JtOTB 5, 1884.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



867 



Dink though 1 , ' 'if Merrill's predilections about the bears were 

 likely to come to pass, we bad better hunt another camp, us 

 tln-y' were a little too adjacent for him, but he could bear it 

 if the rest could." 



Old Kuots said if trouble was '-bruin" it behooved Mm to 

 meet it with spirit, and by certain sounds (with which we 

 were somewhat familiar) coming fiom his tent a minute or 

 two later,, we knew he and the Deacon were "meeting it," 

 The talk was mostly "bear," till old Dan growled some- 

 thing about this bear joke being worn about threadbare, 

 which checked the unexampled display of smartness and 

 turned our attention to getting things in shape for a full 

 night's needed sleep and rest. 



If there is a place, to use Ben's favorite expression, "on 

 the face o' this livin' earth" where one can enjoy sweet and 

 refreshing sleep, it is in these wilds of Northern Michigan 

 after a bard daj 'a work getting into and fixiug up a camp. 

 Happily the mosquitoes and "no see 'ems," like Merrill's 

 bears, were seconet night varmints and our first night in the 

 brush was on* 3 of solid comfort. We wire under shelter none 

 too soon, as rain began to fall some time during the night, and 

 contiuui d n> arly all of next day, which had a rather de- 

 pressing effect on the camp; but we pu' in the foienoon in 

 stretching a fly for Frank to cook under, putting the two 

 stoves i» place, overbau'ing tackle, smoking, cracking dismal 

 jokes, wishing it would stop raining and blessing Merrill for 

 not bringing the lumber for the table. 



A rainy day in camp; drizzle and drip. The patter of 

 rain on a well-pitched tent is always musical; sweeter ami 

 more soothing perhaps after a wi ek's pleasant angling, but 

 when it comes on a first day in camp, before you have wet a 

 line, when all is eagerness and expectaucy and every fiber in 

 you is crying out to "go out and fish," the melody lo«es a 

 trifle in sweetness, and the accompaniments jar and grumble 

 and seem all out *>f nine. 



Recoil ctions of that afternoon are. rather dim, but 1 re- 

 call the fact that the fever so possessed some of us that we 

 went a-fisbiusr— and 1 b> lieve lucre were only two of the 

 party so badly affected — old Dan and the writer. We made 

 ourselves believe we were ravenously "fish hungry," and this 

 wjs excuse enough for going out in the rain to procure this 

 on3 necessity to the peace and well-being of the camp— fish 

 for supper. 



We had little time to hunt up the good feeding grounds or 

 study the water, as the pattering rain so disturbed the sur- 

 face of the lake that we could not get a good view of the 

 bottom and surroundings along: shore, nor tell where the 

 water looked "fishy," but before time for supper we had 

 taken enough pickerel to keep the camp "sortin' bones" for 

 a we< k. 



No bass, however, were, taken, although the most tempt- 

 ing of speckled frog* and a trolline spuon were held out as 

 special inducements to provoke a difficulty. 



Back again in camp we found n< ighbor Merrill had not 

 come with the lumber, and Ben accounted for it by saying, 

 "Guess he's been hiein' round in the woods to-day notifyin' 

 them bears that they'd better be a little peart or they'd make 

 him out a liar, fur you know tins is the night they was to 

 git in their work on u?." 



But neither Merrill nor the bears disturbed the quiet of 

 our slumbers that night, although I am not quite sure his 

 confident air about the promised visit had nothing to do with 

 the excuses made for overhauling the firearms belonging to 

 the party, for I confess to slipping a cartridge in a ,44-caliber 

 Wesson Y. tie and placing it in easy reach, and Dick and Ben 

 under the thin subterfuge of getting a shot at a duck a half 

 mile down the beach "loaded their shotguns he >vily with 

 buck, in-had of duck shot, as it transpired next morning 

 when one challenged the other to a trial of skill at a mark. 

 [to be continued.] 



TROUT AND WATER SNAKES. 



V\7E used to think that the water *nakes could not catch 



i ' a trout, but knew that they could take bullheads. We 

 have seen them often as they worked and strained to get the 

 horns down their throats, and this even when these projected 

 nearly an inch on each side of their jaws. And they always 

 succeeded. But as for catching a trout, this we considered 

 was beyond them. May be we thought they would not dare 

 to pursue such a kingly fish. But they will, and will cap- 

 ture tnem, too. 



It is several years since we had an opportunity of witness- 

 ing how this was done. We will give it as we saw it, though 

 since that time we have seen more thf n one trout disappear- 

 ing between a snake's jaws, and found many a scarred one 

 where, no doubt, tbey hud escaped the almost fatal "strike" 

 of the wa'ei snake. But the period in question was one 

 pleasant morning in June, We were on a walk, and cross- 

 ing a stone bridge, that extends north and south over a spring 

 stream. A stn am, we might remark, too, that was once 

 quite celebrated for its trout fishing. Just above the bridge 

 was a small pond, about filty feet long and twenty wide, 

 with a depth of six feet in the deeped part near the bridge, 

 while it shallow ed away lo eighteen inches at its upper end. 

 ; The pond was in th" very position for observing what took 

 place in its depths. This bridge was fifteen feet above it, 

 and tne nine o'clock sun lighti d up its waters, so that when 

 the wind did n< t blow, every thirg was almost as transparent 

 beneath the surface as in the air above. This morning it 

 was especially clear, and one standing on the bridge could 

 see every old tomato ean, fragment of china, iron hoop, 

 and white pebble that lay scattered alo'ig the bottom. For 

 the pond was quite near the owner's residence, and not far 

 from a visage. 



In this place, were some fifteen or twenty trout, and they 

 frequented this deep hole near the bridge. It was only 

 necessary for one standing on the bridge to look over the 

 low stone parapet that guarded it, and he would see the fish 

 hurryiug and scurrying, either to the upper end of the pond 

 or under an old log that lay close to the abutments of the 

 bridge. Among those fond ol looking at the fish was the 

 write]', perhap- sometimes with longina- eyes. But we liked 

 to put our head suddenly over the parapet and see the fish 

 pass out of sight, almost as a shadow, and then return, if no 

 movement was made, after a few minutes. 



This morning, as we have said, the pond was especially 

 still and transparent, and everything almost as clear as in 

 daylight, and as usual when we looked over, away went the 

 trout. Only they were cougregated, we noticed, not in the 

 place where" they generally lay, bin some six or eight feet to 

 the right of it. But what is that swimming or mailing in 

 the mud there? 1« it an eel? No, it has' no fins; then its 

 tail is different, and the body is too slim in proportion to its 

 length. Then that eye and head are not those of an eel; and 

 see, its skin is mottled, which even appears through the 

 mud and sediment in which it eeeais to he burying its body. 



It Is a large water snake. Let us watch ; yes, let us watch. 

 Here come the trout back. How carefully they come, as 

 though they were suspicious of something besides the eyes 

 looking at them over the parapet. Now they are going fight 

 np to that old piece of stick; and there lies the snake close 

 alongside of it. and I declare he has cither changed his color 

 or covered his scales with mud. It must be mud, for there 

 is a little patch, like an oozy bed. near him. But now look 

 out. Here come the fish. Snap! snap! he strikes at them. 

 My t no toad's toneue ever went swifter than that snake's 

 head. He must have caught one. No. he did not. And 

 there he =trikes again at that little fellow. We Cannot stand 

 this. We raise our hands and the fish hurry away. But 

 see the snake. He seems to be burying himself in the mire 

 and sediment again, while we run to the entrance of the 

 bridge and bring a stone as large as we can carry, and to*a 

 it over the place where he hides. When the ripples have 

 subsided the stone is where we meant it shouht go, but 

 whether the snake was under it we never learned. Most 

 likely nit. 



Our next experience with water snakes was nearly half a 

 mile further up this same brook. This time we wer'etryinsr, 

 in July, to get a few fish for a sick girl in the neighborhood. 

 We knew a ' good hole" by a stump where th >re were some 

 low willow bushes to screen the fisherman. Before we got 

 to the place though, we saw through an opening in the banks 

 that the water was quite agitated and at times thy head of a 

 trout or something would appear. They are havingagood time 

 jumping theie, thought we, and we will get some. Hurry, 

 now ! But let us look at this "coachman" though, before we 

 cast. All right! Go carefully, and throw baek-handed. 

 Now, ready? No. stop! What is that? Why see that trout! 

 What in the world does he keep his head above the water 

 for? It must be he i« sick and trying to get under. I de- 

 clare he is coming this way, too. I wish he would keep still. 

 What does make him hob so? And a "ten-incher," too. Oh, 

 I see! An immense water snake has him in his mouth, and 

 he is to tiying to drown bim. He has caught him just above 

 tbe tail. T cannot stand this. I will kill that snake. Give 

 me a stick. That fish would weigh three-quarters of a pound 

 nearly Here! Slap! whack! The trout is gone, and here 

 conies the nasty snake straight for my legs and I cannot 

 pull this foot out. It is caught between the rocks and I will 

 so over directly. Get out you beast. I don't want you to 

 wind around my legs Ah! It is the large rock tuat mj 

 right foot is resting on that you want, is it? You are hurt a 

 little, too, and mean to hide. I am glad. And now I wil 

 have another peg at y< u I can see half your body. Tou 

 are only a foot under water and I will drop this rock on you. 

 That is good, you will catch no more trout. 



This snake was a yard or mo'e in length, and the next 

 time we visited the stream, his body, nearly twice its natural 

 size, was lodged against a stone a few rods below the plac 

 where we killed him. We congratulated ourselves when wt 

 saw it that be did not get a chance to wind around our legs 

 and that the lives of many trout had most likely been saved, 



But since that time, as we have said, we have seen several 

 snakes with trout between their j iws. They succeed best 

 in capturing them in August, when the streams are low, and 

 in small brooks where the trout have liitle chance to escape. 

 They pursue them over and under eveiything and it is hard 

 to tell the injury they do, especially when the water is 

 shallow. ' A. H. G. 



PENNSYLVANIA ANGLING NOTES. 



IT did not surprise me at all to learn while on a late trip to 

 the Lehigh Valley that large trout in some numbers have 

 been taken in waters which it was thouaht had long since 

 been depleted of fish. One stream in particular which to 

 me always looked very "trouty," and which I was always 

 told contained only chub, was fished by an intimate friend 

 on being informed by less expert anglers than himself that 

 large fish kept stripping off their flies and breaking theii 

 leaders, and to his astonishment, trout of good dimensions 

 were basketed. 



Tnere are many large streams in Pennsylvania flowing into 

 the Lehigh which have been given up as troutless by the 

 native anglers simply because the fish do not respond to their 

 bungling efforts to catch them, when there are many favorable 

 days during the season, when an expert fly-fisherman can take 

 a fair number, at had, ei ©ugh i ducated cms, to furnish good 

 sport. We know how long the SauKen Creek at Heller town, 

 Pa., gave sport to a few scientific fly -fishermen, when to 

 even the natives of its banks it was thought the trout had 

 years ago disappeared troui its waters. Because the couutrj 

 oeanpole and horse hair line and worm bait cannot at once 

 yank trout from a stream, it is no reason the waters do not 

 harbor the fish and cannot be taken by the angler who 

 imitates nature and is cautious. Homo. 



Mr. A. M. Spangler, of tbe Anglers' Association of Eastern 

 Pennsylvania, has been telling a Philadelphia Times reporter 

 about the fishing in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. He 

 says: 



Bass can be caught in the Schuylkill all the way to Royer's 

 ford, but at Reading and below that point they are poisoned 

 by the sewage. They can be caught iu the Delaware and its 

 tributaries, from Tn ntou to the headwaters. There are not 

 many bass found in the Lehigh. The Susquehanna, at a 

 number of accessible points, has, within a few years, become 

 noted for the excellence of its bass fi-hing. Boiii the striped 

 and black bass are caught. Beginning at Port Deposit, 

 sniped bass are taken weighing a* high as Ally pounds and 

 black bass range in weight from two to seven pounds. 



The bait u»ed varies according to circumstances, as the 

 black bass will sometimes take a tly readily and then again 

 he won't Crawfish and minnows are olten used and the 

 ugly black worms called helgiamites are good. The best 

 bait are small fish hi ought lroni Baltimore called "mud 

 dabbers." At Port Deposit oue can get boats and men to go 

 with you for very moderate sums. June and July are the 

 best months, but there is no restriction under the laws of 

 Maryland, and you may fish the year round without molest 

 ation. Above Port Deposit there are many good fibbing 

 points, of which Conowingo Bridge, Bald Friar, Peach Bot- 

 tom, White Eddy and Safe Harbor occur to me now. Fun her 

 up are Columbia, Marietta and many other excellent spots 

 ah the way to Hnrrisburg and up the" east and west branches 

 of the Susquehanna, The Juniata is full of black ba-s, and 

 they are good-sized ones, too. Bass are the gamiest tish 

 caught, and when a ten-pound, striped fellow gets hold of 

 your hook it doesn't take you long to find ii out. 



Below Havre de Grace, at the mouth of the Susquehanna, 

 fine sunfish or moccasin are caught with a fly. They are 

 also taken in the Northeast River in the channel at 'some 

 stages of the tide and at Spesutia Island, further do.vu the 

 bay. Perch fishing is especially fine at the mouth of the 



Sassafras River. To get th'-re you take the Philadelphia, 

 Wilmington, and B dlimore Road lo Clayton and go by way 

 of Still Pond to Betterlon. Toe perch there vary preitly in 

 size, the heaviest weie-hins; a poind and a half Perch "can 

 be cautrht alone the D laware on the- bars, but thev are 

 rather small. Early iu the season irooel ^ized ones can be 

 caught up the stream in the shallows. Timber Creek and 

 Newton C"eek, near Gl >ucister, are good perch fishing 

 grounds, if one knows his business. The piers at Chester, 

 Marcus Hook and at the mouth of Christiana Creek are 

 famous places lo catch catfish, rock and parch, Penn^boro, 

 on the other side of the bay, is equally good. Sturgeon and 

 shad roe are the beat biit. Further down the biy, say 

 seventy-five miles, to Sea Breeze, reaehed by the steamer John 

 A. Yi aruer, you can go off in a bo it to Ship John Light and 

 catch your boat full, if the day is right. And close by is 

 Fortescue Beach, famous for fishing and mosquitoes. All 

 the way down the hav, where there are shell beds, you mn 

 find good weakfishing. esp cially at Fishing Creek, eigiit 

 miles north "f Cape May light." Big drurnfish are caught 

 here. Matt Quay, you know, devotes much of his lime to 

 these fellows. But for real sport go to the Breakwater and 

 you can catch blackfish, weakfi-b and shcepsheads in any 

 quantity. 



Outside on tbe Jersey coast are the bluefish, now gradually 

 disappearing, and immense weakfi-h and croakers. It is a 

 curious fact that thirty year-: ago the croakers were to be 

 found in great numbers, hut the blu -fish drove them out and 

 destroyed them. Now the bluefish are going and the 

 croakers are coming back. The best time to catch these 

 fish is fr.nn ihe middle of August until quite late in the 

 season I have caught a barrel of weaktisb a day. All the 

 sounds and inlets from Cape May to Barnegat a*e'alive w:th 

 weakfish, kingfish, and Rheepsliead. Off Townsend's Inlet 

 last season the blue sharks were very troublesome. They 

 would bite off our fish just about as fast as we hooked them. 

 I believe more fidi cau be caught along the Jersey coast than 

 any other waters in the United States. The gO"d fishing 

 p 'ints are Rio Grande, Townsend's Inlet,- Somers Point and 

 Beasley's Poiut. Then if yoa take the Lonsr Branch road to 

 Barnegat there are Lonar B*ach. Short Beach. Birnegat 

 lulet. T m's River and Weirtown, all good resorts fo' fisher- 

 men. But the finest fishing here for seabass and blacknVh is 

 found outside, especially off Long Branch. The fisherman 

 launch their boats through th" surf early in the morning and 

 on a reef a mile or so off they catch enough for use in the 

 notels. 



Trout fishing is very nearly at an end in this State. In 

 the northern counties putient anglers manatre to oiteh a few 

 small ones now and then, but to do very much trout fishing 

 one must go outside of Pennsylvania, 



BLACK BASS IN TENNESSEE. 



Edf'tm- Forest and stream: 



If you will kinaly suggest in your paper, or by private 

 letter to me, how bVk bass can be shipped, and the proper 

 size, etc , I can make arrangements with fishermen on Reel- 

 foot Lake to supply the United States, if necessary to do so. 

 I have lately talked with some leading fishermen, and in an- 

 swer to some of my questions they inform me that they ean 

 -upply them in anv quaniity and > I any size on short nttice. 

 This town is only three hour>' drive to the lake and to tbe 

 rapid Reclfoo' Bayou, and is from one to eight mil^s of 

 the Obion, the Forked Deer and South Foik rivers, all of 

 which are abundant of bass, white perch, channel cat, 

 salm on trout, pihe, etc., etc. I saw even in last February 

 600 pounds of bass and perch in one wagon, selling at six 

 cents a pound. If any of your readers want good summer 

 fishing, let them come to this place, via C. O. & 8. W. R R., 

 and go to the lakes or basins, formed by the earthquakes of 

 1 811, and they will find good fishing" good spring water, 

 fine camp ground, fine, scenery, clever people, and can have 

 a good time. 



I own no land, except my home, and have no nets, no 

 ^eines, nor any axe to grind; but enjoy rod and minnow fish- 

 ing, and like for my friends to enj -y it with me. I would 

 take pleasure iu answering a limited number of letters, 

 where stamps are sent for reply. I have nothing to sell, tut 

 will do my best to give any information in my power about 

 fish and fishing in West Tennessee, T. L. Wells. 



Dybrsburg, Term, May 19. 



RED SPOTS ON SALMON. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice in this week's number of Forest &m> Stream, a 

 paragraph headed "What Fish is This?" lnyouranswir 

 you state that "salmon and landlocked salmon are black 

 spotted and have neither red spots nor splashes." 



Permit me to correct you. The young fry or parr of both 

 salmon and lanolocked salmon have the same n d spots as 

 the brook trout, during the first year of their existence. 

 They do not put on the black and silvi r liv ry until the end 

 of the second summer, so far as my t xpeiiencegoes. 



They have, as your correspondent says, sharper noses and 

 forked tails, and are very active, at d rise to the fly readily. 



We have taken numbers of them in that way, experimen- 

 tally, in the Pemigew asset River, near the Massachusetts and 

 New Hampshire hatching house, and know that hundieds 

 of tbim were so taken and called trout by the boys, until 

 the difference was explaimd to them. 



I do not recognize the "red splashes," but the red spots of 

 the young salmon in their "parr" state are even more brilliant 

 than those of the trout, and they are only to be distinguished 

 fiom tiout at a casual glance by the lorked tail, and more 

 gem ral sharpness and shnd< rmss of outline. 



They have also ihe same daik cross Lauds, like those of the 

 common perch, which mark tbebiook trout iu their first year. 

 I should be much inclined to think the fish tpoken of were 

 young salmon. 



I have jusr got Messrs. Orvis & Cheney's new book — "Fish- 

 ing with the Fly" — and must beg leave to say a word in 

 praise of its beauty. The plates of flies are exquisite, and 

 worth more than the price of the book, and tbe letter press is 

 equally good. The selections are capital, and the new mat- 

 ter by Messrs. Orvis & Cheney equally good, and Mi. Orvis 's 

 "Suggestions" eminently practical, as" much so as Nessmuk's 

 "Woodcrtd't." Cau I say more? Sam'l 'ft eeeer. 



Lawrekce, Mass. 



Arrival e>F Salmon.— The first salm* n Irom the Rcsti- 

 gouche arrived in New York on Friday la-4. A few from 

 the Mirimichi are also coming. The fish look bright and 

 are bringing fair pi ices These rivers are the only ones on 

 the Atlantic coast that have .yet sent salmon to market this 

 season.. 



