©8 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 3, 1895. 



overhanging grass-grown banks; that is where the truest 

 art of fishing comes in. On a lake or river it is a matter 

 Of chance whose bait is taken; but on a stream the good 

 fisherman gets the trout; the small boy is not in it. 



The first time I was on the Nepigon River, over twenty- 

 five years ago now, with my father, I was but a boy who 

 had seldom thrown a fly. I struck quite as many fish as 

 he did, though he was an expert fisherman; but he could 

 save more than I then. That could not be. In stream 

 fishing the man who beBt knows the ways, where they 

 are most likely to be, how to get near them and what best 

 to give them is the man who gets them. 



I wonder how many fishermen take the trouble to ex- 

 amine the Btomachs of fish in order to find out what they 

 are feeding on at the time. 



It is simply glorious to strike a good trout stream in 

 the early morning or late in the day. It is a match be- 

 tween human intelligence and excessive wariness. You 

 must be unseen and unheard. There can be no lying 

 back in an easy chair to be rowed around a lake; no 

 standing up and casting a fly all about you. No; you 

 must as far as possible extinguish yourself and be an un- 

 seen instrument for placing your fly or bait at an exact 

 Bpot in the proper manner. Slovenly work is of no avail; 

 walk up to the most beautiful riffle and not a strike will 

 you get; the good fisherman comes along later, and by 

 going around and simply crawling up to near the edge, 

 with nothing but his eyes showing, he will often pick out 

 a dozen. Surely the quiet of the woods and fields has 

 affected our stream fisherman, I so seldom read of him. 



As Mr. Pusey's railroad, the Irondale, Bancroft and 

 Ottawa, reached the height of land dividing these waters 

 from those draining into the Ottawa River, a small party 

 of us undertook to find out the truth about the trout we 

 had heard so much of in the waters over the ridge. The 

 region has hitherto been almost inaccessible and few have 

 fished there. It is very wild, deer and bear are plentiful, 

 pinnated grouse more numerous than probably in any 

 other part of Ontario. We had but three days and it took 

 us most of that time to find out where to fish. A small 

 stream not far from where we camped fairly teemed with 

 small trout. But the big ones in Clear Lake were harder 

 to get at. After trying everything else with no success 

 we fell back on the live minnow and then there was no 

 trouble about it. We. had no ice and could get none, so it 

 was only on the last morning that we could cut loose as to 

 numbers, and then it proved such hard work to get min- 

 nows that we made no great showing. But without ex- 

 aggeration the number of trout was limited precisely by 

 the minnows caught. I got eight that morning that 

 averaged about 21bs., and I had but seven minnows. 



One of 3|lbs. was caught, and without exception they 

 were the most beautiful specimens I ever saw, not ex- 

 cepting the Nepigon trout. They were very bright in 

 color and their flesh very red. Clear Lake is about a mile 

 each way in extent, very deep and fed entirely by springs. 

 There are several lakes in this region, all with trout in 

 them, and in one or two the lake trout as well. They 

 were not rising to anything and did not notice our flies, 

 except on one occasion, a fly, Parmachene Belle, had been 

 left on the leader as a side fly. A trout took the minnow, 

 and while playing hiui another took the fly, but it was 

 well under water. 



I should not like your other correspondents to think I 

 am too dogmatic in my remarks about the leaping of bass. 

 I have simply written of things as they appear to me. 



J. Simpson. 



BLUEFISH, SALMON AND TROUT. 



Bosi Mass., July 27.— The salt-water fishing along 

 the New England coast is now at its height. At Buzzard's 

 Bay the bluefish have been particularly savage this week, 

 and as ono Boston man expresses it, have bitten off every- 

 thing they could put their teeth into. Complaint is made 

 that they are running smaller than usual this season, but 

 are very active and giving good sport. Dr. Maurice H. 

 Richardson, of Boston, is fishing very steadily for them, 

 and has had good luck. A. G, Weeks, Jr., is also doing 

 well. L. D. Chapman, Dr. DeFries and Mr. Caliga, the 

 artist, all of Boston, have gone to Wantucket on a blue- 

 fishing trip, and as reports say the fishing there is excel- 

 lent just now, they will probably do well. A number of 

 large tautog have been taken recently; the largest, weigh- 

 ing lOlbs., was captured by John Mason Little on the north 

 shore, not far from Swampscott. Nahant is also yielding 

 a good crop of tautog, and bluefish and striped bass are 

 said to be coming in near Newburyport. Down near 

 Eingham some good catches of smelt have been made. 

 This is good news to the many Boston men who delight in 

 taking these delicate little fellows. Dr. F. M. Johnson is 

 very fond of this fishing, and is now getting ready for it. 

 The Doctor made a phenomenal catch one or two seasons 

 ago at Hingham, and hopes to parallel the feat this 

 year. 



The salmon fishermen who have been on their rivers 

 during June and July are nearly all home again, and as 

 a rule bring back very good reports of their luck for the 

 season of '95. Mr. Louis Cabot, who has been fishing the 

 Grand River, had fair fishing, but not quite up to last 

 year. The Fitch party, consisting of E. C. Fitch, Mr. Ed- 

 mands and Dr. Brown, are back again from Romaine with 

 reports of very good fishing". Their largest capture was 

 about 37lbs. The weather was exceptionally cold during 

 part of their stay on the river, with heavy rain during 

 some of the time that the be&t run of salmon was on. 

 Dr. Brown of this party is the gentleman whom I men- 

 tioned in Forest and Stream at the time of their depar- 

 ture who has traveled so extensively, and saw such an 

 odd exhibition of salmon fishing by the natives of Japan, 

 while going around the world last winter. The Doctor 

 will go into Maine this fall after moose, and will probably 

 Bpend the coming winter in Mexico and South America. 



Philip W. Moen and Geo. F. Blake, Jr., of Worcester, 

 returned a short time ago from the Cascapedia. The 

 party captured five salmon, the largest weighing 231bs., 

 and had good sea trout fishing. Mrs. Moen, who accom- 

 panied them, landed some good-sized trout. 



The Matisquam Fishing Club, who have several nice 

 salmon pools and a club house on the river of that name, 

 the last river on the coast before reaching Labrador, have 

 been having some fine fishing. A letter just received 

 from Sinclair Kennedy, who is on the river in company 

 with F. C. Hodges, states that they have done very well 

 since their arrival. Between June 29 and July 6 the two 

 gentlemen took twenty salmon and three grilse. This is 

 certainly a score to be proud of, especially when one con- 

 eiders that one of the gentlemen (Mr. Kennedy) ia now on 



his first trip. His experiences described in his letter in 

 regard to the first two salmon he hooked and (of course) 

 lost are both amusing and interesting. The disconsolate 

 feeling caused by their loss was something awful, but by 

 sticking to it he finally landed a good fish and thereby 

 gained confidence enough to do his full share in making 

 the good score I have mentioned. Three of his salmon 

 were taken on the Fottler fly, a greenish fly made of par- 

 rots' feathers and tied by "Forrest" for John Fottler, of 

 Boston. Mr. Hodges made a great catch last year on the 

 Matisquam, one of the largest recorded anywhere for the 

 season. The club house and fishing grounds are reached 

 from Quebec by the steamer Otter to Matisquam. 



The Bonny River country in New Brunswick is being 

 well patronized this year, and "Mine Host Sullivan," the 

 camp proprietor of that region, has had his hands full in 

 looking after his many guests. W. W. Sias, a member 

 of a Boston club who have a preserve near Willimantic, 

 Conn. , leaves next Tuesday for a ten days' stay at this New 

 Brunswick resort; and Mr. and Mrs. Page, Mies Gertrude 

 and Miss Grace Loud, and Mr. McLaughlin leave on Aug. 

 3. Later in August James M. Pearson and wife, of New 

 York city, will go there for a thirty days' stay. Those 

 who have returned are enthusiastic over the fishing, 

 which has been very good in all the ponds and streams up 

 to date. 



M. G. Cochrane and W. S. Ames, of Boston, and H. A. 

 Johnson, of Littleton, N. H., leave on Aug. 3 for a two 

 weeks' stay at King and Bartlett. These gentlemen visited 

 Tim Pond last year, but are anxious to try Spencer 

 Stream and Big Spencer Lake, which accounts for the 

 change. 



Dr. George McAleer, of Worcester, Mass., with quite a 

 party start on Tuesday next for the Megantic preserve. 

 They will make their headquarters at the McAleer camp, 

 and expect to be away about two weeks. Dr. Heber 

 Bishop, of Boston, is expected to join them a few days 

 later. 



Fishing at Newfound Lake, N, H., for landlocked 

 salmon and lake trout is said to have been good all this 

 season. This is quite exceptional, as after the early fish- 

 ing in the spring the big fellows have generally been 

 hard to get. Deep-water trolling is the method employed 

 and the most successful man I have heard of in regard to 

 this year's sport is Geo. Fowler, of Bristol, N. H. Living 

 near by, he knows every foot of the lake, which may ac- 

 count in a large measure for his good luck. 



Dr. E. A. Carpenter, of Cambridge, Mass., writes me 

 from Wolf Pond Camp, Spring Cove, N. Y., where he is 

 spending the summer on the Vilas preserve, that deer 

 are as plentiful there now as at any time during the past 

 five years. He says his people go out on the lake only 

 600ft. from the house almost every evening to see the 

 deer. On two occasions his young daughters have been 

 frightened off the water by the close presence of the ani- 

 mals. Fishing parties constantly report meeting deer on 

 the rivers, and bears are quite often seen. One of them, 

 a large animal, was visible but a short distance from the 

 house a few days ago. Many New England readers of 

 Forest and Stream will be surprised that the Adiron- 

 dacks can still furnish a record like this, as it is generally 

 considered over here that game in that region is reduced 

 to a minimum. Hackle. 



BOSTON ANGLERS. 



Boston, July 26.— Mr. Charles E, Holt is back from his 

 vacation in Maine, bringing a sunbrown that ought to 

 last for several months. He speaks in the highest terms 

 of the fishing, but it was generally salt-water fishing. 

 He spent considerable time at Fort Popham, at the mouth 

 of the Kennebec River, and nearly every day rock cod 

 and cunners were taken in great abundance. Then there 

 were the occasional real cod-fishing trips, one resulting in 

 over 2001bs. of fish in one day. 



Mr. Irving McLaughlin seems to have found an ideal 

 place for fishing in New Brunswick. There are some 

 trout lakes in that direction that he hopes to visit early in 

 August, with a friend. They will take their wives along 

 and make it a vacation trip, as well as one for fishing. 

 More should be said 'about the location later. 



George L. Wentworth and E. P. Parker, of Boston, 

 have had a fine trip to the Rangeleys. They have enjoyed 

 about all there is of trout fishing in that section. They 

 tried Kennebago with good success. Mr. Wentworth is 

 credited with over thirty trout of fair size, while Mr. Par- 

 ker took thirty-five trout, including one weighing 4lbs. ; 

 an unusually large fish for Kennebago. They also men- 

 tion seeing a number of deer. 



The Follett party is back from the waters of the Ingle - 

 wood Club. Mr. W. J. Follett says that seldom has a 

 party enjoyed a fishing and outing trip more. The fish- 

 ing was not all that could be wished, for the weather was 

 foggy for a great many days out of the number in camp. 

 Besides the water was high the most of the time. Bat a 

 great many trout were taken; even more than enough for 

 camp use; and with such luck the party is entirely satis- 

 fied. About the best catch of any was made by Mr. Follett 

 and his brother, including 43 trout in one day, and not 

 fishing many hours at that. The string weighed 301bs. 

 Mrs. Follett seemed to be the champion salmon fisher. 

 She landed several in one day, but lost as many more. 

 Mr. Follett was in the boat with her when she struck one 

 elegant fish. Soon it came out of water nearly three feet, 

 and Mr. Follett is sure that he saw it shake the hook out 

 of its mouth. The party is as greatly charmed with the 

 Inglewood preserve as ever. A good deal of restocking is 

 being done, and Mr. Follett is sure that excellent salmon 

 fishing is soon to be one of the attractions of the region. 



About the happiest returning fisherman of the season is 

 Mr. Rollin Jones, of Boston. His salmon trip was a most 

 successful one, and well it may have been; for, as already 

 mentioned, he has been the guest of Mr. D. H. Blanchard 

 at his salmon river, the Northeast Branch of the St. Mar- 

 guerite. He reached Mr. Blanchard's camps the day before 

 his birthday, never having taken salmon, though having 

 been a trout fisherman for years. The day of his arrival 

 he was not particularly anxious to fish, but quietly watched 

 the others fish— Mr. Blanchard and Mr. Richard O. Hard- 

 ing. They took one salmon, and Mr. Jones saw how it 

 was done. In the evening, for some unaccountable reason, 

 Mr. Blanchard asked Mr. Jones how old he was. At this 

 pnint Mr. Jones felt that his secret must come out, and 

 replied that if he lived till the next day he should be — 

 well, no matter just how old; it would be his birthday. 

 Mr. Blanchard at once allowed that Mr. Jones must take 

 his first salmon on that day. 



All hands were interested. Mr. Jones fished all day r 



and sure enough he did take his first salmon before night 

 had fairly set in, though the powerful fish began to think 

 that he would hold out till his captor was a day older at 

 least. The salmon, leaping over the fly, was hooked foul, 

 —outside the jaws. He made a most terrible fight. At 

 last he was brought to the gaff, and when weighed touch- 

 ed the beam at 23ilbs. , a pretty good birthday fish. Then 

 and there Mr. Jones became a devoted salmon fisherman, 

 and regards it as the king of rod and reel sport. After 

 this they fished six days more, taking turns, one rod at a 

 time. Eleven salmon were taken, in addition to the eight 

 that had been taken, before Mr. Richard O. Harding left 

 the river. Up to the time Mr. Jones left, the record of 

 Mr. Blanchard's river this season had been 19 salmon, the 

 entire string weighing 385ilbs. This is a most remarkable 

 record and almost pays Mr. Blanchard for the labor he did 

 toward restraining salmon netting several seasons ago, as 

 the readers of the Forest and Stream will remember 

 well. Another most remarkable feature was the Bize of 

 the fish. The largest weighed 24lbs. , with the smallest up 

 to 141bs. 5 making the average— the most of the other fish 

 being large— up to 20^1bs. 



Mr. Jones regards Mr. Blanchard's river as the ideal 

 salmon river of the Province. In the distance of four 

 miles that Mr. Blanchard owns, there are seven excellent 

 pools, where salmon must stop. Above Mr. Blanchard's 

 preserve there are falls so steep and high that no salmon 

 can go up over them, and hence the ascending fish all 

 must stop there. 



Mr. Jones owns a handsome camp on Lake Winnipiso- 

 gee, New Hampshire, and immediately on his return from 

 Mr. Blanchard's salmon river he went to his camp, where 

 he has taken some very large lake trout. His season's 

 fishing has been a most satisfactory one. 



Mr. Edwin C. Stevens writes me under date of July 25 

 a glowing account of the fishing in the beautiful Lake 

 Dunmore, Salisbury, Vt. At 6 A. M. the party, consisting 

 of Mr. W. G. Cloyes, of Cambridge; Mr. John T. Cloyes, 

 of Salisbury; Mr. Ed. A. Wilson, of Watertown, and Mr. 

 Stevens himself, started. They fished till they had caught 

 a beautiful string of 200 perch. In the afternoon Mr. 

 Stevens with Mr. Wilson killed two large pickerel, one 

 weighing 51bs. and the other 2$lbs. The same day they 

 also took a handsome large-mouth bass weighing between 

 2 and 31bs. The 5-pound pickerel Mr. Stevens captured in 

 front of the camp of the party, after an exciting "tussle" 

 of fully twenty minutes. He at last came to the net just 

 in front of the boat landing. Mr. Stevens further adds: 

 "Our women folks are disgusted with me for keeping the 

 ice chest so full of fish, but they scarcely realize how much 

 I enjoy the taking of them. I shall show you pictures of 

 the 200 perch, the lake and our camp, when I get back to 

 Boston next week." Special. 



FOOD-FISH IMPOVERISHMENTS. 



[A paper read before the American Fisheries Society, New York, 

 June 12, 1895, by Dr. Bushrod W. James, member of the Pennsylvania 

 Fish Protective Association.] 



The time has come when the inhabitants of the United 

 States must cease to look upon the lavishly generous gifts 

 bestowed upon them by nature as limitless and therefore 

 needless of special care or protection. Wastefulness has 

 been overlooked without fear of inevitable retribution 

 until the punishment is already upon us in more than 

 one very perceptible quarter. To that which relates to 

 the impoverishment of the food-fish supply I will devote 

 the subject of this paper. 



If we take the literal meaning of "food-fish," we must 

 include every known animal product of the ocean, river 

 or streamlet; for, if possible, some species which to our 

 refined tastes are actually loathsome are more important 

 in their multo-usefulness than are many of those which 

 we favor particularly with the above-mentioned name, 

 and which our fish commissions are endeavoring to pro- 

 tect. 



A universal impoverishment in the fisheries is making 

 itself felt from Point Barron all the way down the Pacific 

 Coast, so that business in shipping is beginning to suffer. 

 That once very important traffic in whalebone, whale oil, 

 seal skins and walrus ivory has so far deteriorated as to 

 ruin some of the coast trade; while, more sadly still, the 

 natives of the Northern coasts and islands have been re- 

 duced to actual want through the wholesale destruction 

 of the once plentiful supply of animal life so peculiarly 

 fitted to meet their various needs. Without a natural 

 supply of wool or cotton, those which they possess being 

 obtained by trading, the fur seal furnished to them their 

 most comfortable garments, and next to the pelt of the 

 sea otter their most valuable trading staple. The Beal 

 also bestowed upon them the oil which actually was the 

 only substitute for the milk, coffee, tea or chocolate with- 

 out which we feel it would be almost impossible to enjoy 

 our meals. The flesh rated second only to fresh fish, and 

 so precious was it that not a particle was wasted. Now, 

 with those vast herds very nearly depleted or frightened 

 from their breeding grounds, what must become of those 

 people who depended upon them for the necessities of ex- 

 istence? 



So with the whale and walrus — greed of gain has so 

 over -grasped until hundreds of the nation's wardB must 

 go hungry, houseless and scantily clothed simply be- 

 cause individuals or corporations have endeavored to 

 sweep into their hands the whole supply in the short 

 time while prices were good! Now, whaling vessels go 

 and return unsuccessful; seals are already alarmingly 

 scarce, and walruses are rarely seen at all, partly because 

 they are extremely cautious and shy, but in greater part 

 because their tusks excited the cupidity of traders to the 

 procuring of all animals, whether mature and perfect in 

 ivory or not. We are rather too far away to hear the cry 

 of distress among the inhabitants of the Northwestern 

 Islands, but commerce now discovers the grand mistake, 

 perhaps too late. A slight expression of anxiety in San 

 Francisco gives rise to a demand for the greater protec- 

 tion of the finer salmon fisheries which but a few years 

 ago appeared to be inexhaustible. This fish being deli- 

 cate and a very desirable table food, doubtless the laws 

 will be soon more carefully and effectually enforced. 

 But the fishes or other animal life and plants upon which 

 the salmon feed must also be guarded from destructive 

 depredation. Leaving the western shore of the conti- 

 nent, still another note of dismay is sounding from Maine 

 to Florida! Salmon is rare in all our rivers. The great 

 fishing banks of Maine and Massachusetts are failing; the 

 lobsters are growing scarce and small, mackerel ia almost 

 gone from some quarters in which the "lookout" ha 

 heretofore watched for the coming schools and sent th 



