P/Sff AND FISHING. 



461 



t>ut up $25 toward the filling of the State's 

 cash box and was allowed to go his way. 

 The next time he goes fishing he will be 

 sure to put back all the trout he gets 

 under 6 inches in length, or else to con- 

 ceal them in his pockets and sneak up 

 some dark alley with them. 



Will you please inform me and others 

 if you know of any place where they raise 

 Irish angle worms. They are said to 

 be more attractive than others, and can 

 be seen farther in the water. I have been 

 told they have more phosphorus in them. 

 On my trip to Cedar lake last summer I 

 bought a pint of worms from a train boy. 

 I asked him how much. He said a dol- 

 lar, which I thought pretty steep. He 

 said they were Irish worms and came 

 high. Of course I thought he was jolly- 

 ing me, but they looked different from 

 any other angle worms I have ever seen. 

 They were pinker and rather small. I 

 caught twice as many blue gills as 

 any of the party. I often hear anglers 

 speak about Irish angle worms, but no 

 one seems to know where to get them. 



Charles H. Potter, Indianapolis, Ind. 



ANSWER. 



I have never heard of Irish angle worms. 

 The pink color of the worms was probably 

 owing to the nature of the soil they had 

 been living in. I do not think anyone has 

 ever attempted to import worms into this 

 country. The boy was surely jollying 

 you. — Editor. 



I spent last winter in Florida, on the 

 Atlantic coast, about 75 miles South of St. 

 Augustine. A friend and I started early 

 one morning, in a boat, for Mosquito in- 

 let, to fish for channel bass in the surf. 

 We arrived there at the commencement 

 of the flood tide, and putting on our wad- 

 ing pants, commenced fishing. In about 

 one hour we had landed 13 bass, weigh- 

 ing 5 to 9 pounds each. We used stout 

 bass rods and reels. The bass are caught 

 by wading into the surf as far as possible, 

 then casting the line and reeling in while 

 wading back to the shore. The bait used 

 is mullet. A heavy sinker keeps it on the 

 bottom until a bass takes it. Then the 

 fun commences. It is great sport to han- 

 dle those fellows on the end of a 50-yard 

 line. I have caught a great many during 

 the winter, but not so many before in so 

 short a time 



E. Carpenter, Port Orange, Fla. 



Can goldfish be propagated in a small 

 house aquarium, and are there any books 

 published that treat on that subject? If 

 so, where can I get one? 



C. H. Miller ; Hermann, Mo. 



Yes; goldfish can be readily propagated 

 in aquaria. After the eggs have been laid 

 and fertilized it is necessary to remove the 

 fish to another aquarium. Otherwise they 

 will eat the eggs. Several papers and 

 books have been written on goldfish cul- 

 ture, of which the most useful are probably 

 the following: 



"The Goldfish and its Systematic Cul- 

 ture," by Hugo Mulertt, Cincinnati, O., 

 1883. 



"The Care of Goldfish," by John A. 

 Ryder, in Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission 

 for 1884. 



Mulertt's book can probably be had by 

 writing him at Cincinnati. The other can 

 be found in almost any public library. — 

 Editor. 



I can not understand how any one with 

 any skill at fly casting should advocate 

 steel rods. In the few times I have at- 

 tempted to use one I succeeded in getting 

 out only 15 or 20 feet of line, and the fly 

 would strike the water anywhere but 

 where I had intended. It seemed to me a 

 fine rod for a boy who wantec' to yank- 

 out bullheads by main strength. I have 

 one bamboo of 4^2 ounces weight that 

 has seen 8 years' service on the roughest 

 streams of the Adirondacks. Another, of 

 5 ounces, has had still harder use for 15 

 years; and neither has ever given out in 

 any way. I've handled many large trout 

 with them, both speckled and California. 

 I see no use in resorting to steel for the 

 sake of durability. For accuracy in cast- 

 ing and nleasure in handling I fail to 

 see how any one could favor the steel rod. 

 R. M. Shurtleff, New York City. 



I have had a similar experience to that 

 of R. M. Shurtleff, of Keene valley. At 

 different times I have caught 4 silver trout 

 in one of our streams. One I submitted to 

 Professor Peck, of Williams college. 

 and he said it was undoubtedly an al- 

 bino. The largest weighed % of a pound. 

 None of them had spots or marks, on the 

 back. The fins were faintly tinged with 

 color. Four years ago I caught a 6 ounce 

 fish without the least sign of a dorsal fin, 

 yet he maintained his equilibrium and pttt 

 up a good fight. I am greatly inten 

 in the fishing department of RECREATION. 

 Charles S. Van Horn, 

 Williamstown. Ma 



Will some reader of RECREATION in the 

 West or Northwest please tell me what 

 materials and colors are used in making 

 the "Meade" Salmon Fly, as mentioned in 

 your Fish Department some months ago. 

 J. D. L., Lyons, N. V. 



