310 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Not. 11, 1886. 



TWO FISH. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



When the clock struck 2 yesterday afternoon, I had a 

 very bad attack of restlessness; in other words I ached to 

 go a-fishing. I had not wet a line for several weeks and 

 could not wait any longer. A drive of sis miles took me 

 to the headwaters of the San Antonio River, to a favoriti 

 place at the jimction of the Olmus and the San Anton] 

 River. In a very few minutes after my arrival I 

 busily engaged iii casting the fly to the best of my abi. 

 Working do%vn the stream for nearly one mile I cai 

 but one small large-mouthed black bass. Reachijpgat 

 last the upper end of a long pool of shallow watpr, a 

 veritable spring of pure, fresh water, clear as crystal, with 

 a solid rock bottom. A light deposit put upon this rocky 

 bottom furnished a foothold for pond lilies and other 

 aquatic plants, which pronounced this the natiu-al 

 home of the black bass, and one could not select a more 

 desirable place to cast the fly in anticipation of rich re- 

 ward. Taking a good position from which to make a long 

 cast down the stream (about forty feet is the maximum 

 when as was the case at this time I was using a A'ery light 

 rod, not over 5oz. in weight), at the third cast I felt the 

 expected strike and kncAV that I had hooked a large fish. 

 Making a rush do^vn the stream some forty or fifty feet, 

 under all the strain the rod and line could bear, the fish 

 broke from the water. Being under a high bank pro- 

 tected by a d.eep fringe of bushes, I did not get a good 

 view of him, but the splashing was enough to convince 

 me that I had hooked a small whale. With a strong pull 

 he insisted on going down the stream and could not be 

 checked until he Jiad taken another fifty feet of fine off 

 the reel. Now then he tugged and tugged, and seemed 

 determined to bui-row in the rocky bottom. At last he 

 started up the stream and in a very short time I had a 

 glimpse of his tail as he partially broke from the water. 

 Bah! it was a catfish, (called blue cat in tiiis locality, 

 channel cub in Ohio and Indiana). I landed the fish 

 which weighed 31bs. and found he had taken the stretcher, 

 a Parmacheene-belle. Concluding that it was not a good 

 day for bass fishing, I set out on my way back to the 

 starting point. I noticed a fallen treetop in a pool I had 

 not tried on the way down the stream. As a last chance 

 I made a cast to its friendly border. This was rewarded 

 with a strike and the feel of a large fish. He made 

 direct for the center of the fallen treetop, and there was 

 nothing for the rod and fine to do but stand the strain or 

 bi'eak. I did not feel good. I wanted that fish; I knew he 

 must be a black bass of good size, olbs. at least. Smaller 

 ones do not move off with that uniform motion and strong 

 steady pull on the line; only the very large ones put con- 

 fidence in main strength. I expected every instant to 

 feel the line catch on a projecting limb, two or thi-ee times 

 it snubbed and freed itself, I felt like kicking myself. 

 How often have I solemnly vowed never to use more than 

 one fly when casting for black bass in small streams filled 

 with snags and other obstructions. One fish at a cast 

 ought to satisfy any reasonable angler. I wiU never do 

 it again, not even if I land the fish. He rises to the strain 

 on the line sufficient for me to determine that he is hooked 

 upon the dropper. Now I know he will get the line tan- 

 gled in the brush. That stretcher fly will always be in 

 the way. Down he goes under the brush again. No, he 

 comes out and rushes full speed down the stream. Go it 

 old fellow, take all the Ime you want. Don't like the 

 shallow water on that sandbar. Never mind; go right 

 over; that is right, there is deep water below and no ob- 

 structions. You and I can now have as many roimds as 

 you please, make your own rules. The Parmacheene- 

 belle shall be the referee. Now you are landed — a 41b3. 

 catfish. I wiU go home and hasten to tell Forest and 

 Steeam how I was fooled twice on the same day. 



The above story is as near the hteral truth as can be 

 expected from the mouth of an old member of the fra- 

 ternity. The fish were xaot weiglied, but I have no doubt 

 that together they weighed 71bs. The fish took the fly 

 on the sm'face of the water, the strike was as quick and 

 strong as coiild be expected from a large black bass or 

 brook trout. I am half way inclined to rate the blue 

 cat as a game fish, they take minnows, crawfish, dobsons, 

 grasshoppers and sometimes the fly. They frequent swift 

 waters and usually take the bait at or near the sm-f ace. 



Gringo. 



San Antonio, Texas. 



Sensibility of Fishes to Faiis.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: Anent this subject I have nothing new to offer, 

 though I might present corroborative testimony as to fish 

 with broken hooks in their mouths taking bait or fly 

 again almost immediately, or of fish fresh from the water 

 being thrown on wharves or the ground, or carried on 

 strings by the hour without being killed, and in ecstatic 

 enjoyment lifting up their eyes in tearful thankfulness 

 for the privileges, Wt I notice the account from ' 'B. F. 

 M.," Raleigh, N. C, of the experience of the "Rev. Dr. M. 

 M. Mar-shall, pastor of Christ Church," who cut a slice 

 from a live fish, then threw him into the water and 

 straightway caught him again. It was no doubt the 

 fault of the fish, the insensible fish, that he was impaled 

 again (did the kind Doctor try it over again?), but I won- 

 der if the "pastor of Christ Church" though he was fol- 

 lowing the precepts of his gentle, thoughtful and merciful 

 master. — O. O. S. 



MASKiisONQt.— Editor Forest and Stream: Mr, Fred 

 Mather in his letter published in yoiu- number of 2Sth 

 ult., states that E. nohilior is called' by French Canadians 

 ' ' masque aUonge. " I have lived among French Canadians 

 more than thirty years, have fished and hunted with 

 guides of that nationality, and have associated intimately 

 with merchants, professional men and in fact all ranks of 

 the same race, and never yet heard the fish called any- 

 thing but maskinonge, (pronounced mas-kee-non-jai) be- 

 ing almost precisely tlie same as the Chippewa name 

 which was given to Col. Graves by John B. Codotte. 

 There are numerous lakes, a river, a county and a town in 

 this Province named Maskinonge, but none tbat I know 

 of, called Masque Allonge. From aU of Avhich I conclude 

 that the conservative French Canadian has lianded down 

 the name exactly as he got it from the Indians, and as 

 the Chippewas aforesaid still have it. — H, R. (Montreal, 

 Nov. 5). 



€ddrcss all wmmunications to the Fwest and Stream Pub\ 



Don't Suffer Cold to AccmiaLATE on cold until your 

 threat and lungs are in a state of elu-otiic ioflamniation. 

 Attack the first symptoms ot pulmonary irritation with Hale's 

 Honey oi Horehound and Tar, and achieve an easy victory. 

 Pike's Toothache Deops cure in. 1 minute.— ^du. 



THE MAINE FISH COMMISSION. 



AMONG those who took the Grand Trunk passenger train 

 at the station in tbis city, Wednesdav monfing, were 

 Hon. E. M. Stillwell. of Banger, Hon. H. O.'Stanley, of Dix- 

 field, Fish and Game Commissioners of Maine; R. H. Stan- 

 ley, a correspondent of the Boston Glnhe, and a representative 

 of the Press. The objective point of the pai-ty was Edes 

 Falls, in the town of Naples, this county, and the object of 

 the visit was to in.spect the new salmon'hatchine; works at 

 that place. At Mechanic Falls the train was "left, and a 

 team was taken for a twent/y-mile trip overland. This part 

 of the journey was over a hard road, through monotonous 

 scenery, and on a day when the atmosphere was heavily sur- 

 charged A^ath moisture, which threatened at any moment to 

 fall in rain. The ride, however, was made pleasant by the 

 conversation of the Commissioners, who gave facts in rela- 

 tion to and comments upon Maine's fish and game interests. 



in 1866 or '67 Mr. Charles G. Atkins, now an assistant of 

 Prof. Baird, of Washington, D. C, and Mr. Foster, who has 

 since died, were appointed the fir.st Fish and Game Commis- 

 sioners of the State. In 1873 the present incumbents of the 

 offices were appointed, and have held the positions until the 

 present time because of their thorough competency to do the 

 work which devolves upon them. 



The work of re-stock ing the waters of Maine with salmon, 

 rightly called the king of fish began as early as 1873. Salmon 

 then run to the headwaters of our rivers to spa\AT3, but the 

 work of re-stocldng the lakes and streams in a natural way 

 was a slow process. The spawn of the salmon has deadly 

 enemies in the rivers— the eel, pickerel and other fish— and 

 it is estimated that from 10,000 eggs deposited by a salmon 

 not over one per cent, reach maturitv. A resort' was had to 

 artificial means. In 1873, the first salmon fry, the name for 

 the young fish, were purchased for Maine in Ontario at a 

 cost per 1,000 of .$40 in gold. Then experiments bef2;au in 

 earnest and from hatching works at Orland and Grand Lake 

 Stream good results have been obtained. The waters of 

 Maine in many parts have been re-stocked with this noble 

 fish, and many thousands of dollars have been added to the 

 revenue of the State. The fly-fishing has attracted tourists 

 to ]Maine, and they have left thousands of dollars within our 

 borders. 



Many interesting things by experiments have been learned 

 of the habits of salmon. It is now well established that they 

 spawn but once in two years. After spa\vmug they go, no 

 one knows where, but some think far out to sea, as "far even 

 as the Grand Banks. It is the opinion of Prof. Baird that 

 they go only to find deep water wdiere they feed upon 

 shrimps, which gives the rich color and delicate flavor to 

 their meat. Salmon have been taken in the Penobscot, and 

 after having been ^velghed and measm-ed and tin tags num- 

 bered tied to them, have been set free. In two years salmon, 

 thus marked, have been caught again in the weirs of the 

 Penobscot. A salmon alwaj^s retums to the river of its 

 nativity, Two salmon, one born in the Penobscot, the other 

 in the St. Croix, may meet at sea, but when the time for 

 their return to their former homes arrives, each seeks its old 

 haunts. The salmon has its enemies and schools of suckers 

 follow them to the .spawning beds to devour the eggs. By 

 the long course of experiments made it has been determined 

 how fast salmon increase in weight and size. The number 

 of eggs which a salmon produces is about 600 to a pound, and 

 so the number obtained from the average fish is about 5,000, 

 once in two years. 



Lake Sebago has been noted for many years for its so- 

 called landlocked salmon. For some years the Pish Com- 

 missioners have had their attention called to the salmon of 

 Sebago. The salmon which go to the sandy beaches of the 

 headwaters of Seba.go to spawn were gradually being extinct 

 by poachers, who speared them. As many as 50 have been 

 killed by two men in a night, and this too at the .season 

 when they were on the spawning beds. Again, the Commis- 

 sioners were anxious to obtain eggs from the landlocked 

 salmon in order to restock the Sebago waters, as well as 

 Moosehead and other places. In accordance witli this plan a 

 place was selected this season on Crooked River, the princi- 

 pal stream which runs into Sebago, on which to conduct the 

 experiment. 



Messrs. Stillwell and Stanley had a weir of wood built 

 entirelj^ across the stream. This weir is 75 feet in length, and 

 to protect it against a freshet it is weighted with 100 tons of 

 stone. At short intervals places have been left through 

 which refuse matter floating down the river can pass. In 

 the center of the weir, on the down river side, has been built 

 a " trap," in the shape of a letter V, the apex is toward the 

 weir. In the center of the apex has been left an opening 

 which enters into another trap 12x14 feet in size. The sal- 

 mon going up the river on his way to the spawning grounds, 



E asses into the first " trap," thence into the second, and there 

 eisa secure prisoner. . He will swim around and around 

 his prison, but never succeeds in passing out of the place in 

 which he entered. The salmon is taken from his pen by 

 means of a dip net, and placed in a pond 40x20 feet, and then 

 the males and females are separated, and placed in " cars." 

 These are simply rough floating boxes 5x14 feet in size. 

 They are useful for keeping the salmon in a small space, and 

 also to to'^y the fish to the lake again. As good luck would 

 have it a salmon had the kindness to come up the river 

 Thursday, and the visitors had an opportunity to .see an 

 18 pound salmon taken with a dip net. 

 How has this expeidment succeeded? 



The weir was finished the l.st day of September, and on 

 the 15th of that month the work of taking the eggs was be- 



fnn. When all is readv for the operation to begin the men 

 ress themselves in suits of oil cloth, and placed on their 

 hands woolen mittens, the insides of which are roughened 

 so as to hold fast to the fish. A female salmon is first taken 

 from the water and carried to the bank where the spawn is 

 extracted by gentle pressure on the fish. The spawn is then 

 impregnated and the work of development begins. As .soon 

 as the work of development begins globules are formed about 

 as large as medium-sized peas, and these become haid and 

 are of a yellowish amber color. ' The eggs are then carefully 

 washed with water and placed on trays, and carefully taken, 

 for they break easily, to the hatching house, which is at Edes 

 Falls, two miles distant. The Commissioners, at the begiu- 



xpected _ . , , 



eggs obtained. The fish already captured are fine specimens. 

 One of them weighs 371bs. and the average of the 396 is over 

 lOlbs., and thus it will be seen that there is almost a ton and 

 a half of live salmon in the pond and cars. The salmon aU 

 strongly resemble the best specimens of the Penobscot River, 

 and Mr. Stihvell says the mo.st mai-ked difference is that the 

 Sebago salmon are thicker. The characteristic of the Penob- 

 scot salmon is that they are round and generally of good 

 length. The 27-pounder taken at Crooked River is a splen- 

 did specimen of the king of fish and would be a splendid sub- 

 ject lor a painting. He is to be photographed before he is 

 given his liberty. Recently 71 salmon ran into the weir in 

 2i hours. 



thousand. This is a remarkably fine showing for the excel- ' 



lent management of our Commissioners. 



^he work is in the hands of I, P. Harriman, of Orland, a 

 very efficient man, who is assisted by his son E, A., and by 

 Charles Floyd. When the work here is finished the salmon 

 will all be taken to Seb.ago Lake, and in two years, it is ex- 

 liected, will avgatn try to seek the head waters of the Crooked 

 rater. The people in this vicinity were at first very ho.?tile 

 to «ie undertaking, and threats were made of destroying the 

 weir.%Sright and day Avatch is kept, and thus far no" trouble 

 has beeft experienced. Some noaching has been done on the 

 river below- the weir, and a few nights ago a boat, in which 

 was a villainous looking .spear, large enough to kill a whale, 

 was captured. But the people begin to see that this work is 

 for their own benefit, and look with more favor upon it. 



During the past season the Fish Commissioners have 

 placed in the Kennehec, Androscoggin and Penobscot rivers 

 a,ud tributaries, 700,000 sea salmon; in Moosehead and other 

 lakes m the State, 280,000 Landlocked salmon; and 200,000 

 into the St. Croix River. These last were placed jointly by 

 Maine and New Brunswick, a province whose people know 

 the benefit of protecting fish and game, and ot re-stocking 

 its lakes and rivers. The best of feeling exists between 

 Maine and New Brunswick on this question, and they will 

 continue jointly to work for the accomplishment of still 

 gi-eater results. 



The people of New Brnn.swick are much more advanced 

 in this matter of protection to fish and game than in many 

 of the States of the Union. As a matter of fact no State has 

 as yet taken the advanced steps in this direction which 

 Maine has. Massachusetts pays a small sum. very small, to 

 help to sustain the salmon hatclieiy at Grand Lake in this 

 State, but it only amounts to a drop in the bucket to what 

 that State ought to expend. Our own State should continue 

 to do more fi-om year to year. The con:ing wiiiter the Legis- 

 lature should appropriate at least §30,000, and this .sum could 

 be wisely expended in the building of fish ways, in hatching 

 eggs of salmon and other fish, and in many directions. Our 

 Legislattire, on a whole, look at this matter from the true 

 Adew, and there is not much doubt but that they will adopt 

 a liberal policy. 



Once in awhile a man is found, like the old fellow near 

 Bangor, who wanted the close time on catching white perch 

 and black ba.s.s i-emoved because, he said, the fish had become 

 so})lentiful that when his meadows were overflowed by the 

 spring freshets the fish ate the roots of his grass, and de- 

 stroyed the prospects of a hay crop. Tie said that he should 

 sue the State for damages. A man visited the cnmp at Edes 

 a few days ago and Avas accompanied by his little boy. He 

 bemoaned his fate because he Avas prcA-ented from spearing 

 salmon. A gentleman said to him that if a wholesale de- 

 struction of salmon Avas alloAved that his little boy and the 

 rest of the rising generation would have no salmon, as they 

 Avould be extinct. His reply was that he didn't care a con- 

 tinental for the rising generation: that it was for his OAvn 

 gratification for -svhich he lived. Forttmately there are com- 

 paratiA'ely few who alloAv selfishness to be paramount to the 

 public welfare. Thei-e are no .such l;ike.';, ponds and livers, 

 no such grounds for hunting in the \A orld, as there are in 

 Maine to-day, is the opinion oi' a gentleman well qualified to 

 judge. The reA'onne from this source is enormous, as the 

 sportsmen from other States now visit this State in large 

 immbers. It is said that the eighty s;ilmon caught by fly- 

 fishing at the dam at Bangor last .season Avere the means of 

 bringing people to that city who expended at least o.5,000, ' 



Referiing uoav more particularly to Sebago. It is for the 

 interest of the people in all the towns about that sheet of 

 water and its tributaries; it is for the interest of the city of 

 Portland, of the people of all Western Maine to aid the Com- 

 missioners in the work which has been licgun in restocking 

 the lake with salmon. In a fcAv years it would be the finest 

 salmon fishing ground in the world, and would attract visit- 

 ors from all parts of the count l y. and thus be a means of 

 adcfing to the Avealth of the St-itc. 



Public opinion in favor ot pro! cctiA^e fish and game laws 

 is noTS' gi-eatly in advance of what it was only a few years 

 ago, and the majority of our citizt-ns now believe in giving 

 our faithful commissioners more as.sista'ice, so as to encour- 

 age them in their -wovk.— Portland (Jie.) Press. 



LIVE CARP SHIPPED WITHOUT WATER.-Last 

 week Mr. Valentine StilaboAver, a carp breeder at Edinburg, 

 Ind., sent some live carp to State Fish Commissioner Enos 

 B. Reed, at Indianajxili,'-, Tnd., packed in '■excel.sior," a sort 

 of wood shaving, and they arriv-ed saiVly and lived afterward. 

 Mr. Reed, in an editorial note in The People, says; ''On last 

 Wednesday we received a box of live carp— eight in number 

 — from Mr. Valeritine Stilaljower, the extensiA'e oai-p raiser 

 of Edinburg. liid. They u^ere covered by excelsior packing 

 and lay in a double ro^v on top of one another and must haA'e 

 been at least three hours on the road. To say that we were 

 smprised expresses it but feebly. We had neA'cr heard of 

 carp being shipped dry, and here they were alive and kicking 

 and not a drop of water around them. They embraced scale 

 and mirror and were about the handsomest carp we have 

 ever seen. We lost no time in putting the carp into our pond. 

 They are doing well." 



BLACK BASS IN EUROPE.— We have a private letter 

 from Count von dem Borne, of Berneuchen, Gennany, which 

 says that an agent of the Marquis of Exeter Avas at his ponds 

 recently after black bass for English waxers and took 1,432 

 fl.sh. We do not understand why this lish should be im- 

 ported into England from Germany, because the Marquis of 

 Exeter lias had ten times the number of black bass that 

 Herr von dem Borne has had, and, therefore, should be able 

 to supply Germany by this time. We know that the latter 

 gentleman has been very successful in breeding black bass, 

 as he has in the case of mo.ny other fishes; but from the facts 

 stated above It looks as though the Marquis of Exeter has not 

 met with much success with his fish . 



CARP.— This week a car load of young carp Avill leave 

 Washington for New York city, consigned to Mr. E. G. 

 Blackford, Fulton rvfarket, for distiibtition to applicants in I 

 New Yoi-k and neighboring States, Applications should be I 

 made bv lettcj' as soon as possible. In former years tAventy I 

 fi.sh Avere given co e^ch apidieant, but AA-e do not know! 

 whether the alloAvanee has been increased or not. On Mon-f 

 day last Ave saw ou<' hundred cari5, averaging three pound 

 each, on Mr. Blackford's slabs, They Avere m excellent con-| 

 dition and came from ponds at Absecom, N. J. There is i 

 A^ery limited sale for the fish in the city. 



DR. BAIRD. — ^Among those to whom Avcro awarded the da 

 grec of Doctor of Laws, at the celebration of the 350th aniu- j 

 versarv of the founding of Harvard College, appears thel 

 name of •' Spencer Fullerton Baird. Secretary of the SmithJ 

 soaian Institution, Director of the National Museum; LTnite™ 

 States Ffeh Commissioner, promoter of zoological science. 'i| 



The Portland Orcgonian says, "The spostsman of the 

 NorthAvest has no mutterrngs to make over his variety of 

 shooting. He can go into eastern Oregon and shoot prairie 

 chickens, andfish to his heart's content. Within twoliours' 

 1 1 travel of the metropolis of the North Pacific coast he can 



I Prof. Baird obtained 380,000 eggs here at an expense of I shoot within tAventy-four hours elk, deer, bear, panther, 

 ^500. The 1,000.000 eggs which it is expected Avill be taken T grouse, pheasant, geese, qtiail, pigeon, mallard duck, widgeon, 

 this season, Avill not cost over $1 per thousand. It will be teanvasback, teal, sprigtail, gi'ay duck, bluebill and snipe, be- 

 remembered that the first eggs bought by Maine cost $40 per I'sides swan and sandhill crane." 



