FOREST AND STREAM. 



Im 



m^ 



FISH IN SEASON IN DECEMBER 



SOUTHERN -WATERS. 



Pompano, Trachynotus carohnus. 

 pS (two species.) Family Seta- 



TT?nff£h, Meniicirrus nebulosits. 

 ^Pftfiass, Scicznops ocellatus. 

 Sheepshead, Archosargus probato- 



cephalus. 

 Snapper. Lutjanus caxus. 



Grouper, Bpinephelpus nigritus, 

 Trout (black bass,) Centropristis 



atrarius. 

 Striped Bass or Rockflsh, Roccm 



lineatus. 

 Tailorfish, Pomafrmus saltatrix. 

 Black bass, Micropterus salmoidesx 



M. nigricans. 



Wnder the head of "Game and Fish in Season' 1 '' we can only specify In 

 antral terms the several varieties, because the laws of States vary so much 

 that were we to attempt to particularize we could do no less than publish 

 those entire sections that relate to the kinds of game in question. This 

 ' m ld require a great amount of our space. In designating game we are 

 matted by the laws of nature, upon which all legislation is founded, and 

 net readers would do well to provide themselves with the laws of their re- 

 L c tiw States for constant reference. Otherwise, our attempts to assist 

 them will only create confusion.} 



Fish in Market.— The supply during the week has 

 been ample for the demand. In fact, with the great 

 abundance of poultry the consumption of fish is not as 

 large as it will be after the commencement of the New 

 Year. Stiped bass continue to be received in a frozen con- 

 dition from the Mirimichi and sell for 20 to 25 cents per 

 pound, according to size; smelts, from Maine, are worth 

 15 to 20 cents; bluefish, caught off Cape Hatter as, 12^ 

 cents; salmon, frozen, 50 cents; mackerel, 20 cents each; 

 shad from Savannah are arriving in fair quantities and sell 

 for 60 to 75 cents each; the present supply, however, is 

 only a spurt, and prices may any day advance. White 

 perch bring 15 cents per pound; Spanish mackerel, 50 

 cents; frost fish (torn-cods), 10 cents; halibut, 20 cents; 

 haddock, 10 cents; codfish, 8 cents; blackfish, 10 to 15 

 cents; flounders, 12 cents; sheepshead, 25 cents; white- 

 fish, 18 cents; pickerel, 18 cents; salmon trout, 16 cents; 

 black bass, 18 cents; green turtle from Key West, 20 cents; 

 terrapins, from Savannah, $10 to $15 per dozen: scallops, 

 flper gallon; soft clams, 40 to 60 cents per 100; hard 

 shell crabs, $4 per 100; soft crabs, $1 per dozen. 



FISHES AND 



FISHING OF 

 LAKES. 



THE GREAT 



SECOND PAPER— THE SISKOWIT AND MACKINAW TKOTJT. 



■ ■ * 



AT the head of the list of fish inhabiting the Great Lakes 

 stands the siskowit (Sahno siskowit), found only in the 

 waters of this basin and there confined to Lake Superior, 

 and in rare instances only found in northern Lake Huron. 

 [t was formerly asserted, and is now believed by many, that 

 he siskowit was not a distinct species, but a hybird of 

 ,he whitefish and Mackinaw trout. This could hardly be 

 relieved, even if science had not definitely settled the 

 juestion, for the difference in the spawning season of these 

 ish, and the fact that they are seldom, if ever, caught in 

 ocalities where the siskowit abounds, precludes such a 

 )ossibility. A few moments intelligent observation would 

 lave set this matter at rest long since, but no one deemed 

 t of sufficient moment until a few years since. Even 

 ?ere it originally a hybird as some claim, it has one charac- 

 eristic uncommon to the class, viz. : prolification. 

 The siskowit spawns in August and September, and 

 .lways in deep water; in fact, the fish is never taken in 

 nuch less than forty fathoms. The fattest of all known 

 ish, it has no unpleasant or oily odor, and for the table is 

 alued above all others. This fish has been extensively 

 aaligned by ignorant newspaper writers, as unfit for eating 

 a a fresh state; that it was insufferably oily and rank, 

 hough all united in its praise when salted. With the con- 

 /urrence of such authority as Agassiz, I have no hesitancy 

 fi pronouncing it food fit for an Emperor in either state, 

 .'here is, however, a species of white meated trout of very 

 idifferent quality, so closely resembling the siskowit, that 

 - is largely sold under that name, by which means the 

 obler fish is undervalued, except where well known. 

 'Ws, I believe, is known to the Indians as the "bear trout," 

 nd I presume is the fish that furnished ground for criti- 

 ism. to the detractors of the siskowit. The siskowit 

 'eigil from five to twenty pounds. 



Another favorite fish is the Mackinaw salmon or trout 

 almo namaycush). This trout attains the greatest weight 

 f any of the lake fishes, the sturgeon excepted. For these 

 •»cal names there is no reason whatever, as this fish is found 

 I'om Buffalo to Duluth, Chicago, and throughout the lakes 

 f British North America. (The Yukon river in Alaska, I 

 elieve, excels in these fish.) The Mackinaw trout is 

 tfgely known as the lake salmon, but truth compels us to 

 iate that for the table, he is inferior to the salmon of salt 

 wter. As compared with the whitefish his most ardent 

 dinners will generally concede a point in the favor of 

 Ue latter; still, like the siskowit, the trout has suffered at 

 tie hands of the ignorant. When taken from the icy 

 vaters ot the Straits or Superior, and boiled, plunged into 

 he pot alive, or as nearly so as your conscience — and Mr. 

 iergh — will permit. Sa:mo namaycush is not so inferior as 

 apposed. This trout is not a game fish in any sense of the 

 ? ord, and he is so gross a feeder as to bite at anything 

 rom a minnow to a corn cob, and when once hooked, sur- 

 enders readily, with scarcely a struggle. Nevertheless, 

 rolling for trout is a favorite pastime of the residents and 

 °nrists of northern Michigan . It is said that the Mackinaw 

 rout bites best when he is fullest. Large and solitary 

 pecimens are frequently taken— sometimes with the graft" 

 'lone— while swimming at the surface of the water. These 

 •re known as "racers," and are always thin. The average 

 height is about five pounds, but monsters weighing from 

 iity to one hundred are heard of. The largest that ever 

 a nae under the writer's observatiou weighed fifty, three 

 (ounds seven ounces, and was caught near Elk Rapids, or 

 ^averse Bay. I had never before seen any that exceeded 

 'fteen pounds. The spawning season begins in October 

 a d ends early in November. But very little seems to be 

 ftown of their habits at this season. Rocky bottoms are 



usually, but not always, preferred. A clay bottom near 

 bt. Joseph, Mich., is said to be frequented by trout for this 

 purpose. 



Fishermen claim the principal food of the lake trout to 

 be whitefish, and assert that they are often caught in their 

 nets while robbing them of these fish; however, Milner 

 says in every instance that came under his observation the 

 supposed whitefish proved to be ciscoes, yet he does not 

 doubt the fact of their preying upon whitefish to some 

 extent - Archer. 



—The subjoined letter from Seth Green has additional 

 interest in connection with the foregoing paper: 



v" Rochester, November 29th, 1815. 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



Agreeable to your inquiries as to what I think of the probability of 

 re-stocking our great lakes with white fish, I will say that I have hatched 

 white fish every Fall for the last ten years, and I have no doubt that 

 they can be stocked in four years' time equal to the best that they ever 

 were. This Fall Mr. Gerome made arrangements with me to put the 

 Holton hatching bos in a house in Detroit, Mich., which has been done, 

 and there are eight million white fish spawn in the house at the present 

 time, doing well. When I say eight million, I mean that there is not 

 one spawn less. My brother, Mr. M. A. Green, took the spawn, and 

 Owen Chase, one of my men, has charge of them. If all concerned 

 will visit the house they will see for themselves that, by using the Hol- 

 ton hatching box, all our great lakes can be stocked, and the price re- 

 duced one-half iu four years' time. Yours, Seth Green - . 



««-«.». . 



A Few Fishes.— Among the many remarkable paintings 

 on exhibition at Snedecor's Art Gallery, 176 Fifth Avenne, 

 are several studies of Fish by Gurdon Trumbull, Esq., of 

 Hartford, Conn., which we noticed briefly in our last issue. 

 One of these is a croppy, or roach, which may be referred to 

 as an almost perfect photograph from nature, in color. If 

 colors could be photographed, the artist's occupation would 

 be a precarious means of livelihood. As this art has not 

 yet been discovered, though long sought, our only depend- 

 ence is upon the brush and pigments, and most enviable is 

 he who can wield them with a master hand. The brilliant 

 hues of the croppy render it a most desirable subject for 

 artistic study. 



Fish No. 2 is a black bass in deep water, with a hook and 

 a section of taut line in his mouth; only this and nothing 

 more. The position and attitude of the fish with his head 

 slightly depressed, his tail undulating slowly, and the shin- 

 ing leader running perpendicularly to the upper w r orld, 

 that we cannot see in the picture, enables us to appreciate 

 the situation at a glance. The bass is evidently in that 

 mood, so trying to the nerve and patience of the angler, 

 called "sulking," and we can easily imagine the angler 

 with the but of his rod advanced, the line reeled well in, 

 and the much tested rod bent to a dangerous curve by the 

 strain which the weight and strength of the captive have 

 brought to bear upon it. Now, when a fish sulks, it is 

 after he has essayed his most ready artifices to escape. 

 Our invisible angler has already played this determined 

 and obstinate fellow for several minutes without discover- 

 ing evidences of distress. He has watched with the ex- 

 hilaration an d anxiety of the occasion his flying leaps, his 

 furious rushes, and his counter runs, has heard the hum- 

 ming of the reel and the intermittent click of its retrieving, 

 and felt the varying forces that have animated the swaying 

 rod, judging of the strain meantime with nicest perception, 

 lest the supple wand should break, or the line part, or the 

 hook tear out, or be ejected in consequence of an incau- 

 tious relief of tension. Now comes a critical period. The 

 fish is by no means quiet, but keeps up a peculiar tugging 

 motion. This motion is not usually visible to the angler, 

 but is made perfectly intelligble by Mr. Trumbull's picture, 

 and this is- where the success of the artist's effort lies. We 

 can see "just how the whole thing works." This painting 

 manifests a most elaborate and painstaking detail of scale 

 work, color, and anatomy, characteristic of all of this 

 artist's work. We might venture to say that there are 

 precis ely the same number of scales here that there were 

 on the original live fish. The price, we understand is $500. 

 But the choice pictures of the collection are not these. 

 What we wished especially to consider are two companion 

 pieces representing a trout and a black bass, each weigh- 

 ing about three pounds, a size sufficient to require careful 

 work and afford good sport. Regarded in the light of an ich- 

 thyological study alone, these are most valuable as showing 

 the anatomical structure of the two varieties of fish, the 

 number and shape of their fins; the size of scales; shape 

 of head, jaw, opercles and tail, and the distinctive mark- 

 ings and coloring of each. The only suggestion we have 

 to offer is that the color is too deep an olive. In nature 

 we have usually remarked a greener tinge . The careless 

 observer is not apt to note the marked difference in the 

 characteristics of the fish which they casually examine. It 

 is the province of the artist to note all this, and upon his 

 critical observation his success depends. 



In his representations Mr. Trumbull prefers to leave 

 much to the imagination of the viewer, and by this he pro- 

 duces the happiest and most staking effects. In each of 

 these paintings, as in the one already examined, Ave see only 

 the fish, a section of the casting line, and a small area of 

 water. Both have freed themselves — the bass by breaking 

 away, and the trout by slipping the hook. The bass is in 

 still water; the trout in the act of passing over a foaming 

 cascade. It has been considered a high artistic attainment 

 to portray an animal, or even the waves in motion. To 

 attempt to give this life to a fish seems almost presumptu- 

 ous; but here we have both the/water and the fish in action. 

 The trout has unhooked himself at the very verge of the 

 fall, and as he is swept over, followed by the visible fly 

 and a yard of trailing line, (bad handling on the angler's 

 part,) he exhibits a look of helpless passivity, distress, and 

 fright, and a bewilderment at his sudden release which we 



were capable of expressing. Not only can we conceive 

 the downard movement of the fish and of the falling water 

 as in the act of happening, but the slight motion of the 

 disengaged line drawing through the foam leaves the flash- 

 ing trail of its feeble resistance. 



In the bass picture there is a great deal more facial ex- 

 pression in the fish and motion in the body. A fish with 

 its immobile features, its stony armor that hides the play 

 of the muscles: who would think that expression and 

 nobility eould be discerned or made apparent in these? 

 The physiognomy of this bass is something striking. He 

 has evidently been running out many yards of a too tautly 

 held line with great vim, and now by a desperate lateral 

 sweep and simultaneous dive has broken himself free, 

 carrying off the fly and and part of the leader. The 

 course he has taken is indicated by the sharp foam 

 tracings which the sweep of the line makes through 

 the deep water. His back bone is bristling and rigid; 

 the muscular action of the body and tail required in 

 the effort are apparent; the protruding eye indicates 

 desperate energy combined with alarm, while we can fancy 

 that there is just an appreciable pleasing consciousness of 

 escape in the intelligence that gleams from it. 



Surely one cannot but marvel at the genius that can ac- 

 complish all this— on canvas. We judge of the merits of 

 the paintings from an angler's standpoint chiefly and not 

 with the eye and technical phraseology of a professional 

 critic, but we feel certain that no one will consider our judg- 

 ment misplaced. Mr. Snedecor has been at great expense 

 to procure in Paris chromos of these pictures, which are 

 so perfectly imitated as to be scarcely distinguished by 

 the best connoisseurs, when placed side by side. One 

 hardly knows which most to admire— the genius that can 

 conceive and create, or the successful imitator and copyist. 

 The price of the chromos are $24 cash; for the originals 

 something like $4,000 were paid, we believe. 



Speaking of fisb, there are two other paintings at the cor- 

 ner of Fifth Avenue and 16th street, said to be equal to 

 these in merit, which we shall take accasion soon to ex- 

 amine and report upon. 



—Anglers in Great Britain, as well as those at home, 

 should be pleased to receive a statement that is authentic, 

 of some of the fishing done in American waters— at present 

 date almost wholly Canadian, owing to the barren condi- 

 tion of our once well-stocked waters of the United States. 

 We therefore give herewith the salmon scores of one of 

 the chief rivers of Canada for the years 1874 and 1875:— 

 statement or salmon pishing at river godbout, from 27th of 



JUNE, to 7th OF JULY, 1875. 



Date. 



No. and weight of Salmon by each rod. 



A. Gil- 



mour, 



Ottawa. 



D. Law, 

 Mont'al 



June 27. 

 June 29. 



£ 



D. M. i 

 Gordon 

 Ottawa. 



R. W. Shep- 

 herd, 

 Montreal . 



■a 

 W 



.a 



CO 



<t-t 

 O 



fc 



Total 



No. 



of 



fish 



daily 



July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 



Occasionally | 

 chiefly on day V 

 of arrival at ) 

 camp. 



5 

 4 



7 

 IS 

 * 



n 



8 



52 

 36 



83 



140 



1T4 



I 



571 

 M 



54 625 



in 9 



132 1 3 



30 



4 



103 5 



48 



7 



141 7 



85 



8 



118 10 



122 



6 



153 



7 



68 



* 



1184 



9 



91 



7 



1336 



a 



21 



2 



i •- 120 



221 



* 



1167 



G3 



,686 



34 



73 



r 



21 



2 



|1240 



m 



707 



36 



Caught by the Guardian 



51 

 82 

 99 



72 



74 

 18 



396 

 19 

 415 



24 

 26 

 35 

 40 

 21 

 45 

 36 

 20 



247' 



17 



Total 



weight 



of 



fish 

 daily* 



264 

 9 



273 



265 

 269 

 408 

 452 

 221 

 523 

 46J 

 221 



2820 



167 



2987 

 90 



3077 



*No fishing on days so marked. 

 Caught afterwards by Napoleon A. Comeau, (River Guardian) the best 

 fishing ever done in the world. 

 Date. Pish. Weight.) Date. 



July 8.... 7 



July 9 57 



J'lly 10 25 



July 11 34 



July 13 40 



July 14 25 



July 15 ,.16 



July 16 37 



July 17 16 



Total.... 257 



) July 18 2l 



634jJuly20... 27 



282Juiy21 '"13 



36llJuly22. * '20 



4381 July 23 6 



253July24 "" 3 



172 July27 3 



394 1 July 28... 2 



186 July 31 ".'.".*.'.'. 1 



28001 Total. 103 



257 

 Grilse 5 



Fish. Weight. 



286 

 273 

 124 

 198 

 63 

 80 

 33 

 19 



1054 



2800 



19 



8873 



Grand total 355 



The water was at a good medium height all the season, being the beit 

 condition for successful fishing on the Godbout. 



STATEMENT OF SALMON FISHIN G AT RIVER GODBOUT, BT 3 RODS FROM 



28TH JUNE TO 8th JULY.' ' 



Date, 



Number and weight of salmon by each rod. 



David Law, |K. W. Shepherd : 



ivrnntrrpftl ! Mnntr/Jtil 



Montreal. 



Montreal. 



* 



■r-( 



I 



Ko'bt Muir, 

 Montreal. 





June 28. 

 June 29. 

 June 30. 



July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 



Total. 



6 



64 



4 



40 



12 



2 



23 



5 



61 



1 



20 



280 



8 



33 



1 



7 



73 



1 



8 



8 



4 



43 



3 



i 31 



5 



7 



91 



3 



26 



3 



5 



47 



3 



30 



7 



9 



97 



8 



76 



5 



16 



163 



6 



62 



1 



5 



81 



49 



3 



26 



14 | 



930 



39 



393 



57 



158" 



11 



11 



74 



54 



31 



79 



50 



10 

 135 



613 



l fi 



22 

 8 



24 

 16 

 12 

 13 

 15 

 22 

 23 

 22 



60 si 



Eh 



262' 

 95 

 824 

 155 

 128 

 148 

 156 

 223 

 235 

 210 



177 |1936 



July 9— Caught by Mark Molson and his son, Montreal, 8 fish, weight 

 not known. Caught shortly after by P. Macnaughton and son, Quebec 

 21 fish, weight not known. ' ' 



—The Live Stock Journal says that S. W. Goodridge of 

 Grafton, Vt., has an order for three fly rods for the Pai'nce 

 of Wales. A few years ago Englishmen thought that no 

 would hardly suppose the eye and facial muscles of a fish J fine rods could be made in this country. 



