!08 



RECREATION 



and with the water so clear one could see 

 their gills open and shut. Every fish would 

 weigh twenty ounces. They were wise! I 

 shifted myself and family from Roscoe to 

 Liberty; if I had remained, the temptation 

 to dvnamite or net those beauties w 7 ould 

 have been too great. That was five years 

 ago. As I could not get even one of them, 

 I wished them good luck; they "were not 

 so bery fat." 



I avoided the Beaverkill, being assured 

 that it w r as much fished, lined with trespass 

 signs and big dogs and surly owners who 

 wanted fabulous sums as damages for spoil- 

 ing their land. 



All localities mentioned are less than 140 

 miles from New York. The railroads used 

 are easily ascertained or already known — 

 this is no advertisement. 



On the west side of Sullivan County, tra- 

 versed by another railroad and bounded by 

 the Delaware River with its fine bass fishing, 

 and from Half- Way Brook, reached from 

 Shohola, all the w T ay to Long Eddy, 147 

 miles from New York, there is fair trout 

 fishing in streams known to natives easily 

 communicated with through local post- 

 masters. Brown trout by thousands (finger- 

 lings) have been placed in Beaver (Shohola 

 Postofiice), Ten Mile River and Boyd's Mill 

 Brook (Mast Hope), Narrowsburg, Tyler 

 and Page Brooks (Cochecton) and Adams, 

 Peak's and Basket Brooks (Long Eddy). 



My own choice of all this fishing is Basket 

 Brook. The Shohola route to Sullivan 

 County has better fishing and grander scen- 

 ery than the Liberty route. At Rock Valley, 

 five miles from Long Eddy station, Basket 

 Brook has been stocked with thousands of 

 brown and brook trout fry; and when the 

 water is right (somewhat in flood) a full creel 

 is almost sure to result. Use dark flies. The 

 stream is somewhat brushy, but any angler 

 at all handy with flies should be able to fish 

 with them there without getting " snagged" 

 or " hooked" on brush. 



It is difficult to close without extended 

 reference to the exquisite scenery along either 

 of these routes. They can be traversed by 

 rail from New York or Philadelphia after 

 business hours any evening, a night's sleep 

 obtained, and the guide will be hammering 

 on the angler's door by daylight and have 

 him in good trout waters before breakfast if 

 desired. How rich and abundant the trout 

 fishing is naturally is demonstrated by its 

 continuance in spite of the hundreds of 

 anglers. No camping is necessary, although 

 frequently practiced. Reasonable rail, liv- 

 ery and hotel prices, hospitable natives and 

 respectful guides, the best of fare and water 

 and air, and as many trout as a fisherman 

 who is reasonable has any right to expect — 

 that all spells Sullivan County. As our 

 Irish guide at Long Eddy often exclaimed : 

 "Long may she wave!" 



TROUT TIME 



BY T. SHELLEY SUTTON 



I'm tired of the dinging and donging, 



I'm tired of the traffic and din, 

 The crowding and cramming and thronging, 



The struggle and folly and sin; 

 The belt and the bell and the bustle, 



The buzz and the clang and the roar — 

 'Tis a vain and a brain-racking tustle 



That makes me disheartened and sore. 



I want to get back to the mountains, 



I want to get back to the wild, 

 To the brook and the fresh-flowing fountains 



Where never a thought is defiled; 

 I want to live closer to Nature; 



My soul of its struggles is sick; 

 There's a voice in the cataract calling — 



I want to go fishin' — quick! 



