A.TJST381 9, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



27 



FISHERMEN'S EXPECTATIONS. 



IT la a matter of some curiosity how very, very mi oh 

 During an experience of about 



■ , ., n ion;. vcliug sportsmen I find that, as a 



i ,,!. r,. 3 too much i i lie ton o1 wse letters 



, ■ iri. in Annual visitors, wIki should 

 tow Uic different conditions which affect the ftp- 



.I, hi li-ii. [ find nu improvement, lf WIH we' eaten any? 



inj will we catch? Will we gel any big ones? 

 &tc inquiries which assail us poor residents from 

 ctouei every year. Providing we declare their 

 luck to be unprecedented, nnd their catch proves light, 

 about one-half of them will call us liars to our faces; and 

 who will .say without reason? Rut let us tell them that the 

 stati or the streams, the weather or 'heir experience will af- 



b i ■' I 'i :.. ■ ■■ catches are the exception 



rather than the rule; thai trout mature young, and lint few 

 under favorable conditions in [heir natural water grow to 

 weigh more ttasn a pound, nine out of every ten will turn on 

 their heel w iih an expression of petulant disappointment, 

 , facts; cold, heartless, unrelenting. Trout there 

 a it in i|iiantities ro salisl\ any person with ordinary desireSj 

 but Ihey eome . nul al all rimes, nor without considerable ex- 

 ertion. ' Because a famous trout stream runs past my door 



1 cannot stand on the doorstep wltll much chance of catch - 

 , ■ than one mail. These things are not really 



, ;, i', rgeltim'." but tin) show one weak side of the 



: j>oia>hiei]. Probably this weakness will continue 



till every trout fisherman passes one full year 



i i Real brothers of the rod", do 



. ;. . . iep1 v- m r catches, great or small, 



a- your luck. _ Coos. 



THE GREENBRIER HEADWATERS. 



W li^ ' l:lsl wrote you 1 was on the eve of starting to 

 V T the headwaters of lllu Gtocnbrier River, in Pocahontas 

 COUUly, West Va., and promised yon a note of results. \t 

 , ago. a friend and myself made the 

 ve.ui.utv lo ibis same region of country, except Ibal we did 

 Hi ii in quite so far on this trip, having stopped on top of the 

 Alleghany Mountains, ten miles Ibis side of the fiver, and 

 fished one of the tributaries, known as Deer Creek. Our 

 experience was anything but satisfactory, and one of your 

 lOni 1 hart the pleasure of knowing 

 - 1 1 ■_■ 1 1 i l \- when ;t citizen of our State, the gallant Col. C. Clay. 



tor What I said in my letter to the 



Stream about that trip, and very kindly told 

 Li light to have done, elc. This" summer, my 



i'm . , : .i I .i . ■ di tcrmined to try it again, and our perse- 



veranw i i a i] jvarded by one of the most delightful 



a, : : i : mils that iias ever befallen my wander- 



h 



On the Ibtli insi.. (Japt, James ISumgardner, of the famous 



old Stonewall Brigade, .and one of our most prominent; 



and lln most ard ti Bsherman I ever saw; .Mr. 



Henry Herring, a youth latelj from college, but full of vim 



iri ; Mr. John Myers, a genial and thrifty farmer ,,r 



iimmers, who loves the recreation afforded by a jaunt, 



to the wools, as a relaxation from the labors of harvest, but 



Who dot lareafls Jhing and yo ur humble, boarded 



our two-horse spring-wagon (which had been loaded the 

 evening before with icnt and other camp equipage), with one 

 nirtv on horseback, and Started at .5 A. IU". for Green- 

 brier River, seveuty mill 9 west. Our route was the Parkers- 

 hurg turnpike, over Seven Mountains, affording some of the 

 wiiiie -.1. ami Ltrandest scenery iii be found on this continent, 



to ■ m II )1 the many objects of interest in the way of 



dense forests, shapely map ( ing arches and vistas formed 



■ iiraueb.es of overhanging nee-, a tin Lisa id vai ietiesof 



fern, i nun ild flowers, and other attractionsso "well 



n to tin mountain tourist. These, together with the 



. i. of ci He- di friends.served to while 



ij .... vould itherwiseha' ib in a- tedious journey of 

 i .■ , On the second day, as the sun went down in 



brilliant Miiendor behind the lofty peaks Of the Great Cheat 

 Hou tain, we found ourselven ... o; ibly fixed in our 

 eamp. on the west side of the Greenbrier River, on the farm 



of the hospitable, farmer and successful hunter, Mr. Van 

 Bureu Arbogast, who. with his kind and excellent wife, did 

 all in their power to render our slay pleasant, by supplying 



us n I rich, sweet cream, butter, eggs, etc, 



i the morning of the third day the captain and Mr. II. 



tool le' path along the river on the mountain side, aud after 



walking .ii mil tip stream, commenced fishing down to 



up, n joining about -1 P. M.. each with his creel filled. 



i repute unwell myself, I did not get out of bed until 



after 9 o'clock, and about fl 1 rigged up my rod, anj. started 



along out about a mile below camp, 



at 1 o'clock I returned to camp with thirty-five very nice 



I- o hours fishing iu the very Worst part 



of ihe il b i i tl I em ugh E or all to feast on at din- 



Tlie,so were cleaned and cooked, ready when the Other 

 ' rs of the party arriv, d. After doing' ample justice to 

 tlii i 1 1 e set about cleaning the rest of the fish, and find- 

 ing Men w isOuianj more than. we could possibly use, 



even after giving Mr. Arbogosl all that he eoedd make use 

 of in his family, we resolved thereafter not to creel any fish 

 le ■ iliiiu eight inches, and during the rest of our stay WO re- 

 tun.i d all the small fry to the stream as fast as caught. The 



proportion Of small fish was unusually great for a Btrt! 



large us le Greenbrier, but Still m I ad : ce than enough 

 of large ones to satisfy our every want, and to gratify our 

 sanguine expectations and desires of sport. In the 

 three days of fishing— during which 1 was only able to put 

 iu six hours iu all, owing to sickness— the three of us caught 

 ,ei i 100 trout, fhe other two gentlemen putting in about, six 

 hours each per dav. As before remarked, a large portion of 



I . small, hut fully one-fourth of those caught were 



[roil] eight (u thirteen inches in length, and the gamiest tish 

 ■ i ■ '■■■ The brown and gray hackles were the favorite 

 Hies, though from an experiment made by one of the party 

 with a few ■ed worms, 1 am satisfied that many more li.sli 

 liould have been taken with that standard bait than with the 

 artificial llics. Tiut who would fish with a worm, when a 

 fish will take a lly at tOW 



On Monday afterO-OOOj about t! o'clock, a tremendous 

 iiuu our camp, and the rain poured in torrents 

 I. supp r was over, and we wen 



going to bed, it commenced to rain again, and throughout 

 the whole night the floods befit upon our tent, which defied 

 all efforts of die water to penetrate it. But in the moj flirt 

 it wasapparent that our fishing was "dose for" — the river 

 had commenced to rise— atd -Mr. Arbogast informed n 

 ibal in a few hours il would be past fording. So 

 we hastily packed up. and just made the opposite side in 

 lime i,i a v'oid a Hood which would ha i I us several 



days in eamp. without being able to fish. So we reluctantly 

 turned our steps homeward. 



To any party of gentlemen Who love nature in all her sub- 

 limity and grandeur, who love camp life, who love good 

 trout fishing, and who are not afraid to "rough it" a little. 

 I would recommend, if you want to gel all these things coin- 

 billed, take a trip to the' east, fork of" Greenbrier River. If 

 you don't want to eamp out. there in a nice quiet retreat. 

 known as Trawlers' Repose, where (fhli turnpike I BH thi 

 river (two miles below where we camped) kept by a Mr. 

 Yager, whore good accommodations can be had at a very 

 moderate price And no doubt Mr, Arbogast would aeeom- 



small party for a few days upon application to. him, 



at Travelers' Repose, Poeahonies county, West Va. In the 

 fall the. country around there affords the very best sport in 

 deer, turkey, and grouse hunting, all of which are said to he 

 unusually abundant this year. We saw one very larg fii rck 

 of turkeys on the Alleghany Mountains Close to 1 road 

 ami I noticed the borings of woodcock in several places 

 along the river bottom, but did not see but one bird. The 

 route would be via Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to this place, 

 thence to Travelers' Repose, seventy miles bv wagon, tliioiigh 

 a country of Which it is impossible to describe the beauties. 

 Wagon, 'team, and driver can be had here for so per day, 



Jack, 



SMC.NT..N, Va., July ^8. 



LAKE GEORGE, INDIANA. 



THIN KING that some of your readers in this part Of the 

 country mighl like to know of a good place to spend 

 a few days fishing and hunting, the corning fall, I will give 

 iliem a "pointer" bv saying "go to Lake George, Indiana." 

 Being in Chicago bc-t week, ai lending the State shoot, I had 

 the pleasure of forming the acquaintance of dipt, Dick 

 Turtle, the affable president Of the. Lake George Sporting 

 Association, a true sportsman iu every sense of the word, 

 and one of the finest taxidermists in the United Stales; and 

 as he and several member-, of the association were about to 

 spend a few days at the lake fishing, Ihey suggested that 1 

 go along, an invitation which was quickly accepted, and 

 the same evening found us on our way to the lake. The 

 route is over iho'Miebigan Central to Whiting, Ind., seven- 

 teen miles east of Chicago, thence inland about two miles. 

 where the Association owns one. of the neatest club houses 

 in the Stale, fitted up with every convenience and capable 

 of accommodating forty persons, and presided over by Mrs. 

 W. Gallagher and her three daughters, who eater to the 

 comforts of the iunet mini. Twenty rods from the. club 

 house stands the hoat house, in which are Stored thirty -two 

 boats, owned by the members. The lake is one of a chain, 

 and is about one-half mile wide by five long, and along each 

 side is Illicitly SOWn wilh wild rice, which makes il, lam 

 told, one 61 the finest shooting grounds in thai part of the 

 State i eeialiy when a heavy wind is blowing on Lake 

 Michigan, as then theducksall makefor the protected water. 



Arriving at the lake, and after a hearty supper, prepara- 

 tions were made for a fish the next morning, which having 

 been completed the alarm was set and we retired to dream 

 of "pickerel and pass." Awaking bright and early, we 

 donned our fishing suits and started up the lake to the "out- 

 let," where Dick said we would have no trouble in "catch- 

 ing a ton," and where we did catch sixty-three before ten 

 A. M., consisting of black bass, perch aud pickerel, the 

 sizes varying from four inches to eighteen and averaging 

 about ten. 1 have been told that bass weighing 7-J lb-, were 

 taken there this year, and as many as 1(17 perch caught iii 

 one day by a single line. 



Our party was composed Of Dick, Cad. Doug, Clare. 

 Mollie, Lulu and myself. Lulu catching the largest string 

 and catching a ducking. 1 spent time days (here and they 

 were a repetition of the first; in the afternoons it was swim- 

 ming aud glass hall shooting, and the evenings fishing or 

 catching frogs aud minnows for bail. My visit was a con- 

 tinual round of pleasure, and my only regret was that 1 

 could not staylonger. However, when (lie season opens f 

 hope to again' renew the acquaintances so pleasantly formed 

 aud make the stay much longer. Camp Bell. 



sir. t.i.iiis. Mo. , July 30. 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 

 VX7 R have just had one of the heaviest rains of the season. 

 \ T and much damage has been caused by it. Our rivers 

 and streams will be iu no condition for bass fishing for sev- 

 eral davs to eome. as the waters are v<:ry muddy, and it will 

 take fullythaf time before they will clear. 



Mr. Ol'ias. Davis, of Chabd's Ford, Pa., tells me that bass 

 fishing itt the Brandywini as never iKen better where he 

 resides than thi ; Some very large bass are being taken 



iu the Susquehanna River above the railroad bridge at 

 ■ ! race, find with minnow bail. Our veteran angler, 

 Mr. Chss. Vogel, was the first lo discover this ground a good 

 one I wo or three years ago, wdien it had always been' Sup- 

 posed better localities were lo lie found further up the 

 stream. 



At, Belteriou. Md,, perch fishing has begun in earnest, 

 and I am informed that although the general run of flsb is 

 not ! a e i iliev are very numerous, and my informant stales 

 thai mi some davs the lish were as heavy as any he ever 

 look. The run of very large perch seldom takes place at 

 BetterUrt) before the last of August, but it would - 

 year ii will be earlier. Crabs likewise are plentiful there 

 this season and furnish all the bait necessary, Old fisher- 

 men at Retterton always look for a good season's perch fish- 

 ing when crabs are numerous. Bluefishing at Barnegat has 

 continued fine throughout the entire week, aud will likely 

 remain SO until September. 



Sea Isle City. X. J., is looming op as a fishing point. 

 Just now the waters of Towm-end's Inlets, which are the 

 angling grounds for the visitors of this new city, are attract- 

 ing many fishermen. Shcepshead, kiugfish aud weaktish 

 are repotted plentiful. The hull of the wrecked .steamer 

 Nupbar, which was lost last spring, lies in the channel 

 firmly anchored and abandoned with" her cargo of pig irpn. 

 Next year she will be covered with barnacles, the favorite 

 feed of the shcepshead, blackllsh and sea bass, aud will 

 attract many. Capt. Smith, the bayman par . 

 these waters, is a capital pilot, knows all about where and 

 when to take the fish, and wdial is best to take them with, 

 and his services should he sought hy all who visit the locality 



Philadelphia, August 4. Ho Mo. 



&MGXING Talks.— By George Dawson A collection in 

 hook form of the "Winter 'talks on Summer Pastimes," 

 published in the FottEST 4WD Srni-' \m. See .id vertiserncnt 



elsewhere. 



ffnccE C \me the Fish?— Some months since I wrote 

 regarding a lake in Dakota which, prior To spring of 1881. 

 contained no fish, but since that dale large quantities of 

 pickerel have been taken from it. and that with the rudest 



ed, hit 



pounds, and not varying 

 quarter of a pounds— in 



rids was the case a year 

 lish are larger; but they 

 ss or Other fish have been 

 The people 

 from 



All the fish caught, 1 In 

 n pickerel weighing about three 

 length an inch or in wchdit a 



short being .ill of thesamt agi T 



since, and Ibis year. Ot con 

 are all of the same specii s. 

 taken. Now where did these lish come from 

 who live near the lake have a theory that t 

 the Big Sioux River, the whole country being overflowed 

 that spring; but if this is so, why did not the bass and buf- 

 falo accompany the pickerel, for the river contains these fish 

 also'.' And now I have to report that another lake, about 

 thirty miles from the first mentioned, has been found this 

 spring to be well stocked with pickerel, all about seven 

 inches long, and also with quite small sunfish. Since the 

 settlement, of the country, about live years, no fish have been 

 found iu this lake except minnows, aud there is no stream 

 running into or out of if, except sloughs or swales carrying 

 the overflow of the prairies, and they are dry for several 

 months of the year, [i is u beautiful sheet of water wilh 

 about thirty miles of shore, containing no alkali, but, clear, 

 wholesome' water, and growing water lilies and pickerel 

 weed, and is the breeding place for numberless ducks, and 

 the great stopping place for the spring and fall flight of 

 geese, swan, brant and pelicans. There seems to be no rea- 

 son why it should not have contained fisfi for ages, but it 

 has not. and 1 want to know if you or any of your readers 

 are able to inform me why not, and also now that they have 

 come, where they came from and how it happens that the 

 bass have not also put in their appearance. — Hasbt Hrx- 

 TElt. [We cannot give an opinion from the data. Fish 

 often appear in waters in a way that seems unaccountable.] 



TOT Hkk.mit ov Van Bibber's Roc.,, cm the .south 

 bank of the Kanawha River, Vie, Van I '.ibber's Rock rises 

 abruptly in huge proportions and overhangs the smooth 

 broad basin just below the falls The glassy surface of the 

 basin stands 'in strong contrast with the furious wafers which 

 rush over the granite ledge ai a short dislance above it, 

 hurled against obstructing rocks by the giant hand of 

 Nature, and dashed high into the air in frosty spray. The 

 position of the rock shuts out from view all evidences of 

 civilization, and the rising mountains on every side make 

 the scene wild and picturesque. In this lonely place, in a 

 deep crevice in the rock, is the habitation of a' hermit, fie 

 is not like the hermit of rouiaiie ages, where Scott sought 

 hissubieels.ii monk iu retirement, nor Timon ofAii, 

 cursing the ingratitude of his friends, in solitude, but has 

 flown from domestic infelicities and the broomstick of a 

 tormenting spouse. Old Payne, the hermit, was at one 

 time (before the war) a slave in Eastern Virginia, and it only 

 requires a look to be satisfied of this fact. His hair is as 

 white as the foam on the falls, and is kinked together like 

 the wool of a Southdown sheep, and he stands as erect, iu 

 his battered raiment as a Roman Senator, nis occupation 

 is chiefly to sit on the protruding rocks of his home and east 

 over into the water beneath his hook aud line — fighinj 

 affording both provision and entertainment. He knows 

 where to find the curative herbs and roots which abound on 

 the side of the mountain-. Ind disposes of them to the peo- 

 ple of the valley, and in return they add to his apparel and 

 small comforts of his home. As for himself, however, he 

 has not in twenty years required the use. of physic. Thus 

 he lives, year after year, without companions, to be found 

 some day wrapped in his old woolen blanket in the dark 

 corners of his cavernous home, embracing the last sleep. 

 G/mapeakt & OJiio E. U. Zephyrs. 



Save the Woods,— New Fork, July 35.— BHitot Forest 

 and Str< <>m: I notice that an effort is being made lo protect 

 the woods by means of an association, which is intended to 



turn the attention of the people to thai matter. In inv an- 

 nual trips to the woods this thir/fi has i been forced 'upon 

 my notice. I went in by way of Port Kent and Keeseville 

 to' the Saranacs m L869, and most of the way from Keese- 

 ville was a Scene Of desolation. The woods had all been cut 

 down and turned into charcoal for the use of the iron manu- 

 facturers. So unpleasantly dill this affect me that I have 

 never mustered courage to go over thai road again. For a 

 good many years I have cnteicd by the way of Boonevillc. 

 At first there seemed to be very little destruction of the 

 forests south of Moose River, where we cross, it and enter 

 the woods, beyond what was done by the settlers in clearing 

 the land. Then we passed through some good sized pieces 

 of woods, but within the past five years this has almost dis- 

 appeared. First the hemlock went' to give bark to the tan- 

 neries, and the balance followed lo make charcoal or to go 

 to the chemical factories. After entering the woods you 

 will find that the tannery men have worked through ' the 

 woods fully half .way to the Forge House for hemlock, and 

 judging by the immense piles of bark at Moose River the 

 'hemlock was thinned out with great rapidity. There seems 



to limit to the rapacity <>f these people. It is high 



lime thai something was done to put a stop to the whole 

 business. — J. R-. J ft. 



BbUEFisin.xo OH GitKAT Socti! Bay.— The persistent 

 netting on Great South Bay, Long Island, has done its work, 

 and the bay no longer yields fish to the angler or dollars to 

 the hotels" and boat owners. The prosecutions of illegal 

 fishermen by the Protective Association seem to be unpopu 

 lar among the dwellers by the bay . and even the newspapers 

 there are begging to have justice "let up on the poor fel- 

 lows." That these "poor fellows' have been killing the 

 auriferous goose for years seems not to he taken into ac- 

 count. A gentleman who has fished the bay for years has 

 shown us his diary, which tells the story most perfectly, 

 fl, its condensed form it is as follows: I fii 7 and 78, fishing 

 ; limes, 194 fish, average 38 each day: :*Th. !J times, 470 

 tish, average ."i-J each ciay; L880, 7 times, 267 tish, average 

 B8 each day; 188 U 8 times, all fish, average 7 each day: 

 1883, fi times. fish. 



Lake Una. way.— Monsou. Me., July :jt). - Mr. E. H. Ger- 

 rish, the well-known Ship Pond, Long Pond and ElliottH.- 

 ville guide, was here last week en route for those popular 

 resorts. He has a set ot comfortable camps at liayues 

 Beach, on the north shore of Lake Ouaway, where he has 

 plenty of boats, canoes, etc. He will be prepared to furnish 

 all who visit that section With good camp fare from now 

 until October to. as he i- fl favorite le 



reports continue to he received from tie 



lation fca catching land locked i I itti £ 



te.— .1 F S 



