428 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dbobmbkt! 80, 1880. 



moved, ns if to the nmuor born, in a dignified way toward 

 the dcc.ayeU liarrs and mud at the bottom. 



"I liuow jou wDuId bft?o been iiitcrfslBd or uumsed bad 

 you seen tliofn. The pond is on the eslaie of the iatf) W. C. 

 Birant;, nnd onr noi'dilior, T. Clanham. Esc;., von probsbly 



!<„,„,- „-,,-,!,.;.,. -,,-,.1 : .,^ --'firo. >Iv"hnsb:iiifl, the 



' : iiianliiiiT of oysters in 



\'\. h is now A profit- 

 '! ' : ■■;: i'!] iii, for Bending a sloop 



i;Mit. la 1837 lie prncui-ed irout from Kon- 

 ; 1 and from auother source, but the esporiment 

 I -wish he had liyed lo see the success of Mr. 

 (iMOiiaii. 1 hope this matter of the German carp Will suc- 

 ceed. I am an old iady and do not expect to see a 'five- 

 pounder. 



"Nevertheless, am as much obliged to yon as if T expected 

 to see Ihena on my table. L. M. S. JilouLioK." 



"DmreEn's Plsttkby Cat.kndek. — Each yearlfr. "W. Bun- 

 ker, eol ' ■ . ; ii- ; ':-^fJierti Zoitnng, Stettin, Germany, issnes 

 bis (;■:■ ,.;r for ISSf is now liefore ua" It 13 a 



and ns! 

 !-.r, Man! 



id.:, 



dealers, 



s for the 



Brnns- 



paratu.q at Ihe Inlernalion,';! Fishery K.-iiiil.Uion in 1880, illu- 

 minated ■with figures of hooks of bone and ir0]i, gangs of 

 hooks, spinning bait.i, floats, ete.; measiu-emcnts of fish eggs, 

 by Mr. von dem Borne ; a Gei-nuui and Italian flab diction- 

 ary, giving Ibe popular names of fiBbcs in those languages, 

 as well as their scientific names, and much other information 

 concerning the subjects to which the book is devoted, all for 

 the smn of one mark (twenty-four cents)in paper, or one and 

 a half marks bound. 



pp.e 

 J. E. 



note ' 



States 

 to Ui- 



lor r 



ster 

 are 



.lee 



11; I Fix 



' ,-- ,.;,,, -; ;- ' ^'oricalk, Gonii. — 

 ::n be says in his 

 , , . , ;; . existing in some 



■ i' .-iL-i ;i ._-t.]ii;.i/i Jeijt;Ui Bha.ll be returned 

 ' i cover the ground. Wbal we want and 

 : "1 have any lobsters, is a law to prohibit 

 II 1 iljsters, and if caught returned at once 

 eiy.stery to mo that the men engaged ' 

 :ee that Ibey are IcUling the goose that 

 I! dors not take an expert to see 1b,at 

 'I ' : 1 Ml n-cds are destroyed, and 

 li'ird savs, "All thelob- 

 : ilir liendit of lbo.=o who 

 ...-. .-,.-.|ii-. . ■.;. I ._:ive my observations on 

 iiiis inu.'it valuaLile sea food taken from JTor- 

 >nie Ttivcr. Five, vearg ago with one pot well 

 baited I rould eatch all the lobsters I wanted for use in my 

 family. This ymr it would take a half dozen pots to do so. 

 What is the cau.se of this ? you will ask. The an.swcr is sim- 

 ple : PnrtipR in Norwnlk and Five Mile River are making a 

 jivin.B- -' !-'i 1, ■• . ...,i,;;; - i-, -:-,,,-■ fi „ sninmer months, and all 

 the St: ' it with the oilier catch, 



and til ly scarce, and if it con- 



tinue- : ■: iiir water will be a thing 



of the |i.;M, ■■ i, A-::il tliMiily f.-ilerininate them. Let the 

 FtiKiST a:;d ~^i i.'i; -..Jt whieli has worked so many reforms agi- 

 tate lh!'=iu(isi iiiiporlaiit question, and let us all v.dio are In- 

 terested in this matter join bands in doing the same, until the 

 spawning lobsiir is inotected by law. Suppose we kill the 

 getting quail and destroy the eggs, there would be no quail, 

 and it •' ' '1 ''-" ■ i-" same witti our lobsters if the spawning 

 ones :! ' i niyed. 1 .should be most happy to cor- 



resp'ii , ii's who are in accord with me on this 



Ridjjeri, , :,.' of having the lobster protected. 



PkANOIS BtlKBITT. 



^ 



T'iSH pon New Yoek ■Watkbs. — Rochester, JV. Y. —The 



New York State Fish Commissioners desire to announce that 

 they are now ready to reneivo orders for the brook trout, and 

 California moiinta'in fro\jt from a.Dy parties who wish to pro- 

 cure them for the ijurpose of stocking public waters in this 

 State. All applications must be addressed to the under- 

 signed, giving a descxiption of the waters, and where they are 

 located. 



Information will be given as to the suitability of the above 

 flsh for tlic waters desired to lie stocked. 



Orders will tie received until Marob 1st, 1S81. 

 Setu C4RKr.N', Bnpl, K. T. State Fish Com., Rochestei-. 



"We arc permitted to publish the following: 



Mk. SETH GitEENt 



SiK— The trout you sent me two years ago last spring 

 were put in Lalce tlarlmess. There wiis no fish of any kind in 

 the lake. I was up there this month atid saw Irout up the 

 brook above the lake that would weigh one-half to three- 

 quarters of a pound, they were on the spawning bed. 



MvEON Btttlbb. 



That invalid wife, mother, sister or child 1 

 picture of health wth Hop Bitters. 



I bo made the 



1^^ md givir ^iuhing, 



FISM I3V SEASON IN SKCEMBER. 



FBESn \ 



Sea r: I 

 fitnueo I I 

 ■VVliir,!) >-oren, m 

 Smelt, Os7nerus 



; i-iutn, ChCL'nobrrjtlUi 



lied flsli, or cnannel Bass, 



; TaitlJiga onilU. 



I'll '^'C, J J MttWyU «/*ftt<,(.>. 



I i'ollQOk, PoUar.hiua carbonariiKi. 



FLY FISHING FOR BLACK BASS. 



Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 29. 



' Smtdf Fdfrjst and Sh 

 A carcfid n . '' _ 

 flyflshiiiciiii' 

 ternoiin in 

 reel, si''-' '' 

 ent i^Ti i 

 of W I 

 noted II 

 with bait aud v.dieri 



articles in \'onr valuable paper on 

 y my liiek with the fly. One af- 

 , liliped ^rith a nine-ounce rod, 

 :ind a hidf-dozen flies of difter- 

 ' iirovedniake, I sought the banks 

 ..; stream at the Blue Banks, a 

 : , where 1 oft.eu had good success 

 lew there were some monsters. 



Putting my tackle together after what I considered to be 

 the most approved method, not omitting lo break one tip in 



the operation, which had to be replaced with a spare one, I 

 commenced whipping the stream in the shallow, swift water 

 below the deep pool,' using a silver doctiw for the stretcher 

 and a brown hackle for the dropper. At the second or third 

 cast 1 hooked my first bass, or, rather, he hooked himself, 

 and I lann'-'i liiiii in 'me slyle. In less than au hour I caught 

 several n : 1 ,-rr one pound in weight, the tirst taken 



being 111 1 .11, Imt I gained some lasting experience 



in takiiit; i,-. „ . 1 n , I was standing on the bank of tlie 

 stream and cas:tiiig 1 lelow me, when I saw a fish rise and tniss 

 the flies. Sloving back from the bank and carefully walking 

 down the stream until opposite the' point where Ihadseenthe 

 fish I made cast after cast with no success, till at iast, dis- 

 heartened, I was about to give up and try another place. 

 Before doing so I thought I would take a look at the flies as 

 they di'ifted past me and see if they really did resemble any- 

 thing in the land of the living. Imaguie my surprise as I 

 saw the flies drifting down the stream, gradually sinkmg to 

 the bottom, to see a bass following , with what appeared to 

 lie great curiosity, with body .slightly bent and all the fins 

 working. He deliberately took the hackle and came to 

 grief. Going up the stream I waded as far as possible 

 into (he deep pool under the Blue Banks and made 

 a cast to a large boidder opposite me in quite deep water, al- 

 lowing the flies to sink below the surface, aud was awarded 

 with a straightening of the line that mdicated a flsh. A 

 slight turn of the wrist fastened the bonk, and 1 di.scovered 

 there was something lively at the other end of that line. 

 Thinking to check him a little I pressed the line against the 

 rod with the ball of the second finger of the right hand, but 

 It did not work. My little bo.v, some twelve years old, says, 

 "Father changed hands and put his finger in his mouth and 

 said Ouch !" but I guess he was e.xcited and "does not now 

 remember, if he ever knew" what took place. I Itnow the 

 line burned my finger like a hot iron, and momentarily gave 

 the flsh an advantage I was slow in recovering. My excite- 

 ment was not lessened when he broke water and showed 

 himself three limes in succession higli in the air. Having 

 had uo experience in this kind of Ashing I did not know how 

 much strain the tackle would bear, 1 had no fear of the line, 

 but that single leader and the light rod seemed just then a 

 bad combination. Determined to do my very best, putting 

 my thumb on the reel I gave him nearly all the reislanoe of 

 the rod. Up to this time he had had everything except the 

 hook all his own way ; but the resistance of that liglit rod 

 was more tlian he had bargained for, and it soon checked his 

 rapid career and changed his direction so that I was enabled 

 to take up a little of the line. This trial of strength gave 

 me some confidence in the rod and tackle. Keeping a stuady 

 strain u]ion the line and gaining more and more confidence, 

 1 found [ could to a great extent control his motion, and at 

 last made him circle around me time after time, his efforts 

 becoming weaker, occasionally varied with a sudden rush 

 aud leap from the water. 



Having no landing net I was somewhat puzzled how to 

 act. I had the flsh all right, but knew I could not lift him 

 from the water with that taclde. Fortunatel}^ the wHf.'r 

 shoaled gradually at the lower end of the pool over n v ! 

 bottom free from obstacles, so in the end 1 grounded lii i : 

 and square with his head out of water on the .shore, aui! ;,i 

 ingup tookbiin out by the gills. He proved to lie a small 

 mouthed black bass and weighed four and a half pounds. 



Such wa-my fish experience with the fly. From that day 

 imtil the advent of cold weather I used the fly and met 

 with satisfactory success. I have caught many small 

 mouthed black bass thatwoidd weigh four and a half pounds, 

 but none larger. Although nearly every old fisherman in 

 this locality has taken them weighing six pounds and more I 

 have not "yet had the good fortune to ever see one of that 

 size. On several occasions during the latter part of the sea- 

 son I fished from a skiff with another party who was using 

 live bait (minnows and craw flsh) each tiirie coming ofl" the 

 victor with the fly, and ara perfectly satisfied with the superi- 

 ority of the fly over all other kinds of bait for bass fishing 

 in this locality during the summer and early fall months. 



Now T would like to say a word for those lovers of the 

 sport who cannot always select the time and place to try 

 their skdl, but do occasionally get a day oJI — I would advise 

 all such when stai'ting out for a day's sjjort among the bass 

 to provide a box full of grasshoppers. If on reaching the 

 fishing gi-onnd Ihe bass wUl not rise to the fly, cut the body 

 off f roni a silver doctor, or other fly, puU tlie wings off froiii 

 a grasshopper, insert the point of the hook in the bead of 

 same, and pass it through two-thirds of the body lengthwise, 

 and bring the point out on the other .side ; slide the grass- 

 hopper well up on the hook, cast and allow to sink ; nearly 

 all kinds of fresh water fish will take it readily, including the 

 cat-fish of the different species. If the desciple docs not de- 

 sire to mutilate one of his choice collection of flies he can 

 easily make a fly minus the body, and use the .grasshopper as 

 directed. Old fishermen who know the hamits of black bass 

 will not be troubled with the smaller tribe, and if they have 

 not tried this bait before will be astonished with the number 

 and size of the talce. Gbkgo. 



. ■». . 



FISH SLAUGHTER IN CANADA. 



■1 Ottawa, Dec. 17, 1880. 



Hditor Forest and Strmm : 



Recently I had occasion to correct some misrepresentalions 

 concerning the salmon fishing and the r':r,,,„rH;.,„ Yn-oii,^^,- n,,„r 

 publisbed'in the newspapers "by an Er_'^ 1 

 Mr. Eardly-Wilmot B. Holt. I have 



formation circulated by an experiencerl A .! I 1 . .1 



known to your readers, Mr. Geo. Daw.son, ei the A^.^'inii/ 

 B'etninfi JmriiLil. The distinction made between Mr, Holt's 

 aud Mr. Dawson's publications rests on the fact, that the 

 form<tr's assertions profess to bo based on actual observation, 

 and the statements of the latter seem to be founded on hear- 

 say. 



In FoiiEsT AOT) Stbeam of 2.5th ult., under the heading 

 of "KiDing for Count," Mr. Dawson says: " Last year three 

 titled flimkies from England killed fiOO salmon on the Casca- 

 pedia. Jlost of Uiese were taken thirty or forty miles from 

 any habitation where they could be utilized. The result was 

 that most of them had to be buried as olTal. But tliis dis- 

 graceful fact did not :i":..^mpanv the published score which 

 went, :■ :: -I— 1^- ■■' :" ''--'■v,..-,-.!-.. -,.,-„.,.,, ill iije^vorld as 

 the ill - ' '" 'iirit skill of the 



fello--: 



Tli. I ■ ' ■ A 'li=i ki^!:' year eon- 



sisie:! Mr. Ivesoii aitd Captain Percy. 



The... I. stream for $600. Their score 



-,vas V M I I. improper was supposed to be con- 



nected witli tins extnioramary catch. If any of the flsh 

 caught by them were wontonl.y wasted, as aUegod, it would 

 be an infraction of the fishery laws, rendering thorn liable to 



severe penalties and summary expulsion. It ia the business 

 of the local Fishery Overseer "to enforce thee consequences, 

 Cor which purposes .aiiioii; ■' --.-_^ : ' -- ■ 1 /iih magisie- 

 rial authoritv.' Mr. Da- -.e liioiaiitly 



referred lo him wilb_ a i-, Ovorsei-r 



Dimoek is the chief fishiji ;_.,,._ ... ,. .l j, and during 



a scries of years has proved attcntivo and iriii.twnrUiy. In an- 

 swer to such reference be states positively thai not one of 

 these fish was ,spoded or wasted, tait tiiafijie v.-lmle catch 



i.L tiers 

 iriWr- 



nelfu] 



... ;:,e fish, 



.mueii'.s report 



:- who arecer- 



.,. Ill, v,.is engaged on 



t men wiio cured, or car- 



(axiart from daily consiunplif 

 on tlie river, and' to employee ^; 

 teen men, each of whom rccci , 

 at the close of the fishing. Al 

 he adds, were taken in the lowe 

 is corroborated bj' the afiidavil ? 

 tificd to us as credible witnesses 

 the river at the time, and the 

 Tied and delivered the salmon. 



The accomplished auijior of "Pleasures of Angling" will 



no doubt be gruM:' ' ' ' 1 thnt in this p.wlicular at least 



he has hecn mi iiiing for Coimt " being in it- 



self sufficiently iiDiii a true sport.srnan'B point 



of view even v,-i;, ,^ ,1 liy the neces.sary care and un- 



usual, but commendable, liberality which 1 imi a.ssured were 

 manifested in the present instance. Yours truly, 



AV. F. WrroHEE, 

 Commissioner of Fisheries, Canada. 



THE GREENBPvIAR. 



^ 



Wabhingtok, D. C, Dec. 1880. 



THE Qreenbrlar T^iver in West Virginia was stocked with 

 bass, as yon l-ii'"- "n^.>r"i years ago, and in September, 

 1879, I was tli.i " 'le stream v.iih a fly, aud was 



rewarded by S'"- -' la. 



This fall 1 1.1; ■ I :.'■' ;-;oneevertp on my way to tha 

 woods, and I foiiad tlio people all po-sted as to bass. The 

 fishing was excellent this year. One man caught 500 during 

 the season. The largest went i,o '1^, lbs. weight. The super- 

 intendent of om' mill having informed nic ihat it was " no 

 use to fish forthcm withthiise .single guts" .as big fellows had 

 just walked awaj- with certain leaders and flies 1 had scut 

 do-wn to him by request: that he might learn lo iisb properly. 

 To correct his views trigged up my trout rod, aud frout'a 

 pool jusl before the mill I took two at 'once of S-A llis. weight. 

 The iish liaving fortunately taken the dropper, ii great niany 

 very large bass were taken lower down the Greciibrier, and 

 at Kichraond's Falls on New River where I heard of one S^- 

 lbs. 



Idonnt think the H-iRs will be as numerous next season. 

 The stream having been newly stoel-ied, of course caUaiiied a 

 lot of muli=tuTbed minnows, chub.-, etc. Now since the ba.sa 

 got large cnrmgh lo ea1ch--aud they Avill jiinip at a fly when 

 only two inc!u;s long— the small llsii liave lieen deve.iired un- 

 til there is not a minnow to be seen hi!,')! or low, and the bass 

 have worked no and down in search of pa.stures new. Of 

 -11 ir,.i- there will benlenty of lia.ss in the stream, Imt only as 

 I . : V as the normal .supply of foud will sustain. There "will 

 |. another as prolific season for the angler as was this of 

 "J ...I I. V spent several weeks on my trip hving on venison, 

 etc.. etc.. ineluding P. variety rrom, coon to turkey. Among 

 other trophies of the chase was an eagle (I ft. U across the 

 wings the head 01 which 1 have had set, up by Kridcr. I did 

 not look after any panther as there was no snow. 0. Ct.av. 



"A WATER-GLASS." 



IN looking over "Atlantic Islands," a very pleasant book 

 by Mr. S. G. W. Benjamin, 1 find the following account 

 of au instrument u.3ed by the inhabitants of the Bahamas in 

 gathering sponges: •' The sponges (siiys^tlie authrii) are two 



H-fae 



" The 



sponge; 



of tJie 



■iiich is a 

 lat, and 

 liisper- 



- I h rough 

 coral or 



falhoi 



s aseertaiited by ine:m? .ii' ■> ..-.ii.r... 



-ilongbova font sqi:- ■■ 



pendicularly over the watei .'ill, I I, 



it as clearly as in an atiuarium — ush, spoi 



shells." 



We are not told the length of the box, or the kind of glass 



used, or the depth of the .glass e--' ir ti|;- ^ '-.t ;he p].g. 



sumption is, from the use anrl i.,,t it is 



bandy and easily wielded, a,. : uetion. 



Why has not some angler, nr .. _ iiu-ist, or 



n.atiiralist introduced this implcnn ni amon.i; us? Aji instru- 

 ment which would enable us to watch fish beneath the waters 

 — to see all their movements — how they spend their idle time 

 —in a word, lay open lo us their whole existence, would be 

 a great boon lo Ihe naturalist. But talking one day with 

 an inveteT-ale disciple of old Izaak about such an implement, 

 " Why," he said, •' that woidd spoil all our fun. Now, when 

 I throw mj' jiiiinuow in the water, 1 forthwith begin to ima- 

 gine there are a half-dozen or niiire huge bass eyeing my 

 bait, and each meditating a deadly attack upon him. And I 

 keep on imagining this, expecting evoy moment to seethe 

 cork di.sappear, and the very lovelines.s of this e.\peotancy is 

 what stirs a thousand pleasant musings in my bend and 

 makes angling to me so delightfid. But with your telescope 

 no more fairy fancies -we .should see al once that there were 

 no fish, and we should have no brilliant hopes." "But tJien,'' 

 said], "we could go where we could find and catch them." 

 '• Ibilthat," rejoined myfriend, "would not be fair to the fish, 

 and I'm in favor of the flsh having a fair chance, and I love 

 my dreams." M. 



Range of Blaok Bass axd Caifjsu — Olmckiwl, 0. — ^Dr. 

 Garlick says in Fokest axd Stream that in company with 



Judge Potter, of Toledo, be has fished the waters of the Satdt 



Qd theirs 



ngs foi 

 Lek"h;,ts i 



ars and 



that loealilv; 



aie.'Marie'srapids 1 

 neither of them ev^r eaplinen 

 nevertheless I have seen at the 

 this river, twenty mdeB below the lapids, m. . ^s 



taken. lu 1863 "H. 0. Gaylord, of this city, ' r 



trout in Goidie'sBay, north shore of Lake ^;i; . : . ia 



two black bass with the fly. They were woii ijrowa nsh, 

 weighing StV lbs. each. I saw numbers of this fish at " The 

 PorTau'er" Point Kowendau, in 1859, and persons whose tes- 

 timnny 1 can rely upon inform rn.- ilmt. tin's fish is found in 

 the region of Duluth, al the i ~ ; oerior, and also 



in :he\ieiniiy of Onton.j,g..n . .re of this lake. 



1 aw yet iii seareli of ilio ; , nijge of our cat- 



fish. P'erhaps the waters ni . ..-ill be found to 



carry this fish furthest in I! : case it is found 



in waters north of llie divid;, . the Arcric seas, 



please let us hear from the eapiui , .■no nx=^ iiavo a.deRri,'itiou 

 of tlie fish audits habits in that ioc»lib'. 



