Au»tjst 10, 1889.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



29 



boilv. cut at the throat. Now inert and almost lifeless, the 

 tempting bait was cast into the still water and sank till the 

 float rested upright on the surface. 



Some time we waited under the hot sky and with the 

 mirrored water b&tweea us, in that dreamy reyery which 

 makes the sedate amusement o[ fishing the philosopher's 

 cherished enjoyment, and recalls to u- til S jutt of genial 

 Izarik Walton' and many pthers whose footsteps will be 

 traced beside these native brooks to the end of lime. Pres- 

 ently my float descended to the depths, slowly, majestically, 

 solemnly, evidently borne off by some proud old veteran. 

 too philosophical to make a fuss "over any bait however tat 

 and tempting. I tightened my line, and instantly my cap- 

 tive was awakened to the danger of his position, made off 

 for the open lake until be was brought to a halt by the cau- 

 tious effort of my hand. I found him uo compliant pris- 

 oner, and it was not without considerable trouble that I 

 laid his black side upon the bottom of the boat. After this 

 we caught several bass of from two to four pounds weight, 

 and lost" several, one of which saw lit to go off with the bet- 

 ter part of tiie old gentleman's tackle, causing considerable 

 trouble and a great deal of unnecessary blasphemy. 



After this last event we weighed anchor at .the interces- 

 sion of our fat friend— who was convinced that the fish, hav- 

 ing now learned the trick, would proceed to further viola 

 tion of the principles of honor and run off with all the other 

 roils ami lines in the boat — and rowed over the rice-beds to 

 the other side of the lake, a distance of about three miles 

 and a half. 



Here we found the mouth of the river Ollonabee, (lowing 

 through a vast marsh, overgrown with reeds, rushes and 

 wild rice and fringed with stunted trees, the home of the 

 frog and the mosquito. After pulling a few hundred yards 

 up the stream, we cast anchor again in a bend of the river, 

 aud here, almost under the shade of the trees, we dropped 

 our lines into the deeps and found better luck than ever. 

 Several magnificent fish were soon stretched stiff aud stark 

 on the inhospitable boards of our treacherous craft, and it 

 was not till sunset that our hardy oarsman weighed his 

 Anchor and we took our contented way, sun-tanned and 

 ravenoudy hungry, back to the quiet little village, nestling 

 among its" trees on the steep lakeside, where our stomachs 

 were plentifully refreshed aud our minds cheered by reflec- 

 tion upon tlie gr.-n if j iug success of our day's work. A. L. 



THE STREAMS OF WEST VIRGINIA. 



I READ in one of your late numbers several leter.s in re- 

 gard to trout fishing in AVcst Virginia. One writer be- 

 wailed the existence of natives on what were thought to be 

 secluded streams, aud decried their primitive modes of pot 

 fishing, while the other was disappointed because after 

 riding ail the way from Staunton to Pocahontas county he 

 found no trout in Deer Creek. 



Your first correspondent ought to know that natives are 

 pretty much the same all the world over — at anv rate all the 

 State's over. In ancient days when an Adirondack resident 

 wanted meat he killed a deer, in June or July by floating: 

 or if on a crust in March, by running it down and cutting- 

 its throat. AVhcn he u anted fish he" speared a few hundred 

 pounds of trout on their spawning beds and smoked them 

 for winter use. Nowadays when the AVcst A r irginia native 

 wants any beast, bird or fish he goes after it and gets it, if he- 

 can, bv the shortest and simplest method, utterly regardless 

 of times or seasons. If the West A 7 irginians would pass a 

 law prohibiting the running of deer with dogs, and obey it 

 after it was passed, their State would swarm with deer. 



As to their fishing, 1 have seen the men with nets, and the 

 men and boys building dams and draining pools while they 

 poked about with their hands under the stones, on Pennsyl- 

 vania streams, but very rarely on those of West A/irginia. I 

 never saw a net on a' West Virginia trout stream except a 

 landing net, aud I never saw any one drain a pool, although 

 1 have'seen a pool that had been drained. Two years ago I 

 fished a stream in Pennsylvania where twenty-five years ago 

 I saw men netting, damming aud draining for trout; never- 

 theless I caught fifty trout in my morning fishing; evidently 

 the years of native work had not entirely cleared out tin- 

 stream. 



West Virginia is not a large State, and it has been settled 

 S great many years. There is not much room in it for one 

 to get out of" reach of natives. 



As far as 1 am concerned, and 1 have fished for trout in 

 West Virginia more or less since 1870, the natives may 

 fish until they are tired: their efforts affect the 

 supply as the Indians' killing does the buffalo. The 

 white' skiu-himters have destroyed the buffalo, and 

 I think "visiting sportsmen," as a rule, generally destroy 

 morel rout than the natives do. The latter fish with bait 

 3jnd lot eating; the visitors too frequently fish for numbers, 

 and so destroy big and little without reference to waste. 

 Some years ago a party from Lord Milton's place, near Cal- 

 lahan's, on the C. &'0. Railroad, the Hon. Mr. Beauclerc 

 and some others, went out to the West Virginia waters, and 

 during their stay caught, I suppose, between 2,000 and 8,000 

 fish, working only for count. When they could not eat 

 them, and had no'one on whom to bestow them, they counted 

 them and threw them away. I reached the same stream, 

 unfortunately, just after tkaj had ' left, otherwise 1 would 

 have explained the matter to them. 



I made a trip to AVcst Virginia this spring in June, which 

 was too early for that region', as the water was too high aud 

 trout were not collected in the pools at all, with three friends. 

 We camped out for twelve nights, fished when we felt like 

 it, and when it rained too hard and the streams were up we 

 stayed at home. Our first rule was, "keep nothing under 

 six inches long." After a day's fishing wc made it, "keep 

 nothing under a quarter of a pound," and to that we stuck. 

 Of course, if a trout was hooked in the eye or in such a way 

 as to injure it in extracting the hook, we kept it. Other- 

 wise evciTthiuu under four ounces went back to the stream. 

 Under this rule' we retained and brought to camp 673 fish, 

 all of wluch, except three bucketsful which we packed in 

 brine and took home, were, consumed in our camp by our- 

 selves ;.nd hired hands. I was sorry afterward that I went 

 in June. I always prefer fishiug there in July; then the 

 chances of hisrh water are less, and the trout are more in 

 the pools and" larger lisli can be taken. I never fished as 

 early but once iu West A T irgiuia, and much prefer the later 

 fishing. 



As to Deer Creek, 1 see no reason why your correspondent 

 ohould nut lie disappointed. 1 should never dreain of riding 

 from Staunton to Deer Greek fur trout. I have been inany 

 a time up aud down Deer Creek, for i used to cut pine 

 loirs there for our mill, eighty miles below by river, and 

 although there are a few trout there early in the season, 



say May or thereabouts, I never thought it worth while 

 to fish ' iu it. I have caught trout as heavy as a 

 pound in Sitlington's Creek, which is near it. "I think 

 if your correspondent had kept the Staanton and Pinkers- 

 bury Pike to where it crosses Greenbrier River, he might 

 have found trout up either of the prongs of that Stream; or 

 had he kept on to Cheat, have found still more. I never 

 heard any of the natives call Deer Creek a trout stream, nor 

 would I do so in the ordinary sense, although as I say there 

 are a few trout in it. 



In order to enjoy fishing one does not need to have a virgin 

 field— a stream where never man fished before— whence to 

 draw out. untold numbers. The pleasure is in the fishiug it- 

 self—in the performance— and 6%y, mountain, stream, sun- 

 shine and shadow-, ripple aud pool" the loaf duringniid day, 

 all the accessories go to swell the pleasure It is not a mere 

 question of numbers, although of course the size of the fish 

 caught, if satisfactory, adds to the pleasure. 



[ know a number cl tr:..:l Streams in Wes- A in ima some 

 trood. some poor, some quite inaccessible, 1 am happy to say, 

 to the -general public," and iu one of these I was the first 

 who ever cast a fly. 1 was also first to catch bass with a fly 

 in the Greenbrier River after it was stocked. The fishing is 

 very good in that stream now — a very pleasant trip could be 

 made" by taking ■, boat at Caldwell', six miles west of the 

 White Sulphur, and at the river, and running the river to 

 llinton some forty miles below, fishing along the way and 

 taking several days to it. The mountains of West Virginia 

 arc quite high and there is an abundance of yew piue as the 

 natives call it, that is to say black spruce aud rhododendron 

 or "brick laurel," to obstruct the way to any of the retired 

 streams. Everything has to be done "on foot" and provisions 

 packed on the back. "Visiting sportsmen" as a rale, don't 

 like to carry forty pounds of traps on their backs when they 

 go fishing. " I have fished many a day and all day with my 

 pack on," over that my Winchester and to balance that my 

 creel. Some people call that work; so, they do cutting wood 

 or peeling bark for camp. I call them all accessories, and to 

 me they add to the pleasure of the thing. If I wanted a $1,00Q 

 camp 1 would go to a good hotel and be comfortable, but 1 

 doubt whether I should 'tic more so iu a good Lark shanty. 



As to the natives, I say let them fish ; certainly they have 

 the most natural right to use the streams. Frequently these 

 run through their own lands; why should we growl bee a 

 we have come a few hundred miles to fish what they can 

 ■-each in a few minutes or hours when we find thein at work 

 for the pot? 



Simpi v because we object to their method, and even as to 

 that there seems to be doubt. In your last issue comes a man 

 say 9 by all means let us use heavy rods, kill our fish 

 quickly, and so have time for more. Are wc to go back, 

 then, to the cut poles and horsehair lines so that we may 

 "jerk oin out quick" and dash their brains out agaiust a 

 spruce limb? For my part, I beg leave to halt at eight 

 ounces for trout rods, let the rest of the world and West A" 

 ginia do as it will. 



Let no Staunton man go to Deer Creek for trout, If he 

 wants points, let him write to me and I will try to enlighten 

 him — possibly to console him. Cecil Clat. 



, D. 0, 



HAVING just retu 

 . eating trip to Tr 



A TRIP TO TRAPPER'S LAKE. 



e<l from a most enjoyable and inter- 



ipper's Lake, 1 think that some of 



your readers may be pleased to read about it even though I 



may not prove to be wholly equal of doing the subject full 



justice. 



On any map of Colorado in its northwest portion may be 

 seen "White River Agency" now occupied by a small infan- 

 try garrison of the U. S. Army, and iu a line"almost directly 

 ea'stT therefrom and about thirty miles in length. "Trappers 

 Lake." It was from the first-mentioned place that a pasty 

 of which I was a member consisting of nine persons, includ- 

 ing a guide and three men as packers, etc., started to see 

 Trapper's Lake, of which in regard to scenery, game and 

 fish, we had heard such wonderful and extraordinary ac- 

 counts that they were looked upon by the most Sanguine of 

 US as extravagant inthe extreme. Our outfit consisted of a 

 saddle animal for each one of the party and lour pack- 

 mules, upon whose faithful and sturdy backs we were able 

 to pack everything we needed for proper shelter from the 

 expected mountain rains, an ample supply of bedding for 

 all and rations to last ten days— besides some luxuries not 

 altogether indispensable it is true, but adding greatly to the 

 pleasure and somewhat to the hilarity of the occasion. 



I shall not attempt to descant very fully upon the scenery 

 on our route, as it is a little beyond my powers of descrip- 

 tion. The trail led us through country whose diversity 

 gives a pleasing variety to a ride which might otherwise 

 seem long aind tedious, taking us as it did along beautiful 

 grass-covered parks, through thick forests of pine trees, 

 amongst the willows of babbling brooks and across the 

 Stony bottoms of rushing streams with mountains always 

 and on every side and affording us frequent views of the 

 four-footed "iranie which abounds, at every step, besides the 

 mountain grouse perching in the trees solicitously watching 

 their young while we passed by. 



On'account of precaution against over fatigue and some 

 little uncertainty as to distance we did not. arrive at our des- 

 tination until the third dav, early enough, however, (about 

 LO o'clock A. SI.) at which time we emerged from a small 

 opening of the woods, and Trapper's Luke burst upon our 

 view like a beautiful picture, a picture to go into ecstacies 

 over. The lake itself is about two miles long and at some 

 parts nearly the same in width, surrounded by mountains 

 clothed with thickly growing pine trees which cover their 

 slopes from the borders of the. lake to their summits except 

 at seme extreme points where the trees are overlooked by 

 the snow-tilled inches below the eres's of overhanging rocks. 

 2,000 feet above the lake, 12.000 above the sea. One of our 

 party who rode around the lake estimates the distance of it. 

 circuit at seven or eight miles and describes the scenery upon 

 the south side a.- -rand bevoiid description in its park-like 

 openings and succession "of smaller lakes or snow ponds 

 wluch he encountered oi his way; he also obtained a good 

 view of a black bear, which, however, is not at all an un- 

 common occurrence about those parts. 



After leisurely jointing our rods and preparing our flies 

 and lines for act ion We each proceeded in a different direc- 

 tion to test the truthfulness of the wonderftd accounts we 

 had heard of the trout fishing on Trapper's Lake. ) myself 

 proceeded to the outlet of the lake and after rising my tackle 

 for 15 or 20 minutes found that I hud captured fifteen fine 

 trout and concluded to cry enough for the time being; two 

 others of the fishermen came back to camp shoe! 

 tdd, one having token 20 the other between 20 and 30, the 



lot averaging more than hah* a pound, the largest Tunning 

 about 1J pounds. There are three distinct species. I am not 



sufficiently well up in ichthyology to give them their a»= 

 curate designation, but they who \ire may recognize it by my 

 description when 1 say briefly ths 6 OH bMh» dark-banked 



fellow with deep crimson belly, the other is a broader and 

 whiter fish with the belly of a light pink or salmon color, and 

 the third is like the latter but Of a yellowish hue. the second 

 mentioned is far the gamiest of all. and wc SOOB learned to 

 know him when hooked before we saw hiin fairly. 



The next day. having found that the cat china:' of iish was 

 too little of an effort to afford 8 reasonable amount of sport, 

 we constructed a raft, upon which we sailed to the Buddie 

 of the lake, where, let it be said that somewhat perhaps to 

 our relief . we found a place where wc could not catch fish. 

 We thought it possible that by sinking we rniuht bring soma 

 hidden wonders to light, but we were mistaken, and upon 

 returning to shore solaced ourselves with a little more of tha 

 lightning fly-fishing with the sane- success as before. 



On the next and last day of our stay it was deemed advis- 

 able to take, say fifty fish'to each pack-mule to carry home. 

 Two of us went to the mouth of a Small creek emptying in 

 the lake, and there, after two hours leisurely fishing, and 

 without moving from our place, we counted one hundred 

 and ten captives, averaging exactly as before, and the fish 

 rising as vigorously and" rapidly when we had our quota as 

 when we first began, The other fishermen met with the 

 same success, one having made, as he said, "just for fun," a 

 burlesque of a flv from a feather he picked up, and a piece of 

 thread, with which he had no trouble iu landing half a dozen 

 or more, Of course such fishing as this soon palls upon the 

 sportsman — it may be described as unlimited tish and no 

 fishing:, but one who is endued with the fine spirit of fie 

 fisherman who loves the labor, may. by going a little, below 

 the lake into the river, find fishing Which is more to his 

 taste, there he will find the riffles and the lovely eddies which 

 will send a thrill of ecstatic expectation through his soul— 

 ( vtiectation to he realized in season, unlike the tircson 

 taiutv of the lake— their name there being El ebly expressed 

 by legion. Will you be surprised when 1 say that we shall 

 long remember Trapper's Lake? 



To end a letter already too long drawn out I will say that, 

 we found it an easy two days' trip returning, and it could 

 as easily have been made in the same time going. If any of 

 your readers should desire further information you may 

 refer them to me and I will answer any questions as to 

 accommodations, etc., with great pleasure, Prcsc.vDon. 



White River, Col., July IS. 



LIGHT vs. HEAVY RODS. 



I HAVE been much interested in the discussion in the 

 columns of the Fouest and Stke.wu about w eight of 

 rods, and am convinced that the advocates of light and the 

 supporters of heavy rods are equally in the right. This con- 

 clusion is sustained by my own observation and experience, 

 as well as by the evidence of such men as Dr Henshall and 

 Mr. A'au Siclen upon one side and the other. 



1 was once camped with a party of five at the mouth 

 of one of the srnail streams or "rivers" which enter Lake 

 Superior on the north shore. We needed fish, or, in camp 

 parlance, we wanted "meat." I took my light rod 

 aud, making a few casts in a deep pool near the mouth of 



the. brook, took one two-pound trout, but could get no fur- 

 ther rises. Above the country was rough and covered with 

 a dense undergrowth of spruce aud balsam, and the banks 

 of the stream were thickly fringed with alder. It was almost 

 impossible to get along the brook on its sides, or even in i t, and 

 as to carrying so flexible a rod through the brush safely, it 

 could not be done. A trial or two at casting, resulting in 

 the loss of flies and the breaking of a tip in the struggle from 

 one point to another not ten feci distant, convinced nio that 

 I was in the wrong place, or that I had not the right rod. I 

 Went back to camp, took a stubby ten-ounce rod, put a small 

 shot for a "steadier" on the Hue' discarded the loader, and 

 in half an hour bail trotit enough for a day's supply. But 

 the work was one of necessity, f could have done as well 

 with a birch or au alder "pole." And this was not an un- 

 common experience. 



I think I have a little skill in flv fishing, not so much in 

 the lengthy casts as iu killing trout with light tackle. But 

 I have seen an Indian boy with a birch pole seven or eight 

 feet loug weighing a pound and a half at least, with a coarse 

 wigwam-made linen line, aud a hook bailed with a fishes' 

 eve or strip of pork rind, beat not alone my own score but 

 the united scores of three pretty fair fishermen with ap- 

 proved (?'. .8 "fashionable" or "aistheric") rods and tackle. 

 But it was upon ground where fiy casting could not be in- 

 dulged in with safety. Yet, under other circumstances, the 

 tine rod would take the most fish. 1 think Dr. Keushall and 

 some others of your correspondents are clearly right in the 

 proposition that a heavy rod will soonest kill the fish. And 

 those gentlemen who fish for "count" or for Weight, or for 

 '•meat" will, iu a given time, with heavy rods, "beat" the 

 light-rod advocate's -who fish for recreation, or from the im- 

 pulse which Mr. Marston would probably term the "resthetic 

 craze." 



I met one of Dr. Henshail's disciples once on the Nepigon 

 River. He discarded a liiht rod of seven and took up his bad 

 rod of eleven ounces, because, he. said, he could kill his fish 

 quicker and also more of them with the latter, and troul wel 

 so plenty lie didn't have to cast further than the length of his 

 rod. It is fair to add that two days of such "sport" sur- 

 feited him, aud he left the river preferring, as he- expressed it, 

 to take wall-eyed pike in the Kankakee to trout m the Nepi 



ton. It was a matter of taste, of course, lie could hava 

 one as well, perhaps, with a hand-line and bait, and. in 

 fact, he asserted that his guide kilted fourteen fine trout, 

 fishing with a shoestring over the side- or end of the canoe. 

 1 am not acquainted with the character of (he fishing on 

 Ramrcley lakes, and vour correspondent, "L. F. AA ." is prob- 

 ably right in bis views of the successful use of heavy rods 

 there, although judgment might turn on the meaning of the 

 word "successful." For my purposes, however ( the light 

 rod is good enoucdi generally, although, as I have mentioned, 

 1 have occasionally (perhaps -Mr, Vau Siclen would call it in 

 extremity), found' the heavy rod not only useful but conve- 

 nient, I have never been' troubled, however, with losing 

 fish once hoiked, on account of the lightness of the rod. 1 

 have, it is true, had flies and leaders carried aw.iybyfWl 

 which uo heavy rod could have stopped (with like leaders), 

 and I have occasionally lost a line tish from surprise or care- 

 lessness. With/tight rod I killed two trout - 

 rock fishing) of the united weight of eight pounds, with no 



loss except a few extra minuk-s of lime l , I I look 



two trout at each of three- casts, making a united weigh 

 twenty pounds, the smallest of tha sii fish weu-rhj: 



