FOREST AND STREAM. 



15 r 



Jf*# and Siv&[ Jjfishing. 



FISH IN SEASON^N FEBRUARY. 



SOT/THEltN WATEH3. 



Pompano, TrcmMnotu BUtrolinus Grouper, Ephv.phelpunnigritv«. 

 Drum (fma species). Family Stf«(- Trout (Muck baas); o,j 



atrarvis. 

 Riu.'hsh, JfcnfcWrnis nebuloMis. Striped Bass, or Kockflsh, Rocctui 

 ocellatu*. Itneatut. 



. ,......■. T::iIim ,.,■,■;■-. 



etfihalw. Black Bass, Mieropterw ealmoidee 



Snapper, Lidjanus blaekfordii. M. paUU-us. 



Fish is Market— Eetail Prices.— Bass, 25 cents; smelts, 10; 

 bluefitth, 15 ; salmon, 35; mackerel, 20 ; shad, i0; weakfish, 15; 

 while peJch, 12}4\ Spanish makerel, 50 ; green turtle, 14; terrapin, 

 318 per dc^.: frost fish, fi ; halibut, 18 ; haddock, fi ; kingfieh, 15; 

 codfish, 6 ; blaukfish, 15 : Barring, 6 ; iloondera, 8 ; Be&b'ass, 15 ; 

 eels, 18 ; lobBtera, 10 ; sheepshead, 20 ; scallops, 80 per quart ; 

 whitelUh, 16 ; pickerel, 15; salmon trout, 35; red snapper, 15; 

 smoked haddook, 12; smoked salmon, 16; dry ood, 7; hard 

 orabs, 52,50 per 100 ; soft clams, 60 per 100. 



During the early part o£ last week there were over 2,000 

 pounds of bluefish caught on the North Carolina coast ; they 

 averaged seven pounds each. This is the latest ever known 

 for bluefisk to be taken on our coast. From two to lour 

 thousand pounds striped bass are taken every day during the 

 past week on the Hudson in vicinity of Peekskill. 



Moonshine. — We have some interesting articles upon the 

 moonlight and fish, question which we shall publish in our 

 nest issue. 



—We call attention to the advertisement this week of the 

 Arlington Hotel at Gainesville,Florida. Gainesville is on the 

 Fernandina and Cedar Keys railroad. By a coincidence we 

 received reports of the fishing there from three different per- 

 sons by one mail. This locality seems to have been overlooked 

 by anglers. 



Movemkn-ts or the Fishing Fleet.— Ten fishing arrivals 

 have beta reported at this port the past week, 4 from the 

 Banks, 4 from Georges and 2 from Grand Menan. The Bank- 

 Bra ave a, the receipts for the week being 90,000 



lbs. halibut, but the arrivals are well distributed and lair 

 prices arc realized. The prospect ou Georges is quite en- 

 couraging, if the fish. continue in their haunts until the fleet 

 fits away. The vcsscIb engaged find g.iod fishing for cod, 

 and most o£ them brine in small lots o£ halibut. The Georges 

 receipts for the week foot up 100,000 lbs. cod and 25,000 lbs. 

 halibut. — Cape Ann Advertiser, Jan. 31. 



New Bedford, Feb. 3.— To-day r s boat brought off from the 

 Vineyard about a barrel of smelts, the first of the season. 

 Eels are extremely plenty owing to the thics: ice, which en- 

 ables the fi-hennen to reach them easily with spears. Sea 

 fowl also very plenty, as they gather iu flocks around the 

 air-holes. Pickerel iishiug is at a standstill, as the ice, fifteen 

 inches thick, is rather too much for pleasant cutting. 



ConortA. 



Smelts have been in the New York market for a month 

 selling at the rale of four pounds for twenty-five cents. 



Shelter Island, L. I., Jan. 30. — The pound-net fishermen 

 are busy getting ready their nets and pound-stakes, and will 

 begin then' work as BOOB as the ice disappears in February. 

 The bunker-fishers are getting their vessels in order for the 

 spring fishing and collecting their crews ; and one fish factory 

 bi-re is having a steamer built lor tho service down in Maine, 

 where they build good and cheap vessels. Isaac 



Tbhxbsbeh — Nashville, Jan. 30. — A very large Jewfish, 

 taken near Pensucola, was sent here the other day aud placed 

 on exhibition for several days. It weighed nett "i5i pounds, 

 The head and mouth were large and resembled somewhat the 

 large river cattish. Its color was a dark blue. The flesh was 

 Whlteimd in large flakes, and the flavor not unlike halibut. 

 It was the first one of its kind ever seen here, and attracted 

 considerable attention, Khad in considerable quantities are 

 being received from Savannah. Now that the freshet in the 

 Cumberland is subsiding, the pot-fishermen will make sad 

 havoc with their nets of the fish as they begin to return from 

 the many small tributaries. J. O. H. 



\iMuRDOcn: Laee Club.— St. Louis, Jan. 30. — The annual 

 meeting of the club was held at Barnum's Hotel on the even- 

 ing of the first Monday Of the present mouth, and D. L. Dick- 

 inson was elected as Presiden* , Secretary and Treasurer for 

 the ensuing year (this being his third term). His report of 

 receipts and expenditures for the.past year was read and ac- 

 cepted, aud showed that although we had passed through 

 hard times our club was still holding its own. We had some 

 forty odd members who paid yearly dues, and fifty-six trip 

 ticket visitors. These included made 194 visits to the club 

 house during the past year. Fishing and duck shooting was 

 remarkably good durinLi the spring and early summer, and we 

 had glorious fun with the gamy black bass and the less pre- 

 tentious oroppie. Our register kept at the club house shows 

 that a large pr if the fish were taken in the first 



half of the year, as from some cause they did not take the 

 bait well during the late fall. Total catch, 2,21)0 black bass, 

 and 4,380 croppie, not a large number for so many visitors, 

 but enough to give an abundance for eating during our stay 

 at the club house. But don't we have jolly good times there, 

 when we get away from the wear and tear of business, and 

 launch our boats (of which we have about twenty) and cau- 

 tiously approach the favorite lurking places of the sharp- 

 biting bats. Some of our, most expert fishermen take sixty 

 to eighty in a day. Then we return at night to find a com- 

 fortable club house and meet around our well rilled supper 

 table to recount the various adventures of the dav. Then, 

 indeed, all feel it is good to be there. Our club is "composed 

 of good solid men, and includes members of the varied pro- 

 fessions, not leaving out clergymen, physicians, etc. We 

 have a committee appointed to confer with our Stale Fish 

 Commissioner " Heed" for the purpose of taking proper steps 

 to increase the stock of fish iu our lake, by propagation or 

 otherwise. I sec by some notices recently the sportsmen of 

 Illinois gre to hold a hold a Slate Convention at Springfield 

 on the 12lh Feb., aud I expect some representatives of our 

 club will attend. We must see to it that our waters and 

 game preserves shall be protected from the netters and pot- 

 hunters who uiC depleting our stock of fish and annihilating 



our game. Hereafter we shall hold our annual meetings in 

 March, as members are not inclined to be enthusiastic about 

 fishing in mid-winter. d. l. d. 



«a A S T ° STnEOBO;s ' AH » its P Abashes.— Menasha, Wis., Jan. 

 20— Editor Forest and Stream : A couple of sixteen-year-old 

 boys yesterday speared the old settler of all sturgeon in inland 

 waters. Gross weight, 212 lbs.; dressed, 131 lbs.; length, 

 -ft. 4m. ; spread of tail, ISin. It was speared with spears 

 such as are used for pickerel. He was plump and round as a 

 barrel, but had a lamper or lamprey eel fast on his back about 

 two feet from his tail. This sturgeon, the big one, was caugh 

 in .Little Lake, Butte rle-s Moris, just below the City limits. It 

 is nearly 100 pounds heavierthnn sny ever caught here before. 

 Lake about two and a half miles long and half a mile widet 



S. L. H. 

 Our observation has led us to believe that each species of 

 fresh water fish to which these parasites attach themselves are 

 preyed upon by a variety peculiar to itself. 



Few York, for there are bu' <ew lakes with such rocky sandy 

 bottoms and pure crystal water as our lovely old Winnipis- 

 siogee. E. M. Mbsbkhgbh. 



Tho trout sent us are beautiful specimens of their species. 

 Concerning their characteristics we extract the following from 

 the " Sportsman's Gazetteer," where the subject is fully dis- 

 cussed : 



In Lakes Winnipissiogee and Monadnock, in New Hamp- 

 shire, there is a trout so different from other recognized 

 species that its individuality is admitted by scientists. It is 

 known as the Saltan symmetrica. Its form is slender, sym- 

 metrical; that of tbe<wfl/f*raa is thicker and shorter. There 

 is a marked difference in the dental systems, and in the colors 

 of body and fins. The confmis, when first caught, is of a 

 bluish-black on sides and body; white below; sides of head 

 and body, base of first dorsal, caudal and anal fins crowded 

 with numerous rounded, irregular gray spots. The symmetrica 

 is light to dark brown on back and head ; sides dark gray 





vV 



The Gbeat PAKHOT-FrsH (S. Quacamaia).— The specimen 

 from which the accompanying drawing was made was origin- 

 ally taken off Vera Oruz, Mexico, in the Bay of Campeche. 

 It was caught, however, by your artist at rather a curious 

 fishing ground, for he fished it out from among alligators, 

 snakes, black bears, wild cats and hummiug birds. The bait 

 used to catch it with was the end of a lead-pencil, a tolerably 

 glib tongue and a smattering of natural history. In other 

 words, he found the specimen at the taxidermist's, Wallace 

 (with whom many of your sportsmen readers are well 

 acquainted as an expert who " seis up " their rare specimens 

 in an artistic and life-like manner). 



The odd beak-like mouth and large scales, upon which still 

 lingered traces of some of the brilliant colors it wore during 

 life, proclaimed at once tbe specimen to be a representative 

 of that large and beautifully decorated tribe of cyclolabroid, 

 called the parrot-fish. It measured three feet one inch from 

 tip of nose to tip of tail and thirteen inches maximum width, 

 and probably weighed thirty pounds or over. From the color 

 remaining on the scales I could form a presumably correct 

 idea of its apearance when alive, with its brilliant bluetsh- 

 green back, green fins and bright yellow belly. When seen 

 in this gay dress it is not difficult to understand why it was 

 named the parrot-fish. 



The large scales which cover the body range from twentv- 

 one to twenty-five in number along the longitudinal line, and 

 from eight to ten in vertical line ; nine spiney, ten articulate 

 dorsal rays; two spiney and eight articulate anal rays. The 

 most curious fact connected with the anatomy of the sea-par- 

 rot is the manner in which the teeth are renewed after having 

 been worn away browsing among the calcareous beds of coral 

 The teeth are incorporated with the bone and arranged in an 

 intricate manner in crowded quincuxes, the oldest teeth upon 

 the outer or cutting edge. As these are woru away new ones 

 form behind them, take their place and iu turn become the in- 

 cisors, thus furnishing this fortunate creature with an inex- 

 haustible supply of teeth and without tbe disagreeable and ex- 

 pensive luxury furnished by modern dentists. When worn 

 the teeth present Darrow elipses of dentine surrounded by 

 enamel. The lips are fleshy and simple. 



These fish— of which there are about one hundred varieties 

 —are found among tbe coral reefs of both the East and West 

 Iudies; but the host known is the parrot-fish of the Mediter- 

 ranean, of which we find frequent mention among ancient 

 writers. Cuvier was of the opinion that the Scarus eretitus 

 of Adrovandus is the species celebrated by the ancients by 

 whom it was endowed with most wonderful qualities and in- 

 telligence. They attributed to this seams a voice, and further 

 asserted him to be a sort of good Samaritan, going about do 

 ing good to his neighbor by releasing all unfortunate fish 

 found entangled iu the nets set for them by their enemy— 

 man. It was also believed that this species alone among all 

 fish slept at night and had the power of ruminating. The, 

 parrot-fish was highly esteemed as a delicacy, the flesh being 

 tender and palatable. (This on written authority, for I bftve 

 never tried for myself.) They were cooked like woodcock— 

 without removing the intestines— and are so cooked and 

 served to the present day. Elipertius Optatus, commander 

 of the Roman fleet in the time of Claudius, sailed to Greece 

 with the object of obtaining large supplies of these fish with 

 which to stock the Italian seas. 



So "there is nothing new under the sun." Even our great 

 and enthusiastic piscatorial culturist, Seth Green, but follows 

 in the path trodden by his ancestors many hundred years re- 

 moved, dan C. Beabd. 



Lake Winhipissiogee Trout.— Boston, Feb. 2.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: Our Mass. laws reach the lake trout and 

 to; bid possession, while in New Hampshire it is specially ex- 

 empt and allowed taken in Jan., Feb. and March, so these 

 delicious fish I send you are about half contraband. While I 

 consider them scarcely excelled by S. salar or S. fontmalis 

 as a table fish, yet I dispute the propriety of giving them the 

 same protection, so I resort to the only present available sport 

 and go up to "Winnipissiogee a few days. I took fourteen. 

 average weight, two pounds. Presuming you may not have 

 seen a specimen from that water, please pronounce upon their 

 edible qualities. Prof. Agassiz classed them as differing from 

 those inany other water. They are, perhaps, much finer and 

 handsomer than similar fish taken from the lakes of Maine or 



above lateral line, and light salmon below ; pectoral and ven- 



trals gray 1 he whole fish, including fins, is thickly sprinkled 

 with small circular spots of a drab color ou side;, olive on 

 back approaching to light salmon below. They are Caught in 

 great abundance with the hook in winter, through , he ice! 

 and are highly es remed for the table. It is hardly worth 

 ^•l 'it? T ' t, !, ,duoe fglments to convince the skep- 

 tical ; our readers will not care much whel her there is one 

 species or a dozeD, if so be that they only bite well. 



Trout Jumping fop. Oxygbs.— The recent cold weather de- 

 stroyed ihe. trout fishery of I. C. Frazier, between Truckee 

 and Lake Tahoe. . The trout require fresh running water, and 

 When the supply u cut off it is impossible for tbem to survive 

 more than two or three days. On Tuesday night the I earner- 

 attire was twenty-four degrees below zero. t olid ice filled all 

 he ditches from the restrvoir to the fish ponds. Ice covered 

 the various ponds to a great depth, aud all the outlets were 

 choked with massive cakes of ico. Not a drop of fresh waier 

 could reach the imprisoned fish. When holes were cut in the 

 surface of the ponds the large beautiful trout would leap clear 



waier lacked. The fishery was the finest one on the Sierra 

 Nevada.— Truckee (Nev.) Republican. 



Mr Size or ran Black Bass op Flobtoa (Qrystes pallidus).— 

 We have never seen in Florida or elsewhere such a heavy 

 string of black bass as that referred to below by our corres- 

 pondent. The diagram measure 2iJ inches in length. The 

 average of six pounds to fifty fish is still more remarkable : 



_„ „ Gainesville, Fla.. Jan. 27, 1S79. 



Bditos Forest and Stbeah: 



I send you opines of a black bass, one out of a string of flfty, canght 

 at a large lake called Payne's Prairie, about two and a Half miles south 

 of bameavllle. Tne flfty weighed a llute over 300 pounds, so you will 

 see they make a T Crj good siring. This flak was put, upon the In- 

 closed sheet of paper, and marked out just as he lay ; weight, 12 H lbs 

 xuere were several nearly as large, from s to lljrf ibs. each. This is 

 not au exceptional siring either in number er size. In fact have often 

 seen larger of both ; saw one llsh (bass) on the street the other day 

 which turned V* «u« at 20 lbs,, cau ? *t by a darkey. These black 

 bass, ahvays called trout here, are very plentiful lu all of these lakes 



l^ZT , rT" 1U K1 °" C,a ' and t,,ey avera « e lar « e . "1'uriag 

 strong tackle for their capture, and good muscle In the fisherman is 

 necessary to land them mccessfully. We often have "whales" get 

 bold which take spoon and part of line with them, and that without 

 auj ceremony-merely a strike, a b,g tag, and he Is off. We in the 

 3ast have heard of big men taking spoons ; here It la the big tlah that 

 taKe them. I have often wondered what they do with them, for have 

 never heard of any being found in their possession In either case: 

 ",'f ^ e m > either work them out of their mouths or perhaps die, 

 while the men can more easily dispose of them. 



We can catch these bass with a strong rod, line and reel, using live 

 bmt, or with spoon hook, the latter being mostly used by ihe aarkeva 

 and natives, who seem to be generally successful, and notice that at 

 turns the live bait will be taken, while the spoon will not be touched ■ 

 at another time it is the snoon which catches tho largest string 



W hat glorious weather we are having for fishing and hunting The 

 toys are nearly all alike, mild and pleasant, some of them quite warm 

 v»e pull off our coats about an hour alter tanrlse, and they are for- 

 got! en until sundown. All this while you are blocked up with snow 

 and surrounded with tee. 



Tours In haste, c 0- G _ 



Ga inesvili«, Fla., Jan. 26, 1878. 

 Tnere is very good black bass ashing here, parties catching thirty 

 to fifty a cay, ranging in weight from one pound to twelve I have 

 seen several of the latter weight, and they seem very large to me who 

 has never caught any larger than three to four pounds in the St. Law- 

 rence River Mr. J. B. Wistar keeps a good house here called tie 

 Arlington, which I am pleased to recommend. g. ji. j. 



„,. . -i Gainesville, Fla., Jan. 2T, IS'S. 



Blac* basa fishing good in the lake near this town' I went lisuinir 

 twice last week. Jflrrt day canght thlrry- ei g lu . basa m four hours 

 total weight, mnetjpbtroaa. Canght second cl ,y thirty-live bass, two 

 of tbem welgn.ng Bitot pounds each. i saw saveral (Ian thsfjrer 

 cau^nt which weighed from eleven to twelve pound- nana Gre»test 

 catch replied last wee.,, ste-y-ntna bass, by one person l.oueday. 

 b^ckici perch W gooU size are now beginning to bite. This locality 

 has been overlooked by the lovers of good Bghine. 



Joseph Willcox, Philadelphia, Pa. 



—See Bohemian G-lasa Company's advertisem ent. 



