Mat 18, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



* 



309 



§m md ^iver Jgishing. 



<i£> 



For, though of all field sports the motive and origin is to Mil for the 

 table, and net to kill for the sake of the killing, still the sport to he 

 derived from them lies In the excitement of pursuit and difficulty of 

 capture— not in the number or value of the game. 



Frank Forester, Fish and Fishing. 



WHERE TO GO FOR TROUT. 



THAT all angling is good, but that angling for brook trout 

 is best of all, is, I think, the common opinion of brothers 

 of the angle. Now, to find a well-stocked stream in these 

 days when everybody fishes, and the easily accessible waters 

 are fished out, is a serious question, which will be debated 

 the coming season. One reason why the fishing trip is unsuc- 

 cessful is probably that it is taken at the wrong time. The 

 sum m er vacation of business men is usually in July or 

 August, wheu in the Middle States the trout have left 

 off Surface feeding, and have retreated to the spring holes 

 and deep lakes where they are hard to find, and when found 

 afford little sport. In those regions May and June arc the 

 months for sport, the trout are in the rapids, will take the 

 fly, and are active and vigorous. Good baskets of fish, by 

 which I mean trout not smaller than three or four to the 

 pound, with an occasional two-pounder, can be made in 

 the Adirondack?, Vermont, New Hampshire and Western 

 Massachusetts, also in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. 

 No doubt in many other States; I only mention what I know 

 from experience. Of course I do not mean in the neighbor- 

 hood of cities where trout sell for a dollar a pound, or on 

 railroad lines, but away from them where Stage coaches still 

 exist, and where the market fisherman does not. June is 

 the month for fishing in Maine also, but In July sport can 

 be had on Moosehead Lake, the upper Penobscot, the 

 Rangeleys, the Megalloway, Munson Lakes, and others sung 

 by a Maine poet — 



"Behold t how they sparkle and flash in the sun, 

 The M&ttawamkeag and the Mussungun, 

 The kingly Penobscot, the wild Woolastook, 

 Kennebec, Kennebago, and Sebastieook," 



and many others which terminate in "took" and "cook" — 

 sonorous lines, if not melodious. 



The Maine wilderness is so extensive, and the lakes and 

 rivers so numerous and interlocked, that one might travel 

 hundreds of miles upon them, much of the way far from 

 the abodes of man. For instance, ascend the "Kennebec 

 from Augusta to Moosehead Lake, then by a short carry to 

 the Upper Penobscot; descend this river to the head of Lake 

 Chesuucook, thence through rapids and streams (this is a 

 word which in Maine signifies water which connects two 

 lakes) to Lake Chamberlain, thence through other lakes, 

 with the names of which 1 will not perplex the printer, to 

 the head waters of the St. John, the great river which forms 

 the boundary of Maine on the north and northeast, runs 

 northeast and south till it enters tide water near the city of 

 St. Johns, New Brunswick. In all this route trout abounds, 

 and the man who entered upon it a tyro, at the close, if 

 possessed of the proper gifts of nature, might write himself 

 P. F. F., or Professor of Fly-Fishing. In such a trip hard 

 work will have to be done— a walk of three or four miles 

 across a carry, laden with oars, guns, etc., over rocks, 

 through mud, "and under fallen trees. No weakling should 

 attempt it. As Emerson writes: 



• 'Look to yourselves, ye polished gentlemen ! 

 No city airs or arts pass current here; 

 Your rank is all reversed: let men of cloth 

 Bow to the stalwart churls in overalls; 

 They are the doctors of the wilderness." 



— The Adirondacs. 

 One of the finest regions for trout is Lake Superior. Fly- 

 fishing begins late, say in August, but this immense body of 

 cold water affords a breeding ground and retreat, from 

 which the trout can never be exterminated, although they 

 may be, and are. diminished in numbers. When I first 

 vis'it?d the Sault St. Mary in 1841, these fish were so abund- 

 ant that a basket of good size could be filled almost any- 

 where on cither shore, and in the little streams and currents 

 on the Canada side, one could hook a pair at almost every 

 cast. Not so to-day. Persistent and reckless fishing has 

 done its work. But beginning at the Sault and following 

 the south shore of the lake many good rivers are found. 

 The Tequamenon, the Two Heart, the Iron, the Huron, the 

 Chocolate. Most of the rivers in this part of the peninsula 

 flow south into Lake. Michigan. Between Point Keweenan 

 and the Apostle Islands are many fine trout streams where 

 three and four pound fish are found. Among the islands 

 good trout can be taken in deep water from the rocks with 

 hail. Bayfield is a good place for the trout fisher to stop a few 

 weeks. He cau have a variety of sport close at hand. He 

 can take the great lake trout by trolling or deep fishing, 

 rather a heavy," sluggish fish, but strong. An Englishman, 

 writing in the London FkiJ, maintains that it gives more 

 sport; than the black bass. , Perhaps a codfish taken in thirty 

 fathoms would g^ive still more of that sort of sport. 



West of Bayfield is a once famous river, the Bois Brulee, 

 which was pa*t of the old Indian thoroughfare from the 

 lakes to the Mississippi. A friend of mine, taking this route 

 in 1840 in a canoe, found the Brulee full of large trout so 

 that he could kill enough for a party of ten or twelve men in 

 an hour's fishing. 



On the north shore the Ncpigou stands pre-eminent as per- 

 haps the best trout river on the continent. Fish of six 

 pounds are common there, and a string of sixty, averaging 

 two pounds each, has been taken by one rod in a day. But 

 all anglers have heard of the Nepigon. Between that river 

 and the Sault are many good streams, accessible from the 

 Sault. with a canoe and Indians. I found in 1869 one of the 

 best of boarding houses at the Sault — very neat and comfort- 

 able, with an excellent table. Fresh whitefish from the 

 rapids, and brook trout at every meal, and we all pronounced 

 the whiteiish to be the better of the two; also wild straw- 

 berries from the meadows, and raspberries from the woods; 

 these, covered with rich cream, afforded a repast not to be 

 forgotton. August is the month for Lake Superior. So also 

 is il for Canadian waters, which afford, methinks, even more 

 and larger trout than those of the upper peninsula of Michi- 

 gan, fn the Dominion you can hardly go amiss in this 

 pursuit. 



In Ontario I have not fished, but in Quebec, New Bruns- 

 wick and Nova Scotia, and on Prince Edward's Island, I 

 have had fine sport, Fur abundance of fish the Tabusintac, 

 which flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence about twenty 



miles north of Chatham, in New Brunswick, is pre-eminent. 

 The Novelle, which enters the Bay of Chalheurs on its north 

 shore, is remarkable for the size of the trout, which average 

 over two pounds, and there seems to be no small trout in the 

 river. They are all sea trout, while in the Tabusintac, both 

 these and the brook trout are taken from the same pools. I 

 am aware that naturalists deny any distinction between these 

 two, though all anglers observe the difference in form, color, 

 size and habits between them. On the upper waters of the 

 Restigouche, which divides New Brunswick from the 

 Province of Quebec, I have found brook trout so abundant 

 in July, while fishing for salmon, as to be quite a nuisance. 

 Sometimes, when tired of salmon fishing, which is hard 

 work, I would take my trout rod, with a cast of three flies, 

 and often fasten a trout to each. But no one in camp would 

 eat them, preferring the salmon, and I returned the trout to 

 the river. The "speckled beauties" played the same part in 

 a salmon river that the chub do in a trout stream — intruding 

 themselves upon the angler who was in pursuit of higher 

 game — and receiving the same treatment. Having tried both 

 kinds of angling, I must say that I prefer trout fishing to 

 salmon fishing. The first is less laborious, and a three-pound 

 trout on a seven-ounce rod gives as much sport as a twenty- 

 pound salmon on a seventeen-foot salmon rod. That, at 

 least, is my opinion. 



There is excellent fly fishing on Prince Edward's Island 

 for both varieties of trout. In June sea trout of three or 

 four pounds may be taken at the river mouths in tide water, 

 in July and August they may be found up the river in com- 

 pany with the brook trout. The island is a pleasant place in 

 summer, a rich agricultural country, with good woods and 

 comfortable, hotels, where the prices are moderate. There is 

 also considerable game in the way of snipe, woodcock and 

 shore birds. Steamers run once" a week from Boston- to 

 Charlottetown, P. E. I., and thence there are steamers to 

 St. Johns, New Brunswick, and to Quebec. 



In the interior of the Province one finds an old-time sim- 

 plicity of manners, such as existed in the States fifty years 

 ago, when railroads were not. S. GO 



THE ICHTHYOPHAGI. 



THE fish-eating club with the hard Greek name recently 

 had a new revelation. A new member was elected, and 

 he thought it would be a proper thing to "blow off" the 

 club. To this, of course, there could be no objection, and 

 twenty -four invited guests took return tickets for Babylon, 

 Long Island, as was hinted in our columns would be done a 

 few weeks ago. Their further destination was unknown, 

 and all they were permitted to know was that it was to be a 

 strictly scientific seance to inquire into the alarming mor- 

 tality "recently observed among the ocean fishes. Every 

 member was heavily armed with a "paper" prepared to give 

 his views of the cause of the epidemic, and to suggest a 

 remedy. 



The new member met the party at Babylon, and was for- 

 mally introduced to the following gentlemen : John Foord, 

 President of the club; Barnet Phillips, Secretary: E. GK 

 Blackford, Caterer; Howard Carroll, Head Taster; Dr. W. 

 A. Hammond, Club Surgeon; Paul Du Chaillu, Explorer for 

 Camping Grounds; Fred Mather. Naturalist; Hon. Jolm H. 

 Starin, Lecturer on Gastronomy; Hon. Robt. B. Roosevelt, 

 Keeper of the Worcestershire Sauce; S. S. Conant, Poison 

 Detective; Geo. Werrenrath, Musical Director; Otto Witte, 

 Master of Transportation over the Brooklyn Bridge; Mr. 

 Gillam, Artist of the Club; Mr. Franklin" Satterthwaite, 

 Herald of the Morning; Mr. Drysdale, Keeper of the Ttnu(s), 

 and Mr. Hall, Svn-l\ght Dispenser (not in the "Land of the 

 Midnight-Sun," that is Du Chaillu's province). The new 

 member's hand trembled as he took the hands of these 

 distinguished men, and not until be was on a yacht, far Out 

 in the water of the Great South Bay, did he recover his self- 

 possession. Then, throwing off his ulster, he showed him- 

 self in the uniform of an Admiral, and enjoined complete 

 obedience to the military discipline which ruled within the 

 limits of his kingdom, whither the scientists were bound. 



After leagues of water had been passed land hove in sight 

 and on approaching it armed men were seen passing up and 

 down, and when within hailing distance a cannon shot from 

 the .shore brought the yacht to and the countersign was given 

 and the party landed. " Arms were, presented and a gang of 

 Custom House officers seized the satchel which each man 

 carried, as well as a kettle of whitebait from the caterer, 

 and declared it contraband. The Port physician felt the 

 pulses of the crowd while the coroner looked to see if any 

 dead were left in the yacht. A man with "Deputy Sheriff" 

 on his hat eyed Hon. John H. Starin in a manner that made 

 our Congressman uncomfortable. The Sheriff apparently 

 satisfied himself that, Mr. Starin was a respectable man arid 

 could not help being a Congressman, and left him in peace. 

 The guests w r ere formed by two's and a fife and drum es- 

 corted them to the house. On the porch was awashtub with 

 a wringer containing a towel. The party were marched 

 around this and ordered to drink of the contents of the tub. 

 The Poison Detector was ordered to taste first, and if he 

 lived five seconds the club would drink. The club drank 

 and Howard Carroll, who has been abroad and knows these 

 things, pronounced the beverage a harmless one called in 

 Hindoostan cla-rat.p-unch. Next to the wash room, where a 

 row of basins, one for each guest, and things which looked 

 like soap, but proved to be of geological formation, were 

 provided. The company were welcomed by the only lady 

 on the island, a dressmaker's dummy with its face blackened 

 and clad in a single garment. 



After inspecting the billiard room, ten-pin alley, armory, 

 etc., the party sat down to dinner at S P. M. Music from 

 piano, comet", violin and banjo, enlivened the courses, from 

 the Li i He Neck clams to the coffee. The dinner was most 

 excellent, and the new member did not venture to offer any 

 outlandish or outrageous dishes to a company so i&osi in this 

 sort of tiling. 



When the dinner ended, about midnight, the party ad- 

 journed to the armory and some speeches were made on the 

 alarming mortality among the Lop/wl'iti/i, and on the de- 

 crease of Ontmt. rlrffiiu'ana, in the South Bay. The Presi- 

 dent thought that specimens of Ostrea should be present on 

 the half-shell, but the host grimly pointed to the word "M.i; " 

 on a calendar and the club groaned "no R," Mr. Roosevelt 

 apologized for the absence of Oscar Wilde, whom he had 

 promised to bring along in order to educate the fish-enters up 

 to a point where"tbey can see the relations of the sunflower 

 and the suntish. He denied that Mr. Wilde was either a 

 shrimp or a sardine. 



The naturalist was not to be found. It was known that he 

 had paper about him which would take until morning to 

 finish, and which would effectively dispose of the theories of 

 Professors Brooks and Ryder on the generation of oysters 



and prove that when the oyster is crossed in love it picks up 

 a razor clam and shaves its beard. But he was missing and 

 the world will lose this evidence, Unfortunately for sience 

 he is a banjoist as well as a naturalist, and -when he was 

 found at 3 A. M., he had the professional banjo player in a 

 private room and was getting some coaching oil the manipu- 

 lation of "Home Sweet Home," in harmonics. He had 

 found time, however, in the interval of mending a broken 

 string, to place the lay figure, of the African female in the 

 bed of the President. 



The Artist had drawn a cartoon which revealed the object 

 of this all-night scientific session. It was a large one, five 

 feet long by three high, and represented the Court of Nep- 

 tune. The host sat enthroned upon a pyramid of shells, 

 with crown and trident. On his right was a female present- 

 ing a petition to him to cease the destruction of the tile fish, 

 and the face of this female was that of the Caterer. Behind 

 the latter stood the Club Surgeon, as a sea lion, imploring 

 Nep. to listen to the petition. Two seals, the President and 

 the Naturalist, were discoursing about some fish spawn which 

 the latter held in his hand. On the left of the King stood a 

 huge turtle, whose features were wonderfully like* those of 

 the Secretary, presenting him with a bottle and a glass. The 

 Keeper of the Royal Worcestershire Sauce brought up the 

 rear as a nurse, with Oscar Wilde as a baby, who was eag- 

 erly grasping after a sunflower whose petals were bank-notes. 



The party then separated into small groups and devoted 

 several hours to investigating problems which we do not 

 know enough of to write intelligently upon. They must 

 have taken up arboriculture, or woodcraft, for we heard 

 learned arguments on "chips." Horticulture received some 

 attention, for we heard Howard Carroll explaining to Du 

 Chaillu the excellencies of " two pears," new varieties. 

 probably. Great dice opened on touching a secret spring, 

 and proved to be boxes of cigars, which when lighted caused 

 the fire department, who looked suspiciously like the customs 

 officers, to rush in with extinguishers on their backs, declar- 

 ing that they smelled smoke, and terrified the scientists by 

 pointing the nozzles at them. 



At four in the morning it was found that some of the 

 party, whose scientific enthusiasm had abated, had been in 

 bed for some time, and the President immediately sent a 

 deputation to arouse them and inform them that breakfast 

 would be ready in twenty minutes, and that they must catch 

 the early train. In the meantime the President and the rest 

 retired. The latter finding his room occupied by the mil- 

 liner's figure and not caring to create a scandal', retired to 

 the yacht, and finding on the beach a great "angler," Lophnts 

 americanus (ob American loafer), took" the fish up, with the 

 assistance, of four men, and introduced it into several bed- 

 rooms, declaring that the cause of science demanded that 

 they should rise and' investigate the cause of its death, not- 

 withstanding the perfume of decay which lingered round it, 

 and that it was their duty as scientists to ignore all such 

 minor annoyances. The party who had before been aroused 

 were now below enjoying the morning breeze and inhaling 

 ozone enough to give sick men health, and they were de- 

 lighted at not having been allowed to sleep too much. 



At seven breakfast was in order and the steaks, chops, 

 sweetbreads, broiled chicken, and strawberries suffered. 

 After breakfast one of the party in strolling about the out- 

 buildings thought he would step into a very small'one, prob- 

 ably to examine the iuterior, when he found that his weight 

 on the floor caused the door to close and lock. After a half- 

 hour's inspection, he left with reluctance, when the door was 

 opened by a boy who had accidentally strolled that way and 

 heard his exclamations of gratification. 



At 8 A. M. the party embarked on the yacht, after the 

 usual Custom House inspection, and left 'their host. Mr. 

 Henry Havemeyer, with thanks not only for their unique 

 entertainment, but in the name of science, which had received 

 such vast benefits while the party were enjoying his princely 

 hospitality. 



FISHING IN LAKE M1NNETONKA. 



I HAVE long thought that the hottest place in the civilized 

 world was New York city during an August afternoon, 

 I do not think so now. 



Last August found me in Lincoln, Nebraska; I had come 

 from New York and settled in the "Magic City." as Lincoln 

 is called, with the intention of making it my home. It was 

 not the "Western fever" which caused me to leave New 

 York, but after considerable thorough and deliberate consid- 

 eration I concluded, and I now find my conclusion a war- 

 ranted one, that this .growing city of the West offered the 

 best inducements to a" voung man. So July last found me 

 here. It was hot, dreadfully so. Day after day the ther- 

 mometer indicated 90, 95 and even 99 degrees in the shade. 

 In fact, many mornings I have sat in an office working when 

 the mercury would mark one hundred. Let me say, how- 

 ever, that we always have a morning and evening breeze in 

 this part of Nebraska, which renders the heat "endurable. 

 I thought I would at last become acclimated, but about the 

 latter part of August I gave in — succumbed — packed my 

 valise and started for "Cool Minnesota." 



Thirty-six hours from Lincoln found me in St. Paul. I 

 imagined I could already feel the cool breeze of Lake Mra- 

 netonka, and longed for a sight of clean water I had not 

 seen a real clean stream or lake since i left New York, as the 

 waters of Nebraska are always muddy. Nine o'clock thai, 

 night found me at Lake Minnetonka. This beautiful sheet 

 of water is about twenty miles from Minneapolis, and is 

 reached by one or two different railroads. As I drank in 

 the cool and refreshing air, I wondered why I had not come 

 before, and secretly vowed that T would not return until I 

 had sure knowledge that the "heated term" at home was 

 over. A word in regard to this lake. It is destined, I 

 think, to become the great watering place of the West. 

 Situated, as it is, so near the railroad centers, many pleasure 

 seekers and tourists flock there. However, I must get on 

 with my stoiy, and it is a fish story. But unlike all stories 

 of its kind, it is a true one. 



One morning I got up for a row before breakfast, There 

 was a young lady in the case, of course. We will call her 

 Miss A . I sent up word that as it was. a favorable morn- 

 ing we had better go on a fishing excursion. The lady con- 

 sented. I, meanwhile, had engaged a fisherman by the 

 name of Pearl, who was the best man in a boat that I had 

 had the good fortune to meet, He was polite and not talka- 

 tive, this last is a rare virtue among fishermen, in my opinion. 

 Pearl shook his head in a very knowing manner and said "it- 

 was a first-class morning for fishing.' 1 



At 7 A. M. behold Miss A and myself equipped and 



at the landing. Pearl and his boy had been spending the 

 interval during our breakfast in pursuing the blithe 

 festive minnow, and we certainly bad a good supply of'bait. 

 The boat was tidy, neat and comfortable, and air. 



