April 8, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



207 



Brainerd, Minn., March 30.— A number of gentlemen 

 met Monday evening and took initial steps for the organiza- 

 tion of a sportsmen's club. There were about fifteen pres- 

 ent. The meeting organized by electing Mr. A. J. Halsted 

 as chairman, and Mr. W. S. McClenahan was called upon 

 to act as secretary. Dr. J. L. Camp, who had taken a 

 prominent part in bringing about the meeting, explained at 

 some length what was sought to be accomplished by the 

 organization, the prime object of which would be the pro- 

 tection of game and fish in this vicinity, and the enforce- 

 ment of all laws relating thereto. The wholesale destruction 

 of game and fish in Northern Minnesota is becoming alarm- 

 ing, and acitve and vigorous measures should be taken to 

 check it. Therefore the Doctor thought a strong organiza- 

 tion should be effected, and every possible effort made to 

 enforce the laws and bring the guilty parties to justice. The 

 existence of such an organization, he believed, would 

 materially check the evil, if it did not stop it altogether. At 

 Dr. Camp's suggestion, a committee of five was appointed 

 to correspond with other associations of the kind, for the 

 purpose of obtaining all necessary information in regard to 

 organization, by laws, etc. ; also to arrange for another meet- 

 ing, to be announced in the newspapers, together with an 

 urgent request for all citizens of the county interested in the 

 object of the association to be present. The chair appointed 

 upon this committee Messrs. Geo. Keene, Dr. Camp, Wm. 

 Seelye, S. H. Relf and A. A. Greene. 



Antrim County Society.— The Beilaire, Mich,, Breeze re- 

 ports that the citizens of Antrim county, Mich. , propose to 

 organize "the Antrim County Society for the Preservation of 

 Fish and Game, and that the movements and aims of this 

 society shall be in the direct interests of the farmers and 

 other 'inhabitants of this county. The society shall take 

 every means in its power to enforce existing laws looking to 

 the protection of our fish, game and birds, and endeavor to 

 procure the passage of other statutes looking toward the 

 same ends. It shall use its best efforts to discourage and 

 prevent the wanton Waste by tourists and others, who have 

 repeatedly made our shores' offensive with the tons of valu- 

 able food fish they have left to rot near their camps. It shall 

 see to it that every butcher who, out of season, shall slay 

 his scores of deer in the deep snows, shall not get off scot 

 free, as in times past. It shall endeavor to stop the hounding 

 of deer, and shall seek to obtain information to guide its 

 actions as best it may in all kindred matters looking to the 

 benefit of the inhabitants of Antrim county. Twenty -five 

 persons gave in their names as desirous of being enrolled as 

 members of the association, and a committee was appointed, 

 consisting of F. H. Thurston, Secretary, of Central Lake'; 

 Robert R. Wilkinson, of Eastport, and Roswell Leavitt, of 

 Bellaire, to draft a constitution and by-laws, and give public 

 notice of the time and place of a future meeting, at which 

 the organization of she society may be perfected. " 



Georgia Dove Shooting.— Columbus, Ga., March 31.— 

 The finest dove shooting of the season has just taken place. 

 A party of gentlemen, consisting of Messrs'. O. C. Johnson 

 Kyle Nuckolis, J. S. Wilcox, Fred Gordon and Henry 

 Burrus, went down into Alabama on the McMillan planta- 

 tion last Thursday afternoon, where they were royally enter- 

 tained by Mrs. McMillan and family. The party was joined 

 by Mr. Will .Nuckolis and Mr McMillan, who, with some of 

 the neighbors, took part in the shooting. It must not be 

 overlooked that all the participants are amateur sportsmen, 

 as the party made no pretensions whatever to shooting. The 

 total number of doves which were actually bagged, as far as 

 can be recollected, is 783. There were only ten in the party. 

 The most remarkable feature of the occasion was the shoot- 

 ing of Mr. Kyle Nuckolis, as it was his first attempt. Of the 

 total number of birds killed Mr. Kyle Nuckolis killed and 

 bagged Hi, The whole party was surprised and dumb- 

 founded, and are very much inclined to think that this 

 champion shot was playing off. The party did credit to 

 themselves and are to be congratulated on having made 

 what the Enquirer-Sun says is the finest record of the sea- 

 son. 



C a ^ v ab Mountains.— In November, 1884, I met at the 

 forty-two mile crossing of the Little Medicine, a government 

 outfit of mule teams, besides pack mules, from Fort Russell, 

 loaded down to the guards with elk hindquarters. Last No- 

 vember, while in camp at the same place, in the Caspar 

 Mountains, Wyoming, we discovered that a large band of 

 Indians were camped just over Mud Mountain engaged in 

 killing elk and deer for the hide. We Were informed by 

 some ranch men that these Indians were from the Pine Rid^e 

 Agency. Caspar Mountains are the best place for grouse°I 

 ever saw, have seen more than one hundred in a bunch, 

 mostly willow grouse. A great deal of game is annually 

 destroyed in these mountains by hunters going in there too 

 early m the fall for fear of being snowed in later, and their 

 game spoils. 1 saw last fall a large number of elk hind- 

 quarters that had spoiled, but this is done mostly by tender- 

 foot hunters; the old hunters know better how to save their 

 game. 1 have hunted there for the last three years, about 

 three weeks in October or November of each year, and have 

 never lost any meat yet, except by bob cats or mountain 

 lions.— Elk. 



Colorado. — Berthoud. — In this country game is tolerably 

 plentiful. Blacktail deer can be found in a half day's drive. 

 Ducks aud geese are very plenty. In a radius of five miles 

 of my house are fifteen small lakes or reservoirs for irri°-a- 

 tion, ranging from five to one hundred acres each, and°in 

 these the ducks and geese have a picnic. Jack rabbits arc 

 also abundant. Most of our lovers of the camp and gun 

 have their regular fall hunt in Northwestern Colorado or 

 Wyoming. Some three years ago North Park was a great 

 resort for antelope hunters. I have seen many a wagon load 

 of from 50 to 100 antelope each brought out from there to be 

 shipped from Larima City to Denver; but that is now a 

 thing of the past. The elk and antelope are fast following 

 the buffalo. One good thing I can say for the Rocky Moun- 

 tain hunters, they don't hound the game "to make them 

 shy."— Elk. 



Jesse Conkling's Btj ENE d.— "Castle Cankling," one of the 

 old and popular resorts on the Great South Bay, Was struck 

 by lightning Wednesday morning, March 31, and burned to 

 the ground. For the past twenty-five years "Jesse Conk- 

 ling's" has been a household word with the lovers of the rod 

 and gun. It was situated on Whig Inlet, not far from Sam- 

 mis's summer hotel on Fire Island and Havemeyer's on 

 Creektree Island. For two generations the Castle has been 

 a landmark, and few sportsmen will hear of the destruction 

 of the old place without regrets. The loss was about $8,000. 



Wisconsin Game Birds.— Black River Falls, Wis., April 

 2. — We have good prairie chicken shooting through this 

 country in season. By traveling considerable quite large 

 bags, as well as fine sport can be had. I have to-day talked 

 with a party who is traveling through the country almost 

 every day surveying, and he tells me that he has not seen 

 prairie chickens so plenty at their season in years as they are 

 this spring. So we anticipate fine shooting the coming sea- 

 son. He tells me he flushed a nice flock of quail of some 

 eighteen or twenty one day last week. He also raises many 

 partridges in his travels. All this goes to show that not- 

 withstanding the very severe weather and unusual large fall 

 of snow, game birds of all classes in this vicinity have win- 

 tered unusually well, and if nothing happens from now out 

 shooting will be good this fall.— G. J. S. 



Fisher's Island Hake Hdnt.— Hoboken, N. J., April 

 4 — Editor Forest and Stream: You will oblige us by pub- 

 lishing in your next issue an invitation to all the friends of 

 the club members, and also to any of the gentlemen of the 

 Eastern Field Trial and Westminster Kennel clubs to join 

 the members of the Fisher's Island Club in a grand hunt for 

 the two breeds of European hares, which we are obliged to 

 exterminate on account of their interference with garden 

 crops. We will leave New York city. April 14, by the 8 A. 

 M. train, N. Y., N. H. & H. R R., and go aboard boat at 

 New London, 12 M. —Max Wenzel, Sec'y F. I. Club. 



Grouse in Wisconsin. — Egg Harbor, Door County. — 

 Having occasion recently to visit the resorts of the ruffed 

 grouse I find they have wintered well, notwithstanding the 

 cold days and deep snows of January and February, and if 

 they are not molested during the breeding season by men and 

 boys who care little for the future of this noble bird, we can 

 look for good shooting next fall. Robins and meadow larks 

 have made their appearance, which indicates that spring 

 with us is close at hand. — Corona. 



Bridgeport, Conn. — A new club has leased grounds. 

 1,500 acres in extent, for a term of years, and already 200 

 quail have been turned down, and a like number will shortly 

 be added. The land will be strictly preserved, and none but 

 members allowed the use of it. 



jf and ^ivtt fishing. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



CASTING THE FLY. 



IT is a very difficult matter to teach fly-casting by mail or 

 in the columns of a newspaper, still there are some gen- 

 eral principles which may be laid down, and in the absence 

 of a teacher some proficiency may be acquired by observing 

 these rules and by practice. The Forest and Stream has 

 a letter from a young man who has been trying it alone, 

 practicing diligently on the roof of a four-story building] 

 making casts at an imaginary pool with a small shot tied on 

 for a fly. An ordinary tin roof with its seams would proba- 

 bly use up a waterproof silk line in a short time, and the 

 shot on the end of it is worse than useless. We would ad- 

 vise him, if he can't get a pool of water, to try casting on 

 snow or grass without flies or anything beyond a simple knot 

 in the end of his line to keep it from fraying out. The first 

 thing to be impressed upon him is not to attempt long casts; 

 these are for the distant future. Water is by far the best 

 medium to learn to cast upon, for the resistance to the line 

 when retrieving is exactly what he will experience in actual 

 fishing. Let him procure a good trout rod, of such material 

 as he may choose or may suit his purse. It should be of 

 moderate stiffness, yet with action enough to do its work 

 without violent exertion. The selection of this rod is some- 

 thing he should consult an expert upon. Between one stiff 

 as a bean pole and one of the "limber-go-shiftless" things so 

 weak in the back that when one strikes a fish with it, the tip 

 gives down instead of striking, such as are called "double 

 action rods," we would choose the bean pole. 



The line and the rod should fit each other in the exact 

 proportion with which the Mikado attempts to make "the 

 punishment fit the crime." A heavy line on a light and 

 limber rod is almost as bad a combination as could be made. 

 Presuming that he has his line, rod and reel all in proportion 

 and fitting each other well, the reel always below Lis hand, 

 he takes his position where there is no obstacle behind him 

 to interfere with his back cast. It is entirely upon this back 

 cast, or the retrieving of the line, that his success depends. 

 It must on no account touch the ground or water behind 

 him. Let him begin with about fifteen feet of line, his rod 

 in an erect position, and then make a forward cast; his elbow 

 close to the body and the movement mainly with the wrist. 

 As the line lies out upon the water, with the rod paiallel to 

 its surface, he should draw it back a foot or two slowly, 

 gradually increasing its speed, and then with the spring of 

 the rod send it up behind him with an upward motion of bis 

 wrist, stop his rod at nearly a vertical position ; then allow- 

 ing just as much time for the line to be straightened out 

 behind as it occupied in going forward, let him make the 

 cast again with his wrist and send it forward. He should 

 practice this until he can lay his line straight upon the water 

 in the spot where he wishes it to land. 



When he has accomplished this to his satisfaction, let him 

 take his left hand and reel off a few feet more line while it 

 lies upon the water and before he retrievesit. Theresistance 

 of the water will then draw this extra line through the rings, 

 and he must allow a little more time for the line to get behind 

 him than he did before. He must also bear in mind that his 

 rod must not stand at a greater angle than forty -five degrees 

 behind him, and if he attempts to stop it when it is vertical 

 he will find it will go back to about this angle. It would be 

 well to count one, two, three backward, timing it as a 

 musician counts his beats. As he gets out more line, it will 

 be necessary to draw it slightly nearer him, in order to start 

 it from the water, than when he was making shorter- casts; 

 but in all cases he must start it slowly, increasing the speed 

 until he gives it a twitch which sends it back, always bearing 

 in mind that it is the rod which is to do the work by its 

 spring, and not entirely his muscles. The cast of a fly is a 

 sleight which is only to be acquired by practice. Should he 

 fail in giving it time to straighten out behind him, he will 

 hear a snap like the crack of a whip, which, in case he had 

 a fly upon the leader, would be snapped off; yet, should he 

 give it too much time, be will find that the line falls in the 

 water behind him and impedes his cast. A longer cast can 



be made without flies than with them, as a rule, and only 

 when he attains the proficiency of having his back cast go 

 straight out behind him and can start it just at that moment 

 when it straightens, without looking behind to see where it 

 is, should he attempt to use the fly. 



There is a peculiar upward motion of the wrist attained 

 only by practice which sends the fly, instead of straight 

 behind the caster, up into the air, and an expert can do this 

 without danger of catching low bushes, sucb as alders, etc., 

 which may be close behind. It is during these early days 

 of practice that the novice will acquire a sleight of hand, 

 good or bad, which will stick to him for a long time. Prac- 

 ticing alone he cannot judge of his faults of stvle. He 

 should beware of slashing his line forward in the hope of 

 getting it out by main strength ; rememberiug that the elas- 

 ticity of the rod is the projecting power and that the phys- 

 ical strength of the caster is a very small factor iu sending 

 a fly to a distance. Again we would impress upon him the 

 necessity of keeping his elbow close to his body in the be- 

 ginning. This will teach him to depend upon his wrist 

 more than upon his arm. We have many times cast while 

 sitting in a boat and have seen others do the same, with the 

 elbow resting on the knee; this was a favorite mode with the 

 late Ruben Wood. 



A beginner should never attempt to cast beyond twenty- 

 five or thirty feet, until he can lay his line, straight and with- 

 out kink upon the water for that distance. He should then 

 pay attention to the falling of the flies upon the water. The 

 first efforts will doubtless be accompanied by a splash. He 

 can, however, soon acquire the trick of checking the line 

 and so regulating the tip of his rod that the flies will fall 

 gently. This is one of the most difficult things to explain, 

 but quite easy to do. It is perfectly possible, at a distance 

 of forty or fifty feet, to cast, check the line, and raise the 

 tip in such a manner that the flies shall alight before the line 

 does. In actual fishing we do not often do this, and it is 

 perhaps more ornamental than useful. In long casts the 

 line will strike the water beyond its middle and gradually 

 follow out until the end is reached, even the point where the 

 leader is joined to the line being in advance of the flies, until 

 this point touches the water, where the flies go on beyond 

 and straighten out to the full length of the cast. 



The beginner should, by all means, have a friend to watch 

 when the line goes behind him, and caution him to give 

 more or not quite so much time, although it is seldom the 

 latter caution will be used. Our own experience in teaching 

 novices has been that they fail in not giving the line time 

 enough behind them in order to have it perfectly straight 

 and no whip cracking in the rear. Iu practice haste should 

 be made slowly, and a certain distance should be well cov- 

 ered and cast with certainty every time before any increase 

 is attempted. Casting with the wind is by far the easiest, 

 and one should begin in this way if there is any wind ; after- 

 ward he should cast against the wind, when he will find 

 that with a moderate breeze he requires more vim in the 

 cast than he does in the recovery when the wind helps him 

 to get his fine well behind. He should by all means learn to 

 cast with both hands, that in actual fishing he may rest one 

 arm by casting with the other, a very great advantage, as he 

 will find in a day's work. No amount of teaching will make 

 him a good caster, practice alone will do this. 



HINTS ON BASS ANGLING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your correspondent "Noinoe," in your issue of March 25, 

 gives a very interesting deseription of his method of still- 

 fishing for the small-mouth bass. He advocates fine tackle 

 and one book, which is apparently exactly the opposite of 

 my advice in a former communication. I believe that the 

 difference in our views of the matter is caused by the differ- 

 ent character of the waters habitually fished by each. For 

 still, clear water, I believe his plan is better than mine; but 

 for the kind of fishing I have been accustomed to, I still 

 think that two hooks on one line is the correct thiug. More 

 than nine tenths of my bass fishing has been done just below 

 a dam, where the water swirls and boils, and where, early in 

 the season, the black bass is found in all his glory and in full 

 fighting trim. Under such circumstances you cannot see 

 Mr. Bass and he cannot see you. If he sees you he won't bite. 

 Of course you need a heavy sinker to keep the bait where 

 you cast it. I have about made up my mind to try another 

 style of bait-fishing, viz. : casting the minnow, or other bait, 

 as described by Dr. Henshall in his book of the "Black 

 Bass." I believe that to be the best method for most waters 

 when the bass will not take the fly. For this style of casting 

 a very free running reel is necessary, and I believe that those 

 now on the market, that permit of long casts being made in 

 this style, are very expensive. My former inquiries on this 

 point failed to bring any response through the columns of 

 Forest and Stream, but I have received a number of 

 letters containing valuable hints, and have been experiment- 

 ing with a view to producing something that would cast a 

 very light bait without resorting to metallic swivels or other 

 weights to assist in starting the reel and keeping it in motion, 

 and so far as my very meagre experiments have gone 1 have 

 been very successful. E. A, Leopold. 



RANGELEY LAKE LARGE TROUT. 



Editor Forest and Sti'eam: 



I was very much surprised to notice in the last issue of 

 Forest and Stream, Mr. Ames's statement quoting me as 

 saying that a trout of thirteen pounds or over was ever taken, 

 to my knowledge, in Rangeley waters, It is surely a mis- 

 take. Either Mr. Ames misunderstood me or I said what I 

 had no intention or remembrance of saying, and if the mis- 

 take is on my side I am very glad of this chance of correct- 

 ing it. In speaking in Boston of the catches of trout that 

 have been made at our lakes, I have no doubt referred to 

 what has been done at one cast, but I am very sorry if I 

 worded my remarks so as to give any one to understand that 

 the weight of trout landed at one cast meant the weight of 

 only one trout. As far as I know the large trout taken near 

 the Rangeley Dam a few years ago. by the men fishing for 

 breeding purposes* still stands at the head of the list of our 

 large trout. I did not see the fish weighed, but a man who 

 did told me this afternoon that the weight was an honest 

 twelve pounds and two ounces. A birch bark cut of the fish 

 with the weight marked on it adorns the wall of one of the 

 lake cottages. What a pity that that fine specimen of a trout 

 could not have been nicely mounted, its history written up 

 and placed with it in a conspicuous place. It would have 

 told two stories, one, what the Rangeley Lakes could do to 

 grow fine trout; the other, what artificial hatching could do 

 to stop their growing. Capt. Barker. 



Rjuhjeley, Mfe., March 28. 



