JrjLY 20, 1989.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



491 



§en and ^iver fishing. 



<§& 



Out o£ the legends connecting fishes with heathen divinities, there 

 have heen evolved and handed down to us, revised and improved, the 

 signs of the zodiac, indicated in almanacs by the figure of a man, 

 which signs are si ill reverently consulted by both sailor and angler: 

 and the latter ie aever confident or hopeful of great success unless 

 the sign he above the Loins. Whether or no this he a superstition be- 

 queathed by the ancients I have not bestowed muoh time in examin- 

 ing, but plead guilty CO the weakness of individual faith, and feel 

 confident of good spnrt only when the sign is in the head, stomach or 

 bowels, but never when it is in the legs or feet.— Gento C. Scott. 



FISH IN SEASON IN JULY. 



FRESH WATER. 



Lake trout. Cristii 



cusk. 

 Siscowet. Cnslivom 

 Brook trout Saiveli 

 Graylinp, 1 vumail\ 



R'unr, 

 CI irk' 

 Dolly 



Pike IN. V, pickerel). Esox Indus. 

 Pickerel. Esox reticulatus. 

 Pike-perch (Wall-eyed pike) Sti- 

 temtemum. 



Yellow perch. Perec thi.niatilis. 

 Striped bass (Rocklishl, Boccus 



In 



atu 



Varden 



White bass, Boccus chrysops. 

 Rock bass. Ambloplites, two spe- 

 cies. 



War-mouth, Chwnobryttus gulo- 



Salmon. Salmp salar. 



Land-locked salmon, var. sebago. 

 Quinnat salmon, Oncorhifluwus 



chovycha. 



Black bass, Mirruplvnis, Sspeeies. . Bachelor, Pomorys annularis. 

 Shad. Alosa sapidinsima. Chub, Semotilux bullaris. 



Maskinonge, Esox nobilior. 



SALT WATEIl. 



"Sea trout," Cynoscyon carolinen- 



Sea bass, Ccntroprisle.-- atrarius. 

 Striped bass, Boccus lineatuis. 

 White parch, Moroaeamericana. 

 Scup or porgie, Stenotomus ar- 



gyrops. 

 Tautog orblackflsh, Tautogaoni- 



Bluehsh or .taylor, Pomatomm 

 saltatrix. 



Weakfish or squetague, Cynos- 

 cyon reaalis. 



Sheepshead, Archosargns proba- 



tocephulus. 

 Kitrgfish or Barb, Menticirrus ne- 



bulosus. 

 Spanish mackerel, Cybium macu- 



latum. 

 Drum, Pogonias chromis. 

 Lafayette, Liostomus obliqttus. 

 Red hass. etc.. Scionnoosocellatus. 



Jt^"See table Open Seasons, page 488. 



BASS FISHING ON THE POTOMAC. 



THE heavy rains of the past week having rendered the 

 water of the upper Potomac unfit for fishing, 1 have 

 thought a line from here might be of some interest to your 

 readers, and while others are busily engaged in overhauling 

 tackle, I have concluded to send you a brief report of the 

 doings of the "Woo.lrnont Club." The bass have been tak- 

 ing the fly most vigorously and a large number of fine fish 

 have been captured. Last week the President of the United 

 States indulged himself in throwing a fly here and hauled in 

 sixteen large bass. Senator Wade Hampton who fishes alto- 

 gether with the fly. captured one hundred and four — several of 

 them reaching fonr and five pounds. Senator Vest, who 

 used minnows, made a big score, while Senators Jones and 

 Don Cameron contented themselves in the shade of a large, 

 elm opposite the club house and fished for perch with red 

 worms. The President was loud in his praise of the fine fish- 

 ing, beautiful mountain scenery and the location and ap- 

 pointments of the Woodmont Club House. The whole party 

 expressed themselves as highly delighted with their visit and 

 promised soon to return. 



This week the fishing has been fine, and some splendid 

 fish have been taken with the fly. One member of the club 

 brought in twenty-eigk 1 , some weighing as high as three and 

 a half pi unds. Another member brought in four fish weigh- 

 ing fifteen pounds six ounces. Of the thirteen anglers pres- 

 ent all did well. 



Opposite the. club-hou.se, on the West Virginia side of the 

 river, we have fine woodcock grounds, and the birds are 

 plentiful; so that when one tires of the rod and line, he has 

 but to cross the river and fill his "bag" with that most de- 

 lightful and delicious of all game birds. While I write the 

 sweet notes of the Bob White are heard in all directions, and 

 prospects for fall shooting are good. The large wooded 

 estate, some 3,000 acres, of this club, is well stocked with 

 deer, turkeys and pheasants, and right royal sport, in sea- 

 son, is anticipated. Ivanhoe. 



"Woodmont," Washington Co., Md., July 8. 



WEST VIRGINIA TROUT STREAMS. 



JS there a sportsman living that at some time or other has 

 not pictured to himself, or had painted for him by some 

 other nrti-t sportsman, "the happy hunting ground," the 

 place where game abounded so plentifully, that the very 

 thought of it made his heart beat quick? Is there an angler 

 who has not been told of some favored stream where the 

 trout "swarmed," and where one would tire of the sport of 

 catching them? And how many have ever had those 

 visions realized? I confess that I "have been the victim of 

 both delusions more than once. I am just now aching with 

 the pangs of disappointment at not finding the trout stream 

 lately visited by me, "alive with, 'em," as I was told I would 

 do. 



My companion and myself started from here the latter 

 part of Juno for Deer Creek, one of the headwaters of the 

 Greenbrier River in Pocohoutas county, West Virginia, 

 We rode two days over mountains, thirty-five miles per day, 

 and reached the head of the stream, which flows from the 

 top of Alleghany Mountain, at sunset of the second day. 

 Here we procured a guide, who still further raised our ex- 

 pectations by his narratives of the glories of that stream. 



Early next morning we started down the stream, armed 

 with flies, worms, and every sort of bait, We waded and 

 cast to right and left, and in every imaginable place that a 

 fish could possibly have been lying, but for three hours not a 

 rise, not a bite, nor did I sec a fish. As we ncared the 

 mouth of the creek, about noon, the sky became overcast, 

 and for awhile the little fish came up pretty lively, and we 

 took about seventy-live or eighty fingerlings before sundown. 

 But what was that to men who had ridden seventy miles to 

 ' trout? We found our wagon uear the mouth of the 

 stream waiting for us, rode to^ a neighboring house, and 

 after a good night's rest returned by another route home. 



it is impossible to account for these things. I know that 

 many of my friends, who visited this place as late as last 

 summer, told the truth about the fish they caught. My 

 friend and myself areas good fishermen as any "of them, 

 but the fish were not there this time. We came to the con- 

 clusion that one or the other of us had been doing something 

 mean, but of course couldn't find out which one it was. 



I see by "Chasseur's" lettei of June 13, from the Green- 

 brier White Sulphur Springs, that he has got it into his head 

 that the trout are vastly abundant in the waters of the Green- 

 brier and throughout West Virginia. Well, I have no doubt 



that there are "more trout in those streams than in any 

 waters this side of the Rocky Mountains," but I am satisfied 

 that the drought of last summer has greatly diminished their 

 numbers, and it will require several prosperous years to re- 

 store them to their old-time condition. We heard of many 

 other streams in the section visited by us, that were said to 

 be "full of 'em," but we had the romance of Deer Creek too 

 recent in our recollection to be diverted from our homeward 

 course. At some more convenient, season we may explore 

 some of them, but not just now. Jack. 



Staunton, Va., July in. 



I notice the article by ' 'Chasseur" in issue of July 6, on 

 trout fishing in West Viiginia, and while I do not doubt his 

 ability to do as he says, viz., give information as to how to 

 reach trout streams where the pot-fisherman is not, my ex- 

 perience in the aforesaid State leads me to think it will be 

 a fearfully rough route, and one that few will care to travel. 

 In fact, nowhere else in my experience have I found illegal 

 fishing reduced to so fine a point as on the trout streams of 

 West Virginia. But, you see, I probably went to the wrong 

 place. 



Last season while easting in the South Branch arch, above 

 Franklin, a native came over to take a look at me, and said, 

 "If you want trout why don't you go to Greenbrier?" 

 "Many there?" I asked. 'T reckon," said he; "I was up 

 there 'last week and took seven hundred trout." "Take 

 them with the fly?" "Not much," said the native. "How 

 then?" "Net, of course;" and he walked away, apparently 

 disgusted that anyone should think him foolish enough to 

 fish for trout with a fly. 



On one trip 1 had for company the prosecuting attorney of 

 the county, and the same officer of another county. As we 

 were on our way up stream they told me of a famous pool 

 where we sure to fill our creels. Just before we. reached it 

 I stopped to try a cast in an inviting pool, and when I came 

 up, there sat the two officers of the law on the bank, with 

 lines reeled up, and from the associated expression of their 

 countenances I gathered that something waswrong. In fact I 

 heard words uttered that left no doubt on the subject. And 

 now, what do you suppose the trouble was? Here we were, 

 eighty miles from the B. & O. Ry. on one side, and forty 

 miles' from the C. & O. Ry. on the other. There ought not 

 to have been any pot-fishermen there. But there was, just 

 the same, and the cause of the disturbance of mind of the 

 two disciples of Blackstone was that when they came up 

 three natives were engaged in the unlawful occupation of 

 whipping the pool. 



Each took a large bush, then went into the pool and 

 tlirashed around, up and down until they judged the trout 

 were tired out, then in the shallow water "one man felt under 

 the stones and threw out what trout he could find, and in 

 the deep water the other two got the balance with the 

 snare. Was this lawful? Not much. Did those two prose- 

 cutors do anything? Yes, they did. They swore. 



And then they went on to the next pool only to find the 

 same lot of natives at work there. Some one "may ask the 

 question why they took the trouble to whip and snare when 

 they could net the reason was that there were too many 

 rocks in the pool to use the net. 



Now my idea in writing this epistle is this. I had a good 

 time, intend to go again. (In fact it was not my firit visit 

 to the State.) "But those pot-fishermen were everywhere, 

 ard if "Chasseur" can tell us of a country this side of the 

 Rockies where they don't exist, he will have a place in my 

 remembrance forever. South Branch. 



Bedford, O., June 10, 1882. 



THE RICHARDSON LAKES REGION. 



SINCE my last letter many fishermen have packed their 

 , kit, and left for their several homes, not on account of 

 poor fishing, but because they could not spare any more time 

 to indulge m their favorite sport. The fishing still continues 

 good, and the trout are just beginning to riseto a fly, several 

 fine ones, weighing from two to five pounds, having been 

 taken at the Middle and Upper Dams. A number of land- 

 locked salmon were also taken at the Upper Dam within the 

 past week. These fish will gradually work their way all 

 through these waters, as they have already been captured at 

 the Middle Dam, and on Rapid River, between Welokenne- 

 bacook and Umbagog Lakes. By the way, speaking of 

 Rapid River, there will be some of the best fishing on that 

 stream during the next two w T eeks that we have had this 

 season, as the logs have all passed through the pond in the 

 river, and will be in Umbagog Lake by to-morrow night. Let 

 those who want good fly fishing through July put in an ap- 

 pearance at the Middle Dam at once. 



The fishing in Mooseluernaguntic Lake has been very good 

 this spring, and they are still getting fair fishing in the 

 vicinity of Haines's Landing. At this place, Mr. C. T. Rich- 

 ardson, the popular caterer to hungry fishermen, and for- 

 merly superintendent of the Oquossoc Angling Association, 

 haa a nice hotel, well fitted and furnished, and visitors to 

 this region cannot do better than bide a while with him. 

 His house is well furnished and he sets an excellent table. 

 Excursion tickets from Boston to Richardson's and return, 

 may be procured rrom the Boston & Maine. Railroad via 

 Portland, Bryant's Pond, Andover, and Upper Dam, for 

 $14.00, this being the easiest and most pleasant route. 

 Travel to Parmachenee Lake, has been light thus far, but 

 parties are now beginning to head in that direction. One 

 party went up last Friday, another Saturday, and a third' 

 comes to-morrow, all going over the Magalloway River route. 

 This river is now free from logs its entire distance, and there 

 will probably be a good deal of travel to Parmachenee that 

 way this summer. John Danforth, the proprietor of Camp 

 Caribou; came down on the steamer last week, and returns 

 with the party above spoken of Monday. 



There are three ways of re tchlng Parmachenee Lake via the 

 Magalloway River " The first and most direct from Boston 

 is via Portland, Bethel, Lake Umbagog and Magalloway 

 River. The second is via Portland. North Stratford, Cole- 

 hrook. Dixville Notch, Errol and Magalloway River. The 

 third is via Portland, Gorham or Berlin Falls, Errol and 

 Magalloway River. Round trip tickets to go and return are 

 sold over the first two routes as far as Wentworth's Location 

 by the Boston and .Maine and Grand Trunk Railways at 

 about $14.00. By the third route, one has to pay local lares 

 after leaving ihe Grand Trunk Railway. 1 understand that 

 a line of excursion tickets will be put on over this latter 

 route another year. 



I learn that" the Richardson-Rangeley Lakes Transporta- 

 tion Company have just purchased a beautiful farm contain- 

 ing sixty-five acres of land, situated in Cambridge, N. H., 

 at the foot of Umbagog Lake, and propose to erect before 

 another year a hotel for the accommodation of sportsmen 



and tourists. The farm borders on the shore of the lake 

 for some distance, and the main road from Bethel to dix- 

 ville Notch and Colebrook passes diieetlv through it. It is 

 the prettiest and most sightly niece of land nrouud Lake 

 Umbagog, and will make a beautiful summer resojt. 



Another year the steamers on Umbaeog Lake wifl probably 

 land here, instead of running (wo miles nn the Cambridge 

 River to Upton, as I hey are now doing. There is <ome tali 

 of building a telegraph line from Bethel to Lake Umbagog; 

 and if the company with a long name build the hotel. 1 have 

 no doubt that this'will be done before another yeaC Lake 

 Umbagog is the most beautiful lake in the Rangclcy chain, 

 and a good hotel at the foot of it is very much needed. 

 Although there are plenty of pickerel in the lake. th a trout 

 have not been all driven out, and each vear trout weigh'ng 

 from five to eight pounds are taken at the head of the lake 

 near the entrance to Sunday Cove. Bald Eagle. 



Lake Umbagog, Maine, July 2. 



Franklin County. Maine. — S. J. Chadbourae, Esci., 

 Dep Secretary of State, Augusta, Me., has been off to frank- 

 lin county on an angling excursion. He savs, : n the Kenne- 

 bec Journal, of Weld, the village where he stopped : Wei 1 

 village is pleasantly situated in a broad valley, nrgx'a l^r<re. 

 clear" sheet of water, five miles long, called Webb Pond. 

 The ride from Wilton to Weld was exhilarating; the scenery 

 wild and grand; lofty mountains tower high,. r>?ak on rjjeak, 

 and deep valleys stretch away between, nlom which are 

 scores of brooks of the sweetest water, all t^mio" - with 

 speck'.ed trout After fpa we repaired to one of these brocks, 

 and were rewarded with a handsome strfne o c trout. The 

 next dav we visited the pond of Mr. David Matter^wn in 

 the north part of Weld, who has commenced Ihe Cultivation 

 of trout. At the foot of one of the mountains n, v 0ve referred, 

 to, Mr. Masterman has built a dam across a limpid stream 

 and made a pond of about four acres, into whHi h n ha*, put 

 nearly 1,000 trout, most of which will wei-h a nound nnieeo. 

 We bad the pleasure of dropping them a line, in re ronne to 

 which we brought away a strinsr that was the envy of all 

 who saw it. Mr. Masterman intends to makp other ponds, 

 build a hatching-house, Increase bis stock, and for n, consid- 

 eration allow sportsmen the privilege of fishing there, rnd 

 we have no doubt it will prove a paying investment to him 

 and a source of pleasure and profit, to thos" who love to 

 angle. If any wish good trout-fbhing. M them vint Mr. 

 Masterman, and they will be sure of a kind recfipt'on and 

 some good fishing. Franklin county is the sno-timan's 

 paradise. Not only are the brooks and ponds filled with 

 trout and pickerel, the gamiest that ever swam, but; the 

 forests that crown her everlasting hills contain came of rn-srrv 

 kinds, including the black bear. Severn! w™re sen in Weld 

 last spring, in the clearings that go up high on the sHps of 

 the mountains. One was slain last April in pl" ; n n-nht of 

 Mr. Masterman's house, and on the farm wh-ve MY. Ru-s-11 

 was born. We had the pleasure of meeting the- hnnt-r who 

 killed the bear, listened to his modest account of the killing, 

 and brought awav a tusk of Bruin as a memento. The 

 name of our hero is Hiram Wriaht. a hardy voung fellow of 

 about twenty-five years, who, previous to this adventure. 

 enjoyed the reputation of being a dead-shot and a successful 

 fox-hunter. 



Brook Trout. — In a conversation with a reporter of the 

 New York Pout, Mr. E. G. Blackford is reported na sayjnff: 

 "It is still a mooted question whether the flesh of Hie wild 

 trout, bred in his native streams, or that of the cultivated 

 trout, bred or stall-fed in the preserves, is the better. Fnch 

 side has its supporters, but there is no doubt thflt trout raised 

 in ponds by artificial propagation are as good if not belter 

 than the wild trout. A great many things go to determine 

 the character of the flesh of both wild and cultivated trout— 

 the bottom, the nature and temperature of the water the 

 quality of the food supplied, and various other considerations. 

 Probably the finest trout both for size and cmrliry of meat, 

 are found in the Rangeley and Moosehead lakes' in Maine. 

 Trout have been taken from these lakes wpiglvng more than 

 ten pounds. I have one in my museum which weighed ten 

 pounds, and the Smithsonian Institute has one which weighed 

 eleven and three-quirter pounds. It is a verv common thing 

 to hook a trout weighing three or four pounds. Then o.rain 

 these fish are prized not so much because of their size, bnt 

 because they are the most symmetrical in shape. The flesh 

 is a deep pink color and the skin is beautifully rail ked with 

 large pink spots. The brook trout is found throughout 

 Canada, and as far north as the northern po : nt of Newfound- 

 land. The line marking the boundaries within whic] 

 have been found runs along the coast to about th 

 part of New Jersey, and then strikes out to the Alleghany 

 range of mountains. It follows close along the eastern edge 

 of this range to the northwest portion of Georgia, which is 

 the furthest point south at which they have, been found, and 

 then runs close along the western edge of the mountain ch in 

 to the great lakes. The brook trout has often been caught 

 in salt water near the mouths of rivers or bays. One, which 

 had probably escaped from some preserve along the coast. 

 was caught in Gravesend Bay not long ago. They seem to 

 relish the salt water, and though the color of their fkin and 

 flesh is darker, they are considered by epicures much better 

 for food than those caught in fresh water." 



Extrordlnarv Catch of Fish. — On Friday and Satur- 

 day, July 14 and 15, Messrs. A. Eddy, Chas. W Wingeit, 

 F. C. Chamberlain and Abel Crook,' of the Fountain Gun 

 Club, of Brooklyn, caught in Baraegat Bay 1,325 weakfish, 

 of which 603 were captured the first day and 723 on the 

 second day. They used the ordinary rod and reel and a 

 variety of bait — shrimp proving the most successful. Their 

 yacht" the Harriet, of Forked River, Captain Horatio Wil- 

 liert, Male John W. Bunnel. thus scores the largest record. 

 The record kept by Capt. Joe Parker, of Foiked River, 

 shows that the largest number previously caught iu one day 

 was 528, by a party of four with the same boat. In July, 

 1881, the Scalper, of Forked River, received a record of 

 1.411 in seven days' fishing, distributed as follows; July 'H, 

 202 weakfish; 25th, 100; 26th, 165; 27th, 140; 28th, 177; 

 29th, 221; 31st, 397. The Brooklyn party were provided with 

 small swivel squids, which proved very attractive. nn<3 to 

 render assurance doubly sure Ihey resorted tc chumming 

 with crabs and other natural fish food. The fish ran from 

 three-quarters of a pound to two pounds in weight. 



New- Brunswick,— Milltown, St. Stephen, N B.. July 10. 

 —Salmon are very plentiful in our ri rer, more so than for 

 many years. The fly fisherman I think would h 

 sport when so many are taken in the nats. — G. A. Bj.vitD - 



MAN. 



