296 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 6, 1896. 



view_of the camps on the shore of beautiful King Lake, 

 nestling down among heavily wooded hills. It was an 

 impressive and handsome sight, and is hard to duplicate 

 even in Maine. The smiling countenance of mine host, 

 Harry M. Pierce, was the first face to greet me, and in a 

 few moments I waB comfortably inst died in the finest log 

 camp to be found in that ptrt of Maine. An immense 

 caribou skin covered a good part of the floor, and high up 

 near the peaked ceiling hung the mammoth head of a 

 bull moose, whose eyes seemed to wink and blink in the 

 dancing light of the open grate fire as though once again 

 possessed of all the power of bygone days. The succeed- 

 ing days were spent in fishing and tramping about the 

 woods until the sad and inevitable day of departure 

 intruded itself upon me. While at these camps I had the 

 pleasure of meeting Mr. W. J. Epting and his father 

 (inseparable companions), of Philadelphia, and go where 

 you will, finer sportsmen and tru'-r gentlemen cannot be 

 found. In company with them I spent many pleasant 

 hours both in fishing and tramping. The fly-fishing dur- 

 ing my visit was quite indifferent, it being very windy, 

 with exceedingly rou?h water. Partridges seemed plen- 

 tiful everywhere at King and Bartlett, and I prophesy 

 good sport this fall for those who like bird shooting. It 

 is also a great region for large game, and in a few days 

 more the mountains will be echoing out the rifle shots of 

 eager shooters after their quarry, and the open season 

 will be fairly inaugurated. 



Reports have been coming to Boston all summer of good 

 fishing at Indian Pond, Maine, and I have seen and talked 

 with several men who have made good scores there this 

 year. Indian Pond is really but a widening out of the 

 upper Kennebec, and is situated but a short distance 

 below Moosehead Station, on the Canadian Pacific, ten 

 miles from Greenville Junction. E. H Wood, of Boston, 

 manager of the gun and sporting goods business of John 

 Wood, Jr., has just returned from that country, and 

 speaks very highly of it. He stopped at the camps of 

 Mike Marrs, which he says make as good a home in the 

 woods as anybody needs. He had pretty fair fishing con- 

 sidering the warm weather and lateness of his trip. 

 Seventy trout and three whitefish, the two largest trout 

 weighing 2ilbs. each, was his record for the last two days 

 of his visit. One immense fish estimated at 6 or 7lbs. was 

 seen in the river just below the dam. A strong effort was 

 made to capture him, but after he had straightened out 

 two Carlisle hooks of large size they concluded it would 

 be a good idea to let him grow until next year, when per- 

 haps some more fortunate angler would effect his capture. 

 Mr, Wood saw five deer on his trip, a great many par- 

 tridges, and had some good duck shooting. 



From the present outlook the Aroostook region will, to 

 say the least, be comfortably filled with expectant gun- 

 ners this fall. The railroad people say they are fixing up 

 more tickets for that section of Maine than any other 

 part of the State; certainly many sportsmen are passing 

 through Boston en route to that region. Some of the 

 men who have just gone or are about to leave are J. E. 

 Brittain and F. W. Tibbitts, of Bjston. They will go in 

 from Ashland and will devote three weeks to shooting. 

 They have bpen there before and know the country well. 

 Dr. C. L. Hill and John A. Fritz, of Scranton, Pa,., passed 

 through the city the other day bound for Mtllinocket 

 Lake. They have guides engaged and expect to be in 

 the woods for three weeks. I hope to hear of their suc- 

 cess on their return. H. K, and E. L. White, of Boston, 

 have left for the Aroostook, going in from Norcross. 

 They will be away two weeks and are after large game. 



A. W. R )binson (president of the Megantic Club) and 

 wife and D. C. Pierce (one of the directors) and wife, all 

 of Boston, have gone to the club preserve. They will go 

 in at the club house and out by way of Euatis. The two 

 gentlemen have a camp at Chain of Ponds and hope to 

 get some good shooting. Tae club will begin operations 

 on hatching trout at their hatchery on Big Island at 

 once. They have engaged Chas. W. Barrett, of Range- 

 ley, who will go there and begin stripping trout very 

 soon. The salmon put in Big Island Pond by the club 

 two years ago and also last year have been taken on the 

 fly this season up to l3in. in length. The members are 

 quite elated over their success, and they deserve to be. 



Hackle. 



Lend me your Ears. 



Washington, D. C, Sept. 18.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: While your correspondents are busy discussing 

 all sorts of suggested bears and deer, why should not 

 some of them get at the true inwardness of "the lordly 

 buro?" In the Youth's Companion of Aug 15 last, in an 

 article headed "On the Desert of Souls," I read, "The 

 lordly buro was to be their game, the great deer of 

 northern Mexico, larger than the elk." And further on, 

 "What antlers— 8ft. from tip to tip— had the leader of the 

 buros! He and his mates slowly moved on the plain, 

 seemingly without fear of surprise, quietly feeding on the 

 juicy flower of the nopal cactus." Cecil Clay. 



The Mississippi Bird Crop. 



Blue Mountain, Miss., Sept. 16.— Our bird crop is fine 

 again. There are lots of bevies full grown now and lots 

 too that can scarcely fly yet. In riding a mile and a 

 quarter last week I saw five large bevies, some fully 

 grown, some just able to fly, all in the same bevies, show- 

 ing that the same birds had hatched both lots. There 

 are but few squirrels, though we expect our share shortly, 

 for the forest is loaded down with all kinds of mast. The 

 game law has been better observed this season than I 

 ever knew it to be. There have been very few depreda- 

 tions. S. N. A. 



Two Birds a Day. 



TJtica, N. Y., Sept. 27.— The open season for partridge 

 is too early. The birds in this section were only half 

 grown, and the weather in August and early September 

 was killing for the dogs. Advocate Sept. 15 as the open- 

 ing day, and give the dogs and birds a chance; the men 

 can take care of themselves. On old birds big bags will 

 be scarce, but who wants big bags anyway? Two birds 

 a day is enough for any man. Moderation. 



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

 day. Correspondence intendea for publication should reach 

 US at the latest by Monday, and as much eortUraspracticable. 



Design for a Hunting Float* 



Every sportsman who shoots on the quiet and shallow 

 waters of ponds, rivers or marshes has felt the need of 

 some light draft canoe, one in which he may navigate 

 the shallowest places that ducks frequent or to conceal 

 himself among the reeds or other marsh growth. A de- 

 sign for such a float is herewith submitted, with measure- 

 ments and description, so that it may be constructed at 

 any tin shop. The material is a light quality of galvan- 

 ized sheet iron, put together with soft solder. 



Extreme length 7ft , extreme breadth 3ft., depth 6in.; 

 the bottom is 2ft. wide amidships. The gunwale is a 

 strip soldered to the upper edge of the boat body and bent 

 over until its free edge touches the sides of the boat, to 

 which it is secured. This leaves a hollow space all around, 

 in which are placed thirty small air tanks, as shown in 

 the diagram. These air tanks are simply so many empty 



Cross Sectin+o 



31bs. tomato cans soldered up air-tight. They give great 

 buoyancy and stability to the float, and will sustain one 

 man if the boat should be filled with water. 



Where the outer edge of the gunwale is bent over to 

 inclose the tin cans it will be necessary to cut a number 

 of slits in the edge, so that the flaring edge may be 

 turned over and so form a space for the air tanks. 



The bottom is flat transversely, with a gradual rise of 

 2in. from the middle to either end. 



A short paddle or double- bladed oar is used to propel 

 it, and it may be laid aside at a moment's notice and the 

 gun taken up. 



Such a float or canoe with a man of ordinary weight 

 will draw about 3^in. of water and ought to be very 

 light and durable. It should be painted some inconspicu- 

 ous color to make it less noticeable. Rings or thimbles 

 may be soldered around the edge of the gunwale, in 

 which may be placed bushes to conceal the occupant, 

 and so make a floating blind. 



If taken out of the water when not in use, such a boat 

 will last a long time. The galvanized iron does not rust 

 easily. Thos. C. Harris. 



North Carolina. 



September and October. 



The finest shooting grounds in the Northwest are on and tributary 

 to the lines of the Cnic*go, Milwaukee & St. Paul Riilaray. The crop 

 of prairie chickens promises to be exceptionally good this year; also 

 ducks and geese. In northern Wisconsin and tne Peninsula of Michi- 

 gan splendid deer shooting is to be had. 



The game laws will be changed in several of the Western States this 

 year 



Full information furnished free. Address Geo. H. Heafford, General 

 Passenger and Ticket Agent, Chicago, III.— Adv. 



Don't Buy Your Outfit 



In the East if you are going on a hunting trip in the Northwest. We 

 have everything you want in the sporting goods line, and our experi- 

 ence will perhaps keep you from buying a great many things you 

 don't want. 



We have all the modern Nitro Loads at Eastern pries. Don't 

 encumber yourself with stuff until you get on your hunting ground. 

 You can depend on us. Wm. R. Burkhard, 57 and 59 East Seventh 

 street, St. Paul, Minn.— Adv. 



THE BASS KNOWS WHAT HE'S ABOUT. 



Traverse City, Mich.— Editor Forest and Stream: I 

 have been greatly interested in the bass that leaps, shakes 

 his head, takes a turn around a root, etc., and I have 

 faith that he does it all knowingly, for 1 remember stand- 

 ing on a large rock on the left hand side of the lower 

 falls of the Chippewa River, which flows into Batchaw- 

 aaung Bay, Lake Superior, and having a long tussle with 

 one that was fighting on his own ground and knew just 

 what he was doing. 



I had been casting for trout, with poor luck, when an 

 idea occurred to me that proved a success. I knew that 

 the pool contained bass and if I could not get trout I 

 would take the next best obtainable; so I took off the tail 

 fly from my leader and put on in its place a small troller 

 and cast far down stream. The second cast resulted in 

 hooking a Impound trout on the fly above the troller, and 

 while reeling him in a large bass repeatedly jumped out 

 of the water and came down where trout and troller had 

 been, but the nimble trout, like the Irishman's flea, was 

 not there. The bass continued his antics until he was 

 within less than twenty feet of me, when I dawned on 

 his vision, and he suddenly stopped, looked at me a few 

 seconds and left for the depths below. I caught two 

 more trout on the same fly and then hooked a nice bass 

 on the troller. I know he was a big one, because he 

 finally got away; but he knew his business, and aa I had 

 trout enough for a meal I did not regret him. 



He made several unsuccessful vaults into the air, some- 

 times shaking his head savagely and at others trying, evi- 

 dently, to fall on the line or, as I sometimes think, get it 

 foul of his fins or tail; but as I always keep a taught line 

 in such eases he failed. Next he went down and sat on a 

 r jck and pondered until a bright idea occurred. Coming 

 up he let me reel him in until he was within a few feet of 

 the rock on which I stood and by which the water flowed 



in a foaming torrent, when he darted into the current 

 and I had to give him line in a hurry. Nearly 50yds. 

 were taken before the game turned in my favor and the 

 same tactics were repeated several times, until the enemy 

 finall> seemed to get discouraged and was reeled in close 

 enough to be "surrounded" with the net. 



Lifting his head out of the water until he stood on end, 

 I gently slid the net into the water, when he opened his 

 mouth, spat the hook out and with a derisive shake dis- 

 appeared in the depths of the pool. How he managed to 

 disengage the hook I do not see, as I was using a light fly- 

 rod and there was very little effort apparent on the part 

 of the bass. 



Later in the day I had another experience in the same 

 pool. Taking a Carlisle hook, 1 scraped a bullet bright, 

 split it and closing it on the shank about half way from 

 the bend to the gut, cast in the swift water, with the 

 result of hooking another immense (he too got away) 

 bass, which jumped out folly two feet and, with a vigor- 

 ous shake, threw the hook several feet. Two others took 

 the same lure and shook the hook out in the same way, 

 sometimes jumping several times before it was accom- 

 plished. I tried lowering my tip, but when I did the 

 hook flew all the further. I lay the shaking the hook out 

 to the weight of the bullet on the shank. 



How high they will go I do not know, but I saw one 

 leap so that I saw the whole of him above the shoulder 

 of a companion sitting opposite me; and I don't believe 

 they need much room to get a start in, for I had a small 

 muscalunge, whose head I was holding out of water, 

 jump high enough from that position to hit me in the 

 fac« as I went to net him. 



Old Sam says they jump and jump high, and shake 

 and shake hard, and what Old Sam says is so, goes. 



I have fished in some of the waters that have wet his 

 line and driven my tent pegs in the holes left by his tent 

 pegs, and I hope some time to take his hand and have the 

 honor to sit for an evening by his camp-fire. 



If the Kingfishers ever pitch their tents in northern 

 Michigan again I shall rise and go on a pilgrimage, and 

 rest not by the way until my eyes have been gladdened 

 by a sight of the old bird perched on a broken limb of a 

 blasted pine, and will then be content to sit far beneath 

 him and learn wisdom. Victor E. Montague. 



JUMPING BASS. 



Grand Rapids, Mich.— Editor Forest and Stream: I 

 have read with pleasure the articles published in your 

 excellent paper relative to the jumping bass and the rea- 

 sons assigned for his so doing. 1 have resolved to add a 

 little to the subject by relating an incident of which I was 

 a witness. 



About the middle of July I decided that work was no 

 longer essential to my well being and happiness, and hied 

 myself to a beautiful spot on Lake Michigan, located 

 about forty miles north from Grand Rapids, to rusticate 

 and drink in the beauties of nature undisturbed by the 

 telephone and the busy hum of city life. The particular 

 spot was Sylvan Beach, at the mouth of White Lake, 

 where it joins Lake Michigan. White Lake is an arm of 

 Lake Michigan, and is about six miles long by one wide, 

 and is a beautiful body of water. 



A number of people from Grand Rapids, Chicago and 

 other cities have erected cottages at Sylvan Beach, and 

 have this year organized a resort company t > control it, 

 and intend to add to its beauty modestly. There are no 

 splendid hotels or expensive cottages at this quiet and pic- 

 turesque place. Modesty reigns supreme. Every one 

 there seemed to be trying to have a good time without 

 "frills." Fishing was indulged in by all who enjoyed it, 

 and successful catches were usual to those who were 

 artists. As for myself, I confess to have a drawing to the 

 rod, and during my stay at the beach I was fishing most 

 of the time. 



One evening after a day's fishing, as I was returning 

 home accompanied by my dog, an Irish setter, skirting 

 close to the bulrushes which grow near the shore, I was 

 startled by a noise like that made by a fish as it leaps out 

 of the water with a spoon hook in its mouth, accompanied 

 with a splash in the water. The sound came from my 

 rear in the direction which the boat was going. I stood 

 up and looked in the direction of the noise and tried to 

 make out the cause of the strange commotion. It was a 

 perfect calm and the lake was as clear and placid as a 

 crystal, every movement could be detected distinctly. My 

 dog had risen also and was sniffing the air consciously and 

 growling in a low tone of voice, and as the boat neared 

 the spot from whence the watery rings are ever widening, 

 he peered into the depths inquiringly. 



Our curiosity was soon rewarded; about 30ft. ahead of 

 the boat a large-mouthed bass broke the water, weighing 

 I should judge about 4lbs. , and shook a spoon hook which I 

 could plainly see hanging from its mouth and disappeared. 

 I pusht-d the boat to where he went down and looked for 

 him, but in vain. I remarked to my dog that if that fish 

 was so anxious to have that hook removed we would 

 accommodate him. A wag of the tail was the answer. I 

 sat in the boat for some minutes watching for a repetition 

 of the affair, but the fish did not put in an appearance again. 

 I am convinced that the object of that hsh in rising out 

 of the water was to dislodge the hook from its mouth, and 

 believe that the fish "reasoned" that he could give more 

 power to his shake out of water than in, where the 

 pressure on its sides prevented its accomplishment. 



C. B. K. 



Big Nepigon Trout. 



Port Arthur, Canada. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 On Aug. 22 Mr. Eugene Stevenson ana Dr. E. J. Marsh, 

 of Paterson, N. J., went up the Nepigon River to fish and 

 returned Sept. 15. On Sept. 4 Mr. Stevenson caught a 

 speckled trout that weighed 81bs. 2oz. It was a female 

 in excellent condition and was weighed just after being 

 taken from the water by Dr. Marsh; it measured 24in. in 

 length and 16Mn. around. 



On the evening of Sept. 9. in one hour, Mr. Stevenson 

 caught four trout with the fly that weighed 18lbs. 14oz.; 

 two of these weighed over 6lbs. each. Twenty-one of 

 the largest trout caught weighed 1081bs. 9oz. 



Dr. Marsh caught a large nuniber of fine trout, the 

 largest weighing oilbs. They had very fine weather and 

 the fishing was excellent. These gentlemen returned 

 home very much phased with the sport they had. 



I had a few minutes' conversation with the veteran 

 angler Mr. D^bney Carr, of St. Louis, who has followed 

 the sport for half a century. He fished most of the 



