548 



RECREATION 



almost virgin waters of northern Canada. The 

 drawbacks to Maine are that the natives have 

 become too sophisticated, thus it takes a good 

 bank account to get a look-in at the best fishing 

 (unless one is a native of the Pine Tree State, 

 in which case prices are different). The biggest 

 trout of the Rangeleys are cannibals; and 

 though very heavy fish, in fact the heaviest 

 known of their species, yet they are by no 

 means handsome, and far inferior in fighting 

 spirit to the trout of the Nipigon and other 

 Northern streams. 



Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and 

 Northern Ontario abound in waters that are 

 most wonderfully stocked with trout, and from 

 the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and from 

 Alaska to New Mexico, the Western man has 

 unexcelled opportunities for indulging in this 

 sport. The gamest of all this game family is, 

 to my mind, the rainbow trout from the cold, 

 deep lakes of the Kooteneys; but, wherever you 

 find him, the trout is fit for "none but very 

 honest men." 



The Perch Came Back 



During the past winter and spring a rather 

 peculiar state of affairs has come to light at Long 

 Lake, a shallow body of water two miles west of 

 Coldwater, Mich. The winter of 1903 and 1904 

 was unusually severe in this part of Michigan, 

 and as a result many of the lakes of a shallow 

 character were frozen to such a depth that the 

 fish in them suffocated. Such was the case with 

 Long Lake, and for a time it was supposed that 

 all of the fish had perished. When the ice went 

 out in the spring the shore was littered with the 

 remains of thousands of bass, pickerel, bluegills 

 sunfish, etc., and during the summer months 

 the most earnest endeavors of the fishermen to 

 catch anything there were unrewarded. But 

 the past winter has brought a change, and the 

 lake now literally swarms with perch of all sizes. 

 The question which naturally arises is, where 

 did they come from? The lake is fed entirely 

 by springs and it has no known outlet. There 

 seem to be nothing but perch there, but this 

 variety of fish is present in numbers to astonish 

 the natives. H. F. Bailey. 



Coldwater, Mich. 



Nibbles 



When the trout streams become clearer and 

 the weather mild, fly fishing is the order. Be- 

 fore then, when bait is needed to lure the speck- 

 led fellows, the anal fin of a trout is a good lure. 

 In the current it wabbles about in a very taking 

 manner, and if the eye of a trout is first placed 

 on the hook, secured by its enveloping mem- 



brane, not by impaling it through its centre and 

 thus puncturing it, the effect is an excellent 

 resemblance of a living insect. Try it. 



By all means, wade when stream fishing for 

 trout. You have more command of the water on 

 either hand, with ample room for the back cast. 

 Move slowly, and fish every likely spot before 

 moving forward. "Make haste slowly" is a 

 wise axiom in stream fishing. The potterer gets 

 the trout. 



Dr. James A. Henshall, whose name is fa- 

 miliar to all fly -fishermen, advises for trout fish- 

 ing in early June the red, brown, gray and black 

 hackles, Montreal, March-brown, cowdung, 

 gray drake, stone, great dun, black gnat and 

 coachman, tied on hooks Nos. 8 to 12, according 

 to the size of the trout inhabiting the stream 

 fished, and the condition of the water and 

 atmosphere. 



Always dry your line after use. Two kitchen 

 chairs, back to back, seem fitted by Providence 

 for this use. 



N. B. — Get up early and rescue them before 

 the cook appears on the scene. 



Put a few small rubber bands in your pocket; 

 they are useful for holding the rod joints to- 

 gether when you take the rod apart for the 

 journey from the stream at evening. 



To repair holes in wading boots and stock- 

 ings: Cover the holes with sheet rubber which 

 has been smeared with a cement made of black 

 rubber dissolved in spirits of turpentine. 



Do not use any vegetable oil on your hooks. 

 Animal fat, free from salt, is the surest pre- 

 ventive of rust. As a dressing for lines, deer's 

 fat is good. It solidifies at a higher temperature 

 than most fats, and clings to the line well. 



Don't be in a hurry to get a big fish out of the 

 water — so he won't get away. The chances 

 are he'll get away before you have him any way 

 near landing. Give him rope! Kill him as far 

 away from you as possible. 



A lump of black rubber, such as draughtsmen 

 use, is handy to straighten out gut leaders that 

 have been long coiled. Draw the gut over the 

 rubber a few times and it will be found much 

 straighter. Never use gut leaders without a 

 thorough soaking, however, as dry gut is easily 

 broken, unless new and of the best quality; 

 moreover, gut knots draw when dry, and hook 

 whippings do not hold. 



For delicate silk dressings, cobbler's wax 

 may be dissolved in spirits of wine and painted 

 on with a feather. The spirit will evaporate, 

 but the wax will remain on the silk. 



