FISH AND FISHING. 



IS THE OUANANICHE A FRAUD? 



The September number of Recreation, 

 containing an article under the above title, 

 over the name of J. C. French, M.D., of 

 Quebec, is before me. I feel it a duty to 

 give my opinion of the game qualities of 

 this fish, which has called forth the con- 

 demnation of the doctor in such unstinted 

 terms against the railway, hotel, people, 

 and in fact the entire environment of the 

 fish. He evidently expects his letter will 

 not go without protest, for, in closing, he 

 says: " It is a matter of opinion, and I 

 claim a right to mine," a point which I do 

 not think would have been questioned by 

 anyone. 



I have devoted considerable study to the 

 ouananiche, and purpose, in as few words 

 as possible, to give my opinion of him, 

 without any wandering off into discussions 

 of the amount of water controlled by the 

 Roberval Hotel Co. ; the railway connec- 

 tions; the expense of fishing, or into state- 

 ments of how much fishing some of my 

 friends have done in different parts of the 

 globe, as a means of qualifying them to 

 be judges of the game qualities of the 

 ouananiche. 



I agree with Dr. French that, in taking 

 the fly, this fish does not execute a double 

 summersault, as does the brook trout, 

 sometimes; but most emphatically I do 

 say he does rise to the fly, and takes it at 

 the surface of the water. Will a fly sink, 

 when cast upon swift, turbulent water, such 

 as this fish lives in? If this fish took the 

 fly in still water, I have no doubt we should 

 see considerable commotion at the spot, 

 but I have never seen one yet take the fly 

 in still water. 



The picture drawn of this fish, lying in 

 swift rapids, and endeavoring to " suck 

 down " an artificial fly, as it is dancing 

 about in the rough water, makes me smile. 



I have observed that a good portion of 

 his food consists of insect life, and a favor- 

 ite haunt of his is in eddies, below falls, 

 where the water is covered with foam. In 

 such places I have seen, at one time, fins of 

 a dozen ouananiche, darting about, in the 

 search of food. 



Out of 30 or 40 ouananiche I have 

 caught, and a great many others hooked 

 and lost, not One failed to jump from the 

 water his entire length — most of them 

 twice — on being hooked. I have even seen 

 them double up at the same time, in the 

 effort to strike the line and dislodge the 

 hook. 



I have never trolled for this fish, with 

 flies sunk in the water, as described in the 

 article in question. I prefer to take him on 

 the cast, as heretofore. 



As to size — 4 pounds is a good-sized 



ouananiche. My opinion, gained from ex- 

 perience, is that after an angler has hooked 

 and landed one of this weight, he will feel 

 he has met a foe well worth his best skill 

 as a fisherman. I have the picture before 

 me now as I experienced it: ''The quick 

 rise, sharp strike; then as the prick of the 

 hook is felt, the beautiful shining, sym- 

 metrical form of the fish, leaping into the 

 air at the sting; every inch of his silvery, 

 glistening sides aquiver with muscular en- 

 ergy; the splash and again another leap, 

 and as he settles once more to the water, 

 a magnificent rush down stream and the 

 fight has fairly begun." ' 



After having enjoyed some of the finest 

 sport of my life in pursuit of the ouanan- 

 iche I cannot allow an article, which seems 

 to me to present the matter in such an un- 

 fair light, to go unnoticed; and I know of 

 others who will feel as I do, if they see Dr. 

 French's letter. 



G. H. Hale, Malone, N. Y. 



A PUNCH AT FISH HOGS-AND OTHERS. 



Chicago, 111. 



Editor Recreation: Just home from 2 

 weeks of loafing around Lake Mills, Wis., 

 and feel inclined to give poachers and hogs 

 a punch. May I? 



Lake Mills — or more properly, Rock 

 lake — is a pretty sheet of water, with no 

 visible inlet, and varying in depth from 3 

 or 4 to 70 feet. In shallow sections, of con- 

 siderable extent, large mouth bass are 

 taken. A considerable stream flows from 

 the lake, and, furnishes power for a flouring 

 mill. Rock lake is about 3^ miles in 

 length, with an average width of i l / 2 miles. 



As in many of these little bodies of water, 

 when under no restriction, the piscatory 

 hog had shot, speared and netted the fish, 

 until few remained. The local sportsmen, 

 decided that something must be done to 

 preserve what were left. Mr. Wm. Howe, 

 the owner of the boat livery, on the lake, 

 obtained the support of those interested in 

 keeping up the reputation of the place as 

 a summer resort, and he was made fish and 1 

 game warden. 



The doom of the poacher and hog was 

 sealed. This was 2 years ago; and to-day 

 the lake is full of 2 year old pickerel, pike 

 and bass. Several arrests and convictions 

 were necessary to secure this result. 



Now, as a contrast to this: A chain of 

 lakes in Northern Illinois has not been 

 guarded, and unsportsmanlike methods of 

 taking fish have been freely used. In 

 Channel lake, for instance, a few years ago. 

 one could take a big string of bass and 

 pickerel. Now there are days when one 



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