392 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 7, 1888. 



ing fur dives under the boulder in search of a winter 

 home, the trout has departed. 



Then it is that one can hear inquiring voices among 

 the brook sounds if he will sit quietly and not disturb the 

 nymphs. Under the hemlock's roots the voices are low 

 and congratulatory. The nymphs there know the old 

 rascal too well to wish him back again, but they seem 

 afraid to speak much above a whisper, and they hardly 

 dare inquire for news among then- neighbors in the rocks; 

 but every now and then a sprightly voice from up-stream 

 or from down-stream will call impatiently for an answer 

 from the eddy. An up-stream sprite asks if a mink 

 has caught a trout, and softly comes an answer, 

 saying that the trout has learned by experience to 

 lie so near the bottom that a mink can not seize 

 him from below, and he certainly could not be caught 

 fairly. "How about the water snakes?" asks another; 

 and the reply "He is too large for them to fight" comes 

 back in a moment. "Has a snapping-turtle caught 

 liim?" is asked; but a dozen replies at once say that no 

 snapping-turtle has passed along the stream for a year 

 and a half. "Has a fisherman got him?" asks one; and 

 such a chuckling and laughing comes from all sides that 

 one is quickly convinced that the fisherman is the least 

 dangerous of the four enemies of the trout. 



The fact of the matter is that in the fall the old trout's 

 fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love, and in this con- 

 nection I might as well say that of late years he has been 

 guilty of bigamy. Formerly he would quietly leave the 

 eddy on a late September day, and go down-stream to a 

 shallow nook where a lively spring made the sand boil 

 up at the bottom in four or five puffs at a time; where 

 the caddis worms built their armor of sticks and mica 

 scales, and where alders growing thickly, arched their 

 branches overhead and shaded the pool. In this bower 

 he found his lovely wife patiently waiting for him, and 

 although he would pay her pretty close attention for a 

 few days and pretend to be affectionate, he would soon 

 wander about and flirt with the little girl trout, who 

 went wild over his beauty but who had never seen the 

 old villain at home in his eddy. 



Two or three years ago, however, a heavy ice floe 

 coming down in the spring freshet knocked a new hole 

 in the dam, and whenever the water is high enough 

 in early October, the trout runs up through the hole, 

 and goes to see a wife that he met under the lily-pads 

 in still water in the pond. She is larger even than he is, 

 and lazier, and not nearly so attractive as the down- 

 stream wife. Her eggs too are dull yellow, while the 

 down-stream wife's eggs are bright straw color, and why 

 it is that he enjoys the pond trout's company no one can 

 tell ; but there's no accounting for tastes. 



The old trout is not very deeply affected by love, and 

 he is always back at the boulder by the middle of October. 



Just a word about his children's nursery : 



Down where the sunshine is stirred in the water 

 By zephyrs that bend tlie thin tops of the sedge, 



The stream shallows out at the head of the meadow, 

 And dammed by a log, widens more at the edge. 



The nettles are rank on the rich hank about it, 

 And out on the log straggle tussocks of grass: 



Beneath the warm driftwood the cricket is chirping, 

 And green-headed frogs tune their throats for the class. 



The little trout practice at vaulting and leaping, 

 And stir up the sand in their still, shallow pool; 



From daylight till darkness and all through the moonlight 

 They try every trick that is taught in their school. 



They strain at a gnat and then swallow a lady bug; 



Deep into the air they all dive for a fly. 

 But larger they're growing, and in the hard future, 



The careless ones jumping at feathers must die. 



And some of them reaching the age of discretion, 

 Will solemnly hunt for a deep shady hole; 



And like their old father— as cruel as Nero- 

 Will live as they please, without conscience or soul. 



I wonder if the old trout remembers my attempt at get- 

 ting him out upon the bank last June. Cautiously I had 

 crept to a point where the bushes hid me from sight, and 

 slid the tip of the slender split-bamboo rod through the 

 same opening through which the alder pole had been 

 poked so many times in years gone by. With a slight 

 cast, the brown-hackle and coachman and Reub Wood were 

 tossed over the lair of the trout, and drawn in enticing 

 zig-zags between the foam flecks on the water. It was 

 not the first time that artificial flies had failed to tempt 

 him, and when the cast was changed to a grizzly-king, a 

 silver-doctor, and a stone-fly, he just kept perfectly still, 

 and let me go through all the motions of fishing, as 

 though that were all I had gone out for. 



Under a fungus-covered log I found a handsome pink 

 and squirming angleworm, that did its very best on a bait 

 hook deep down where the trout's nose ought to have 

 been, but there was no demonstration of appreciation on 

 the part of the autocrat of the eddy. Next I found in the 

 moss a crimson newt that looked delicious enough for 

 anybody to bite, and when the hook was carefully passed 

 through a small fold of skin, so as not to hurt much, he 

 was tossed over into the pool. Around and around in 

 little circles the newt swam, and deeper and deeper, 

 until there was only a faint red wrigglo to be seen way 

 down by the shelf of the rock. Suddenly a vigorous tug 

 whisked the tip of the rod under water, the reel gave a 

 shout, and then all was quiet again; but I could feel the 

 old fellow's teeth grating on the tense line as he sullenly 

 moved his head from side to side. Every instant I ex- 

 pected a rush up stream, and a tumbling wrestle in the 

 swift water above the eddy, but still there was ominous 

 quiet. There I stood all ready for action, the tip of the 

 rod curved over and almost dipping into the water, the 

 line drawn as tightly as a banjo string and leading- 

 straight down into the dephs of the slow current. Gradu- 

 ally reefing in the line the trout came heavily to the sur- 

 face with all fins set, and surging doggedly back and 

 forth with short strokes of his sturdy tail. 



What could such tactics mean? Why was he reserving 

 his strength at a moment when, according to my notion, 

 he ought to be tearing about in frantic efforts to escape? 

 The landing net was reached out toward him. It was 

 almost under him when, with a tremendous plunge, he 

 threw a shower of spray in my face, and the broken line 

 swishing through the air, snarled among the hemlock 

 branches high up out of reach. 



The hook has worked out of his mouth by this time, 



and at this very moment he lies at the edge of the boulder 

 beneath the hemlock, waving his tail slowly to keep his 

 position in the uncertain current of the eddy. When the 

 stream roai'B with autumn rains he will swing his tail to 

 the rhythm of the roar. When it thunders in the spring 

 freshet he will churn the strong current with defiant tail 

 strokes, and stay by his boulder. When the summer 

 stream is gentle he will wave his tail softly near the 

 bottom sands, and poise by the shelf of gneiss; and as 

 years go on there will still be found together the hemlock, 

 the boulder, the eddy and the trout, 



Robert T. Morris. 



New Yobk. 



BOBBING FOR SUPERIOR TROUT. 



"T3URR-R-R-R went the little Seth Thomas," as one of 



JD your correspondents put it, but oh! under what 

 different circumstances from his. But I was up ahead of 

 the alarm, and out of doors when it went off at 5 o'clock 

 in the morning of May 1 , standing near my shanty door, 

 in a bitter cold east wind, the tears streaming down my 

 cheeks, my fingers fairly aching with the cold trying to 

 tie a line on my "pole." I am an unscientific fisherman. 

 With some fresh beef cut into strips, and a sharp pocket 

 knife I started out to open the trout season in the great 

 rapids of the Sault de Ste. Marie. Making my way over 

 the snowdrifts. 4ft. deep on the edge of the river, then 

 over the great boulders and ice to the little island where 

 lives in a shanty the only inhabitant of this most roman- 

 tic spot, Mr. Ed Showanaw, son of an old Indian chief, 

 who when alive reigned over a numerous tribe. I have 

 recently made the acquaintance of Mr. S. , who has had 

 the advantace of an education and is a perfect gentle- 

 man. On this occasion he kindly voluntered to show me 

 some good holes for trout. 



The sun was now shining brightly, but gave no 

 warmth to the frosty air. Already a lame half-breed was 

 hobbling over the ice on his crutch, bobbing with a line 

 fastened to a short stick and hook baited with a small 

 live fish which the Indians call "cockadoosh." This he 

 would drop through the cracks in the ice. He got 

 nothing, and Mr. S. and I had the same luck. After try- 

 ing the best holes among the boulders we gave it up. At 

 this moment a fellow came along who said he was going 

 to the head of the rapids. Just above the international 

 bridge is a little bay where the water is very shallow with 

 a smooth rock bottom. For this place he started and I 

 left for home. In an hour or so this fellow came to town 

 with three fine trout of two or three pounds weight each. 

 He told me where he had caught them, so I determined 

 to go the next morning and get one for breakfast. 



Early the next morning I was streaking it over the 

 frozen snow. On arriving at the bay I found there, not 

 more than a rod from the shore, an Indian lying down 

 on the ice bobbing, where the water under the ice was 

 about Gin. deep. He had caught two fine trout, one a 

 three-pounder. I went to the outer edge of the ice and 

 cast my baited hook into deep water, but did not get a 

 rise. Turning toward shore I observed that the Indian 

 had gone, so concluding that if I wanted a trout for my 

 breakfast I must bob for it, I forthwith went to bobbing, 

 and soon jerked out two fine ones, which together 

 weighed 2Soz. An hour later Mr. Indian came to town 

 with fifteen of the most beautiful beauties I ever saw, 

 running from fib. to Slbs. each. 



The same afternoon the chap who told me about the 

 fishing ground came to town with a dozen glorious trout, 

 which he sold at twenty cents per pound.. I was on hand 

 this morning with a companion at 5 o'clock, and on ar- 

 riving at the bay we found about a dozen bobbers. I was 

 disgusted, bought a trout for my breakfast and started 

 for home. My companion stayed, caught two fine fish, 

 broke through the ice where the water was deep, hustled 

 home, got dry clothes, went back, and for a few minutes 

 all hands had a big run of luck, when the water in Lake 

 Superior began rapidly to lower, leaving the ice on the 

 bottom and thus putting a stop to the catch. The water 

 lowering was caused by a strong east wind. 



In the presence of a gentleman who is well posted and 

 an old resident here, I made the remark that this whole- 

 sale slaughter of brook trout was a source of great regret 

 to me, and he surprised me by saying, not in the same 

 words, but conveying the same meaning as those of Prof. 

 Huxley in regard to sea fishes, "that man was not a 

 factor in their destruction." Lake Superior and the 

 streams flowing into it, the gentleman said, produce 

 countless millions of brook trout and would always keep 

 up the supply. E. H. B. 



Sault de Ste. Makie, Mich., May 3. 



BLOOMING GROVE PARK TOURNAMENT 



HPHE Blooming Grove Park Association held a fly- 

 -L casting tournament, together with other sports, in 

 front of their club house, in Pike county, Pa., on Decora- 

 tion Day, There were two classes of contestants, one 

 for those who had previously cast 70ft., and one for those 

 who had not a public record of that distance. The rules 

 of the National Rod and Reel Association governed, and 

 in the first contest Mr. Robert B. Lawrence beat the 

 amateur record of the association by 4ft. , making a cast 

 of 89ft., against the record of 85ft., in the amateur class 

 at Harlem Mere, made by Dr. Trowbridge in 1887. The 

 prize was a badge hi each class. 



Class A.— For those who have a record of 70ft. Judges, 

 Daniel D. Youmans and H. B. Montgomery. 



Length Weight Distance 



of Rod. of Rod. Cast. 



Ft, In. Oz. Ft. 



Robert B. Lawrence 11 00 10 89 



Spencer M. Nash 10 10 .. 59 



Class B. — For those who have no public record of 70ft. 

 Judges as above: 



Length. Distance 



of Rod. Cast. 



Ft.In. Ft. 



N. S. Smith 10 11 73 



G. M. Eddy 10 06 63 



E. B. Youmans 10 05 43 



A. J. Post 11 07 52 



C. R. Hedden 10 05 86 



A Fifty-Pound Mascalonge.— On Saturday last a 

 giant mascalonge was to be seen on the slabs of Mr. 

 Blackford at Fulton Market. The fish weighed 501bs. 

 and w T as 4ft. 5in. long, but very deep. It was taken at 

 the mouth of the Niagara River and was a formidable 

 looking beast that had, no doubt, destroyed tons of better 

 fish. 



A Twenty-Pound Salmon in the Hudson.— The Troy 

 Times of May 26 said: "This morning W. E. Hagan, at 

 the Fish and Game Protective Association, reported to 

 District Attorney Griffith that a salmon had been caught 

 at the State dam in a net. The catch of salmon in thisi 

 way is a violation of rhapter 530, laws of 1887. The pen- 

 alty is $100 fine or 80 days' imprisonment, at the option 

 of the magistrate. A fine of $25 is also to be imposed on 

 any person having in his possession a salmon caught in a 

 net. The salmon was in the possession of McGrath & 

 Laflam, fish dealers at the Fulton market. They said, 

 they purchased the fish from Wm, A,skins, who caught 

 it. The fish had been sold to a citizen, but when the 

 latter was told that it would be a violation of law to re- 

 ceive it, he declined to accept the salmon. District At* 

 torney Griffith sent officer Forest after Askins, who said 

 he did not know that he had violated any law. He was. 

 admonished to refrain from fishing for salmon with a net 

 hereafter, and as this was the first case reported, it is not 

 probable that Askins will be prosecuted. The same law 

 prohibits fishing in the Hudson River on Sunday , and the 

 agents of the Fish and Game Protective Association 

 called on Supt. Willard and requested that the law be 

 enforced within the city limits. The superintendent 

 said he would direct the police to enforce the law. The*; 

 salmon caught at the dam weighs 201bs." 



A Pickerel in Lake Meacham. — There is sorrow in 

 and about that portion of the Adirondacks which sur- 

 rounds Lake Meacham. Mr. Fuller, proprietor of the 

 hotel, who has done so much to stock this lake, having, 

 at his own expense, hatched and turned into Meacham 

 and Clear Pond 65,000 trout fry this spring, is discon- 

 solate because a pickerel of ten inches in length was 

 taken in Meacham last week. About eight years ago 

 some persons put these beasts, Esox hicius, into Osgood 

 Pond, the outlet of which is the main outlet of Meacham, 

 and they have naturally gone down , and then up into the 

 larger lake. It is time that the men who have been 

 spreading the pike, or pickerel, throughout the Adiron- 

 dacks should be dealt -with as the law directs. 



Black Bass in the St. Lawrence.— The bass fishing 

 in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River is now good, 

 and will, no doubt, continue so throughout this month. 

 "We have accouuts of good catches from Cape Vincent, 

 Clayton and Watertown, which agree in saying that the 

 season opened with as good fishing as is remembered for 

 many years. The water has been low in the river and 

 the J une rise has not yet begun. The fish taken have not 

 only been numerous but of good size. They have taken 

 the fly unusually well this spring. 



Lake St. John and Sag uenay Region.— The Canadian 

 edition of Mr. W. H. H. Murray's description of the Lake 

 St. John and Saguenay region being already exhausted 

 and no copies available for American purchasers, an 

 edition will be brought out next week by Cupples & Hurd, 

 of Boston, with fifty pages of additional matter from Mr. 

 Murray's pen and a fine map of the Lake St. John region. 

 This is the only map of this region published. 



Striped Bass.— Ocean Beach, N. J., June 4. — A striped 

 bass weighing 151bs. and one of 201bs. were caught here 

 in the surf with rod and reel on Decoration Day. — Big 

 Reel. 



COMMISSIONER ROOSEVELT RESIGNS. 



MR. ROBERT B. ROOSEVELT has tendered his resigna- 

 tion as Fishery Commissioner of the State to Gov. Hill 

 in the following letter: 



To the Go'vernor of the State of New York: 

 _ Dear Sir— I hereby resign my office as Fishery Commis- 

 sioner. It has been my desire to do so for some time, and 

 my appointment to a position under the United State Gov- 

 ernment makes it imperative. I trust you will not think it 

 out of place if, in surrendering my stewardship of 20 years' 

 voluntary and unremunerated labor. I should give a short 

 and condensed statement of what has been accomplished 

 while I have been an active member of the Commission or 

 at its head as president. 



The first law on the subject was passed in 1863, and the 

 first report of the Commission showed that there were thou- 

 sands of acres of water, hundreds of lakes and miles of rivers 

 and coast which were either wholly unproductive of fish life 

 or furnished a greatly reduced yield from that of previous 

 years. The Commission originally consisted of three mem- 

 bers, the late Governor, Horatio Seymour, Mr. Seth Green 

 and myself, but Mr. Green was subsequently made superin- 

 tendent, and from that date to this he has devoted his entire 

 time to the supervision of our operations, and to him i.s 

 largely due the success they have attained. At the time 

 when they were commenced, the fish production of the State 

 had reached its lowest ebb; the shad fisheries were nearly 

 run out, the trout ponds and streams were greatly depleted, 

 and many waters were wholly denuded of fish life. The end 

 of our inland fisheries, even those of the great lakes, was at 

 hand. Moreover, at the time, 20 years ago, the public mind 

 was absolutely uninstructed as to the value of fishculture, 

 then hardly more than an experiment, and not little 

 of the work of the Commission was educational. But 

 this education has been so well done that there are now 

 similar commissions in more than 20 of the States, as well 

 as the national one under the charge of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution at Washington. 



Our first efforts were directed to the restoration of the 

 shad, which had so far fallen off in numbers that the fisher- 

 men were giving up fishing for them and allowing their 

 nets to go to decay, while the size of those that were caught 

 had so diminished that shad of over three pounds weight 

 were rarely to be purchased in the New York market. At. 

 the same time a distribution was made of the black bass, 

 one of the finest of American game and food fishes, to all 

 waters suitable to them, and commoner sorts were intro- 

 duced into inferior streams and ponds. A few years later 

 the Legislature authorized the purchase of a trout hatchery 

 and^the commencement of trout culture. A site on Cale- 

 donia Creek, one of the most wonderful trout streams of our 

 land, was selected, and some old buildings previously used 

 for the same purpose were bought. These were rebuilt and 

 enlarged and fitted up in a most substantial way, till they 

 now constitute a model for fishculture which the State may 

 well he proud of and which is not surpassed by any in the 

 world in practical efficiency and productiveness. Here, 



