March 20, 1890.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



171 



made." The extract of mint had warmed the cockles of 

 my heart, had "ministered to a mind diseased, theTpride 

 of conquest, the lust for revenge was all gone." "Verily 

 O! my friend, I believe you are right," said I. Texas. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



THE majority of the anglers who are in the habit of 

 visiting the Adirondack region in the spring for the 

 purpose of catching lake trout, expect to make an early 

 start this season; some even look forward to going in 

 April. Usually the 10th to the 15th of May is about the 

 right time, though the regular visitors depend on their 

 guides to send them a telegram the moment the ice 

 breaks up in the likes and streams, and they are always 

 prepared to start on the next train. The lake trout are 

 near the surface and in shallow water where the ice dis- 

 appears, and are eager for food. The result is that dur- 

 ing the first few days there of the angling fraternity who 

 are so fortunate as to be on hand enjoy great sport. Last 

 spring the number of large fish killed was unusually 

 great, though the big lakers are always very shy and 

 hard to catch. 



The open season for speckled trout in New York begins 

 May 1 , and they generally commence to take the fly 

 about May 20. This season they will probably rise well 

 by the first of May, unless another severe cold snap sets 



One reason why experienced anglers like to make an 

 early visit to the North Woods is the fact that the black 

 flies do not. as a rule, put in an appearance till the early 

 part of June, thus leaving about two weeks of the best 

 part of the fishing season free from thesepests. But this 

 year there is no telling when they will begin to annoy 

 people. It is seldom, however, that they are found in 

 the woods after the first week in July. 



Dr. Ward, of Albany, will, as usual, pilot a party of 

 friends to the famous Saranac Inn, which, we believe, is 

 now controlled by a club, but where all honest anglers 

 are welcome and well treated. Dr. Rouieyn, of Keese- 

 ville, another famous lake trout fisherman, will also be 

 one of the first to tackle the big ones. And then there 

 are Messrs. Johnson, Cottrell, O' Donahue and many other 

 famous anglers, who are regular visitors to the North 

 Woods, and are now eagerly waiting for the word to start. 

 Almost all the larger "lakes in the Adirondacks contain 

 lake trout, and the novice who wishes to try the sport 

 can hardly go amiss. With patience and the proper 

 tackle he. will be pretty sure to meet with success. 



Those who are in the habit of visiting Maine and Can- 

 adian waters will also have to be prepared to start at least 

 two weeks earlier than usual. How this warm season 

 will influence the movements of salmon it is hard to tell; 

 but they should be heard from at Bangor as soon as the 

 snow water is out of the river. Other anglers who are 

 in the habit of visiting the Penobscot for salmon fishing 

 should keep well posted, or else the Bangor gentlemen 

 will get ahead of them again. 



A CHAPTER ON LAKE TROUT. 



1 CANNOT say that I am particularly fond of fishing 

 for lake trout, but when in camp up in the North 

 Woods, we always count on a "laker" to help usout with 

 our bill of fare, for they are excellent on the table, either 

 boiled or baked. So we keep a buoy well-baited out on 

 the lake in about 60ft. of waiter and can always count on 

 a sure supply. Being an early riser, I would generally 

 row out to the buoy and spend an horn- there getting up 

 a remarkably fine appetite and killing enough salmon- 

 trout to supply our party for the next twenty-four hours. 

 In order to get all the sport out of it that I could, I fished 

 with my fly-rod, holding the line in my hand until I felt 

 the fish, but as soon as hooked I would pick up my rod 

 and kill him in good style. They seldom run over 31bs. 

 in weight, but one morning I struck a good one, as T dis- 

 covered as soon as I began to reel in, or rather tried to, 

 for the rascal at first would not budge an inch. When 

 at last I managed gradually to wind him up near the 

 surface, he only gave a flirt with his tail and was down 

 to the bottom again in a moment, carrying my tip under 

 water and almost smashing my rod. My friend came 

 out and called me to breakfast, but I told him I had an 

 engagement that I did not wish to break. It took thirty- 

 five minutes before I got that trout into the boat and he 

 weighed just 7|lbs. 



In this style of fishing a 4-0 or 5-0 sproat hook is fche 

 best, no matter what the guides say. I have tried all 

 sizes and styles and this hook fastens the greatest per- 

 centage of fish. Half a minnow in sufficient bait, and if 

 a leader is used it should be a heavy double one. 



Trolling for lake trout is rather slow work, still many 

 enjoy it. The great secret of success in trolling is to fish 

 at the proper depth. There is no use of fishing on the 

 surface when the warm weather has driven them to the 

 bottom, or vice versa, A close observer (and a good 

 angler must be one who studies the habits of the fish and 

 the "why" and "wherefore") will quickly find out by the 

 temperature of the water where they are. In the spring 

 they like to keep near the surface and enjoy the sunshine; 

 they will then be found near the shores and on the reefs. 

 In the summer they gradually retire to the deeper and 

 cooler water, which they find at the bottom of the lake. 

 But when the nights get frosty in September they will 

 again be found in their spring haunts. Often in the 

 spring and fall the angler will be able to tempt the 

 smaller lake trout with the fly, and will have excellent 

 sport; but the fish so taken rarely run over 3 lbs. in 

 weight. When in deep water the best bait is a nice 

 bright minnow or sucker on a St. Lawrence or regular 

 gang; but when in shallow water the "fairy" minnow 

 (an artificial minnow made of sole skin) will kill more 

 than anything else I have ever seen tried — not excepting 

 the live minnow. The best rig for deep trolling is a 

 short stiff rod and multiplying reel that will carry 100yds. 

 of braided silk line. The line should be attached to a 

 three ring swivel ; to the second ring fasten a weaker 

 piece of line 8ft. long, ending with a heavy swivel dipsey 

 Binker; to the last ring fasten a heavy 9ft. leader, ending 

 with the gang. Use plenty of swivels, and if the line 

 still persists in twisting attach a little centerboard made 

 from a thin piece of tin or other metal, about the size of 

 a silver half-dollar, folding the straight edges over the 

 line. Now if in trolling the sinker should get fast on the 



bottom, the angler need not lose his expensive rig, but 

 the weaker line breaks, and he only leaves the sinker 

 fast. Often, by rowing back, the sinker will unfasten 

 without breaking the line. When a fish is hooked keep 

 the line taut, but do not' try to force a big one, or the 

 leader will part. Troll with about 150ft. of line and row 

 very slow. A friend of mine, Hon. J. IT. Gregory, of 

 Quebec, killed a salmon trout in Canada weighing 3olbs., 

 which had just swallowed a 21b. speckled trout. Both 

 the "laker" and his victim are on exhibition at the St. 

 James Club, of this city. 



While on a trip to northern Idaho, two years ago, we 

 caught several Dolly Varden trout (Sahvliv as inahna). 

 This rather rare specimen of the trout family resembles 

 our lake trout, but is handsomer in shape and color. The 

 spots are large and of a bright orange, while all the fins 

 are tipped with a salmon-colored band. We killed sev- 

 eral running in weight from 3 to lOlbs., but as they were 

 then spawning (September) we did not care to disturb 

 them. They were taken on a mottled pearl spoon. 



Auglers differ very much about the size of gangs for 

 salmon trout trolling. Setb Green was very Successful 

 with a very small gang made up with two small treble 

 hooks and a lip hook, dressed on single gut and attached 

 to a L2ft, single gut leader. On the other hand, Dr. Ro- 

 uieyn, a noted angler, uses a very large gang made with 

 five large treble hooks, dressed On heavy twisted gut. 

 One of the largest fish taken last season was killed on a 

 small fluted spoon attached directly to the line. So the 

 angler must decide for himself which to use. • 



There is one mistake people generally make in baiting 

 a Lu >y for lake trout, and that is they put out too much 

 chum. Half a dozen small minnows cut up small will 

 sufficient, and the pieces should be well scattered around 

 the buoy. If too much is used, it is apt to spoil and drive 

 away the fish instead of attracting them. 



W. HOLBEETON. 



ABOUT TARPON FISHING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have read "Big Reel's" sarcastic notes on the sport of 

 tarpon fishing. They hardly call for any retort. Tarpon 

 fishing is undoubtedly a sport unlike any other kind of 

 fishing, and those who have once experienced the pleas- 

 ure of feeling and seeing the big fish at the other end of 

 a small line will not care how severe ar<? the strictures of 

 "Big Reel" or of other enthusiastic fly-fisherman. There 

 is, however, a germ of truth in the article, for it is un- 

 doubtedly true that the great majority of tarpon fisher- 

 men do use just such tackle as he describes. With a 

 heavy stout rod and a 2l-thread line on a big reel, tarpon 

 fishing is not the sport that it ought to be. If, however, 

 the fisherman uses a 15-thread line with a light flexible 

 rod he will find that the fish will have many chances to 

 get away. Indeed I saw one of my friends last April lo -e 

 three fine tarpon in one hour. 1 inclose a slip from last 

 year's Pine Island pamphlet, which seems to me to par- 

 tially justify "Big Reel." It reads: 



Mr. Wood considers the tarpon the coming king of all game for 

 sporting fishermen; his taking the still bait, his response to being 

 hooked Tt>y immediately leaping out of the water, liis swift run- 

 ning between leaps, his beautiful shape and superb metallic lustre 

 added to his magnificent proportions, make him a delight to the 

 fortunate sportsman. The following is a score made by Mr. Wood 

 on one of his trips: 



No. Length. Weight. Time Catching. 

 1 5 feet 9 inches 93 pounds 26>g minutes. 



2 5 feet 7 inches 81 pounds 21% minutes. 



3 6 feet Ill pounds. ... . .33 minutes. 



4.... . .5 feet 11 inches 105 potinds . . ..5 minutes. 



5 6 feet linen 117 pounds 15 minutes. 



• Mr. Wood's average time was 26 minutes and the aver- 

 age weight of fish was 10 libs. I do not wish to criticise so 

 well known a fisherman as Mr. Wood, but I will confess 

 that fishing of this kind has very little attraction for me. 

 Last November I caught an 851bs. tarpon on a 15oz. flexi- 

 ble rod, with an 18-thread line, and had one hour and 

 fifty minutes of most exciting sport. Our party of three 

 last April hooked fifteen tarpon, but only killed eight, 

 seven of them getting away, owing to lack of skill on our 

 part; and in only one instance did the line break. The 

 six others all disgorged the hook. If I go down to Pine 

 Island this April I will use even lighter tackle and expect 

 to lose more fish; but at the same time I will be sure of 

 having more sport with those that I do kill. 



I am therefore, as you see, partially in sympathy with 

 "Big Reel," and am willing to forgive him his unjust 

 criticism, for the sake of the good contained in it. If 

 there were more like him, with the courage to express 

 their convictions, the use of big tackle would soon be- 

 come unpopular. ' J. V. I. 



SOME KENTUCKY STREAMS. 



LA GRANGE, Ky., March 12.— Oldham county is 

 bounded on the north by the Ohio River, and. its 

 principal streams are Harrod's Creek and Floyd's Fork, 

 both named for noted Kentucky pioneers. As the fishing 

 has not yet opaned, little is heard on the subject; but the 

 winter has been the mildest and with the greatest rain- 

 fall known for many years, and it is expected that ang- 

 ling will be good in all the streams namld, in April and 

 May. It is well settled that the early fisherman, after 

 warm weather sets in, is surest of a good catch. 



All modes of killing fish, except angling or trot-line 

 fishing, are prohibited by law, except that seining may be 

 done after spawning season. Trouble has occurred from 

 the use of dynamite, but the officials are vigilant, being 

 urged thereto by the Kentucky Pish and Game Club, and 

 that sneaking practice may not be looked for much here- 

 after. It is exceedingly destructive, as it kills every liv- 

 ing thing for many yards from the point of explosion. 

 The principal fish m the smaller streams are common 

 perch, catfish, suckers and some few bass, and a certain 

 perch cal led newlights or calico perch ; butasthe streams 

 get very low in summer, all kinds of fish are small and 

 scarce. The Ohio River, of course, furnishes many kinds 

 of fine fish, such as salmon, white and black perch, buf- 

 falo, and at the Falls of the Ohio, twenty-seven miles 

 west of this place, there is caught, by angling in swift 

 water, a species called jack salmon, a small fish from 6 

 to Sin. long, with round body — a very fine table fish. 



There are a few fine packs of hounds here, and I have 

 frequently been regaled in my room by the sounds of the 

 chase within half a mile of the village. Red foxes are 

 numerous with a few gray. Interest in all regular sports 

 is increasing, and it is expected that the present Legisla- 

 ture will pass some salutary laws for better protection of 

 game and fish. I shall give you items as to other parts 

 of the country as I pass around. J. S. Morris. 



RANDOM CASTS.-V. 



rpHE absence of heavy ice in the Hudson River for the 

 J. past two winters should bear good fruit in the in- 

 creased number of striped bass that will in all probabilty 

 be found along our coast this coming summer. The net- 

 ter has been unable to do much damage, the conditions 

 necessary for his methods of seining under the ice having 

 been generally unfavorable. 



To prevent the depletion of certain favorite, but little 

 known, fishing resorts, it is no doubt right and proper to 

 withhold the locations from the multitude; but why in- 

 formation that would often benefit others and not harm 

 you should be considered as so much personal property 

 is hard to understand. "Don't tell what you know." is 

 an expression often heard; it is neither generous nor 

 sportsmanlike. 



Cheap tackle is a delusion and a snare, and if you do 

 not know what you need for an outfit, get the name of a 

 dealer who is known for fair dealing, state to him about 

 what you wish to invest and the particular kind of fish- 

 ing you expect to have, and leave the rest to him. You 

 will fare far better than by experimenting with Tom, 

 Dick and Harry. Most of the prominent tackle stores 

 have some specialty to which they give particular atten- 

 tiod; find this out, when possible, and buy of the one who 

 makes a leader of what you need. Some keep better fly 

 tackle, others are better versed in the needs of the bait- 

 fishermen. Those who pretend to have the best of every- 

 thing generally lack the best in any one. It is quality 

 and not quantity that tell*. 



In handling striped bass, be careful that the sharp edges 

 of the gill-plates do not cut you and that the spines of 

 the fins do not penetrate the hand or foot; they make 

 painful wounds. Big Reeu. 



Under the Ice and Over It.— Haddam, Conn., Feb. 

 27.— I had expected to kill a few black bass and pickerel 

 through the ice, but as no ice came, and having my min- 

 nows in a vat, I did the next best thing to get a mess of 

 fish, viz., launched a boat on the pond one evening, set- 

 ting a few hooks to float, taking out a 21b. pickerel before 

 I had got all my lines set, which broiled, gave me a good 

 breakfast next morning, after which 1 drove out and took 

 up my lines, finding three more pickerel about the same 

 size and one perch. I found several of my lines minus 

 the hooks, the snells evidently having been ground in 

 two by the teeth of fish that had become hooked; and 

 one poor fellow had gone down with the float in deep 

 water, and probably got entangled in the grass or roots 

 on the bottom of the pond, for the float was nowhere 

 to be found. I am sorry for him, and wish he had 

 not touched the tempting minnow, or rather, that I had 

 not set it before that particular fish. I can only add, I 

 hope it was not a black bass. On the 22d of February I 

 borrowed a pair of old-fashioned skates, tied them on 

 with strings (as some of the straps were gone), and with 

 my boy skated a couple of miles or more on an overflown 

 meadow, where I had skated ni-my a time fifty years ago, 

 and did not take a single tumble. How is that for an old 

 fellow who has seen four more than his three score years? 

 Outdoor sports have never done me any harm, surely.— A. 



Virginia Beach. — The Norfolk (Va.) Landmark of 

 March 9, reports from the Princess Anne Hotel, at Vir- 

 ginia Beach: "Last Wednesday the guests of the hotel 

 enjoyed the novelty of seeing a school of whales close in 

 shore and as playful as kittens. They broke the water 

 and made quite a commotion. As a general thing whales 

 do not move in school i so close to shore. Hunting 

 parties go out daily from Norfolk to the sand bridges. 

 The snipe are very plentiful, and on toward Currituck 

 other waterfowl flock in mvriad*. The season for deer 

 is over, and most of the land in the vicinity of the hotel 

 is posted, as a matter of protection to the guests who 

 enjoy the exhilarating amusement with zeal and energy. 

 The lake is filled with fine chub and black _bass. which 

 are captured daily by those fond of fishing. 



Fishing for Suckers.— Suckers will take a baited 

 hook when the water rises in the early spring. They 

 never bite unless the worms come to the surface of the 

 ground. They are found in abundance along banks where 

 earth worms are crawling on the bottom in goodly num- 

 bers. The river washes and undermines the bank in 

 some places, throwing the worms into the water, and 

 then they try to crawl ashore. I know a locality at the 

 mouth of an old creek channel — a little lagoon, between 

 which and the river plenty of worms had collected. 

 When the river rose this ground was covered and the 

 worms tried to escape from the water. The suckers Were 

 attracted here in immense number-. I knew of the cap- 

 ture of one hundred in a single dav, some of them very 

 large —G. W. L. 



Unusual, Capture op Sturgeon.— At Cox'stown, near 

 Dauphin, Pa., during the eel-fishing season, about the 

 month of November, forty-frix years ago, two Germans 

 were tending a fish rack and caught what they supposed 

 to be the devil. One of the men after hearing the tre- 

 mendous splashing was sure it proceeded from nothing 

 less frightful than his satanic majesty. £ot into his bo it 

 hurriedly and started for the shore. The other one hit 

 the thing with a club, stunned it and then called to his 

 comrade to return. The fish, for it was a fish, although 

 none of the kind had ever been seen there before, proved 

 to be a s urgeon of very lu-ge size. It was so n after- 

 ward takentoHarrisbura and other places, and exhibited 

 to admiring audiences at six cents admission.— G. W. L. 



Fpeding Habits of Eels.— In the North Branch of 

 the Susquehanna River, during the time of freshets, eels 

 can sometimes be caught by means of a hook on which 

 large masses of worms are fastened. They can be c<.p 

 tured most readily in rocky places, whert in they hide. 

 In fishing for eels in clfar water in October, Mr. Geo. W. 

 Lung informs us that he has seen tbcin stand on lln ir 

 heads and gyrate in a twisted form to get at x'-'W food 

 under stones. The same habit his b: en observed in cod- 

 fish both in their natural habitat and when confined in 

 the well of a v essel. 



SsatrrsS. Nets of every description. American Net & Twine Co., 

 Mf ra., 34 Commercial st. Roston, or 199 Fulton st„ N. Y,— Adv t 



