42 



RECREATION. 



And Jackson is made of the right kind 

 of stuff. 



Special Warden Mepham and I work to- 

 gether a great deal. We have cut up 4 set 

 lines and 4 nets and made 2 arrests this 

 summer. The first arrest was one night 

 after dark. We were down the river about 

 7 miles from here, at Niskayuna. Just be- 

 fore dark we saw a boat that we thought 

 was using a set line, but by the time we 

 got a boat and got out where they were it 

 was dark and we could not see what they 

 were doing. We rowed past them and 

 turned our boat into the brush and while 

 waiting for them we saw another boat, 

 just above, putting out a line. We waited 

 till they began to bait it, and then we pulled 

 out to them and told them their game was 

 up. We took them before the justice, but 

 as they seemed decent fellows we asked 

 the justice to let them off with a light fine, 

 which he did, fining them $2 on their prom- 

 ise not to violate the law again. 



We caught another man using a set line 

 and took him before our city justice. He 

 claimed he had no jurisdiction, as the of- 

 fense was committed outside the city lim- 

 its. I could have taken the man before 

 another justice in Glenville, but as he had 

 nothing but eels and promised to give up 

 his illegal work, I let the case drop. 



There was no venison advertised last 

 year after the season had closed. You 

 remember we had a case 2 years ago, and, 

 although we failed to convict the party, it 

 gave people a scare and they are careful 

 not to repeat the offense. 



J. W. Furnside, Schenectady, N, Y. 



A MASSACHUSETTS FISH HOG. 

 Harry E. Morse, who is spending a week or 

 2 at West Centre Harbor, N. H., caught 255 

 large perch, rock bass, pickerel and horned pouts 

 in 3 hours one day. The perch measured 8 to 

 12 inches long and weighed half a pound to a 

 pound each. Most of the rock bass were as large 

 as a man's 2 hands, and one of the horned 

 pouts weighed a pound and 7 ounces when 

 dressed. In proof of his remarkable fish story, 

 young Morse shipped a firkin full of dressed fish 

 to the Mirror. 



How is this for a fish hog? This clipping 

 was taken from the Danvers Mirror. Morse 

 goes to New Hampshire every summer and 

 makes a hog of himself, but this is the 

 worst record he has shown. If you wish 

 to find out about the truth of this article 

 write to Frank E. Moynahan, editor of the 

 Danvers Mirror. It is claimed some of 

 the fish were sent to him. 



R. E., Danvers, Mass. 



I wrote Mr. Morse himself for confirma- 

 tion of the report and he replied: 



I did not advertise to have what I caught 

 put in the papers. It is true that I caught 

 255 perch, pickerel, rock bass and horned 

 pouts in about 4 hours. Some of the fish 



weighed as much as 2 pounds apiece, while 

 the smallest weighed about 7 ounces. I 

 had 3 lines out and had my hands full to 

 tend them. Had I had but one pole I 

 would not have caught so many. I fished 

 in Hawkins' lake, about J4 mile from 

 Winona, N. H. I can prove my luck fish- 

 ing by over 25 of the neighbors around 

 there to whom I gave the fish. I do not 

 brag of my luck, but I know where the 

 fish are in the lakes about there and how 

 to catch them. I used live bait and worms. 

 Harry E. Morse, Danvers, Mass, 



You are a bristly, thick skinned, shame- 

 less porker, and I commend to you a care- 

 ful reading of Mr. Vermilya's "Elegy on a 

 Country Fish Hog," printed on page 273 

 of October Recreation. By looking at the 

 picture he draws there, you will see your- 

 self as others see you. — Editor. 



HOW TO CATCH BASS. 



Wallace Schaum, Hartford, Ind., asks 

 why black bass do not bite in Higgins lake, 

 Roscommon county, Michigan. He says they 

 are there, for he can see them 25 feet down 

 in the clear water. For further evidence 

 he asserts that he has seen the natives 

 spear any number of them, which is not his 

 way of fishing. If Mr, Schaum has read 

 and profited by the teachings of Recre- 

 ation he should have preferred charges 

 against those native spearmen and should 

 have seen to it that they were prosecuted 

 to the full extent of the law. Michigan 

 has stringent laws for the protection of 

 game fishes from such butchers, and all 

 true sportsmen should be willing to uphold 

 and aid the proper authorities in enforcing 

 these laws. However, if Mr. Schaum will 

 provide himself with a S l A or 6 foot bait- 

 casting rod, a quadruple 80 yard reel and 

 50 or 75 yards of fine, strong, hard, braided, 

 silk casting line, an artificial minnow and 

 a few other baits and will closely observe 

 the following directions I will guarantee 

 that black bass, either the large or the small 

 mouth variety, will bite for Mr. Schaum or 

 anyone else. 



No intelligent bass will take a bait or 

 lure when visible to the angler or when the 

 angler is perceptible. Black bass are sel- 

 dom taken by still fishing. Don't let vour 

 bait soak. Keep it moving. A moving bait 

 is their ruin, as they will strike for it when 

 not the least hungry, just from pure vicious- 

 ness. Keep your boat in deep water and cast 

 into shallow places near lily pads and rushes, 

 reeling back slowly after each cast. Cast 

 50 to 100 feet, getting the bait as far from 

 the boat as possible,. Or, let the minnow 

 out 75 or 100 feet back of the boat, and troll, 

 slowly, as near the pads or bars as possible, 

 avoiding snags, and good results are cer- 

 tain to follow. A cloudy or breezy day is 



