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RECREA TION. 



pounds each. Judging from the scale on 

 which the picture seems to have been 

 drawn, one may safely calculate that some 

 of the fish shown in the picture were 18 to 

 20 inches long, and must have weighed 3 to 

 4 pounds each. The fish were caught in 

 North Park, Col. These 3 men spent sev- 

 eral days there, and it would be interesting 

 to know how many of these large trout they 

 consumed in that time. 



I have received during the month 34 

 copies of the issue of the Post containing 

 this picture and story, each accompanied by 

 a letter asking me to roast these fish hogs. 

 One of these subscribers writes as follows : 



" I will not say what I think of such work 

 as this, but will leave it to you. You are 

 the boss hog roaster. We often find speci- 

 mens of these varmints along our trout 

 streams, but this pair seems to be worse 

 than any I have yet heard of. Please put 

 this picture in your rogues' gallery, and 

 send these rogues marked copies of Rec- 

 reation, containing your comments on 

 them." 



Another correspondent, who sends me 

 another copy of the Post, writes : 



" Please brand these shoats, and put them 

 in your pen. A natural query is, Where are 

 Colorado's Game Wardens? Game law 

 limits to 20 pounds of trout a day." 



RODS, REELS AND HOOKS. 



We find in the tackle stores rods of wood, 

 split bamboo, and steel. Which is best? 

 Split bamboo, every time, if of good quality. 

 Let me describe what I want in a split rod. 

 Lemon color,' without spots, no dark places, 

 that show the grain of the wood ; wound 

 in yellow, with 6 or 8-sided gun-metal 

 trimmings. Why make a 6 or 8-strip rod, 

 and then trim it to take round ferrules? 

 Bright nickel trimmings flash badly in sun- 

 light. A good rod is not limber, but 

 springy, and feels point heavy without reel, 

 but balances right with one. 



What should a rod cost? I paid Dan- 

 niells, of Auburn, Me., $10 for mine. 



A split bamboo should be used with line 

 strung alternately to its upper and under 

 surface. By so doing you avoid the possi- 

 bility of " setting " or permanently spring- 

 ing your rod. In jointing and unjointing, 

 begin with the tip, and work toward the 

 butt. 



I want a reel that will lay the line smooth- 

 ly on the spool. I have one made by 

 Horace Hobbs, of Milwaukee. It has a 

 little agate eye that runs on a bar forward 

 and back, like the winding attachment on a 

 sewing machine. It is just the thing, and 

 since owning it I have used no other reel. 



I want a hook with a double twisted 

 gut, not too long in the shank ; a thin- 

 pointed, short, sharp barb, but plenty of 

 room between barb and wire. 



J. C. French, M.D. 



A FISH HOG THAT RUNS BY STEAM. 



Chicago, 111. 



Editor Recreation: The star fish hog 

 does his rooting at Eagle lake (Kansas- 

 ville Station), Wisconsin, on the C. M. & 

 St. P. Ry. Eagle lake is well stocked 

 with black bass, and a decent, honest bass 

 fisherman can catch 6 to 10 in half a day's 

 fishing; but it requires some work in the 

 way of rowing to the numerous " grounds " 

 on the lake. The anglers who have been 

 going to Eagle lake from Racine, Mil- 

 waukee and Chicago, are without excep- 

 tion, true sportsmen. The hog referred to, 

 however, is a mechanical genius who has 

 hit upon the brilliant scheme of trolling for 

 bass from a steamboat. He is a manu- 

 facturer of engines at Racine, and has built 

 a small naphtha launch — or electric, I don't 

 know which — the speed of which can 

 be properly regulated for trolling — and 

 with 2 or 3 lines out Mr. Pierce (that's his 

 name — of Pierce Engine Works, Racine) 

 cruises leisurely, all day long, about the 

 lily-pads, rushes and weeds, pulling out 

 bass of all sizes to ship to his friends in 

 Racine. Some of his catches run over 100 

 bass a day, and the boat is working every 

 day. When Mr. Pierce is not there him- 

 self some of his friends are using his boat 

 and the prospect is that before the end of 

 the season bass will be very scarce in Eagle 

 lake. 



I do rot know that it is against the law 

 to fish in this way, but it is certainly against 

 common decency. 



A. F. Chambers. 



LARGE TAUTOG. 



I noticed in Recreation a few lines 

 from D. S. H., regarding " A large black 

 fish." I have always lived in Sakonnet, 

 R. I., which is about 15 miles West of 

 Buzzard's bay. The well known West 

 Island Fishing Club is there, and black fish 

 are caught in great numbers. They are of- 

 ten taken weighing 10 or 12 pounds, and 

 seldom fall below 3 J / 2 or 4 pounds. 



On one occasion a 15 pounder was 

 caught. With one exception, this was the 

 largest one I ever heard of. Several years 

 ago my father hooked a large fish, off the 

 West Island rocks, and got him to the top 

 of the water. It certainly looked larger 

 than any we had before seen. The line 

 didn't stand the strain and we lost him. A 

 few days after, a tautog was caught near 

 Newport, about 5 miles West of us, with a 

 No. 4 Hemming hook in its mouth. Its 

 weight was 24 pounds, and it was, unques- 

 tionably the same one we had hooked. 

 W. S. Drowne, Highlandville, Mass. 



WHAT IS IT? 



About 2 weeks ago I was out fishing, 



caught something I cannot name and would 



like to ask you what it is. We were fishing 



for brook trout and saw a small fish that 



