Jrcns %%, 1882.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



409 



s'viit mid good two feet deep. But I seemed to haven 

 death-lilce grip on my rod and liad hung to it, and after 

 crawling out of the water at a double-quick speed, I first 

 took a glance around to see if anyone had witnessed my 

 adventure. T then grasped my reel and got a strong foot- 

 bold and commenced winding in my line. 



To my great joy I fouud that the monster, Whatever he 

 may be (and I doubted not but what it was a whale or 

 -hark), was still fast to my line. The fish was, however, 

 nearly across to the other shore and some way up the river; 

 but 1'was then perfectly cool and collected after taking my 

 cold bath, and soon had him up within some twenty feet 

 from where I was. He wasjumping fronitwo to six feet out 

 of the Water and splashing around spitefully; but it was no 

 go; 1 soon had him safely" landed some thirty f eet from the 

 water. I had that day the satisfaction of eating for my din- 

 ner one of the finest fish I had ever tasted, which was a ten- 

 pound rainbow trout. L. W. G 



MoOfcOBD River, California, 1882. 



LIGHT RODS VS. TOY RODS. 



Editor Forest a nd gftrea m i 



In Forest and Stream of June 8 1 find a communication 

 on the "Weight of Rods," by Geo. W. Van SieleD, in 

 which that gentleman takes me to task for the disfavor with 

 which I regard extremely tight and withe-like trout fly-rods, 

 on page 229 of my "Book of the Black Bass." 



Now, while I "court and invite manly, fair-minded and 

 straightforward criticism upon anything I have written, I 

 do not consider the article m question cf that character. 



I know nothing whatever of Mr. Van Siclen beyond an 

 occasional contribution to Forest and Stream, but in this 

 instance he has not shown himself to be an honest or a com- 

 petent critic, for he disproves nothing that I have written, 

 neither does he prove anything of his own knowledge or ex- 

 perience. On the contrary, he misrepresents rny language 

 and perverts my meaning ; 'says that I am supercilious and 

 absurd; charges me with a lack of experience aud skill, and 

 a \\ anl of patience and self-control. He is sarcastic, insolent 

 and presumptuous. The animus of his article is manifest 

 when he leaves the subject in hand to cast a slur upon my 

 profession, and wanders off to the realms of speculation to 

 say that if I play billiards I use a twenty-ounce cue. 



He says: "The Doctor actually expresses his preference 

 for thrashing around (after black bass, though, in this case) 

 with a ten-ounce rod, and enduring the extra straining of the 

 brachial muscles, doing that all day, to the time consumed 

 in the operation; and to 'the general demoralization and 

 used-up condition of the flexors and extensors of his arras.' 

 i n simply playing and landing a big black bass in open water !" 

 This sentence contains an untruth, and is made up of 

 garbled extracts from two entire paragraphs of my book, 

 which a careful and sincere critic would have quoted entire. 

 or not at all. I present them here to the impartial reader, in 

 justice to myself: 



"I am a great stickler for extreme lightness in rods when 

 compatible with strength and action, but there, is a certain 

 limit in weight that must be observed , so as to conform to 

 and preserve other and equally essential qualities in a good 

 working rod. Now, while I will guarantee, in open water, 

 to land "any black bass that swims, with a well-made six- 

 ounce split bamboo fly-rod, I will not undertake to say how 

 much time would be consumed in the operation; nor do I 

 envy the general demoralization and used-up condition of 

 the flexors and extensors of my arms that would ensue at the 

 close of the contest. With a, rod of suitable weight, the 

 largest bass can be safely and pleasantly handled, and it is 

 worse than useless to make a toil of a pleasure by using 

 inadequate means." 



"A trout fly-rod, then, weighing eight or nine ounces, and 

 not, more than eleven feet long, is just about right for 

 ordinary black bass fishing; but where the bass run large, 

 averaging nearly or quite three pounds, a somewhat heavier 

 rod, say ten ounces, will be found a more suitable and 

 pleasanter rod to handle, though the eight-ounce rod will do 

 even here, for one who is an expert fly-fisher, and who does 

 not mind a little extra straining of the brachial muscles." 



When it is considered that the largest black bass weigh 

 from twelve to fourteen pounds, and that where they aver- 

 age three pounds they run up to six or seven pounds or 

 mora, the above paragraphs will be better understood. 



Mr. Van Siclen further says: "The doctor has yet to 

 learn the delight and sweet reward of controlling oneself, 

 and delicately handling and killing with a five-ounce rod 

 a, three-pouud trout. There are a dozen gentlemen in the 

 Willewemoc Club who can do it; and all good fly fisher- 

 men (for trout) know that the lighter the rod and the heavier 

 tin- iish the greater the pleasure (provided you have the 

 skill)." 



I have done this and more. Last winter, in Florida, I "deli- 

 cately handled and killed'' a thirty-pound redfish on an eight- 

 ounce rod and ordinary black bass tackle. I have "deli- 

 c:c.ely handled aud killed trout of three pounds and over 

 (on tue Upper Peninsula of Michigan and on Lake Superior) 

 with a cedar fly-rod witli lancewood tip. weighing not quite 

 five ounces. 1 have experimented and fished with fly-rods 

 and bait-rods weighing from two ounces to two pounds, and 

 with them have killed all maimer of fishes, from the Mary- 

 land gudgeon, weighing less than an ounce, to the striped 

 bass and redfish, weighing forty pounds and over. Barring 

 the Atlantic salnion. i cannot now recall a single genus of 

 inland or Atlantic coast fishes, that will take a bait or rise to 

 a fly. that 1 have not taken with the rod and line, not ex- 

 cepting sharks, rays and sawfish; but 1 will not say they 

 were all "delicately handled and killed." 



From Ibis varied 1 experience, extending over a period of 



thirty-Aye years, 1 assert (and the most skillful fly-fishers and 



ixperienee will affirm the assertion) 



that "the lighter the roil aud the heavier the fish, the greater 



Ihe pleasure," is not a trUe aphorism as regards trout or any 



other fish, lie it never so skillfully handled. There must be 



a, limit to the lightness of the rod or the "heft" of the fish. 



Any expert fly-fisher can occasionally kill, in open water, 



i V-pouud trout on a five-ounce rod — it is no great feat; 



but is it. the best thing to do? What amount of pleasure 



would an angler derive from a rod weighing from four to 



iqu on the Rangeley lakes or on the Nepigon? 



What delight or pleasure would an angler experience with a 



three-pound trout or black buss on a five-ounce fly-rod in 



BhnUQW and rocky, brushy or mossy waters? The fish would 



have it all its own way. The best the angler could do would 



be to hold it hi check* by main strength and the spring of the 



tod. Should a lively fish of this weight make tor the brush 



01 ; i>i"'W could' I he angler prevent it with such a. switch? 



■ .old not make a single turn of his real nor take an inch 



!< '-]i. which would ge< foul in spite of him; 



for giving the butt under these circumstances wouli smash 

 the rod. This is where the. extra "stramins; of the brachial 

 mus.ks" comes in, to say nothing of the "delight and sweet 

 reward of controlling oneself." 



Many ushers are deceived as to the weight of their rods. 1 

 have known men who bragged of using five, six or seven- 

 ounce rods, which when put on the scales weighed fully 

 eight ounces. 



But there is another function of the fly-rod more impor- 

 tant than "delicately handling and killing" the fish, which 

 Mr. Van Siclen seems to have overlooked: that of casting 

 the fly. None but the shortest casts can be made with 

 extremely light and willowy rods Weighing from four to 

 seven ounces, and from nine and a half to ten and a half 

 feel in length. A long Hue cannot be lifted neatly, nor a 

 smooth, straight cast of any considerable length be made 

 with such rods. 



I do not retract a single word I have written on this sub- 

 ject. A rod weighing eight ounces is certainly light enough 

 for either a fly- rod or bait-rod, for trout or black bSflSj and 

 can be handled and manipulated with the greatest ease aud 

 delicacy by anyone possessing the strength of a youth, 

 I still maintain' that fly-rods weighing from four to seven 

 ounces are toy rods, and not suitable for black bass fishing, 

 or for trout that weigh upward of a pound. They may be 

 very pleasantly used, however, as I have stated, on small 

 streams Where the trout run from a half pound downward, 

 and it is on such waters they are usually found, in the 

 hands of the coxcombs and dikttanti of the' fraternity, who 

 prate of ' 'delicately handling and Mlling" three-pound trout 

 on four and five-ounce rods, as every day occurrences. 



As to my billiard playing, I gave that up several years 

 ago, but f took great delight in it for many years, and 

 always used a fourteen-ounce cue. I will concede, how- 

 ever/ that Mr. Van Siclen's experience and opportunities 

 have given him the advantage of me in this game, for I 

 must "confess that I am totally iguorant of the ' 'Bowery 

 style." J. A. Henshall. 



Cynthiana, Ky. 



A WORKING CLUB. 



Chagrin Fails, O., June 5. 1882. 



EVERY observing person who has made any study of the 

 subject has observed the crudeness or inadequacy of the 

 game and fish laws of each and every State in the Union. 

 Some are much better than others, but all are defective. 

 The meagerness of appropriations for the purpose of stock- 

 ing our waters with desirable fishes is remarkable consider- 

 ing the great importance of this matter to the people. 



If an acre of water will produce as much food as an acre 

 of land, as is stated on good authority, and when it is 

 known that our inland waters are producing almost nothing 

 at all, what reason is there in a great State like Ohio making 

 an appropriation of a few thousand dollars when economy ' 

 would indicate a generous outlay which, in a short time, 

 would be repaid a hundred fold to the people who paid it? 

 But. the remedy is what we are after, and that can be found 

 only in concert of action. What we need is a fish and game 

 club in eveiy town and village in the country. These are 

 not expensive, and all that is needed is for two or three 

 interested individuals to get their sporting friends together, 

 organize as simply as possible, and go to work. A club to 

 be effective should not have too many members. A dozen 

 active ones are worth much more than those with a hundred 

 members who are sleepy heads. Meetings need not be more 

 frequent than quarterly, except when important business is 

 on hand. 



Some may ask what can we accomplish with a club. I 

 will tell you what we have done with a little club of ten or a 

 dozen members. 



We have created an interest in fishculture. and stirred up 

 the farmers in this vicinity until there is not a township 

 within fifteen miles from this place which has not a carp 

 pond stocked, some of them having three or four ; we have 

 introduced small-mouth black bass in half a dozen new 

 waters; we have erected a pond for propagating carp, and 

 have it stocked with fish which will probably spawn this 

 year, from which we will, as soon as possible, distribute 

 carp free to all who will take care of them; we have con- 

 structed another pond of over half an acre for propagating 

 small-mouth black bass, and we have reduced pot-fishing 

 and pst-hunting to a minimum. There is much more which 

 we have, done, but I have already said so much that I fear I 

 shall be marked down as an egotist. 



Through clubs, we can correspond with each other and 

 agree upon wholesome legislation, and bring to bear a pres- 

 sure on our legislatures which they will not resist. Pot 

 hunters and fishers are afraid of clubs, and since the organ- 

 ization of ours we have been able to cut down the depreda- 

 tions of these outlaws, which w T e could never have done as 

 individuals; a few arrests made through the club struck 

 terror to them, until they tremble at anything that so much 

 as smells of club. Again, the fish commissioners, State and 

 National, are much more likely to furnish fish for stocking 

 where there is a club, naturally' expecting that the fishwitl 

 be better looked after where such an institution exists. 



Now, brother sportsmen, do not wait, but a few of you in 

 each city and village meet and organize a club and keep it 

 up, and'it will not be long before you begin to see the bene- 

 ficial effects resulting therefrom. With clubs in each tow* 

 or village we could have State conventions and accomplish a 

 vast amount of good. J, J. Stranahan, 



Secretary Chagrin Falls Fish and Game Club. 



Oregon Hpll (Pa.) Tkoutlxg. — Wellsboro', Pa. — At the 

 risk of seeming prolix I add a word this morning concerning 

 Oregon Hill. Matoon called at my den an hour ago and 

 gave me a few points, to wit . The fly-fishing is better in 

 Tjiltle Pine Creek than it has been for years back. Cause, 

 thought to be the driving of ihe trout from Big Pine by the 

 black bass The old mill pond, three miles from th. : 

 is well stocked with fine trout; but the independent hood- 

 lum is getting away with them rapidly. The pond, mill, 

 !:h ten acres of land and water, can be teased for a 

 few dollars— about enough to cover raxes. Then the waters. 

 can" lie posted and preserved imder tin- lease. (Have half a 

 notion to lease the place myself ) Fine strings of trouthave 

 light hi most Of the streams mentioned in my last, 

 but just now it is very cold for the season — backward and 

 wet— and better fishing may lie confidently looked for next 

 week. There is five and one-half miles ot good bl 

 ing on Trout Bun, and one of its tributaries, Sherman Fork, 

 affords two miles, with a fine fall of ten feet, and good fly- 

 fishing in the basin below. Pn 3t week in June 

 will give the best fishing, but a man ought to take only what 

 for present use. anil 1 con take, them any time dur- 

 ing the open season Yours fraternally. .-! 



SALMON FISHING IN THE JACQUES 

 CARTIER. 



RISINC4 far to the north amid the Laurentian Ranges the 

 River Jacques Cartier, on its way to join the St. 

 Lawrence, presents the most varied of grand and picturesque 

 scenery: at times madly rushing through rocky gorges, whose 

 mountainous banks almost hide the" stream from the sun's 

 rays, at times wildly hurling its waters over precipitous falls 

 amid a never "ceasing sound of its distant thuuder, again 

 peacefullv rippling over its pebbly bed, again forming deep 

 pools and placid miniature lakes, this river ever offers to the 

 tourist and sportsman attraction possessed by few others. 

 To the latter, beside the enchanting character of the stream, 

 the lordly salmon and speckled trout enrich its waters, 

 which are yearly fished in by the lessees of the river, citizens 

 generally from Quebec or "Montreal, being within twenty 

 miles of the former place. 



Not long ago the writer formed one of a party to visit this 

 wayward stream, and put up at the cottage of a Mr. Dery, a 

 farmer of the locality, and whose dwelling is delightfully 

 situated on the west bank close to the rustic looking bridge, 

 which crosses in a peculiarly formed freak of nature and 

 just above a beautifully wild fall and cataract. Looking 

 down over one side of the bridge the visitor perceives a deep 

 hole of the appearance of a well, in which can be distinctly 

 seen hundreds of salmon ; but they are safe from the snares 

 of the sportsman ; no fly, however gaudy, has been known 

 to tempt these fish from'this watery eave'rn, whose base can 

 not be seen on account of its depth and the turbulence of its 

 waters, in which the salmon ascend and descend, gyrate and 

 lazily rest themselves. The formation has evidently been 

 caused by the countless years of the eddies in the 'place. 

 One never tires watching the movements of theses fishes, 

 some of which arc perfect monsters. 



Below the bridge are the wild romantic falls up which the 

 salmon rush to reach the spawning grounds and at the foot of 

 which is considered the best take in the river, but it is no 

 easy task to land a large salmon in that madrapid, and many 

 a rod and line have come to grief and many a fisherman 

 drenched and run the risk of losing his life in the attempt to 

 follow his prey down the stream, and to do so he must swim 

 like an otter and be nimble of foot in leaping from stone to 

 stone and keep his ground on the treacherous river bed. 

 Such an accident occurred to one of our party, and it certainly 

 seemed to be a most hazardous undertaking, but he was richly 

 rewarded in the capture of nigh a twenty pounder. For my 

 part I was not so rash in encountering such tasks but fol- 

 lowed the stream from above the rapids as far as the Red 

 Bridge, about a mile, where is situated the pretty little village 

 of Ste. Jeanne de Neuville, which, since the building of the 

 North Shore has somewhat lost its former Arcadian character, 

 for hotels,- stores and neat villas have taken place of farm 

 houses and simple shops. But the river cannot be altered 

 and it still rushes on or quietly flows as long ago, through its 

 borders of unspeakable loveliness and wildness. There are- 

 stretches here and there, which placidly widen into lakes 

 and on which are placed boats to paddle about iu or whip 

 the surface for speckled trout, and this I found more conge- 

 nial than the daring of my companion, for I was better able 

 to study the varied" beauties of the localities and the quiet and 

 peaceful touches of nature here and there presented by the 

 wooded banks and forest glades. 



We spent three days at this village fishing tip and down 

 the stream with wonderful succcss,"securing'a good basket of 

 trout and salmon. The village hotel was neat and had a 

 good table at the most extraordinary moderate charges. The 

 village of St. Raymond, on the river St. Anne, which is 

 a famous trout stream and of wonderful beauty, can now be 

 reached by railway train, and opens up to the sportsman 

 many advantages to try his skill with rod or gun. In fact 

 all this country is full of lakes and rivers teeming with trout, 

 bass and lunge, while swamps and woods are teeming with 

 snipe, woodcock, partridge and other birds, while the tourist 

 is offered views of every description of landscape, wood and 

 water. 



From Ste. Jeanne de Neuville, the North Shore Railroad 

 rims the traveler into Quebec within an hour, as the track is 

 for nearly the whole, way a down grade. It is no wonder 

 that beautiful vicinity is gradually being occupied by sum- 

 mer visitors, who can find excellent accommodations among 

 the farm houses and so much to pass pleasantly the hot vaca- 

 tion days. O. 



Bass Near Harper's Ferrt.— A correspondent wants 

 ' • to And a boarding house, where I can take my wife, on 



food fishing grounds for bass (fly-fishing), say between 

 [arpcr's Ferry and Sir John's Run."' 



Bauked Trout. — New York, June 19. — "An Old Guide," 

 of Fish's Eddy, N. Y., in your issue of the 15th inst,, in an 

 article headed "Planked Trout," reminds me of a toothsome 

 feast a party of us enjoyed years ago in the Adirondacks, 

 upon large" brook trout prepared for the coals by Gen. 

 Richard IT. Sherman. Each fish was split open and fastened 

 with wooden skewers to a large piece of fresh birch bark so 

 braced by cleats that it could not be warped much by the 

 heat. Into gashes slashed in the thickest part of the "flesh 

 were iuserted thin slices of pork, and the bark set up on 

 edge lief ore a bed of hard wood coals. There may be a bet- 

 ter method of cooking a large brook trout, but the subscriber 

 has not wasted any time since then iu experiments, that 

 style being good enough for Yours truly, H. H. Thompsox. 



Large Adirondack Trout. — Canton, N. Y.. June 17.— 

 Mr. Mills, keeper of the Reservoir Dam, at Cranberry Lake, 

 one morning this week, caught ■ wilh a worm, below ihe dam, 

 a speckled trout that measured twenty-two inches in length, 

 fifteen inches in greatest girth, and weighed live audihree- 

 quarter pounds. A day or two before he caught one weigh- 

 ing four and three-quarter pounds. Such fish are rare, though 

 the Oswegatchie River produces them larger than any other 

 water east ot' the Rockies, except. Maine.! believe, Reiley 

 Bishop keeps the Cranberry Lake House this season. While 

 this is not a "high-toned ' resort. Mr. Bi-hop knows how to 

 make, people comfortable, and Mrs. B. knows just exactly 

 how a trout or venison steak (in season) should 'come upon 

 the table.— J. H. R. 



"Down by tue Daai." — Bosrou, Mass. , June 17.— Edifci 

 Fbratand Stream: I am surprised that you should have. 

 been imposed upon by your contributor, "Major Verity, * 



The poem "Down by the Dam." which he sent to you, bad 

 already been published in the June Gentu/ry. ipea 



strange to me that you should have been so duped, and 1 

 have lit if. regard for the honor of your veracious e a 

 dent. — Hubite, | Our correspondent's criticism would be al | 



