Sept. 30, 1883 J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



14 7 



§ea mid ffiver J/jishinQ. 



■0T-' 



BLtNCf fimSORfS^We shall bi gladtohmx for publi- 

 ,<■: ,, i i oj oi : fishing larcattties. Will not our earre- 

 r us ivitli notes of desirable, points for anoling 

 excfurstoiisf 



4 To insure prompt, attention, coma." ■:,!head- 



. i *<1 Stream Publishing Co., and 



iiidichluats, in whose absence from the office matters Of im- 

 portance are liable to delay. 



OPEN SEASONS. 

 TIil- digest of Open agaittns, printed iu our issue of An? 



iVilis'ieo in convenient paaiT/niii Wm.»n<1 will be sent to any 

 afliiress, postpaid on heceipt of 10 cents. 



•s 



apent i 



pleasant 



"STARVATION CAMP." 



amp!" On the banks of the "BlOugli 



Xot. perhaps, judging from its name, a 



_ ground. Nevertheless, there I have 



aich I shall ever count ns among the most 



and there, notwithstanding its contradic- 



tory name, have I hail appeased some of the most ama2ing 



good luck to have. The 

 origin of (hi? name of our camp F rathel Obscure, but per- 

 haps the honor of hating christened it belongs (o F„ for it 

 was he who note 1 the expression of Seep concern on the 

 face of the cook as he saw htfw rapidly the eatables disap- 

 peared before men whose uppetjtw ivere stich as are only 

 acquired in ramp: or it may lie thai the memory of that 

 eventful evening, when having returned to camp after sev- 

 eral hours' absence; and with our months watering in 

 ton df the sttppei e liouli ihave.we found a 



-vera! pigs in the tent making the mpsi o1 



absence, and the least of our eatables, suggested the mime, 

 for actually, those inoffensive creatures having devoured 

 seven loaves of bread and sundry Other solid articles of diet, 

 brought our stock of supplies down to a few handful* of 

 sugar and a can of butter. 



in point of romantic surroundings. Starvation Camp is not 

 particularly noted. It is .situated seven miles from this place 



6u the banks of the "Classii 8 unk;" On one side - 



i,, _■ ,, iu known to us as the Slough of Despond." Tall 

 -,i n- lives, perhaps, which forty 

 .:,,.- ': >« I Hit wig ramof the Indian chief Mahaska, 

 "when this fair farm-house dolled laud was a howling wilder- 

 It must be that somewhere in the veins of us all there ruus 

 a strain of wild blood, inherited possibly from our barbarian 

 forefathers who once roimed the plains of Europe, It must 

 be that this wild blood occasionally asserts iiM-lf air! - 

 us to lona for a teste of nomadic life. That is why we 

 somottmes tire of the routine of business and social conven- 

 tionalities and sigh within us for the gliding stream, the ma- 

 jestic forest, the glowing, ever cheerful camp-fire, and the 

 sweet, restful fellowship of nature. A, few Hays ago this 

 wild blood ha\ ing sained the upper hand oi toy civilization, 

 '--- company with H. who young in years is a jollj C01H- 

 liou and' veteru fisherman. 1 hied me away to "Starva- 



is a man Of his word. ! remember, too, of being thankful 

 ii, ■ i is nol one of them. The night spent in the oat bin, 

 liad next morning, is also clear in 

 my memory. Ah, F . friend rind ideal spoilinan. quiet and 

 unobStrusive, yet with a Intent energy, true and tlii I 

 cool in times of danger, and brave as the bravest, manly iu 

 every attribute of manliness, yet pure as a woman, may we 

 have many, many more such adventures (barring the thieves), 

 may We never fail to hold our guns "f ar enough ahead" to 

 bring down the swift-winged duck or "hurtling grouse,'' 

 may our pipe of peace be ever lighted, and may our camp 

 fire's never gdi 



the next morning found us on our way to the 

 lim ," The troVline is the favorite and only effective mode 

 of Catching the big eats of this river- Of course, to the 

 angler there could be no "port in such fishing, but to one 

 jver felt the keen pleasure there must be in hand- 

 ling trout or salmon with a good rev:, there is in the tug of 

 a t wen tv -pound cat, and the tussle that must follow before 

 in the bottom of the boat, at least a little of the 

 I sport Friar fish, aggregating nearly fifty pound, 

 and a couple of saurians (mud-turtles', constituted our catch 

 that morning, and wed satisiieed we pulled back to camp. 

 "SOW for a "dish of turtle soup." said H. '-Mud-turtle'.'" 

 iree. If the terrapin of the eastern shore is such 

 excellent food, why is not the poor, lowly mud to 

 enough for the hungry sportsmen of 'Starvation Camp?' " 

 We tried "saurian soup," and found it good enough. 



That evening I walked over to the marsh to investigate 

 the prospects for ducks. As I had anticipated, they soon 

 began to come in. A. long shot across the water ended the 

 career of one, which in the absence of my retriever, I was 

 Obliged to wade for. Then in came a silly young mallard. 

 quacking with outstretched neck. Out into the middl of thi 

 marsh be went, then wheeled and came over me. Oh, what 

 a splendid chance! Easily, not carelessly, covering him,! 

 fired. At the report he towered high in the air. then 

 dropped helpless in the reeds. I felt "encouraged" (en- 



ad.) 



cou raged 



spoiled the rest oi : lie ev MS - 



gun bei.i - 



raiage), bul 1 bad thi satisfacbo; 



number d1 tadi that n 



place, and with the mental resol 



day with blind and decoys. I made my way to camp. 



"All pleasant times must have an ending. " This we fully 

 recognized as we bid farewell to Starvation Camp. Back b 



An accident to my gun 

 oting (and, of course, my 

 u r ht and left within easy 

 "knowing that a goodly 

 ;h their nightly resting 

 to return at no distant 



the stc 



days. Profit 

 vim and cleai 

 learned treat 

 blended with 

 tcnees as "he 

 ipg in." "lit 

 •lianee, I 



of life will \ 

 onaj studies 



irry the memory of those 



panion r 



tion Cam]-)," intending to WS, 

 look after my young ducks, of which I 1 

 Ural broods on the bottoms which I may 

 own I iy virtue of the killing qualitiesol 

 own skill as a wing-shot. Finding the c 

 Tom F, a young lawyer from IF, awaiiiu 

 without delay up the' river to a pond wh 

 get bait; and" we were nol disappointed, f 



be Hi 'li> seine brought out a perfect loi 

 suckers from two to five inches iu length. 

 Qui expounder of Blackstone was pi 

 wild, "Hurrah for us," said he, 

 and law T books; a fisherman's life f 

 willuw branch he forthwith began 



.In fish. "These." he soliloquized 



lie 



thi 



thi 



its and to 



re are sev- 

 iy call my 

 i and my 

 right, and 

 iroo ided 

 pi cted to 

 si, haul of 

 infish and 



,11 be resumed with renewed 

 •t sometimes on the pages of the 

 B on the law of real property: I will see 

 le toutrh legal lore such totally foreign sen- 

 a tweuty-pounder," "mark single duck corn- 

 low and hold three feet ahead. " Or. per- 

 sonietirnes in my day dreams, see our old 

 samp-fire blazing, with tent in the back-ground, its smoke 

 Jowly curling upward J. E. SbEtkbs. 



Oskaluosa. la.. Sept, 10. 



t politcd. He was 

 Away with your law 

 hi cutting a 

 he largest of 

 ,,, exoellen.1 

 food, I shall cather them in and !\ i'th them feed the mult i- 

 tude." And he did "gather them in," bul when he had all 

 rrv. like a True fisherman he was content. 

 Having procured an ample quantity of bait we proceeded 

 igh i of a lantern to set our lines. QJld aere lej mi 

 remark, I made the acquaintance of a few mosquitoes. 

 Fear, harmless little creatures! A few did 1 say? Yes. but 

 because no possible array of figures could express to the 

 mind the number which 'thronged around me, and sang to 

 me their songs of welcome that night. Oh, "songs of the 

 Sirens," hi monplace and unmusical must they 



have been if compared with the songs of these hungry mos- 

 quitoes. Before 1 had sat in thai boat many minutes 1 could 

 have s worn to my belief in the marvelous 

 humorously in a late issue by G 

 seized with a desire to throw m; 



a miserable existauce. > T or was the stolidity of II. calcu- 

 lated to sooth my exasperated feelings. There he sal calmly 

 baiting the hooks, only occasionally slopping to brush the 

 insects away when they became so thick as to obscure his 

 vision, and endeavoring to encourage me by SUOh remarks as 

 "nothing when you get used to it." "perfectly harmless," 

 etc, In spite of' mosquitoes, however, our lines were at last, 

 baited, and with our lantern screened by a basket in the bow 

 of the boat, and IF at the oars we were going rapidly down 



'".hi 



me a 



i the 



but 



ither 



Ami 

 hud heard 



the river. Suddenly from t lie woods on out- 

 series of unearthly yells, quicidy answered fro 

 liver. Demons or " maniacs, 1 questioned. " 

 owls," said H., laughing "They are cullin 

 hard names; wait, and" they will begin to s 

 swear they did. The air was simply blue. 

 owls before, hut, had never even imagined the profanity of 

 which they are capable. 



Arriving at camp we were pleasantly surprised to find F.. 

 brother of IF. his two sisters. G. and' wife, and two of our 

 lady friends. Needl say that the supper which aws 

 nras only such as could be prepared by fair hands? Welcome 

 to the ladies who can heartily enjoy the pleasures of camp- 

 life, and add vivacious pleasantry to the charms and beauties 

 eure, and who can enter with true womanly tact and 

 skill into such vuigarthings as the details of camp cookery! 



Around the camp-lire we gathered that night (after the 

 I n ies had sought their tent) to enjoy a peaceful pipe. JS'ow 

 I hear F. asking me if T remember the time when we were 

 .:•!■. bunting, and some thievish ■ I oar pro- 



vision-chest, which in the excitement of the prospeel Of get- 

 ting after "those mallar Is. "we had carelessly left ie 

 Tea, I remember, and also the righteous wrath of F., and 

 thCdire threats made should he catch those thieves, As F. 



THE NATIONAL ROD AND REEL AS- 

 SOCIATION. 

 A SHEETING of the Committee of Arrangements was 

 J\ held at Blackford's. Fulton Market, on Tuesday, the 

 18th. The following rales were adopted: 



Ruleli All persons competing for prizes shall pay an 

 entrance fee iu each contest as follows: Members, two dol- 

 lars; iion-membcfs, five dollars. 



Fule 'A Ho QUE Shall be permitted to enter an amateur 

 contest who has ever fished for a living; who has ever been 



a snide, or has been employed in either the manui. 



, o'l : hingtackle. The judges in any particular class, on 

 appeal, shall have power to decide in all matters relating to 

 -nines, and their decision shall be final. 



1 shall exceed eleven feet six inches ia 

 ill be used with a single hand. 



of reel or line will be allowed, but a 

 ri- gnt, of not less than flight feet 

 iree flies, "one stretcher and two drop- 

 pers, shall be attached. 



Rule 5. Xo allowance of distance shall be made for differ- 

 ence in leuirth of rods. 



Rule l>. Persons entering these contests shall draw lois to 

 determine the order in which they will cast, and will be 

 ready to east when called by the judges. 



Rule i. Each contestant will be allowed five minutes to 

 cast for distance, and will then stand aside until called in his 

 lien . , -l for delicacy and accuracy, when he will be al- 

 ive minutes fortius purpose. 

 Rule 8. The distance shall be measured by a line with 

 marked buovs stretched on the water; said line to be . meas- 

 „ ured and verified by the judges at least once each day of the 

 \i limes I was casiini.'. A mark shall be made from the stand from which 

 If into the water and end I he buoy Hue shall be measured, and the easier mr 

 with his toes touching this mark, but may not adva 

 yond it. Should he step back of it, unless direct ei L so to ia 

 by the judges, the loss in distance shall be his. 

 ' Rule 9. The stretcher fly must remain at the end oi the 

 casting line ill all casts. The others are not dee." 

 portant, A contestant may claim time for repairs, which 

 shn II he- allowed by the judges. Or the judges may order 

 the next on the list to cast while repairs are made, iu their 

 discretion. 



■Rule 10. In the absence of an appointed judge the com- 

 mittee will fill the vacancy. 



Salmon Fly-Casting. — The foregoing rules shall govern, 

 except that the rod? shall not exceed 18ft. in length, and 

 may be used with both hands, and that only one fly will be 

 required. . , 



Heavy Bass Casting.— Rods shall not exceed 9ft. in length: 



told 



Rule: I 



length, and it si 



Rule 4, Any st 



leader, or casting 

 iu length, to wh: 



miv reel may be used, but the line shall be of linen not 

 less than Nq, 9. The easts shall be made with sinkers, 

 weigbinE vFozs. t These will be furnished bv the committee.) 

 The casts shall he made in lane, formed by the buoy line and 

 a line parallel to it, and distant 2oft. Each contestant will 

 be allowed five easts. His casts within the lines only shall 

 be measured, added, and divided by five, and the result 

 shall constitute his score. 



Fi-ht Bass Casting.— The above rules shall govern, ex- 

 cept 't hat the shaker shall be Uozs.. and there shall he no re- 



LCl r in :i to lines. 



The following classes were made: 



Class A.— Amateurs: Rods not to exceed lift. 6itt. iu 

 length, nor Hozs. in weight. Scale of points: Distance, 

 actual cast; accuracy and delicacy, S3 each. (If a contestant 

 i ' , nd is awarded 20 fordelieacy am I I5fbi 

 ■ will be 95.) 



Class B.— Amateur: Rods not to exceed lift, in length 

 i ,,,- i, , }, In weight; scale as in class A. 



Glass C— Amateur: Rods not to exceed lift, 6m. in- 

 lenglh nor 9ozs. in weight. Scale. Distance only to count. 



Class I).— Expert, open to all: Rods not to exceed lift. 

 in length nor Sozs. in weight. Scale of points as in class A. 



ClassE. — Expert, open to all: Rods not to exceed lift. 

 Gin. in lentrth. Distance only to count. 



The next meeting will be held at the same place on Tues- 

 day, September 25. 



POUND NETS VERSUS SEINES. 



Editor Foe, 



In your issue of August 30 I notice a little article from Mr. 

 .! ,- Mi:! Superintendent of the Wisconsin Fish Com- 

 mission, iu which lie criticises somewhat, and advances his 

 opinion in regard to the destruction of fish eggs. 



Mr. Mevin snvs: "In vour issue, August 9, I notice a re- 

 ported interview with Mr. Howell, of Toledo, in regard to 

 the ■deadly seine' destroying milllions of fish eggs on the 

 spawning grounds. My opinion is that one string of pound- 

 ,,,0 destroys more fish,' when they come to the age of one 

 year old. than all the seines in America in a season. For the 

 ,, ii teen years I have handled fish and eggs from the 

 waters of the far-famed Saguinay, on the St. Lawrence, 

 and the whole chain of lakes and rivers to the blue 

 waters of Lake Superior, ami I have seen fish taken 

 from all kinds of nets. I have been in trap-net boats col- 

 lecting c}j;^ and have seen as high as one ton of young fish 

 from six to eight inches long, taken from seven trap-ie i s, 

 and the fishermen selling them for a mere pittance." 



I will say: Perhaps Mr. Kevin's experience in taking fish 

 and hatching has been very extensive, but he has evidently 

 not given toe subject sufficient thought or he would not 

 have written the article he did. If he will make a calcula- 

 tion he will find in that large amount (one ton) about 40,000 

 i i, end if he will extend his calculation still further he 

 will find that it takes 10,000 fish eggs from the pickerel and 

 to cover one square inch of surface, consequently 

 the amount of fish taken would, while in the egg. have, 

 covered only the space of four or five square inches, and 

 considers that there are acres and acres of these 

 spawning beds which Me dragged with the lead lines of 

 -■;■!!. i -. ':.■ i e- -. which being very soft and render, are de- 

 he must admit that 'the numberof eggs so destroyed 

 \s tlmosl beyond the comprehension of man. Seines are 

 now only used on spawning grounds, fishermen waiting for 

 fish to collect there, then surrounding them, not only catch- 

 ing the fish which are, spawning and about to spawn f ouf 

 destroying with the lead lines by scraping the bottom, the 

 c-e- wluch have been deposited. Twenty -five or thirty 

 years auo when seines were hauled along the margain of our 

 lakes, and iu short were the only device for catching fish. 

 they would destroy pickerel and sauger eggs which are ex- 

 i i lender, and in the fall hauling over the same 

 grounds, whitefish and herring eggs would share the same 

 fate; but being harder and not so easily broken, would be 

 draased up from the bottom and with a light wind toward 

 the laud would wash ashore in windrows, and in places lie 

 from four to six inches deep, doomed to decay, wasting 

 billions upon billions of eggs, which, if not disturbed by 

 the seines, would have hatched as many fish. Since poud- 

 , ■ , ii" in vogue and seine-fishing ceased, we do not, see 



" i ane ashore in this way. 



Mr. Xeviu further says: "My opinion is that there ought 

 i,, lie set in any wider a pound-net with the mesh less 

 than four inches from knot, to knot in the pot, which would 

 allow all small fish to go through." This would he 

 class legislation, and make fish a luxury, by catching only 

 the adult largo fish, such aswhitefiehand lake trout, much 

 the smaller portion of the fish now caught. They would go 

 to the fables of the rich, the poor being denied the indul- 

 gence of a fish diet on account of the cost, caused by the 

 scarcity 1 m h:t:rtilv L-rbre as eloes Mr, j\evic, the kill- 

 ing of young fish, hut still I think that some better plan than 

 the use' of large mesh twine could be adopted, aud that is a 

 .,,-,- a-Min, when the catching, selling, or offering for sale, 

 of li-h out of season would be a penal offense: making the law 



^ ,, in v game law now on the statute books, and 



the punishment for its violation as severe, which, in my 

 opinion, is the only remedy to prevent the now wanton de- 

 struction of food fishes. 



All writers on the subject seem to forget that gill-nets are 

 catching from the time the ice goes out in the spring until it 

 freezes up in the fall, killing immeasurably more fish than 

 pound-nets, the meshes having- been reduced to a size so as 

 to catch whitefish only a year old. I was told but yesterday 

 by a fisherman that 'ton's of yearling whitefish had been 

 shipped from Conncaut. O., to Xew Aork, so small that they 

 fused, being entirely useless, and further, a fact well 

 known to fishermen, is that fully one-third of the fish caught 

 in gill-nets are decayed before taken out of the water and 

 not fit for food, and are thus wasted, 



It is a lac- well understood by all fishermen that there are 

 no small or young fish Caught except in mid-summer, or 

 what we might call the I ■ It rm, At that time the adult 

 fish retire from the margins of our lakes to the deeper and 

 cooler waters for rest. The young aud old fish are seldom 

 found together, OS the large fish feed upon the small ones, 

 consequently when the large fish are in mid-lake the young 



,, .'„'. Nowa law that would pr 

 all fishing from the first of June to the first of October, with 

 all devices except the hook and line, would accomplish the 

 desired end without, working an injury to the present owners 

 of small meshed twine. 



Then again, it is not claimed that there will be any less of 

 the parent fish caught, hut, only the young will be saved. 

 Now twine that will" let young whitefish. escape will also let 

 herring, perch, saugers, or sand pike, sunflsh, etc 

 hus taking from the market an immense amount of cheap 

 !0od, which is chiefly used by the laboring classes. This 

 ivould render the aitiole of fish a luxury upon the market, 

 and. to a great extent, would place it beyond the reach of 

 the poorer class, and again, by allowing the perch, sunfish, 

 saugera, etc., and in fact all the above-named fish to es 

 we are turning loose millions upon millions of "pirar. 

 prey upon the young whitefish that we are hatching and 

 planting pearly in the Great Fakes. Now, what I would 

 recommend would be a convention called by the commission- 

 ers of the various Stales, aud together recommend the 

 age of a law applicable to each State. A law that would 

 work well ou our most northern lakes would not apply to 

 lake-- Erie and Ontario. Now, if a convention could be 

 called and the commissioners of the Province ot Ontario in- 

 and agree noon a uniform law, that 

 would be n benefit to all and im injury to none, it would be 



