August 8, 1882 | 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



11 



found in drv earthy dunghills, rolled up like a bull, and va 

 rious kinds of pftste, DOW bread, white or brown, worked iu 

 the hands until stiff, also dough sweetened with a little honey 

 or sugar. I have taken them with green peas, and smai] 

 round balls of the green silk weed, so common in ponds 

 during the summer. But the waters which I fished were 

 generally discolored, which was favorable to success. It 

 may be that the waters fished by "Moss Pool" are clear, and 

 low. with cold hard water, aud'elay bottom. If so, I fear 

 he has a problem to solve, as I have ever found them very 

 difficnlt to capture under such circumstances. If there are 

 any wdterliHes iu the pond, let him suspend two or three 

 nice little wriggling small worms over the side of one of the 

 large leaves, and they may be lured in this way. Jfx. Fran- 

 cis in his book on angling, recommends a small boiled po- 

 tatoe. which 1 should .say is a very likely bait, but 1 have 

 not yet had the opportunity of trying it. It should be used 

 on small treble-brazed hook, put on with an ordinary bait 

 needle, and tbe points of the hook duly imbedded and out 

 of sight. A good 10ft. eane-built rod" with upright rings 

 should be used. This will permit fishing some distance 

 from the. shore, and, as the carp is the shyest of all our 

 fresh water fish, the float should be one of the fiuest soose- 

 quills. For hooks I prefer the unjapannrd Carlisle round 

 bend.— Thomas Footi. 



Sydenham Lake. Ontario. — While spending a short 

 season some sixteen miles back of Kingston. Ont., a friend 

 Invited us to enjoy part of a day fishing on Sj denhurn Lake. 

 Ab we were stopping about a mile from the hike, it was 

 agreed that we should come to the foot of the lake early the 

 following morning. The man with the boat was awaiting 

 our coming when we reached the lake at 7:30, and with din- 

 ner basket and trolling spoons we set off up the east shore. 

 Will, Clarence and your humble correspondent completed 

 the trio. This whoie section of Ontario is full of lakes, 

 manv of which arc veiv small, covering but a few acres. 

 while others extend for several miles. Most of the lakes 

 have bold, rocky shores, which are generally covered with 

 dense growth of' spruce, cedar, and pine, with some hard 

 woods. BUOh as birch, mapla, bass wood, and ash, The 

 water of most of tbe lakes is very deep, and so clear that 

 the bottom can be plainly seen at a depth of from ten to 

 twenty feet. The different lakes have different kiud of fish, 

 such as rock bass, large and sniall-moulh black bass, musku- 

 longe, salmon, pike, pickerel and eels. The only fish in 

 Sydenham Lake arc pike and black bass, and these 'grow to 

 very good size. We went up to the head of the lake and 

 through a creek about half a mile long to Eel Lake, which, 

 though not so large as Sydenham Lake, Is a good place for 

 black bass, and also contains a few pike. Our trip back 

 was not as successful as going up, but getting back to the 

 starting point we, counted onr fish and found that we had 

 thirteen pike, varying in size from twenty to twenty-four 

 inches, and eight bass of from two to four pounds weight, 

 In all, we had fish enough to last a family tor several days. 

 Almost everv dav are to be seen parties of two or three out 

 in small boats trolling, A number of Americana are now 

 boarding in the village at foot of the lake, enjoying tlie fine 

 trolling and boating to be had up and down "the chain of 

 lakes Unit extend several miles back. Board can be had iu 

 Loughboro' at very reasonable rates. Any party wishing to 

 spend a few weeks should bring their boat with them, or at 

 least tiring one from Kingston. The farmers and settlers 

 are a good class of fairly intelligent people, and will give 

 sportsmen reliable information concerning the best places 

 for fish and name generally. — SHtrriiAit-BozxAi (Dugdale, 

 Pa., .July 2bVi8H2.)~ 



Tennessee Notes.— There has been almost too much 

 rain lately for good fishing in this portion of the State, al- 

 though those who were fortunate enough tostrike the streams 

 before becoming too muddy had fine sport. Charlie Curry. 

 who has just returned from the mountains of East Tennessee, 

 gives glowing accounts of the speckled trout fishing up 

 there. He was out several times with Major Hatty Hefts, 

 formerly of the Nashville .!&»««, which is of' itself a 

 guarantee of good sport, because a more scientific and iudus- 

 trious angleCthau the Major cannot be found anywhere, 

 Charlie savs that so abundant are these beautiful fish that 

 hardly docs the fly strike water than it is gobbled up by one of 

 them. I hear of some superb fish being taken out of tlie Cum 

 berland River at points in the mountains above navigation 

 these waters are entirely exempt from the evil of pot fisher- 

 men, and bass grow there to great size. Col. Geo. F. Aken 

 and Col. Griffith, President of the Kentucky Pish Commis 

 sion, propose making these secluded regions a visit shortly, 

 and then we will hear of marvelous fish and still more mar- 

 velous adventures. Col. Akers has secured from a Scotc! 

 nobleman traveling in this country a novel reel, which, bv 

 the. aid of a small electric battery carried upon the person, it 

 said to denote the size and character of the fish biting at the 

 hook, which is attached to it. If this is really so, the days 

 of fabulous fish stories and unhidden monsters of the deer 

 are numbered. — J. D. H. 



Two Ska Serpents. — A Montreal correspondent furnishes 

 the following from a local paper regarding the Ay liner Lake 

 serpent: "We have been favored with a full description of 

 the monster captured, not at the Chats, but in Aylrner Lake 

 on Saturday last. Its full measurement is 18 feet 9 inches 

 from end to eHd. The diameter at the thickest part is over 

 a foot and half, and at no part does it measure less iliau a 

 foot. A peculiarity that was not observed at the time of 

 the capture is the presence of a large number of excrescences 

 protruding from its body r at various distances of from 2 to 3 

 inches to as many feet. It is almost impossible to detect the head 

 from the tail, although at one end the two large knobs, covered 

 with a film of a bright and shining appearance. bear the appear- 

 ance of what might HE the monster's eyes. It is covered with a 

 thick hide, closely resembling the bark on a sawlog. In 

 fact it was a sawlog 'only that aud nothing more!'" And in 

 the Ska. of this city we find this: "It's a trifle early for the 

 seu serpent, but* if things got very dull 1 reckon we 

 could persuade one to appear opposite any hotel you might 

 pick out, My brother's the man to toil you about sea serpents. 

 Years ago we fished at Cape May, ami one day a spruce 

 looking chap came up and says to my brother Phineas— Fin 

 they ealled him — 'Fin' says he, 'what do you suppose it's 

 worth to me to have a genuine sea serpent appear off my 

 hotel?' Fin was a man of a few words, and said that $5*0 

 ought to cover the whole thing. The queerest thing about 

 it was that three mornings after that a sea serpent did appear 

 off the hotel owned by that man. All the boarders saw it, 

 the Philadelphia papers were full of it, aud a train came down 

 in the afternoon bringing a big crowd, and lots of people tried 



to hire boais to go out, but yon couldn't get a boat or a man 

 for love or money. Some of the men said they had families, 

 others didn't like the looks of the critter, aud so it went, oil 

 until the secoud day when the Serpent disappeared. Fin 

 never said anything only to mention that it was curious how 

 things happen just after you have been thinking about it. 

 About a month later I went up into Fin's loft after some 

 thing, and there was that identical snake. Pin had taken ti 

 lot of wired shoots that they used aboard ship and sewed 

 them together, stuffed them out with barrel hoops, tarred 

 the whole thing black, painted white eyes on it, and put on a 

 mane of jute. It was about 150 feet 'long, and a hundred 

 yards away looked just like a bif Snake. He towed it off 

 and anchored it a mile out in front or the hotel the night 

 before, and in the mean time the hotel man hired all the 

 boats for two days, so that no one could get out to it. It 

 was a big thing. ' I know an old gentleman that, often speaks 

 about it. I tried to tell him about it once, but it wasn't any 

 use. He'd seen it himself and you couldn't fool him." 



LlGST \s. Ht.vvv Rods.— 'When Mr. Geo. W. Van Siclen 

 appeared in print with the evident intention of raising Dr. 



Hensliall's hair. I felt that any fair-minded man teal a call 

 to the front. What is it thai Mr. Van Siclen finds fault 

 with'? The worthy Doctor starts by telling his readers thai 

 he is a "great stickler for extreme* lightness in rods when 

 compatible with strength and action." "Anything wrong 

 with that?" 1 think not— good, sound sense I call it. I 

 presume that Mr. Van Siclen kuows that to obtain the best 

 results his line in weight should bear a certain proportion to 

 the conditions of his rod. How light a line would he use 

 with his four-ounce rod, aud what/would he have done with 

 it on that morning at Niagra Palis when Frank Arrowsrnith 

 cast seventy-one feet, under the conditions of the heavy 

 wind that was blowing'.' Mr. Van Siclen thinks the Doctor 

 prefers to "thrash around" with a . ten-onnce rod. Imam tie 

 a light rod fast to a live-pound bass! Most likely there 

 would be some of the most uucontrohible "thrashing around" 

 there that he ever saw. Mr. Van Siclen compares billiard 

 cues v, it h fly rods. Perhaps it is just. In long fly-casting 

 the same accuracy and power or control cannot be 'obtained 

 with a six-ounce rod as with an eight or nine-ounce. This 

 rule applies equally well. T think, after the fish is hooked. 

 Look it over, Mr. Van Siclen, and see if there be not a grain 

 of truth in it.— Ruobv. 



LAitOK-MOCTitKO Bass in Florida.— The Sumterville 

 (Fla.) limes of July 21 says: "Mr. S. W. Corley, of OUa- 

 humkee, brought into our office on Saturday last the head of 

 a trout that weighed 1,3$ lbs. He caught oiie the day before 

 that weighed -tij lbs. after it was perfectly dry.'" Fair 

 specimens. "What say all of you?" — At. Fresco, 



Bio Pike.— Bellows Falls, Vt.. July 20.— A pike was 

 taken out of the Connecticut, at this place, last evening, 

 which weighed fourteen and a half pounds, tlie largest this 

 season.— F. C. E. 



tgjisJlcnlhm. 



TAKING MACKEREL FOR OIL. 



A1TE print the following letter from Mr. D. T. Church, 

 \ V manufacturer of menhaden oil and guano. Tiverton, 

 R. I. : 



Editor Farexl and Stream— In your issue of July 13 you 

 have an article in regard to the* destruction of food fishes 

 which is incorrect. Please insert in vour paper the inclosed 

 article. There is one error you will do a favor to correct. 

 Prof. Band's estimate of destruction by bhiefish is fifteen 

 hundred million barrels in four months instead of one hun- 

 dred and fifty millions. 



Providing your sporting friends wish to learn the fact that 

 as a whole the menhaden purse seiners don't catch food fish 

 enough to supply the men on the steamers and at their 

 factories, they can dosobygoimr on board of the steamer 

 George W. Humphrey for a month or more and learn by per- 

 sonal observation. 



As I understand it, you and all your patrons are for right 

 and truth. If so, you are wide "from the right in your 

 position in regard to the purse seine fishery. Why should 

 not the harvests of the sea be reaped by improved machinery as 

 well as the harvests of the f ami i 



As we look at it, and we are prepared to make it good 



argument, your position in regard to tl 

 improved methods of taking fish is the 

 want all railroads discontinued and 



stage coaches. 



fisheries and the 



> as the men who 



and to go back to the old 



D. T. Church. 

 lid referred to: 

 le of the 11th, that fisher- 

 ed in the rnacki 



aiteh r 



r.kil 



nge 



icuts to 



facturing them into 

 oil and .guano, is not true, for the reason that no steamer is 

 being fitted to take mackerel for that purpose. We are 

 offered for mackerel as they are taken from the water S3 per 

 barrel, and the market value of a barrel of mackerel, after 

 being rendered into oil and guano, is -St per barrel. 



"People, other than practical fishermen often get excited ' 



regard to tith: for tnstan 

 during the last period of scai 

 New England. He read a 1 

 Fish and (fame Association r 

 catching mackerel iu purse 



Shebnak Kieli 

 of li 



■el c 



i that mood 



ithe 



soast of 



the 



iking a but 



i discontinued. 



never would be any r 



s to catch unless that i 

 William Stowe 



._. Net and Twine Company of Bost , 



know something of the ebb and flow of sea fish, got excited 

 also, and he preached, with the fervor of Mahomet, to the 

 effect that t-akiug mackerel with purse seines had destroyed 

 that fishery. I heard him make the statement in November. 

 1875, that.' in his opinion, there never would be another 

 niakerel purse seine made in the United States In the light 

 of the last three years' mackerel fishery, it, is shown that their 

 excitement was uncalled for, and it is also shown how Utile 

 they knew of what they were talking about. As to the as- 

 sertion that steamers have broken up and driven off the men- 

 haden, it is worth just l as much as Hich's and Stowe's state- 

 ment in 1878 that the. mackerel purse seines had destroyed the 

 mackerel. It is a fact, well known to all who have taken the 

 pains to study the history of fish that five and multiply in the 

 sea, that they Have periods of being plenty and scarce, and 

 that man, tibia puny efforts of capture, is as nothing In com- 

 parison with the destruction by bhiefish, sharks, bonitas and 

 Other fish of prev. Prof. Baird estimates that the bluelish in 

 four months destroy on the coast of New England 15u.0U0,000 

 barrels of fish. When we add to the above the destruction 

 by sharks, whulc-s, etc., and add to that the whole coast from 

 Maine to Mexico, and take twelve mom lis' destruction instead 

 of four, we see that man's influence is about the same as a 

 fly's would be in trying to stop the steamer Bristol's ongino 



by lighting on the end of her walking beam when it was run- 

 ning wide open, with all the steam the law allowed.. 

 _ . Daniel T. CHtracn." 



[The impression which wo have formed of this husine== is 

 that while bhiefish are often let out of the purse nets because 

 they cut the net so as to render it useless, other food fishes 

 are retained. These fishes would, of course, be worth more. 

 in market than lor oil, but the steamer is not bound for 

 market, aud by the time of her return with her catch. the fish 

 are past the marketable condition. Our article, was based on 

 a report from Massachusetts papers that the Rhode Island 

 steamers were being especially nued out for a foray upon the 



position of V. 'ill:'. I •!: ,,,,■ , ,,, ,, il,i, „ ,,,.[ j,-,,-, - , 



publish the Eollowin ram I ic Cap&Ann Advertiser, an able 

 paper published in the interest of the commercial fisheries at 





, Ma: 



A statement has been published in the Boston papers from 

 gentlemen interested in the fish od and guano business assert- 

 ing that the idea of catchiu:: :n .,-k.- i ,--! e t • >:I and mann pur- 

 poses is preposterous, from the fad that mackerel are worth, 

 as they are. taken from the water. $3 per barrel, while the. 

 market value of a barrel of nek - r - having been con- 



verted into oil and guano is only SI. 



"We trust, that this statement is correct, and if so there will 

 be no tears of diverting this valuable fish from its legitimate 

 channel, that ot affording a nutricious and highly palatable 

 food, which has bee, une staple in many families who regu- 

 larly lay in their half -barrel, quarter-barrel, or kit of mack- 

 erel as a part of their winter's provisions. These srentlemen 

 "scout the idea that man's best efforts can have any percept- 

 ible effect in reducing the quantity of fish in the ecean. " We 

 wish that we coidd agree with them; but in our humble 

 opinion a fleet of steamers such as have followed the men- 

 haden, pursuing that of the maek-rei fishery, intent on tilling 

 up the steamers, irreeardlcss of having to stop to dress or 

 market the catch, but just turn them into the hold, taking 

 them to port in bulk and bailing them out again, would so 

 harass the sensitive mackerel that they would soon follow hi 

 the wake of the menhaden, seeking other waters where they 

 could be free from their pursuers."] 



B ABITS OF BLACK BASS.— While in Grand Rapids, Mich. , 

 during my late vacation, I was informed by Dr. Parker, of 

 the state Fish Commission, and a Mr. Hall, of that city, of a. 

 new feature in the habits of the black bass during spawning 

 time, which had come under the notice of those gentlemen 

 It that of the nest building of these fish within two or three 

 feet of the surface in ten and fifteen feet of water Mr. Hill 

 told me he had frequently observed at the head of some 

 lakes and ponds in Michigan, a collection of ring moss and 

 other vegetable ma tier, placed with apparent design on the 

 top of brush heaps which rested on the bottom of the lake 

 and extended nearly to the. surface of the water. Not know- 

 ing what they were he made a critical examination and found 

 them always guarded by the bass which had constructed the 

 nest in the same manner in which they protect I heir ordinaiv 

 nests made iu the bed of the stream or pond. In many ease's 

 the nests would be throe or four feet iu diameter and larger 

 than the top of the brush pile on which they rested This 

 habit ot the bass I have never heard of before, 'and both Mr. 

 Hill and Dr. Parker confessed they had never seen an account 

 of it published. It may tie. some of your correspondents 

 know of it and cau give further light oh the subject. May it 

 not. be that some peculiar character of the bed of these bodies 

 of water where the nests are found renders it impossible for 

 the spawn of the fish which inhabit them to properly develop 

 if deposited there, and the nest building is resortcd'to to aid 

 in a better or more speedy hatching of the eggs ? Perhaps 

 more, sunlight is wanted. 1 am at a loss to give a better ex- 

 planation of the matter.— Homo. 



BLACK BASS FOR ENGLAND.— London, July 11.— Among 

 the pleasant acquaintances made here— those interested in 

 fishculture and angling— I have been very much gratified bv 

 the kindness and hospitality of Mr. R. B. Marston, editor of 

 the Fishing Gazette, whom I first met at the Society of Arts 

 recently, on which occasion he read a very interesting paper 

 on artificial propagation of coarse risk: there was a large at- 

 tendance of anglers from the ia> different Anclni- Societies 

 of London aud vicinity — Edward Birkbeek. M I' presiding 

 Mr. Marston exhibited a drawing of the apparatus, describ- 

 ing an exceedingly feasible plan for securing spawn of perch, 

 bream and other fishes 'whose eggs adlvre to brush or grass) 

 thus enabling them to be transported and placed in suitable 

 water in order to be hatched. Mr. Marston's paper was re- 

 ceived with a good deal of enthusiasm. The people here seem 

 to be unfamiliar with the abundance of gu me lish in our own 

 country; Bueh as trout, salmon, black bass, therefore it is 

 strange that it should seem desirable to hatch fish of this 

 kiud, which afford little sport in their capture and are not 

 good food fishes. I was invited to speak upon the subject of 

 black bass: the ambries, -v.-, ; _r,v.r!v interested and unani- 

 mously adopted my . suggestion that steps should be speedily 

 taken towards stocking the vast extent of waters in the 

 country now deficient in game fish, especially of such as our 

 famous black bass. George Shecard Page. 



AM 



FISHERIES OP NEW HAMPSHIRE, RHODE ISLAND 



""•"KTT.-We have received Census Bulletin 



e statistics of the fisheries of New Uainp- 



1 and Connecticut, prepared by G. Brown 



A. Howard ( 

 series of thre 

 persons empk 

 value to the ti 

 Table I. show: 

 and a 



irge 



of fishery 

 nt. The i 



ligation, and 

 'port comprises a 

 ril the number of 

 invested, and the 

 various products. 

 ?w Hampshire 414 



Rhode Isla 

 capital, ; 



fisheries 



of the product i 



the product is •SSsvj.fJlo. The 

 wn iu Tabic III,, employ 3.131 

 and the value of tbe product 



MICHIGAN NOTES.— I have learned through Mr. V. Wil- 

 son, of White Pigeon, that the whitelish put into dingers 

 Lake by the fish eommissiouers of tin's State have lately 

 shown themselvL-s, uid several have been taken in minnow' 

 seta s r wi ighiug ten pounds The sdver eels, also planted in 

 Michigan water.-, from Pennsylvania streams, seem to have 

 thrived, but whether They have reproduced is another ques- 

 tion. Those that are frequently taken from fla .ends, lakes 

 and creeks, where they were deposited ill very young stage 

 if growth, may he the. original fish of increased size. Dr. 

 'arker. of Grand Rapids. Mich., wishes me to slate lo you 

 hat i]-<- -rout fry deposited in the Southern Michigan streams, 

 There the fish were never known to have been, are thriving 

 i-.eely and doing as well as the listi placed m more northern 

 raters. The bass fishing on the fiats of toe Detroit River is 

 ■spondent has been having a full share 



GROWTH OP TROUT.— Ripon. Wis. —Mr. Cody took two trout 

 from out Silver Cre"b. weigh!!' j r a:el '." cunds respect- 

 ively. One was 17 inches loi randfh oil >r h. , ic h. 

 first week iu July. The stream was stocked with I'm in 

 April, 188(1 Pretty rapid growth,— A. O. 



"A uniform" or "an uniform." Regardless of which is correct, the 

 Ksterbrook Steel Peu Oouipauy will attll go oil making peas ..i 

 formly good (ruality The, stationers have them. - J.<< i> 



