Arteri»T 17, 1888k! 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



49 



catfl»h (-drfoptt ■,,.'/,.,// uili). :i Dandsbme fish, with game 

 qualities, which abounds in these waters in April and May. 



weight flboul sixpounds. li is covort'd with b diaagr tie 



slime, and i- armea wifb sharp and barbed Spines on tin- pee 

 I oral litis, so that i! is dangerous to handle; the 8psh' is white 

 and linn. and in the absenceof belter lisli would be eaten', ilo 

 doubt. Shark- are very fond ot them, bin reject (In- upper 

 portion. 



Now liarlolo hooks :i shark, which cuts oil his hook. 



and as 'v. s (T the . i f > t- - : i i fins of several others In the surf, we 

 change our ground and go to i ii<- wreck where Ihc tides; have 

 worn a deep hole in the sand, 



ih if we find h school of eavalli, which give as fine sport. 

 This is Din' of riic most acttve and vigorous flshos-to these 

 waters, ttis vary "Voracious and will take almost any bait, 

 eitheroi thasurfuee or bottom. 1 have taken them, with a 

 spoon, and nave beard o1 their being killod with a fly. They 

 arc taken in these Waters from one to twelve pounds in 

 weight. As a food Sab thev an- by no means equal to the 

 pompano which they much resomble in appearanco, being 

 rather coarse and oily. We got ton from that school about 

 a la' i :>■■ they could bo pulled ashore; averages weight three 



P< 



Wh 



a- verv pie is:uit fishing, wading to the waist ill the 



n gulf water, ■ 



rith 



"That 19 the first tin 

 lish: are those ponies j 



' I Ik v ir. uid tie-, 

 low me when I am usi 



"Where do vou keei 



"Thev live on the 



fresh Water sometimes, 

 and efften use her to bl 



akhignbi 



ponies eating 'hen. 



irtolo, that I ever saw a horse eat 



■Say loud Of 1ish. and often fol- 

 ii t so as to gel my mullets." 



i and come up to the house for 

 ? broken the mare to the saddle. 

 Dine turtle eggs." S. C. C. 



A LONE FISHERMAN IN CANADA. 



AS the date lixed for vacation approached 1 In^ year, the 

 Undersigned, like main' another of vonr readers, as I 

 doubt, not. found himself tii he awean 'ot the lished-oul 

 fishing "resorts" within a hundred mile's or so of this me 

 tropolis. The memory of the 7x!) lakes, crowded with 

 boats, and of the uqtela infested w ith the Cheeky and extor- 

 tionate ' unide, " v ho sold, you hail today forwhieh you had 

 paid him twice its value yesterday, smoked vour 'i-ars and 

 drank your paregoric, returning the favoi by doing as little 

 rowing as possible, volunteering contemptuous criticism of 

 your methods of angling, hinting at the prodigal liberality 

 of his last employer, and Instructing yon when to go home 



—made me resolve to forswear these deiigbls and pass mv 

 play-time this year beyond the borders of the States. 



And bo (the friend who had agreed in accompany me hav- 

 ing been prevented from so doin.'j i)\ illness in his family) I 

 withdrew my nose from the business grindstone, bundled 

 up my rods, packed my frnnk and tackle-box and started on 

 my lonely way to Kingston, Ontario, where I was met by a 



■ Battorsoa, on Uiughbotsoagh Lake, which point 



was reached after a drive of Bixteen miles. 



Regard for ('uth compels me to say ju-f here that Batter- 





i by no means resembles 

 of theplain."oranv othei 

 prominent characteristic . 

 not hesitate to indorse th- 

 an a'-lheli.-.talldpoint. lip 



in their hearing, and cheei 

 lage to beauty. Uui there 



hotel, and ihc eiiv.eiis ai 

 while for the undeniable u 

 tion tenfold is 

 few hundred v 

 ihc lake. I can make no b 

 than that of the passage Ert 

 wooded shores, islends in 

 mansions — from "Grillin'.-.' 

 but a few Square yards - U 

 and not one of th. m disfigt 

 nightmare in the shape' t 

 with which many a 'show 

 with summer hotels, can bl 



beauty is developed at evei 



nooks apparently designed 



rocky heights ci 



the comparatively narrow 



unbroken stretch. -. ... - 



In short, L 



a ra\ as ev 



eaqno, and 



Hut t ■' 



■>!:.< 



•t Auburn, lovelies 



a of which lovclin 

 •I. its c.mdid inluihi 



villa-.. 



•ommodating, 

 let eompensa- 

 ig paddled a 

 imerges upon 

 ■ the contrast 

 adist Well 

 hap.-, and di 

 those covering 

 r. cold water, 



water.' 



hand, in ! 



velve full 



iboiil 3 P 



. M.), 416 



1 -p-elcs. 



I used the 



fthelgnobl 



■ "spoon" 



,'il-d l:l\ i 



alch. as 1 





a shovel. 



nag oarsn 



um (aged 



gle three-] 



..under. I 



ion, cut ha 



1 struck a 



dies— and 



after net- 



■s-ion. all 



,'iiiiin ten 



doubt, gave way to hesitating bejlef. No other light rod 

 had been used 'there within their knowledge, and their ideas 

 of the nature, of tin artificial lly were of the vaguest. "Yank- 

 ing" a cedar ••pole." and band-over-hand hauling with a 

 spoon-hook, arc considered good enough treatment there for 

 the ''coming game fish of America;" and even a gentleman 

 from Kingston who came up for a day's "sport'' fell himself 

 instilled iii chaffing me lor taking but twenty-three ^in my 

 lly u bile ho was jerking thirly two into his boat U) main 

 strength before they had recovered from their astonishment 

 at the prickly nature of the glittering morsel they had al- 

 tcup'.cd to swallow. 



"Pike" (OUT pickerel, OS 1 believe) are scarce, I am glad 

 to say. though they are reported to abound in some oilier 

 lakes in the vieiuilv. of which there are many. Round 

 Lake, full of large-mouth bass (which for some occult rea- 

 son will seldom bite), is but two miles distant, its waters 

 clear a-- . tvs! a I and presenting a curious app. ai ance as 

 viewed from its high banks, h v reason of long bars of while 

 clay projecting from the shores; Dog, Cranberry, .Mud 

 (where isn't there a Mud lake?) and Sloat's lakes are nbf 

 far off; but- Loughborough. 22 miles in lenuth. is easily the 

 queen of all, both as regards beaulv and the abundance and 

 quality of fish. 1 hesitate to question anvof Dr. Ilenshail's 

 ,.!■■■„ t [,,, i r.i statements, hull uiu-t say that it did tot take 

 me long to discover the difference between the fierce and 

 Struggles of the small-ninulh bass and the com- 

 paia',ivelv..lui:-ish resisiancc of his larL-e-monlhed brother; 

 and it isceilainlv a fact that in these water- the -amei|uali 

 ties Of the former are far superior to those of the latter. 



The cosl of travel to Battarsea fn.m New York is from $10 



to .-si:;, and expenses while there are light enOUgll l.> make 

 one almost ashamed of spending so little on a holiday excur- 

 sion. One piece of advice 1 will venture' Upon: don't go 



alone. Vcirods' how I did yearuand vawn for a eonioanion 

 in my sport; and how 1 bored myself after dark until w. I 

 come slumber overtook me! And in conclusion 1 will further 

 advise: if you must carry a flask of cough drops for vour 

 stomach's ache, don't let it drop in the creek; and if you take 

 with vou h valued and rather valuable licit! trlass, the bottom 

 of the lake is a bad place to leave it in case y..u want to use 

 it at the opera next winter. To conclude some more, Alex. 

 Van Alstine. of Battersea. will give all further needed parti- 

 culars on application, as will also, if desired. 

 Kew Yokk, Aiiscust, 1S82. TlM "i hit I. .l\Ml-.s. 



gladened the eyes of a searcher for the pietur- 

 weii worth visiting for Cliat reason alone. 

 llie fist? 



TI....'sso ; 1 forgol l o remember to whom T was talking, 

 though I am sure thai io all Inn- aBglett Hi.- lovely scenes 

 among which thev practice their art furnish no small part 

 of its iHifrhts. "Well, I don't esteem nryself worthy of a 

 place in the front rank of lly-nshermen. "bul even 1 made 

 scores of which an expert need not have been ashamed; and 

 I didn't •lish for Count" either, but. piously returned all fish 

 noi fatally injured, and that were under three-quarters of a 

 pound in weight, 



The wind was < v.iv day uii.i ually high for the season, so 

 that for some entire days and ^portions of others durinsr my 

 siav the swell was too heavy lor comfortable fishing. 'Nev- 

 ertheless, ih.re fell to my incxperiei 

 days' fishing (resting from noon ut 



fly atone -castiie;' and trollimr — -cor 

 with which 1 could doubtless have 

 certainly could have done with 

 Btanding in the boat while inv agin 



76) was killing and disposing of a 

 made a cast of twenty fen. and in 

 p dr of twins— one on each of my 

 liiiii llicm look two Other pails ill 



minutes. Trolling over tjm same ground a day or two af- 



tei'wai'.is I captured eleven within twenty minutes — five 

 pairs and an odd one. Judge, Ihen, what a. 'pracliccl angler 

 rmgbt have done. 



li is pi-oi. ibly n.e.iless for me to -ay that Loughborough 

 is not a fishing •'■..-on." Beforo waiting my line [-was 

 obliged, to assure -.< number of anxious inquirers that my 

 fragile iulit bambon was not intended for catching bait, and 

 that 1 did not calculate that the finst bass I encountered 



would reduce it Io splinters; bu! it wa- not until I had re 

 turned with a goodly heap of tish with my rod intact, and 

 ii,\ Statements had been ..•oulu-tiK.d b\ the oarsman, that 



WEIGHT OF RODS. 



I'SN'T it, after all, much the same with the practical tinnier 

 as with ihc old girl who kissfid the cow— a mere matter 

 of taste'.' We undeigraduales of t lit" backwoods who tire 

 not "up to snuff" in the various departments and improve- 

 ments, and whose mipeeuniosity precludes frequent excur- 

 sions beyond wur native neighborhoods, derive an immense 

 amount of pleasure and solace from the excellent contribu- 

 tions of the gifted and more fortunate alumni of the guild, 

 but are oflcn left gropinsr in a fog as Io important delails, 

 from the fact that the writer's familiarity has caused him to 

 omit whal 1..- supposes well known by every reader of aver- 

 age intelligence and even limited experience. Experience 

 and. experiment are v.rv tedious teachers, and in the absence 

 of standard text books." we students turn eagerly to I'oiii.st 

 and snti'.v.M for nuggets of wisdom, and most patiently 



and profitably plod tljt'Ollgb elaborate niinutia' in iplesl of 

 items to be added to our limited 'dock. Hence, lei the -'lav- 

 heads not. disdain apparent redundancy of details if they 

 Would proftl the tend, li.el. for the dissemination of stan- 

 dard books of sporting literature is not toextensive win. the 



charitably skip what they always knew in view of benefit 

 to us youtiir-sleis. 



I am not fault-finding. I once heard an orator declare 

 that the most difficult and labored efforts of his life were 

 the preparations of lectures for children— "not to pitch llie 

 fodder too hie-h for the lambs." "Bnlagin." as our 

 old preacher rattier numerously remarks in the course of a 

 discourse, I desire to gradually approach ihc subject to be 

 brieily considered r\fi\ if Forest \mp Stkkam has had a 

 dozen exti a columns added to its former very respectable 



size without corresponding enlargement of type. 



We naturally adopt pertinent provincialisms frequent lv 

 from convenience if not from admiration of their elegance. 

 Our deft veterans are dubbed 'prolessors." and are not 

 slouches with rod and -am. The students are .ailed "fibtth- 

 oreis." The term slatlicrer needs no definition, for any 

 sportsman on liist hearing if. applied loan individual would 

 expect him to crash around like a hungry steer in a kitchen- 

 garden. in stepping into or-from a canoe to put a foot on 

 and into everything on the bottom and lilt out any unsus- 

 pecting occupant if the craft chanced too heavy to be up<-ct 

 by his lurches. 



I am not. a professor, but. have been admitted to their 

 councils till from the drippings of their scientific overflows 

 I aboui have their philosophy "by heart." Tike and bass 

 fishing constitute the cream of our angling, and the best 

 bass tackle is the one thing our professors have worked out 

 to their individual satisfaction. The varieties of weight, 

 size, length, spring, balance and rig. arc as diverse as were 

 tlu! linguistic exercises at the time that the workmen got on 

 a strike at Babel. 



Am I wrong in the inference that jointed rods of split 

 bamboo and the favorite solid woods are the kind of bass- 

 rods discussed? 1 think not. as the willowv Character 

 attributed to specified light, weights is not applicable 

 to our one-piece favorites of same weight?, Our pro- 

 fessors and advanced slatherers wry rarely build jointed 

 rods, unless for convenience in slipping out. unsuspected, 

 Sunday mornings, and it is the current belief that a jointed 

 rod is the invention of some fellow ashamed to be seen eoing 

 Ashing Sunday, hut wasn't. -hreu. I Enough io send his tackle 

 out by the friend wdio promised to meet him at a Certain 

 spot with a bucket of minnow.s. Understand that 1 have 

 long had mj heart set "i> a Split bamboo rod and haven'l 

 lost hope, but until the very indefinite dab- M' blissful reali- 

 zation -. ixoo.1, cheap rod shall sulliee, as I know thai vast 

 quantities of glorious fun are derivable From a common 

 .lapau. — cane properly rigged. Lightness, strength, spring 



and balance, in order given, arc the professor'.! requirements 

 of a first-class rod, and in what is that combination, par ex- 

 cellence, so satisfactorily found as in the Japanese cane? 

 The. bamboo is more elastic, but proportionately heavier. 

 We use "fi " braided silk, or smallest sizes of linen; cable laid 

 lines, and lind the desired relation between lines and rods 

 in the lightest canes reduced to nine and ten feet length. 1 

 was led to select loin of my favorite rod-, from a dozen 

 collected in the hist eight years, and weigh and measure 

 (hem for the first time. 



A description is Submitted as showing what meets the ap- 

 proval of professors to whom I'm indebted for nearly all that 

 I know of tackle and angling. 



Lengths, H to 9ft. din,'; w, tght, b; to 7ozs.; rjiftrheters, 946 



to 14 Hi of an inch at butt, and about 3-32 of un inch at 

 tip. .Metal reel seat screwed on II to 18 inches from butt, 

 end— s to 10 or IS guides OH each, as nee. s-ary to keep the 

 line on the rod, whatever the -train to Which i"t may be sub- 

 jected. A piece of hard wood is fitted into Ihc butt end of 

 each rod. and trimmed Io an edge to facilitate thrusting into 



ilie ground ora crevice when desirable to use the landing net 



Orgafj for a companion, or Io accommodate him wilh your 

 j.iiLin. mas to whether it s more water or more sugar that's 

 needed, The capabilities of such rods are adequate to most 

 euievirencies, and equal lo the capacities of such lines as a 

 professor would select. Xo. ^ Frankfort-reel is the favorite, 

 size, though many professors use No. 3 Ours is all -Ir. am 

 fishing, hence the ©dispensability of a float, as we rarely lind 

 SniOOth bottoms, and blai k b.,s- don I Seek such here. 



1 may be in error, but 1 think that thai "old pelican" .of 

 111- Kingfishers u-ed a .lapan.se ha-.- rod ill bringing lo gofl 

 that A'v/.c mJiilfor n( lulbs.. his description of which produced 

 that peculiar v. rmi.til ir sensation on my scalp which throat 

 ens a ''rising of each particular bait on end," If he didn't I 



know, thai he could have done it. for I found nothing apocry- 

 phal ill his inimitable chronicles; they have the odor of true 

 inspiration; and may we all live to enjoy 'hem. at least semi- 

 annually, till the next Yorklown Centennial. 



A. Slatiikreu. 

 Will Sprmos, K.v. 



THE OTSEGO BASS. 



T\ (Ms, -'o Lake, New York, there is a sp-ciesof Conyoini.i, 

 or wiiilctish. which is claimed to bo of peculiar excel- 

 lence for food, and it has also been claimed to be a distinct 

 .-p.eie.. This lailerelaim i- not now allowed, audi! is at pres- 

 ent eon-id. -rcl identical with the O. tlUwi of tile ureal lakes, or, 



at the most, merely a variety. Ti.isfish, ii„. ugh not ai all re- 

 sembling a pcrcoiii. lias somehow obtained t.ie local name of 

 ••bas-."ainl "OtSCgO bass" i- Che named has rejoiced in for 



yen-, it more nearly resembles the "lav. ret" of English 

 "waters, and this name wasproposed lor it by frank Forester. 



We have recently been fortunate enough to receive, 

 through the court. -sy of Mr. James Eddy Mauran, the 

 original description of this lish by De Witt (jinlon in pam- 

 phlet form, and here give it entire.* 

 [letter.] 



At.uany. May 16, t822. 



Sm — I send you, for your excellent work, an accurate and 

 beautilul delineation of a fish caught, in the Otsego Lake, 

 the principal source of the Ureal Eastern Branch 01 the Sun 

 queliannah River. This painting was executed by Ezra 

 Ames. Esq., an emminent arttst, ..f your city, ana* the repre- 

 sentation of the lish, which is called Otsego Bn$se, is as large 

 as life. It was seventeen inches in length, live in depth, and 



The p, 



.potted j 



stripes, like the 1'im, mtchitti. i 

 white below lb- linea lateralis— St 

 scales small; back highly curved 

 nine sottish rays, three 'of wdiicli 

 midway in the back, and over Hi 

 dorsal fin is small and filamentous 

 fin. The caudal lin is forked— tin 

 This lish Is of the abdominal ord 

 torilv arranged under any genus o: 

 it is. however, included in Block's 

 which he represents as on abdominal 

 fin on the back and a body covered 



This fish is nearly equal to any fish Ihat swims for exqui- 

 site and delicious food. It is among fishes whal Ihc grouse, 

 or canVass-back (luck, is among birds. The flesh is fine, 



It sometimes weighs six pohnds, It is never found in the 

 neighboring lakes or si reams, or ill the Susqueliannah River. 

 It is no< anadromous. and appears to be always stationary 

 iu the lake. It appears in shoals every spring and fall. anil, 

 at other limes retires to the depths of ihc lake, like the black 

 basse and perch of Lake George, which are only seen perio- 

 dically. The latter lake has no outlet which' can be as- 

 cended by lish This prov.-. conclusively that their retreat 



is only into its deepest waters; and as these lakes are very 

 deep, 'they afford ample space for seclusion. Perhaps the 

 notion of Pennant that the herring proceed from the polar 

 seas is incorrect. 1 cannot beleive that they extend their 

 migrations beyond the seas in which they periodically ap- 

 pear. 



The Otsego basse is very rarely taken by the hook. It 

 was formerly caught in great numbers by the seine — some- 

 times five thousand at a draught. There is now a compara- 

 tive scare ty. The diminution of fish, greatly in demaud, 

 may he attributed, generally, to Ihc havoe c'reatixl by the 

 increasing population of the ocrantiy, and to the destruction 

 of the food of fishes produced by cultivation { but in this 



Tie -pring herring, or OtxpW otmalii, formerly visited this 

 lake iii immense multitudes for the purpose of' .-pawning, 

 now their ascent is arrested by the erection of dams. The 

 salmon trout, and other predaceous fishes of the lake, which 

 formerly derived their subsistence from the -pawn and 

 young . if the herring, being stint out frdm this sburCe-of 

 supply, hue lurn-d ihcir attention to 'he i )i-e-o basse, and 



thi- lake [i] Ha- .-priii-. and their voun-'did not leave it un- 

 til the ensuing auiumn. The pickerel, which is the tyrant 

 of the lake, and which drives away and conquer.- it> neigh- 

 bra and eongl.ol. the while pike, oi the Sli-,piehani, ah 



River, is considered tlm principal cause of the diminished 

 numbers of the Otsego ba-s,-. Bnl captivity appears to have 

 the same clfeel on them as on the wolf. Near the place 

 where Hie fishermen draw the seines there is a capacious 

 fountain in which they deposit their lishes and keep them 





ihc opereula 





ith small and 



little pn 



luberauce of 



No teeth 



in the jaws. 



hroat. T 



ic lateral line 



•ippearam 



e of lateral 





color silvery 



what dark 



ish above il; 



'he first ( 



or-al tin ha- 



,'iinp.rl,' 



t: il is about 



ntral fln. 



The Seeohd 



Idir.tb. 



over (he anal 





1 be s itisfae 





system As 



cription ' 



f the salmon. 



li-h. wi 



h an adipose 



wilh seal. 



s. I shall, in 



jenera, co 



isi.ler il a- a 



script an 



1 peculiar to 



lay. with 



propriety, bi- 



ils. I sh 



ll, therefore. 



A.'-Mimt of the Sain 

 John W. Fr.nii'is, M 1' 

 Women and Children i 

 Clinton, LL. D., (Jover 

 S. Van Wwkle, 101 Utt 



... „i 



