396 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 26, 1887. 



"RARE OLD BEN." 



Editor Forest and Stream; 



Sadly and with heavy heart I take up the unwilling pen 

 to tell the brethren of the rod of the death of B. F. Ren- 

 shaw— "Rare Old Ben'— whose quaint stories, genial, un- 

 selfish ways and sterling worth made him dear to all the 

 hearts of the "Kingfishers." and— I may indulge the 

 hope— to all the gentle craft in some measure, who made 

 his acquaintance in the "Camps of the Kingfishers" on 

 Black and Carp ^kes. 



He was taken down with lung fever on the 2d of April, 

 which developed into typhoid pneumonia; and he died on 

 the 15th at the residence of Ms brother, John Renshaw, 

 on their farm a few miles north of Decatur, 111., in the 

 fiftieth year of his age. 



He was a plain, unassuming farmer; a bachelor, mak- 

 ing one of the home circle in his brother's family; a man 

 of rare good sense — good "old-fashioned hoss sense," as 

 he would have called it; large-hearted, tender as a girl in 

 his nature, and a sportsman in the best sense of the term, 

 for he loved the woods and the waters, his dog and gun, 

 his rod and his neighbor, and had ever a kind considera- 

 tion for even the lowliest of God's creatures — qualities 

 that, I take it, leave nothing lacking in the make-up of 

 one who claims kinship with the brotherhood. 



Utterly unselfish, always cheerful and obliging, ready 

 at all times to engage in any undertaking that promised 

 sport, turning the gravest mishaps into a source of fun, 

 full of "yarns and reminders," he was the life of the camp 

 and beloved of all his associates. 



We were looking forward to the coming annual sum- 

 mer's camp as one among the many pleasant ones to be 

 remembered and talked over when the long winter eve- 

 nings come, for Ben was to have gone along; but now we 

 will miss his kindly old face, his inimitable "yarns," his 

 ever ready jest, his brotherly solicitude for the comfort of 

 others, his fund of humor and quaint sayings that were 

 wont to set the camp in a roar, but more than all will we 

 miss him as the most self-denying, the gentlest, and truest 

 comrade who has broken bread at our rude table wher- 

 ever we have built our camp-fire, beside stream or lake, 

 in all the past years; and none may fill his place, for his 

 like is not, to quote one of his favorite phrases, "on the 

 face o' this livin' a rth." 



Rare Ben! our hearts are bowed down with grief at his 

 loss. Peace to bis memory, and may his camp in the 

 happy hunting grounds be made beneath the fragrant 

 canopy of woods of evergreen, beside some meandering 

 stream whose wimpling melody will soothe his spirit 

 to peaceful rest till joined, at the Master's call for the 

 final round up, by his old comrades, the Kingfishers. 



Kingfisher. 



LOPEZ CREEK. 



" I" DON'T knaow what to do with meself to-day," said 



Jt my Eastern friend the other dav. 



"Let's go fishin' up Lopez Creek," 1 suggested, "there's 

 a mighty lot o' trout up there." 



Before two hours the ponies were hitched to the buck- 

 board, loaded with blankets, grub, horse feed, cooking 

 utensils, a shotgun and ammunition. "We were soon off 

 up the beautiful Arroyo Grande. I have traveled far 

 and seen much. My boyhood's home was on the upper 

 waters of the Abana, and over the range was the beauti- 

 ful Pharpar. Naaman asked of Elisha, "Are not Phar- 

 par and Abana, rivers of Damascus, better than Jor- 

 dan?" And yet I ask myself, are not Arroyo Grande and 

 Lopez better' than all the rivers in the world? My soul 

 answers, yes! 



There was exhilaration in the fresh sea breeze that 

 struck us in the back as we sent the ponies whirling along 

 up the easy grade of the winding stream. On either side 

 the busy farmer was planting theunpo tic bean. The 

 young orchards in their wealth of fresh new leaves clus- 

 tered around each cosy cabin, and away ahead of us the 

 spurs of the San Luis Mountains showed the lights of 

 wild oats on the southern slopes, and shadows of live oak, 

 sage brush and ehemisal on the northern slopes of its 

 dark canons. 



About eight miles from the village we came to the 

 junction of the Ranchita and Lopez creeks, which form 

 the Arroyo Grande. I had said nothing to my friend 

 about the change of scene he would meet, and he was 

 utterly taken by surprise as we turned into the Lopez 

 Creek Canon. Below the scene was quiet, peaceful and 

 happy — a valley of half a mile wide, devoted to orchards 

 and bean lands. But the houses were now scattered out 

 to a mile apart, the great rocks rose in sheer precipices. 

 The water, while not of that hissing, foamy, frothy 

 nature of Colorado's mountain streams, took more life 

 from its sm-roundings, and whirled and dashed at a much 

 more lively rate. Here and there a mimic waterfall sent 

 a stream, such as might come from a garden hose, down 

 a little fall of 10 or 15ft. 



Three or four miles up a very rough road, and as many 

 houses passed, we arrived at whatC. called the "jumping 

 off place." We had come to the end of the wagon road. 

 Leaving the wagon, we piled blankets, grub boxes and 

 fishing baskets on old Chappo's back in as neat and com- 

 pact a pack as we could, and made our way up the trail 

 for two or three miles further, at what is known as "fall 

 canon." About a hundred yards back a little tributary 

 came dashing down a 15-foot fall into a large pool of c.ear 

 water. 



On our way up we met two young men from San Luis 

 on their way out. "What luck?" was answered by "About 

 two hundred; just stayed overnight; came up last eve- 

 ning." "Wat duni lies!" said C, sotto voce. I said noth- 

 ing, as we had not come for a "killing." I thought that 

 the trout must be in their usual good appetites" Picket- 

 ing out the horses, we took our rods and started out just 

 to try their temper and found they took the fly very well. 

 We fished together and tried only the most likely places. 

 We went further than we intended, but fishing over 

 ground that had been already gone over that day, we only 

 caught forty-six. We got in late, built a fine fire out of 

 oak and lam-el (a species of bay), and soon the coffee-pot 

 was sending out an aroma that would make your hair 

 curl, and the trout were sizzing and sputtering in the 

 bacon fat. You never saw people eat as we ate that 

 night. The trout right from the brook, a good beefsteak, 

 coffee, bread and butter, canned apple sauce, and that 

 sauce that makes a good appetite— hunger, made us enjoy 

 as grand a supper as heart could wish. An after supper 

 smoke, a few yarns, and spreading down our blankets in 

 that glorious (I believe they call it) climate of California 



without a tent, without a fear of rain or storm, we needed 

 no rocking to send us to sleep, for were not all the night 

 voices of our good old mother nature singing us In laby. 



"Let's have an early start" was the last word at night, 

 and at dawn we were up and after bathing in the creek 

 were busy at breakfast, which was eaten as heartily as 

 though we had gone to bed hungry. Before sunrise — I 

 don't know when sunrise is in Lopez Creek canon; we did 

 not see the sun until ten o'clock — we were up and away 

 up the creek to the great fall in the creek five miles off. 

 Civilization had entirely disappeared. Stopping here and 

 there to drop in a line where the trail crossed the creek 

 we worked our way up through brush and chapparal, over 

 level, open then by wooded forest glades, through ferns, 

 poison oaks, blackberry bushes, willows. Away up the 

 slopes on one side the hills were covered with the green- 

 black live-oaks; on the other side grease wood, sage 

 chemise, brush, tyone, and away to the top the bright 

 green wild oats. Rocks and landslides scarred the face of 

 the mountain away off nearly to the tops, which were 

 only seen when some small canon ran into the larger one, 

 opening out our view to the distant summit. We caught 

 so many fish before we were half to the falls that we con- 

 sidered' it prudent to cache them. 



The trout were in that fearless, snappy mood that de- 

 lights the sportsman's heart. We caught them in pools, 

 in eddies behind rocks, on the riffles, everywhere. C. 

 declared one came out on the bank where he had laid his 

 rod down, snapped up his hook and made off with it. We 

 caught fish until we dreaded to throw in for fear of catch- 

 ing a large one. We finally made the big falls, which 

 were in no way remarkable, being only a fall oth or 6ft. 

 Above this there is no fishing of any consequence, as the 

 creek breaks up into a number of small streams. With 

 already tired bodies we started for our five mile trip 

 through brush and over rocks back to camp. With in- 

 ward groaning at the additional load to be taken on at 

 our cache, we limped and stumbled along. We found all 

 the fish there, and more too, it seemed to us. Fortunately 

 we had brought the horses up a mile and a half or so, and 

 when we got them we strapped ovir baskets and barley 

 sacks (for baskets had overflowed) of trout to the saddle, 

 and reached camp in pretty good shape about 1 o'clock. 



After a lunch a start was made for Arroyo Grande, or, 

 as it is familiarly called, "The Arroyo." We reached the 

 Arroyo in good time for supper, and a count was made. 

 Each kept his own count separate. C.'s was 153, while 

 mine was 162. In the morning catch 1 was only two fish 

 ahead. 



This is a trip I have made a number of times in the last 

 three years. Three of us once caught 600, but we were 

 gone two nights. The fish caught were the common 

 California rainbow trout. Lower down salmon trout are 

 the only ones caught, which, though larger, are not so 

 game as their re d-striped cousins. La Panza. 



Akhoyo (tRANDE, California. 



IDAHO NOTES. 



HOPE, Idaho, May 9. — I wish all you sportsmen could 

 be here and enjoy some of the fine fishing we are 

 having now. I never had grander sport in my life, and 

 yet there is a certain amount of wounded pride connected 

 with the sport. After trying my full stock of flie^ and 

 trolls- with poor success, I was compelled to go to the 

 noble red man and learn the best bait to use. After a lib- 

 eral donation of cigarettes, I succeeded in learning their 

 secret from the Chief Monshelle. Now you needn't think 

 I am going to give it away, but will reveal that to secure 

 the right bait I shouldered an axe. and after a vigorous 

 onslaught on decayed trees and stumps, and after ex- 

 hausting my vocabulary of adjectives against the large 

 ants that kept looking for soft spots on my lower extrem- 

 ities, I secured a large can full of "pish muck-a-muck"; and 

 I have been having good success so far in landing nice 

 ones. 



The past week, however, has been one of rain and high 

 Avinds, and has kept us indoors nearly all the time, and it 

 is trying. 



The o her evening, as I sat thinking of the sport we 

 had been having and the grander sport we are going to 

 have, the thump, thump of hurrying footste s startled 

 me, the door new open, and the white, scared face of 

 Lew, my chum, appear d, and after many vain efforts to 

 speak, blurted out, "Frank — there's — a — big bear up at 

 hotel." I shouldered my rifle, buckled on my knife a la 

 frontier scout, and after climbing the hill Lew showed 

 me where the bear was and then made a break for the 

 house in search of an axe; and it's my opinion he would 

 have been looking for it yet if I had not yelled to him, 

 "You great fool, it's my black hog and no bear, and the 

 next time you rout me out at 10 o'clock to kill my own 

 hog there will be blood shed sure." Of course, Lew has 

 a different version, and when he gets an opportunity to 

 relate o any one (in my hearing, of course) his tale re- 

 minds me of the old story of "How me and my Betsy 

 slaughtered a b'ar." 



The hotel will probably be opened soon. Already we 

 have had several tourists, and they have had rare sport. 

 Mr. Lougee, of San Francisco, spent two days with us 

 with good success. He is one of the most enthusiastic 

 sportsmen I ever met, and if all his fish weighed as much 

 as he estimates at the first pull, a small number of t hem 

 would sink a boat. C. E. Newton and Dr. A. H. Porter, 

 of Spokane Falls, also spent wo days here, and although 

 the weather was cold and windy, they wei"2 we 1 satis- 

 fied, carrying home about 251bs. of nice trout. I suc- 

 ceeded in capturing a fine char (lOlbs.) last Tuesday. 



F. T. A. 



Sunapee Trout.— The first big fish of the season taken 

 from Lake Sunapee was caught Saturday by W. L. Reed, 

 A. F. Stocker and Ira Stowell. Its weight was 41bs., and 

 it was one of the "What-is-its;" in other words it was one 

 of the new trout of the oquassa type, about which there 

 has been so much discussion. Amos O. Woodbury, of 

 this village, is a gentleman of keen observation and a 

 scientific turn of mind. Besides, few men have had more 

 experience in handling the rod about Sunapee Lake; and 

 few, if any, have been more successful in angling for the 

 trout which inhabit that beautiful sheet of water. Mr. 

 Woodbury says that the new Sunapee Lake trout, about 

 which so much has been said, is not of the oquassa type, 

 but that it is a hybrid, produced from the mixture of the 

 landlocked salmon and the Salmo fontinalis, which have 

 always been found in the lake of a very large size. — New- 

 port (N. H.) Argus, May 20. 



THE ANGLING TOURNAMENT, 



AS we go to press the fifth annual tournament of the 

 National Rod and Reel Association is being held at 

 Harem Mere, Central Park, New York cityi The first 

 contest is called for 10 A. M. on Wednesday; and there 

 are classes which will occupy all of Thursday also. In 

 our last issue we gave directions to find the grounds, 

 which we now repeat. The contests take place on the 

 northeastern side of Harlem Mere, at the corner of 110th 

 street and Fifth avenue, opposite the Polo Grounds. There 

 ' are two ways to reach the. place: Take the Third Avenue 

 Elevated road to 106th street and walk north and west, 

 1 or go by Sixth or Ninth Avenue Elevated road to 116th 

 street and walk back to 110th street and then over to Fifth 

 avenue. There ara often hacks to be found et these 

 stations, but not always, although they can be had at the 

 Polo Grounds for return. A full report will be found in 

 our next. 



THE ICHTHYOPHAGOUS CLUB. 



rpHE Ichthyophagi dined at the Murray Hill Hotel last 

 JL Saturday night. As a rule there have been too many 

 persons at the dinners to make ihem enjoyable and it was 

 decided to limit the number on this occasion to about 

 fifty. Chas. R. Miller presided, and among others present 

 were Senator Griswold, Assemblyman Robert Ray Hamil- 

 ton, ex-Assemblyman Hotehkiss, Assemblynian Di E\ 

 Ainswort ', of Oswego, ex»Asseniblym&n Leverich; As- 

 semblyman A. E, Stacey, Assemblyman H. A. Reeves; 

 Postmaster Hendrix of Brooklyn, Chas-. A. Dana, Bernard 

 Gillam, Henry L. Nelson, Clerk of the Senate John W. 

 Vroornan, ex-Assemblyman Lyon. Dr. E. C. Spitzka, Dr. 

 W. E. Brill, Dr. Paul H. Kretzschuiar, Eugene G. Black- 

 ford, Fred Mather, Amos Robbins, Wm. Ottmann, E. H. 

 Hammond, F. G. Mather and H. S. Cunningham. 



No new dishes were eaten, the club having about ex- 

 hausted the list of aquatic monsters. The bill was: 

 Bisque of crabs, bouchees of squid, sheepshead farci. with 

 port wine sauce, skate a la Hollandaise, turban of filet of 

 sole, sea robin, sauce remoulade; German carp, with 

 horseradish sauce: capon a 1' Arthur, cold asparagus, Ich- 

 thyophagous punch, salmon braise, Nesselrode pudding, 

 coffee and cakes. 



The sea-robin was excellent and almost rivaled the 

 sheepshead, while the carp was lightly touched. It is 

 not possible to report the bright speeches and witty 

 stories which keep this club at table for five or six horns, 

 and it will be enough to say that there was no lack in 

 that direction. 



OLD AND NEW RECORDS. 



/" ASHINGTON, D. C, May 11.— I quote the follow- 

 ing from Walton's "Compleat Angler:" It showa 

 what grand fisning there must have been in those old 

 days. It records ten years, one .month and five days of 

 angling. 



Fish taken in the counties of Carmartken and Glamor- 

 gan, commencing April 11, 1753, to April 14, 1754, inclu- 

 sive, 6,272. 



In the counties of Pembroke, Carmartken, Glamorgan 

 and Derby from April 11, 1754, to Oct. 24, 1756, 3,758. 



1756. In the counties of York, Salop and Glamorgan, 

 3,739. 



1757. In the county of Glamorgan, 9,275. 



1758. In the counties of Glamorgan, Brecon, Radnor 

 Hereford, 1,762. 



1759. In same counties, 3,490. 



1760. In county of Glamorgan. 2,150. 



1761. In same county, 2,522. 



1702. In the counties of Glamorgan and Carmartken, 

 3,183. 



1763. In the county of Carmartken, 3,158, 



1764. In the county of Carmartken to July 23, being 

 my last days angling in the principality. As it is the 

 whole given to the public, 47,120. 



Many pike, eel and chub taken, but not included in the 

 above. F. Q. T. 



Compare with the above the following record of trout 

 taken from one stream, Castalia Creek, in Ohio, by mem- 

 bers of the club leasing it. The report is given by Dr. E, 

 Sterling, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 4: 



The following is the total number of trout taken by the 

 Castalia Sporting Club from their fishing grounds for the 

 last six years, the fishing season beginning March 15 and 

 closing Sept. 15. No trout less than Sin. in length taken 

 from the stream and all fishing done with artificial flies: 



1880- 1,407 trout 52411)8. 1883-2,303 trout 78311)8 



1881— 1,739 trout 5561bs. 1884—2,725 trout OOMbs- 



18b2— 1,776 trout 6761bs. 1885—3,058 trout 9921 bs- 



J. L. Yale, of Cleveland, made a very handsome catch 

 March 30, 1885, of 26 trout weighing 151bs. 2oz, , the weight 

 of the largest being as follows: 



One trout, 16in. long, weighing lib. lOoz. 



One trout, 15 n. long, weighing lib. 4oz. 



One trout, I4in. long, weighing lib. 4oz. 



One trout, 12in. long, weighing lib. 



Six trout, average weight, 12oz. The average weight of 

 the 26 trout was between 9 and lOoz. 



No record was kept at the Cold Creek Club previous to 

 1884, but since that time the catch has been as follows: 



1884— 4,275 trout 1, 1231bs. 1 880—2,800 trout 8391bs. 



1885- 3,651 trout l,0231bs. 



So far this season, 496 trout, weighing 1861bs. 



Considering that Castalia Creek is a comparatively new 

 trout stream, the catch and weight of fish is exceedingly 

 large. In five years from this this trout stream will be 

 unsurpassed by any like stream on this continent. 



A New Bass Fly.— T- at indefatigable black bass 

 fisher, Mr. A. N. Cheney, has devised another feathered 

 temptation to lure the wary bass to his destruction. As 

 Mr. Cheney is purely an amateur fiy-tyer, our profes- 

 sional friends vrill not feel sore if we say that it is a fly 

 that looks as if a bass might rise to it The fish can surely 

 see it if placed within its angle of vision, for the colors 

 are white and black, A long white mid- wing is overlaid 

 on each side by a short black feather which has two white 

 eyes in it, body white chenille with silver tinsel ending 

 with red silk; hackle black, tail black with white end. 

 We have two of them and will try them before long. 

 The fly is named the "Marston," after Mr. R. B. Marston, 

 editor* of the London Fishing Gazette. 



