FISH AND FISHING. 



223 



FISHING NOTES. 



We loaded our tent, rods, and provisions 

 Into the wagon at 4 p.m., and started on a 

 drive of 5 miles, for Horseshoe lake, the 

 home of big pike. At 5 o'clock we pitched 

 our tent, then caught minnows for the 

 morning. 



We were called to breakfast at 4.30. 

 Soon after, putting our things into the 

 boat, we pushed off and started for the 

 place where the pike and pickerel were 

 wont to feed. 



We anchored and began casting for big 

 fish. As we all had new outfits — split bam- 

 boos and silk lines — we were anxious to 

 see who should catch the first fish. After 

 an hour or so we were feeling disappointed, 

 but R., on raising his rod, felt the hook 

 catch on a snag, or something. Then the 

 reel began to hum and the line to pay out. 

 After going far enough R. stopped the fish, 

 for fish it was; finally bringing him to the 

 boat. He was a monster pike. The land- 

 ing-net had been forgotten, so while R. 

 brought the fish around to the boat, W. at- 

 tempted to land him, but broke the line, 

 and away our monster went. 



I will not say what occurred between R. 

 and W., but you can imagine. 



A little later W. hooked a fish and after 

 a battle of 33 minutes, the pike was hauled 

 into the boat. He weighed 8 pounds, and 

 was the finest one I ever saw. 



F. W. R., Morristown, Minn. 



make these statements for the reason that I 

 hate to see the fighting qualities of the 

 noblest fresh water fish that swims, lightly 

 spoken of. H. B. C, Woburn, Mass. 



I have just read the article by J. C. 

 French, M.D., entitled " Is the Ouana- 

 niche a Fraud? " and am sorry his experi- 

 ence with this fish should have proved so 

 unsatisfactory. 



The doctor will pardon me, I trust, if I 

 take exception to his statements; for, 

 though I have never fished in Lake St. 

 John, I have caught a great many ouan- 

 aniche, at Grand Lake Stream, Grand lake, 

 and Dobsy lake; all in Washington Co., 

 Me., and not to have them break water, 

 after being hooked, is, in my experience, 

 the exception rather than the rule. 



I grant that the ouananiche usually takes 

 the bait or fly, from underneath. He does 

 not jump for it, as the trout does, but let 

 him be once hooked, in any of these waters, 

 and he will leap 2 or 3 feet in the air, time 

 after time. 



In June '95 a friend of mine was fishing 

 and I was handling the canoe for him. He 

 struck a ouananiche and I counted 7 con- 

 secutive jumps it made, none less, than 2 feet 

 above the water, before it was brought to 

 net. The fish weighed 4^ pounds. None 

 of our fish, taken on that trip, weighed less 

 than 2 pounds and the largest was" 5^2 

 pounds. 



Hundreds of sportsmen who have fished 

 in this once famous region will, I know, 

 bear me out in what I have said. I merely 



HARVESTERS OR FISH HOGS? 



In the main I heartily endorse what you 

 say about " fish hogs," for there can be no 

 excuse for the wanton destruction of fish. 

 But I must take exception to the sweeping 

 condemnation of all who report large 

 catches. I have caught more than 200 

 pounds in a day, with rod and reel. I think 

 it as unjust to call me a fish hog, on that 

 account, as it would be to call the farmer 

 a ground hog when he harvests his crop. 

 With us the season for the run of salmon, 

 rainbow trout and salmon trout is the har- 

 vest time; and we catch our winter's sup- 

 ply, canning, smoking and salting them. 

 We do not consider that fish were made 

 merely to afford sport. It is the man who 

 finds his sport in catching fish, who be- 

 comes the genuine hog. There is no dan- 

 ger of exhausting the supply, here, if we 

 can prevent spearing on the spawning beds, 

 the use of nets and traps in the vicinity of 

 the spawning grounds, and the use of ex- 

 plosives. This we are trying to do, but the 

 growing disregard for law, so noticeable in 

 the United States, makes this difficult. In 

 conclusion, if you are going to include 

 among the fish hogs all who make large 

 catches with rod and reel, do not leave out 

 the cannery men. 



Robert McLean, Grants Pass, Ore. 



We have just returned from a 10 days' 

 outing in the Rockies. Our party consisted 

 of Messrs. Ketner, Springer, Hughlitt, 

 Mrs. Shepard, Misses Royce and Gallagher. 

 We left Pueblo on the 23d, over the D. & R. 

 G. Ry., for Wagon creek. At La Veta we 

 were joined by Mr. & Mrs. Alex Lindsay 

 and Mr. Bear. 



Here we took the narrow gauge line over 

 Veta pass, to the mouth of Wagon creek, 

 where we were met by Jake Moyer, a genial 

 old mountaineer, who took us up the creek 

 7 miles, to our camping ground. We ar- 

 rived there at 4 o'clock and made camp. 



Wagon creek is a beautiful little stream. 

 It is but 3 to 6 feet wide and is lined, on 

 either side, with willows and other bushes. 

 Here and there a clear spot affords the 

 angler an opportunity to cast his fly and he 

 is seldom disappointed. The trout are not 

 large here but are abundant. The largest 

 one was caught by Mr. Bear, and measured 

 13 inches in length. 



We saw 2 large bucks and several signs 

 of bear. We killed some sage hens, which 

 made an excellent pot-pie. 



The ladies spent their time fishing and 

 shooting at target, with the 22 Winchester 

 repeaters. We had several rainy days, while 



