so 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[AconsT :17, 1882. 



dlvo. In one of their draughts they look a large pickerel, 

 and put him in the depot . The basse held no communion 

 willi him i and i lies' kepi apart as far as possible, without 

 experiencing any annovauoe from their formidable enemy. 



The Otsego basse feeds upon worms, which appear to be 

 abundant, attatchinglliemselvrs ton concreted ropy substance 

 found mostly in and on the grass at the bottom. Il also cats 

 those insects which appear Oil mosl waters in t In* spring of 

 the year; and it probably derives its nutriment in pari from 

 aquatic vegetables, fat earth, animal and vegetable mucus, 

 and the power which all fishes posess of decomposing water 

 and converting it, into nourishment. 



It spawns in w ater not under I wcnly-rive feel deep, and I he 

 season For this purpose is supposed to be exclusively Ihe 

 autumn; but one having been found this spring in roe. and 

 the. periodical appearance of this lish being vernal, as well as 

 autumnal, 1 should SUpposcthat it spawned in both seasons; 

 for whenever eregarious fishes change their places of habita- 

 tion at prescribed times, from the depths of the lake or ocean, 

 into shallow waters of ihe former, or the rivers which run 

 into the latter, It. mav be considered as the season of produc- 

 tion) marked out by 'Nature. I am. dear sir. with great re- 

 ipect, your mosl obedient servant, D. w. O. 



Mm 11". m-tmcis, \r. D. 



GEORGIA EDITORS FISHING. 



1SEND vim the following account from the Atlanta Voiir 

 stUuMon Ot a trip of Messrs. Grady. Howell, Jackson, 

 and Gordon, all editors of Atlanta, to the shores of North 

 Carolina, and their introduction to the famous fishing to be 

 found there. The letter is written from Moreheaii f'ilv, 

 N. C. July -27; 



The day was perfect. A still" breeze was blowing Iron; Ihe 

 southwest. The sun was just rising and the bay. dimpling 

 before the wind, was as a huge bowl of molten gold, while 

 the rim of white beach shone like silver. A mile or so away 

 ihe ocean thundered over the liar, and the while-caps danc- 

 ing along the surf-line Hashed like diamonds in the morning 

 sun, 



Our boat lay at the wharf — a wicked-looking craft with 

 leg-of-mutton sails — rigged like a felucca and warranted to 

 fly. Captain Pickett, a well-seasoned veteran, was in charge. 

 Lunch was stored aboard, the four of us occupied the cush- 

 ioned seats, the Lucia shook her sails to the wind and we 

 were olT like a shot. 



We were looking for Spanish mackerel and bluetish. The 

 first is the finest fish that swims the water. Incomparable on 

 the table—as game as a mountain trout—as hand; 



a the i 



of the 



Blendei 



shi 



i struggle you 



r. The b'lue- 

 n — fierce in bis greed 



picture — hi 



rakish, be gives you all v 



on the end of a fifty-foot line; and whe 



land him in the boat, nothing could be 



fish, on the contrary, is a sturdy plebei 



and the verv devil to pull — voracious, lawless, and known of 



all men as the pirate of 1be seas. 



"-Birds to windward," cried the lookout. 



"Ha-r-r d lee." from I lie captain. 



"Hard Ice she is.". 



Why birds if we were fishing? Because the sea-birds 

 hover above the schools of fish, feeding on the offal and the 

 smaller fish — just as certain as fate, beneath the swarm of 

 anils and eurieu's that hung like a speck of cloud above the 

 water, pulsing up and down, there were running millions of 

 the fish we were at'tei In a few moments we had come 

 within a few hundred yards. 



'■Get your lines out," shouted the captain, "we arc nearly 

 on 'em." 



Instantly four stout Hues of fifty feet were cast over the 

 bow of the boat and spun out till they were tense. There 

 was not a bait used — simply squids of" ivory, with hooks at 

 the lower end. The Lucia" was flying now. sure enough. 

 Evan Howell was sitting astraddle of a bench by me, when 

 suddenly— 



"Honey in the gourd!" he shrieked, and began pulling 

 hand over hand like mad. 



"I'm with you." said Jackson 



"Good," remarked Gordon, and he beuau tu pull. 



As for me I felt as if a mule had aot his foot tangled 



line and bad got to Id. . 

 and pulled. In an instant 1 l 

 ing towards inc. like a 

 past the boat like a flic 

 ing every inch of the ^ 

 suddenly" changed his m 

 In less than ten seconds 

 men shook them off 



I 



.-i hi 



rthe 



abn's fish flew 

 IPs, after fiaht- 

 •et of the boat, 

 the gunwale. 

 It boxed. The 

 i over the how. 

 ■aught again 



elled 



i two-foot 

 volving wheel. Jael 

 of lightning. Pow< 



ray to within live El 



find and jumped ovei 

 " ad four fine lis 

 nd tossed the squid. 

 Before thirty feet had spun out every hook i.- 

 and there was rlie same excitement over, only two fish being- 

 landed, however, Oul they went again, and the third time 

 we had them. " 

 "Hard lee! Hats, gentlemen." 



The sails swung over our heads. The boat stopped, 

 turned, poised herself a moment, and then plunged towards 

 the school once more, as a pointer following a covey of birds. 

 Right away we were into them again, and the same wild ex- 

 citement followed.' It was better than a horse race. As 

 fast as the lines were in the water the mackerel caught tli 



The speed of the bi 

 the lines and the gam 

 struggle full of fun an 

 a mackerel on at the si 

 which would land hi 

 made one more rush, 

 steadied ourselves for repair! 

 were perfectly drenched witl 

 the tugging, and, panting ai 



,, theleniith of 



.ess o"f the fish made every pull a 



uncertainty. Usually all of us had 



e lime, and it Was a question as to 



first, We tacked once more and 



Then the school was lost and we 



We had eighteen mackerel. 



tray, our bands were red B it n 



declared 



that no ten minutes of sporl was ever before filled with so 

 much zest and enjoyment. It was a simple revelation to a 

 land lubber like myself. 



The morning was filled with just such dashes. As souu 

 as we had scattered one "school" of mackerel we would 

 sight, another swarm of birds and make for them. A dash 

 of a few miles was nothing to us. Wherever the glimmer 

 of wings showed against the sky, there the Lucia found 

 her way. And at length when Evan Howell was hugging a 

 claret punch for his lunch, and his war-cry of "honey in the 

 gourd" hnd died out for dinner, we found that we had 112 

 as fine fish as ever fell to mortal hands. 



Just as we had finished dinner, Captain Pickett discovered 

 off a point toward the lighthouse an enormous swarm of 

 birds, and predicted that they were hovering above a school 

 of bluetish. The Lucia was headed toward them and y\ ent 

 wing-a wing before the wind. It was a curious sight as we 

 neared the point. There must have been a million gulls. 

 They dipped into the water constantly, coming up loaded 

 With bits of fish. The bluefisb move in great, numbers, and 



cut and slash every! hinu in their way. With one snap of 

 the jaws they bisect a lish, and like" the pirates that they 

 are, scuttle and murder for the fun of it. The bird,-, hover- 



ing above pick up the let 



■You'll have il now." s 



went spinning over the bit 



into the I hick of it, and f, 

 "Pull them out quick 

 Evan Ho 



f t,b 

 aid Captain Pickett, as our lines 

 w. With these words we dashed 

 1st and furious fun it was. 

 or they'll pull vou in." shouted 

 just about right. 

 The fish flew at, the squids fiercely, and when hung pulled 

 even Stronger than mackerel. As the lines were loosed and 

 thrown over a lish would seize them before they were draws 

 taut and start off for the Bermudas. And it look muscle to 

 stop them in that rolling sea, from the flying boat. For ten 

 ■minutes the shouts and struggles were continuous, and i 

 boi lorn of the boat was covered With fish, ar.d four strnii 

 and tired men were content lo part company v 

 as it, wheeled to windward. Finding them a 

 he captain said he would fight th 



stile 



•iting 



ad we went to 



rt of the da- 



,he 

 ir strained 



the school 

 Hie shore, 

 wil.li shorl 

 rk. Then 

 k. The 



tacks. He Whirled int 

 followed Ihe most 

 waves were very high, and we were in close quarters, hut 

 Ihe boat flew in'audYiut like one possessed. The captain, quite 

 as excited as we Were, threw her about as if she were a part 

 of him. At every turn she shipped a sea that, drenched and 

 strangled every man in the boat — but the work went, on, un- 

 til the euttins lines had drawn blood from more than one 

 finger, and Jackson, who had put on a pair ol kid gloves, 

 had them hanging in shreds. We quit counting alter Wo 

 had reached 208 lish, but could have made it t.w 



id 



ides <; 



At last the lines were pulled in and w 

 headed for home. We then bad til'ieen i; 

 run through and three miles beyond the 1 

 on the cushioned seats, and with every 

 from the wind, we talked over the excitin 

 An ugly cloud showed its bend in the sou 

 away from it and crossed the bar jusl a 

 From every quarter came the sailboats, 

 built, belling into the bay. like great 

 flying homeward. A steam tug or two 

 ing by our swift and noiseless craft, gave us a m 

 We had happily missed. On the wharf, outlined 

 evening sky, siood some rather anxious wives ai 

 awaiting our return-^ for Harry Jackson is a i 

 daring sailor, and he sustained his reputation on 



As we clambered oul of the boat and saw the shj 

 fish piled up be* 



d the bout 

 t to 



lay- 

 sail set, quartering 

 ng events of the day. 

 alhwest, bui we rim 



sharpie and clinker 



white-winged birds 



puffing, •aid wheez- 



' ' it of what 



mains!, the 



d children | 



i-ied 



kin-lien wan I with a dozen special beauties. 1 felt that I had 

 finished the Wildest ride of one hundred and fifty miles I 

 'ver took, and closed the besl day of my life, as far as sport, 

 rt-as concerned. Even the red and aching lingers, that can 

 scarcely hold the pencil as I write, do not dim' tin- memory 

 -if that, glorious run after the cavaliers and the pirates. 



H. W. t; 



TROUT IN A THUNDER STORM. 



of 1880. Char 

 :. Dick Crego. 



■X P. 



II. 



. It w 



le oily 

 llliud : 



■ride i„ 



the foi 



Lie of lh0l 



ild pontic 



whether 



negative, 



life 



0:ME dav in the summer 

 our Adirondack guid 

 Fourth Lake, Fulton chain 

 South branch of Moose H\\ 

 July when the dweller in 

 question in his philosophic: 

 worth living or not and 

 Charley and I in our camp 

 bears an inverse relation to tne mt 

 fragrant breaths from the hemlock 

 from the moss-covered and ferny gr 

 ration and exuberant delight in mere 

 cide that a man could hardly dare ask for a better life. 



Tin.- flay was not a perfect one for trout-fishing, but for 

 lovers of 'nature the summer stillness of the deep foresl r 

 sessed such an enchantment that, the prospect, of a light 



intains, and whe 



and the cool a 



und give one an I 



re the 



phvrs 



ffect 



creel at evening had 

 abundant anyway, and we we 

 for camp use. 



As Hick quietly paddled us 

 see the trout lazily poising the 

 marginal fins, and slightly si 

 slow sweeps of their mottled 



selves to make amove for ihe 



Trout ' 



ugh 



■ry daj 



Onci 



then 



ich of aldei 



■der the lo 



selves OI 



ring the 



ha 



lock c 



anxious to have a v 

 taken very few up 

 ominous multei ' 

 thunder-heads 

 and hemlocks t 

 wrapped in an 

 near v 



audy bottom with 

 ring to exert theni- 

 vc seductively cast. 



branches of a hem- 

 svhi 



istle 



would find a 



irh us. but on the whole we had 



middle of the afternoon, when 



lo be heard in the south. Great 



if dark cumulus appeared over the tall pines 



a and rapidly rolled toward us. The forest was 



n awful stillness. Not a sound could lie heard 



an occasional muffled murmur of the water as 



it whirled in an eddy under some fallen tree trunk. 



We had arrived at' the "big spring hole" and as Dick cau- 

 tiously sent the light boat, close to the bank Charley and I 

 stepped out, and bending low- behind the bushes crept to an 

 open place where we could cast our flies easily. Charley 

 made the first cast. His flies had hardly made a ripple on 

 the water when splash! down went his red ibis. His light 

 rod ben! into a half circle, and as I cast a quick glance at the 

 spot 1 saw half a dozen trout gliding about near his hooked 

 one with the restless eager movements which always mean 

 business. My flies alighted instantly in the same place, and 

 down went niv stretcher as though" il were a cannon ball, 

 As my trout made a, quick turn I saw another calmly fasten 

 himself on one end of the dropper flies. "With thumping 

 hearts we led our I rout to one side and Dick slipped a land- 

 inn- net .under them and threw them, t umbling and squirming. 

 up on the grass, in a moment we had both made another 

 cast and booked our fish and the rest, of the trout intheeddy 

 werc excited and angry because they had not got there first. 

 Meanwhile the forest had grown darker and darker. The 

 great banks of inky black clouds-were low over- our heads, 

 Quivering flashes of lightning lighted up the mountains, 

 and the heavy thunder shook the very ground and reverber- 

 ated and echoed. 



Gael after cast we made, and the trout seemed invigorated 

 by the rigor of the elements. Big, sturdy fellows made the 

 Spray-fly with their strong tails as they plunged after our 

 flies with might and main. Some in their eagerness dashed 

 clear over the flies and turned double somersaults in the air. 

 At almosl every cast a trour was hooked, and a sight of our 

 bent rods and whirring reels would have made the Sphinx 



A gale rushed through the tops of ihe pines, and as they 

 font before the blast and the wind soughed through their 

 branches the big drops began to fall. Still we fished until 

 Dick fnrlv dragged us to tl:'. ; boat, which he had pulled up 



on the bank and turned over. Under the boat we crawled, 

 and as the trout flapped about, in tin* grass near ns, and the 

 lightning flashed and the thunder roared, we lit our pipes, 

 and. Safe from the storm, enjoyed such pleasure as only the 

 sportsman ever enjoys. Mark Wf.'st. 



F1SHING IN GEORGIA. 



DKIKKMINED on a day's sport, I toss aside books and 

 cares.. Gather toir.-tlier tackle and rods, act bait, coax 

 a policeman to wake me at peep of day. I bid farewell to 

 the hum of the busy city and woo "tired nature's sweet re 

 si orer, bid my sleep.'" True to his promise, I am awakened 

 just as Aurora, daughter of the Dawn, begins to redden the 

 eastern sky. Partake of a good breakfast; mid for the fish- 

 ing ground in the best of spirits. The day seems propitious; 

 and from the south, 



•■jUtosh tin- fields. lUinus-li weedy ways, 



A faint breeze stirs with listless fee! : 



The beetlp tli-"iies. the rose bush sways— 



MetninkiS the summer-time ,s sweet." 



Reach the river in good order. Our rods, tackle, bail. 

 companion and ourself , are soon aboard a l rim skiff. The long- 

 blmled oars are dropped into their places, and answering to 

 their measured strokes, our bonny boat dances over the 

 murky water-., as SWifl us the gleam of a vision of light. 



Three miles of Throneteeska's waters arc between us and 

 our "home" when we round to, and glide in the ruu that. 

 leads into the Lucas Spring, where we hope to take our fish. 

 What a delicious spot it is. to the angler's eye! A basin of 

 cold lime water, one hundred and fifty yards in circumfer- 

 enee by sixty yards in width, and from ten to sixty yards in 

 depth, "sleeping in quiet smiles at the has- of wood-erowned 

 hills, rising one hundred feet above ir,- level— its deep blue 

 waters darkened by the giant forest trees that dot their crests, 

 it looks like a miniature sky reposing on the bosom of mother 

 earth. 



Tall cypress and pines that for a century have defied the 

 storm king, and listened to the murmuring of Throneteeska's 

 waters as they swept onward lo the sea, graceful of form, 

 rise in startling beauty from its very edge, and east their 



•■The golden sunshine over all 



Resplendent 

 And bints and 



With happy 



Turning reluctantly from the contemplation of the charms 

 with which nature had blessed the spot, I bait hooks and 

 prepare for war on the unsuspecting inhabitants of* the 

 spring. Down into its blue depths sinks the treacherous 

 steel and alluring bait until the float rests quietly on the 

 lmruffled water, ii rests there but a moment, when it is 

 seized by a hungry fish, and. answering to his movements, 

 the float 'begins to'move slowly along the surface, and then 

 disappear-, under ihe blue waters. I pull, the hook strikes 

 home, a gallant right for life ensues, and I pull from his watery 

 home a large bream, his red crests glittering in the rays fit' 

 the morning sun. as beautiful as the red clouds at evening, 

 when. bluShme red from the dav god's last beams, fhev 

 hang in transcendent beauty along the western Sky. Our 

 prize secure, again I try . A fine three-pound bass pays the 

 penalty of his young life for meddling with our cruel 'steel. 



Our" companion is not idle. As I land my fish he is 

 struggling with a four-pound bass, and lands him in good 

 style, Our hooks are returned to the water, and for an hour 

 we are busy taking in perch and bass, until a thunder-storm 

 breaks upon us and puts an end to our sport. O. G. G. 



?rs and grass ami trees. 

 ire teeming." 



TAKING MACKEREL FOR OIL. 



IjUKH Commissioner Eugene G. Blackford, in conversa- 

 tion with a New York Swi reporter upon the project 

 of fitting out a steamboat for mackerel catching on the plan 

 resorted to for catching menhaden, lately Baid -.' 



•Tt does not appear to me to be a practicable Scheme to' 

 catch mackerel for the purpose of selling them to the oil 

 factories and fertilizer factories, as is now done with the 

 moss bunkers or menhaden. There is a natural law against 

 il in the price of the fish. Mackerel are woi-lb too much for 

 food to be wasted in the factories. They are only half the 

 size of menhaden. They are sold at such a price" that the 

 factories would be required to use material worth 1*1] B hun- 

 dred, when menhaden at §3 a hundred would do as well. 

 One of the menhaden steamers on the coast recently fell in 

 yvith a school of weak fish and took a big load, with which 

 thev steamed to market. They disposed of them at from 

 two to four cents a pound. They never thought of taking 

 those weak fish to the factories. The same consideration of 

 self-interest would in my opinion prevent the sale of mack- 

 erel 10 factories. There is always a market for good mack- 

 erel. Whatever cannot be disposed of for fresh fish can be 

 easily sold to the packers. Mackerel are caught in large- 

 purse nets that stretch along almost half a, mile. These 

 purse nets are worked with a boat at each end of the net. 

 The two fioats draw closer together until, when the vessel 

 is reached, the purse is closed. The menhaden fishery up to 

 the present time this season has been a failure: but "it has 

 been a most successful mackerel season, one of the best ever 

 known. There should be a law against the use of food fish 

 for making oil or fertilizers. The" steamers should be com- 

 pelled lo carry ice. so as to 1» able to send all food fish to 

 market- 

 Albert E. Cochran, of ihe Excelsior Fishing Club, said; 

 "The whole business of fishing by pound nets, purses and 

 fykes is barbarous and destructive to fish. We have by hard 

 fighting succeeded in preventing n good deal of the destruc- 

 tion iu 'New York harbor. The Canadians have fought il 

 I it! il ii irolj . and one of their chief grievances, on which they 

 , U ir ':■:•. 000,0011 award against this cuuntrv. was on ac- 

 count of the wasteful and extravagant destruction offish 

 by our fishermen— what Prof. Baird. of the United States 

 Fish Commission, calls -catching fish without regard to size 

 or season.' Jf fish are lo be preserved as food they ought 

 to be protected everywhere in ihe spawning season. The 

 project of the wholesale slaughter of mackerel after the 

 fashion of the wholesale destruction of menhaden that has 

 been and is going on, is fraught with danger to fish food. 

 The low yield of menhaden Ibis season shows this. Some 

 idea of 1he value of the mackerel business may be gathered 

 from the fact that a Massachusetts computation. covering ten 

 years, fixed the value of the mackerel trade to that Slate ai 

 $5,000,000 a year. The u hole .subject is deserving national 

 and international laws for the protection of fish. This 

 would be, in fact, the protection of fishermen, although 

 most of the fishermen do not seem to perceive it" 



