68 



FOEEST AND STREAM. 



day was sixty-two. The sport was firje, and Ihe fish fought 

 bravely, some of the larger ones only being taken after, a sharp 

 tussle of fifteen or twenty minutes, which, -with light tackle, 

 made very exciting sport. 



But at night, gathered about the porches of the Island 

 House, we beard big stories of the day's successes from others; 

 catches of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and 

 thirty-tire per boat. We noticed, however, the catches, 

 though large in numbers, were not remarkable for weight, few 

 being reported at over three pounds, whde averages went as 

 low as one pound. But the big catches were mysterious, and 

 we concluded there was some secret about it we had not 

 fathomed. One boatman said — but boatmen are not all strict 

 truth-tellers— that hand lines were used, and three or four 

 hooks on a line, and all the other devices a pot fisherman knew 

 how to avad himself of. We found, on looking at the rods in 

 the. office, that to many lines were attached above the minnow 

 liook bright Hies ; and, upon inquiry, found that at that sea- 

 son, while bass never took flies on the surface or even ordi- 

 narily under the surface, yet, when an active one was 

 hooked at the minnow and was darting frantically around, he 

 would sweep through the water in such a way thai 

 would start in his wake and snap at the flies, judging from 

 our experience with trout, there might be something in this, 

 but we did not try it. 



The third day an attempt was made by some of the un- 

 believers in big catches by fair means to solve the problem. 

 Two Cincinnati gentlemen had made the biggest catches, day 

 after day; they had the biggest and best boat and took two 

 oarsmen, oue being employed while fishing in baiting hooks 

 and landing fish. This would give them considerable advan- 

 tage of course, but not enough to account for their wonderful 

 luck. So at least many thought, and this day two other gen- 

 tlemen from the same city determined to see how it was done. 

 All started out together, and the doubters gave their boatman 

 instructions to keep always in sight of the big boat. The 

 watch was kept all day, but nothing unusual was seen, and at 

 supper all came together again. No one had been quite as 

 .successful as the day before, but our envied friends from Cin- 

 cinnati, the heroes of the wonderful catches of the last five 

 days, came in witli the smallest lot of any. It is fair to say 

 that while no " pumping " (hand-line or dipsey fishing) was 

 proved against tkem, the general belief was, that had not their 

 friends lk'cn so socially inclined the catch of that day would 

 have shown a larger score. It is not to be disputed that some 

 men in their anxiety to make big counts resort to means such 

 as gentlemen who fish for recreation scorn to avail themselves 

 of. Against the means used by a man who fishes to make a liv- 

 ing, when used in the proper season nothing can be said, but 

 such are not often used by gentlemen. A sportsman with decent 

 instincts would no more fish with half a dozen baud lines for 

 bass, than he would seine trout, shoot a covey of fledgling quails 

 on the ground, or use a swivel-gun on ducks. 



One method resorted to at the Island was new to me. When 

 the frequent bites gave indications of a school of bass a light 

 pine stick for a float attached to a line having a half pound 

 lead sinker at the other end, would be thrown out, so the float 

 formed a buoy around which the boatmen would pull, so as 

 to keep within the school. It was seldom, however, that any 

 large fish were caught from schools. From two pounds down 

 were the ordinary sizes. 



We started home the following morning carrying most of 

 our fish pjtcked in ice. Mr. Rush has boxes at his boat-house 

 where fish can be kept as long as one desires, and his men 

 pack in ice and ship at very reasonable charges. Everything 

 is well and fairly conducted, and we should have to go far to 

 find a better place for spring and fall fishing. Fishing com- 

 mences about the middle of September and remains good for 

 several weeks. This is better than spring fishing, and if any 

 of the readers of Foeest and Si-beam are inclined to it a line 

 or telegram to Jacob Kush, Kelley's Island, will meet with a 

 prompt response. One word j in buying your minnows at the 

 boat-house overlook the counting. We never knew it to fail 

 that if one wanted a hundred minnows the count would come 

 out just right from a draw in the tank, although a subsequent 

 count of the contents of the bucket would ordinarily show a 

 deficiency of from eighteen to forty one. In fact even greater 

 deficiencies were charged. L. 



^ Those Young Shad.— In your issue of Aug. 16th, in speak- 

 ing of young shad caught near Washington Market, I gave the 

 length of one as five inches and seven-eighths and the other a 

 trifle less. For Jive read three and it will be as I intenlled, for 

 certainly it is not remarkable to see a year old shad five inches 

 long, as that is about the usual size. A correspondent asks 

 how I know that they were shad, and to state in Foeest and 

 Stream how to tell a young shad from a herring or alcwife 

 with certainty, and this is the way of it : It is not difficult to 

 tell the family Clupeidm by the single dorsal, large deciduous 

 scales, compressed sides and its serrated abdomen, or saw 

 belly ; but the species when young, like all immature speci- 

 mens, are hard to determine in proportion to their immaturity. 

 The size and shape of the sub-orbital bone or large bony scale 

 immediately below the eye is, I think, the surest. 

 \s In the shad this is loDg, or rather deep, and has the lower 

 angle moderately acute, while the river-herriDg or alewife has 

 it comparatively short and the lower margin rounded. This 

 is very plain in" the adult fishes, and the difference could be 

 distinctly seen in my three-inch specimens, hence I call them 

 shad, and tliink them small for yearlings. I have never seen 

 anything that I knew to be an adult hybrid between the fishes 

 named, although 1 know positively of great numbers being 

 hatched and turned out in the Hudson. As these hybrids 

 were always shed by the alewife, I'omolobus psuedoharengus, 

 it. is not unlikely that there may be a uniformity in their ap- 

 pearance and a resemblance to either parent. I have often 

 looked over the shad and herring at Mr. Blackford's in Fulton 

 Market with an eye to this cross, but without result. 



Fked Mather. 



Maine.— The bays of Maine in the vicinity of Portland are 

 full of mackerel, due, as the old fishermen say, to the fact that 

 the sharks outside are numerous and have driven them in. 



Big Fish. — At a family gathering at, the residence of (.'apt. 

 Fish, in Falmouth, Me., a. few days since, there were present 

 seven ladies whose aggregate weight was over 1,500. 



Massachusetts— South Hadley Falls.— The dispute as to 

 who first caught shad in the Connecticut River with hook and 

 line, has been settled in favor of F. 0. Bardwell, of this place, 

 who has made affidavit before a justice of the peace that he 

 took three shad with the hook and line, August 15th, ISiW, 



Movements ov the Fishing Fleet. — The number of fish- 

 ing arrivals at tnis port, the past week has been 72, as follows : 

 Banks, 12: Georges, 39; Shore mackereling trips, 31. The 

 receipts of fresh halibut have been very small— 55,000 lbs. 

 from the Banks and 15,000 lbs. from Georges, and prices 

 have ruled high, the last sales being at 9 and 5 els. per lb, for 

 Georges. Codfish have been in fair receipt, 1,180,000 lbs. 

 Banks and 585,000 lbs. Georges, but the weather is unfavora- 

 ble for curing in large lots, aud prices are well sustained, 

 though ruling considerabl3 r below the prices at this season 

 last year. But little is doing in mackerel, most of the Shore 

 fleet coming in light. There have been no arrivals from the 

 Bay, but two vessels are on the way home and daily expect- 

 ed. — Cape Ann Advertiser, Atig. 24. 



Martha's Vineyard, Aug. 24. — A shark weighing 1,200 

 pounds was caught off Gay Head on Monday. 



Gloucester, Mass., Aug. 24. — The schooner Grand Master, 

 which left here March 20th for the Grand Banks, came into 

 port last Friday, having 270,770 pounds of codfish, the largest 

 Grand Bank catch ever brought into this port. 



Rhode Ist,and— Warren, Aug. 2G. — Bluefish have appeared 

 and are beginning to bite. 



Conneotioctt— East Hampton, Aug. 21.— Mr. Wm. G. 

 Buell. a veteran sportsman, now the proprietor of the Poka- 

 paug House writes of Lake Pokatopaug : "The name, which 

 is Indian, signifies Clear Water Pond. It is a beautiful body 

 of water containing nearly nine hundred acres, and having in 

 the centre an island covered with the original timber. The 

 lake is well stocked with black bass, pickerel and all the small- 

 er fresh-water fish. I have in three seasons put into the lake 

 20,000 land-locked salmon, and hope to live to take some of 

 them. I am now sixty-three, and love the dog and gun as well 

 as I ever did. 



Deep River'— Mr. Gnstavus Pratt killed a large water snake 

 on Saturday, 18th inst., at K B. Pratt's mill pond. Upon 

 killing him he observed the extreme end of the tail of a fish 

 sticking from his mouth, which upon investigation proved to 

 be a pickerel eleven inches long. Whether the snake charm- 

 ed the fish or caught him napping is unknown, but anyhow he 

 exercised the serpent's wisdom in swallowing him head first. 



New York— Tribe's Hill, Aug. 21.— A black bass weighing 

 six pounds was caught in the Mobnwk to-day by Lew. Ebor- 

 hard, of C. R. R. freight engine 887. 



Rochester. — One of the City Assessors recently captured iD 

 Braddock's Bay eleven pickerel and one very large Oswego 

 bass. The pickerel he gave away, reserving lor his own table 

 the bass. " But when the fish came to be prepared for cook- 

 ing a wonder came to light that spoiled all hopes of dining off 

 that fish, but taught a lesson in natural history and the survi- 

 val of the fittest. A young muskrat, weighing upward of 

 half a pound, was found in the fish's stomach, of which the 

 creature had made a lunch before he took dinner on the spoon 

 hook." 



New Jkkse y— Forked Rim; Aug. 20.— The large blue fish 

 are now being caught, in considerable numbers, the boats com- 

 ing in to-day having from 30 to 90, averaging 10 lbs. each. 

 The weak fishing has also been very good the past week, 40 

 to GO to a boat, weighing from 1 to 3 lbs. each. There have 

 also been quite a number of sea bass and black fish caught, 

 but no sheepshead of any consequence. We look for good 

 fishing of all kinds from this time forward. Akthl'is. 



Kinsey's Ashley House, Barnegat Inlet, Aug. 24. — Immense 

 schools of bluefish, running from 10 to 14 pounds, put in an 

 appearance on the 19th. Captain Bunnell and party, 80 blue- 

 fish ; Captain T. Potter & Co., 91 ; Captain T. Predmore and 

 party, 92; Captain Wm. Predmore and party, 90 : T. Taylor's 

 yacht, with parly, 86. 25th, 32 yachts took on an estimate 

 7,000 pounds; 26th, bar rough ; none out. Yacht Mystery, 

 from Long Island, arrived wuh some 40 bluefish and Spanish 

 mackerel. B. 



Pennstlaania — Bristol, Aug. 23.— Rock fish are caught 

 from the wharves. Sturgeon roe is the best bait. 



Harrisburg, Pa., Aug. 25. — Bass are tolerably plenty here- 

 about, and could be caught readily at almost any part but for 

 the hundreds of "outlines" stretched across the river. 



The largest fish seen this year was one caught by Mr. 

 Arnold, while fishing sixteen miles above the city, which 

 weighed 4\ pounds. It was caught from the top of Green's 

 Dam (Clark's Ferry), and lifted out of the "re-action" water 

 a distance of eight feet and safely landed in his boat. The 

 party that was fishing with Arnold took one 3 and several 3J 

 pounders, as w T ell as smaller ones. 



Respectfully, Bass-o-Bazotjk. 



Middletown, Pa., Aug. 23.— Bass fishing in the Susquehanna 

 has been very poor the last week or two. On Thursday, t lie 

 9th, I caught five that weighed nine pounds and a half, the 

 heaviest three and a half. Bass are very plenty in the river, 

 and may be seen running the small fish any time in the daw 

 In three days' fishing 1 caught eighteen the" first, fourteen the 



second and eight the third. 



W. S. 



Virginia— Leedmrg, Aug. 21.— Bass fishing is better above 

 and below this point than it. is here. Five or six pounds to the 

 angler has been about the average. One four-pounder was 

 taken with minnow, and a good many over two pounds with 

 fly and with minnow. Our small brooks begin to yield bass of 

 good size, fish of nearly two pounds have been taken in stream- 

 lets ten or twelve feet" wide. T W. 



Florida — St. Augustine, Aug, 24. — Trout are bilirg now 

 and are the principal fish sought for by anglers. 



Wisconsin— Ashland, Aug. 18.— Capt, W. W. Bich, yester- 

 day visited Fish Creek, and returned with sixty-six beautiful 

 rout, which aggregated twenty-five pounds. 



Michigan— Ann Arbor, Aug 20.— Wat. Park returned 

 from the North Woods last w T eek, where he has been catching 

 members of the finny tribe. He brought back about thirty 

 pounds of the speckled beauties. Naturalist. 



Albena, Midi., Aug. 21.— Charley Luce, and G. W. Haw- 

 kins went out to Long Lake fishing last Saturday, and hy ac- 

 tual time they caught forty-three black bass, weighing in the 

 aggregate 133 lbs. 



Detroit, Mich., Aug.. 25.— Mrs. Harry Crawford, of this 

 city, while spending a few days at Orchard Lake caught, on 

 the 22d, 82 black bass. On the 21st inst. Don. M. Dickin- 

 son and E. O. Durfee were at St. Clair Flats for a few hours 

 sport with the finny tribe, and made a string of 20 black ba?3. 

 On the 23d inst. Geo. Chandler, of Lansing, caught 32. and 

 Geo. Wheeler and E. O. Durfee, of Detroit, 26 black bass, 14 



perch . Stephen Warner and C. Flemming, in six days' fishing 

 at the thus last week, caught, 115 black 'bass, 20 perch and I , 

 pickerel Count, Von KlappcnlMir- of Detroit, spent three 

 day a at the same place and caughl 76 black bass. A few mi 

 l"Nge have been caught, so far this season as follows, viz.- 

 < aptain Molt. 3; II. C. Colburn, 1. and C. Wboloy, 1 The 

 one caught by Mr. Colburn weighed 23 pounds. Fishing has 

 Befen very pour on the Canada side thus far this season, 



Kovei:. 



inHHois— KanJcateQ, Aug. U.— Flsl&jg for pickerel and 



black and speckled bass very good here this season. 



Peoria, Avg. 28.— Bass, jack salmon, red eyes and other 

 fish are caught m good numbers at flje Narrows, four miles 

 above here. 



New B»rjNSwi«K— OampbeTMon, Aug. 20.— In company 

 With Mr. Richard Parker, Government Supervisor of the 

 "Tobique Road"— that extends from this pjaee into the wil- 

 derness toward the St. John's River— I visited Parker's Lake 

 which is some three miles distant from this village, and the first 

 ot the many small lakes that lie along (his route. Wehad good 

 sport. Our fish varied from % to 2j lbs. in weight and were 

 beautiful specimens of the Balmo fontinoMa, and very gamy • 

 quite unlike their not far distant relatives the Salmo canadensis. 



Stansteab, 



Gamp BiewaH, August 18, 1877.— Out parly of throe 

 arrived at fifty-six mile post,, thirteen miles beyond Mc V.I-un 

 Junction, Tuesday, at about ^o'clock p. m. Our guide 

 here met us, per agreement, and we at once started across 

 the one and a half mile carry to a tributary of 

 Kilburn Lake. Two trips were maae for baggage and sup- 

 plies; then two trips by canoe, some three miles, brought us 

 about dark to camp. Since our arrival the weather has been 

 unfavorable for sport, raining most of the time, and rasing the 

 si reams too much for sum ?sful fishing. Still, we have 

 a number of trout of fair size, the largest weighin-r 17 1 

 Ounces. A huge share of the -imc 1ms been spent in nlting 

 up camp, low-anl night, yesterday, Superintendent Stewart of 

 the N. B. <te C. Railroad, came i-itocimp loaded with from, 

 and grouse, which he killed while o, fais way from the 56- 

 mlJlJ POSk CoKFoitAL Lot' Waefielo. 



-An enterprising fish dealer of Wick, Eng,, has found a 

 n«w use tor i he carrier-pigeon. Boats which fish at a large 

 offing take the pigeons to sea, and after the catch dispatch 

 them with the intelligence, which is received at borne and 

 suitable preparation made long before the vessels ar.ive. 



.Clergtoibn's Fish Stories.-" The Paumnky cerflitifli d me 

 of afish story. So I told it to Brother Peterson. It run this 

 way: A shark came up that, river. A citizen saw it, tooK a 

 sturgeon harpoon, went out iu a canoe, and sent the steel hub 



into the shark. The shark darted. The cord to the hai 



hung m the bow of the boat, and that end of the 

 started under water. The man jumped up to the stern, and 

 leaned back over the rudder to keep the front from dipping 

 The shark was doing his best, making (say, roughly i fifty 

 miles an hour. The fisherman could not go forward to un- 

 hitch the coirl for the boat would go right under like a mole 

 in a plowed field, but quicker. So the man had to "rare" 

 back, like he was driving a fast horse in a sulky before his 

 sweetheart's house. His neighbors hailed him from the hunk" 

 but he hadn't time to talk. They went home and told their 

 wives, and wondered. The boatmen on the river shot j 

 bun ashe skeetc-d by. He was gping too fast to answer The 

 shark turned out of the Panumky into the York. Capsized in 

 a river three miles wide, and a mad shark close by was an 

 ugly thought. The man wished he had been from home the 

 day the shark came by his house, and was 'regretful 1 gemr 

 ally. The shark made a wide circle in the York, and returned 

 up the Pamunky, and, nearly opposite the starting point sud- 

 denly stopped, rose to the top— dead. The man was glad 

 Now, this is not a small story. It ia of the Centennial Kruprj 

 iron calibre, 1 watched Brother Peterson, lie didn't seem to 

 give way under it as 1 liked. He took a fresh bite of tobacco 

 and said: ' 1 know a bigger one.' 'Tell it.' 'I will In 

 Charleston harbor a fish swallowed the anchor ot a schooner 

 put out, and dragged the vessel uudcr.' ' Oh,' said 1 ' that's 

 apochryphal. Mine was a true story. Dr. LeroyM Lee 

 vouches for it.' Brother Peterson chewed briskly a second or 

 so, and said ; ' I heard Bishop Wightman say mine was true ' 

 A schooner against a canoe, a Bishop against, a Presiding 

 Lldcr, the odds were too great, worse than -eight, to seven,' it 

 was no use, ' to attempt Gibraltar with a pocket pistol ' ' As 

 at Appomattox, 'yielding to superior numbers aud overwhelm- 

 ing resources,' I quit."— Christian Advocate, Richmond, Va. 



SPLIT BAMBOO RODS. 



To Our Customers and the Public : In reply to the damaging 

 reports which have been circulated respecting the quality of 

 our split bamboo rods, by " dealers." who are Unable to compete 

 with us at our reduced prices, we have issued a circular which 

 we shall be pleased to mail to any address, proving the falsity 

 of their assertions. 



Con roy, Bissjstt & Malleson, 

 —[Adv. Manufacturers, 65 Fulton Street, N. Y. 



httiaml §nrMmeB, 



CRICKET. 



Columbia vs. Siaxen Island — Statm Island, Aug. 22.— A 

 match between the second eleven of the Staten Island OJ «h 

 and the Columbias of Hoboken resulted in the following score: 



STATEN ISLAND. 



First Inning. Second Innintr 



Houghton, eand b Welch 1, Mmtiiru. . 



Jams, li McUlosky 21 u Jilntiirri 



I! Eyre, e hhtdley, b Welch 5 b MuUlflSKj '"a 



,1 Eyre,c McClosky.li Welch.... 4 cMcCli , "IU 1 



McGlosRy 11 h Met! 



Ih;vm ? e : b Meetosky c Brown, 1. Mcijlos.kyi . '.'. ,', 



Duer, It Mocio-ky u run oat.... "" n 



C Forbes, Q not out... " a 



gamgipdier, mn out 1 c Mitiftirn, h iieCJoslcy" 



Duranel, not out b GregOl 



- Hartley b Welch a c Cteluilo " i 



Leg-bye, 1 ; Wldes, 4 ; ao ball, 1.. ti Bye, t ; leg-byes, 2 ; no ba 



55 Tot If.. : 



FAIX OF WIOKBtS. 



First inning..: = c ._ 5 



inning . z* as iii si a 



