546 



RECREATION 



flattened shank to tie to a rough and ready 

 handle that one of your men will cut and trim 

 in a few minutes; there being no rivers in which 

 salmon are found, at least on this continent, 

 where small spruces, and other trees that will 

 serve at a pinch, do not grow. The perfect gaff 

 measures a foot in length, and has a width of 

 nearly three inches at the point. Such a gaff 

 will be found equal to all requirements. 



On many of the European rivers enormous 

 flies and triple-gut leaders are found necessary, 

 but for all American fishing a stout single-gut 

 leader is preferable, our tackle being finer all 

 through. Nine feet is the correct - length, ex- 

 cepting in turbid water, when six feet may be 

 long enough. 



The only free fishing, or at least the best of 

 it, is found where the angler must camp out, 

 and as he has a chance to remain, perhaps, for 

 the whole season on the same river, and often 

 on the same beat, it is possible to take all sorts 

 of luxuries. He need not deny himself, as the 

 hunter of big game must generally do. A large 

 dining-tent may be supplemented by one in 

 which to sleep, and by another for the men. By 

 pitching the tents on a knoll, where the sun and 

 breeze have their own way, the flies are fought 

 on more even terms than when the camp is 

 made in a sheltered situation. The hunting 

 camp cannot be pitched in too thick and 

 sheltered a spot, while the fisherman's summer 

 home should be free to every air that blows. 

 At best, the black flies, sand flies and mos- 

 quitoes will get in their fine work on cloudy, 

 still days, and in the long summer gloamings of 

 the North. Tar, olive oil and oil of penny- 

 royal form the basis of the most popular fly 

 dope, yet one realizes its miserable inefficiency 

 far too often. There is urgent need of some- 

 thing more nearly a panacea. 



Waders are usually worn, though when fish- 

 ing from a canoe a man who is not afraid of 

 wetting his feet is r perhaps, more comfortable 

 in the long run without them. In any case, the 

 short stockings are delusions, as one often gets 

 in over the tops, and I can recommend only 

 the long wading trousers. Some prefer the 

 boot and trouser in one, but they are not so 

 satisfactory as the other kind, in which the 

 wading boots, or brogues, are separate from the 

 trouser. These may be turned inside out and 

 dried, while the other kind remain moist and 

 unwholesome all through the season. To use 

 the thin waders to the best advantage, one 

 should first draw on a heavy pair of woollen 

 socks and then the trousers, then another pair 

 of very coarse socks (to prevent the waders from 

 being cut by the brogues), and then the 

 brogues. I have used a pair of the best waders 

 for five seasons, and they did not leak even at 



the end of the long period of service, which 

 shows- that it pays to take care of one's outfit. 

 Waders that are not thoroughly dried after use 

 will rot in a few months, and the same may be 

 said of lines, which must never be laid by, even 

 for a single night, without being carefully dried. 



The tackle outlined in the foregoing para- 

 graphs will do for Labrador or for those few 

 rivers in Nova Scotia that are worth visiting, 

 except that it would be well to take a second rod 

 of 15 or 15^ feet, as the northern waters are 

 heavier and the fish run larger. 



Within a few years there will undoubtedly be 

 a railway through Labrador, running from Lake 

 St. John to Rigolette Harbor on the Atlantic, 

 and then the finest fishing region in the world 

 will be made fairly accessible, but now the great 

 drawback to fishing Labrador waters is the 

 difficulty of getting to them. An occasional 

 steamer runs from Quebec, and others ply be- 

 tween St. John's, Newfoundland, and the vari- 

 ous fishing stations along the coast, at more or 

 less regular intervals. But you must leave your 

 "hustle " behind or you will fret yourself into an 

 untimely grave; for although it may not be 

 strictly true that "never a law of God nor man 

 runs north of fifty-three," yet it is undeniable 

 that people don't travel on schedule time in 

 those parts. 



Past generations of anglers have said that 

 there was no rod fishing for salmon in the 

 Pacific streams, though the trolling for quinnat 

 and Coho salmon in salt water has been a 

 recognized sport since the advent of the first 

 white men to the coast. This idea has proved 

 false. It is now an every-day occurrence for big 

 catches of salmon to be made in the rivers of the 

 State of Washington, and in those of the Prov- 

 ince of British Columbia. The finest fishing, 

 so far, has been had in the Campbell River, 

 which flows into the Gulf of Georgia from the 

 mountains which form the backbone of Van- 

 couver Island. Unfortunately, these large 

 quinnat, or "spring salmon," do not take the fly 

 well, though some have been so caught, and 

 thus a trolling spoon is substituted. This, of 

 course, necessitates heavier tackle, and makes 

 the fishing less pleasant in every way, but for 

 numbers and size of fish the Campbell River 

 stands in a class by itself. Some men, if report 

 speaks truly, have rather overdone the thing, 

 and made catches of which they should feel 

 ashamed. When fish are taken by the ton, even 

 granting nothing but the most sportsmanlike 

 means be employed, the best sportsmen feel 

 more disgust than admiration. 



For every salmon fisherman there must be a 

 hundred trout fishermen, and under certain 

 conditions the lesser fish may give almost as 

 good sport as the greater, and even when the 



