226 



RECREA TION. 



and plover hunting on bicycles. I mean 

 we use a bicycle instead of a horse, but I 

 have shot plover from my wheel. 



Charis Rogers. 



L. C. Flynt, wife and son, and A. D. 

 Norcross and wife, of Monson, Mass., 

 with F. G. Nelson and wife, of New York, 

 made an enjoyable trip through Nova 

 Scotia during the first 2 weeks of June. 



Their route was from Boston to Yar- 

 mouth, by steamer; thence by stage to 

 Tusket and return; thence by steamer 

 along the beautiful South shore, touching 

 at Barrington, Shelburne, Lockport, Liv- 

 erpool, Lunenburg and Halifax, and re- 

 turning by rail, through the Evangeline 

 country, Annapolis and Digby to Yar- 

 mouth, and thence by steamer to Boston. 

 At Tusket they had i l /i days of fishing, on 

 the North branch of the river, taking 65 

 fair sized rainbow trout and brook trout, 

 on small, dark-colored flies. From Shel- 

 burne the party drove 16 miles to Upper 

 Clyde, where the product of 4 days of fish- 

 ing was 172 brook trout, averaging nearly 

 Yx of a pound. Large flies, Montreal, 

 Brown Hackle, Parmachene Belle and 

 Silver Doctor, on No. 4 hooks, were the 

 most successful. From Liverpool the' 

 anglers drove 3 miles to Milton, where 2 

 salmon, weighing respectively 8% and S l / 2 

 pounds, were taken, on a Silver Doctor 

 and trout tackle. 



Editor Recreation: Will you kindly in- 

 form me as to whether there is such a fish 

 as a strawberry bass; and whether or not it 

 is a true bass. We sometimes catch them 

 here and I have had the fact disputed. 



D. Thompson, Troy, N. Y. 



There is such a fish as the strawberry 

 bass. It is also called calico bass, grass 

 bass, barfish, and sometimes crappie, 

 though it is not the true crappie. The 

 strawberry bass is known in the books as 

 Pomoxis sparoides while the true crappie is 

 Pomoxis annularis. They both belong to 

 the same family as the large-mouthed black 

 bass, the small-mouthed black bass, and all 

 the sunfishes. 



The strawberry bass has 7 or 8 sharp 

 spines in its dorsal or back fin, while the 

 crappie has but 5 or 6. The anal fin in the 

 crappie is plain, while in the other it is 

 strongly reticulated with darker. The 

 strawberry bass, reaches a length of a foot 

 or more, is a splendid pan fish, and is found 

 from the Great Lakes and upper Missis- 

 sippi valley South to Texas. It prefers 

 clear, running streams, while the crappie 

 is most abundant in lakes and bayous. 



No slicker fly fisherman ever cast a fly 

 on the Beaverkill, which runs by the rear 

 of his pleasant hostelry. Bill recently had 

 the good fortune to pick out a 4 l / 2 pound 

 trout, on a No. 8 Reuben Wood fly. The 

 fish was a beauty, and up to date there is no 

 record of a larger one being caught, on a 

 fly, in the Beaverkill. 



It would do you good to hear Bill tell 

 how he caught him. Every plunge, every 

 run, he made, is explained by this expert 

 with the keenest delight. 



Bill presented the fish to Mr. Star 

 Church, the popular O. & W. conductor. 

 If you ever go to Sullivan county get Bill 

 to go out with you, and you will have the 

 company of a true angler and will return 

 with a well filled creel. 



L. Roth, Middletown, N. Y. 



I consider Recreation the loveliest and 

 best sportsmen's magazine published. 

 Every sportsman should read it. 



In perusing a recent number an article 

 entitled, " Rangeley Trout Lore " attracted 

 my attention. I have had the pleasure of 

 visiting the Rangeley lakes several times, 

 and of spending a few delightful months 

 on their picturesque borders. One cannot 

 appreciate them, however much he may 

 read of them, until he has taken, at least, a 

 short sojourn there; when their magnifi- 

 cent scenery, salubrious climate, fine hunt- 

 ing and fishing, all will conduce to make 

 him declare them a veritable sportsmen's 

 paradise. 



I have camped from Umbagog to Par- 

 machenee; have hunted the deer, trapped 

 the mink and sable, caught the trout and the 

 salmon, and now I am firmly convinced 

 that a place better adapted to sportsmen 

 does not exist. To all who wish a good 

 time, and one they will never forget, I say 

 go to the Rangeleys. 



Walter H. Bond, Freeport, L. I. 



Everyone who travels over the O. & W. 

 R. R. knows big hearted, jovial, honest 

 Bill Keener, who keeos the hotel at Rock- 

 land, Sullivan county, N. Y. 



Mr. C. B. Barton, superintendent of the 

 Electro-Chemical Works, of this place, 

 went to Garland pond a short time ago and 

 had some good trout fishing. He has a 

 trick of getting trout when others fail. In 

 this case he used a 6 foot leader, with a bait 

 on the tip and 2 flies trailing. On one oc- 

 casion he filled the leader beautifully. Put- 

 ting a 4^2 pounder on the tip, Mr. Barton 

 began playing him when a i l / 2 pounder 

 struck the second fly and a one pounder 

 took the third. Mr. Barton carefully 

 coaxed them up to the boat in order that 

 the guide might take a part in the play. 

 After a time the net was placed under the 

 largest fish and the leader was severed with 

 a knife. The 4V2 pounder being taken in 

 out of the wet, the others soon followed. 



Mr. Barton said these trout showed a de- 

 cided lack of " team training " — not work- 



