26 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Ai.srsi 9, ism. 



In the Indian Territoiiv.— Sedalia. Mo., July BO- — I 

 accepted an invitation to accompany some friend's to the 

 Indian Territory last week. We found game comparatively 

 scarce. Son can rest assured that the reports of abundance 

 of game in the Territory are generally overestimated. There 

 is a great deal of game,' to he sure, but then hunting is about 

 all tie business the native* engage in, and Ihe game is wild 

 and scattered, t was unfortunate in getting my tine pointer 

 dog lilt ten by a rattlesnake. I scarified the wound and 

 bathed it in a solution of curb, ammonia and the dog is 

 doing well. A large black bear came within three hundred 

 yards of our camp on Saturday evening, but the boy 

 up such an excitement bruin Concluded to seek safer una. .. . 

 We have evidence of fine quail shooting here tins fall. Come 

 out and see us.— Occident 



A Red Ian 

 My 30.— Whi 



my way to a f. 

 noticed a good 

 away. Hastily wifhdn 



OH Hawks.— Toms River, N. J, 

 irough a tract of swamp land on 

 loves were reported abundant, 1 



;c sailing along about sixty yardl 



ingthe shells loaded with No. 8 



and substituting those load -d with BE .of which I alway 

 carry two or three for such an emergency) 1 fired, and had 

 the satisfaction of seeing him fall. 1 then started off in that 

 direction. Imbecile: another hawk approaching, I stepped 

 behind a live, and as soon as he was within range served hin 

 the same rations. And then, without changing my position, 

 I killed two more hawks which were coming in" the same 

 way. While ••retrieving" mv game I Hushed a very large 

 covey of half grown quail. — T. 



A Di tv.— I think it a duty every true sportsman owes to 

 Ihe rest of the fraternity to point out place? of interest, or 

 such localities as his 'experience shows are such. Those 

 whose time is limited for such sports cannot afford to waste 

 it in the search of such places.— J. H. F. 



Ohio. — Moscow. — The game prospects in this vicinity arc 

 very good. While outwalking the other day I saw "many 

 young quails. Rabbits and squirrels are plentiful, Good 

 sport can be had by coming here after October 1.— G-. G. J. 



!#* mid Mirer 



ANGLING l.ESORTS.- We shall be glad to have for publi- 

 cation, miles of good Jishiag localities. Will not our corre- 

 spondents favor vs in'tl, notes of desirable points for angling 



p liable, to delay, 



immumealions should be ad- 

 Publish i tig Co., and not to 

 om the office matters of ' 



THE ANGLER'S SONG. 



f |" AIL to the spring time and I lie hills! 

 J--*- Hail to the meadows aud the fogl 

 Hail to the gorges and the rills: 

 All hail the trout 'Heath yonder log\ 



Have kouiI care, 



That's his lair: 



Heigh-ho, hop, 



Flip, flap, flop. 



Hail to the shocking old straw hat, 

 Second-hand trousers, coat anil hoots. 



Box "i ii- lively and fat, 



All hail your hook in these old roots' 

 Careless man. 

 Mad as bran. 

 Neither snap. 

 Nor dip. flap. 



Blessed and calm the smiling morn; 



Birds sin); wheivsoe'er we rreuii. 

 Flowers the fields and woods adorn: 

 All hail my line "rniilst dancing foam! 

 Now look out— 

 ■Silent stand — 

 And a trout 

 Will kiss my hand. 



1 tail the graceful silver gleam t 



Lo, a trout, with Midden spring, 

 Forms a spray-bow e'er the stream. 

 And is added to my string. 

 Verbum sap, 

 Fiip, Hop. flap. 

 —li'rom an Old Srr<i/i Honk. April 88, 1859. 



LAKE WACCABUC. 



TAKE WACCABUC is in Westchester county, New 

 J York. The Indian name of the lake is said tobt 

 ••Wabash, " and there, are three lakes connected by narrow 

 weedy channels through which a boal can be paddled. 

 There is a summer boarding house on the west shore, where 

 dshing boats and bait, can be obtained. The boats arc pro- 

 vided with wells to keep fish alive in. The lake is seven 

 miles from Ivatonah. on the Harlem Railroad. 



Several years ago these lakes were stocked with black 

 bass, and the fishing for this much lauded fish is good except 

 in July and August. Bass weighing from four to six pounds 

 are common, they begin biting in February, when they are 

 taken through the ice. 



As to the merits of the black bass as a table fish, the resi- 

 dents do not consider it equal to the pickerel, and far behind 

 the white perch in delicacy. Large black bass are said to be 

 strong in flavor, and all are dry. perhaps the style of cooking 

 is at fault. Skinning the bass is said to improve its flavor; 



1 found the white perch at Wacoabue to be a delicious 

 table fish. It combines richness, sweetness, and a commend- 

 able lack of small bones. Virtues which recommend it to 

 the most exacting gourmand. 



A white perch of from one to two pounds weight, is as 

 game as a black bass. It is a beautiful fish, pure white With 

 a well shaped and gracefully rounded body. Its habits I am 

 afraid are a trifle irregular, as it feeds principally at night or 

 toward dusk and is therefore not taken freely during the 

 day. Worms and live bait arc used in 'aUing white perch, 

 and it is said lo rise to the fly. 



If the experiment of raising the white perch artificially 

 lias not been i.i i.-.l, il should lie given a trial. Schools of 

 them covering an acre in extent are sometimes seen ill these 

 lakes, and it seems that they can sustain life and thrive in 

 the same waters wilh black' bass. The pickerel are gradually 

 being exterminated. 



A few woodcock were shot near the lake after August 1. 



the opening day. On the 1st J. Avery and A. Brady scored 

 eight birds only, after a day's tramp; the 2d was rainy: on 

 the Mo J. Reynolds bagged six out of seven flushed." The 

 shooting is all in the thickest brush and high alders where 

 the birds are seeking seclusion during the 11101111111"- season 



.1. A. 

 I, N. Y.. August. 4. 



TROLLING AND BUOY-FISHING. 



MANY a scientific fisherman will not deign to notice an 

 article wilh ibis beading. Well. I know of no law to 

 compel its perusal, and so must hope that it mav interest 

 another class of leaders, numerous, doubtless, because there 

 are many lovers of fishing who know nothing of the use of 

 the fly-rod. 



About three years ago 1 had a new fly-rod made. A friend 

 called on me soon after, and in conversation I«! earned I hat, 

 ii in enthusiast on the subject of fishing. So 1 took 



down my new rod, and putting u together, asked his opin- 

 ion of it. ^ "Why," .said he. "you don't mean to tell me you 

 catch fish with that slender thing?" and, do you know, I 

 really believe he thought I was giving him a fish story When 

 I told him that a three-pound troui could be handled and 

 killed with that rod, and tackle to match. 



Bui lo my subject, which is "Trolling and Buoy-Fishing 

 in the North Woods." When I first tried trolling it was on 

 the Saranac Lakes many years ago— the rig was very differ- 

 ent from that used now, but the principle was the "same; a 

 bait or a lure of sonic kind towed at the end of a long line; 

 which is kept moving through the water at a depth regulated 

 by the length of line, the weight of sinker, or the speed of 

 the boat. The fish, tempted by I lie moving bait, makes a 

 dash tor it, and takes bis chances of a dainty bite or a 

 mouthful of hooks. I have used a gang with nine hooks 

 and a minnow, or sucker, for bait, and also the revolving 

 spoon with a triple hook without bait. Of laie years this 

 has been the most successful, and the best of these' has been 

 a small-sized spoon gilt on both sides; with this I have taken 

 speckled trout from two pounds down to eight ounces, and 

 "salmon," or lake trout, from four pounds down to one 

 pound. 



One day in June 1 was trolling around an elbow between 

 two lakes", where the outer curve of the elbow sets back into 

 a wide marsh, and in making the curve we were going 

 against the wind and did not get a strike; but, turning back, 

 we went with the wind and 1 got a strike and captured the 

 fish; this we repeated six times, and each time when going 

 against the wind 1 got nothing, but when going with the 

 wind I took a fish each time, the net result being six trout 

 of about the same si/e, that aggregated four and a half 

 pounds. Can an v reason be given for the fish taking the 

 spoon with the wind only? If so, I would like to know.' Tn 

 trolling, although there is very little excitement about it, 

 yet there is always the pleasure of getting your daily sup- 

 plies, and of catching fish. I confess to a liking for'it, al 

 though some think it is a tame way of fishing. In Hie wi .oris 

 I calculate to make fish my principal article" of food, and if 

 they are not to lie had with the fly or bait, I, for one. will 

 cheerfully fry any and every way allowable to secure my 

 fish. 



As the weather and water get warmer, trolling drops off, 

 so that it hardly pays to try it, and then we fall back upon 

 buoy-fishing. As most of your readers know, this is simply 

 anchoring a buoy or float 1*11 from twenty-five to forty feet 

 ot water, in a good location in the lakes: 'then a lot of min- 

 nows are cut up and scattered arouud this buoy to attract 

 the fish to the spot and make a feeding place for them. < >f 

 course if you are going to fish the buoys regularly they have 

 to be baited every day. The fishing is done with a "Hand 

 line and large lake" hook baited with minnow. I have taken 

 a good many fine fish in this way; but the fishing varies a 

 great deal; sometimes for days together you will get nothing 

 at a buoy, and then the fish will begin to take the bait and 

 bite nicely. 



1 remember a ease which shows how uncertain buoy-fish- 

 ing may be. Wc had anchored and bailed one of our'buoys 

 in Third Lake, but for several days got nothing for our 

 trouble; still we expected the time would come, for it was 

 in a good location. Two of our party, who thought that 

 the early riser would get all the fish, started foi tins 1, 11,;;, 

 one morning before five o'clock, and fished ii faithfully for 

 two hours, but they came back to camp very hungry for 

 their breakfast, but' had no fish. Myself and guide 'were 

 passing this buoy about two hours afterward and thought 

 we would try if there were any fish there. In about half 

 an hour we took five good salmon trout and went on our 

 journey. On our way hack to camp in the afternoon yve 

 took more at the same place; and when we laid our spoils 

 before the early risers thev would scarcely believe that we 

 took them at Third Lake buoy. 



At a buoy on First Lake three of us were fishing one 

 afternoon, and had just about made up our minds that we 

 would have no luck, and in this instance it seemed peculi- 

 arly unfortunate, for we needed fish very much, hut finally 

 one of us got a bite and landed a fine large salmon Irout; 

 this was followed by a second fish by another of Hie party. 

 and in a few minutes these 1 wo fishermen took five salnnm 

 trout that aggregated twenty-four and a half pounds by the 

 scales, and the other man got nothing. We wound up our 

 lines and went back to camp satisfied and happy. 



It seems strange, but 1 have always found the report cur- 

 rent among fishermen, that when you lose a fish it is always 

 a big one. Not that the. big ones are necessarily the fortun- 

 ate ones in being able to break oil or tear away, for you will 

 often see a large fish taken with tackle that, if tested, would 

 be condemned. Noris it always the case that the fisherman's 

 imagination runs away with liis judgment, and leads him to 

 overestimate his fish, but the facts often warrant the state- 

 ment. I, for one. detest exaggeration in quoting weight of 

 fish, and when given, you may rely on my figures. I know 

 of several instances 'where ' the' largest fish was lost 

 just as it was within a hand's length of being 

 secured. One that I hauled up on a borrowed line was so 

 heavy that, it took all my strength to bring him up, baud 

 over hand, so as not to give him any slack line. 1 got his 

 head above water, and was just making the final pull that 

 was to land him in the boat, when the line parted just above 

 the hook and — I lost him. Allow me to put in a moral— 

 don't, fish with borrowed lines; buy your own, and see t hat 

 it is in good order. On the same lake, on my last trip, ray 

 gukle struck a large fish and had exactly ray experience 

 only his line was a good one, and was not borrowed. Eow- 

 ever, he lost his fish and hook, and cane.' very near losing 

 his good temper too. 



These two modes of fishing can be enjoyed by those whose 

 early education in the use ot ihe fly-rod has been neglected, 

 andat times when fish will not rise to ihe fly. Both of these 



methods require considerable skill, judgment, and patience; 

 the two first named maybe acquired, but the latter (I ha. I 

 almost, said) never, but will qualify that, and say. "haidly 

 ever." Deliver me from the company of your impatienj 

 man! I have been caught with such, but not with no, eon 

 sent will it ever occur again, for, when I go a-fiahing, it 

 means fishing, and not attending to the whim- and fancies 

 of a restless, uneasy mortal, who "cannot for half an hour at 

 a time settle on any one thing. .1. R., .In. 



AN AFTERNOON'S ANGLING. 



"C 



tJ A3 , Doc, I'm feeling Wretchedly tired and dissatisfied. 

 kJ I can't work this afternoon, let's go fishing." So 

 spake the Rev. J. Ii. D. yesterday noon, as lie called for a 

 moment at the office d'oor while passing from labor to re- 

 freshment. "All right, be on band properly equipped at 

 2 o'clock sharp, and I think this neighborhood can have fish 

 for breakfast." 



Two o'clock found us depositing our traps in the .Mabel, 

 one of the toniest fishing crafts that ever danced over the 

 waters of Our bonny Swan Lake, or delighted the heart of an 

 angler. As we push olf I remember thai 110 bait has been 

 provided for ourselves, and assuredly no well regulated 

 member of the brotherhood will start out on a cruise with- 

 out the certainty that a search in the locker will be rev, a-.! ,1 

 with "bites," even if none are felt at Ihe business cud of the 

 line. Of course Whiuier's immortal and , v, -r presnil bare- 

 foot boy is watching our proceedings, and 1 write on a 

 shingle with a piece of white chalk. "Something to cat." 

 and dispatch the order by said barefoot telegraph line to my 

 wife. But, alas! that very day while dining I had oislil\ 

 issued a general order 1o the effect that, all requisitions foi 

 rations must be preceded by the word -pica- and 

 order was "respectfully returned for correction." The cor- 

 rection being made, and provisions stored, we shove olf 

 heading up the lake, and my companion throws out the 

 trolling spoon. By the time, fifty feet of the lin.- an- om , a 

 good-sized pickerel, for attempting to steal tin- feathers off 

 the hook, is arrested and brought aboard, to be lined accord 

 ing lo law. 



Before reaching Bass Point, three-quarters of a mile dis- 

 tant, seven pickerel, averaging about -J! lbs. ea,'h. are token 

 in out, of the wet; olf the Poinl weanchor, ami get out mil 



rods, but before a fish has be. a caughi . |, ; -om 



pels us to up anchor, and -cud lor tie- shore, where we 

 get a sulhciency of excellent biles without ihe - il 



"Well, what now?" queries the parson. "Musi u,. i.i 

 it up and go home?" 



'■Certainly not! I'm going to Mons Lake." 



"How fur's that?" 



" Alioni forty rods." 



"Any boat over there?" 



" Yes." 



"flow largo a lake?" 



"About a mile long, by two-thirds the distance broad. 



Reaching the lake, so situated as to be comparatively 

 calm, we lind a miserable apology of a boal. and fun,, 

 forth, the parson at ihe ostrsand myself fingering ihe troll 



Fifty yards from the shore, and a telegram comes in over 

 the line announcing that a visitor is at, hand, ffe proved lo 

 be a pickerel, and tipped the scales at six and thrcc-rp.: 

 pounds. He eanie to slay. 



Hardly is the line out again when another and well-known 

 signal flashes in. "By George! isn't, he a beauty!" exclaimed 

 I)., as the vijfim of man's ingenuity, and misplaced confi- 

 dence, a magnificent black bass, broke wafer a hundred feet 

 astern, and shook his head until the steel rattled in his jaws. 

 Six times he vaulted clear of the water in his frantic .ml, r. 

 ors to avoid a closer acquaintance with us, but al laSI sur- 

 rendered anil lay panting in the bottom of the boat. He 

 was eighteen inches in length, seven inches deep, and 

 weighed (five hours after being taken from the water) foul 

 and a half pounds. While rowing to at'ay oritc spi , forpik 

 perch fishing, six more fair-sized pickerel 1 ante aboard 



After an hour of fair sport with the rods . 1, . .,, . 1 . 

 for home, my comrad skippering wilh his rod and Imi 

 the trolling fine between his teeth. Just as he swung in a 

 large sunfish on his rod, 1 heard a muttered exclauilltioi 

 saw as 1 imagined, fish-line, skin, teeth aud an unusually 

 emphatic expression eucupe ftom his lips; overboard went 

 rod aud sunfish, and his entire attention was given (0 tin 

 trolling arrangements. "Hitched to a log!" he muttered. 

 but as ihe "log" speedily began to move through the water 

 at a ten-knot an hour gait, and to draw like a yoke of ,-i, 11 

 the angler, who was hiking his iirsl lesson in Todd county 

 fishing, concluded he was fastened to an alligator. 



The fun grew fast and furious, aud as the fisherman pulled 

 in, or let out, as the exigencies of the occasion seemed to 

 demand, I, as usual with spectators at such a time, kindly 

 gave advice enough lo break the strongest fish-line in 

 America. Finally the fish, for fish it was. cane alongside, 

 and having no gaff the parson (on my advice) reached over 

 with the intention of slipping ids lingers into the fish's gills 

 and so (ifting him into the boat; all thai came aboard jusi 

 then, however, was about a bucketful of water, which his 

 royal finned majesty seemed to dip up and propel v> ith his 

 tail; the water seemed to arrive in three distinct streams 

 one of which was broken into crystal fragments on the 

 parson's nose, another disappeared in his wide open mouth, 

 and the third-found a resting place in his manly bosom. 



For fully ten minutes the hght went on, and when il was 

 over our cargo was the heavier for a twelve-pound pickerel, 

 not a muskalouge. nor a muskanonge, nor amuska-anyihing 

 else, but a simon pure, "all wool and a yard wide" pick, ,, 



Half a dozen more lish are taken, and then we pull away 

 for home, satisfied with our four hours of experience oil 

 the briny deep. 



Next "week 1 am going to Long Lake (three miles away 1. 

 which 1 believe to he the tinesl fishing ground in the whole 

 Northwest, and possibly 1 may find time to write up the 

 trip. J. Fraxtc I 



F. S. — Lucky I wrote the foregoing this morning, for I 

 have just returned from dinner where the big pickerel was 

 served up. baked andstutfed -' hi turkey, and Ihe black bass 



appeared in a savory chowder, consequent!} 1 qm ton full 

 for utterance. 



The companion of mv trip occupied Hie -eat of honor 

 at my right hand, and after being helped an almost incredi- 

 ble number of times from each "di.-h. was asked which he 

 preferred, and mournfully responded, 



0, f eoidd be tuMPW With either. 

 Were t'other dear eharruer away " 



J. F L 



PlLLSBURY. VliUD.. Jlllj -1 



