so 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Atjocst 10, 188S, 



pound?. I admit it took time— for two of our party watch- 

 ing the performance announced one take forty-eight one 



fifty-two. and the last fifty-seven minutes from the lise.' and 

 that I wanted no more fishing Unit, day. But it was in the 

 swift Nepigon. and I stood upon that long and slippery log- 

 in Hamilton's Poo] (Camp Dufferin), Which has caused tin' 

 loss of many a fish and the getting of many a ducking. 

 Every visitor of the river has some cause to "remember it. 

 Probahly as a place for fishing it is less difficult than the 

 aprons of the Rangek v clams. 



With the same rod I" have have taken single trout of 5| 

 pounds in twenty minutes, and didn't "begrudge" the time. 

 Perhaps I could" have taken two fish in less" time with a 

 heavier rod, but I was satisfied with what I did. 



Of course rods may be too light as well as too heavy. 

 The weight of my favorite is sufficient to weary me in an 

 hour or two. constant casting. I can make a better east us 

 to distance with a rod an ounce or 80 heavier and six to ten 

 inches longer, but on the whole I prefer the lighter and 

 shorter one (61 oz„ 10ft.) But as I intimated In the begin, 

 Ding as to which rod is best, a light or a leavy one, depends 

 upon what one wishes to use it for H 



Jtn,v29,1882. _ __ 



SEA TROUT. 



WE take the following extracts from Mr. Geo. Dawson's 

 re to the Albany Jmirnal, dated St. Marguerite 

 River, July : 



A month's uninterrupted salmon fishing, even where thev 

 "take" readily, would be very tiresome if not monotonous. 

 It is our custom, therefore, to vary our pleasure bv occasional 

 excursions for brook, river and sea trout. It is "a delightful 

 feature of this region that these several game fish are to be 

 had within easy distance. Until my "present visit I had 

 never liad a favorable opportunity to 'cast for sea trout in 

 salt, water. I have often taken them in the rivers when on 

 their way up to spawn. They are only second to salmon in 

 the play they rive the angler when thus met with; but they 

 are found in their full vigor and gamy muscularity in the 

 stilt water. The Sagueiiav , at, the mouth of the St. Marguer- 

 ite, is a noted resort for them during fie months of July and 

 early August. _ The time to fish for them is from half to low 

 tide; and easting from the rocks on the main shore or (better 

 still) from the sand bars exposed at certain stages of the tide 

 at the mouth of the river, the sport is simply superb. The 

 fish ordinarily taken do not average over a pound, hut they 

 are sometimes caught from three to seven pounds. Fish of 

 this size afford splendid play, and as the habitant nearby are 

 glad of any fish given them, as many can be taken without 

 doing violence to a tender conscience as the angler may 

 desire. If some of my friends who still visit the Adirondacks", 

 at great cost and little amusement, would make one visit to 

 this paradise of all game fish, they would he sure to repeat 

 their visit, and thank the angler who made the suggestion. 



I say this not simply because sea trout are available dur- 

 ing several hours of every day in such numbers as would 

 satisfy any one. but also because there are a score of lakes 

 in the neighborhood as full of river and brook trout as they 

 are beautiful in themselves and in their surroundings. 1 re- 

 ferred, in an early letter of this series, to eight of these hikes 

 which I visited last year. As I write this, I hare just re- 

 turned from two others not then visited. They are both 

 within three miles of our camp. The walk is not hard— as 

 woodsmen count hardness — as the guides find it easy enough 

 to tote their canoes to the point desired. Both of these lakes 

 would excite the admiration of anyone who appreciates 

 beautiful scenery, hut one of them (and the largest) is, with- 

 out exception, the most beautiful bit of water I have ever 

 seen— and I have seen nearly every bit of water that is called 

 beautiful in our own and iu several neighboring States. This 

 statement m ly seem extravagant, but it is simply sober truth. 

 It is about two and a half miles in length, aud from one to 

 two miles broad. The water is almost as transparent as the 

 atmosphere, but its clear water is but one of its beauties. It 

 iB encircled by verdant slopes, rocky promontories, lofty 

 mountains, shady nooks and quiet covers, each perfect in its 

 own line of beauty. It contains besides several islands 

 clothed in full verdure. Its inlet is a broad mountain stream 

 which brings music with it as it leaps into the lake, and the 

 basin which its ru.hing waters have formed during the cen- 

 turies is such a casting place as any appreciative angler 

 would tie willing to travel a hundred miles to simply look" at. 



My purpose in vi iting these lakes wis less to take fish 

 from the r. than to see if there were any fish in them to take. 

 It tool,; but a moment to discover i.hat both of them were 

 full or trout. There were six of us to feed — four puides and 

 two visitors— and wc resolved to catch just enough for the 

 three meals we were to take upon their holders. This would 

 have been the work of but a few minutes if we had not skill- 

 fully a stained from hooking two-thirds of those that rose to 

 our'fiy. In th smallest of the lakes a goo I angler could fill 

 a flour barrel in a day. In the largest they were equally 

 abundant, I made the circuit of the lake, a distance of at 

 least fi . <■ miles T oast, every foot of the way, and at almost 

 every cast, started a fish. I have no doubt I could have 

 landed hundreds by careful fishing; hut as my purpose was 

 to start the game and not to bag it, [ comp'ctcd tne circuit 



,i , .npiv six trout (averaging a pound) in my creel. 



If any of my friends (young or old) have a desire to spend 

 a month or a fortnight in this paradise of trout lakes and 

 rivers, I will be glad to point out to them the way. I am 

 aware that conscientious anglers (and all anglers, "born so," 

 are conscientious) will raise the objection that it is wrong to 

 catch more fish than you can use. "And so say we, all of 

 us." But all the fish you may catch in these waters can be 

 utilized. The guides you will be obliged to have with you 

 will accept, thankfully^ all the fish you may furnish them. 

 I know a salted trout is not a tidbit to covet, but it is rel- 

 ished here better than any other salted fish, except salmon, 

 taken from the water "duriug the autumn months. In 

 streams or lakes in the vicinity of a dense population it 

 would be ciiminal to catch trout to salt; but here, where 

 there are millions of fish to every angler, and where more 

 die every year from old age than would feed an army, it is 

 almost a' crime not to bring them into the larder in any eat- 

 able condition. 



The journey to this region is a long one, but it is not 

 necessarily expensive, and more genuine sport can be had in 

 a fortnight tnan is available at any point near our own 

 aneimt city during the entire summer. I should add, 

 perhaps, that trout fishing is open lo any one in these 

 lakes, and in this river also, alter the 15th of August— 

 the best sea-trout season. "Permits" are only necessary 

 for those who fish it for salmon in the salmon season. 

 If a none should conclude to come here he can land 

 at Ta-ousac, get a schaloupe to bring him up to the 



mouth of the St. Marguerite, where he will find Johnny 

 Jourdain, who will start him off fully advised where to go 

 and what to do to be v.rtuons and hsppy. The time from 

 Albany is; to Montreal nine hours, to Quebec fourteen 

 hotlre fj-.v steamer), to Tadousac (rls-i by .steamer i twelve 

 hours, and to Jourdaine's, by schaloupe, "hree to ten hours, 

 according to wind and tide. ' There is. however, a necessary 

 detention at Montreal of seven hours, but there is no other 

 detention until you arrive at Tadousac. if you reach Quebec 

 on the morning the Saguenay boat leaves for that river. 

 The gentlemanly purser of the steamer Saguenay will give 

 visitors all needed information as to the best mode ^f reach- 

 ing their destination after leaving the steamer. G. D. 



A MASKALONGE CULLER GULLED. 



LAST Saturday as our worthy alderman Archy Grant, of 

 the Third Ward, was trolling near the mouth of the 

 Knaw river, a small black gull struck his spoon, as he was in 

 the act of pulling in his line within thirty feet of his boat. 

 Our good-natured alderman, thinking to have some fun, 

 called to his companion, Mr. Will Christian, the well-known 

 and talented musician, telling him he had struck a maska- 

 longe, and asking him to come to his assistance, iu the 

 meantime allowing the gull to carry out all of his line. 



Christian answered his cry for assistance by pulling rap- 

 idly to him. Grant asked him to take the line, as he was 

 tired out, and did not think he could land him. Christian 

 took the line and commenced pulling gull and spoon as rap- 

 idly as if life depended upon getting the supposed fish into 

 the boat. Grant settled back in his boat anticipating much 

 fun when the gull would make his nnuearance. when'he was 

 aroused by Christian'sexclaiming, "What a whopper !" and on 

 looking around he saw, to his surprise, not a gu'l but a mas- 

 kalonge, and a huge fellow, too, vainly endeavoring to 

 shake the hook from his jaws. 



As he sprang nearly clear of the water, Grant could 

 scarcely believe he saw aright. Could it be possible! Had a 

 maskafougc taken the gull? Such was the fact; and Grant 

 was as anxious now to get the line into his hands, as he had 

 been a few moments before to play a practical joke upon his 

 companion, who though a skilled musician, was a poor fish- 

 erman. So calling to him he said, "I guess I will take him 

 now; he is a big fellow and 1 am afraid you will lose him." 



To his great disgust, Christian yelled back. "No you don't. 

 I've been fishing for ten years to catch a maskalonge, and 

 this is the first chance I've had." 



And despite Grant's prayers and protestations he contin- 

 ued to pull and haul at the line, reminding him. so Grant 

 sisid, of a "Dutchman pulling a strange dog." At last, find- 

 ing that Christian was bent on landing or losing his fish, 

 Grant, who is a very skillful fisherman, having fought many 

 a battle with that king of the finny tribe, the salmon, in the 

 waters of his own native land, Scotland, pulled his boat as 

 near as possible to Christinn, thinking to aid him with ad- 

 vice. He called to him to "give him line when he rushes." 



"Devil a bit." said Christian. "I've had hard work 

 enough to get him as near as he is now, and you bet I'm 

 going to hold him." 



"l y ou blank fool, do you expect to pull a maskalonge into 

 your boat as you would a log?" shouted the now exasperated 

 Grant, who could wait no longer, caught the line, and play- 

 ing his rish with great skill, succeeded in landing, after half 

 an hour's stubborn fight, a thirty-three pound mtis-alonge, 

 the largest caught here tins season. Upon examination it 

 was found that the lower or loose hook had passed entirely 

 through the head of the gull, and the fish must have struck 

 near the surface, as the bird prevented the spoon from sink- 

 ing, which makes the capture of this fish the more remark 

 able as, here at least, the maskalonge is only caught by deep 

 fishing.l 



Grant eays he considers himself the only fisherman who 

 ever caught a maskalonge with a gull for bait, hut does not 

 care about catching another, as up to date he has had to tell 

 the story and treat not only all of our numerous body of 

 city officials but a large proportion of our voting popula- 

 tion. Dn. C. A Hewers. 

 Detroit, Mich., July 30. 



TENNESSEE NOTES. 



ONE of the most prominent evidences of the bene- 

 fits arising from our lately passed fish, protection laws 

 is the quantity of fine fish being taken from tne Cumberland 

 River. Twenty-five years ago it was a common occurrence 

 to capture large Jack and bass from the point of either the 

 upper or lower island, and as a boy I have caught beautiful 

 drum and blue cat (the latter a game fish in our waters) at 

 the wharf, and all along the bank of the river within the 

 city limits. As the city began to grow in size, and a conse- 

 quent demand for fresh fish, the pot-fisher came into exist- 

 ence, bringing along his nets, traps, seines, and other devil- 

 ish devices for taking fish from the river and its tributaries. 

 With the advent of these monsters the legitimate sportsmau 

 was forced from his favorite grounds, and the enjoyment, of 

 skdlful angling. I say grounds, because the marauders 

 utterly destroyed the fish which ran up Mill. Brown's and 

 White's creeks, as well as the Stone River by blockading 

 their mouths with nets, so that the true disciples had to 

 look for fields so far removed that it became a question of 



[deniable labor and expense to indulge in their favorite 

 pastime. 



Our native citizens submitted to these outrages, and per- 

 haps would have continued to do so had not Col. Geo. P. 

 Akers adopted Nashville as his home. He had imbibed the 

 love of angling at an early day, partly from choice, but 

 more so from necessity; 1 say necessity, because mush of 

 his earlier fishing was done in the streams of Appomatox 

 county, Va., where he live^i and had to fish for the meat. 

 After settling down here he saw how the streams around 

 Nashville were being depopulated and began by trying to 

 teach the people to catch the fish in the legitimate way, and 

 to instill in the young folks the pleasures and physical bene- 

 fits to be derived from fishing excursions and the use of the 

 reel. Finally, as fortune favored him in his commercial 

 pursuits, and he had lime to devote to his hobby, the Gov- 

 ernor of the State appointed him Fish Commissioner for the 

 Middle Division. Though the office was a thankless and 

 non-paying one, the Colond accepted, and by perseverance 

 and a considerable outlay of his own private means, paved 

 the way to a final solution of the vexed question by getting 

 the people iu favor oj it and the Legislature to pass the 

 present law. Many kicked against it at first, but in certain 

 localities where the law was enforced such marked increase 

 in the fish supply was noticed that the malcontents began to 

 see the advantages of it, and now the man who dares seine 



or trap fish is looked down upon, and in many cases reported 

 to the authorities. 



This is the result of the Colonel's unabated efforts during a 

 period of at least fifteen years, aad he should feel promt of 

 his success; and although no longer a resident among u,, 

 he must read with pleasure of the iiicrease of fish in all" the 

 streams of that section he so long represented as commis- 

 sioner. 



Collins River, in Warren county, is said to be teeming 

 with fine large bass and black perch this summer. W. K. 

 McAllister, Esq.. a gentleman several years past the three 

 score and ten, lately caught a fine creel from it. The water 

 is very clear and cold (coming as it does from the Cumber- 

 land Mountains), and the fish caught from it are of very su- 

 perior quality. 



Three catfish, averaging ten pounds each, were caught 

 near this city last week. Now that the schoolboys have 

 their summer vacation, the river banks are lined with them, 

 angling in all styles; some with the most, approved tackle 

 and others with the rudest kind, yet they all seem happy, 

 and bring home quite a lot of nice fish every evening. 



J. D. H. 



Nashvuab, Jul y 28. 



LABRADOR SALMON FISHING. 



r r , HE salmon fishing on the north shore, as here the south- 

 JL em coast of Labrador is called, is now fast expiring. 

 At Gaspe, on the south shore, no very remarkable hauls 

 have been made, and only the Dartmouth has proved pro- 

 ductive. Young Mr. E vats, son of our ex-Secretary, suc- 

 ceeded there, in a couple of weeks, to kill, himself, forty- 

 eight salmon, averaging, however.only about sixteen pounds, 

 which low weight has also been the" chief source of com- 

 pliant on the York and St. Johns rivers, both of which 

 empty their waters into Gaspe. basin. I could not ascertain 

 exactly the scores made on the Restigouehe, but was assured 

 at Oambellton, by one of the best guides, that one of the 

 parties fishing there killed thirty salmon in one week. It is 

 easv to reaelf the coast, of Labrador, either bv the way of 

 Quebec in a small steamer called the Otter, owned by the 

 firm of Frazer >fc Ilalliday, or else by the semi-monthly 

 mail schooner from Gaspe, which, upon request, will, on 

 very reasonable terms, land any single passengers at any 

 one desired point. I am stationed now at the mouth of the 

 St. Johns River, with the eastern end of Anticos'.i Island in 

 full sight. By being the guest of Messrs. Garland and 

 Bland, who are this year again the lessees of the St. Johns, 

 a great many advantages accrue to me in my investigations 

 from which 1 would have been otherwise debarred 



The height of salmon fishing is here also past, and they re- 

 port a score of over ninety salmon taken by them since the 

 loth of June. Sea trout fishing at the mouth of most of 

 the rivers, however, is now immense and large scores may 

 be made even by non-exports in a few T hours whenever the 

 tide rises. I saw in two hours no less than two hundred 

 pounds of sea trout taken by the two rods of Messrs. Bland 

 and Garland, who used on this occasion the golden pheas- 

 ant and Jock Scot fly. The weather here is" now delight- 

 ful, ranging between 65 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, with pleas- 

 a t, cool nights, although black fifes and mosquitoes up the 

 river necessitate comprehensive precautions to render tho 

 stay comfortable. It may be worth knowing that by late de- 

 cision of the courts the right to fish the Mibgau and Ro- 

 maine rivers has been accorded to the signorie of Mingan, 

 for six miles from the mouth, which includes in these two 

 rivers the best fishing, while it hardly affects the rest of 

 water courses. 



Whoever delights in excellent sea trout fishing may find 

 plenty of sport here until tbe beginning of September, at 

 the mouth of all rivers, but the fish commences its ascent 

 after that date. The majority exceed one pound in weight. 



C. L. 



St. Johns, Labrador, July 25, 1883. 



FLY vs. BAIT. 



AS this is a sort of "love-feast or experience meeting" I 

 should like to speak. 1 have no doubt but scientific 

 and bpoitsmanlike fishing should he. done with an elegant 

 ten-foot jointed rod, reel and tly. But is it not the bottom 

 fact that lish are earthy to the "extent that they will take a 

 worm any time in preference to a fly? And, furthermore, 

 will thev not often take a worm when they will not rise to a 

 fly? 



Of course a fisherman does not go fishing simply to get 

 something to eat, but after all I think he may once in awhile 

 be justified in slyly putting on a w ,rm, for it is awful dull 

 fishing with no ri-es. 



One day I fished in the Monmorency, eleven miles across 

 the country from Quebec, in the Laval district, and while I 

 caught but a few trout and small at that, casting a tly for 

 miles, a farmer hoy who could not "even speak English' 1 

 hauled in some beautiful trout with a pole which pointed in 

 every direction, coarse line and clumsy huok baited with a 

 worm. Good Izaak fished with a grub. 



Next to a young robin I think a fish is the greatest gour- 

 mand that exists. I have caught pollock a foot long in the 

 coves on the Maine coast, who were so full of fish offal, which 

 had been thrown overboard fioin the "pogy" boats, that fish 

 entrails hung from their mouth, yet they would bite wi,.h 

 avidity. J- A. H. 



Ohio, Aug. 5, 1SS2. 



SILK LINES. 



IN a recent letter from my friend, Dr. Ferber, he states 

 that he is salmon fishing in Canada; that, he hooked a 

 larse fish which parted his line. Upon testing the line he 

 found it very weak. On more than one occasion 1 have 

 been annoyed by the weakness of silk lines. For surgical 

 purposes I purchased Bilk braid iu hanks, seven hanks of 

 different sizes costing sixty-five cents; each hank contains 

 about twelve yards, and cos's about three-quarters of a cent 

 per yard. The question arises why sbouKi silk lines be so 

 expensive, and not at all times reliable? I inclo33 si* differ- 

 ent sizes for your inspection. At, Fresco. 

 Jacksonville. Aug. 3, 1882. 



[We understand that first-cljwi dealers warrant their silk 

 lines, and, unlesia Una was old an 1 worn out. we would 

 throw it back on their hands if not. perfect; There are many 

 qualities, perhaM, but fffl do not know the poor ones, as we 

 have always had g io,l lines, a I'ajt tint may lie attributed to 

 good fortune, if anything, for you can only judge of a line 

 by its appearance, and if hard, even and well imished, many 

 defects might bj hidden bjasalh th.' coat of water-proofing. 

 In a privau iil; o ir oorMjpoaiant won lira at tli3 extrava- 

 gant co3t of flrat-cliM silk lines. Bo do we. We do not 



