58 



RECREATION. 



grasshopper had not kicked more than 

 twice on the water when I had a " good 

 hard bite." I held on, but the fish was 

 master of the situation, for a time. He 

 ran toward all points of the compass, and 

 in one of his rushes, pulled the pole against 

 my head, knocking a new 50-cent straw hat 

 into the water. 



I can even now see that hat sailing grace- 

 fully down the stream. 



The howl I sent up was probably heard 

 for a mile around, when I saw, with one 

 eye, that my hat was gone. I say with one 

 eye, for I kept the other on my line. 



At last the fish began to yield; his rushes 

 became weaker and weaker; then he came 

 to the surface, displaying the flag of dis- 

 tress. I left the boat for the shore, not 

 ceasing to cry, and dragged the fish out on 

 the bank. 



With tear-stained face, bare-headed, but 

 fish in hand, I started for the intervale. My 

 coming was announced by weeping and 

 wailing. My father, in alarm, left his work 

 to see what the trouble was. As he met 

 me, he quickly took in the situation and 

 burst out laughing. A little praise, with 

 the promise of a new hat, put me at ease. 

 I could now sit down to admire my fish — 

 a roach, it was called — which weighed 

 about 2 pounds. 



Since that time, I have landed much 

 larger fish from the same hole, yet the day 

 I caught the roach is looked back to as a 

 red letter day. 



BIG TROUT. 



Editor Recreation: I hand you here- 

 with clippings from the Cincinnati " En- 

 quirer " regarding trout and size of same. 



We are catching, daily, in Jackson's lake, 

 all the trout we can use; fat and in fine con- 

 dition, that weigh from 3 to 8^2 pounds and 

 measure up to 27^ inches long. We use 

 only pieces of meat or fish for bait, on a 

 short piece of binding cord and a common 

 hook. The lake. seems to be alive with 

 trout. 



I notice they assume different shades of 

 color. Those caught in shallow water, say 

 2 feet deep, have a light yellow color and 

 pale spots, and those taken from deep holes, 

 near projecting banks, are deep green — al- 

 most black on the back. Does light and 

 shade have this effect on trout? 



B. Harris, Jackson, Wyo. 



The clipping above referred to says: 



Blaine County (Oregon) sportsmen are boasting of a re- 

 cent catch of mountain trout, in Twin lakes at the head of 

 the Malad, about 9 miles from Soldier, on Camas prairie. It 

 was made bv Alexander Sifers, the sawmill owner. While 

 fishing with hook and line, Mr. Sifers and associates hauled 

 out 3 trout that weighed n^. tt, and 6' pounds, respect- 

 ively, or an aggregate of 29 pounds. The big trout is beau- 

 tifully speckled, with iridescent or "rainbow colored" 

 sides ; is isf inches around the belly and i~]\ inches long. 

 They are plump and fat as a fish a year old. 



Last fall a Boston paper published this 

 item: 



T. D. Ketchen, of Boston, who is at Long Lake, in the 

 Adirondacks, arranged last week a fishing contest, giving 

 $50 for the largest number of fish and $5 for the largest 

 pickerel caught. Guides Dunphy and Lafell won the 

 prize for the largest number, 137, weighing 57 pounds. 

 Cross and Girard took the prize for the largest pickerel, 

 weighing n^ pounds. 



This is wrong. Side, or prize hunts, or 

 fishing contests, of all kinds, are condemned 

 by all true sportsmen. — Editor. 



Harbor Springs, Mich. 



Editor Recreation: No doubt F. D. C. 

 was mad when he read W. G. E.'s letter. 

 His reply indicates that. I have fished 

 Maple river, near Petoskey, and have taken 

 grayling, one after another, exceeding i 

 pound and many that weighed 2 pounds 

 each. While I have never taken trout and 

 grayling at a single cast, I have taken them 

 from the same pool. 



He says grayling leave as soon as trout 

 come. This is true in part. Trout event- 

 ually drive the grayling out, but not at 

 once. Grayling have been taken, during 

 the past season, from this stream, and trout 

 have been there for 6 years, to my knowl- 

 edge. 



If F. D. C. does not believe trout are 

 taken in the vicinity of Petoskey, that weigh 

 2 pounds each, I would request him to pay 

 us a visit and I will show him a living 

 specimen, taken from the " Minnehaha " 

 last season, that will convince him he 

 knows little about trout fishing hereabouts. 



Sinker. 



MAINE FISH NOTES. 



E. M. Blanding, of Bangor, has been 

 supplied by the United States fish com- 

 mission, and the Maine commissioners of 

 inland fisheries and game, with about 5,000 

 Swiss lake trout which have been placed in 

 waters along the line of the Mt. Desert 

 branch of the Maine Central Railroad, 

 largely in Phillips lake, but a portion in 

 Holbrook's pond. These trout were 

 hatched at the U. S. hatchery in East Or- 

 land and average upward of 3 inches in 

 length. 



The guides and sportsmen of the locality 

 have formed an organization at Sherman 

 Mills, to be known as the " Southern 

 Aroostook Sportsmen's Association." The 

 following. officers were elected: President, 

 P. E. Young; vice president, F. E. Robin- 

 son; secretary, H. B. Sleeper; treasurer, 

 C. A. Wren. * 



F. E. Eastman, of Portland, and C. D. 

 Record of Readfield, Me., landed 12 trout, 

 in Lake Maranacook, 3 of which weighed 

 11 pounds, the larger weighing 4^2 pounds. 



