308 



* ORE ST AND STREAM. 



[May 20, 1880. 



igbed 



List OB Arrivals Lately Receivkd at Central Park 

 Msnaobkie.-s mouse (iices anwrtCMla), from Sbelhum, Nova 

 Scotia; 3 yellow-hSadefl DlttekMriJa (XrMthocepftalU* icttroccpha- 

 lus), hah, Western United Stales; 1 lot Amazonian parrots, various 

 Epccies ; 1 root; (Onviis frugilcijus). hah. liurope; 1 throe- banded 

 douroncouli (Nycupuhe.cus irieiruatux), hab. Guiana; 1 yelli 

 handed howler (Myeetes bctlzebuhi, hab. Brazil ; 1 v 

 colobus (.Culohus bimlor), hab. West Africa ; i barnacle jreese 

 (Bernicla Itucopsis), hab. Europe; 1 Chinese mynah (Aeridrilheres 

 cristatdlw), hab. China. All of the above purchased. The follow- 

 ing births have taken place : 1 bison (Bison amcricanus), 1 camel 

 (Camelus rtromedarius), S zebus (Boa indicus), 3 black swans (CMMtUS 

 ateraim), 6 wild seese CBenrMa canadensis, (J oppossums (DUIel- 

 phys Virginia). W. A. Conklin, Director. 



ABRTVAW1 AT THE PH1LADEI.1 



Ar»-U33(ltoJtfai/12ih,1880.-Unealli 

 1 great-horned owl (Uuh,, . , n.,, 

 dcmys cwicimm), 1 red-tailed ha\ 

 snake (.mtrntdimplatyrhiniis). 1 cai 

 onus), i opbssutn (XWddpftys riruii 



rioh'atustrtanffu/us), 1 Salles 



Zooi.ogk 

 r(jliH(7ator 



*), 1 ho, 



.uu>), 1 Klo: 

 k {Vuteo I 



tlinal redhird (Cardinal is Dirtflni 

 iamis), 1 chain snake (Opliiboht: 

 {Chryxotis saBeQ— all presented 

 and 1 great ant-eater (MyrmecophagajnbaUi)— purchased. 



ItoBKUT T>. Carson, Clerk. 



Jtef mid §itw[ igishing. 



FISH IN SEASON IN MAT. 



Trout, Sdlvdinmftmtinalis. Salmon Trout, Salnw amftnis. 

 Salmon, Salmo salnr. Shad, Abxa. 



Land-lonlted Salmon, Salmoglwert. 



GAME AND FISH DIRECTORY. 



In sending reports for the Forest and Stream Directory of 

 Game and Fish Resorts, our correspondents are requested to give 

 the following particulars, with such other information as they 

 may deem of value : State, Town, County ; Means of access ; Hotel 

 and other accommodations; Game and its Season ; Fish and its 

 Season ; Boats, Guides, etc.; Name of person to address. 



— Address all communications to 

 Publishing Company, New York." 



' Forest and Stream 



nary black bass fly-fishing ; but while in Florida 1 used a 

 twelve feet, twelve ounce ash and lancewood fly-rod, 

 madeby Abbey & tmbrie, or at least by their predecessors, 

 Andrew Clerk & Co.. ten years ago, which I found none 

 too heavy for the large bass of the waters of that Stale, 

 and. in fact, there were times when I wished for an ad- 

 ditional ounce or two in weight. 



A trout fly-rod, then, weighing eight or nine ounces, 

 and about eleven feet long, is just about right for ordi- 

 nary black bass fly-fishing ; hut where the bass run 

 large, averaging nearly or quite three pounds, a some- 

 what heavier rod, say ten ounces, and six inches added to 

 the length, will be found a more suitable and pleasanter 

 rod to handle, though the eight ounce rod will do even 

 here for one who is an expert fly-fisher, and who does 

 not mind a little extra straining of the brachial muscles. 



But while an ounce more or less hardly seems an ap- 

 preciable quantity in the abstract, yet when added to or 

 taken from a fly-rod, like the fraction of an inch as ap- 

 plied to a man's nose, it, makes a very great difference in 

 practice and reality ; and in the former case it is better to 

 have an ounce too much than a half ounce too little; 

 for, like the Winchester repeating rifle when tackling a 

 grizzly, it gives one a confidence in his resources which 

 adds materially to the zest of his sport. 



Cynthiana,K:y., May 10th, J. A. HenshalL. 



^ NOTES FROM VIRGINIA. 



THE spring of 1880 will be long remembered by 

 sportsmen in this district for the unusual and al- 

 most unprecedented influx of duck and snipe. Great 

 quantifies of both have been killed on grounds where 

 hitherto they have been but rare visitors, and certainly 

 never counted as forming part of the game list of the lo- 

 cality. 



One gentleman of my acquaintance must have killed at 

 least titty couple of snipe ami over forty ducks on his own 

 and the adjoining plantation alone, which beneath the 

 shadow of tbe -'Peaks of Utter," is entirely a new fea- 

 ture added to our sporting year. The unusual mildness 

 of the winter was of course the prime cause of this 

 change of flight, and I am afraid, unless there is some 

 other agency at work, few of us will live to see such au- 

 nolher shower of feathered emigrants. 



The gun, however, has been long consigned to its case, 

 and the disciples of Izaak have commenced operaf 

 and as time or opportunity permits, every to*"* 



^FLY-FISHING FOR BLACK! BASS. 



in September last, Gen. Wade Hampton killing some- 

 thing like Btx hundred to his own rod in three weeks, 

 near Dagger Springs. Rikgwuoij, 



Michigan Grayling.— The grayling season in Michi- 

 gan opens June 1st. 



Vermont— Ferrisburg, May 8th,— Bass are beginning 

 to bite, and have greatly increased in numbers since the 

 passage of the protective law of 1874, wherever it has 

 been enforced. Awahoose. 



THE Rangeleyb.— The Eastern Railroad has made the 

 following schedule of rates for excursion tickets from 

 Boston to the Rangeleys and Moosehead and return :— 

 Rangelev. $13 60i Rangeiey Outlet. $13.75 ; Indian Hock, 

 $15.25 ; Upper Dam. $14; Middle Dam. $13; Mt. Kineo, 



Moosehead Lake), $15; Dead River, 

 Kennebec, $13. 



; Forks of the 



Mooseuf.ad Lake.— Patrons o: 

 vicinity will be pleased to know t 

 on thelOtH inst., and befi P W : 



ing carnival ot that region will bi .. 

 ing houses were erected on the lak 

 and have proved a great success, 

 locked salmon and one hundred 



;ehead Lake and 

 ■ ice lefl the lake 

 elapse the trout- 

 Extensive batclg 



i September last, 

 Fifty thousand land- 

 id fifty thousand trout, 



fisher- 



FIRST PAPER. 



I HAVE, heretofore, confined my remarks on black- 

 bass angling almost exclusively to natural bait-fish- 

 ing, and have endeavored to instruct the novice in the 

 use of the most suitable tackle for that method before 

 taking up the subject of artificial-fly fishing. I have 

 also, I hope, been instrumental in causing some fellow- 

 angler to discard bis long, clumsy and ungamly rod and 

 coarse tackle, and to substitute more delicate and elegant 

 i nplements, wdiich, while adding a hundred fold to his 

 own pleasure, has, at the same time, enabled him by pre- 

 cept and example to assist in elevating the noble sport 

 of black-bass angling. 



And now, if I can persuade the expert bait fisher to 

 advance still further, and can induce hrm to mount the 

 tup round of the piscatorial ladder and take up the Hy- 

 rod, my object will have been accomplished, and my 

 fondest hopes and earnest ell'orls in behalf of the black 

 bass as a game fish, will thus happily end in fruition. 



Artificial fly-fishing holds the same relation to bait- 

 fishing that poetry does to prose, and, while each method 

 will ever have its enthusiastic adrrnrers, only he who can 

 skillfully handle the comely fly-rod, and deftly cast the 

 delicate fly, can enjoy the aesthetics of the gentle art. 

 As the lover naturally '• drops into poetry " to express 

 the ardent feelings of his soul, ' ' with a wof ul ballad made 

 to his mistress' eyebrow," so the real lover of nature and 

 the finny tribe as naturally takes t<j fly-fishing, and finds 

 liquid poems in gurgling streams, and pastoral idyls in 

 leafy woods. 



THE BLACK BASS FLY-ROD. 



g In a paper on rods, several years ago, I made the state- 

 ment that the American trout fly-rod was the very per- 

 fection of fishing rods, and that all other rods should 

 conform as nearly as possible to said model or typical 

 rod, commenstirale with the manner of service requited 

 Of them. Upon this principle, an honest and well-made 

 trout-flv rod, weighing from eight to nine ounces, an- 

 swers admirably for black bass fly-fishmg ; and, fortu- 

 nately, a suitable rod of this character can be procured 

 from any lirst-class maker; but 1 would caution the new 

 hand against the many cheap rods now m the market. 

 A good rod can only be obtained at a fair price. 

 ^At the same time I would here enter my protest against 

 the lightest and •' withiest" trout fly-rods, weig 

 Six to seven ounces, being used or recommended for 

 black bass fishing. Such rods are but toys at the best, 

 and only admissible for fingerliiigs or trout weighing 

 from a half pound downwards. I know that some ang- 

 lers make a boast of using such rods, but it is on a par 

 with some gunners who rush to the extreme in light shot 

 guns, and claim that a sixteen or twenty bore is capable 

 of as good general execution as the larger gauges. 

 these are both palpable fallacies, as grea 

 "sending a boy to mill" in the 'History 

 Kings," as many have found to their cost. 



I am a great Stickler lor extreme lightness in rods when 

 compatible with strength and action, as all who have 

 read my previous papers on black bass minnow-rods wiU 

 affirm ; but there is a certain limit in weight that must 

 ba observed, so as to conform to and preserve other and 

 equally essential qualities in a good working rod. Now, 

 while I will guarantee, in open water, to land any black 

 bass that swims with a well-made six ounce split bamboo 

 fly-rod, 1 will not undertake to say how much lime would 

 be consumed in the Operation ; nor do 1 envy the gen- 

 eral demoralization and used up condition of the ipxois 

 and extensors of my arms that would ensue at the < lose 

 of the contest. With a rod of suitable weight the largest 

 baSS can be safely and pleasantly handled, and it is \\ oise 

 than useless to make a toil of a pleasure by using inade- 



1 have a Leonard split lamboo fly-rod, weighing eight 

 ounces, which I find •' fills the bill " exactly in all ordi- 



itherwitli bait-box or fly-book, betakes himself to 



I'lii l:>;i,j-.v uorges and mountain valleys, where the crys- 



I -:.,■; foam and tumble from their aerial springs. 



The forests on the mountains have now burst into full 



leaf. The calmea, the rhododendron and the dogwood 



■eenof the ivy thickets and the sombre 



has pierced the deepest and 



No< 

 as that of 

 Of the Four 



blackest pooh 

 ust I 



■•iggting 



1 have lately ridden lor seventy in 

 ern base of the Blue Ridge, fishing 

 stopping to gossip on trouting mattei 

 and the universal account - 



th my personal investigation of tl 



immense supply of this year's fish evei 

 bags and small lish have been the ordei 

 .mi. I fished a day and n half 

 haps our best river, with one hundred and twenty-fi 

 lish as the result, but so small in size that I shall cor 

 lainly leave it alone till next year, and go further afield 

 to satisfy my piscatorial appetite. 



Last year, on the same stream, it took a favorable day 

 and a good hand to basket twenty-five, but they would 

 weigh eight pounds. The story of this stream is that of 

 all other tributaries of the James that flow eastward, 



of the bait fisher 



along the east- 



me streams and 

 j I crossed others, 

 rrespond exactly 



ither. There is 



irywhere. Large 



of the day in 



what is per- 



i th 



lall— : 



force— will retui 

 us hope. The t 



:, 178 79, and the break- 

 1 blocked up every nioun- 

 er portion of the young 



discussion among our 



of damage done iu this 

 strea 



relative degree. Next y 

 peeially as the laws are g; 

 fertility of three years a; 

 tjon is simple : the hard \ 

 ing up of the ice g< '' 

 tains, ream, destro 

 lish. There was consid 

 anglers last year as to the 

 wise — some scoffing at it, and saying thi 

 "fished out." This was illogical, as even a considerable 

 in the number of anglers would not make a 

 river that had kept up its supply for years, under a good 

 deal of persecution, collapse utterly, and an almost Im- 

 perceptible addition to those who whipped its surface 

 would certainly not of a sudden commit such havoc on 

 its finny inhabitants. However, we now know for cer- 

 tain that exceptionally hard winters will cause an enor- 

 mous decrease for a year or so in the quantity of lish. 



Fly-fishing IS a new tiling here, comparatively, and is 

 now pretty well limited to two or three of the Piedmont 



ities " Great enthu iasm, however, prevails along the 



course of one or two of our most beautiful streams, and 

 the talk around the blacksmith's shop and the village 

 stores is all of March browns and red hackles, ot •• thump- 

 ers" and "whalers." 1 he fish laws are carried out to 

 the letter, and tne mountaineers daren't slip a hag or a 

 net into the creek now to save their lives. Two of them 

 tried it on in a sequestered glen the other day, but were 

 reported on and promptly marched down to jail amid 

 the jeers of their companions. 



" 'Vou drop a net into that ar stream, you darned ras- 

 cal, vou," says the mountain magistrate (himself a keen 

 By-fisherman, and elected with a view to that), "and 

 daw g my skin if I don't hev you grinnin' thro' them iron 

 bars in a hurry." 



Few people arc aware that there is a waterfall in Nel- 

 son County, Va., nine hundred feet high — one leap nf 

 two hundred feet is a. clear fall without a break ; the re- 

 maining seven hundred are a succession of leaps, vary- 

 ing from forty to two hundred feet, but pausing on nar- 

 row ledges, that, from the road which winds along the 

 side of the opposite mountain, are scarcely noticeable. 

 The grandeur of this fall, made as it is by a stream of 

 considerable size, may be imagined ; and the strangest 

 i. whole tiling is, that I question whether us ex- 

 istence even is known of in Virginia cities, except by 

 those who may be connected with the neighborhood. 



Very few bass were caught, to my knowledge, before 

 the 1st ,il Slav, on which day the close time commenced. 

 The late season, opening on July 1st, is, of course, prin- 

 cipally relied on for sport. There is every reason to 

 expect better bass fishing than ever, in the higher reaches 

 of the James this fall. The fly proved agreat success there 



recently hatched, will be ready to turn into the waters of 

 the lake iu June, wdiich will increase the fishing facili- 

 ties of the place, and add new attractions for its many 

 visitors. 



Under the bold face of Mount Kineo stauds the Kineo 

 House, a convenient center of attraction to the sports- 

 man, and where he can fill his camp bags with 

 provisions before starting on the mauy tours through the 

 dioturi sque rivers of Maine. Tims early has Maine begun, 

 to restock her waters with salmon and trout, learning by 

 the lack of early effort iu sisterStates the necessity of the 

 hour. T. S. S. 



Tm Pond— Vei(! York City, May Ulh.— Editor Forest 

 and St> earn :—\ have just received the following, which 

 have items of interest and information to the 

 multitude of readers of your increasingly valuable paper, 

 which for years has Iliad no superior as a gazetteer of 

 ,':.-. literature, and healthful amusement, Tlid 

 letter is dated at Kustis, Me., and reads as follows. T. I 



" Friend T. : Have not been to Tim Pond foi 

 days. When f was there last the ice was breaking up,, 

 and f expect that before this it is all gone, and probably 

 the trout bite sharp. I have never seen partridges 9 

 plenty iu the springas this year. Everywhere I go I see-i 

 them" and people generally speak of how numerous they- 

 are. If they are lucky in their nesting the chickens will: 

 enliven the 'forest this fall. Deer and caribou are very 1 

 plenty; having had an open winter, with little snfffl 

 they have escaped the usual massacre by the na 

 bear traps are not set now, though brum is busy killinfi, 

 sheep near our houses. When I was at the pond last 3] 

 found where a hunter had killed and dressed a deerinthd 

 door-yard of my camps, and put the lead on the eoruei 

 of one of hit camps. Government has given us tvy v l 

 mails per week from Kingslield, and Clark, the veteM 

 whip Farmington, has put on a daily stage to Kings 

 field. Delias good teams. Dr. Hill, ot Hiddeford, writer 

 he will be here in a few days with a party of friends. H.i 



comes early to escape the Flies and get ahead of the rush! 

 The party with him last autumn came later. Have no 

 heard from Col. Hayden lately. He spent the winter ii 

 Kansas City, and is better in health, as his arm 

 will be glad to hear. Kennedy Smith." ' 



Massachusetts— New Bedford, May Hth.- Qu M 



; irpllt have been made in this vicinitj ' 

 those mostly just coining out of salt water, near fll 

 mouth of the brooks. Of sea fishing there is an 

 variety— striped bass, tautog, soup, blueiisli. etc. Si pSS 

 tautog were caught in this vicinity last week weigluffl 

 over nine pounds — one fourteen and one quart i 

 Striped bass fishing at the Vineyard and Noma 

 will soon be in order. 

 Bolton, May Wh.— Mr, R. Barrett has a large 



run E spi . : water in his kitchen, in which lie hi 



: iiue", pel pickerel, and has had mil 

 UlL .j,t i u S e catch flies and other food wdie 



the FUrfaCfl <>i the water. A few days since hi 

 t, mud both ,,f them dead. Pickerel No. 1, beint 

 the larger, had caught the other by the head, and 

 eeeded in swallowing him about halt his length, 

 B et him no further, and, owing to the curved form ol hi. 

 ;orge him. In this condition I 

 things, pickerel No. 2 was suffocated, and pickerel Xo. , 

 died from exhaustion. 

 Adirondack* -Boon.vti.le, May V)th.—1 have just Til 

 unied from forge House, Fulton Ohain, Brown's Tl^l 

 vhere I had three days' very good fishing. On 1 

 -1 hvmt. iri Nick's Tiftke ■ ibrtn -n. 



M.i 



I caught a speckled trout iu Nick's Lake ; dii 

 follows: weight, three pounds; length, twenty 

 girth, eleven and a half inches. This trout wai 

 condition, Along with this 1 got several fine trout In 

 one to one and three quarter pounds ; afi those with b 

 and light rod. Also caught six good trout on the rapi 

 Moose Itiver, with fly. 1 think by the 36th in 

 ing will be good, as the trout are getting on 

 water : that is, if we dOtt't have very heavy rams. Fc 

 the lakes and streams very high, but hilling Ngj 

 Very hot ; regular July weather, but no flies. 



Trout in the Adieondacks. — Letter received i 

 E. E. Brown, Saranac Lake, slates that the trout f ' 



,:ii Woods IB good, and, in Fact, nevei 1 

 His address is Saranac Lake, andhei3 a good anil rel 

 man, and thoroughly posted in the North Woods. 



EZKVE 



New Jersey— Red Bank, May nth.— The : 



commenced in the North Shrewsbury i 



1 took the first striped bass this a.m.; weight, two; 



half pounds. 



J Kentucky Notes.— Mill Spring, May 14th, — A 

 has been exceptionally good iu Pig South 

 of Cumberland this season. Winter mild 

 was good as early as January . Strinj 

 Bod iti" average weight much beyond that of I 

 j ear before. We had begun to think that Ourfl 

 afforded no black bass larger ihan three pouudn 

 such have been comparatively fingerhngs ou s 



