Feb. 25, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



91 



I have gone forth on the most promising of mornings and 

 come home empty-handed, and the sum total of my knowl- 

 edge of the influence of the wind upon a day's catch is that 

 we can't tell anything ahout it. Fred Mather. 



FISH LAWS OF NEW YORK. 



THE bill which was introduced by Speaker Husted for 

 the preservation of fish and game, passed both Houses 

 and has been signed by the Governor. The law provides 

 that no black baps shall be taken from Lake Mahopac, Col- 

 umbia county; Schroon Lake or Paradox Lake, in Essex 

 and Warren counties, or in Friends Lake, Warren county, 

 between Jan. 1 and July 1, or in Lake George or Brant Lake 

 between Jan. 1 and July 13. The killing of black bass, Os- 

 wego bass or muscalonge in any of the waters of the State is 

 prohibited between Jan. 1 and June 1, alive for artificial 

 propagation, or the stocking of other waters; except that 

 bass and muscalonge may be caught in the St. Lawrence, 

 Clyde, Seneca and Oswego rivers, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, 

 Lake Consesus and Niagara River above Niagara Falls, be- 

 tween May 13 and Jan. 1. It is prohibited to have or sell 

 any black, salt or striped bass of less than one-half pound or 

 less than eight inches in length. No person shall catch or 

 kill any bullheads or other fish iu Lake George or any of its 

 inlets between April 1 and July 1. Fishing with set lines in 

 the lake is prohibited. Pickerel shall not be caught in Lake 

 George from Feb. 15 to June 15. No Lake George bullheads 

 must be exposed for sale between April 1 and J uly 1 8, or any 

 pickerel fiom Lake George between Feb. 15 and June 15. 

 The above violations are deemed misdemeanors No person 

 is allowed to have upon any of the waters containing salmon, 

 salmon trout, lake trout, black bass, Oswego bass, fresh- 

 water striped bass or muscalonge, and they shall not be taken 

 without the permission of the Commissioners of Fisheries, 

 any snares, nets, stake poles, etc. 



We think it would have been wise to either make the law 

 for black bass read July 1 all over the State, so as to cover 

 the spawning seasou, or ta open the fishing on May 31, so as 

 to allow fishing on the holiday. 



MY FIRST BASS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The accounts of the first catches of a number of your con- 

 tributors have been read with great interest, and they took 

 me back to the time when I hooked my first black bass. I 

 was but a youngster then, out with three companions for our 

 first camp, which was on the farm of a friend with whom 1 

 had spent the summer previous. 0, what delightful days 

 those were! I have since then been upon a great many hunt- 

 ing and camping trips, but I believe those days were the 

 happiest. I remember so well the first two or three nights 

 before we got "the hang o' the thing," our blankets seemed 

 to be no protection against the cold from which we suffered 

 considerably. Well, to come back to the black bass. 



One of the farmer boys had told us of a large pond six or 

 eight miles from the house, in which there were great quan- 

 tities of black bass, and if we wished he would convey us 

 over Friday night and we could spend Saturday in fishing. 

 This plan met with our approval very readily, as we, who 

 had never caught anything more gamy than a pike or perch, 

 were very anxious to see some bass. 



At 4 o'clock Friday afternoon we had all our paraphernalia 

 packed and were ready for the start. It was a happy quar- 

 tet of boys that clambered into the spacious wagon two hours 

 later, and we had a glorious ride. Arriving at the pond at 

 about 9, we immediately began to pitch our tent. 



It had begun to sprinkle a little, and we were so desirous 

 of getting our tent up before the ground should become wet, 

 that we had scarcely noticed a large tent which was pitched 

 near us. The racket which we made had undoubtedly dis- 

 turbed the slumbers of the inmates thereof, for they began to 

 jeer and taunt us about being out in the wet, etc. ; but finally 

 one of them sung out "Who are you? Come in and see us; 

 we are all in bed, but don't let that keep you back." 



Upon this invitation 1 dropped my hatchet and started for 

 the tent, and I had no sooner thrust my head within the flap 

 than I was greeted with shouts of surprise and welcome. 

 We had accidentally stumbled upon the camp of ten of our 

 most intimate boy friends from the city. 



They immediately turned out in undress costume and as- 

 sisted us in making our preparations for the night ; but after 

 all the news had been exchanged they returned to their cots 

 and we were left to ourselves. 



Two of the boys thought it would be fun to sleep in the 

 hay in the wagon, but the rest of us preferred our blankets 

 in the tent. By 12 o'clock the two in the wagon came to the 

 conclusion that their quarters were more romantic than com- 

 fortable, and were very glad to accept the hospitality of the 

 tent. 



ITpon unrolling from my blankets next morning I was 

 surprised to see several other tents which had sprung up like 

 mushrooms in the night. These also belonged to fishing 

 parties who had come to spend a day or so at the pond. 

 After a meagre breakfast we easily obtained boats and tackle, 

 but it took a considerable bargaining before we could buy 

 even a few minnows for the party, but while this bargaining 

 was going on one of the boys, unseen by the owner, bad suc- 

 ceeded in emptying part of the contents of the pail into a 

 tin can which was then secreted beneath a seat. 



We finally pushed off and by the time we had reached one 

 of the spots to which our friends at "Camp Do-little," (a very 

 appropriate name, by the way) had directed us, all lines 

 were overboard. Then came suspense. Who was to catch 

 the first fish. I had arranged my bait with particular care 

 and had strong hopes of being the first, but alas far my hopes, 

 Grib was the fortunate one. His line was the last one out 

 and the first one in, but we had little reason to envy his con- 

 quest, for it was an exceedingly small one, but — hold on, 

 what have I got on my line? Whew ! I never knew a pike or 

 a perch to pull that way. I knew nothing at that time about 

 striking or playing a fish but I did know enough not to yank 

 him right in. 



When I felt sure that the hook was secure, I pulled gently, 

 to remind him that I had an engagement with him, but he 

 needed no such reminder, as he was soon tearing around at a 

 tearful rate of speed, while I was so excited that I could 

 scarcely move. Once or twice he leaped clear of the water. 

 My heart ran and fell with his movements. Now he would 

 dart under the boat greatly endangering my line, then the 

 line would fall slack and my heart would sink; I was sure 

 he was gone, and again, as the line would be drawn taut, 

 my heart would rise to the highest pitch of expectation; but 

 there is an end to all things and there was a disastrous one 

 to my struggle with that bass. The other boys had been as 

 interested in the performance as I, but suddenly Ed. was 

 brought to his senses by feeling a strong tug at his line. In 



his surprise and excitement he leaped to his feet rocking the 

 boat fearfully. I who was standing up in an inclined po- 

 sition at that moment, lost my balance and pitched headlong 

 into the lake. When I came up I seized one end of my rod 

 and Milt the other and without much trouble I was dragged 

 on board. 



Notwithstanding my sudden bath I felt no less anxious to 

 land that fish. I picked up the pole and found that he was 

 still hooked to the other end but was completely exhausted 

 and made no further resistance. 



Oh ! wasn't he a beauty as he lay there upon a bed of 

 water lilies which had been gathered on the way out? How 

 his dusky scales glistened in the sun. I was so intent upon 

 watching this, my first bass, that I completely forgot my 

 wet garments. He weighed over a pound; not a very large 

 catch perhaps, but was the first one whose size would war- 

 rant any boasting. 



Thus ended my first experience with black bass, but that 

 day is one of the never to be forgotten days of my life. 



Our luck varied somewhat through the remainder of the 

 day, but nevertheless we had a fine string to carry home 

 with us that night. Watt. 



Cleveland, O. , 



BLACK BASS IN LAKE ERIE. 



Edit&r Forest and Stream: 



The laws of Ohio which were passed to protect the black 

 bass are practically obsolete. They say: 



"Whoever shall, at any time of the year, in Lake Erie, in 

 the vicinity of the islands thereof and in the bays tributary 

 thereto, upon the shoals and reefs therein, by means of any 

 device whatever, fish for or catch any fish, shall be guilty 

 of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be punished, etc. 

 * * * And, provided further, it is hereby made the duty 

 of the Fish Commissioner, on complaint of any person or 

 otherwise, to prosecute all violations of this section." 



Last October I saw from fifteen to twenty pound-nets set 

 near the islands, with their fences or leaders extending over 

 the above mentioned shoals and reefs, and one day while 

 fishing near one of the pounds, saw it lifted and over two 

 hundred pounds of black bass, and other fish taken from it. 

 Some of these fish were quite small, not over five inches 

 long, and should have been returned to the water, but they 

 all went to market. That this kind of fishing is illegal 

 everybody knows but no one attempts to stop it, as far as 1 

 can learn. A fisherman told me that the small bass were 

 shipped to distant points south and west, and were not sold 

 in Sandusky and Toledo. I went up to the lake for a week's 

 fishing on the old grounds which I used to visit twenty 

 years ago, and with visions of such sport as we formerly- 

 had, but returned disappointed. If the people living about 

 the lake do not see that the bass are going because the small 

 meshed nets do not allow them to mature, then they must be 

 blind. It seems criminal to allow a few men to spoil the 

 fishing about the islands, where the bass congregate on the 

 shoals, in order that they may make a few dollars out of the 

 business. 



It was hinted to me that the Fish Commissioners author- 

 ized, or at least allowed, these nets to be set during a great 

 part of the year because the Commissioners could get the 

 spawn of the whitefish from the nets in the fall, but where 

 their authority comes from for such a bargain I do not see. 

 As they pay the fishermen for the privilege of handling the 

 fish and taking the eggs it would seem to be a stroke of 

 policy for the Commissioners to own nets and set them at 

 such times as the whitefish are spawning and release all 

 other fish. We should have laws to prevent the extermina- 

 tion of our fishes and they should be strictly enforced. 

 Akron, O., Feb._15. S. R. 



A BASS FISHING REMINISCENCE. 



WHILE the mercury plays hide and seek in its little glass 

 home and the earth is covered with two feet of the 

 "beautiful," I love to think over the past season and recall 

 some of the many pleasant hours spent with my rod and flies. 

 I have not disturbed my tackle since I laid it away last fall, 

 for I feel it deserves the rest it's having. How many times 

 has that rod flashed backward and forward over our lovely 

 river, and how many times it showed its metal by standing 

 the hard strain until the fish was safely landed. 



One eve, in the latter part of July, my companion and I 

 pushed our boat into the stream at a little village fifty miles 

 above our home, for a few days' sport. We carried with us 

 a coffee pot and a few articles of food in addition to our 

 muslin tent and blanket. On the second day out, just after 

 dinner, and while pushing forward for some splendid spots 

 ahead, I suddenly felt a jerk on the line (for we trolled with 

 a 15ft. 18oz. white bamboo rod) as if the spoon had struck a 

 log. As I turned to look back a noble bass sprung from the 

 water fully seventy-five feet behind our boat. In an instant 

 our anchor was overboard and we settled down to business. 

 So did the fi9h, but at the end of twenty-five minutes we had 

 the pleasure of handling a five-pound small-mouth bass. 



The place we had looked forward to as the best on our 

 route brought poor returns for the steady whipping we gave 

 its waters, and as the sun sank below the horizon we. stepped 

 for the day almost disgusted. After trading some fine fish 

 for groceries and cigars, we pulled away for pastures new. 

 Darkness overhauled us before we reached a spot we felt 

 would furnish good sport. The next morning we started out 

 in good spirits. After carrying around the first dam, we 

 passed through a busy city whose lovely streets and business 

 houses touched the noble river, and on by old Father Time 

 as he stood guard on his tower over the busy fingers beneath 

 him. After eating our dinner ten miles below where we 

 took breakfast we stretched ourselves on the grass. A little 

 after two we inspected our tackle and started out. We were 

 now on familiar ground and felt we knew just where to go, 

 but we whipped and whipped to the right and to the left for 

 hours with poor success. Fly after fly was exchanged, and 

 still no large fish were taken; finally Pard said he had a big 

 one on out in deep water. Then we change our base. Stili 

 no success. I was disgusted, and while he goes down the 

 east side, I get the boat and go down to wait for him. 



As I sit in the boat weary and provoked, feelings of shame 

 come over me and 1 decide not to play the baby act while he 

 is working so faithfully. I jump out and go at it once more. 

 But what is that on the water below me? Is it the fin of a 

 bass feeding on top? Cautiously I wade toward the spot, 

 and as 1 draw near I give the flies a toss and draw them 

 back for a cast. They light just right. In an instant there 

 is a strike, and as the fine takes a header for below I know 

 it's no infant. Pard comes up, and in the gathering dark- 

 ness we have our sport. Sport fit for a king. Sport that 

 pays for all the hard work. Sport that fills. And as we 

 start back for the boat we carry nearly forty pounds of tiger 

 bass. None under one and a half, some three and a half 



pounds, saying nothing of those that took flies and leaders, 

 and I think we lost ten of the former. It's no easy job to 

 handle two large bass at once when they are of different 

 minds. Well do I remember one big fellow who was so sur- 

 prised to see my companion just ahead of him that he "Jit 

 out," and as he passed between my legs and the second fly 

 caught on my pants it gave him the best excuse in the world 

 for going on, and he did, too. 



feThe next week I started for Gogebic, but the memory of 

 that trip was too fresh in my mind to fish for the noble bass 

 with a spoon, and I did not. During the two weeks there I 

 took but one. But the trout. Suffice to say I got there. 



Nimrod. 



The Muskrat as a Game Fish. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Having fished a number of years through the ice for pickerel, 

 and in a number of ponds in New England, both large and 

 small, I wish to be advised relative to a very singular affair 

 that happened to a party of gentlemen on Jan. 16, 1886. We 

 fished upon a pond in Plymouth county, of this State (Massa- 

 chusetts). The lines were left.in over night, and upon visit- 

 ing them next morning, on one[of them that was set in sixteen 

 feet of water and at least twenty rods from the shore, we 

 found a live muskrat. He had taken the bait and was 

 securely hooked through the upper lip. When pulled out, 

 upon the ice he was as lively as a cricket, and had to be 

 killed before being unhooked. Will you please inform me; 

 if this is not a very unusual occurrence? I have not been 

 able to find a person who ever heard of such a thing. Should 

 like to hear from some of the winter fishermen, who are 

 readers of your valuable paper, if this kind of fishing has; 

 ever been duplicated, and if so under what circumstances. 

 This pond is quite a large one, some fourteen miles in cir- 

 cumference, and in it the eels are very plenty, and bite at 

 our bait just the same as in the summer, and I have caught 

 them at midday, and lines left in over night arc sure to have 

 some on in the morning. Is this not an unusual matter? 

 Hoping to hear from the fishermen, I remain, Charles W. 

 Dyer. 



New Jersey Seasons — Secretary's Office, The New Jer- 

 sey Game and Fish Protective Society, Plainfield, N. J., Feb. 

 17, 1886.— Editor Forest and Strenm: The trout law for 

 New Jersey has not been changed by the Legislature, nor is 

 there any bill before it at present to do so. The law remains 

 as it has for years — open season from March 1 to Oct. 1 

 inclusive. The black bass law has been amended so that the 

 open season commences on May 30 (Decoration Day). The 

 Governor has signed the bill. An effort is being made to 

 extend the season to Dec. 1, instead of closing it, as at pres- 

 ent, Nov. 1. The law would then conform with New York 

 and Pennsylvania. A number of bills are before the Legis- 

 lature to alter and amend the game laws, but I don't think 

 they will amount to anything. The laws are good enough 

 as they now stand.— W. F. Force. 



South Side Club. —Election of officers of the South Side 

 Sportsman Club, of Long Island, Feb. 15, 1886: President, 

 Boland Redmond; Vice-President, Charles Banks; Treasurer, 

 John Benjamin; Secretary, Francis O. de Luze; Counsel, 

 John E. Develin; Executive Committee. H. H. Hollister, H. 

 B. Hollins, Francis O. de Luze, J. H. Purdy, Wm. B. Ken- 

 dall. For honorary membership, James Benkard, 



Trootino in Canada.— Mr. John G. Manning writes 

 that he knows of a route for cruisers where he has taken 

 trout that averaged Zj- to 3 pounds, and even as high as 5 

 pounds, and estimates a willingness to impart his knowledge 

 to approved parties. 



Another Way Still to Carry a Landing Net.— Hang 

 it on your hat or cap, and let the handle hang down behind 

 you. Bother your "hooks to hang it on, say I. — Levi 

 Stoques. 



BREEDING OF BLACK BASS. 



[Read before the Michigan Sportsmen's Ass'n, by Mr. Chas. F. Hots.] 



DURING the past summer I have had excellent opportuni- 

 ties of studying the habits of the small-mouthed black 

 bass, well-known to all sportsmen as taking a front rank 

 among our Michigan game fish. My house is on the bank of 

 Thornapple River in plain sight of a fine spawning ground of 

 theirs. The first beds made were during the last week in 

 April, and the last during the second week in June. 



They commenced operations by working together (a male 

 and a female) to clear off a space of ground about eighteen 

 inches in diameter, removing the sediment and leaving a bed 

 of clean gravel. The female then commenced moving slowly 

 over the bed depositing her eggs, and the male following im- 

 pregnated them as fast as laid. This occupied from one to 

 two days' time. The female was then left in charge of thebed, 

 which she carefully guarded, driving away all other fish, as 

 well as lizards, crawfish and all other natural enemies. In be- 

 tween three and five days the eggs were all hatched, very few, 

 if any, unimpregnated eggs remaining in the bed, as the im- 

 pregnation seemed almost perfect. The young fry, when 

 hatched, had the umbilical sac, and in proportion to the size 

 of the body, the sac was larger than that of the brook trout. 

 They were unable to swim or even crawl out of the bed. They 

 remained in this helpless state from six weeks to two months, 

 the time depending on the temperature of the water. I saw 

 numbers of them which at six weeks old could not swim 

 enough to get out of a clam shell when lifted in that from the 

 bottom. But usually at the end of two months all were able to 

 swim, when they were led by the mother fish to shallow water 

 near the shore and left to care for themselves. The mothe r 

 fish during all this time had guarded her yound brood in the 

 same way that she before had guarded her eggs. The number 

 in each bed, as near as i could judge, was from 3,000 to 5.000. 

 I do not believe that anything could be gained by artificial 

 impregnation or hatching as in the case of the brook trout, 

 whitefish, etc., for nature has done for the black bass all that 

 I think could be done. 



Sportsmen can thus readily see the great good attained by 

 the extension of tLe anti-spearmg law from March, April and 

 May se as to cover the months of June, July, August and Sep- 

 tember, as was done by the Legislature of 1885. To kill the 

 mother fish while she is guarding her eggs or young fry before 

 they can swim would be to destroy the whoie brood. And 

 under the old law they were the very ones likely to be taken 

 by persons spearing in June, July and August, as they will 

 not leave their beds unless compelled to do so. 



Among the natural enemies of the black bass, the most de- 

 structive is, I think, the kingfisher. I hope no member of 

 your association will miss the opportunity of shooting him on 

 sight. I believe that more brook trout,' black bass and other 

 valuable fishes are annually killed by the kingfishers than are 

 taken by the hook and line in this State. I have given this 

 subject considerable study, having been engaged in fishcul- 

 ture for the past twelve years and naturally feel more or less 

 interest in everything pertaining to fish. 



