FISH AND FISHING. 



455 



West Rideau lake, one of the best black 

 bass lakes, is well adapted for salmon- 

 trout, and the department has been asked 

 to deposit 100,000 to 200,000 fry in it this 

 year. I shall be pleased to give any in- 

 formation desired on the black bass and 

 salmon-trout fishing or as to facilities for 

 reaching these lakes. 



E. A. Geiger, Brockville, Out. 



WITH VIRGINIA BASS. 



One day last spring, in company with my 

 old fishing partner. Herman B., a whole- 

 souled fellow without a bristle, I left Rich- 

 mond at 7.45 a. m. for a day's fishing. We 

 reached the river about 10 a. m., secured 

 young mullets for bait, and proceeded to 

 try our luck. 



At first we rowed carefully to the known 

 hovers of the bass, such as stumps, sunken 

 logs, submerged knees of cypress trees, etc., 

 but the weather was so rough we had dif- 

 ficulty in managing our boat. We then 

 decided to try drifting, or more properly 

 trolling, but as each of us had forgotten 

 to bring either spoon or swivel, we used a 

 live minnow instead. We had drifted 

 probably % mile when I got a strike. After 

 seeing him break and enjoying several fine 

 rushes, I lost him. I felt bad, but tried 

 again, and a few minutes afterward I land- 

 ed a 2]/ 2 pounder. 



A few minutes later the Dutchman had 

 a strike, and after a fine piece of playing 

 he boated a beautiful bass ; the largest, with 

 one exception, I have ever seen taken in 

 Virginia waters. 



It was then my turn, and I responded by 

 scoring a 2^4-pound pike, which made a 

 fierce fight and cut one of my fingers to 

 the bone on his ivories. 



At that moment B. landed another bass, 

 larger than his first one. He then, in less 

 than Y?. hour, landed 2 bass weighing 2^2 

 pounds each, and one pike, 5^4. 



We then had glory enough for one day 

 and quit, 'went to the hotel and weighed our 

 fish. The 2 larger ones weighed 15 pounds 

 one ounce, together. 



The fish are plentiful here but wary, 

 sometimes not biting at all for weeks at a 

 time. As the fish hog and the seine and 

 dynamite hog are strongly in evidence 

 here, too, as elsewhere, I love the way 

 Recreation goes for the bristled ones, ir- 

 respective of who they are. 



A few seasons ago I remonstrated with a 

 man for killing a whole covey of quails in 

 the squealer stage, hardly able to rise, and 

 his reply was that the law was out and he 

 was after numbers, not meat ; he could buy 

 that at a butcher stall. I thought that in 

 doing so he ran great risk of eating some 

 of his own "kin-folks." 



E. C Payne, Richmond, Va. 



WHERE TO GET FLY FISHING. 



Can you tell me of a good place for fly 

 fishing, rainbow trout preferred? I have 

 just come over from England, where I had 

 a lot of fly fishing. 



C. A. Lindner, Hamilton, Ohio. 



ANSWER. 



The rainbow trout has been introduced 

 into a great number of rivers of the East- 

 ern, Middle and upper Mississippi valley 

 States. It is, as you know, a native of 

 California. In the streams of Southwest- 

 ern Missouri, particularly in the neighbor- 

 hood of Waynesville, Springfield, etc., this 

 trout is now found in abundance and af- 

 fords excellent sport. It reaches a larger 

 size in those streams than in the mountain 

 streams of California. In the streams of 

 Colorado it is also abundant and said to be 

 very game. In Peach Bottom creek, a trib- 

 utary of New river, Virginia, it is also 

 abundant ; also in the Holston river, Smyth 

 county, Virginia. One was recently re- 

 ported from that river, at the mouth of 

 Staley creek, 24 inches long, weighing 6^4 

 pounds. Mr. A. H. Gibboney, of Marion, 

 Virginia, and a friend, took 90 rainbow 

 trout from Staley creek in 2 days' fishing, 

 the fish averaging a foot in length. The 

 rainbow trout has also been successfully 

 introduced into the Au Sable river, Michi- 

 gan, and they 'are frequently taken weigh- 

 ing 5 to 7 pounds. Other waters in which 

 they are said to have been successfully in- 

 troduced are the tributaries of the Susque- 

 hanna, in Maryland, the Green river, in 

 North Carolina, Silver creek and other 

 tributaries of the Chattooga river in Geor- 

 gia, Broad river in South Carolina, and the 

 Batterkill in Vermont. They are also 

 found in many of the ponds and streams in 

 the Adirondack region. 



Perhaps the best fly fishing for this and 

 the Eastern brook trout that you could 

 most readily find would be in the Adiron- 

 dack region of New York or in Northern 

 Michigan. Splendid fly fishing for black 

 bass can be obtained in the small lakes of 

 Southern Wisconsin, Michigan, and North- 

 ern Indiana. One of the best places for 

 both species of black bass and for the wall- 

 eyed pike is Lake Maxinkuckee, in North- 

 ern Indiana. B. W. E. 



TROUT AND BASS IN MAINE. 

 Last season I packed my grip and went 

 to Portland, where I took the Boston and 

 Maine railroad, changing cars at the junc- 

 tion for the Rumford Falls line, and alight- 

 ed at Falls Station. Thence by 4 horse 

 stage to Andover, passing thrifty farms, 

 magnificent scenery and countless brooks, 

 to French's, where mine host greeted the 

 stage load and made all hands feel at home. 

 I found almost all the guests were there to 

 catch trout, so I fell into pleasant com- 



