April 14, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



253 



THE CLICK IN REELS. 



TN the number for March 31 "Jo" asks for information 

 X about click reels. As the editor remarks, combination 

 reels are "a necessity to those who own but one reel," and 

 he points out the usual method of using them. There are 

 other ways, however, in which the click is a very useful 

 thing when fishing for bass, etc. from a boat, or even 

 from the shore. For example, most anglers are given to 

 smoking. One wants to replenish his pipe while bis line 

 is out. He puts on the click to prevent the line from run- 

 ning out, lays the rod on the gun wale of the boat, fills up 

 his pipe, and then resumes the rod, ta kes off the click and 

 is ready for whatever may happen. Other like uses will 

 suggest themselves to the angler. A fish once hooked, I 

 do not care for a click when the reel is above the hand, 

 though I admit there are emergencies when it is useful. 

 In trout fishing, however, the click is indispensable. 

 Ha ving a reliable click, I regard a drag as an unnecessary 

 incumbrance. 



During the past fifty years I have used all manner of 

 reels, good, bad and indifferent; reels without a click, 

 reels with a click, reels with a click and a drag, reels with 

 a click and two drags, reels running oat of gear, automa- 

 tic reels, and so on, and in none of them (with but one 

 exception) could the click be applied while the reel was 

 in motion. As "Jo" suggests, there is no mechanical 

 difficulty in the way of placing the click on the left. It 

 is simply a matter of increased cost, and that is what 

 many people object to. 



But to return to "Jo's" chief point. He wants a click 

 or drag that can be applied with the left hand while the 

 crank or handle is in motion . His want has very recently 

 been anticipated by Mr. T. H. Chubb. Post Mills, Vt. It 

 is a four multiplier, and has an adjustable click; that is 

 to say, a click that can be adjusted to run light or hard, 

 and will remain as he sets it. In addition it has a drag 

 set directly in front of the left hand thumb. His crank 

 may be running with the velocity of a fly wheel, but he 

 can control it completely with the thumb of his left hand, 

 even to the point of stopping it instantly. The reel is 

 called the Henshall-Van Antwerp. Petra. 



Baltimore, Md., April 3. — To help "Jo," of Wellsville, 

 O. , who is looking for a reel with click attachment on 

 opposite side from handle, would say that I am using 

 such a. reel. They can be had of Conrov, New York. 



C. F. Hutchinson. 



Pickerel lv New Jersey. — At the last meeting of the 

 Passaic County Fish and Game Protective Association, 

 the validity of the law protecting pickerel during the 

 months of March and April was discussed. There is a 

 division of opinion among lawyers as to whether there is 

 any law of this kind. There once was a law the provi- 

 sions of which extended to bass, pickerel and perch: the 

 Legislature clearly repealed the law as far as bass were 

 concerned and passed another law, but whether the law 

 was repealed as far as pickerel and perch are concerned is 

 in doubt. The Fish Commissioners of the State declare 

 that pickerel are protected during March and April; but 

 they are not lawyers, and a number of the latter differ in 

 their opinions from the Commissioners. It has frequently 

 been suggested that it would be well to make a test case 

 by arresting some person for catching pickerel during 

 these two months; there would be no trouble in finding 

 such a person, as the general impression is that there is 

 no such law. The matter was discussed last night and 

 soon resolved itself into the questions: Are the pickerel 

 worth protecting? Does a prohibition to catch them dur- 

 ing their breeding months protect them? Most anglers 

 prefer black bass and are willing to see the pickerel ex- 

 terminated in order to give the bass a better chance; 

 others are of different opinions and like the long-nosed 

 fresh-water shark. All the old arguments in relation to 

 the question, ' 'does protecting pickerel protect?" were gone 

 over again. These arguments may be summed up in a 

 nutshell. The pickerel when getting ready to spawn 

 are more voracious than ever, and go about gobbling 

 every other fish they can get hold of; a good lively pick- 

 erel will devour half a dozen smaller pickerel and other 

 fish a day and frequently even more; ought the big fel- 

 low to be protected in his marauding career by prohibit- 

 ing his capture or ought the little fellows to be protected 

 by allowing the big fellow to be caught? Pickerel have 

 been caught at all seasons of the year for many years and 

 there is no perceptible diminution in their numbers, de- 

 spite the fact that there are a dozen anglers now where 

 there was one ten years ago. The members of the asso- 

 ciation were divided on these questions and no definite 

 action was taken, so that pickerel fishers can go on with 

 their fun without danger of being interfered with by the 

 association. — Pater son Press. 



The Black-Fin in New York Waters.— This week we 

 saw some specimens of Coregomis nigripinnis in Fulton 

 Market. They were sent to Mr. Blackford by Mr, R. M. 

 Shutts, of Plattsburg, N. Y. Mr. Shutts writes us as fol- 

 lows: "I shipped a box of fish to Mr. Blackford for him 

 to classify. They are natives of Chateaugay Lake, and I 

 have written Mr. Blackford of their habits. If you can 

 give the matter your attention enough to tell me if they 

 are different from other fish found in the waters of this 

 State you will oblige. The fish is now found in Chazy 

 Lake, which was stocked with them from this lake." 

 Mr. Shutts's "find" is a valuable one, for this fish has not 

 been recorded from New York. Jordan, Synopsis N. A. 

 Fishes, gives its habitat as "deep waters Lake Michigan, 

 locally abundant." Milner, Rep. U. S. F. C, 1872-3, gives 

 it as the same, and the fish is not mentioned by DeKay, 

 "Fishes of New York," nor Mather "Adirondack Fishes." 

 It is related to the whitefish of the Great Lakes, and to 

 the frostfish of the Adirondack^, but is a larger fish than 

 the latter. It might be called the black-finned whitefish, 

 as the color of the fins distinguishes it at once. 



Adirondack Ice and Snow.— Syracuse, April 8. — I 

 have generally long before this each spring a longing for 

 the woods, and not being able to go to them, next comes 

 a desire to know how deep the snow is and how thick the 

 ice; my only recourse is to write to my friends there. In 

 answer, my' guide, who pilots me through the wilds of 

 Hamilton county, writes me under date of April 6, re- 

 porting "about 6ft. of snow and about 30in. of ice on the 

 lakes. The deer have wintered well and the outlook for 

 sport next summer is good. The chances are that it will 

 be a busy time here next summer." — G. C. H. 



They Showed Themselves.— " Kismet's " article in 

 your issue of March 3, on "Surface Schools of Fish," 

 brings to mind an instance in my experience never seen 

 before nor since. For three days my partner and myself 

 had traveled down Fox River in our boat, stopping 

 wherever the signs looked right to cast the fly. This day 

 had been an unusually poor one, when we considered the 

 fact that we were on familiar waters. It was about five 

 o'clock and I was very tired and thoroughly disgusted. 

 I had brought the boat down with me to the head of a 

 fairly good stretch of water, determined to take the rest 

 needed while waiting for my companion. I had not been 

 there long when my eye caught sight of a small black 

 object moving on the water not 50yds. below me. Led 

 by curiosity I left the boat and, with rod in hand, walked 

 as quietly as possible toward the spot. The object had 

 disappeared, but showed itself again when I was near 

 enough to see that it was the dorsal fin of a black bass, 

 the size of which made me cast an anxious eye toward 

 my rod — in a moment another one appeared. It did not 

 take me long to get my flies in motion, and as the 

 stretcher lit on the water there was a splash and a swerve 

 and my reel hummed a happy time as the line dashed 

 out into the stream ; but alas ! A moment only was needed 

 to replace the broken hook. When I left that "neck of 

 woods*' an hour later. 30lbs. of the finest black bass I ever 

 saw taken on a fly hung at my side.— Nimrod. 



The Mystic Anglers' Badge. — Fort Wayne, Ind. — 

 April 2 has come and gone and Mr. Geo. Gebhard, the 

 treasurer of our club, wears the beautiful gold medal 

 recently presented us by Mr. John H. Bass. The above 

 date was fixed to commence fishing for the jewel, and 

 now the treasurer, by virtue of a 41b. black bass, has 

 possession, for thirty days at least, when he will have to 

 render an account to nine others who are longing to get 

 at him and Iris valued possession. A medal of this kind 

 is a splendid thing to have in a club, for it wakes the boys 

 up and keeps them in friendly rivalry all the time, and 

 then you know how a f ellow feels corning in with a mag- 

 nificent catch only to find another that makes him go 

 again, for the "big one" was not there. We all turn out 

 and fish tor the medal on the same day so that none of 

 us have anv advantages over any other member.— John 

 P. Hanoe. 



First Penobscot Salmon.— Proprietor Thayer, of the 

 Bangor Exchange, had the honor yesterday of serving 

 the guests of his popular house with the first Penobscot 

 salmon of the season, a splendid specimen that tipped the 

 scales at 19Albs. The Journal oa&n was among the favored 

 ones who feasted on the delicacy, with the other good 

 things accompanying it. The fish was taken at Winter- 

 port, and is the earliest "catch" on record. It is not every 

 hotel man who can furnish his guests with fresh caught 

 salmon and green peas when the streets outside are 

 packed with four to six feet of snow. — Bangor, Me., In- 

 dustrial Journal, April S. 



Pennsylvania Trout Law.— Section 1. Be it enacted, 

 etc., That it. shall be unlawful for any person to catch, 

 kill, or expose to sale, or have in his or her possession, 

 after the same has been caught or killed, any speckled 

 trout, save only from the 15th day of April to the 15th 

 day of July, under a penalty of $10 for each trout so 

 killed, or had in possession, but this act shall not prevent 

 any person from catching trout with nets in waters owned 

 by himself to stock other waters. Approved the 11th day 

 of January, A. D. , 1885. 



Address all covxmunicatiovs to the Forest and Stream Pnh. Co. 



w 



THE SALMON. 



(Salmo salwr,) 



E make the following extract on the salmon from an 

 article in the Journal of the National Fish Culture 

 Association, by Dr. Francis Day, C. I. E.: 



"The teeth oh the body of the vomer become in a single 

 row at an early age, grilse rarely possessing above two or 

 three, and seldom above one or two at the hind edge of the 

 head of that bone as in old fish. Scales on the caudal por- 

 tion of the body are larger than seen in trout. Pectoral fin 

 in the parr reaches two-thirds the distance to the ventraljfin; 

 caudal fin forked in the young, but altering and becoming 

 gradually square with age. The colors of the adult are steel 

 blue, with scattered black spots: but at breeding times, 

 when these fish have passed into fresh waters for the pur- 

 pose of spawning, numerous orange spots and streaks ap- 

 pear in the cheeks of the male, and also spots, and even 

 marks of the same, and likewise of a red color on the body. 

 It is then termed a "red fish. " The female, however, is dark 

 in color, and known as a "black fish." 



In grilse the pectoral fins are often of a bluer color than in 

 large salmon. Smolts are bluish along the upper half of 

 the body, and silvery along the sides, due to a layer of 

 silvery pigment being formed on the under surface of the 

 scales, while they have darker fins than the yearling pink, 

 but similar lateral bands and spots can be seen, as in the 

 parr, if the example is held in certain positions of light. Parr 

 have two or three black spots only on the opercle; also black 

 spots and orange ones along the upper half of the body, but 

 usually no dark ones below the lateral line, although there 

 may be orange ones along its course. On the side of the 

 body are a series (11 to 15) of transverse bluish bands, wider 

 than the ground color and crossing the lateral line, while in 

 the upper half of the body the darker silvery color of the 

 back often forms an arch over each of these bands. A row 

 of spots exists along the middle of the rayed dorsal fin, the 

 adipose is leaden colored, and in rare instances, after death 

 or under peculiar circumstances, has a narrow orange tip. 



The names by which it is known in various places and at 

 different ages are very numerous, the following being 

 merely some of those more commonly employed: When in 

 its full grown condition it is known as the salmon; in the 

 Severn, one on its second return from the sea is often called 

 a gerling or gillion or gilling, when from 81bs. tololbs., or 

 a botcher on its first return' when under 51bs. weight, al- 

 though the more general designation is grilse; when under 

 31 bs. weight it is usually termed salmon peal by fishmongers. 

 Prom one to two years old, before it has gone to sea, it is 

 known as a parr, pink, smolt, smelt, salmon fry, sprag or 

 salmon spring (Northumberland), samlet, brandling, finger- 

 ling, blackfui, bluefin, shed, skegger, gravelling, hepper, 

 laspring, gravel laspring, skerling or sparling in Wales; 

 spawn (in the Dart, A. Pike), niorgad (Somersetshire) 

 streamer (in the Taraar, W Mason). After spawning this 



fish is a kelt or slat, but a male is generally termed a kip- 

 per and a female a shedder or a baggit. In the Kibble, ac- 

 cording to Willoughby, salmon of the first year were termed 

 smelts, of the second year sprods, of the third year rnorts, 

 of the fourth year forktails, of the fifth year half-fish, of the 

 sixth year salmon. The designation bull salmon and bull- 

 pinks, employed in the Kircudbright Dee, has been said to 

 refer to well-mended kelts. In Ireland, Sampson remarked 

 upon a samlet or jerkin, which Tighe termed a gimkin, but 

 the term parr was more frequently used to the north and 

 gravelling to the south. Parr are also termed rack-rider or 

 sprats, and larger ones leaders (Miller). At Kerry a kelt is 

 termed a Judy, aud Rutty stated that a grilse was known as 

 a grawlj and Johnson said that in Lough Foyle it was called 

 ;i grayling, Welsh, cawg, male salmon; cemyuhwyddell, 

 female salmon; if spawning a maran, or a salmon on his 

 third return from the sea (Severn); (gleisiedyn, eog and 

 maran, Pennant). 



Although varieties among our British salmon are rare, 

 still there are many local races dependent upon the size and 

 character of the streams they frequent. Also in Lake 

 Wenem and some other large lakes in Scandinavia there 

 exists a landlocked race of itnis fish, which passes its life 

 there without descending to the sea. On the American 

 Continent there is a somewhat similar form found in the 

 State of Maine and the neighboring portions of Canada, 

 Lake Sabec, and the Schoodic Lakes, but all are merely 

 landlocked forms of Salmo salar. 



The salmon, during the summer months, roams along our 

 coasts in search of food, and may be found close in-shore. 

 loitering in estuaries and also at the mouths of rivers up 

 which it purposes ascending. These fish are " anadromous, •' 

 or forms which enter our fresh waters chiefly for the pur- 

 pose of perpetuating their race; for this cause they select 

 suitable spots wherein to deposit their eggs; here the young 

 are hatched, and remain in the stream for the first years of 

 their existence. Consequently, during their youth they live 

 and feed in fresh water; as they grow older they descend as 

 smolts to the sea, from whence, after a time, they return as 

 grilse and salmon to the rivers; thus the waters they select 

 for their residence differ from each other in their specific 

 gravity, taste, temperature and products. 



The ascent into fresh waters of these fish is a most im- 

 portant economic question, for some rivers are "early" and 

 others "late," which terms have reference to the ascent of 

 "clean fish" in relationship to the time of the year they are 

 found there, the earlier being far the most valuable. A sal- 

 mon or grilse recently arrived in fresh water from the sea 

 has bright silvery scales, and is commonly known as a "fresh 

 run" fish, and these are divisible into "clean salmon," or 

 such as are in good condition and not near to their spawning 

 time, and "unclean" or gravid fish, which are ascending to 

 breed. 



Some rivers have early ascending fish while in others they 

 are late, and all intermediate grades are seen, for in many 

 hardly a month pusses in which, if sufficient water is pres- 

 ent, "clean salmon" do not ascend, but often in an irregular 

 manner and in various-sized companies. But the great 

 autumn and winter ascent may be generally described to be 

 for the purpose of breeding; while they appear to generally 

 return to the stream wherein they were reared.* Mr. A. 

 Young considers that in the colder seas of our eastern coast 

 salmon do not loiter about in the ocean, but at once ascend 

 into the warmer rivers; while on the contrary they behave 

 differently along the Atlantic or on our southern shores. On 

 this question many diverse views are held. 



Grilse, being young fish, ascend somewhat differently from 

 the more matured salmon, coming in large shoals, and 

 rarely commencing to appear before the end of May, and in 

 the largest numbers during July and August; the compara- 

 tive size of the fish increasing with successive months, the 

 latest comers having been longest in the sea. 



During the ascent of these fish up rivers it is remarkable 

 what mmeulties they will surmount, while after crossing an 

 obstruction or having ascended, a rapid they seem to take a 

 rest. For the purpose of assisting these fish to surmount 

 natural or artificial obstructions which hinder their passage 

 up stream to their natural spawning beds, fish-passes or fish- 

 ladders are generally erected, especially at weirs where there 

 is no free gap, and these may be described as a series of pools 

 in which the gradient should not exceed 1 in 8. Although 

 it has been asserted that salmon can leap up many feet per- 

 pendicularly, about six or seven is, perhaps, aboutthe maxi- 

 mum. Passing up rivers, sometimes the sexes keep together, 

 sometimes they do not, while the rate of ascent is, unless 

 under peculiar conditions, not above two or three miles an 

 hour. 



The time of spawning on the redds generally takes place 

 in Great Britain from the last week in October or first in 

 November until the middle of February or later, and per- 

 mitting the capture of the earlier ascending breeding fish is 



Eossibly a reason for making the river a later one. It has 

 een shown that by permitting fish to get to their breeding 

 grounds sooner, clean fish have come earlier into a river; 

 and the innovation creeping in of shortening the back end of 

 the season is likely to be fraught with much mischief to the 

 fisheries. 



The age at which salmon commence breeding has been 

 found as follows at Howietown: Some were hatched in 

 March, 1881, and most of the male parrs had milt in Novem- 

 ber, 1883, or when two years and eight months old; also two 

 or three smolts of the same age had ova, which probably 

 would have matured, but they jumped out of the pond and 

 so met with their deaths, la November or December, 1884, 

 or at three years and eight months age, all these fishes 

 seemed ready to breed, and young were bred from their 

 spawn. Consequently, descending to the sea prior to deposit- 

 ing ova is not a physiological necessity for young salmon as 

 has been asserted. 



It would seem from the investigations which have been 

 made that it is probable that some of the early ascending- 

 clean fish are occasionally sterile, although it is generally 

 held that in many ova and milt may be discovered on a 

 mic roscopic investigation to be a very little developed, and 

 altholigh these last w r ould probably be 'among such as push 

 on to the upper waters, it seems still to require proof why 

 it is that they should desire to remain so many months in 

 the stream, away from the sea. This gives rise to the very 

 important question of how frequently do salmon breed? In 

 the United States Mr. Atkins has been able to prove from a 

 series of experiments, extending over several years, that in 

 the Penobscot the salmon (Salmo solar, var.) breeds every 

 second year; and it is improbable that their natural mode of 

 continuing their race differs in the United States from what 

 obtains here. Also, if some, at least, of our British salmon 

 are not seasonally sterile, the question must arise, "What, 

 then, are the clean fish ascending for during thelater months 

 of the year?" They cannot breed the season they ascend. 

 Are we to consider * them permanently sterile, or, like their 

 relatives in America, merely seasonally so? 



The amount of eggs given by salmon is about 900 for 

 every pound weight of the parent fish. While immaturity 

 of the parents may occasion sterility of the eggs or disease, 

 as dropsy of the offspring; and although the milt of parrs 

 has many of the fertilizing qualities of the older grilse or 

 salmon, the young would not appear to be so strong. 



The redd, or nest, wherein the eggs are deposited, ^is 



*Manv modes of marking these fish have been adopted, hut all 

 with more or less bad success. As far as possible no portions of 

 the fins should be cut, while puncturing holes in gdl-covers or 

 placiDg elastic bands around the free portions of the tail have 

 been failures. In short, a metallic tag, stamped to order, is neces- 

 sary, and attached by a wire to one of the fins, b p to the present 

 time the best appeai-s to be made of platinum, and fastened to the 

 first ray of the back fin. 



