Dec. 21, 1888. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



411 



THE NATIONAL ROD AND REEL AS- 

 SOCIATION. 



A MEETING of the above association was held at the 

 A Metropolitan Hotel, Sew York City, on the evening 

 of Dec. 14. to adopt !i constitution and to transact such 

 oilier business as might come before it. About forty per- 

 sons were present, and many letters of regret were received 

 from persons unable to attend. The time of meeting hap- 

 pened to be identical with that of one of the South Side 

 Sportsman's (Tub of Long Island, and this prevented many 

 gentlemen from being present, 



~ The meeting was called to order by President Endicott, 

 wild stated that the interest in tbe association was growing 

 daily, ahd that if had acquired such a momentum that it 

 was beyond the power of the assoeial ion itself to stop it 

 He believed that its membership would soon be numbered 

 by thousands, and would reach from Maine to the icy rii 

 hi' Alaska, and from Minnesota to Texas. He was 'glad to 

 see so many representative anglers present, and hoped that 

 the present meeting would be the forerunner of many BOCia) 

 gatherings, as well as productive of benefit to the interest: 

 of anglers thrbughbut the length and hreadth of ou 

 country. 



The secretary then read the proposed constitution a, 

 framed by the committee appointed to draft it, and afte: 

 discussion of it by article and section and proposed amend- 

 ments by Hon. if. P. MeGown, Hon. John Mullaly, Wil 

 liam Mitchell, Wakeman Holberton, and Prof. A.M Mayer, 

 the following was adopted on motion of Mr. E. R. Wilbur: 

 CONSTITUTION. 

 AnTicLK I.— Name and Objects. 



Section 1, This Association shah be tailed the National Bod and 

 Reel Association. 



Bco, '3, Its aims and objects shall be: The preservation of game 

 fish by everj- possible means, the cultivation of that fraternal feeling 

 wBfcb always exists among the lovers of our gentle sport, and the 

 Holding of an annual tournament to compare excellence in the tie 

 f5d and reel. 



AftTioLfi II.— Members. 



Sbo. 1. Any riersiSn may become a nteralier of the Association upon 

 complying with the Constitution and the payment of the annual 

 dues. There, shall be no initiation fee, but the annual duas shall he. 

 three dollars. All membership? shall begin with the first day of 

 January of each year, and cease with the thirty -first day of December 

 of the same year. 



Sec. 8. There shell be no hauor.iry memberships, but the payment 

 of twenty-five, dollars by any person shall entitle him to become a life 

 member and absolve him from all further payments. There shall be 

 no balloting for membership. The fact that a person wishes to join 

 the Association shall be proof of his eligibility. A member maybe 

 expelled at a regular meeting for ungentlemanly conduct at a meet- 

 ing or at a tournament, by a two-thirds vote of the members pres- 

 ent. 



SEO. 3. All members joining this Association are considered to ha 1 

 pledged themselves not to take fish out of season, or in any illegal 

 mauuer, and any member willfully so doing, shall be liable to expul- 

 BiorJ. 



AnilCLB III.— OFFICERS. 



IJE«. 1, The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, 

 Several Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. 



Ssd. S. The above Officers shall «onstitute an Executive Committee 

 which shall attend to such matteis as may be necessary for the good 

 of the Association, and shall serve as a Court of Appeal by which all 

 questions shall be decided as to the true meaning of any part of the 

 Constitution; and their decision shall be final. 



SEC. 3. The above officers shall hold office for out? year. They shall 

 be elected by ballot at the annual meeting of the Association to be 

 held at such day and place as may be designated by the Executive 

 Committee. 



Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the President, or In his absence the 

 senior Vice-?r*sident, to preside at all meetings of tbe Association, 

 and of the Executive Committee, and to see that the rules 

 enforced; to call all meetings, count the votes in all matters except 

 the election of officers, when he will appoint three tellers, and to have 

 a general supervision over the affairs of the Association. 



Seo. 5. The senior Vice-President, present shall take the place of 

 the President, II absent, and, with the other oflicors, constitute the 

 Executive Committee. 



Bed. 6. The Secretary shall keep a record of all the proceedings of 

 the Association, aurt shall attend to tbe correspondence and do such 

 6ther writing as may be necessary. He shall keep a list of members 

 and shall notify them of all meetings of the Association. He shall 

 turn over such moneys as he may receive to the Treasurer, and shall 

 issue a rsceipt for membership to each member. 



Seo. 7. The Treasurer shall have charge of all the funds of the 

 Association, and shall pay all bills ordered by the Executive Com- 

 mittee after they are audited by the President, and he shall make a 

 report of receipts and expenditures for the year at the annual meet- 

 ing of each year. 



Sec. 8. In the case of the death of any officer, the Executive Com- 

 mittee shall have power to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. 

 Article TV.— Amendments. 



This Constitution may be amended by a two-tbird vote of the mem- 

 bers present at amy annual meeting of the Association, provided that 

 at least thirty days' notice of such proposed amendment shall have 

 been given to each member. 



The following communications were read: 



Pocohkeepsik, N. Y., December If. 



I think one of the first efforts of this association should be directed 



Tl'ii- lish law should lie div.,reed from game, and be a separate act, 

 and it Bbould be uniform throughout the State, especially where 

 waters lie in two or more counties, and the power to tamper with 

 these laws should be taken away from supervisors, and also the 

 power to compel one of two or three persons who jointly violate the 

 law, to testify, should be given; the penalty in such ease to be re- 

 mitted as against such witness. 



■.'. .,i;iri c.-est that a committee be appointed to prepare the 

 proper act and try to secure its passage by the Legislature. 



J. S. Van Cleef. 

 Cleveland, O., Decembers. 



Heartily approving the design of yourself and others in 0rgaui7.ini: 



■ ..■'1 1, ... , 1 the preservation of game fish, and theeul- 



livation of fratci m. 1 '■i-h h. ,g true sportsmen, etc.. I beg you 



to present my name for a life membership, and -herewith inclosed, 

 payable to your order, a New York draft for $i r >; the sum named In 

 your circa lo r addressed to me, as the fee required for a life member- 

 ship. 



Desirous of co-operating with the honorable gentlemen whose 

 names grace the circular in my humble way, and to the full extent 

 of my ability. 1 remain very truly yours, D. W. Cross, 



Oneida Club. 



Boston, Mass., December 8. 



lam very clad to acknowledge receipt 'if an invitation to join the 

 ISatlonai K'j'i :ir.U Gun \-:sociation, and to accept tbe Invitai ion. [ 

 hope the society will prove :l K i- e; n success, and if one of its objects 

 should be fhe establishment in New York of a club house, I am sure 

 it would meet the wishes of many. J. A. L>. Whittier. 



With it vote of thanks to Mr. Henry Clair, proprietor of 



the Metropolitan Hotel, the meeting adjourned. Those who 

 propose to join the association will do well lo read Arlicle 

 II., Sec. 1, of the constitution, arid cenltnunieate with the 

 Secretary, Mr. Fred Mather, 39 Park Row, Bevy York city. 



ANGLERS' ASSO'N OF. EASTERN PENNA. 



THIS is the title of an organization in Philadelphia, 

 the primary objects of which are, (1) the encourage- 

 ment of flsheulture in Pennsylvania by (he restocking of its 

 streams with frame and other valuable food fishes; (8) the 

 protection of the same by a vigorous enforcement of the 

 existing laws; (3) the advancement of the art of angling and 

 the promotion of sociability among anglers. 



The necessity for such an organization is too obvious for 

 argument. In Eastern Pennsylvania we have many streams 

 specially adapted to the propagation of edible lish, and the 

 State blip made liberal appropriations for the restocking of 

 them, and protective laws, ample and stringent, have been 

 enacted; but because of the lack of enforcement of these 

 laws, the money and labor expended by the Pish Commis- 

 sioners have produced very inadequate, results. It if 

 ohviate, in some degree, this much to be regretted condition 

 of the State fishery interests, that "The Anglers' Association 

 of Eastern Pennsylvania" has been formed. It proposes to 

 insist upon Obedience to the requirements of the Fishery 

 Laws, by instituting suits for any violations of them that 

 may come to the knowledge of its membership. It further 

 proposes to give all its influence in behalf of the restocking 

 of the streams of the State, and in the dissemination of 

 printed matter relating thereto. 



To accomplish these results, will require the hearty co- 

 operation of citizens in every part of Eastern Pennsylvania, 

 and in view of that fact, the. Association respectfully sug- 

 gests and earnestly urges the organization of associations of 



kindrel character and purposes. 



"The Anglers' Association of E 

 gladly furnish copies of its Cons 



. Eastern Pennsylvania" will 

 gladly furnish copies of its Constitution and ' By-Laws 

 such persons as may desire to form co-operative or auxiliary 

 clubs, or who wisbto familiarize themselves with the dis- 

 tinctive features. 



The officers are ; A. M. Spangler, President; B, M. Hart- 

 ley, Secretary and Treasurer, No, 1300 N, Twenty-second 

 Street; ,L Penrose Collins, Corresponding Secretary, No, 

 623 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 



BLUE-BACK TROUT. 



Salriw iiqiHtxxii. 



THE size of fishes is governed as much by the supply of 

 food ou the spawning ground for the young fry as by 

 the alter supply for the growiug fish. To tbe wonderful 

 supply of insect and fish life in the Sebago and Raugeley 

 waters do we attribute the great size of the fishes in those 

 lakes. In Sebago there is not onlv an immense supply of 

 smelts, hut. of other fishes that are the prey of, and afford 

 abundant food for, the trout and land-locked salmon. We 

 have been often asked if we do not regard the big Raugolcy 

 and Sebago trout as a different species from the true hiftiio 

 fontiiinlh. Some have even declared them to be akin to the 

 Salmo (onjlnin, or big lake trout. We have had abundant 

 opportunity to see and judge of these trout and pronouuee 

 them unhesitatingly to be pure, unmistakable brook trout, 

 developed hy an unlimited supply of appropriate food for 

 the fish at every period of their growth, as well as an 

 unrestricted range in the purest arid coldest water. 



We propose here to speak more particularly of the blue- 

 back trout as a stock fish to be put into the other ponds 

 to afford an unlimited supply of food for trout and land- 

 locked salmon. This beautiful little fish lakes its name 

 from a bluish tint on the back not unlike the bloom on 

 a plum. They are spotted like a trout, and to a casual 

 observer the difference in a basket of fishes would not 

 be noted. But like the togue or lake trout they have only 

 the yellow and black spots, but not, the red. They attain 

 a length of about eight inches. 



In a box of these fish sent us by Mr. C. T. Richardson, 

 former steward of the Oquossoc Club, there were about one 

 hundred specimens, affording a fair average of their sizeand 

 weight, but few we should say would measure eight inches. 

 The weight ranged from two to four ounces. Their tails and 

 colorings arc very beautiful, particularly in the male, the 

 pectoral fins rivaling in color the autumn-tinted maple 

 leaves. Like, the dolphin, their brilliancy of tfolor is lost or 

 fades away with their lives. At the season of spawning, 

 they come up from the deep recesses of the lake at night in 

 pairs, but in numbers countless. The eggs in size and ap- 

 pearance are similar to trout spawn, the number varying 

 from one to two hundred per fish, average about one hundred 

 and twenty five. They run about three weeks, and in the 

 height of the season many remain up through the day hidden 

 beneath rocks and stumps. They arc more delicate and sym- 

 metrical in shape than the. brook trout and have the tail 

 forked. They are rarely seen but in the spawning season. 

 Now and then in deep 'fishing one is caught with bait in the 

 lake, but as rarely or exceptionally as the ordinary sucker. 

 Like the latter they will in the breeding season take a bait, 

 but it is the exception and not the rule. Asa table fish, 

 we cannot speak advisedly, never having eaten thorn except 

 when taken on the spawning bed. To us they are about 

 as palatable as trout taken under the same circumstances. 



There is n special statute allowing these fish to be taken in 

 Franklin and Oxford counties during the close time for other 

 fishes. We think it a great mistake to allow these beauti- 

 ful fish to be taken at all, as we attribute mainly to them 

 the great size of the Rangele.y trout, and we opine that as they 

 diminish in numbers, so will those far-famed trout. Raugeley 

 waters teem with fish life, two or three species of the suckers. 

 red-fin minnows; chubs, etc. The blue-back is to 

 Rangelev what the myriad smelts are to Sebago Lake, and 

 to Reed's Pond in Hancock county. We think this fish can 

 be advantageously introduced into all waters that, are stocked 

 with brook trout or land-locked salmon. Of its food., mode 

 of feeding, or habits, much is yet. to be learned. Mr. C T. 

 Richardson, whose experience in Rangeley waters entitle 

 his opinions to much respect, in reply to a letter from us 

 says: "The blue-black stays in deep water in the lake, from 

 near the middle of November until the middle of October, 

 wheu they come up the brooks and streams to spawn. 

 which alinosl invariably occurs between the middle of 

 October and the middle of November. The male brook 

 trout visit? the spawning bed and prepares it for the 

 use of the females, before the females arrive. The blue 

 backs go up in pairs, male and female using the spawning 

 beds which have been cleared, used, and vacated by brook 



trout, The blue-back is not considered a biting or game 

 fish, yet 1 hare cauirht a bushel and a half in a day, with a 

 baited hook; they are mostly taken in dip nets." 



E. M. Stilwei/l. 



IIakoor, Maine. 



In FotiEgT and Stream of December 14, 1 read an article- 

 on the blue-hack trout, in which Jtooselucmaguntic Lake far 

 spoken of as the only place where thev are' found in that 

 region. 1 cannot say," certainly, whether any have ever been 

 taken in < fquossoe Lake, but I know a large number were 

 taken this fall, and a Tew last fall, at the inlet of the upper 

 Richardson Lake, below Ihe uicpfrf dam, thus showing, 

 without doubt, that they are rnhabitaofs of (he two Rich- 

 ardson Lakes, and as some have been seen below the middle 

 dam, they must also live either in the pond, ire the river, or 

 Lake Umbagog. They arc a very toothsome fish, and many 

 prefer their flavor I o that of their larger brethren. They 

 never bite at a hook, lam told by those who havcfakoM 

 them, but have to be captured in a net. 



Chaiu.esA J. Farrar. 

 Jamaica Pi.Al.v, Mass. 



Stpu'ed Bass are not Extinct.— There have been re- 

 ports of a scarcity of the striped bass (rockfish of the South) 

 on our coast east of New York, this last, season. The fads 

 seem to be that this fish, which is always with us, and docs 

 not appear to stray far from the shore at any time, hap 

 habits which we do not fully understand. Its spatvniiig 

 places are still a uiyslery, lo some extent, and its movements- 

 cannot always be foretold. A theory has been started that 

 the fish is nearly exiinct. The following account which 

 we received from Captain Chalker, of the Blackford Fish- 

 ing Company, of Montnuk. disprove that theory. Last, 

 week Captain Chalker saw a school of striped bass 'off Mon- 

 tauk Point, the eastern end of Long Island, which he jid 

 would cover ten acres. The school was composed offish of 

 many sizes, from forty pounds down, lie attempted 1o put 

 a seine around a small portion of the school, but the stormy 

 weather prevented it. This was continued for three days, 

 when the fish disappeared. During this time Mr. Harrison, 

 of New London, Conn , happened there with a sailboat find 

 took six hundred pounds of the fish with a "jig," or what 

 anglers call a bluefjsh squid, hauling Ihcm hi' as fast as lrc 

 could throw bis lure among Ihcm. until he had as many as. 

 his, small boat could well carry. We will say, in (his con- 

 nection, that, Captain Chalker is well known lo'us asareliahle 

 mau, and we have no hesitation in accepting his estimate oi 

 the great numbers of this valuable fish. 



Land-Locked Salmon in New Yoke-. — We received life - 

 following note from Mr. H. H. Thompson, Secretary of the- 

 I'.isby Club, dated Dec. 1L»: "I left this morning with Mr, 

 Blackford a large lish taken from the stream below Wood- 

 hull Lake and sent to me by Gen. Sherman, Of the N. Y. Fish 

 Commission, who wants you to examine it for ideutificat ion. 

 It is, or was before bcing'frozen and thawed, a beauty ant! a 

 puzzle. It may be oi a plant of June '?!), and what a growth! 

 Do not fail to see and pronounce upon it." [We called at. 

 Mr. Blackford's and found the fish to be a male land-locked 

 salmon of over four pounds weight. II had the strongly 

 hooked jaw of a male, salmon during the breeding season, 

 and there were traces of the hectic flushes on its sides, 

 which also characterize the males, but which were partly 

 obliterated by frost. This is not the onlv evidence that 

 tlicse lish have survived in the watets of Woodhull Lake, in 

 the southwestern portion of the Adirondacks. as several 

 other specimens have been taken from there. As Mr. Thomp- 

 son says, the fish were first introduced at the request of "Gen, 

 Sherman in 1879, and have made a good growth. No doubt 

 they will in time, prove a valuable, addition to the lish fauna 

 of that region and will affoid a change of sport to ihc 

 anglers.] 



Spawning of Colorado Troct. — Baird. Shasta County. 

 Cat., Dec. 10.— In Forest and Stream of November 9 I 

 notice an article by "W. N. B.," ou the growth of trout in 

 Colorado. He says that the eggs were ob:ained in New 

 England in December I think they must have bceu dried, 

 the season before, as the trout do uot spawn until Decem- 

 ber, and it then takes them from thirty-five to forty days to- 

 mature, which would bring them about the middle of Janu 

 ary or later. He also cites Mr. Bogert as saying that I lie 

 hatching was very rapid, and that he hatched ninety-nine 

 and eight-tenths per cent. That beats anything I ever'her.rd 

 of. He says the growth is enormous, and the fish made 

 spawning beds at nine months old. This is also new, as I 

 never knew trout to spawn until three years old. Then he: 

 further says that he had some rainbow trout and did not 

 like them." I have been engaged in flsheulture for seven 

 years and have never heard such wild statements as the 

 above.— J. B. Camphki.i.. 



Carp in the Hudson. — Mr. Barnet Phillips, the well- 

 known secretary of the American Fishcujfural Association 

 writes as follows to Prof. Baird: "To-day Mr. James Bin- 

 kard, vice-president of our fishcuharal association, told me 

 that his grandfather, Capt. Henry Robinson, lad, about 

 1830, fiist brought carp from Holland and put them in his 

 ponds at Newburg, and that he had therefore reason to 

 Suppose that, the carp in the Hudson were derived from 

 these. Ill Frank Foresters 'Fish and Fishing, 1 of 1849. 

 page 1G0. you may find a statement to this 1 ih'ci, which Mr. 

 Be'hl-.ard says is substantially correct." It is now known 

 thai these rich are not the true carp, but an uncolored gold- 

 fish. They have not the barbels on the angle of the "jaw 

 vhieh distinguishes the genus Gyprintig from that of Var- 

 ■asahix. The carp belongs to the former and the goldfish 



to the latter. 



Effect of Cold on Bay Fishks.— After the first cold snap 

 sniped bass and porgies left the waters ol Barncgiil Bay 

 and went up Tom's River where they were found lying along 

 the- sunny shores in .1 numb condition, so much so that they 

 e caught by the inhabitants with crab-nets and even with 

 hand. This condition of affairs lasted for several days, 

 thousands were taken by men and boys. 



A Knahf: In The White House.— There vva 

 Messrs. Kiiabe & Co.'s factory a magnificent 

 finished hy thoui for the Presidential mansion 

 ia a thorough connoisseur of music, in selfl 



White in 



seen yesterday at 

 eoncert grand, jiist 



ind ordered 

 ;r«fld of bei 



oriliDKly t 

 ut finish ii 



the place it is to occupy, ft 

 —From Itm Uallimon- .twee 



jllly carved rosewood ease, ami id 

 •iiim-nt. worthy in BVUry respect at 

 shipped to Its destination yesterday. 



