212 



RECREATION. 



whole heaps of trout in various quarters 

 and from many waters of this beautiful 

 world, but my experience with black bass 

 in swift waters during the last 4 years fills 

 me full of the belief that he is the greatest 

 game fish that swims. 



Given a 5-ounce rod, a good fly and a 

 riff on the upper Delaware, a 2 pound bass 

 will outfight, outskirmish, outgeneral any 

 fish of his inches that ploughs any old kind 

 of water. 



When it comes to original devices and 

 ingenious tricks to mystify and fool the 

 angler, the black bass can give cards and 

 spades to the most expert conjurer, and 

 beat him out, hands down. 



As a strategist, he is E pluribus unum 

 first, last and all the time. 



From an eye point of view, the brook 

 trout is alone in its class, and to me, next 

 to my wife, is the most beautiful living 

 thing. 



And you will please make note that a 

 one pound bass, newly rescued, broiled, 

 then frosted in melted sweet butter, fla- 

 vored lightly with a sprig of tarragon, 

 adds another joy to life, and a mighty hard 

 one to equal. 



Kit Clarke. 



A LIVELY BOARDER. 



A dozen of us were camping recently 

 along the Perkiomer river. One evening 

 we went down the river in our flat bot- 

 tomed boat after frogs. We had a lantern 

 and clubs to knock the frogs out. After 

 getting about a dozen good sized ones 

 we turned our boat and were within 50 

 yards of camp when we heard an old fel- 

 low with his "r-u-u-m-p, . r-u-u-m-p, 

 r-u-u-m-p," in a deep bass. We made 

 our way cautiously over a lot of 

 spatterdocks in a corner where the 

 water had backed in, when splash went 

 something beside the boat, giving us a 

 shower bath, and through the air for a 

 second we had a glimpse of a shining fish. 

 Then it fell with a heavy thump in the 

 bottom of our boat. Eight hands made a 

 dive for it. In the confusion our lantern 

 went out and there were 4 most excited 

 fellows groping in the dark. We scram- 

 bled over one another and that fish wig- 

 gled and flopped fully 2 minutes, working 

 loose every time we thought we had him. 

 Finally one of us got his finger through the 

 fish's gills, another planted 2 feet on him 

 and 2 pairs of hands hugged his body. We 

 all wanted to be in at the finish. No more 

 frog hunting that night. We put our 

 anchor rope through the fish's gills, think- 

 ing nothing too strong to hold him after 

 our tussle with him, and towed him in to 

 camp. Next morning we weighed him 

 and he pulled just S r A pounds. 



W. F. Hartenstine, Morristown, N. J. 



NIBBLES. 



Harrisville, Mich. — H. M. Long, a local 

 editor, says of a day's trout fishing trip: 



Tom Clarke, Ed. Pierce and I went to 

 Sucker creek, some 20 miles back of Har- 

 risville, for trout. We caught 162 in all. — 

 Detroit Tribune. 



I wrote Mr. Clarke, asking if the re- 

 port was true and he replied as follows: 



That article in the Tribune, of Detroit, 

 was from the pen of a space writer, and 

 while true in the main was not the whole 

 truth. On our trip 5 men did catch 162 

 trout in a few hours' fishing. When we 

 reached camp the smallest fish measured 

 a little over 8 inches. All smaller ones, 

 84 in number, had been returned alive 

 when caught. One man told me last 

 summer I was the first man he had ever 

 seen return a trout on account of size. 

 Thos. P. Clarke, Flint, Mich. 



In that case you are all right. I wish 

 all men who go fishing would practice as 

 much self-restraint as you and you' 

 friends did. — Editor. 



At the annual meeting of the Lake 

 Mansfield Trout Club, at Stowe, Vt, the 

 old board of officers was re-elected. The 

 meeting was attended by about 50 mem- 

 bers from Stowe, St. Johnsbury, Water- 

 bury, Burlington and Montpelier, Vt. It 

 was voted to call in amount due on the 

 stock. These shares have a par value of 

 $50, of which one-half is paid in. The 

 club is to erect a clubhouse, to be ready 

 by the time the next meeting will be 

 held. This clubhouse will have about 20 

 rooms. One of the best trout dinners 

 ever eaten by the members Wc served, 

 and all the members are loud m their 

 praise of the meeting. Previous to the 

 dinner the members rowed about in their 

 boats and enjoyed the beauty of the 

 lakes. 



Robt. Bourne, Burlington, Vt. 



It has been found that certain prawns, 

 common along the coasts of England, 

 change their color at least twice every 24 

 hours, in order to harmonize with the 

 stronger or weaker light prevailing near 

 the surface or in the deeper water. As 

 evening approaches, these fish lose their 

 distinctive day colors, and all assume a 

 transparent azure hue. The change be- 

 gins with a reddish glow, followed by a 

 green tinge which gradually melts into 

 blue. These changes have become so 

 habitual that specimens of prawns kept in 

 perpetual light or perpetual darkness 

 nevertheless undergo the periodic altera- 

 tion of color, — Exchange, 



