60 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 9, 1888. 



hu and Mirer 



AQ&rm all communications to th« Forest and Stream Pub. Co. 



Angling Talks. By Geo. Dawson. Price 50 cents. Fly- 

 Rods and Fly-Tackle. By H.P.Wells. Price $2.50. Fly- 

 Fishing and Fly-Making for Trout. By J. H. Keene. 

 Price $1.50. American Anglers' Book. By Thad. Norris. 

 Price 85.50. 



KNOTTED EELS. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



In fishing for striped bass in tide-ways or near the 

 mouths of rivers on our Atlantic coast, many rod and 

 reel anglers have used live eels for bait for Beveral years 

 pa-t. The eel is attached to the hook by running the 

 barb up through both jaws. This method of attachment 

 securely fastens the eel and imposes the least possible 

 restraint to its free and natural action. 



When thus fishing, I have, on several occasions, on 

 reeling in my line for a fresh cast, found the eel tied in a 

 single knot near the head, with the tail free. It was 

 t en dirtcting its energy toward drawing the head 

 through its own bight in the endeavor to disengage the 

 hook. 



Such a mishap to the angler can occur only when the 

 current is too feeble to keep the eel extended in the water, 

 or when the line is allowed to run from the reel too freely. 



On the occasions referred to above, the eel had tied the 

 knot by turning up the caudal extremity, passing it 

 around the body and down through its own bight, just as 

 one would tie a knot in a piece of line. The process then 

 was to reduce the coil which surrounded the head to the 

 smallest possible size, letting the hook fetch up against 

 the coil, and by such means, if possible, to tear the hook 

 from the mouth, free the head and regain liberty. Some- 

 times I have seen the eel when in this position relax the 

 coil, draw the head and hook through the same and leave 

 a knot in the lin^ above the hook. 



These proceedings are similar to those adopted by the 

 eels referred to in the letter of Lieutenant Richmond, 

 published in your issue of the 2d inst., as having been 

 caught by him in the waters about the island of San 

 Clemente. 



Eels have great muscular power, and when seized near 

 the head by the hand provided with a bait cloth, have to 

 be held with a firm grip to prevent their escape. When 

 lightly held, especially without the cloth, they throw a 

 coil againt the hand for a purchase, pull back with the 

 head, and away they go. Arthur Martin. 



Washington, D. C, Feb. 5. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The eel of San Clemente Island mentioned by Lieut. E. 

 T. C. Richmond in your last issue is the large moray of 

 the Racine coast, Hwtena mordaz, Ayres, of which many 

 specimens were sent to the Smithsonian Institution by 

 Professor Gilbert and myself in 1880. So far as my 

 information gees, Lieut. Richmond's description of its 

 habits is perfectly correct, and I think that no account 

 of its peculiarities has yet been published, It is very 

 difficult to draw these morays from the holes in the rocks 

 when they are fairly braced, David S. Jordan. 



Bloosixngion, Ind., Feb. 4. 



TROUT OF THE TRACADIE. 



\BOUT the 10th of August, 1886, 1 visited the Tracadie 

 Ri ver, in Gloucester county, New Brunswick, and 

 there enjoyed two days' fishing. I was staying at the 

 time witli my family at Mr. Davidson's in Tracadie village. 

 I left this in a light carriage on Thursday morning at 

 daylight, and after a six-mile drive reached one of the 

 uppermost houses, where T left my horse, and met my 



fuides, two Frenchmen, with a clumsy dugout. My son 

 ack, a lad of 10 years, was with me, and the canoe was 

 pretty well crowded with the four of us and a few traps. 

 We h d four miles to paddle up a broad estuary with 

 bluff banks before we reached the rapid water; and with 

 a nasty, chilly head wind it was tedious work. However, 

 in a bout an hour we arrived at the stream and commenced 

 ascending by poling. The guides were not good canoe- 

 men and the canoe wabbled badlv, but we pushed along 

 al day, only stopping to fish at dinner time and in the 

 evening, when we camped at the forks of the Lord and 

 Foy Brook, some nine miles above the hea l of tide. 



The stream is not broad, but is the neplus ultra of trout 

 streams, with nice sharp broken runs, deep holes at the 

 turns, and gravelly bottoms, with excellent chances for 

 casting and plenty of fine fish. At this time, owing to 

 rain, it was very high, in fact too high for first- class fish- 

 ing, the water being quite black. 



Our night in camp was not over and above comfort- 

 able, as at about 9 o'clock it began to rain, and as our 

 t ent consisted of the jib of a small fishing smack, Jack 

 and I had to shape ourselves to accommodate the jib, for 

 it could not be made into shape to properly protect us. 

 However, the prospect of a good day's sport, and a hearty 

 breakfast of fine fish just out of the water, renewed our 

 spirits and we started very early, fishing down stream. 

 We found plenty of fish of good size, running from ^lb. 

 to over libs. The smaller fish we caught in the rapids, 

 but in every large deep pond at the turns and from under 

 the jams of drift wood at the bends, we would lure some 

 of the monsters. With our light 8oz. rods we had our 

 hands full; in fact, I would pick and choose where to 

 strike heavy fish, and where the small fry; and I kept 

 Master Jack's attention to the smaller fry, fearing a 

 smash up if he hooked a big one. 



At dinner time, in the middle of a heavy shower, we 

 met a party of a dozen Frenchmen with their canoes, on 

 their way up stream to drive down some cedar blocks 

 with the rise of water. They were taking their dinner 

 on the top of a jam at one of the best trout holes, and two 

 of them were vainly endeavoring to lure forth some of 

 the trout by means of angle worms. I presented them 

 with our morning's catch, consisting of a common can- 

 dle-box full, and proceeded diligently to refill it. 



In this one hole in sight of the Frenchmen I hooked 

 and landed eight trout, the smallest not less than 21bs. 

 and the largest (the heaviest I caught that day) scaled 

 when I reached Mr. Davidson's 5^1bs. At the time I was 



handling this fellow I was fishing with a cast of three 

 flies, and another fish, I think of equal size, hooked on, 

 but I lost him by the hook breaking. 

 _ It cleared up after dinner and before we reached the 

 tide water the box was again full. In one hole where 

 the fish were in swarms and where we cast from the 

 bank, my boy hooked and landed three fish at one cast, 

 the three together going 31bs., and were of almost equal 

 size. He was very proud of the feat. When we reached 

 our team after another long paddle we were tired enough, 

 and after th? drive home over the six miles of road after 

 dark concluded that at that time Mr. Davidson's com- 

 fortable quarters were pref erable to all the trout streams 

 in the world. But with the morning came the longing 

 to be back again on this glorious stream, and that long- 

 ing still continues, to be gratified, I hope, in 1888. It 

 was the best day's trout fishing I ever had, the only 

 trouble being that the fish were too plenty and too easy 

 to hook. Ciias. W. Beokwith. 



Fjredericton, Canada. 



OUTOFTHE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE 



IAM not an expert fisherman nor an old hand at fly- 

 casting, but just an ordinary sort of fisherman, and I 

 go in for bait. I have tried the fly a number of times, 

 but could not work it to my satisfaction, and only one 

 fish caught is the result of my many attempts. Never- 

 theless I am a devoted lover of the gentle art, if not a 

 scientific one, and avail myself of every opportunity that 

 offers to indulge in it. Whatever occasion calls me away 

 from home, be it business or pleasure, sees my rod and 

 net staff in my trunk or strapped to my umbrella. My 

 folding net, lines, hooks and reel arc likewise stowed, 

 either in trunk or valise, and sometimes I take my min- 

 now pad as well. 



Last summer I felt the necessity of a vacation, and act- 

 ing upon the suggestion of my needs I packed my duds 

 and started for the piny woods and piny hills of northern 

 Louisiana. My brother was working a sawmill away op 

 there in the backw r oods somewhere, and I concluded to 

 go to him. As I had never been so far back before, the 

 anticipated pleasures of new sights and scenes were added 

 to my expectations, and after a four weeks' ramble I must 

 say that they have been fully realized. Lolling and stray- 

 ing here and there through the pines and along the creeks 

 and rivers for four short weeks, without a care, and just 

 as fancy dictated, served to renew my entire being. Time 

 slipped along so easily and quietly that in reviewing the 

 events now I find it difficult to separate them. 



The sawmill was picturesquely situated upon the banks 

 of Little River, surrounded on all sides by the sombre 

 Southern forest. The refreshing odor from the woods 

 and the new-sawn pine filled the air, and thus inhaling I 

 would pass the early morning hours strolling around the 

 building and listening to the soothing buzz of the tireless 

 saw. The sawdust was dumped into the river, and when 

 the shadow of the mill fell upon the water's edge, I would 

 bring out my tackle and fish along the edge of the saw- 

 dust. I seldom failed to catch a good string of green 

 trout (black bass), and nice lively fellows they w-ere. We 

 call them green trout down here, and are loth to give up 

 the name, for it was taught to us in our childhood. Had 

 I had the temerity to call my string of black bass by their 

 right name, the mill hands would have laughed me 

 to scorn as an ignorant dude. I had the good sense to 

 stick to the old name, and by catching "whoppers" upon 

 very light tackle I managed often to elicit remarks of ap- 

 proval from them. 



But like the idle boy, truant from school, I felt the 

 want of companionship', for the mill was a busy place, 

 and every one, even down to the children, seemed to 

 have some work to do. In the evenings when work was 

 done and supper was over we would gather around the 

 quarters and talk of fishing and hunting. Hunting was 

 the favorite theme of these sons of the forest, but fishing 

 came in for its share; and marvelous tales were told of 

 such and such a creek, away back, where the waters 

 fairly swarmed with "great big ones." To be loafing 

 around among the busy ones was irksome to my sensi- 

 tive nature, so I mounted my pony one day, and with 

 saddle bags packed, and rod and net and gun across the 

 pommel, I started for the creeks. My destination was 

 the farm of a friend of my brother's, and I am happy to 

 to say that this old man proved to be a true born sports- 

 man. He loved to fish and hunt and so did his good wife, 

 and many times we three would tramp it to some "good 

 place" on some "good creek," and cast our lines in pleas- 

 ant places. All the creeks were good, but some were 

 better than others, and we would vary the order occa- 

 sionally as fancy dictated. For green trout a certain 

 spot would be best, for goggle-eyed perch another, for 

 sac-a-lait another, and so on. But one of the best all- 

 round spots was a beautiful cove at the bottom of a hill, 

 about a quarter of a mde from the house. The old man 

 said he had so built his dwelling as to be convenient to 

 the fishing, and I believe lum. 



In the evening while his old lady was cooking the 

 supper, he and I would take our rods and go down to the 

 creek under the shade of the pines. By chopping the 

 bark from some old log we would gather enough "saw- 

 yers" for bait, and half an hour thereafter would find us 

 back at the house with a lively string of fish. A cold 

 spring %vas at the kitchen door, and whUe the old lady 

 heated the frying-pan we cleaned the fish and passed 

 them over to her. Into the pan they went, and out they 

 came again as soon as they touched the hot grease — 

 literally out of the frying pan into the fire. I had often 

 heard of it and never expected to see it realized, but when 

 seen I was not surprised, for these fish appeared to be 

 endowed with great vitality. I did not notice any parti- 

 cular difference in one variety from another, they were 

 all lively. 



Thus the days slipped by me, lazily strolling, fishing, 

 sleeping and eating, and when time was up I bade a sad 

 farewell to my kind entertainers and started for home. 



New Orleans, La. L. 



The Menhaden Oil Business.— It is said that the 

 proprietors of fish oil factories on Long Island are con- 

 sidering the feasibility of allowing their factories and 

 steamers to remain idle throughout the year. No money 

 .avas made during the past season, owing to the scarcity 

 , of the fish and the low price of oil and fertilizers. If 

 operations are discontinued several hundred men will be 

 left without employment.— The Long Islander, Feb. 4. 



A BOYHOOD MEMORY. 



*V\f HEN I was a boy only eight years old I went with 

 * T my oldest brother one day to Pickerel and Bost- 

 wick lakes, hunting and fishing. My brother would row 

 the boat and let me hold on to the trolling fine, and when 

 a fish of any size took hold he would take the line and 

 haul the fish in. We only caught a few bass and two 



Eickerel. A few days after that I told my younger 

 rother that it was great sport to troll for bass and 

 pickerel, and I believed I could go straight to Pickerel 

 Lake, and a little way from there was a small lake — 

 called Round Lake — of about three acres, with a little 

 boat just about right for two small boys, and if he would 

 go with me we would go fishing by ourselves and not let 

 any of our f oiks know it. So it was agreed that on the 

 morrow we would steal away. Getting my father's old 

 chalk-line and a very large pike hook that he used to fish 

 with in Canandagua Lake, N. Y., we started, having only 

 fat pork for bait and some frogs which we killed on our 

 Way. We found the lake and the little boat, which was 

 half of an old water-logged canoe with a board nailed on 

 the stern where it had been sawed in two. Bailing it out 

 and having only a piece of fence board for a paddle, we 

 pushed out. My little brother, who was only six years 

 old, was instructed by me to pay out the line as my older 

 brother had shown me on the former trip to these lakes. 

 He had the line out scarcely 2oft. when he cried at the 

 top of his voice, "I've got a bite, take the line, quick." 

 I grabbed it, and both of us pulled with all our migh t 

 and brought in a pickerel that would weigh 8 or lOlbs,, 

 but wdien we had got him up alongside of the canoe we 

 could not get him into the boat, so fastening the line to 

 an old stub of a nail that stuck up in the stern I paddled 

 to shore and we landed our fish safely on dry land. We 

 bailed out our boat and tried it again. I have never en- 

 joyed a day's fishing as I did that. We caught forty 

 large black bass and nve pickerel; but the tug of war was 

 yet to come. How could we get our fish home? We 

 could carry them but a little way at a time, and then we 

 had to sit down and rest. We tugged at them as long as 

 we could, and finally hid a part of them by the side of an 

 old log and covered them up with leaves, carrying the 

 largest ones home. We found that our people were out 

 looking for us, thinking we had gone down to Bear 

 Creek, which Avas but a few rods from the house, and 

 had been drowned. They were rejoiced to see us and our 

 big string of fish, but both of us were spanked for daring 

 to go to the lakes alone. I went back with my older 

 brother and found the fish we had hid, but we never ran 

 away to go fishing or hunting again, nor have I ever had 

 such luck catching bass and pickerel since. One reason 

 why we only caught such large fish was becau-e our 

 hook was so large the small ones could not get it into 

 their mouths. Runaway. 

 Lowell, Mich. 



SUNAPEE LAKE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice that "Swirl" wishes information in regard to 

 fishing at Sunapee Lake, N. H. My home is within 25 

 miles of the lake, and I have been there many times, 

 camping there the last three summers. I have not fished 

 for trout very much, prefeiring the bass fishing, as I have 

 better luck with them. Our parties have had no trouble 

 in taking a good string on a good day. I think that the 

 trout fishermen had pretty good luck last summer, for I 

 saw quite a number of splendid strings, the fish ranging 

 from ^lb. to 51bs. and Gibs. I was told by a person who 

 saw the fish, that a gentleman from Newport, N. H., had 

 landed a 7Alb. lake trout. This was last August. But 

 unless the day is a good one, the trout will not take hold. 



I think "Swirl" will find Sunapee Lake one of the most 

 beautiful that he has ever seen. If he cares for a climb, 

 there are splendid chances. Sunapee Mountain close by, 

 from the top of which a splendid view of the lake and 

 the country north and east is had. Three hours with 

 horse and foot will put him on the top of Kearsarge. To 

 get to Sunapee "Swirl" should go to Concord, N. H., and 

 take the Concord & Clareinont R. R. to Newbury, which 

 is on the southern end of the lake. From here a steamer 

 will take him to the four principal points on the lake. 

 Blodgett's Landing, however, is the most desirable point 

 I think. There is a small hotel here, the Forest Hou?e, 

 at which one can get accommodations at a small price. 

 The?"e are also some splendid places to camp on this side. 

 I shall be pleased to enlighten "Swirl" further if pos- 

 sible. Camper. 



College Hill, Mass. 



Pickerel Through the Ice. — Worcester, Mass., Feb. 4. 

 — The Jacobs brothers, Asa R. and N. S., had great luck 

 pickerel fishing through the ice in Holden yesterday, and 

 brought home to show then- friends 45f lbs. of solid fish. 

 The largest five in the lot beat the record thus far. The 

 largest weighed Sflbs., the next 41bs., another 8*lbs., a 

 fourth Silbs., and the smallest of the big five tipped the 

 scales at 2|lbs. Asa caught the 3i and 4-pounders within 

 an hour of each other, and it was considered wholly im- 

 probable that N. S. could equal his luck. But late in the 

 afternoon when the sun was sinking low down in the 

 horizon, N. S. saw a flag go up on one of the tackle, and 

 without delay he ran and pulled up the line. As he 

 landed the father of all the fish in the pond on the ice 

 and compared its size with the other big fellows, he could 

 not express his feelings, but insisted that they at once 

 take up their fines and start for home before the big 

 pickerel could get away. It was a catch of a lifetime. 

 The big five will be on exhibition at E. S. Knowles's 

 store on Pleasant street this afternoon. 



The Renous Salmon Club, of New Brunswick, Can- 

 ada, was incorporated last week for the purpose of hiring 

 fishing privileges in New Brunswick and catching the 

 fish therein. The trustees are Emil Hurtzig, Frederick 

 Storey and William J. Pickney. 



Capt. Benjamin R. Dixon, from near Portsmouth, Va., was 

 in the city a day or two since, and gives an account of one 

 day's experience in hunting recently. He went out in a battery 

 for ducks, and after killing 30 brant discovered a covey of 

 porpoises that went in with the tide and got left on the ebb. 

 which he proceeded to attack and killed five. The ducks 

 and the porpoises brought him the nice little sum of $19.— 

 New-Berne (N. V.) Journal. 



