Septebmbeb 33, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



m 



^isff guJturq. 



HALMON OF THE PACIFIC COAST— HOW THE 

 SHAD HAVE MIGRATED. 



Astoria, Oregoii, July 10th. 



SOME time ago, a year or more, a communication ap- 

 peared in Forest asd S•]■I!I;A^r on the suliject of (ly fish- 

 ing for salmon in the Cohi mbia liiver. Tlio writ or. C. C. R. 

 (Capt, Rockwell, United States Coast Surs'oy V). asserted 

 that the reason the salmon did not take the fly dm-ing 

 the spring and summer months was that owiutc to the 

 discolored coudiliou of the water during tl\e spring and 

 suiiinier fre.sliets it was impossible for the lly or spoon to 

 be seen. Tlie reason was quite plausible, and. in the pres- 

 ence of a l.etter, would have been aceeiited as conclu- 

 sive. At thL- tune of reading the article referred to, I 

 had been fish in rr for salmon with trolling spoons for two 

 years, and I had observed that whenever a salmon was 

 hookeil. it Juul always been helow the line of fresh water. 

 In the fall, wbon the freshet, has subsided and the water 

 islow and cli rir anil the tides are high, the saltwater 

 reaches a point abr.:'a-si of the city front ; and that is the 

 highest point at which a salmon has over been taken 

 with a hook and line. One day last fall, to test the mat- 

 ter fully, I rowed to Tongue Point, four mdes above the 

 city, where the water is fresh, .and, though the hsh were 

 leapiiig all around uie, I could not get a bite ; then drop- 

 ping on the ebb to Smith's Point, a mile below the city, 

 in salt water, I brought four to galT in less than an hour, 

 Til test the matter more fully, during the present season 

 I ba\'e trolled for them nearly every week on the upper 

 lido waters of the Klaskani and Young's rivers, at a 

 point beyond where the muddy water of the Columbia 

 reaches, and though I have seen them leaping many 

 times I have not yet succeeded iu getting a rise. The 

 truth seems to be that the spring and fall salmon, which, 

 by the way, are two names for the same species, like the 

 other onnorhynohl, is a fish that feeds exclusively in salt 

 ■■ water, and takes a bait, fly, or spoon only on its feeding 

 grounds ; that is, in salt water only. 



While writing of salmon, I wish to take exception to 

 some of the statements of "Mowitch" in his article on 

 Fraaier River fish. He says, "I believe salmon return to 

 the river of their nativity .... to spawn. Each river 

 has its own kind of salmon. These are peculiar to itself 

 alone. Snlmo qainnal has never been seen in Frazier, 

 nor a 'suekeye' in tlie Columbia,'' etc. I a,m willing to 

 admit the ^-eiH'ral truth of the first of these statements ; 

 the otliers I beli(»ve to be entirely erroneous. It is true 

 that tiie opinions of "iMowitcb" liave been long held by 

 Sacranu^nro and Columbia canners, and they have gen- 

 erally been aecornpanied by the assertion that the salmoi^v 



of the northen 

 they svere an inferio; 

 certain extent, as wil 

 is now lield bv souk 

 meraljer of the sal ut. 

 the Sacramento to tl 

 to a gfal^ 



lly a different, but that 

 fisii : and this assertion is true to a 

 aiipear presently. But the opinion 

 of the best observers that every 

 n family found in anv river, from 

 • Yukon, iu Alaska, will be found 

 ■xtent ui all the rivers of considerable 



g sahuon of the Columbia (Oncorliyn- 

 (■li II.'; qahinai) ii^ known to be identical witli the spring 

 Sainton of the Sacramento, and constitutes the bulk of 

 the season's "run" in both, though in the Columbia they 

 average a little larger and .are just a trille fatter. The 

 spring salmon of the Frazier is tlie same (isli, but con- 

 siderably less in size and fatniws. The Oncorhynaius 

 nerJea, the "suekeye" of the Prazier, the "blue-back" of 

 the Columbia, and, changed in c.jlor by jiroximity to the 

 Spawning season, tlie ■■redhsli" of tiie Idaho lakes, con- 

 Sliituti^s the bulk of the "run" in Frazier, but is much 

 less aliundant in the other streams. 



As a can ii i 1 1 l' lish it is i nferior to the cpiiunat: so much 

 Ro that cam I I- h-!-:', haeine- r'".;-ard to the reputation of 

 their brand ' ■ - m. at all. As a fresh or salt- 



ing li.sh the,, I - - ' I iiitoeqnal. tothe (ininnat. 



The Suhno ,,.,y,'.. ,^. ,,:,:! ;li .ui " of the Columbia and 

 Sacramento, and " trout " and " salmon trout" of Fra- 

 zier, is akso found northward to the Yukon. Eaten 

 Jresh, its equality is good ; for salting it is inferior ; for 

 canning it is worthless. In closing I wish to .say that I 

 am iudebted for many of the facts in tliis article to 

 Prof. D. S. .Jordan, of the United States Fish Commis- 



sion , 

 con,::- 

 and , 

 the 1- 



[MTsrinally examined tlis sfilmon of every 



'I'l- station as far north as th" Frazier, 



■ linens from an assistant, who has spent 



■i-:,i:i in Ala.ska, 



lose without .saying th.it the conclusions 

 reacheil Ijy Prof, Jordan are not only undoubtedly cor- 

 rect, but, m viiiw of wiuit we know of ocean currents, 

 are no more than what a thoughtful man might have an- 

 ticipated. There are two ocean currents on the Pacific 

 Coast of North America, One, a narrow current, one to 

 two miles wide oif the capes and headlands, and ten to 

 twenty along tbe bays, runfs northward, close totheshore. 

 The other, an immense ocean river, of which the first is 

 only the cildy, turned from its course by the Aleutian 

 Islands and Alaska, sweeps along the coast, downward to 

 the tropics. A salmon from the Sacramento has only to 

 drift on the inner current to find hiniself ia a few 

 m^onths, and without effort of las own, at the mouth of 

 Frazier or tho Yukon ; and one from the Yttkon at the 

 Frazier, in the outer current, «-ould soon reach the 

 mouth of the Columbia or the Sai lamento. I do not pre- 

 tend or auppo.se that any eon,^iderable part of the salmon 

 of any river are so drifci'd al)o\it by ocean currents; but 

 but I do believe tliat enough are so drifted for purposes 

 of colonization. I think, it the truth could be known, ii 

 would be found that euougli are drifted in this way ti: 

 amaze thoae who have given no Lbougbt to the subject. 

 riie history of the sliad introduced a few ve:-n-5 soi.-^'nito 

 the Saevaiuento is a case iu point. Tl Iv 



attamed a length of eleven inches, be i- im'- 



gantobe taki-n in the Columbia : ano mk 



how small is the seining ground on whieii t.licse sha,i .are 

 caught, it is safe to estimate that there are hurnireds, 

 SUld perhaps thousands, in tlie river tor everv ouu taken : 

 and were It not that the u-,ater ot the nortliern rivers is 

 too cold bit llieir sueees^tiii propagation, we inisht look 

 to sec the whole Paeifie Coast stocked t.efore many years 

 from the one importation to the Sacramento. 



C. J. SWTH. 



The Prizes at the Gebmaj} E-xhihitioxV.— The FU- 

 clmrei Zeitung says that the honoraiy prizes (diplomas, 



awarded at the Berlin Fishery Exhibition are completed 

 and ready for transmission. The medals (with diplomas) 

 will be ready early in autumn. The Wurtzburg prizes 

 are finished and ready to be sent to their owners, 



Saibling Eogs — Proper Ceedit.— One of our German 

 correspondents writes as follows : "In your issue of July 

 39th it is said that the German government has gent a 

 present of of a lot of eggs of the saibling, Sfdm.Q Milveli- 

 nus, to Mr. Livingston Stone. The error is slight, yet as 

 it is a question of placing the credit in the proper place, it 

 is only fair to s.iy that the government had nothing to do 

 with the )natter, as the eggs were sent entirely at the 

 coat (if Mr. von dem Borne, the celebrated fish culturist of 

 Berneuchen, who packed them in snow, in which they 

 arrived in America in good order." 



Our correspondent also writes that some eggs of brook 

 trout, sent from this country to Germany last winter, ar- 

 rived in very bad order ; in fact were warm and rotten, 

 * 



Soles in Ambrica. — We have received a communica- 

 tion on this subject, from an anonymous ctuxespondent, 

 with only his alleged initials signed. His statements 

 hare no value whatever wlien given In this way, and if 

 he wrU send in his address to this office we will consid- 

 der the propriety of publishing his letter. If he does not 

 care to h.avo his name appear it will not, btit we utust be 

 satislied reg.arding bis competency to speak on this sub- 

 ject before we j.irint his letter. Again and again we 

 have said that it is useless to write to us anonymously^ 

 and if corrcspond-nts would only remember it, it would 

 save both tTouble. We require the name as a guarantee 

 of good faith merely in most cases, but in the present 

 case we have grave doubts if the writer is competent 

 to indentify a sole, a doubt which he can easily dispel if 

 he is familiar with them. 



WoHK OF THE Fish Ha.wk.— The new fish-hatching 

 steamer, in the absence of fish eggs to hatch, is engaged 

 in the investigations of the fish oom mission at Newport, 

 and made a most remarkable day's work about a fortnight 

 ago, in which over VM species, vertebrate and in- 

 vertebrate, were added to the fatma, of Southern New 

 England, by trawling in 200 fathoms, sixty miles south- 

 east of No Man's Land. Our informant, who was on 

 the spot liist week, writes that Prof. Goode had just 

 finished a paper, describing seven new species' of 

 fish which are included in four new genera, from that 

 day's work, 



— Address all eommunieat ions to" lorest and Stream 

 Publishing Company, Nino York." 



FISH IN SEASON IN SEPXEMBEK. 



PRE3H WATBR. 



Black Basa, MiarfipUrui. (Two 



PIJRcies ) 

 ftncic Uiiss, AmUoxililei. (Two 



War-aioutb, CtuBnnhryttm giUo- 



Orappio, fiimdxijs yiiuromacuta- 



GrayUng, Tlmnallm tricolur. 

 Jjake Trout, .Salmo namaijct 

 Maskaionge, Eunx nobilUir. 

 Pickerel, Eso.r retUmlatUf. 

 Pike or Pickerel. E; ' 



piko) 



\Thie_ 



Spot, M[- I.,;il;i 



Spot, ttii'Id-sh, r: 



itilis 



■i:.-, LkixLomm 

 CLiauael Bass, 



lux. 



u;.i/,f a 



Sea "Trout," Cynnscyon carfili- 



nensis. 

 Weakflah, Otmnfciim regalia. 

 Shore Whiting, Mentlciri'Wi Ht- 



toralit. 

 Croaijcr, Midrnimjirii undvlalua. 

 Biueflsh . Pi;aatn,„ iw mUatriXr, 

 Spiinisli Mackerel, lUihium mrOi- 



ulatinn. 

 Cero. ('i/liium rmule. 

 Bonitu, SariMi-uclamus. 

 KiiigUsh, Menticirncs nehulomts 



THE FLY IN NORTH ELBA. 



Au Sable Forks, N. Y., Aug. 2d. 



ON last Thursday morning at 7 o'clock, my w'ife and 

 I left our pleasant home in this village, for a short 

 trip among tlio trout streams. We dro\-e across the 

 Flume, along the banks of tbe Au Sable River, through 

 Wilmington Notch, past the foot of Whiteface Mountain, 

 and feasted ourselves upon some of the wildest and grand- 

 est scenery in the Adirondacks. This feast of the eye and 

 mind, however, did not spoil our appetites for the pleas- 

 ant lunch we took on tin:! banks of the rivei-. jttst before 

 we reached tho bridge of North Elba. 



We arrived at Cameron's, the place eif our destination, 

 a li1i:le before 2 o'clock, having enjoyed one of the most 

 delightful drives of our remembrance. The sky, which 

 until now had been almost perfectly clear, began to cloud 

 over, and before we got om- things lixed and ready fm- 

 fishing, the rain was falling furiously. I unpacked my 

 Orvis rod, attached my reel, and arranged three flies upon 

 my new "mist colored" leader, ;md wtiited for a lull in 

 the storm, which soon came, though tbe rain did n^t en- 

 tirely cease falling. 1 slipped o,rmv light water|,n.,,r. 

 while Mr. Cameron, who od'ered to aecompanv me -ot, 

 lumseir into one of the heaviest of black ovpi-eoais nnd 

 we started for tbe i)Ond, which lav about a quarter nf a 

 mile below us in a lonely meadow. This pon,| is made 

 liy a dam across Pay Brook, and \vill perhaps average 

 twenty-live feet in width, and is somewhere about half a 

 mile in length, though it is hard to tell where the pond 

 ends, and the brook commences, 



AVlieii we reached the pond, we found that the old flat- 

 liottom boat we were to use was on the opposite side, liut 

 Mr. Cameron was equal to the emergency, and taking off 

 his clothes (including the black overcoat), he waded 

 over and returned with the boat; in the meantime I 

 whipped tlie stream, but either Mr. Cameron iwirliout 

 hia tdothes and overcoat), had frightened tbe fish, or else 

 there were not many just at that place, for I only cauglit 



two little fellows. We got into the boat, and started 

 slowly down sfei-eam until we came in reach of a famous 

 hole, from \\diich 1 liad tal^en many a fine fish in years 

 gone by. We pushed one end of the lioat upon the 

 muddy bank, .■)nd waited for :i few niinufes until the 

 trout 'had time to recover from any uneasiness that our 

 approach may have caused them, " In a sliort time they 

 were jumping all around us : fine fellows, oi'er a fool; 

 long would spring clear out oC tie -■ , :■ n 1 show their 

 rainbow tinted sides as they tun,; I , ' i_ in. I stood 



upinmj'cnd of the boat, pulleil , ,. i ,,;, ,;, .-.,.,-, (p^i Qf 

 line, made a cast close i.. 1 1. -'i i, - :,: i •-, ;!|,,:r, 



to get my line out. and te : :■ M :■,, ; 'i,-_'lit:. 



.and tlien swinging mv iiih I : :i,' n . " . i: , , iliig 

 forward when they fell ele>e io i he epj.es.i,- ^i,,,,,.. Jo ihe 

 deepest water, and where the iar;;est fish had been juntp- 

 ing. I had just time to see that thev had fallen straight 

 and hehtly, when the water splasheil and I gave a jerk. 

 My reel started as my line le.l down stretim. This Went 

 on for some seventy feet, wiien a, to in in the stream w,aa 

 about to bring mv bne into the lutish. so I put mv finger 

 on tbe reel, and turned the butt of my light pole toward 

 the fish, the graceful rod bent until the tip had pasised, 

 my hands, when it began to straighten, and I ktiew my 

 game had been stopped. Mv line ran up strream, only 

 to run down again, and I. knew that tliere was something 

 strong and plucky on my hook. It then oeenrred to uie 

 that I had forgotten my landing net. It must have been 

 some twenty minutes before reHistaTice ee.aseii, and my 

 fish were slowh- led upon tlie mud, where they laV 

 quitely until Mr.' Cameron lifted them with his hands into 

 the boat. On the firsi lly we found a trout weitcliing 

 about three-quarters of .i, "pound, a smaller felhiw on [he 

 next hook, and a noble fellow which aft:erward weighed 

 one pound and fifteen ounces, on the end hook. 'This 

 last proved to be the Largest troutcaught this season upon 

 a fly. The sport was continued until Ave hmi eighteen, I 

 having taken two upon another cast, and three tqion an- 

 other, the smallest of which wcighetl a little over half a 

 poimd. 



With a little excusable pride, Mr. Cameron was an.\-- 

 ious that we should get home, so as to display our fish 

 as the mail stage passed, but we were too 1,-il'e for tlio 

 stage. As we were hurrying for tiie st'i.ire, Mr, Cameron, 

 who a short time before had been fearing a frost, re- 

 marked upon the sudden change in the weather, and 

 looked a little blank when I toltl him that it was cold 

 enough outside of bis overcoat. 



As soon as some of our fish could be cooked, sttjiper 

 was announced, and we were ready for the supper. The 

 supper was aU that could be desired, and 'oy no menns 

 its least recommendation, vvas the neatness and cleanli- 

 ness of everything about the dining room and taljle. Mr, 

 Cameron has a large new house, with aeeomiiioihations 

 for some forty guests, the rooms are moderately fm-- 

 nished with new cottage furniture, with spring" beds, 

 hair mattresses, antl sheets as clean, white and jjiire as a 

 politician's record painted by^ his own organ. 



We went to bed early, and slept so'tmdlv. Friday 

 morning foretold a splendid day. .After a gocid breakf.a.st 

 and a smoke, my wife and I started tor the stream, with 

 young Byron Cameron as guide, and ,lenny Cameron as 

 company^ and guest. Byron is a bright boy uf some thir- 

 teen'suinmers, and Jenny is a sweet, pretty child, some 

 two years younger. 



When we reached the brook the sun was very bright, 

 the water clear, and not a breath of air to make" a ripple 

 upon its surface, consequently the trout rose to the fly 

 slowly, but since we did not iieed tlie fish, we were not 

 not disappointed. Byron made suggestions which indi- 

 cated that he was getting a little suspicious of my skill as 

 a fLshermau, but by following jiis advice with n"o better 

 results, he was silenced it not satisfietl. We soon, how- 

 ever, had twelve, the number agreed upon before we left 

 the house, and on two occasions I took- two at one cast. 

 Those twelve weighed eight pounds and two ounces. 

 While fislting, we sawa hawk strike a bird, whieh fell 

 pei-fectly dead on the bank near us, we went and got the 

 dead bird and found it to be a niglithasvk. Lly wife was 

 greatly interested in tlie sport, tuid liaiirlh^d i^ho landing 

 net so dexterously, that Byron tind I decided totrusther 

 with the pole for a short time. I reeled up to six feet of 

 line, cut a nice bait out of the breast of cm- dead night- 

 hawk, which I put on the end fly and handed her the 

 pole. 



She made a cast, the pole struck the water and the 

 line fell in a htmp at the end of t,he pole, but since the pole 

 did not break, I felt easy, A three qearter pounder took 

 the hook, but the reel would not play, lieeause her hand 

 was over the line, Byron held the landing net, while T 

 trembled for my pole, but finally the fish was landed 

 safely. We gave a lecture upon the management of the 

 reel, and she made another cast : this time she held the 

 pole out o\-er the stream, an^l L to.ssed the hook in, atrout 

 tor.k tbe bait and the reel started, and while the ilies were 

 dragging through (lie waier. another trout took one of 

 them, and I was then certain thai, my jiole w;is gone, 

 but fortunately it got oli" ag.ain. wdieii xny wife heroic- 

 ally snatched the remaining fish clear out of the water 

 into the boat. I am now convinced that sii_uply Ijecause 

 a woman possesses all of the christian virtues' it is no 

 reason why she .should fe tnisted with an Orvis rod. 



We went to the house and talked iiiilil dinner was 

 announced, and after we (inisbed eating, we ordered oiu- 

 team and drove (.>ver to pay a short \ isit ti> our old friend 

 Mr. Dan'l Ames. :Mr. Ames is one of the old .settlers in 

 North Elba, rather ;i hard man to get acquainted with, but 

 be has a kind, warm heart, a good deal of humor, and a. 

 Sreatdeal of sound sense, with an unusual altachment 

 lo Ills friends. After our visit, we drto e Ijaek to liie hotel, 

 ',vhen I to.jk my rod and went do^vn to where we had left; 

 th<. boat. T)ic sky was a little eloiidy. a light wind made 

 a slignt ripple upon the water, and the trout bit with the 

 a\idil_\- of a New Jersey mo.'queto, I sat in the end of 

 the lioat. and \vatelied the lish .jump, and whenever one 

 a httle larger then his fellows showed himself, I dropped 

 a fly as nearly as possible v liere he >,(-ent lIowu. 

 StHaving an excess of time, I humored every fish until 

 it w.'is wilUngtobe landed wiibout :i struggle, and too 

 soon had my complement of twelve. These twelve 

 weiglitd five jjounds and seven ounces. While playing 

 with a three-quarters of pound fello\s-, I noticed a piece 

 of a Ime attached, and when I Landed him I found a 

 liook in bis mouth, last to a four feet leader, containing 

 three flics. With this lead,:r ami hooks attached, theflsh 

 hatl risen to the surface lind takeoi my fly. Mr. Cameron 

 told me that that leader was lost on a trout on the 15th 



