no 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 5, 1885. 



time is long past when they visit these streams, and that 

 then they are as fit for food as ever they are. 



Certainly bass and pike-perch do frequent the same grounds 

 at certain seasons, and so do almost all the food fish of Lake 

 Ohamplain. 



Pike-perch are frequently taken in the streams named dur- 

 ing the spawning time of the bass- but they are there in 

 quest of food, not a spawning ground. The season given by 

 "H. A." for making the close time for both fish the same is 

 much better than "Btaustead's." 



I very freely acknowledge that I was probably in error as 

 to the weight of a ten-inch bass, as I wrote only from mem- 

 ory. 



"The Selectmen of each town shall appoint and remove 

 at pleasure a person to be fish warden," and then what? Is 

 the person so appointed likely to spend much time in looking 

 after violators of the 'aw without a better prospect of remun- 

 eration than lies in the uncertainties of arrest and conviction, 

 and the more uncertain collection of a fine? Sometime I 

 will give the last season's experience of the Vergennes fish 

 warden. 



In my humble opinion, which I have the honor to share 

 with some intelligent persons who are zealous supporters of 

 protection, our fish laws do not need to be made more strin- 

 gent. Tbey need to be made as liberal as is consistent with 

 the object in view, and as plain as possible, and then, to be 

 enforced. Awahsoosk. 



Addison County, Vt. 



THANKS FOR "CAMP FLOTSAM." 



MY promised letter, telling of some bass fishing in the 

 Taskio, easy of access, with good accommodations at 

 reasonable charge, that was to create a furore among the fish- 

 ermen of our State lies all untouched. I can do nothing but 

 read and read "Camp Flotsam." Who is he that goesa-fish- 

 ing, catches fish, and tells of it so charmingly? So charm- 

 ingly indeed; that it rivals the trip of the White Wings around 

 Colonsay, Ornasay and Islay, so tender and touching that it 

 reads like him who gave us Leonard Fairfield leading sweet 

 Helen Digby up to London, resting by the Brent, a beautiful 

 clear running trout stream, where big-hearted John Builey 

 was fishing, ever fishing for his one-eyed perch, so feelingly, 

 that it carries one back to his boyhood days, to the Saturday 

 fishing in the deep pool below the mill, were the bass and 

 the red-eye were caught; then up past the mill and around 

 the bend where, in the swift water below the dam, the chubs 

 were found; then above the dam in the still water under the 

 big sycamore where the croppie lived, and then on through 

 green fields and grassy meadows to the old home, to a fond 

 mother, rejoiced at the safe return of her boy. The Forest 

 and Stream is now omnipresent in our home, it covers up 

 and hides from view the "Litiell," "Harper," "Tommy Up- 

 more," etc., and as our good friend Mrs. M. enters, the 

 madam begs her to excuse the room as the "Major can do 

 nothing now but read those old fishing papers." "Hold on, 

 madam," I say, "let me read you some short extracts from 

 "Camp Flotsam;" and then I read them several, closing with 

 this: 



That day we lived over again our youth. The shadows drifted as 

 of old across the water, which mirrored back the ghostly forms of 

 birches and the somber pines; a muskrat was angling along the shore 

 below, and a pair of squirrels were chattering in the trees above. 

 The blue and grreen dragon fly poised in air and settled on our tips and 

 floats with all his olden persistency, the wild bee hummed about ns, 

 while now and then the festive mosquito piped his song in our ears. 

 We sat the long afternoon through, and until the croak of the frogs 

 in the coves warned us of the supper hour, called back the memory 

 of the homeward tramp across the pasture, through the swale and 

 the open meadow to the farmhouse, with its cheery light, gleamiug 

 through the open door, called up the vision of boyish hands holding 

 aloft the string to new sainted mothers: of the welcome kiss, the 

 royal supper, and— we lifted anchor and moved campward, a couple 

 of graybeards, two boys once more. The fountain of youth is no 

 vagary, though Ponce de Leon found it not. 



She admits that it is most charming; and then I tell her 

 how lovers of the gentle art have always been considered the 

 best and most honorable of men, have always been first in 

 devotion to and admiration of her noble sex. This conquers 

 her and she avers that when her "French Spoliation" claim 

 is allowed the Major shall have a good outing; we will go, 

 taking the children, and with headquarters at Cape Tincent 

 or Ogdensburg, we will find some lovely lake, perhaps pay 

 Sabattis a visit, establish Camp Jetsam, and, with Caesar to 

 cook for us, the fishing exploits of "Camp Flotsam" shall 

 surely be eclipsed, but never, never the telling of it. If 

 Senator Beck only knew how much was depending upon 

 that claim, he would call in the services of Senator Vest and 

 Professor Baird and search every strongbox, vault and deposit 

 company in Washington City for our long lost papers, said 

 to have been left with the Great Commoner many years ago. 



But this letter is simply a missive of thanks to "Wawa- 

 3'anda" for his history of -"Camp Flotsom," thanks that 

 while still locked in the icy embrace of a vigorous winter 

 we can read of so pleasant a trip, that while seated before a 

 cheerful fire smoking and dreaming of outings past and 

 outings to come, we see "Wawayanda" emerge from his 

 tent, Sabattis stand silently by — symbolical of his race, 

 George ready with the coffee, the fish, the eggs, etc. Break- 

 fast over, with good-bye to the Madam, "W." steps into his 

 boat, and under a sky as soft and blue as ever hung over 

 Capri's enchanted shore, he is off to the moss beds, the big 

 logs, or to Sabattis's fishing ground; can hear the welkin 

 ring w r ith the Editor's joyous shout as he reels in bass after 

 bass, all the bitterness of political strife gone from his heart, 

 as he stands there over the blue waters and under the blue 

 skies exclaiming, "Here is peace, here is contentment, here 

 is happiness." 



I have not seen one letter of last summer's fishing in the 

 Maine lakes nor in the Adirondacks; can't someone in the 

 fall write up their trip, so those of us who cannot get out 

 can read them in the Forest and Stream next winter ? 



Now, as I was closing my letter, comes the Forest and 

 Stream of the 19th with the last of "Camp Flotsam," no, 

 not the last by any means for me, for it has been transferred 

 in its entirety to my scrap book, and its myriad beauties and 

 sweet thought "will enable many of us to live over again, in 

 memory, our forest life," and for you, "Wawayanda," may 

 many such pleasant trips come to you before the soft green 

 leaves of spring or the crisp red ones of autumn are blown 

 across your silent tent iu the happy camping ground of the 

 blest. Jay. 



St. Job, Mo. 



The Theresa (N. Y.) Fish and Game Club is giving its 

 attention to the care of Indian Kiver, and calls for contribu- 

 tions from those interested in the fishing of that neighbor- 

 hood. The secretary is Mr, B. W. Chapman, 



TROUT FLIES. 



Edit&rFomt and Stream: 



I think I know something about fly-tying, having begun 

 to tie flies about the year lb28 or before, under the directions 

 of my father, who was an expert fisherman and when a boy 

 had fished the famous streams of Devonshire. There was 

 another gentleman, Mr. Peuwarne, who fished in Cornwall 

 and Hampshire. We made all the then known flies, even to 

 gut and India rubber bodies. In 1829 I went with my father 

 to Devonshire, and once we went to the moors from which 

 the Dart aud Plym have their rise. In fishing in the Ply m, 

 the trout would only take one fly out of our lot of some 

 six or seven dozen; that was on a No. 5, like a round bend 

 Carlisle; it had a yellow silk body with about three turns of 

 a light-red hackle. When we lost, them it was difficult to 

 get a rise, so we gave up and returned. I afterward went 

 into Plymouth and found the same fly for sale. Now from 

 that and after experience 1 cannot agree will some of your 

 writers that trout when on the feed will take almost any fly. 



In the spring of 1840 I came to the Eastern Townships of 

 Canada, about twelve miles north of what is called Derby 

 Line on the Vermont side and Stanstead on the Canada side. 

 I found the streams full of trout, and there was a Scotch- 

 man who lived on the next farm who used the Scotch flies 

 aud did pretty well with them ; but I found that the flies I 

 brought from England did not seem just the thing, so I tried 

 brighter colors- All foe book I had read was" "Walton's 

 Angler," and that did not help me. I first used different 

 shades of scarlet for the bodies and the brightest red hackles; 

 then I dyed them scarlet, orange, yellow and green, and also 

 the wings; but the three best flies that I made were drake 

 wings made with two feathers, and I think I invented the 

 reversed wings in 1841— scarlet body with gold tinsel (they 

 call it Lama now), scarlet hackle and tail. It had no name 

 then, but since I came to Milwaukee I have named it C. 

 Simond3, after a renowned fisherman here, who took a great 

 fancy to it. The next was same pattern but all yellow ; the 

 next was darker scarlet body with tinsel, red hackle, and wings 

 from the shoulder of a red cock; named it Gen. Hamilton. 

 I have used these feathers dyed in various colors; they make 

 a very pretty wing, and I have never seen a fly made by any- 

 body else that had them. The hooks that I used then we're 

 Nos. 5, 4 and 3, but when we fished the Magog they were as 

 large as 1 and 0. 1 have caught trout there as heavy as 4 

 pounds, and I saw one that was caught there that weighed 

 over 5 pounds. In 1849 I commenced making flies for sale, 

 and supplied the fishermen and the stores of the surrounding 

 country with them; latterly I sold them in Montreal. In 

 1852 or '53 there was a fair at Sherbrooke. I showed a box 

 of flics, about twelve dozen and about eighteen varieties, 

 and took the first prize, against some Scotch flies which 

 were some of the best used there. 



What are called Montreal and Canada I made from my 

 own fancy, never having seen anything like them. In that 

 part of Canada there are very few ducks, and I had to get 

 the feathers off tame drakes, the wood duck used to leave 

 before it moulted, so I never saw the feathers nntil I came 

 to Milwaukee. 1 think they are a better feather than the 

 drake for small flies, especially the grizzly kiug and C. 

 Simonds, the spoonbill has a very nice "feather for a darker 

 wing, as also the brown fish duck. 



In 1856 I came here, but not until 1869 did I make any 

 flies for sale. It happened thus: I was asked to go with Gen. 

 Hamilton (I gave the flies that I brought from Canada to 

 Gen. Hamilton, and they will show the reversed wings) and 

 Mr. Eastou, P. M., of Chicago, and. their wives to catch 

 brook trout somewhere in the northwest of the State, and I 

 made three dozen flies — Simonds, Hamilton and grizzly king 

 (or green drake) — but when 1 saw the place where the trout 

 were I said, "You can do all the fishing." You had to push 

 the brush away with your foot to get the worm down to the 

 water. There were plenty of trout there and one half day in 

 another creek, and a day at a brook running into Beef 

 Slough, and another half day at another creek they caught, 

 over 250, some of which Mr. Alexander Mitchell had for 

 breakfast the next morning. As I had my dog and gun I 

 went shooting, but although it was the 22d of August the 

 pintail grouse were fully grown and I only found one covey 

 that would lie to the dog, of which I shot six, and I picked 

 up three straggers. They have a feather something like the 

 jungle cock, but not quite as glossy. Of course I brought 

 the three dozen flies and asked our gunsmith to sell them for 

 me. Some party took them all, and two years afterward I 

 started the fly- making again. W. J. C. F. 



Rock Bass and Black Bass.— Philadelphia, March 2.— 

 The movement to stock the Schuylkill and its tributaries 

 with rock bass, or the red eye as it is sometimes called, is a 

 commendable one. There is no reason why every stream 

 not too much affected by dye water shoidd not be stocked. 

 The Wissahickon Creek should be attended to as I believe 

 now the mills situated above the streams have arranged it so 

 that their refuse dye stuff does not flow into it. It is very 

 strange that the black bass placed in Black's Pond, Swedes- 

 boro, N. J., fifteen years ago, came to naught, while in other 

 ponds within five miies, where the fish were put, they have 

 thriven and are now taken by pike fishermen through the 

 ice. Will the correspondent who wrote of bass taken in 

 Washington Pond write you what he knows of the Black 

 Pond fish ? A number of anglers took advantage of the fine 

 day yesterday and went pike fishing to the near Jersey ponds. 

 —Homo. 



Blackford's Trout Opening.— Mr. E. G. Blackford, 

 with his usual taste, has issued a handsome invitation to 

 anglers to inspect the many species, varieties, and forms of 

 trout from all parts of the country on his slabs in Fulton 

 Market, New York, on April 1, the legal opening of the 

 trout season in the State. The outside of the cover is a 

 sketch by Gillam, of P-uck, of an angler swinging up a trout 

 which another is vainly trying to induce to come into the 

 landing net. We infer from the scene that Gillam does not 

 handle the rod. Inside is the invitation, with a glimpse of a 

 lake, a leaping trout, and a kingfisher, but opposite this is a 

 gem. It is an elegant reproduction of one of Kilbourne's 

 trout, a small one with the parr marks showing and resplen- 

 dent in rich color. This plate is perhaps the finest of the 

 many to which Mr. Blackford has treated the lovers of trout. 



A lOi pound salmon was landed a few days ago by Mrs. 

 Judge Rice. The fish had ascended a small stream that 

 runs through her chicken yard. She saw, caught him with 

 thumb and fingers in gills, and fresh fish for the family was 

 the result. — Santa, Cruz (Cal.) Senti/t<:K 



Jdizlimltnn. 



THEAMERICAN FISHCULTURAL ASSOCIATION 



r PHE executive committee held a meeting on Monday last, 

 X atthe office of Mr. E. G-. Blackford, Fulton Market, to 

 determine the time and place of the next meeting, Mr, Geo. 

 bhepard Page iu the chair. Mr Mather raised the question 

 whetner the committee met as the executive committee of the 

 American Fishcultural Association, or the American Fish- 

 eries Society. Mr. Blackford thought that notice of the 

 change of name should be given, inasmuch as several mem- 

 bers think that the meeting on board the steamer last year, 

 after adjournment, where the name was changed, was some- 

 what irregular, and that the next meeting shoidd be called 

 under the old name and then action could be taken by the 

 Association in regular session on the proceedings of the meet- 

 ing on the steamer. It was decided to issue the call under the 

 name of the American Fishcultural Association. Letters of 

 regret were read from Hon. Theodore Lyman, president of 

 the Association, Prof. G. Brown Goode, and Dr. W. M. Hud- 

 son, but none expressed their views as to the time or place of 

 the future meeting. Mr. Blackford referred to the success of 

 the last meeting at Washington in attendance and the charac- 

 ter of papers read and thought that the IT. S. Fish Commission 

 would be glad to have the meeting held there again. It was 

 decided to hold the meeting iu Washington, and May 5 and 

 temporarily appointed as the time, subject to the approval of 

 the officers and members resident in Washington. The secre- 

 tary was instructed to correspond with them and report at 

 the meeting of the committee on March 16, at Fulton Market. 

 Col. M. McDonald, chairman; Prof. G. Brown Goode and Mr. 

 It. E. Earl were appointed a committee of arrangements. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS COMMISSION. 



WE have the nineteenth annual report of the Commission- 

 ers of Inland Fisheries of Massachusetts for the year 

 ending Dec. 31, 1884. A full page view of the flshway on the 

 river Sire, Norway, is the frontispiece, and is described in an 

 appendix. Shad hatching was continued, but not many 

 spawning fish were captured, only twenty ripe females being 

 secured. Carp from the U. S. F. C. were distributed, and 

 125,000 trout eggs from Plymouth, N. H., were hatched. Lake 

 trout eggs from Lake Superior to the amount of 100,000 were 

 also hatched and sent out. 



The distribution of young salmon is detailed in a report by 

 Mr. E. B. Hodge, Commissioner of New Hampshire and super- 

 intendent of the works at Plymouth, carried on jointly by the 

 two States. 



The effort to stock the Merrimac with California salmou, 

 mainly on account of the cheapness of the spawn and the 

 more rapid growth of that fish, was a failure. This, with the 

 large number of breeding tish unlawfully destroyed by the 

 fishermen below Lawrence, four years ago, retarded the 

 stocking of the river for several years. This has now been 

 bridged over, and a much more rapid increase of salmon may 

 be expected hereafter. There have been three seasons of re- 

 markably low water in the river, which has greatly interfered 

 with the salmon reaching their spawning grounds. According 

 to records kept at Lowell, it^s probable that this drought will 

 be followed by three or four years of abundance. 



The fall run of salmon last year was unusually large, indi- 

 cating an increased run for next season. The works at 

 Plymouth are being extended and greatly improved. 



Much attention is given to the lobster question, and quota- 

 tions from reports of Mr. Venning, of New Brunswick; Mr. 

 Rogers, of Nova Scotia, and the TJ. S. Fish Commission are 

 given, showing that in the Provinces the close season does not 

 cover the best part of the spawning season, and other facts. 



The importance of specific knowledge of the salmon and 

 trout of the country, in connection with the many questions 

 that arise in relation to the determination of the several spe- 

 cies and varieties in the New England States, have led the 

 Commissioners to request Mr. Samuel Garman to prepare a 

 paper on the subject for publication in this report. Mr. Gar- 

 man is an assistant in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 

 and has charge of the collection of fishes belonging to the 

 museum, and thus has been able, in his studies, to use the large 

 amount of material in the museum. He has been aided also 

 by specimens sent him by the Commissioners of New Hamp- 

 shire, and from the hatching houses at Plymouth. His paper 

 is given in the appendix, under the title of "Notes and Descrip- 

 tions of the Salmon and Trout of North America," with notices 

 of the introduced species. The eighteen full-page illustrations 

 accompanying the paper were made under his personal super- 

 vision by Mr. Denton, and are considered to be accurate de- 

 lineations of the several species and "v arieties native to or in- 

 troduced into New England waters. 



In the appendices we find the address of Hon. Theodore Ly- 

 man to the American Fishcultural Association, which has ap- 

 peared in our columns, an article on the black bas.< from the 

 Philadelphia Ledger, credited to a paper which copied it, the 

 laws relating to fish, and much more of interest. 



FISH PRESERVATION IN LAKE ERIE.— A convention 

 of fishermen and others interested in the protection of the fish 

 in Lake Erie, will be held in Cleveland on March 15, and Mr. 

 John Kiageborough, of that city, will furnish further infor- 

 mation regarding it, if desired, and he will be pleased to re- 

 ceive names of those who will attend the meeting. Some of 

 the questions to be discussed will be State legislation : propa- 

 gation and its results; best mode of protecting whitefish. 

 Pound nets, how to fish and the seasons, comparison with 

 Canadian fish laws, gill nets, decrease of whitefish and black 

 bass, summer fishing. Rights in setting nets encroached on 

 others, discrimination between east and west ends of Lake 

 Erie, spawning seasons, hook and hue fishing, salt fish in- 

 terests, c. o. d. customs evils, protection to snippers. Whether 

 this meeting is supplementary to, or in accord with the recent 

 inter-state meeting of Fish Commissioners and others, held in 

 Detroit, we do not know. The Cleveland Sim says: "The sub- 

 ject of protecting the fish of Lake Erie and the streams of 

 Ohio from the devastating inroads that are constantly being 

 made upon them by unscrupulous fishermen, is one that de- 

 serves the earnest attention of all classes. It is not generally 

 realized to what extent pound, seine, gill-net, and other styles 

 of fishing are carried on in Lake Erie and the streams leading 

 to it, nor how rapidly fish of all kinds are being exterminated 

 from the lake anil streams. Laws governing the taking of 

 fish have been made from time to time, and still adorn the 

 statute books, but, in the main, they are so poorly constructed 

 as to be easily evaded or so negligently enforced as to become 

 almost inoperative, and nence the work of extermination is 

 allowed to proceed. At the islands of Lake Erie tons and tons 

 of fish are 3 r early killed to no purpose. Kelly Island, for ex- 

 ample, is surrounded by a perfect spider web of pounds, ex- 

 tending miles from its shores, so that few fish escape their 

 meshes. These are managed by men who pay no heed to the 

 preservation of fish. Those taken out of season, or when the 

 demand is light, are not thrown back into the lake as they 

 should be, because this would involve a little labor, but they 

 are dumped into the pound boats where they soon die, and 

 then they are taken to the shore, where such as are desirable 

 are taken out and the others, by the thousand, are thrown 

 into the lake to float about till decomposition takes 2ilace. It 

 is no uncommon sight, when out of season, to see thousands of 

 dead herring piled on Kelly Island dock waiting to be thrown 

 overboard." 



