Am. 5,, 1S86.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



27 



Are there many boats used on the lalte in Kovember? An8. No, 



not for flsliiiiv- ]in i iHi-fs. 



From ihc • ' • i he bottom where this bed is, would per- 



eous crriri-^i i: likely lo pass over the place or avoid it? 



Ans. They v. rn ■ ^iJl/ avoid it. 



LtTNENBURGH, April 20, 1886. 



Boetnsr uoticcs of the ne^ fish ti-om Smiapeo Lake, I would sayni 

 relation (o them tli.n,;, I have cyauLinoa two spoeini,'7is ;init Und tl 

 description pfiveii Iv-.- von correct. Ouo of the diilerenccs thi 

 appears iJiarlvod is, i'hiit llio iiti^' ^ir- l;i ...i- si^.o, with wiile whiK 

 bands on trout sid!'. ami Ihed"' , .•anr<;]y wiintmg and 



no lines of eolor p^vieiid out i o 1 1 ■ i in, as i n a brook trout. 



Further, ttiis hsh is ciUinay d., i in? every wliere. Tlie 



dark color is veiw uniform on th-.- i ui U'lniile; the male is light. 

 ,The liiu'h color on sides is no ti-orie, but rhero is not one of the 

 usual nin livings found on Itrook trout. I believe if, a new species 

 broiiiihr lo nolirp bv voursclC, and 1 think it will nllimately be so 

 decided. far as fsV^-v Harnpsiiire walers an-, concerned, thougli 

 its eomiferpart m:iyhe known .md dcserilicd elsevdiere. Yet of 

 that even 1 am ]rot certain, as i( docs not seem to be exactly iden- 

 tical wiiii any otlior. i'ndy yours, 



H. A. Cutting, Fish Com., Vt. 



PjA'M(HTTn, N. H., April 13, 1886. 



m-ed Goi'Ul, (hiirnr'l., N. 11.: 



My Dmah Mi; W iW von lundlv jinswer mo one or two riucstions 

 in regard to (ho trout yon saw n]jon the spawning bed in Sunapee 

 Lake last No voml.)ei-. Voui-s trulv, MP.. llonoE. 



When vou wore there wds vie ■ water clear onouKh so ihni, you 

 cotdd sec the fish plainlj', and were you near enotiKl' to judsc of 

 their we itrlit? Ans. Tli ^ « ;per was p-rfecMy char. I con Id seethe 



■ ' ■ ■ r Kl. of my 

 ;rear many 

 iliat swam 

 i'ciKh lOllM. 

 r day, very 

 ips more, 

 saw? Ans. 

 Ii!,ditest 



-idc 



tRih platll^,^', and very many of 

 eyes and not mfire than a foot 

 that would weiffh dver tilbs. I saw or 

 half wav arojnd mv tic;! would, 



Ithinkihau onl ot the hundreds I sa 

 many would tip th.i scales in ih 

 How mucii \\"0'^ld th 



in pcrticnlar 

 til out oonlil. 

 (hai. Novemlj 

 icinitj' of jierli 

 lies AVd-igdi nha.ir. yoi 



lOlbs., as above s'aled. in uc- ins\ -nee. I hav 



doubt but wha' in tliat "schoor' there were, many score weighing 

 81bs. and more era;h. FiiKU H. (tOift.d. 



In tliose answers I think any one can see why these fish 

 have not been brought to notice before. .A.t the points 

 that jMr. Gould says it tvas cttstomary to' fish for trout, 

 nothing but coimnon brook trotit were or are now taken; 

 that is; they did not fish in deep water. And that he saw 

 them in 1S73, and that 5ilb. fish of tliis kind liad been 

 taken previous to the year 1883, This settles that part of 

 the question beyond a dotibt, 



I can give othei- statements of the same character in'ov- 

 ing the same fioints, but I rega,rd tiiis ;ih enough. He also 

 says tliMt he never knew of any of these trottt being 

 catight iu ])ltices where it was customary to fish for trotit 

 in the summer, and altbougli lie had "been actiuainted 

 witlt the lalte for over forty years, he had no knowledge 

 of the large spawaiiug bed until last fall. From the above 

 facte I think I am justified in calling this fish a native of 

 this lake. How they came tliere or where from I do not 

 know, but they are there of an enonnous size and in large 

 numbers. 



A qttestion was raised by one party in regard to weight 

 — that 61bs. was the largest of wbicli there avlis any knowl- 

 edge. Now upon this point only four persons, of which I 

 was one, saw tliese fish on the spawning bed, and each of 

 the three declare positively that there were trout on the 

 spawning bed tliat would "weigh lOlbs. I do not care to 

 take the trouble to ask these gentlemen to furnish affida- 

 vits; but I will furnish any one with their address, and a 

 letter to eafch or any of tliem w^ill fully substantiate tliis 

 point. I think that I have made my points clear, and to 

 my brother anglers I submit the case. B. B. Hodge. 



PtiTMOlTTii, N. H., July 12. 



AT LAKE ONAWAY. 



MESSRS. A. W. CliAPIN, of Monson, W. G. Bru:y, of 

 Portland, and myself, last Tuesday went to Lake 

 Onaway for landlocked salmon. We engaged the services 

 of E. B'. Hall, of this town, as guide, 



A carriage ride of eight miles brought us to the shore of 

 Green wooti Pond, a betiutiful and iiTegular sheet of water 

 imder the brow of Greemvood Mou-ntain. After a boat 

 ride across this pond and a carry of one mile, w^e landed 

 at Onaway Lake at about 11 o'clock A. M. As no one was 

 occupying the Lane and Davis camps, we used them while 

 there. They are built of framed lumber and boards, and 

 are very comfortable, convenient, neat and clean. They 

 are sittiated upon a high granite bluff, under the shade of 

 spruce, white birch and maple trees, and are but a few 

 rods from the sahnon-fishing grotmds. On the walls of 

 the dining room in this primitive hotel are written the 

 najnes of numerous anglers from various parts of the 

 country who had preceded us in their ijilgrimages to this 

 retreat. Among them were those of E. S. Merrill, W. P. 

 Clark, A, P. Baieman and G. S. Land, of Winchendon, 

 Mass. Future visitors will also find inscribed there the 

 record of our own party, as follows: 



"Onaway Lake, July 20, 1886. — Arrived here to-day 

 safe and sound. Caught 6 salmon and 5 smelts. Second 

 day, in the forenoon, 14 salmon, 1 smelt, 2 eels; in the af- 

 ternoon, 9 salmon; evening, 7 smelts, 1 sahnon. Third 

 day, in the forenoon, 10 salmon, 10 smelts; afternoon, 9 

 salmon, 11 smelts. Fourth day, in the forenoon, 8 sal- 

 mon, 2 smelts; afternoon, 6 salmon, 9 smelts. Fifth day, 

 foreiroon, 6 salmon, 3 smelts, 1 eel. Total, 69 salmon, 47 

 smelts, 3 eels." 



We fished in abottt 60ft. of water with live bait and 

 used light rods with reels. Besides the above we took 

 quite a large number of small ones which were returned 

 to the water, Tliose that we saved were from |-lb, to 51bs, 

 in weight. 



They are among the most gamy and active fish that I 

 ever angled for. They will also ta,ke a fly and many fly- 

 fishermen have rare sport there. The smelts are a trifle 

 larger than the saltwater smelts and are a very sweet and 

 finely flavored fish for the table. This lake Is about 3-J 

 or 4 miles in length, and at places it is one mile in width. 

 It is surrotmded'by Boar, Stone, Greenwood, Barron and 

 Bensen Mountains and is in the middle of a dense and 

 grand forest. It has many quaint bays and coves and 

 rocky and curiously shaped islands. The lover of natm-e 

 cannot but admire-the grandeur and beauty of all around 

 him wliile there. 



In the afternoon of the fifth day we packed our "dun- 

 nage"' and bade adieu to this lovely spot, and we all unan- 

 imously voted it the most satisfactory fishing trip that we 

 ever roade. The cheerfitl evening" camp-fire upon the 

 lone shore of the crystal lake, the wild echoes from the 

 hooting of the mottutain ow^ls, tlie excitement of taking 

 in the pug-naoious salmon, and the boat rides in the moon- 

 light will all five as pleasant memories ia the minds of 

 each. J. F. S. 



MONSON, Me., July 36, 



BROWN TROUT IN AMERICA. 



THE following letter relating to the growth of the 

 browti trout, which is called "German trout" in 

 western New York, was received by Mr. E, G. Black- 

 ford, Commissioner of Fisheries. The fish could not have 

 been over thi-ee years old : 



Rochester, N. Y., .July 37.— E. G. Blackford, Esq.— 

 Dear Sir: I send this afternoon per National Express, a 

 specimen of German trout which I caught in Spring 

 Creek, Mimiford, last evening. It weighed before dress- 

 ing three pounds. He afforded me great sport ; was 

 taken with day flies, No. 10 hook, fine tackle, 6oz. spliced 

 home-made rod and automatic reel. Withottt these two 

 latter I doubt if I could have saved Itim. He immediately 

 started on a dead ruji down the stream, taking all my 

 liue. Whenever he let up, the reel took uj) the slack, 

 and the rod was so soft and active that the .hook re- 

 mained firm untU he was in hand. I had no landing net 

 handy, and was obhged to get the assistance of a yomrg 

 lad to land him. T had previously caugJit several of these 

 ne^v fish about a pound in weight. They are very gamy 

 in some respects — little more so than the native trout. I 

 thittk they take the fly more sm'ely and break the water 

 more. But the growth of these fish is the remarkable 

 thing about them. Hoping it wiU reach you in good con- 

 dition, I remain, yours truly, Frank J. Amsden, 



The Medicine-Man Fly. — Long Lake, Me, — Five years 

 ago James Webb, Jr., of Portland, and Jolm Mead, of 

 North Bridgton, made a small plant of white perch in 

 Long Lake. That the experiment \\ as a success is proved 

 by the caj^ture of about forty specimens by a Harrison 

 party one day recently. These perch are nice pan fish, 

 and by tliosc who like the simpler methods of angling are 

 regarded as quite an addition to otu" fish fauna. The black 

 bass fishing in tiie lake is very good this season. Just now 

 they are settling into the deeper w^ater off rocky points 

 and sunken ledges; and while a few still rise to the fly, 

 the majority respond best to still-fishing with a grass- 

 hopper. Of flies, one of my own tyitig, the medicine- 

 man, I have found to be the most successful in our waters 

 for all kinds of weather and all times in the day. Body 

 blue silk, wings white, tail peacock lierl, hackle or legs 

 eitlver yellow or bltie, I |)refer the blue. This fly reseuables 

 a bhte-bodied dragonfly, upon which the bass'^in this sec- 

 tioir feed voraciously. This, 1 think, is why it is good on 

 a bright day, white flies usually being reserved for night 

 and cloudy-day fishing. — Black Spot. 



"Camp Forest and Stream."— Mouth of St, Francis, 

 New Brimswick, July 9, ISSQ.—Bditor Forest and Stream: 

 1 am just in from my trip to headquarters. On my trip 

 I found at a camping place a copy of Forest and Stream 

 of date Aug. 28, 1884. It was almost perfect and I en- 

 joyed it. It was like meeting an old friend. I inscribed 

 my name on a cedsx and named the place "Camp Forest 

 and Stream." The paper was doubtless left by a party 

 whose names were inscribed on the tree as follows: Silas 

 W. Masters, Brooklyn, N. Y.; F. A. Phillips, New York 

 city, I return them my hearty thanks for the paper. I 

 had a glorious time. Saw moose and deer every day. 

 Tlu'ee of the former were jet black. Trouttag not first- 

 rate, but always got enough to eat and that was enough. 

 The flies were not as bad this season as last. — ^Maine. 



WEAiiPiSHiNO About New York.— Many anglers are 

 meeting wdtli success in taking weakfl'sh about Staten 

 Island, Fort Hamilton and Prince's Bay. Numerous boats 

 float with the tide and lie at anchor, as the fishermen pre- 

 fer, while from the shores and docks the hand-liae fisher 

 casts his shedder-crab, clam or sand- worm mto the water. 

 On a recent trip down the harbor we cotmted nearly three 

 hundred boats, mostly driftmg with the ebb tide, all fish- 

 ing for weakfish, and we saw one boat which had about 

 twenty good fish in it. Tliis is an inexpensive trip for a 

 New York city angler who has a "day off," and it has the 

 merit of being almost at his door. 



It Was the Head of the Fish. — Little Falls, N. Y. , 

 July 30. — Editor Forest and Stream: I regret to find my- 

 self compelled to call your atteittion to a most serious mis- 

 statement in a letter describing certain events assimied 

 to have occurred recently on Wilmurt Lake. It is stated 

 that while engaged in the struggle with a certain large 

 trout "fche head of my fly came off." This is not so. It was 

 the head of the trout, and while I was endeavoring to get 

 the hook clear the writer must remember how severely I 

 was bitten by it. — Piseco. 



Sebaqo Lake Salmon.— Sam Witham killed a lOlbs. 

 landlocked salmon between the mouth of Songo River and 

 the Images, Sebago Lake, Me,, on Jttly 34 and lost one 

 which he thinks wotild go a few pounds better. We are 

 jlad to see him begin to like the rod better than the spear; 

 with that weapon he used to have the reputation of being 

 the most skilled of any one who visited the spawning 

 beds; but like many others he now sees the evil of it and 

 we are always glad when we hear the salmon have taken 

 his bait.— Black Spot (Sebago Lake, Me.). 



Intermediate Lake Campers are often put to racon- 

 venience by having their mail addressed to ' 'Intermedi- 

 ate" post office, which is north of Intermediate Lakes, in 

 an ottt-of-the-way place. It will tisually be better to have 

 letters sent to Bellaire, or to Center Lake, from which 

 points mails may be promptly forwarded when necessary. 

 — F. H. Thurston (Central Lake, Mich.). 



Greene, N. Y.— Out streams are full of black bass, but 

 they are acting out their natttre and do not take any bait 

 or line we give them; perliaps they may later in the sea- 

 son. If you have any one w^ho considers himself an ex- 

 pert on black bass send them along. — L. C. Silvernail, 



Weakfishing is Fair.— Seabright, N. J., Aug. 3.— 



Editor Forest and Stream: There have been some very 

 fan- catches of weakfish here, and tliis in sort compensates 

 for the absence of the bluefish. Reports from Barnegat 

 say that many weakfish were taken there last week, A 

 friend took thu-ty on Saturday last, which averaged l|lbs. 

 each, using shedder crabs, — G. R, 



Address all comnmnicaUom to the Forest and Stream Pub, Co. 



The LrMiTED Payment Policies of the Travelers, of Hartford, 

 Conn., concentrate payments into the working years of a man's 

 life, and leave him free from all wori-j- in his later years even if 

 helpless.— ^ciu. 



THE MICHIGAN GRAYLING. 



BY HERSCHEL WHITAKER. 

 [Read before the Amerk'.an Fisheries Society.] 



ONE grayling (ThymaJlms tricolor) is f(jiind native to the 

 waters of Micliigau alone of at 1 the States of the Unioti. 

 Vague rumors from time to time have hinted at it.s pre.seuce 

 in other waters, but the authenticity of such statements 

 has never been verified. A few facts (■onceriiing the distri- 

 bution of the grayling of Michigan, its habits and the ex- 

 periments that liave been made here looking to it.s artificial 

 propagation, may not be devoid of interest to this Society. 



The waters of Michigan in which it lias its habitat may be 

 generally described as within the territory liounded on the 

 south by 43:80, extending as far north as 4.5:30. The streams 

 included within this territory discharge their watei-s into 

 Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. An imaginary line drawn 

 from the mouth of the Mtiskegon on the western border of 

 the State to the mouth of the Ati Sable ou the east, will 

 j)erhaps better indicate the soutliem limit of the grayling. 

 The waters most famous as grayling streams, owing to their 

 magnitude, accessibility and their popularity with sports- 

 men, are the Au Sable and the Manistee. The Hersey, the 

 Pere Marquette, the Maple, the Pigeon, with tlieir triljtita- 

 ries, and numerous other streams of less importance included 

 within the boundaries already mentioned, are also fairly 

 stocked with this fish. The Boardman, the Boyne and the 

 .Jordan were once famous resorts for sportsmen'who angled 

 for the grayling, but their glory as grayling streams has 

 long since departed, the grayling having given way to the 

 predacious and combative trout, yet now and then an occa- 

 sional grayling is taken. 



Although the subject has often been discussed by writers 

 upon game fishes, allow me briefly to refer to the geueral 

 character of this fish. To the sportsman who has always 

 angled for trotit and is unfamiliar with the habits of gray- 

 Img this fish will excite some surprise upon first acquaint- 

 ance. Unlike the trottt you are not likely to find him in 

 pool and shady haunt, but on the swift ripple and shallow, 

 Inn^ering like the hawk in air. While you are adroitly seek- 

 ing, with your trout fisherman's experience, to reach some 

 shaded pool where you should ex])eot to find him if lie were a 

 trout, you suddenly find your fly tak^en most unexpectedly in 

 open water, and you are taken somewlutt at a disadvantage. 

 Once securely hooked comes the beauty of the fight, and here 

 the grayling difl'ers most radically from the trout. Instead 

 of seeking shelter by retreating to the deep pool or beneath 

 some root, he will perhaps leap clear of the water from two 

 to thi-ee or more times, and with a vicious shake of the 

 head seek to free himself from the hook. When landed yon 

 try in vain to determine which has the superiority, the gray- 

 ling or the trout, but you finally conclude that you have for- 

 gotten exactly how the trout acts when hooked, and if you 

 are a philosopher you inwardly argue that it is such a close 

 question you wfill leave its determination to such time as 

 you shall catch your next trout. 



The large dorsal fin is the distinguishing characteristic of 

 the grayling. In repose the fin lies folded lipoji its liack, but 

 in a state of activity or when excited the anterior ijortion 

 becomes rigid, and the posterior portion Avaves like a banner 

 in the air. When freshly taken from the water the dorsal 

 fin is iridescent and its variegated coloring is gorgeously 

 beautiful and vivid. The fish itself is covered with small 

 light steely gray colored scales, and above the median line 

 has a few faint brown mottlings about the .size of a head of 

 a pin. Its head is quite small and the general contour of its 

 hotly is slim and graceful. A faint odor is discernible re- 

 sembling the wild thyme, hence its name, Thymallus. 



As eaiuy as the year 1854 or 185.5, the grayling was first 

 called to the attention of local scientists in Michigan by Mr. 

 Wright L. Cofftnbury, a gentleman in the employ of the 

 general government, who was then making strrveys of the 

 wilderness lying adjacent to the Muskegon and Hersey 

 rivers. At this time the grayling was plentiful in all these 

 streams, and afforded the surveyor, explorer and hunter a 

 grateful change from pork and hardtack, and the fish was 

 known among them as "Michigan trout." Mr. Coffiiibury 

 had the grayling especially called to his attention, as he 

 busied himself during his leisure hours in an attempted 

 cla.ssiflcation of the fish found in the Muskegon and tributary 

 waters, and as I have before mentioned he was instrumental 

 in calling local attention to the grayling. Later on and 

 about the year 1855 or'56. Dr. Parker of Grand Rapids, Mich- 

 igan, (now president of the Michigan Fish Commission), 

 succeeded in procm-ing a specimen of the grayling, beauti- 

 fully preserved in homely salt and wrapped carefully in a 

 newspaper, minus a few fins and of course almost devoid of 

 its natural color, and after a careful study of the specimen 

 and a comparison with a cut of the English grayling and a 

 description of the same, he pronounced it a true ThymaUiis, 

 and in a paper read before the local scientific society of Grand 

 Rapids, named it Thymallus riiichiga nsis, a patronymic by ■ 

 which it was knowm locally for some years; in fact up to the 

 time that a speciman was sent by Prof. Miles to Prof, Cope 

 in 18(U. Specimens stibsequentlv submitted to Prof. Agassiz 

 through the efforts of Mr. D. H. Fitzhugh, of Bay City, 

 Michigan, who is beyond question the greatest authority on 

 grayling in the eountrv, were classified by that eminent 

 scientist, and determinecl beyond question to be the grayling. 



During the period to which I have referred the .streams 

 emliraced within the territory already incficated were swarm- 

 ing with this beautiful fish. So plentiful were they for 

 many years that the settlers were accustomed during the 

 spawning period to come to the dam at or near the site of 

 the present village of Hersey and capture them -v^dth baskets, 

 carrying them away by the wagon load. There are many 

 people yet living in that vicinity who can vouch for the truth 

 of this statement, were it necessary, but I think I can safely 

 presume that the courtesy of gentlemen who are interested 

 in the propagation of fish and the fishing industries and in- 

 terests will scarcely require the fortification of this statement 

 by affidavit. 



It would seem unaccountable that this state of things hav- 

 ing once existed, that in late years the grayling should have 

 so rapidly disappeared from these streams; yet the fact 

 remains that many of the streams that once knew them now 

 know them no more. This is notably true of such noble 

 .streams as the .Jordon, the Boyne and the Boardman. From 

 those streams which flow to and discharge their waters on 

 the extreme northern coast of the Lower Peninsula the gray- 

 ling have entirely disappeared, although noAv and then an 

 occasional straggler may be f otmd. The cause of this deple- 

 tion is, however, directly traceable to the lumberman and the 

 trout. The grayling cannot successfully run the gatmtlet of 

 log-running and the vicious attacks of the trotit, who loves 

 the dainty and succulent fry and the youngster grayling, and 

 overcomes them both. It is a fact that until vvlthih the 

 last thirty or forty years brook trout were unknown 

 in the northern .streams of Michigan, while the streams 

 of the Upper Peninsula, discharging thetr waters 

 into Lake Michigan, are stocked almost exclusively 

 with the trout. The theory advanced and generally ac- 

 cepiied by those familiar with the facts, is that migration of 

 the trout has taken place from the streams emptying their 

 waters into Lakes Michigan and Huron to those grayling 

 streams. There is much reason, it would seem, for this 

 argument. It is a peculiar fact that the waters of the Maple 



