion of W. F. Halsall, Esq., shifting ballast was 

 abolished from sailing rules. On motion of Commodore F. 

 E. Peabody, the rule to avoid collisions during racing was 

 added to the sailing regulations. Motion: Any yacht foul- 

 ing another shall be debarred from the prize. 



On motion, a committee of two was chosen to take 

 proper notice of the death of S. J. Capen, Esq. The club 

 adjourned to meet May 30th. Yours in haste, Kedge. 



EASTERN YACHTING NOTES. 



Boston, April 25, 1877. 

 Editor Forest and Stream. 



The past week has boon anything but pleasant, yet, despite 

 the gloom and rain, some thirty yachts and sail boats can be 

 seen riding at their moorings 'in our beautiful Dorchester 

 Bay. I find that small yachts are getting to be the favorites 

 this side of the cape. Most people here prefer to be yachts- 

 men practically, and you willfind men of means with'brown 

 hands and sunburnt visage oftener than usual. The size 

 most preferred is about 20 feet, and the rig sloop. The shift- 

 ing ballast question is also receiving its death-blow, and I am 

 in hopes before the end of the season to see it in its winding 

 sheet, with a round shot to sink it forever from the yachts- 

 men's view. A man may have a racer, but prefers to keep 

 her a family boat to get rid of competing with the horrid 

 idea of shifting dead weight. 



I like to see all the canvas, and ideas of canvas, that can 

 be spread to give power and speed, but when a man has got 

 to work like a laborer for pleasure and honor then it is time 

 to give your boat up. Yours, Kedoe. 



iss,, April 23, 1877. 

 Editor Forest and Stream. 



The various winter quarters of boats in this vicinity are 

 showing signs of life. At Mr. Frisbee's yard off Derby street 

 are various yachts, among which are the Syren, Loiterer, 

 Wanderer, Flirt, Arrow, Rambler, Cloohette, and one or two 

 others the names of which I forget, air. Frisbee is build- 

 ing a small fishing schooner after the Swampscott Market 

 boat model that promises well. Mr. Joshua Brown has some 

 boats at his yard, including the Idler, and others. His 

 schooner Alin can't be beat for a freighting schooner. Just 

 beyond on the other shore we find a new cat-boat, built by 

 our friend Mr. Packard, and christened the Mazeppa; she 

 is finished finely, and her debut is looked for with interest. 

 We also find Mr. Goodhue's Frolic, Mr. Martin's Clitherve, 

 and Mr. Radford's Myrtle, all good yachts; there is also in 

 this neighborhood a little million of whitehalls, dories and 

 punts. Between the bridges near Beverly are sevend fine 

 -yachts, including the Fleur do Lis, Rebecca, Foam, Dawn, 

 Latona, Magic, Fearless, Anna and Romance, for schooners, 

 and the sloops Alin, Sunshine and Narragansett. There is 

 also a fine nearly new schooner called the Rosedale, here for 

 sale. She is a beauty, and — btit I musn't covet. 



Passing over the bridge to Beverly we find the Rock 

 Brothers, who build some first-rate yachts; they make fine 

 cat-boats. At the wharves in this town are a lot of fishing 

 and coasting vessels, [presenting a lively appearance. Pro- 

 ceeding to Ipswich, wo rind' the stanch little steamer 

 Beatrice, in a new dress of paint. This comfortable little 

 craft plies between the towns of Ipswich and Dabs on Plum 

 Island, and a trip on her down the Fire River with a chow- 

 der at the Bluffe is a thing not to be despised. In Mr. 

 Dodge's boat-house, near the steamer, we find the cat-boats 

 Transit and Vesta, together with a lot of smaller crafts used 

 on the river. Mr. Dodge has some nice little row-boats for 

 sale at $15 each; they are very pretty and jaunty, and with 

 good company (female, of course), one would have a jolly 

 time in them. Mr. Dodge also builds gunning-floats, and 

 I would recommend him to parties needing articles in his 

 line. Our county includes some famous dory builders, 

 Saulisbury dories being well-known among fishermen. Fins 

 model dories are also built at Swampscott. By the wuy.it 

 won't do to forget Marblehcad, where there are some good 

 yachts. At Lynn the yachts of the Lynn Yacht Club are yet 

 in winter quarters, though showing some signs of life. 



Yours, "Teal." 



( Yachting Notes continued on Pruje 200;. 



Tiffany & Co., Silversmiths, Jewelers, and 

 Importers, have always a large stock ol sil- 

 ver articles for prizes for shooting, yachting, 

 racing and other sports, and on request they 

 prepare special designs for similar purposes. 

 Their timing watches are guaranteed for ac- 

 curacy, and are now very generally used for 

 sporting and scientific requirements. Tiffany 

 & Co., are also the agents in America for 

 Messrs. Patek, Philippe & Co., of Geneva, of 

 whose celebrated watches they have a fu 

 line. Their stock of Diamonds and other Pre 

 eious Stones, General Jewelry, Bronzes and 



Artistic Pottery is the largest in the world, 

 and the public are invited to visit their estab- 

 lishment without feeling the slightest obliga- 

 tion to rjurehase. Union Square, New York 



Adv.* 



