Aug. 17, 1895. j 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



143 



the water, a big bass came up clean out of the water and 

 took the bait, going down in such a peculiar fashion as to 

 excite both mirth and wonder. It is needless to say that 

 this particular monster was finally lost, a fact which they 

 are not over grieving about yet. Hackle. 



Thompson as a committee to meet the Senate Commis- 

 sioners at Watertown and entertain them. 



A resolution was passed empowering the executive com- 

 mittee to appoint any and all committees necessary for 

 all purposes, including the procuring of suitable legisla- 

 tion. 



ST. LAWRENCE ANGLERS. 



The annual meeting of the Anglers' Association of the St. 

 Lawrence River was held at Clayton on Aug. 7, President 

 W. C. Browning in the chair. Secretary W. H. Thomp- 

 son's report showed that the Association has a member- 

 ship of 350, of which 250 are paying members. The 

 Association has lost valuable members in Gen. R. TJ. 

 Sherman, New Hartford; W. P. Carpenter, Utica; J. L. 

 Hasbrook, New York; H. G. Wiser, Prescott. Several 

 new members were admitted. Treasurer R, P. Grant re- 

 ported as follows: On hand last year, $648. 51 ; receipts, 

 $546.88; disbursements, $349.08; balance on hand, $716.62. 



The following officers were elected for the year: Presi- 

 dent, William C. Browning; First Vice-President, H. R. 

 Heath; Second Vice-President, Charles R. Skinner; Secre- 

 tary, William H. Thompson, Alexanaria Bay, N. Y.; 

 Treasurer, R. P. Grant; Executive Committee: A. C. 

 Cornwall, G. H. Strough, R. H. Pullman, W. T. Bascom, 

 G. T. Raferty, F. J. Amsden, R. E. Waterman, G. M. 

 Skinner, C. G. Emery, O. T. Mackey, John Foley, Walter 

 Fox. 



Mr. Taylor said that there was a strong feeling on both 

 sides in favor of establishing the park, and if it was done 

 that the waters would be free and open the year around. 

 He said the Canadian Government had already selected 

 several islands which it owned to reserve for the pur- 

 pose. 



President W. C. Browning said that the matter was a 

 national and not a local one, and that one condition de- 

 manded by the Canadians was the repeal or some special 

 action in regard to the alien labor law as regards Cana- 

 dian oarsmen hiring out to Americans. This was out of 

 the question and could not be done. He maintained, 

 however, that the law was not transgressed, inasmuch as 

 the oarsmen made the bargain after coming to this coun- 

 try and not on Canadian soil. Mr. Taylor said that tl e 

 oarsmen did not understand it so, and that until some 

 official assurance was given them the Canadian Parlia- 

 ment could not consent to the establishment of an inter- 

 national park. 



This subject of the alien labor law was the subject of 

 discussion for the remainder of the morning session. The 

 Canadian side was represented by Messrs. Smith, George 

 Taylor and Mr. Cook. Among those who represented the 

 American side were: Messrs. Browning, Thompson, 

 Heath, Charles R. Skinner, Frank Taylor, E'on R. 

 Brown and V. K. Kellogg, the district attorney in Jeffer- 

 son county. 



Messrs. Skinner, Brown and Kellogg have all made a 

 study of the statutes on the subject of the alien labor law, 

 and were unanimous in the opinion that this case did not 

 come under the law, inasmuch as the oarsmen were hired 

 on this side. These gentlemen finally convinced Mr. 

 Taylor and hie Canadian friends of the fact, and that the 

 only satisfaction to be given would be the authoritative 

 statement of the Attorney-General of the State and that 

 of the Attorney-General of the United States upon the 

 subject. 



Reference was made to the Protective Oarsmen's Asso- 

 ciation of Alexandria Bay, which had been instrumental 

 in creating a false impression of the law among the people 

 on the other side. Mr. Thompson stated that a statement 

 from all the hotels among the American resorts that 

 Canadian oarsmen would receive equal favors with 

 Americans had been instrumental in causing the $5 license 

 fee to be removed. 



Mr. Thompson said that he thought that the Canadians 

 were ready to meet us half way in the matter, he also 

 said that he thought that there was no necessity for action 

 on the part of the Association, but that it should be left 

 to the commissions to decide. 



Mr. Taylor, of Gananoque, said that they would not 

 demand a change in the law if the official statement was 

 made setting forth their rights. 



Mr. Thompson said that no action of the Association 

 could change the United States law, but that the law 

 should be understood, and that the Commissioners would 

 settle this point, and that no action of the Association was 

 necessary. 



Upon the suggestion of Mr. Taylor, it was moved to ap- 

 point a committee of five to confer with the Commission- 

 ers representing the two Governments, and that the 

 committee in the meantime secure the legal opinions of 

 the Attorney-General of the State and of the United 

 States upon the subject, and that they present it to the 

 Commissioners. 



Frank H. Taylor moved to amend by empowering the 

 secretary of the Association with the right of having 500 

 circulars printed containing these opinions, and that they 

 be circulated in Canada and posted about, and that they 

 give the Canadian oarsmen assurance of protection. 



The committee named were: W. C. Browning, Hon. 

 Charles R. Skinner, G. H. Strough, Hon. Elon R. Brown 

 and R. P. Grant. 



The Association reconvened at 2:15, when Mr. Smith, 

 the Deputy Minister, read the report of the status of the 

 matter as it lay before the Canadian Commissioners. 



Upon the motion of Mr. Heath, a committee of three 

 was appointed to draft suitable resolutions in commemora- 

 tion of the death of four members of the Association, 

 who have died in the past year. 



The subject of the stocking of the St. Lawrence River 

 waters with muskalonge fry was brought up and dis- 

 cussed. A motion was proposed requesting the Legisla- 

 lature to instruct the State Fish and Game Commission to 

 stock these waters with fry of St. Lawrence River musk- 

 alonge, instead of those of Chautauqua Lake, which are 

 not as beautiful nor as gamy a fish as the native fish of 

 the St. Lawrence, which is the most gamy and beautiful 

 species of the fish, and is the original and true musk- 

 alonge, and the only one which has the spots. 



The original motion was amended to include a vote of 

 thanks to the Commissioners for the fry, and that they 

 be requested to continue to supply fry from Chautauqua 

 Lake until a hatchery could be established on the St. 

 Lawrence River. A motion was unanimously passed that 

 the Legislature be requested to establish a muskalonge 

 hatchery on the St. Lawrence River. 



President Browning appointed Messrs. Grant and 



THE PROFESSOR AND THE CLUB. 



If the Professor prides himself on one of his accom- 

 plishments more than another it is his ability to cast his 

 flies on a 9ft. leader. So proficient has the Professor be- 

 come that he can easily drop his end fly on a bubble at a 

 distance of 50ft. Not only is the Professor a model fly- 

 caster, but he is well up in all the nomenclature and liter- 

 ature pertaining to the gentle art, and his paraphernalia 

 is always of the most approved and artistic style. For in- 

 stance, he will never use a line or reel that does not 

 correspond exactly to the length and weight of his rod. 

 Everything about his fly-fishing is truly artistic and 

 poetic; and the Professor is devoted to the gamy brook 

 trout only; bass, piokerel and other fish are vermin in his 

 eyes, and furthermore, the trout the Professor catches 

 must be caught by casting only; such a thing as allowing 

 a line to run down stream and then to be reeled back is 

 abhorrent to the Professor's idea of fly-fishing. 



It was my good fortune to go with the Professor on a 

 trip down stream where the water was very deep, just 

 below some rapids. We cast our flies out into the rapids 

 and then drew them over to the eddy below. We had 

 caught several nice trout when the Professor called out 

 that he had a monster; his rod was bent up like a hair 

 pin and the line was cutting the water like a miniature 

 steamboat. Suddenly the fish stopped, something was 

 wrong; undoubtedly one of the other flies had caught on 

 a root or stone at the bottom. What was to be done? We 

 were standing on a rock that tapered to a point extend- 

 ing under the water; somewhere near the end of this 

 point the fish was fastened. We pulled, we tugged, 

 we went from one side of the rock to the other, but 

 we could not budge the fish. All of a sudden the 

 fish came near the surface. We caught a glimpse of 

 a broad tail, and our excitement increased to fever 

 heat. "I'm going in after him," said the Professor, 

 and proceeded at once to disrobe. With the aid of a 

 landing net the Professor -slowly made his way down 

 the rock. The net was too short, so a long stick was 

 obtained, and again the Professor walked in. By dint 

 of long and careful manipulation we succeeded in 

 partly loosing the fastened fly-hook, and then by 

 united effort we succeeded in drawing the fastened fish 

 toward the Burface. Suddenly the hook was freed and 

 with a rush the monster Came to the top. "Shoot me if 

 it isn't a miserable plebeian chub!" howled the Professor, 

 and then realizing the ridiculous side of the situation, we 

 laughed and we roared. It was too funny; the joke on 

 the Professor was too good; it must be told. 



I shall never cease to regret that I did not have a 

 camera to take a series of pictures of him standing up to 

 his waist in the water. The first his happy expression of 

 intense excitement, then his momentary look of rage and 

 disgust, and finally his hearty laugh over the joke that 

 will stand against him for many a day. 



Silver Doctor. 



FISHING AT SANTA CATALENA ISLAND. 



Santa Catalena Island, Southern California, July 14. 

 — The fishing season of Santa Catalena Island began this 

 year in April and has been- remarkably fine. A number 

 of New Yorkers aire on the ground piling up big records 

 and saying nothing. Santa Catalena is an island thirty 

 miles off Los Angeles county, reached by a line of 

 steamers, which start at San Pedro. The little town of 

 Avalon on the south end of the island is the objective, and 

 being but. 3£ hours from Los Angeles, the Los Angeles 

 business men who are patrons of the rod can reach it 

 with ease and comfort. Some of the fishing I have 

 described in former letters and herewith give some figures 

 which I think will interest eastern anglers and sportsmen. 



The best record so far has been made by Mr. Stuart M, 

 Beard, of the Canahdaigua (N. Y.) Fishing Club. He has 

 been fishing since May 12, and has taken in all 2,6561bs. 

 of fish, all on the rod, with a 15-strand cuttyhunk line 

 and a large reel holding about 900ft. The catch is 41 

 yellow-tail (Seriola dorsalis), weighing 7381bs., averaging 

 181bs.; 5 sea bass, 153£lbs.; 13 albicore, 2111bs.; 2 black sea 

 bass, 98 and 2001bs. The largest yellow-tail taken weighed 

 43lbs., and many rock bass, etc., etc. Tho 981bs. bass Mr. 

 Beard caught in front of the Metropole Hotel, several hun- 

 dred guests watching the catch from the piazza and the 

 beach, and it was finally landed by the aid of some 

 friends on the yacht Linda. The 200-pounder was taken 

 twenty miles from here on the shores of San Clemente 

 Island. The fish was hooked late in the afternoon and 

 towed the boat, which contained Mr. Baard and Mr. 

 Rodgers and oarsman Harry Elms, for three miles, mak- 

 ing a sturdy fight all the time. Two hours slipped away, 

 and night came on and the sea rose, making an ugly 

 swell; but they kept at it, Mr. Rodgers succeeding in 

 lighting a lantern, which he held while Mr. Beard manip- 

 ulated the rod; another hour went by before the wet and 

 utterly exhausted men brought the fish to the gaff, cut its 

 throat and towed it to their yacht, anchored in the har- 

 bor. The fish was hoisted aboard and carried to Avalon, 

 where it was found to weigh 200 lbs. a day after it was 

 caught. This gives Mr. Baard the record for the largest 

 fish on a rod on the Pacific coast; and as we have no 

 records of tarpon, we should be glad to hear from some 

 of the tarpon men who have taken larger fish on such 

 tackle. The line was 15-strand, as above described. 



The record was held by Major Chas. Veile, of the cav- 

 alry, last year, who took a 138-pounder on a rod. 



Mr. J. Neale Plumb, of New York, one of the finest 

 fishermen in the country, is now trying to break Mr. 

 Beard's record, and as the black sea bass are biting well, 

 there is every reason to believe he will do it. 

 The following are some of the season's catches so far: 

 J. Neale Plumb, about 6001bs. of yellow-tail, sea bass 

 and barracuda. Mr. Plumb has been fishing but a few 



C. F. Holder, 10 yellow-tails averaging 15lbs. ; 20 barra- 

 cuda averaging lOlbs. The latter or part taken on an 8oz. 

 split-bamboo, and the yellow-tails taken on a light rod, 

 the tip being a trout split-bamboo tip, 15-strand line; 1 

 black sea bass, 2471bs., taken on a hand line; 2 sea bass, 

 20 and 121bs., on rod. 



June 17. — W. A. Carnes, San Francisco, 3 vellow-tail 

 16, 18, 28lbs.; 391b. halibut (rod). 



June 19.-— Messrs. Curtis and Lindley, San Francisco, 

 171b. yellow tail (rod). 



June 21.— W, A. Carnes, San Francisco, I241bs. of 

 yellow-tail, barracuda and rock bass. Mrs. C. H, Lindley, 

 San Francisco, 16lb. yellow-tail. Mr. Keyser, Pasadena, 

 and John Vandevoort (partner of Andrew Carnegie, Pitts- 

 burg), 60 rock bass averaging 41bs. ; 29 sheepshead aver- 

 aging 8lbs. , all on rod. 



June 24— Dr. Johnson, Alhambra, Cal., 1651bs. of yel- 

 low-tail averaging 151bs. Dr. H. H. Frothingham, Chi- 

 cago, 1421bs. yellow-tail, barracuda and rock bass, all on 

 rod. 



June 25.— F. W. Reid, 190 lbs. of yellow-tail. C. F. Bis- 

 sell, Norwich, N. Y., 11 yellow-tail, weighing 178llbs. 



June 27.— Col. W. L. Washington, N. Y., a 4241b. yel- 

 low-tail, on rod. A. C. Roscoe, 391b. yellow-tail; 451b. sea 

 bass. 



June 28.— Alexander Badlum, the San Francisco histo- 

 rian, 4 yeUow-tail, lOOlbs. J. C. Cline, black sea bass 

 (hand line, 265lbs.). 



June 29.— Dr. Johnson, l,0801bs. fish on rod; largestyel- 

 low-tail, 351bs. 



June 30— W. A. Carnes, San Francisco, 3151bs. black 

 sea bass (hand line). Miss McMillan, 2 yellow-tail, 

 401bs. S. N. Fowler, 6 albicore, average 401bs. 



July 5.— Dr. Kirkpatrick, 751bs. of yellow-tail. Mr. Cal- 

 lum, 301b. yellow-tail. 



July 6.—G. H. Moll, Hollywood, 36 albicore. Miss 

 Alice Hall, 1 321b. yellow-tail. 



July 7— H. 0'Fallon,of New York, 3 yellow-tail. 431bs. 



These are a small percentage of the catches taken by 

 gentlemen staying at the two hotels— Metropole and 

 Island Villa. The little town has about 2,000 summer 

 visitors, most of whom go fishing, which is suggestive of 

 the sport. Nearly all the above fish were taken on rod 

 and reel, ranging from a tarpon rod to light split-bamboo. 



PlSCATOR. 



BOSTON AND MAINE. 



AUG. 9. — More pleasing reports from the salmon fisher- 

 men are at hand. The season has been a good one, with 

 an increase of salmon generally reported in most of the 

 Provincial rivers. Mr. Edward Brooks, a member of the 

 Tobique Club, with Mr. R. H. Sims, has fished the Tobique 

 River, in New Brunswick, with a result of thirty-five 

 salmon in three days. Such fishing is remarkable, and is 

 doubtless the result of the care being bestowed upon the 

 preserve. 



Mr. C. H. Olmstead and Mr. George Talbott fished the 

 Grand Cascapedia in July. Ten salmon at least are re- 



Eorted to their score. Both are Boston gentlemen, and 

 oth are much pleased with their trip. Mr. Olmstead's 

 largest fish weighed 281bs., and he is justly proud of such 

 luck, if luck it may be termed. 



Mr. Richard O. Harding, with Appleton & Bassett, 

 brings back several trophies from his salmon trip that 

 please him very much. He took a camera along, and has 

 one or two pictures showing a fight with salmon. Mr. D. 

 H. Blanchard is shown with a salmon hooked, and very 

 intent upon conquering him. The buckling of the rod is 

 well illustrated. A great many sportsmen have dropped 

 into the store to see the pictures. 



The latest fishing yarn in the newspapers is concerning 

 a gull that was seen swimming on Moosehead Lake, and 

 was caught by some men in a canoe. Hooked to a leg 

 was found a leader, and attached to another fly on the 

 leader was a trout weighing 3 or 41bs. The hook was so 

 thoroughly embedded in the gull's lfg that it had to be 

 cut out. Since, it comes out that B, F. Beal, of Boston, 

 one report says, was fishing in Lily Bay with a leader to 

 which several hooks were attached. He struck a trout 

 which took away his leader, flies and all. At the Lily 

 Bay House, when the gull and trout were brought in, the 

 leader was pronounced the one that Mr. Beal had lost. 



Rev. Julian K. Smythe is an ardent lover of the rod 

 and line, as well as a good deal of a canoeist. He has 

 been on his vacation trip, and has paddled from Saco, 

 Me., up the Saco River, to Fryeburg. Mr. and Mrs. 

 Smythe made the journey in four days. They took their 

 two daughters aboard at Hiram. A store of provisions 

 was laid in at the starting point, and with the exception 

 of lodging at farmhouses on the way they lived in their 

 canoe and tents. Mr. Smythe is one of the leading 

 clergymen of Roxbury, Mass. 



Recently Graves, who several years ago murdered the 

 two Maine game wardens, has been granted an audience 

 with the Governor and Council at the State prison in that 

 State. He made a strong plea for extenuation of his fife 

 sentence. In touching language he related how the dog 

 which the warden wanted to kill was one which his wife 

 had harnessed into a cart with another dog, and the pair 

 had hauled around their son, who was a cripple. Further- 

 more, it was a bird dog, and not a deer dog at all. 

 Graves said that one of the wardens had his gun cocked, 

 and the other had a pistol, when he shot them. But at 

 last he admitted that, under the same circumstances, he 

 should do the same thing again. The pardon has not 

 been granted. In the recent warden shooting case in 

 that State the guide who did the shooting has not yet 

 been apprehended. 



Shore bird shooting along the Massachusetts coast does, 

 not seem to have taken much of a start yet, though the 

 open season is already several weeks old. A few bags of 

 summer yellow-legs are mentioned from along the north 

 shore. Claude H. Tar box, with the Baileys, has been out 

 along the Byfield shore, with a result of seven birds last 

 week. They will try again in a day or two. Mr. M, 

 Parker has just returned from a look for birds at Scituate, 

 and reports only a very few summer yellow-legs. A couple 

 of gunners went down to Marshfield the other day, but 

 came back without any birds. 



Aug. 11. — Flights of summer yellow-legs are reported 

 off Hampton and down as far as Salem and Beverly. A 

 gentleman came up from Old Orchard on Saturday and 

 he reports flights of summer yellow-legs off Saco Beach 

 and in the vicinity of Biddeford Pool. He says that he 

 saw no gunners nor did he hear of any, but heard numer- 

 ous reports of a plenty of birds. He suggests that the 

 weather is so hot that no one desires to go a-gunning. 

 But doubtless it will not take long to draw the gunners 

 out if the birds are plenty. Special. 



The Forest AND Stream is put to press each week on Tues- 

 day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach 

 us fit tht laiist by Monday, and as much earlier aspracticable. 



