394 



RECREA TION. 



of times, during the past 15 years, and 

 know, by experience, whereof I speak. It 

 is in Columbia county, New York, 15 miles 

 Southwest of the town of Hudson, and is 

 full of fish. It is the most beautiful of all 

 the smaller lakes of this state — bar none. 

 It lies in a basin 1,700 feet above the ocean 

 level, surrounded by the Berkshire hills on 

 one side and by the Catskills on the other, 

 and presents a most picturesque appear- 

 ance. It is reached by the Harlem Rail- 

 road, and is only 3^ hours' ride from the 

 Grand Central Station. It is one of the few 

 remaining possessions of the Livingston 

 family, who at one time owned all the land 

 lying between Poughkeepsie and Albany. 

 The lake is about i}4 miles 1 ong, from y 2 

 to 1^2 miles wide and is 7 miles in circum- 

 ference. It has been stocked by the state 

 with black bass, several times. 



It is unfortunate that there is no good 

 hotel at the lake, and that the game con- 

 stable is not more active. It is currently 

 reported that when the bass are spawning, 

 in the spring, some of the countrymen, in 

 their eager desire for fish, after a winter diet 

 of pork and buckwheat, make up parties 

 and spear the fish on the beds at night; 

 thus destroying the young by hundreds of 

 thousands. Nets are also used, and many 

 fish are said to be taken from the lake by 

 this method. Anything or any way to get 

 the fish, seems to be the idea of the people 

 in the neighborhood. 



The lake is well stocked with black bass, 

 wall-eyed pike, perch, etc., and contains 

 some pickerel. It is a natural bass lake 

 however, as it has principally rock or 

 gravel bottom. It is watered by the snows 

 from the surrounding hills and is fed by 

 hundreds of springs. Many thousands of 

 bass I have seen taken from its waters — 

 fighters all of them; and if properly pro- 

 tected by the law's officers, this would be 

 the greatest fishing water in the country. 

 Even as it is, I am of the opinion it is to- 

 day the best lake, for general fishing, in the 

 state. 



There are three houses at which anglers 

 can be accommodated: Mrs. Herder's, at 

 the Southwest end, where only transients 

 are taken. Conklin's, at the East end, and 

 the Island House, kept by John C. Loop. 

 " The island " is not exactly an island, but 

 a peninsula, of 23 acres, located about mid- 

 way between the East and West ends of the 

 lake. It is prevented from being an island 

 by a strip about 15 feet wide. This point 

 is covered by oak trees and is a most de- 

 lightful resort, particularly adapted for 

 picnic parties. 



In the fall ducks and geese stop at Co- 

 pake, and can be had by the thousands. 

 It is a pity there is not a good, well kept, 

 moderate priced hotel here. It would pay 

 well. Better than that, however, some 

 sportsmen's club should buy the property. 



It could be bought cheap, and could be 

 made, within 3 years, the best fishing lake 

 and one of the best shooting grounds in 

 the whole United States. J. C. Young. 



THOSE ELK LAKE TROUT. 



Woodworth, Mont. 



Editor Recreation: I have read the let- 

 ters of Messrs. Comings and Blair, on the 

 trout of Elk lake, and am sure the trout that 

 Mr. Sawtelle sent to the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission, 1887, was caught in Elk Lake. I 

 was with Sawtelle the day he sent them. 



There are none of these fish in Henry's 

 lake. I was there 12 years and did not see 

 any taken from the lake. There were 50,000 

 to 100,000 trout taken from the lake each 

 year. 



Mr. Blair knows more about Elk lake 

 than I do, though I have known the lake 

 since '82. I am better acquainte'd with the 

 lake in the Bighole basin than he, as I spent 

 a summer there, with a sportsman from 

 California. 



We left the Railway at Dillion,Mont., and 

 it took us 3 days to reach the lake. We did 

 not have tackle strong enough to land the 

 largest fish we hooked in the lakes, and did 

 not get a fish of more than 6 pounds. We 

 hooked some we thought would weigh 20 

 to 25 pounds. t 



I have no doubt there are fish in the lakes 

 that will weigh 25 pounds. I saw the skele- 

 ton of one on the shore that could not have 

 weighed less than 30 pounds. These lakes 

 are called " Twin lakes." The lake is on 

 the West side of the basin, above the 2 

 swamp creeks, 6 or 7 miles South of the 

 wagon road that goes to Gibbonsville, on 

 the. North fork of Salmon river. y 



This is a fine place for a fall hunt. There 

 is plenty of game near by — moose, bear, 

 goats, elk and deer. In '85, when I was 

 there, it was the best place for moose I have 

 seen in the State. The outlet of Twin lakes, 

 in spawning season, is full of greyling, as 

 well as the lake. Cliff lake, which Mr. 

 Blair writes of, has 3 inlets instead of 2, 

 Horn creek, Antelope creek, or, as some 

 call it Antelope Basin creek, and Hidden 

 Lake creek. The fish in Cliff lake belong 

 to the greyling family, and are said to be 

 found in no other part of the world except 

 in Scotland. They have a horny projection 

 from the centre of each scale, in winter, and 

 may have in summer though I never 

 caught one in open water. I could not find 

 any bait they would take; so I speared all 

 I ever got. They resemble the Western 

 white fish, in shape, but are more solid. 

 The meat is white. The mouth is like that 

 of a greyling, only smaller. I should like to 

 know if they are found in any other part of 

 America. 



Mr. Blair could easily get some for the 



