448 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



f July 3, 1884. 



sooner cast than seized, and in a trice I land him, a plump 

 "quarter pounder." 



With care 1 continue, omitting no ripple or pool, and in- 

 creasing the weight of my creel materially. Now I ap- 

 proach a long, shelving rock, down which the water glides 

 silently and swiftly, pausing and swirling occasionally in 

 little rifts and hollows, then on some sixty feet to a lone:, 

 deep pool below. Will trout take the bait in such swiftly 

 running water? Although hut a few inches deep, it nearly 

 takes me oft my feet as I wade out for a more favorable east, 

 which proves immediately successful, and jumping its 

 length out of the water, down darts a trout to the pool below. 

 Without changing my locality I reel him in. Then I caught 

 tli em all the way down the" incline, and at the foot added 

 four more to my already pretty solid basket. 



Half a mile further' down* by its "rush and its roar, " 1 

 know I am approaching a fall of unusual height, and on 

 reaching it I find myseff on a cliff above the falls that drop 

 perpendicularly twenty feet. My basket has grown heavy, 

 and by the size of the pool 1 see it is good for a half hour's 

 work. * So off conies the basket, and just then I am reminded 

 of a lunch bos in my pocket and I resolve to refresh and 

 recruit before commencing operations below. But first I 

 must fake a peep at the beauties snugly tucked away in the 

 basket, and they are beauties, looking so fresh among the 

 green cowslips and brook mint, upon which they rest so 

 sweetly. I have been more than busy the last half hour, 

 taking one from a ripple and another from under the bank 

 wherever a hiding place was fouud. 1 turn them out on the 

 broad, flat rock, and placing them side by side, the largest 

 at the head, and count them. Forty as handsome trout as 

 fisherman ever beheld; there were no "pounders," neither 

 were there any tingerliugs; all fair fish of from three ounces 

 to six or eight ounces. 



Taking great care with my bait. I drop it down into the 

 pool, but the water is so rapid that it sails away on the sur- 

 face. Again I try, a little out of the current, but with no 

 success, and T am beginning to think it the biggest kind of a 

 fraud, and with some indifference 1 swing the bait up into 

 the white foam. It drifts behind the fall and remains sta- 

 tionary. Is it backwater or a trout? A gentle feeler con- 

 vinces me that it is the latter, and that he is no mean fish. T 

 rise from my sitting posture and cautiously try his weight, 

 when, smarting from the prick, he rushes out and I catch a 

 glimpse of his glistening side in the white foam. A beauty, 

 and if 1 don't save him I will swear he is better than a pound. 

 In all probability he is the largest fish I will hook to-day and 

 he must be mine, and with all the skill I possess I play him 

 from the rock to the pebbly beach below and land him, the 

 crowning triumph of the day, and fully justifying my expec- 

 tations as to size and weight" 



Oh, the witching of that fair stream! How it enticed me 

 on and on; never monotonous, ever changing, some new 

 beauty constantly arising — 



"Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing. 

 Recoiling, turmoiling, and 1 oiling and boiling, 

 And no never ending, but always descending." 



If those who delight in capturing with the fly the trout in 

 Maine or Adirondack lakes are inclined to look down upon 

 the commoner sport of catching trout with bait in mountain 

 streams, let them one season try some of the streams in either 

 Berkshire or Hampden counties, and, if they are lovers of 

 nature as well as anglers, they can but admit that even this, 

 too, has its charms. Tcnxis II, 



Ansonia, Conn. 



BOW RIVER TROUT. 



HERE I am this early A. M. seated on the stump of what 

 was once a huge Cottonwood, just a quarter of a mile 



from the business center of the infant city of Calgary, on the 

 Bow River, not merely to watch 



" The rippling, joyous waters as Uiey playfully flow, • 

 And upon the pebbly beach their passing kiss bestow ," 



but to throw the tempting gray fly to the speckled inhabit- 

 ants of those clear, deep, blue waters. Calgary, the future 

 capital of the proposed new province of Alberta, is a one- 

 year-old infant, yet it lias a population of 800, and it is des- 

 tined to grow in a short tune to the dimensions of a city. 

 It is beautifully situated in a circul r valley, a basin the 

 rims of which almost surround it, leaving an open space 

 along the trend of the river by which the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway enters and pushes "its way beyond to the great 

 Canadian Alps. It is a lovely morning, and the Devil's 

 Head (a peculiarly dark-looking, dome shaped mountain) 

 can be seen to great advantage. The eternal snow-clad 

 peaks show above the rim of the basin, their tops and sides 

 looking like huge sugar cones, cubes and pyramids, or like 

 great circus tents, far beyond anything that Barnum has 

 ever attempted. 



I am casting my line into one of the best and largest trout 

 streams in North America. The Bow is a large stream, but 

 it is unnavigabk: on account of the swift current and rapids 

 to be met along its course. Where I am fishing it is less 

 than one hundred yards across, but the waters are" deep and 

 so clear that the bottom is visible at a great depth. The 

 Bow 7 is mountain fed, and it abounds with mountain and 

 brook trout. They art.' both numerous. The former grow 

 to a very large size, but the average weight of those caught 

 in this vicinity is from two to two and a half pounds. They 

 originate in the. numerous lakes which find a bed in the 

 many ridges which comprise the rocky chain. 



The brook trout here is in all respects similar to that 

 toothsome lish found in eastern waters. It averages about a, 

 pound, and it is as wild as the rugged scenery which meets 

 the gaze of the angler as be casts his eyes toward the sur- 

 rounding horizon. 1 have fished all over the eastern prov- 

 inces in the trout lakes and streams, but the sport there is 

 tame and discouraging compared with this. I have alreadj 7 

 landed thirty-one, of which several are mountain, averaging 

 from one pound to three and a half. They take the fly more 

 readily than the bait, its there is a. kind of "river fly which at 

 this season is their natural prey. It is a dark gray, and the 

 nearest approach to it I have is the common stone" fly. The 

 bustle and activity of a new town, however, are scaring the 

 fish, so much so, indeed, that it will soon be necessary to 

 fish two or three miies away from the town, far from the 

 noise of hammer and cart. How the Eastern angler, who 

 swelters all day in the heat, covered with mud and bored 

 with flies, would like to throw a line into this stream if for 

 only half an hour! He need not fear that the spott would 

 surfeit. It is not a case of "fish murder" at all here, for, 

 although the fish are plentiful, it takes work to hook and 

 laud each lish, because they are the shyest of the shy, un- 

 used, of course, to be disturbed; however, there is plenty of 

 sport. I have unearthed two or three real Waltous in "Cal- 



gary. One of them, Mr. Wm. Banuermau, the postmaster, 

 was formerly a member of Parliament at Ottawa for the 

 County South Renfrew. He wears his casting line around 

 his hat during business hours, and he is a most enthusiastic 

 trouter. The other day he went up the river three miles 

 and came home with eighty-six fish, or one hundred and 

 twenty pounds of trout! "An enterprising German has 

 opened a sportsman's supply depot on Stephen avenue, sup- 

 plying a want that sportsmen will appreciate, though it is to 

 be regretted that he is not a practical hand. Were such a 

 one to come hither and open out he would certainly secure a 

 most remunerative trade. 



There is not sufficient hotel accommodation yet at Calgary. 

 Moulton's hotel, which has assumed the imperial title of 

 "Royal," is one of those portable shells which -was manu- 

 factured in Ottawa and shipped here and then put together. 

 Tourists coming hither for information and sport should 

 provide themselves with tents acd the necessary camp 

 equipage. They will enjoy the life much better besides 

 avoiding imposition. Were it possible to send Forest and 

 Stream a sample or two of Bow River trout they would be 

 forwarded in haste, but at present there is no way. During 

 the summer I may have an opportunity of sending a pre- 

 served specimen. 



AH the little streams which empty into the Bow are laden 

 with the speckled tribe. The Elbow River, a smaller stream, 

 which joins the Bow at this poiut, is a good trout stream, 

 especially as you ascend it. My catch to-day has been 

 forty-three, sixty-eight pounds. Think of it, and all 

 this in less than three hours, and with the store fly, no 

 vulgar bait, but the genuine casting line. I have seen sports- 

 men East who have traveled all day and never got even a bite. 

 It is no greater undertaking to travel eighteen hundred or tw^o 

 thousand miles and strike a rentable trout mine than to 

 wander all day Without even a nibble. There is no poaching. 

 The angler may come and go as he will, and evenif he should 

 get surfeited with trout he is not likely to become weary 

 of the sport, for there is nothing artificial in it. It is the 

 real thing itself. Bow. 



Calgary, Alberta, N. W. T., Canada, April, 1884. 



sinker would represent the miunow, and that was the weight 

 used in light striped bass casting, and, therefore, there would 

 be a sameness between the two styles. Now that Dr. Hen- 

 shall has changed his views as to the weight of the minnow, 

 or its representative, he favored a black bass class, and 

 moved that at the proper time a committee be appointed to 

 draw rules for this class. Carried. 



Mr. Van Cleef asked what was the actual weight of the 

 minnow used for casting for black bass. Mr. Mather replied 

 that in his experience such minnows would vary from thirty 

 to fifty to the pound. 



The Chairman then appointed the following sub-commit- 

 tees: 



Grounds— M. B. Brown, J. L. Vallotton, J. Geddes, T. 

 Magoun. 



Reception — Hon. R. B. Roosevelt, Isaac Townsend, L. W. 

 Winchester, L. Wright, Rev. H. L. Ziegenfuss. 



Trout Casting— J. Benkard, C. Van Brunt, J, S. Van 

 Cleef, H. Weston, C. H. Mallory, W. B. Lord. 



Heavy Bass Casting— J. L. Vallotton, S. M, Blatchford, 

 H. P. McGown, P. Endicott. 



Light Bass Casting:— E. G. Blackford, Dr. J, C, Ken- 

 worthy, Prof. A. M. Mayer, P. Endtcott, 



Salmon Casting— J. 0. McAndrew, C. Van Brunt, C. B. 

 Evarts, D. W. Cross. 



Black Bass Casting— Dr. J ; A. Henshall, Dr. E. Bradley, 

 W. C. Harris, Dr. J. C. Kenworthy. 



Prizes— F. Endicott. F. Mather, H. P. McGown. 



Programme— E. G. Blackford, F. Mather, M. B. Brown. 



It was decided to adopt Rules 1 to 10 of last year's pro- 

 gramme and leave the others to the special committees. The. 

 meeting then adjourned to meet on Aug. 4, when if is ex 

 pected that the sub committees will report. 



THE ROD AND REEL ASSOCIATION. 



\ MEETING of the Committee of Arrangements was held 

 X3- at the Metropolitan Hotel on June 24, Hon. H. P. 

 McGown in the chair. Mi 1 . Van Brunt moved that the 

 tournament be held on Harlem Mere, the same as last year. 

 Carried, The secretary read the following letter: 



Cvnthiana, Ky., June 11, 1884. 



Hon. Henri/ P. .\fcGoirn, Chairman Committee of Arronqementx 

 of Tournament of 1884 of the N. R. and R. A.: 



Dear Sir — I respectfully submit the following for the 

 consideration of the committee of which you are the hon- 

 ored chairman, and myself a member. 



I sincerely trust that at the Tournament of the National 

 Rod and Reel Association, to be held in New York on Oct. 

 7 and 8, 1884, there will be given an opportunity for the 

 black bass bait-fisher to compete in a special class for "cast- 

 ing the minnow for black bass." This mode of angling has 

 now become so universal, and the number of its practition- 

 ers so great that it cannot in justice be longer ignored. 



Before the first tournament of the Association I urged the 

 inclusion of such a contest in the programme, but was met 

 with the argument that there were so few anglers in the 

 Eastern States who practiced that mode of angling that such 

 a class would not fill, and that striped bass anglers outnum- 

 bered black bass anglers more than a hundred to one. 



Previous to the second tournament I again advised the 

 admission of such a contest, but it was then stated that the 

 conditions of such a class were virtually fulfilled by the 

 contest for "light striped bass casting," as the same weight 

 of sinker, one and a half ounces, was used. 



Now, I have reason to think that the number of black bass 

 minnow easters, even in the Eastern States, is not so small 

 in comparison with striped bass casters, as has been stated, 

 while in the country at large the reverse of the statement is 

 more nearly correct. I am of the opinion, therefore, that a 

 special contest for their benefit would fill as readily a& the 

 stripped bass classes, for it may be remembered that in both 

 tournaments the number of such contestants was not remark- 

 able. Certainly, a black bass class could do no worse. 



Moreover, if the Association is designed to be "national" in 

 its scope and influence, it seems to me that the programme 

 of contests should be so arranged as not to favor, particu- 

 larly, the anglers of any one section. All legitimate modes 

 of rod-casting should be given a place in the programme, so 

 that all anglers, of whatever section of the country, might 

 have a chance to compete in the various classes and contests. 



I must respectfully dissent from the statement that the 

 contest fcr "light striped bass casting," with a sinker of one 

 and a half ounces, virtually covers the ground of black bass 

 minnow casting. In the first place, there is a wide differ- 

 ence m the tools and tackle of the two modes of angling. 

 In the second place, the methods themselves are essentially 

 different. Thus, casting for striped bass is practiced by 

 using both hands, and an overhand cast, while in black bass 

 easting but one hand, and an underhand cast, is used. In 

 the striped bass contest for light casting a sinker of one and 

 a half ounces is allowed, while in a black bass class the 

 sinker should not exceed a half ounce in weight; personally, 

 I would prefer one of a quarter of an ounce. 



Should the committee having the matter in charge decide 

 to try the experiment of presenting a contest for black bass 

 minnow casting at.the next tournament, I will be pleased to 

 give my views on the rules and regulations to govern such a 

 contest: and, also, will use my best endeavors to procure- 

 some of the prizes for the same, and strive to be present in 

 person at stud tournament. Yours, very respectfully, 



J. A. Henshall. 



The chairman stated that he favored the idea of Dr. Hen- 

 shall, and had so replied to him. The Doctor had again 

 written the following: 



Cynthiana. Ky., June 20, 1884. 



Mr, Henry P. ifcCruwn, Chairman, etc., N. Y.: 



Dear' Sir— Your favor of the 17th inst. to hand. lam 

 pleased to know that you think well of my suggestion, and 

 will advocate a black bass bait-casting contest at next tourna- 

 ment. I wrote you that 1 thought I could procure some of 

 the prizes for same. To-day I received a letter from Tho3. H. 

 Chubb. w T ho says he will donate a "Henshall rod" and a 

 "Henshall reel." and from Mr. B. C. Milam, who will donate 

 a Frankfort black bass reel, latest pattern. Others will, I 

 am sure, respond at my request, 



Yours very truly, 



j. A. Henshall. 



Mr. Endicott thought the plan of Dr. Henshall was judi- 

 cious. Two years ago the Doctor thought that a one-ounce 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES, 



SOFT shell crabs have never been more plentiful than at 

 present, Quantities of them are being sent to our 

 market from the near New Jersey bays, and are attracting a 

 more than Usual number of weakfish into these waters. This, 

 as Well as an absence of bluefish thus far, has made angling 

 for weakfish excellent. 



White catfish have begun to run from the Delaware River 

 up into the tributaries of this stream. Just now is about the 

 ending of their spawning season and their flesh is not in as 

 good order for the table as it will be next month. At Bet- 

 teitou white perch have begun to bite, but the fish are run- 

 ning small. It is not until the middle of August or first of 

 September that the large perch at this famous fishing ground 

 are taken. 



Some large black bass have been caught in the Susquehanna 

 River this month, a short distance above the bridge which 

 crosses the stream from Perry villc to Havre de Grace. I be- 

 lieve Charley Vogel, of Philadelphia, was the first to dis- 

 cover that the black bass congregated in any great numbers 

 at this section of the Susquehanna. He at once began fish- 

 ing for them and being very successful in taking large flsh, 

 has followed it up every year since. But few black bass 

 have been caught in the Schuylkill near this city this season. 

 Sawmont Dam, about the nearest ground Where any success 

 cotlld be had, bids fair hereafter to be the center of sculling 

 Interest, as the river at this point offers a grand course for 

 racing and was selected as a better site for the late Collegiate 

 controversy, than the old one ou the Schuylkill at Rockland 

 and Laurel Hill. So it may be expected that the patient 

 bass fishermen after this will move up the river further if he 

 does not wish to be disturbed. 



Perkiomen Creek, where it empties into the Schuylkill, 

 will now be more frequently visited than formerly by bass 

 fishermen, and I believe it to be the most likely ground near 

 Philadelphia that can be reached and returned from in one 

 day and find a day's fishing. 



The Schuylkill is very Kiuddy since the rain of the 26th, 

 the accumulated dust of over a fortnight has been washed 

 into the stream, rendering all attempts at bass fishing, for 

 some time to come, useless. Homo. 



.fl'NE 28. 



GONE TO THE BASS ELYSIUM. 



AN "elysium of perennial bass" is good. The time was 

 when to the editorial fancy the seeker for that land of 

 the blessed had for his incentive"houris, promised, in proph- 

 ecy and song, dwellers in cloud land, where the dancers 

 were never weary and the harp was never silent. Later, 

 the dream of the sanctum sought its realization and looked 

 for the locus of the myth in the vicinity of Hobokeu. But 

 now a revelation has come to the man of the pen; he has 

 found a new elysium, its reward is "perennial bass," and 

 straightway, with all the liberality of the craft, he proceeds 

 to give it away; it is in Canada, "somewhere in the woods 

 up there." Truthful James says 



"that it is not a proper plan 



For any editorial gent to whale bis brother man, 

 And if a fellow don't agree with his peculiar wbim, 

 To lay for that same feller for to put a head on him." 



Now that the thing is out, we drop our traps for a moment 

 and closing our earsto the wail of M. "pcre/inM'' dohmieu, 

 crying to us from far off Frontenac to come and take them in 

 out of the wet, turn to say good-bye to Forest and Stream. 

 You "hope we will have good luck," thanks! Yes, "Truth- 

 ful James," and"Wawayanda" and the "Reformer"— the 

 latter so called by reason of his bearing the name of Luther 

 — "are going." No, "the choice of hunting rifles" and "the 

 performance of shotguns" don't interest us and probably 

 won't, unless the persistence of the Reformer in using worms 

 for bait may induce us to take some stock in the latter. 

 "Shall you send us that V"— No, thanks, the Reformer raises 

 an objection, something about "duty" or "custom," which 

 he don't just get hold of, although Truthful James observes 

 that "custom cannot stale its infinite variety;" perhaps we 

 can get hold of it easier in Canada— the objection we mean- 

 when the Reformer has had the time to explain. 



Oh yes, certainly we shall "keep an eye out for 'babbling 

 spring brooks' and 'clear cool spring water,' " for we are iu 

 formed that in these Canada surpasses Michigan, at least that 

 portion of the State which lies along the fiery path of the 

 Kingfishers. Tnere, Truthful James says : 



"The wells are empty and choked, with sand, 

 And the springs have perished from the land." 



It is this wanton destruction by sportsmen that has so 

 prejudiced the rural resident against us as a class. 



No such thiDgs ever happened on the Bigosh; that beauti- 

 ful stream rolls its burden, as of old, undiminished to the 

 lake, and yet a tired angler camped and gazed for weeks on 



