36S 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jims 7, 1888- 



Cor home with forty pounds of ferns trout, the largesl weigh- 

 ing 1| lbs., pretty good catch after all. We were perfectly 



satisfied, and, eating a good supper at Theodore's, we were 

 ready to start for home on Tuesday Bight atS P. M. with 

 rather ••> heavy road, for it rained all day Itondnj. But 



with a strong borse and stomachs well Idled we were on OUT. 

 way as happy as two clams in high water. Bill Bang and 

 nin'e in a while 1 joiued iu OB the ehonis, and the night 

 passed On. and Hie old hor*e jogged along and reached home 

 about 4 A. M., just in time to see the, lioys getting out with 

 the morning papers, and we regretted that we were loo late 

 to have any big lish stories iu that edition. H. 



Mi l, X. v., Mn y 27. 



ANGLING IN PIKE COUNTY. 



St > mtich lias been said of late about the backward season 

 all over the eountry for anglers, that I thought J 

 ote Decoration Day to testing the troth of such a 



I Mi ing statement. 1 had intended to make up a parly 



of lour rods, but two of iny friends were on jury duly, and 

 had i' drop OUt. That enthusiastic sportsman, Mr. I,. How- 

 ard, of Brooklyn, came up to time all beaming with smiles 

 and laden down with two fine fly-rods. 



There Were very gloomy predictions when we arrived at 

 MiiioiYi and old Jake Schorr shook his ten-story white ha1 

 dubiously when we told him that we were bent upon killing 

 one hundred tine trout or dying in the attempt. Jake said 

 il eould not be clone with fly, and cunning Petellanse would 

 have to snare them with mosquito netting. Kvcn our good- 

 natured host. Frank CrisSinali, WttS afraid we wen- on a 

 fool's errand, but promised to ti.\ things Up to the Queen's 

 taste. 



We made an early start on Decoration Day for the Pinuey 

 farm, with two rods, and coachman, red ibis and black gnat 

 ni rhe Bawklll Creek was low. and tlie woods were 



pretty full of lumber. We managed to fill our creels with 

 fifty 'line trout, one-third turning the scale at over a quarter 

 ol a pound. 



i-hed Frank Crissniun and Jake. Schorr to 

 to such an extent licit we determined to give the Sawkill 

 two days' more investigation, and so secured the services of 

 that genial youug sportsman, George Pinuey, who agreed to 

 ill" the favorite holes both on the meadow and in 

 the brook below Gammon's farm. We put in five hours of 

 solid work, from 6-80A.M, to 11 :30 A. M. and brought 

 back 175 trout, 120 of which were fit to be shipped to New 

 York the same night. Among them were five om pound 

 lish, fifteen half-pound and thirty that lipped the seal" at 



tmces. 



We gave the Sawkill a parting two hours' visit this morn- 

 iicr and secured 100 speckled beauties that made a good 

 Iwelve-pOUnd mess. We attribute our good fortune to 

 changing our Hies to a smaller size, using cow dungs, 

 gri/./.lv kings, queen of the water and royal coachman. 

 The water we waded through is still chilly, but with one or 

 tWO more warm days will make the trout -more lively, so 

 Unit. I think. on any good overcast day, after a shower, 

 r i CS Ol fi-h could easily be secured this month, un- 

 let i lie indefatigable colored sportsman, Jim Peggary. who 



: the banks all night, has whipped the streams to sell 



to Strang! re and what are known down here as New York 

 city folks. A. II. Mt'tiE. 



.MiLFunn, Pike Couiitj . Pa., Juno 1. 



dipping up of the small try of salmon and taken them to 

 Rungeleynnd other lakes without attempting to keep up a 

 supply at Sebago. This practice has made the inhabitants 

 about the lake somewhat angry, and they therefore justify 

 to some extent their own spearing in the fall. 



The Commissioners should in someway meet these spear - 

 ers half way in this business elsewhere 'than in the courts. 

 Sheri IT observed laws arc but poorly kept. The lake should 

 be replenished with its own kind as well as with the Grand 

 Lake fly-taking salmon. Then let the inhabitants under- 

 stand that il is for their own interest more than for that 

 of the strangers to do oulv the line fishing in its proper sea- 

 son. With'a well-slocked lake, the spearing barred, there 

 would be multitude- of strangers to be provided with boats, 

 bait, board and teams, dispensing money in liberal amounts. 



This hike is next iu size to Mooschcud. with deep, pure 

 water, is the principal feeder of Prosumpscot River; supplies 

 the city of Portland with water, and is hut about seventeen 

 miles from Portland by Portland & Ogdensburg R. R. 



I presume 11 is optional with the Fish Commissioners upon 

 which lakes and ponds in Maine they will bestow their 

 favors. The Hangeley has received many favors from the 

 board, which are greatly appreciated by all the frequenters 

 of those enchanting and enticing waters. Were there as 

 many influential men to solicit the attention of the Com- 

 missioners to Sebago Lake as at liangeley. and with such 

 liberality, these (Sebago waters would soon be comparatively 

 as rich in fish. It would afford more pleasure by far to a 

 greater number of ardent anglers than at Haugelev. It would 

 ,ui i lliespearcrs without the aid of the law. His not known 



generally what action the t lommissioners-wil] take in this mat- 

 ter, but 'it is hoped, so long as they have already undertaken 

 lo break up spearing by means of the law. that their good 

 work of replenishing this delightful lake is already deter- 

 mined. Be it, as it may, I here should be a concentrated effort 

 on the part of Maine, particularly the southwestern portion 

 of its inhabitants, heginnimr with the Governor, who resides 

 but seven or eight miles from it, as well as the anglers from 

 all portions of the State, lo induce the Commissioners to do 

 the liberal thing Tor Sebago, and for its first business I o re- 

 plenish it. then 1 think the "spears will lie beaten into prun- 

 ing hooks." WlSGATE. 



SEBAGO LAND-LOCKED SALMON. 

 Editor V"i 



Seeing a little slip in the Muinr .Yew* that J. Hamilton, 

 inlondent of the Portland* ( tgdensburg Railroad 

 Company, had landed a fifteen-pound land-locked salmon 

 while fishing on Sebago Lake, Maine. 1 wrote him in order 

 lo ascertain I lie particulars, at the same time congratulating 

 liim on the capture of so large a fish and expressing hope 

 that ihe strength exerted bv him in the conflict had hecn 



lulU restored to him. He wrote as follows: 



"Portland. Me.. May 86, 1888, Dear Sir— Your kind 

 favor of yeslci day is at hand. The salmon was a beauty; 

 thiitvaud a hall Inches long and nine inches deep; weighed, 

 alter being out of the water three days, fifteen and a half 

 pounds; was in line condition. I did not use much strength 

 in the capture, as I had only very light rigging; single 

 li-:i:|.-i, il.d-silk line ami an eight and a half split bamboo 

 rod; but I did have solid enjoyment lor a half hour; hail it 



all to myself, as I was alone in the boat. 1 caught ' the 



next morning of five pounds' weight and another of two and 

 a half; and as 1 could Only spend two days, think my luck 

 quite fair." 



The landlocked salmon of Sebago Lake are of a larger 

 si/.e than of all other lakes in Maine. So far as I have 

 learned, none have been taken with a fly. I have tried that 

 method tO my satisfaction, and I learn that one of the 

 former Ash commissioners tried the fiy two days without 

 success. The smelt (a native of the lake) is the principal, if 

 not the sole bait used. The smell run up the Songo and 



t 'rooked rivers during the last of April to spawn, the I 



as well as speckled trout following them up for food. I 

 may sav here that the smelt, during their spawning season, 

 are SO numerous that they are dipped up by the Ion and 

 peddled through the towns adjoining the lake. 



The land-locked salmon run up the same rivers during 

 September to spawn, Some of the inhabitants along the 

 banks and in the vicinity of these stream- are Use there 



willi torch and spear to give the salmon a bloody reception, 

 This. I have learned, has been their invariable custom for 

 many years lo a certain extent. These night catches have 

 i: i Led to tons during some fads, some of the flsh sealing 

 twenty pounds, the fifteen pound salmon being 

 quite common. 



I aui credibly informed that quite a number of individuals 

 wre deleted du.:ng the past fall in this illegcl fishing and 

 indicted, a few tried and convicted. The remaining indict- 

 ments are to hang over the parties for their good behavior, 

 as it were, in the future, 



i io doubt that these spearers enjoy this sport ( V ) with 

 tin results (aside from the penalties of the law) with 



as much zest as the visitor at the lake docs by taking the fish 

 trolling wilh thesmelton his finetackle and light rod; hence 

 Ihe difficulty in breaking it up. The question of spearing is 

 not, andean not be argued by those wdio indulge in Ibis 

 exterminating practice. They are fully aware of all the 

 I,, .'il in it. and its depleting results. The ex- 

 citement of ibis fishing one year and the penalty following 

 may, through a fancied revenge (on the innocent salmon), 

 induce a few to k< en their spears bright through use. 



oerally understood, Whether truthfully or not. that 

 the Commissioners have from time to time authorized die 



"FISH DAY" AT WORCESTER. 



SINCE the formation of the Worcester Sportsman'* Club, 

 nearly ten year ago, the annual hunt and game dinuer 

 has been the grand BOCia! event of the year: and when at the 

 annual dinner last fall Ciipl. C, A. Allen in his speech sug- 

 gested that the club might have a "fish day" with the same 

 pleasurable results, the members quickly "caught on," for 

 they saw at once that the project meant two grand dinners a 

 year instead of one. In a previous letter I mentioned that 

 the i plains were chosen, and the whole matter left in the 

 bauds of a committee consisting of Captains Allen and 

 Benoit and Secretary Hartwell. Thursday. May 81, was 

 selected as (he day for Ihe fishing, the dinner to be served on 

 Ihe evening of the following day. 



It. proved to lie tin- best fcroUl day of Hie season here in 

 Worcester county, and those members who fished near home, 

 as a Mile, did the best. Messrs. Colby and Porter, however. 

 made the big catch of the party somewhere in New Hamp- 

 shire, ('apt. Allen made the next best also in New Hamp- 

 shire. Quite a large party went lo Vermont and did next to 

 nothing, while A. Houghton fished neai home and caught 

 the best string brought in from Worcester county. Nearly 

 all the members fished for trout, though there were three 

 fine strings of perch and a few pickerel, these three being 

 the oulv kinds that Counted. 



There was a large party present at the Bay State House, 

 Thursday evening, to witness the count, which was to close 

 at 10 o'clock, those members who eould not get there to re- 

 port by telegraph before that hour. One splendid string 

 " i to I 'apt Allen because the party eould not reach a 



telegraph" station, The count resulted in a victory for Capt. 



O. A. Benoit. The scores were as follows: 



Capl, Benoit'.- sale— Alba Houghton, 12 trout. 8:1 points; 

 R. L. Gdlbert, J. F. Davenport and H. E. Smith, 117 trout, 

 2 pickerel, ISO points; A. B. F. Kinney. 86 perch. 6 

 points; J. 31 Drennan, 14 perch, 1 pickerel, (i points; D. C. 

 Sumner, 16 points, fish not reported; Colby and Porter, 540 

 points, lish not reported; A. II. Perry, 64 points, fish not re- 

 ported; total, S-l.i. 



Capt. Allen's side— C. A. Allen. 18 trout, 131 points; E. 

 T. Smith, It trout, 58 points; J. A. Titus, 10 trout, 50 points; 

 Charles Hartwell, 50 points, fish not reported; A. AY. Jpslyo, 

 23 perch. points; total, 290. 



The dinner, which was served at the Bay State House 

 Friday evening, was the best in the history of the club, 

 which is saying a great deal. The members, with the in- 

 vited guests," assembled in the parlors and spent an hour 

 socially before inarching to the dining hall at !) o'clock. 



K. 



\Yoi:eE3TEn, June i, 1883. 



From another account we take the following: 



The dinuer was served in the main dining-room, which 



never before presented so attractive an appearance. The 



hall was decorated with flags and implements used by 



sportsmen, Over the side-board was a glory of flags, faced 



with a network of fishing rods: at the rear was another 



glory of Hags suspended by rifles; over the tables hung 



glass balls, clay pigeons and fishing rods. 



mem:. 



Oyster; Served da Clay Pigeons. 



i Ders. , slice i Tomatoes. Lettuce; 



Boiled Kennebec Salmon :\ la IbillniKlai.se. 



Coiled Tui-noi ii I., Cay Slate _ 



Boiled Striped Bass, Anehovie Sauce. 



Eiltrer 

 Mayonaise oJ Lobster. Vatfo „r runners. 



Brook Trout in Aspie. 

 31a.vonaisc of Columbia Eiver Salmon, 



Fried Butter Fish In Crumbs. 



Fried Tautog, Cape Ann Style. 

 Fried Pickerel, Hunter Style. . 



Fried Pare B 



Boiled Connecticut ttiver Shad, Butter Sauce. „„ . , 



led Lake Trout, a la Mail n- a Hotel. 



Broiled Fresh Mackerel, Ih.il la.udu.ise Sauce. 



Baked Biuetish, Staffed, Genolse Sauce. 

 Baked Chicken, ETalfbirl Sauce Supreme. 



I lal . Black Bass, Wine Sauce. 



lotte Knsse, Assorted Cake. 



Coffee. 



Hon, Charles B. Pratt presided at the table, it each 



plate was a button-hole boquet with a glass ball as a holder. 



This, with pictorial menu and the clay pigeons for oysters, 

 was a very unique feature of the arrangement. 



it the' President's table were lion. Charles B. Piatt, His 

 Honor Mayor llildreth, Hon. T. C. Bates, J. N. Free, of 

 Boston. President of the Massachusetts Ride Association; 

 R T. Noble, President of the Maiden Sportsman's Club 

 and Secretary of the Massachusetts Glass Ball Association; 

 Alderman John R. Thayer, Col. W. S. B. Hopkins, Dr. 

 Albert Wood and President Parker, of the Common 

 Council. 



After the dinner there were short speeches. The first 

 was by Mayor Hildrcth, who said for some time he had 

 been trying to find out on which side he was; he was at last 

 satisfied that he was on the winning side. He was not a 

 fisherman like those prest i S, but he could catch them when 

 they came on the tabic. Senator Bates was full of anecdotes 

 at the expense of his twin, the president of the evening; his 

 stories of experiences at the State House amused the boys. 

 Next came Gen. A. B. R. Sprague ; his pairing off and the 

 results were stated as only the General can tell a story. 

 Alderman Thayer made reference to the good work the 

 club was doing "to elevate the standard of sportsmen. He 

 thought it would be an advantage if the business menwould 

 spend more time with the rod and the gun. Col. Hopkins 

 said he always had a liking for sporting; he was not a suc- 

 cess with the gun. but he took to fishing in his early- days. 

 He closed his remarks, like all the others, with a story. 



Remarks were also made by Col. J. A. Titus. 10. 0. Par- 

 ker, D. M. Earlc, O. A. Benoit, C. A. Allen, Dr. Raymen- 

 ton, president of the club, L. G. White, E, S. Knowles, H. 

 P. Verry, Charles S. Barton, also by Dr. Albert Wood, who 

 in very complimentary terms referred to the arrangement 

 of the tables, and the unique manner the hall was decorated, 

 as well as the remarkable bill of faie. He then referred to 

 the breaking down of the American people; the nervous sys- 

 tem is overworked, the men are breaking down at 35 and 40. 

 To avert this, out-door sports should be encouraged; more 

 half days should be given up to recreation, lo visiting the 

 field with the rod or the gun. Near the close of Ihe evening 

 remarks were made by .Air. Noble of Maiden: he closed with 

 the following sentiment: 



The Worcester Sportsmen's Club — An honor to the city 

 and the Association. We find its members always and 

 thoroughly "White" men, which is a "GoodeU" more than 

 can he said of some organizations. We wish there were 

 "Moore" like them. With "Hartwell'' pleased, they are 

 cordial to their "Newcomb" — ers, each one pronouncing 

 himself a "Maun." or, as 1 might say a "Holman" in every 

 respect. Strong" men there are among them, wdio for the 

 sport of the trap will tuavo the "Snow" and Ihe "Frost,'' 

 and on a "Day" when they are on their traps, will lay "Low" 

 their competitors with a "Sweet"-ness that is refreshing. In 

 a nutshell, they are "Verry'' good fellows, although caught 

 "Cutting" up now and then. "Never out of temper "Nor- 

 cross." invariably "Hateh"-ing up something for a "Wright" 

 good time; winning a "Garland" now and then to add lo 

 their wreath of laurels. With a "Shcpard" to faithfully care 

 for t hem and fheir guests always "Eager" for a contest at 

 the trails, and when "Holflen" about right it's a "Cole" day 

 when they get left. 



THE UNITED STATES DISPLAY AT 

 LONDON. 



(From the London Morning Post, May -22.] 

 f/N order to convey a definite idea of the importance of I he 



Fried Brook Trout With Salt Pork. 



United States departn 

 Exhibition it will, perhaps, 

 following few statistics of th 

 industries iu the Grand T 

 supplied by the American I 

 Goode. hi 1880 the numbi 

 fishery industries of the Unit 

 101,684 were fishermen, and 

 fleet of fishing boats was (i, 

 ,128, and -147804 boat 



international Fisheries 

 i well to make use of the 

 ual condition of the fishery 

 Ulantic Republic, kindly 

 nissioner. Mr. G. Brown 

 persons employed in the 

 ales was 181,420, of whom 

 emainder shoremen. The 

 uigmented (since 188 i) to 

 capital in- 



vested being actually about £40, 900,000. The value of the 

 fisheries of' the sea, great rivers, and lakes, was placed in 

 1880 at $48,046,053, and that of the minor inland waters at 

 §1,500.0*00, in all §44,540,0.33. In 1882 the yield of the 

 fisheries was much greater than in 1880, and prices both at 

 first hand and at wholesale were higher, so that a fair esti- 

 mate at wholesale market rates would place their value at 

 Hie present time rather above than below the value of $100,- 

 000,000. 



These figures will at once prove that the piscicultural 

 trades of a country whose coasts extend from arctical to 

 tropical regions, and which contains numerous inland seas, 

 are even iu their actual (by no means fully developed) con- 

 dition gigantic. In 1880 the Government of the United 

 States liberally assisted private enterprise, aud by its con- 

 tribuiioii contrived to make the American display in the 

 Berlin Fisheries Exhibition the principal feature of this 

 highly successful enterprise. The Government then voted 

 a sum equivalent to £5.000, but the exceptional proportion 

 of the present exhibition caused Congress first to vote a 

 special grant of £10,000, and then'a second of £2,500. The 

 nuuiber.of exhibitors amount to 250. and the amount of 

 materia] forwarded equals, if il does not actually exceed, 

 that of the British department. Hence, we may safely de- 

 clare that this section, after our own, is the most important 

 in the building, and it is at the same time the only one that 

 is really harmoniously designed. It is not a mere collection 

 of cases containing miscellaneous articles, often only vaguely- 

 connected wilh the subject of the exhibition, i.e., fishery 

 industries, but it is a complete and thoroughly well-thought- 

 out and designed collection of all manner of objects illus- 

 trative of the vast marine and fresh-water fisheries of the 

 United States. It is mainly due to the industry of tour indi- 

 viduals that this department presents so remarkably com- 

 plete an appearance— Professor Baird, United States Com- 

 missioner of Fish and Fisheries, Mr. G. Brown Goode, Mr. 

 R. E. Earll, and Captain J. W. Collins. These gentlemen 

 and several others connected with them have labored almost 

 incessantly for three years past to form this collection, 

 which is certainly worthy of their persevercnt hard work 

 and of their eoun'trv's reputation for enterprise.. 



The first and most sinking feature in the department is a 

 complete pictorial representation of almost every phase of 

 the fisherman's life, represented by a scries of from 000 to 

 700 large photographs, charcoal drawings, pen and ink 

 Sketches, and oil and water-color pictures arranged around 

 the rooms in consecutive order. These are supplemented 

 bv a number of casts of men and fish, and by models of 

 various vessels, fishermen's cottages, and fishing warehouses. 

 The result is. that the visitor barelj needs a snide or guide 

 book in order to understand all that he beholds. There is, 



