210 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 3, 1890. 



COM. BLACKFORD'S OPENING DAY. 



YOU know what a lovely day it was this morning, 

 don't you? Just a thin mantle of snow on the 

 ground and the sun shining on it with the warmth of 

 early spring. 



I felt all over as if I must go out, and you may imagine 

 my delight, when in the midst of breakfast, mamma 

 said, "This is the opening day of the fishing season, and 

 I should like to go to Fulton Market and see Commis- 

 sioner Blackford's show of trout, he always makes a fine 

 display on opening day. What do you say, Alice? ' 



What did I say? I believe I said, "O, you darling," or 

 something spontaneous like that, hut you should rather 

 ask what I did. I just jumped up and flung my arms 

 around her neck, and was going to give her a hearty 

 kiss, when she drew back and said, "Don't, Alice, there's 

 egg on your lips." 



Of course that froze all my enthusiasm in that direc- 

 tion, but, all the same, the blood coursed like quicksilver 

 through my veins, and I could hardly sit still on the cars 

 on the way down. We know Commissioner Blackford, 

 too, and he's such a nice man, and so ready to answer all 

 my questions about fish; and that makes it so much more 

 delightful. 



When we got there the place was so crowded that it 

 was hardly possible to get near the stands the fish were 

 laid out on, and everybody was talking at once. 



"That," said one, pointing to a large speckled trout, 

 "is tha very picture of one I landed at the second dam 

 last September — turned the scales at 3|lbs. Say,"' this to 

 the man in attendance, "what does this fish weigh?" 



"Four and three-quarter pounds," came the reply. 



"Well," said the first speaker, "he doesn't look a bigger 

 fish than mine. Ain't you mistaken?" 



"Young man," came a voice from the crowd, "don't 

 you know that a fish you have just landed with a lOoz. 

 rod photographs a bigger picture on your mind's eye than 

 a fish of the same size exposed on a stall in the market?" 

 and immediately the Commissioner stepped forward, and 

 recognizing mamma and me, greeted us cordially, and 

 smiled pleasantly at mamma's congratulations on his 

 beautiful display of fish. 



I left him to mamma at first, and looking round I saw 

 a monstrous great tank with thousands of live fish swim- 

 ming about and gliding past each other like partners in a 

 reel, and they looked such little fish that I couldn't help 

 turning to the Commissioner and exclaiming. "Oh, Mr. 

 Blackford, you have been violating the fishing laws and 

 catching trout under 7in. I" 



"Well, they do look small," said the Commissioner, 

 glancing at them a moment, "but appearances are some- 

 times deceitful. Manj r a fisherman has caught a basket 

 of fish that looked no bigger than these in the water, but 

 which he has been able to describe later as 'nice little 

 fish, about three or four to the pound.'" 



"Yes, I know," replied I, catching the scintillation of a 

 merry twinkle in the corner of the Commissioner's eye, 

 "hut it isn't the fish that are deceitful; it's the fishermen." 



"I wouldn't like to say that," rejoined the Commis- 

 sioner. "I don't think a genuine fisherman would ever 

 tell a real lie about his catch, at least not anything more 

 than a white one with a tinge of color, but the fact is 

 there is a great deal of elasticity about fish in respect 

 both to weight and measurement." 



People were talking all around us, and the Commis- 

 sioner, even while he was talking, couldn't help listening 

 to what was said about the fish. For the most part there 

 was nothing but expressions of admiration to fall on the 

 listening ear, but presently some one said : "There is not 

 a fish in all the collection with the bright colors that our 

 brook trout to home in Vermont has got." 



The Commissioner paused in his discourse; for one 

 instant his eye scanned the broad array of wild trout, 

 brown trout, salmon trout, rainbow trout, with innu- 

 merable hybrids from the hatcheries of Caledonia and 

 Long Island: his form seemed to swell with indignation, 

 the sternness of the glance as he fixed it upon the 

 offender became almost terrible; then turning to his 

 foreman he issued his orders as a wizard might have 

 called up spirits from the vasty deep— "Frank; show 

 the gentleman some Vermont brook trout." 



"Young man," continued the Commissioner as he wit- 

 nessed the chagrin of the Vermonter, "observe more 

 closely in future. The brilliant iridescence of the newly- 

 caught trout is not peculiar to the sparkling brooks that 

 roll merrily about the feet of your green mountains, but 

 is common to the trout everywhere. Yqu may as well 

 look for the love light in a maiden's eye after she has 

 jilted you for another, as look for the 'brilliant hues of 

 life in a dead fish." 



Mamma apologized to the Commissioner for occupying 

 so much of his time, and said she would now select a fish 

 and go. "I should like this," she said, pointing to a beau- 

 tifully-spotted brown trout, about 7 or~81bs. weight. We 

 had it for dinner and it was delicious. 



Alice De Murest. 



P. S.— Please spell my name correctly this time. Is 

 there really a devil in every printer's office who makes 

 all the mistakes? 



FISH PROTECTION IN KENTUCKY. 



ONLY a few days since the Circuit Judge at Frankfort, 

 Ely., fined five men $20 each for violating the fish 

 laws of the State by using dynamite for the purpose of 

 catching fish in Elkhorn Creek. Half a dozen more have 

 been indicted by the Grand Jury and will be fined at the 

 next sitting of the court. The Kentucky Fish and Game 

 Club has done much to stop the illegal killing of fish in 

 streams of this State by offering rewards for any infor- 

 mation that will lead to the prosecution of men for a vio- 

 lation of these laws. The money comes from the treasury 

 of the club, and the cases recently brought up at Frank- 

 fort are the first cases disposed of in six months, A 

 damper was put on the illegal manner of catching fish 

 last September when a large number were successfully 

 prosecuted by the club. 



At a meeting of the club, held March 6, Secretary Berry 

 presented the names of the offenders in a number of cases 

 where the laws were violated. The Grand Jury will in- 

 vestigate the matter at the coming term, ana there is 

 hardly a doubt that the violators will be prosecuted and 



heavily fined. In Louisville the indignation is very 

 strong against the killing of fish by means of dynamite." 



C. A. D. 



Louisville, March 7. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



Y\J E often hear people speak in a joking way of "ed- 



' * ucated trout," but there is no doubt whatever 

 that fish do become educated very quickly when much 

 fished for. In the beginning of the season, after a long 

 rest and a long fast, they are very easily taken, but it 

 does not require many days of persistent fishing before 

 they seem to be able to discover the difference between 

 real and artificial flies and baits. 



An acquaintance of ours built and stocked a small trout 

 pond some years ago, the pond was not over 100ft. in 

 diameter, and he left it undisturbed for two or three 

 seasons. Not being much of a fisherman he invited the 

 writer and a friend to try the trout with the fly. We 

 found the fish so tame and used to being fed that there 

 was no sport in catching them. We used a cast of three 

 flies and every fly took a fish, and if we had used a dozen 

 it would have made no difference, they would rush for 

 them the moment they touched the water and follow the 

 cast until every fly had a trout on. Finally we used one 

 large salmon fly, and they took that just as quick as they 

 did the smaller ones. 



A few months afterward we tried that pond again, but 

 a great change had come over the fish. We could no 

 longer stand on the edge of the bank and use salmon 

 flies, but had to stand well back and use very delicate 

 tackle; even then they were suspicious and slow to rise. 

 They had become educated. 



As a rule black bass are much more shy than trout, and 

 not so easily fooled with artificial flies. They require a 

 long cast and seldom come to the surface, but take the 

 fly well under water, as old and experienced trout do. 

 Some years ago I had an order to paint a trout pool near 

 Ralston, Pa. It was a wild, romantic spot, far from any 

 dwelling or sight of civilization. In order to get a good 

 view it was necessary to sit on the edge of the stream 

 with one leg of easel in the water. While working here 

 day after day I had every opportunity to watch the ac- 

 tions of the trout: they would, run out from under the 

 falls and play in the shallows like a lot of kittens, chasing 

 one another and snapping at each other's tails. If a bit 

 of a twig or leaf fell on the water, one or more of them 

 would dart up to it instantly, and often slap at it with 

 their tails as if disappointed in not finding it good to eat. 

 At lunch time they declined at first all attempts at feed- 

 ing them, but after a day or two they became quite tame 

 and would swim up to within a few feet for a crumb of 

 bread or cracker. 



The ordinary little minnows or killies found in the fresh 

 water ditches can be easily tamed if kept in a glass globe, 

 such as goldfish are confined in, and after a few davs 

 will jump clear out of water for a house fly held in one's 

 finger. Care should be taken to keep a bit of netting 

 over the globe, or they will jump out and die. 



To look at Newtown Creek now, no one would ever 

 think that it was possible that speckled trout ever could 

 have lived in it; but there are people in this city who in 

 days long past, used to enjoy very excellent trout fishing 

 there. It is only a few years ago that a Brooklyn angler 

 used to visit a little brook at East New York every spring 

 for trout fishing. Now there are none to be caught nearer 

 than Freeport — and very few there. 



The famous Castalia Club, near Cleveland, Onio, opened 

 the season on March 15 in a howling blizzard. Thermome- 

 ter + 15° and yet quite a number of trout were taken, 

 notwithstanding it snowed so that one could hardly 

 distinguish the flies, and the lines froze as stiff as wire. 



One of the noted Saranac Lake guides has just written 

 a letter to an angler in this city, stating that the ice 

 showed signs of breaking and that he expected to be able 

 to telegraph him in a week or so that the lakes were 

 clear. 



The Brooklyn Water Works are repairing and fixing 

 up Massapequa Pond. They have let off the water, and 

 the trout are all gathered in a few holes. It seems a pity 

 that the fish should be disturbed until the pond is filled 

 again. Very few permits were given this season, and 

 they say that they are going to be much more strict, and 

 the permits will be very limited and difficult to obtain. 



The usual number of New Yorkers visited the various 

 clubs on the island on the first. Mr. Austin Corbin placed 

 a special car at the disposal of his fellow members of the 

 South Side Sportsmen's Club, who were his guests on 

 this occasion. It was filled by a large party of jolly 

 anglers. 



The Hudson River seems to be full of fine striped bass; 

 many of these fish running up to lOlbs. in weight have 

 been taken in nets. But we have not heard of any being 

 killed with rod and reel yet, 



Herring and Salmon.— On the 8th of March an un- 

 usually large school of herring was seen off Lewis Cove, 

 in Maine, and a few days later the salmon fishermen at 

 Liverpool, Nova Scotia, were beginning to throw their 

 nets. In May and June the Pacific herring makes its 

 appearance on the coast of southern Alaska in great 

 shoals, for the purpose of spawning, and in its train come 

 the species of salmon, beginning with the quinnat, king 

 or chowichee — the most highly prized by the angler be- 

 cause of its fine flavor and its game qualities. There 

 seems to be very little doubt that the herring determines 

 the sea movements of the salmon to a considerable extent, 

 and we are indebted to this common commercial fish for 

 the approach of the salmon to the coast in advance of its 

 spawning season. 



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

 Mf rs., 34 Commercial st. Boston, or 199 Fulton st., N. Y—Adv. 



Names and Portraits oe Birds, by Gurdon Trumouu. a 

 book particularly interesting to gunners, for by its use they can 

 identify without question all the American game birds which 

 they may kill. Cloth, 220 pages, price $2.30. For Bale by Fohest 

 and Stream. 



TEXAS FISHING. 



THIS coming April a year ago found a party composed 

 of the writer, two other gentlemen. B. and A., with 

 their families, a young lady, and a young gentleman or 

 two, making in all a party of about eighteen, camped on 

 the beach on the beautiful Mission Bay, at the mouth of 

 Mission River, forty miles below Beeville. We had just 

 reached there after being lost about a day, having missed 

 the road, and were all hands busy getting ready our 

 tackle with the expectation of catching enough redfish 

 for dinner, but after working hard for several hours came 

 off with the usual fisherman's luck, which was a great 

 disappointment, as most of us had fished in these waters 

 before and always with grand success. While discussing 

 the situation some boatmen landed from a schooner that 

 was anchored off some distance from shore, and informed 

 us that the water was too fresh from recent heavy rains 

 which caused the rivers to run in mr>re water than usual, 

 and to verify their statement we were called upon to 

 drink some of the water, which proved quite fresh and 

 not brackish, as we supposed, so we decided to seek salt 

 water nearer the Gulf of Mexico. The boat's crew, con- 

 sisting of Bill and Ed., proposed giving us a sail out to 

 deep water, which was accepted at $5 a day, and accord- 

 ingly the next morning we were off betimes, skimming 

 the briny on the five-tonner, the Dixie, of Galveston. 



The first day out we reached a point of land reaching 

 out from Rockport and camped for the night, having 

 caught a big string of redfish and trout, and having 

 hooked a large tarpon or two. My friend Scott came near 

 landing a big tarpon at the pass from Mission to Saint 

 Mary's bays, where the water is some 15ft. in depth; but 

 for the tangling up of his line in the reel he would have 

 doubtless landed Mr. Silver King in grand style. The 

 evening was spent pleasantly and several large redfish 

 were caught after nightfall; the only disadvantage labored 

 under was that our cooking had to be done on board ship 

 and transferred by canoes to shore, where our camps 

 were, as no wood was found within reach. 



Some large schools of mullet were here found, which 

 greatly increased our supply of bait, as this bait is gener- 

 ally used here for redfish and almost all species, though 

 the trout take artificial flies and other trolling baits. If 

 of interest I will tell in a future issue some incidents of 

 the trip further on and how the Dixie weathered a gale. 

 Beeville, Texas, March 4. T. J. S, 



RANDOM CASTS. 



WHEN fishing in the surf always carry a metal squid 

 in your pocket, one of the wide double hooked 

 ones. It will frequently be found unexpectedly useful. 



In casting from the reel, either with live bait or sinker, 

 the manipulation of the line with the thumb, as it passes 

 off the reel, is the secret of the long cast. When well 

 understood, all other points that at first appear difficult, 

 are easily overcome. 



Few fish exceed the long and deep runs of the cavalii 

 when hooked ; his powers of endurance are such that a 

 101b. fish on a lOoz. fly-rod will give the angler all the. 

 sport he can wish for. From the time of hooking to 

 when he comes to the top exhausted, the best part of an 

 hour will have passed. 



A bright day with a smooth sea and you will catch 

 bluefish, but bass lose their timidity and come near the 

 shore when the conditions are the opposite. 



A properly made split-bamboo is the acme of rods, one 

 of poor material and workmanship (and the markets are 

 flooded with this trash) is worthless. It is dishonest at 

 all points. Big Reel. 



THE SALMON OF ALASKA. 



FOR eighteen centuries literature has noted the passage 

 from sea to stream of the anadromous salmon. 

 Nobody knows whence it came. No one can tell whither 

 it strays. River and lake, perhaps since Tertiary times, 

 have furnished it a birthplace and a scant subsistence, 

 while generous ocean has given it sea room and ample 

 nourishment, converting it gradually into a thing of 

 beauty, majesty and mystery— the crowning reward of 

 the angler's skill and a prime recompense of the toil of 

 fishery. 



No principal division of the earth's surface, within 

 Arctic and temperate limits, except South America, lacks 

 representatives of the salmon family. Even in South 

 America man has attempted to supply what nature has 

 omitted; but we are not yet informed of the result of the 

 experiment. Tasmania and New Zealand have demon- 

 strated the practicability of acclimatizing the river trout 

 and sea trout of England, while France and Germany are 

 congratulating themselves upon the successful introduc- 

 tion into their waters of our rainbow trout and quinnat 

 salmon from California. 



In the distribution of the Salmonklce Alaska received a 

 generous share. Lying entirely within the area in which 

 the family is indigenous, plentifully supplied with long 

 water courses, rapid snow-fed streams and cool, deep lakes 

 glistening in mountain valleys over beds of clean gravel 

 and boulders intermingled with sheltering water plants, 

 f ree from obstructions to the movements of the migratory 

 species, its invitation to the salmon to come in and possesu 

 the waters and multiply therein was readily accepted. 



Ichthyologists at present recognize about 100 species in 

 the family under discussion, divided among the genera of 

 true whitefishes, nelma whitefishes, grayling, Pacific and 

 Atlantic salmon, brook trout, the short- lived ai of Japan 

 and the lenok of Siberian rivers and lakes. All of these 

 genera except the last two occur in our outlying province, 

 and they are represented by 17 known species, or about 

 \ of the entire number. 



In Alaskan lakes and rivers there are five kinds of 

 whitefish., one of them being very much like the com mon 

 species of our Great Lakes and reaching a weight of 

 bOlbs. This is one of the most important food fishes of 

 the Territory. The round whitefish, or shad waiter, of 

 New England and the upper Great Lakes, extends through 

 Northwest Territory and other parts of British Columbia 

 into Alaska. Specimens have been obtained as far north 

 as the Putnam or Kuwuk river, a tributary of Hotham 

 Inlet. This is a small fish, seldom exceeding 21bs. in 

 weight, but is very abundant and well flavored, and con- 

 sequently valuable for food. The Lauretta whitefish has 



