ArorsT 5, 1680.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



age, that must have been peculiarly asgravating to the 

 feeUngs of our hero, he disappeared beneath the cold, 

 dark waves. At this instant — now mark the strategic 

 cunning of this roost subtle fish — when I was utterly 

 enervated, and entirely unprepared for the conflict, a 

 huge live-pnnnd monster seizeil my advanced guard. ,i 

 favorite scarlet iliis, and at terviftc speed bore down the 

 rapid current. Bravely I rallied my forces tx) the rescue, 

 but ere my nenT-les.s hands had found their cunning anil 

 cheolced his headlong rush, he harl forced from me full 

 fifty feet of line. As soon as he felt the killing strain he 

 leaped high in air to reconnoiter the battlefield, and when 

 he discovered who was in command, and caught a 

 glimpse of the vengeful fire in my eye, he becaiiie de- 

 mo)-aIizeJ, and commenced a series of wild rushes and 

 toweriii.u leaps tliat nearly broke my heart ; but all in 

 vain wiTe liis frantic siru'trtrlfs, for. as I have said be- 

 fore, I was a dpHpprato man that day- and although fear- 

 ful odds were ajraiust me, '-wiUi an energj' bom of des- 

 pair" I fought I lie battle to the liit ter end, and at the end 

 of forty-five minutes of agonizing pleasure, mingled 

 ■with cruel doubts and fears, during which I would have 

 given half my kingdom for mj- dainty tip, and the other 

 half for the landing net which I had left at home, I saw 

 his silveiy side trirn up. T>n.l unifeiKtma^lY drew him 

 withiareach. and thrust i IV i ■ mi I o his wide open 



mouth safely landed the _ d with unspeak- 



able happiness in my benr t : i , knowledgment to 



the vociferoxis cheers (liat grert, d my success. 



The fish having now learned to their cost that, not- 

 ■withstanding my cri]j|iled cendition, I was more than a 

 matcli for the be.^t of them, wisely abandoned the con- 

 test and let me alone, but ever and anon the mu.sie of the 

 hummina; reel and the pleased ejaeul.^tion8 froni the ad- 

 joining Ijoats proclaimed abundant sport, and kept rne 

 pleasantly occupied till nearly dark. I counted no less 

 than twenty-seven noble fish taken by my neighbors, not 

 including many more tViat were under size, while many 

 of the bandliners lost quite a number of ajiparfutlv 

 hea.Tyfish. The niosi; taking lly is the scarlet ibis, al- 

 though almost .-iny of the ciMimion trout ilies, pa.rticu- 

 larlytlie ibireren't shades of brown and orange, have 

 proved suceesslid. 



The .season opens as soon as the fish arrive, which is 

 about tlie Li.-t i-r jliiy. and closes Aug. 1st. The present 

 season has . . : nl as usual, owing to low 



water, yet n l-.-on captured, some of 



them turiiiM- ,■ ards of six pounds. I 



shall try tiiei.i :i-aiii m a lew uays, if I find that tip, and 

 see if tier.' IS any .sport to be had in "casting," and will 

 report succ-sh. Shadow. 



Another correspondent writes from Hartford, Conn., 

 July 24th :— 



In your issue of June 94th you pubhshed a few notes of 

 mine on shad nsldng. 1 ha\-e been tryiuLf it ag.iin, and 

 this time with mueii more satisfactory re-ults, I niau- 

 aged to land four in a couple of hours, and should have 

 had more except for a broken hook. I took them with a 

 very light trout rig, and right royal sport it was. My 

 first one took me twenty minutes to laud, and the others 

 from ten to fifteen. Wliile not quite so vigorous at the 

 outset thev last longer than the black bass; otherwise 

 they reminded me nmch of that fish in their wild rushes 

 and their way of thro\viiig tlieuaselves out of the water. 

 I hope some "of your readers will pay a visit to Holyoke 

 nest season, as I am sure they wdl like it, if they have the 

 good luck to haul in a few of "the beautiful blue and silvery 

 fellows. They have all the good points of a true game 

 fish. They take a fly, fight hard, require considerable 

 skill t.0 handle.and are gamy to the last, besides being very 

 handsome. As to tneir table value I need say nothing. 

 I fomid a red ibis and a coachman the only flies tliey 

 wotild touch. M. D. 



Fish in Market.— The first whiteflsh (Coregonus) of 

 the season made their appearance in Fulton market this 

 week. They came from Erie, Pa. The week was also 

 notable for the first appearance of salmon trout, from 

 Buffalo, N. Y, Spanish mackerel made their appearance 

 on the New Jersey coast last Sunday, about one month 

 later than usual ; the market is well'supplied. Bluefish 

 are scarce ; those in market mostly come from the Massa- 

 chusetts coast, about Cape Cod. Sbeepshead are not 

 j)lenty, a few being taken off BaruegnL. The following 

 are the quotations : Salt water fish — Bass. 3.5 cents per 

 pound ; bluefish, S ; salmon, 40 : mackerel, large, 18, 

 small, 10 : weakftbh, 10 ; Spanish mackerel, 25 : green 

 turtle, 121; halibut, 18: haddock, 6: kingfish, 2.5: cod- 

 fish, S ; blaclifish, ll'i ; flounders. 10: policies, 10; sea- 

 bass, ly : iHjni]iaiio. 75 ; eels, IS : lobsters, Hi ; sbeepshead, 

 2o : ei-itt clams, 4u to 7.^ cents per luu ; soft crabs, $1 to 

 .$1.50 per 100. Fresli wiuer fish— Whitefishj 12^ ; salmon 

 tiout.'lS. 



X Black Bass Notes fkom "Aqttadale."— Irarelvread 

 a Forest and Stkeam without finding som.nliing inter- 

 esting to note. The fii-st ''point" in last weeks issue 

 which I note is the controversy about Southern trout, 

 alias bass. Is not "St. Clair" a little wild in tite asser- 

 tion that "there never was a black bass in any stream 

 that empties into the Atlantic, south of Maryland, and 

 there never will be?" I have in mv black bass pond soma 

 fine specimens, wbieh 1 mv-self l)rouglit fro, u tho Shen- 

 andoah and the Potomac, and 1 also liad .--jijir iiii,_- speci- 

 mens on exhibition at the Centennial, wluLdi i brought 

 from the Siienaudoah. All authorities pronounced theiu 

 black bass. I have been stocking lakes, ponds and 

 streams with them, both in the New Bnglaud and the 

 Middle SL:i(.: -. -.'I'li ■-.Iii.-- riii.iii il:i' lino black bass, or at 

 least the s. u 1 1: I I ! ! ! !i(l of mine, who is 



an expert r; ,_;_ I, , . . ^ uiore than a year 



past in Florufa, au^i .v.i.l:.;, lUaL !..- has had fine spore 

 catching what they there call trout, but which are itleu- 

 tical with my bass. 



Speaking of my bass pond reminds me of an incident 

 which oocuired a few evenings ago. There are in this 

 pond perhaps 100 California salmon, three years old. 

 They appear to be about sLsteen inches in length, per- 

 haps "■on . nf ']-rrn rv^' In-;-;-- It was about dusk of the 

 evei , I ,1 .- of ladies and Kentlemen 



wen ■ i:!aug liieir evening bath. 



Ther.. V, ,. .., I„.L-., .-V,-,, II .;.,-,, o;uik sw.iUows and swifts, 

 commonly called chiiunoy swallows. One of the latter 

 glided swiftly along the surface of the water, and had 

 barely left it, when a large salmon spi-ang after it, com- 



ing entirely out of the wat«r, but by the time the fish 

 was out of the water the swift was ftilly three feet away. 



I am frequently in receipt of inquiries as to the pre]ia- 

 ralion of lakes and ponds for brook trout. The last marl 

 broittdii me such an inquiry from one of the nrominent 

 daih i.riprrs of vour citv. 'iwish brri, to repeat what T 

 have foi- yerir;^ pa'it maintained, ^iz : fliat 1irn.,k troui 

 will not thrive in lakes or ponds. They only thrive w-ell 

 in water.whicli is undergoing constant aeration. They 

 will live in pure, cool water, like ponds, ditches, -etc., 

 but will not thrive without a constant supply of artifi 

 cial food. Time, labor and money spent in preparing 

 ponds, etc.. for brook trout or for stocking such prepared 

 waters with them, will be nearly a dead lo.ss. Parties 

 liaving suitabh- sites for such prepiared waters shoidd 

 turn their attention to the Idack bass or the food carp. 



I have been interested in the various articles concern- 

 ing "sights" of hunting rifles. Those of your readers 

 who used to know nre dm-ing and previous to the war 

 can judge whether I am an "authority," For several 

 years I did most of the gun-repairing ifor many mUes 

 around the place where I then resided. I experimented 

 extensively with rifle sights, and had many rifles brought 

 to me to re-sight, My best success was with a high, 

 level back sight, nstially made of soft iron, colored a 

 dead lilue. and eontaining a narrow .and shallow notch. 

 My he-,t front si'ilits were of ivory, thin and higli. and 

 siuiped liked an inclined plane, the Iiack end nearly ver- 

 tical. 



Noticing in a late issue of the Forest and Stbf..\m 

 some queries in regard to fly-fishing for shad, I will sav 

 that a few weeks ago I saw several fishermen having fine 

 sport just below the celebrated Holyoko Dam, on the 

 Connecticut River. They were all fishing with light 

 colored flies, and were taking shad running from two to 

 three pounds and upward. MiLTON P. PlEECE. 



Aquiuliilii Pcmds, Wenonah, N. J. 



Tlie black bass question may now be considered as set- 

 tled, so far as their distribution in the South is concerned. 

 The very able letter from Dr. HenshaU, in oiu- last issue, 

 presented the facts on which all ichthyologists agree, so 

 that even oxu- friend "St. Clair" mtist see that the bass of 

 the South and those of the Nortli are identical, and that 

 there are but two species. "St. Clair" has evidently been 

 misled by contmon names, as he mentions the "blacibass 

 of the North" as Centrojiristes atrarius, which is a sea 

 fish, which never comes into fresh water. This fish baa 

 many local names. Gill giving black sea bass, sea bass 

 (New York) ; black perch (Mass.) ; black bass, black fish 

 fNew Jersey) ; bluefish (Newport) ; black harry, hanna- 

 hUls (New Y^ork, DeKay) ; black will (Eastern shore of 

 Virginia). 



ijr. Ilenshall will soon publish a book on the black 

 basses, a group which this able ichthyologist has been 

 studying for some time. 



y • 



^ The Bass Question Settled.— P!(6iani, July iStli,— 

 The correspondence of St. Clair, "Black Bass vs. Trout," is 

 rather laughable. He says he will stand or fall on evi- 

 dence, etc., pertaining to black bti.ss being found in 

 Southern streams. Now he wdl suiely have to tumble 

 over this time. In Western Florida there is a stream 

 called Mud Eiver— why it shoud be called by that name I 

 cannot conceive— for it is beautifuUy clear", about three 

 miles long, and starts from a large, round, deep spring, 

 which, as is estimated, voids 100,000 cubic feet per min- 

 ute. The water is clear and cold, and pleasant tasted; the 

 river averages 50 yards wide and is swift, and from ten to 

 twenty feet deep, emptying into the mouth of theWicha- 

 wacha River, near Bay Port. The river abounds in bass of 

 two kinds, a kind of lead colored bass often called black 

 bass, and the real black basa. Now I have caught the 

 black bass in Central New York, and New England, for 

 the past thirty years, and am very familar with the fish, 

 and think I cannot be mistaken ; am sure beyond a 

 doubt in my own min d, as experience is one of the best 

 of schoolmasters. Ascending this "Mud River," so called, 

 at about half way from its mouth on the south side is a 

 swift stream twenty feet wide; ascending this some 200 

 yards, you enter a large kind of pond of some ten acres 

 of rocky and sandy bottom. Here the true, real, gamy 

 black bass abound. Que morning I caught about thirty 

 there, of from one to three pounds weight, the same 

 beautifully proportioned, exactly like those I caught in 

 Central New York. Mr. St. Clair says the "vexed ques- 

 tion shall be forever set at rest." A colored preacher in 

 Florida said "forever was a mighty long word, reaching 

 half way up the hill of eternity." "That there never will 

 be a black bass in any Southern streams emptying into 

 the Atlantic," is strong language for our able correspon- 

 dent to use, and I think our good friend is mistaken, for 

 many times while ascending the Oclawaha River, in 

 Florida, I have in trolling fi-om the little steamer caught 

 the real black bass, and I doubt not that many Northern 

 sportsmen have seen or caught them while ascending 

 cliat stream. G. F. W. 



See our remarks on the article by Milton P. Pierce. 

 There are but few men who are capable of deciding on 

 species — certainly those having no knowledge of syste- 

 nuttic ichthyology are not — the fisherman and angler only 

 knowingtheu' fishes by then- superficial appearance, color 

 and shape. Few of them can tell how their fins are sit- 

 uated or how they are composed, character and situation 

 of teeth, or the many other important points which are of 

 real value. The scientist often doubts his diagnosis, while 

 the .imateur never does. 



^ Tbk LisO IN Uoaixi^A.— Upper Mana Bvver,M. T., 

 July 3d. — Editor Foreat and Utream : — ^Yesterday an In- 

 dian boy brought me a fisU which he killed with his bow 

 and aai-ow. And as I never saw or heard of anything 

 like it, I wdl describe it, and perhaps some of your reade)-s 

 will be able to tell ua something about it. "Leji2,th IfU 

 inches, one fin on each side just buek of gills : just back 

 of throat-latch two long, feeler-like tins ; .5} inches from 

 nose on back one small fin ; •? inches from nose on back 

 and belly a fin commences and runs clear to tail ; tad 

 sh.ii>eofa flat spoon: general color, , a dirty white and 

 black mottled, bright narrow green stripe on each side ; 



only about 



s[)ortsnipn 



omise them 



,ots of fresh. 



no scales. Kipo, the Indian trader, says he has seen 

 these fish in the Missouri River which" would weigh 

 twenty-five pounds i but knows no name for them. The 

 Blackfeet call them Peeksas-mah-ineeks, which means 

 sn.ike-fisli. and in truth they look like a cross between 

 a bullhead, a snake and an eel. 



The Piegans have hen htinting aViout bete fOr several 

 months, consequently depr and antelope nre sairce. 



We>ireraHkingprepani.ti>ns to move to the mouth of the 

 Sluscleshell River, al out two hundred and fl ty milp.s he- 

 low Fort Benton, where Kipp will start a trading-post 

 with the Bloods, Blackfeet, Piegans and half-breerls. 

 Bnfiialo are plenty down there, also all other ga.me to be 

 found in Montana Territory, except Rocky Mountain 

 goats and moose. 



Tlie fare from Clncago to Fori P.pi 

 |;60. I should be glad to see s- ,nir. 

 come up to our new post next Au-nst, ayid pi 

 a hearty reception, tlie best of hunting and i 

 pure Siontana air. 



I notice a mention of old Livpi'-eating Johnson 'in one 

 of your late issues. He i.s -:n.:-,,- ,i ■ i-,^|^ ^^ gj^j^ "game," 

 and is eaniped sornewli'M MtiaclesheU a,nd 



Judith rivers, hunting- In : think he is diet- 



ing on Sioux Indian liver; i, _ I, Ae^veoitssa. 



Your description agrees with the fish which bears the 

 following names: "Eel-pout," in Ohio; "ling," in 

 many parts; "losh," among Canadian fishermen, and 

 other names. It ia one of the family Gaciidw-, the cod- 

 fishes, and haa been called the "codfii-h of the lakes." 

 Its true name is Lota maculosa. Its livers are said to be 

 a groat delicacy. 



Probably a Sttcket;. — ]\'<-(!fmi, Grand Trai-ei'/tf 

 Count II. ilZ.'c/o^Everv sprins and summer I havf erm.j-ht 

 a few lish. the species of flie sunker fanndy In shape 

 they resemble the pike of our westfirn ponds. Theix nose 

 is nearly on a right line of their backs, which is very 

 nearly straight. They are broad shoiddeJ-ed ; their fins 

 are of the color of gold, and they have a dii rk line run- 

 ning from the point of Uieir giU"to the f.;'. r : ;, ■ , ; ;i. 

 Thev bite a fly as readiiv as a gravlimr ; ■ ; Iv 



about three poi'nds. The covering of lb-' ;.i"r ' 



head proper are of a sundown tint, iutersjj i. o v. n,;; vio- 

 let, ami aU the scales are capable of exhibiting several 

 hriLdit tinted colors. I took one in the month of April 

 and thought I would try his qualities in the pan, and was 

 surprised to find bis flesh a bright orange color when 

 cooked, also to find his anatomy to contain only the same 

 number of bones as a brook trout, only sratlUer'in propor- 

 tion, and the best flavored fish that I ever ate. I think 

 he is the Roman mullet of Pliny. F. M. S, ^ 



Your fish is probably a male of some species of sucker 

 in its breeiling dress, but your description is too incom- 

 plete to base even a guess upon. Agaui and again we 

 say, color counts for very Uttle in determining fishes, 

 Give us the color last of all. 



" Salmo WiLMOTL— i1?o»^r!rr;7. Can.. June.— Kd if or For- 

 est and Stream : — ^T.i-ving and srufTer! .■specimens of a sal- 



>diibii:ed at tlie Grand 

 ir September, IdTO. 

 r;irks on American 

 'd H-77«/.oK. I am led 

 I 51r, Wilauit's as- 

 moti, He informed 

 . hi h; . ingnamed 

 1- . ;' that Mr. 

 - ' ; ; ■ writer on 



roon bearing the above na 

 Dominion Exhibition hold m i )i t;i o 



I have searched tbrom;:h s(<ven:d 



fishes, but cannot find .i. -neciets iia.n 



to make this inquiry because 1 ask 



sistant wlio uame;f the salmon il' 



me that Mr. AYilm..i v.ms o;- oi^n-; 



the fish in lionor.;!" njoi^ : :' ' \ ■ i- 



Wilmot, of Newcas;: .. «;:M,nbi, l^ 



fishes, and oven if lie is. it i:^ n;;! ■:< 



ance with the views of tnie proiin ,i ^:- . ■ ,; ' nce 



that the usual etiquette slioul;! Ij.' vii !;; 1 ... ; ;:iiy 



man's vanity. If Mr. Wilrnot's s.iltuoi;. i; :,_ ■_: :._.,i ;j,,. .jjes, 



it should be described properly, and until this is done, 



the name is worthless. Wji. Coupee. 



There is no fish known to naturalists by this name, 

 neither has there been any description of a new salmon 

 from that region published lately. The salmon found in 

 Lake Ontario and its tributaries are Sahno aalar. 



Michigan FisHiNa Resorts.— C/ieboj/gaji, Mich., July 

 21st. — Nearly every week some person is asking in your 

 paper where they can spend the summer, aifd at the 

 same time have'some good fishing. If thev wiU look at 

 the map of Michigan, they will see that nnr'e;;unty is the 

 extreme northern county" of the lower Peninsula, and I 

 thuik were they to pay this county a vi?it they would be 

 perfectly .satisfied, as the weatbe'r during ilie summer 

 months is cool and bracing, and the nsh log is second to 

 none. We have good liotels in the town, and at the head 

 of Mtdlet Lake is one of tlie largest aii;l best hotels in the 

 State. It was budt during the past winter and spring, by 

 the Smith Bros., at a cost of thirty-five thousand dollars. 

 It contains one-hundred and fifty rooms, andisfm-nished 

 throughout in the very best style. It is managed by 

 AVm. Spencer, who has had several vears' experience iu 

 the hotel business in this countv. .aiid can p. .sf Ids "neHts 

 about tlie best fishing ground-;. kri;l wQl spare no piiins to 

 make them comfortaljlea.nd feel at home. There is a 

 steam yacht and t\vo saUing yachts, besides a fleet of 

 clinker boats tor the use of gaiests. There is a daily Hue 

 of steamers running from Petoskey, through Crooked, 

 Burt and Jltdkt lakes, to Cheboygan, then across the 

 straits to :\bickinac. The boats meet at noon at the Mul- 

 let Lake HotLse, wtien the passengers get dinner. Pigeon 

 and Indian rivers empty into tin;- b'rn -'-iit one mile 

 apart, and the hotel is situated ; ; between 



the two rivers, on what is calic;! " i;ay. In 



Indian Ifiver and this bay there n, ^ ,; for pick- 



erel, black bass and maskalonge. Pigeon River is one of 

 the best grayling stxeains in the State. The forest around 

 the hotid is fidl of deer and bear, and Indian Eiver is full 

 of ducks of all kinds in the fall, so that thu sportsman in 

 the game season can spend his time very pleasantly w ilji- 

 out much exertion. T, A. P 



\ * 



"■ Thf. CHE&rcNG River and Sodus BAX.—Mndro, jY I', 

 July SOfft. — In response to your letter of inquiry of yes- 

 terday, relating to the sort of fishing to bo hail iu this 

 vicinity, I report as follows : — 



Our river- the Chemung— wa.? well Btocke<I with black 

 bass four or five years ago. As a reaidt of that i>lanting, 

 we liave had fair fishing for the past two years. Bass are 



