May 8, 1890.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



313 



CLUB MEETING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The Mastigouche Fishing Club of this citv held its 

 annual meeting a few days since, when the 'following 

 officers were duly elected for the ensuing year, viz.: 

 Henry W. Atwater, President; E. H. Bottefell, Vice- 

 President; George Kemp, Treasurer; Herbert B. Ames, 

 Secretary; Messrs. James Slessor, John Kennedy, J. A. 

 Cantlie, I. H. Stearnes and Robert W. Paterson, Board of 

 Directors. The annual report shows the club to be in a 

 prosperous condition. ' It has no debts, and a substantial 

 balance in the bank, besides owning a large amount of 

 property. 



It is now five years since the club was started, and its 

 membership, which was limited to fifty, is now complete. 

 They have just obtained from the Quebec Government a 

 renewal of the lease of their fishing rights for nine years, 

 and they have also renewed their arrangements with 

 Mr. E. M. Copeland, who will keep the Mastigouche 

 House open to the public and take charge of all visitors 

 to the lakes, as heretofore done. 



A few special permits to fish in some of the reserved 

 waters of the club will be issued to a limited number of 

 sportsmen during the season. Such permits can be had 

 on application to Mr. Copeland. The club is about to be- 

 come incorporated, and has applied to the Government 

 for a charter. 



A larger number of guests visited the club lakes last 

 season than in any previous year, and the fishing seems 

 to be just as good as it was the first year. The territory 

 under lease to the club is so extensive and comprises such 

 a great number of lakes and streams that it will be almost 

 impossible for any number of sportsmen, fishing in a 

 legitimate manner, as allowed by the club, to have any 

 appreciable effect in the quantity of trout inhabiting 

 these waters. Some of the largest trout ever caught in 

 these lakes were taken out last season, the honors being 

 carried off by a lady visitor. H. W. A. 



Montreal,, April 29. 



BROOK TROUT IN MINNESOTA. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I must add one more laurel to the piscatorial possibili- 

 ties of Minnesota's "Lake Park" region, adjacent to De- 

 troit Lake. I recently happened near the east end in 

 a small lake, as yet unchristened, and in size about 

 200yds. in diameter by from 50 to 75ft. deep, fed wholly 

 by springs and with an outlet into Detroit Lake of about 

 a mile in length, fix feet wide by a foot deep. Having 

 thought for several days past that the weather was suffi- 

 ciently mild for the pickerel, pike and bass to begin biting, 

 I laid in a small stock of tempting shiners preparatory to 

 a regular slaying expedition, to occur the first warm 

 morning. This came yesterday, April 2i. Having had 

 partly fair luck in hooking the pike and pickerel to the 

 number of a half dozen in half an hour, and while think- 

 ing it peculiar that I could not raise a bass, I was sud- 

 denly surprised to see the line "zip" through the water 

 rather faster than usual. Imagining the fish to be a bass, 

 I proceeded to slowly reel in, and after thoroughly tiring 

 him out I landed the fish, when, behold! it was as nice a 

 brook trout for its size as has ever been my lot to see. It 

 weighed a trifie over gibs., and was richly diversified 

 with red and yellow spots and beautifully mottled. I 

 have fished all over this section for the par-t five years, 

 and this is the first trout that has come to my notice in 

 this part of the Stn te. If there are similar instances from 

 this seciion I would be glad to hear of them, and if not, 

 can the editors advance any theory as to how this fellow 

 happened to be so far from home and the bo-om of his 

 family and in spring water? Where there is one fish 

 there must surely be more, and May 1 will shortlv be 

 with us with license for all hands to hie to the streamlets 

 and lakelets with their hackles, coachmen, cow-dung and 

 divers other favorites, to lure the finny denizens from 

 neath mossy banks to willow baskets and the pan. 



J. G. N. 



McHugh Station, Minn., April 23. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



A LARGE delegation of lake trout fishermen have left 

 for the North Woods to enjoy their favorite sport, 

 which i3 now at its height, and as soon as the weather 

 gets a little warmer the lovers of fly-fishing will be able 

 to join them; but it will hardly be safe to expect the 

 trout to rise well to the fly before the 20th of this month. 

 For the benefit of those who would like to enjoy good 

 trout fibbing, and who are prevented from going to the 

 Adirondacks by reason of not knowing where to find open 

 waters, we print the following hints.' In the first place, 

 though, we warn them that very little fishing can be ex- 

 pected in the waters on or near the main lines of travel 

 generally followed by the army of tourists. To get good 

 sport they must be willing to rough it and tramp over 

 some pretty hard trails. 



Some of the best fishing for speckled trout as well as 

 lakers will be found at Smith's and Albany Lake; Clear 

 Pond, on the route to Mud Pond, affords speckled trout 

 fishing. These pOnds are reached by way of Lowville. 

 The well-known Fulton Chain of Lakes is a good locality, 

 reached by way of Booneville. 



By the way of North Creek, the last station on the Adi- 

 rondack R. R., the angler can reach a number of excel- 

 lent tr outing waters. The best way is to drive to North 

 River, four or five miles from North Creek. From this 

 point the ponds in the vicinity of Eleventh and Thirteenth 

 lakes are easily reached . Seven Chain Lakes, where Har- 

 vey Barney has a good camp, furnishes good fishing, and 

 Cedar Pond, near by, contains large speckled trout. To 

 get at these waters, take the stage from North Creek to 

 the Blue Mountain Lake and get off at Indian Lake P. O., 

 about half way to Blue Mountain Lake. Near Indian 

 Lake P. O. the angler can amuse himself a day or two in 

 fishing Squaw Brook. Minerva, a little town on the road 

 from North Creek to Tahawus, is a good point to stop at, 

 as Minerva Creek affords fair trouting. Further on near 

 Newcomb, Zach's Pond is a good place to fish, and Moose 

 Pond can be reached from Aiden Lair. 



On the other side of the Adirondacks, good fishingmay 

 be had near Brush's Mills, and comfortable quarters and 

 fair trouting at Meacham's Lake. These are reached by 

 the way of Malone. Later in the season the small ponds 

 in the vicinity of the St. Regis Lakes afford big speckled 

 trout, provided the angler will .camp out and fish late in 

 the evening with large flies. 



One of the famous points for large speckled trout is 

 Cranberry Lake, reached, we think, by the way of De 

 Kalb Junction. This lake is on the Oswegatchie River — 

 a famous trout stream. One of the largest brook trout 

 killed in the Adirondacks for many years was caught 

 here last season, weight 51bs. 9oz. The upper waters of 

 the Black River, reached by way of Remsen on the Utica 

 and Black River R. R., contain some fine trout, but they 

 are rather difficult to get at, and one must either take a 

 boat or build a raft, and it will be necessary to camp out. 

 West Canada Creek is easily reached from Remsen, but 

 is much fished. 



The best flies for the Adirondacks for the early fishing 

 are the light and dark Montreals, coachman, Abbey, 

 silver-doctor, professor, Brandreth, Beatrice, Howard, 

 brown and black palmers, great-dun, cowdung, grizzly- 

 king, Canada, Lottie, black-gnat, brown-hen and some- 

 times the scarlet-ibis. Size of hooks, 8 and 8 Sproat. It 

 would also be well to take a few large bright flies on No. 

 4 Sproat, such as the white-miller and Parmachene-belle 

 for evening fishing. 



The salmon fishing at Bangor continues fairly good, 

 notwithstanding the great number of nets at the mouth 

 of the river. It is a shame that the salmon do not have 

 at least one day in the week free run of the river. Both 

 netting and rod fishing should be stopped for twenty- 

 four, or better forty-eight hours every week. Mr. Fred. 

 W. Ayer has killed the biggest salmon on record, viz , 

 301bs. 



RANDOM CASTS. 



'T^HE conditions being equal as between fine tackle and 

 L the pin, string and pole, the latter does not take the 

 largest fish, the country boy to the contrary notwith- 

 standing. 



In the woods, more than in any other place that I ever 

 knew of, a man's true character reveals itself. Trifling 

 inconveniences are magnified into disagreeable opportu- 

 nities by the selfish, he making use of them to the annoy- 

 ance and discomfort of those about him. Better by far 

 be alone with your guide, than run the risk of being paired 

 with a mean fellow. It is too late to make your choice 

 when far along on the trip, the mischief is* done then, 

 but study your would-be companion well before starting. 

 You may possibly have to eat out of the same plate and 

 sleep under the one blanket before getting back. 



In surf fishing, the fishhawk is your friend. If lie flies 

 out to sea for his meal you might as well quit fishing 

 until the fish come nearer in shore again. This you will 

 soon know by his following them in. 



Angling is not an adjunct to the whisky bottle, as many 

 seem to think, and if less were heard of'it from quarters 

 where it should have no place, the uninitiated would not 

 so frequently connect the two when preparing for an out- 

 ing to the woods or shore. Some papers look upon it as 

 a great joke to introduce the "bait bottle'' on frequent 

 occasions. To have to wade through the experiences of 

 Pat and Mike as they tell us of how they "then took a 

 drink after each fish'' is not calculated to inspire confi- 

 dence in the class of material these papers draw upon to 

 entertain their readers. This kind of reading is vulgar, to 

 say the least, and certainly not in keeping with the im- 

 pi essions a sportman should receive wlnn with nature. 

 The bottle leads to lying, and those who habitually carry 

 it with them, for other than radical needs, aregener- 

 ally the ones given to telling "fish lies." 



The breaks in the otherwise regular stripes of the bass 

 are the result of wounds caused by contact with others of 

 their kind when schooling. In chasing the mullet, etc., 

 they do so with dorsal erect. Big Reel. 



Missouri Angling.— St. Louis. Mo.* April 25. — A few 

 more days like the past week and fishing will open with 

 a vengeance in these parts. Considerable dampness has 

 fallen in this locality of late and the lake, sloughs and 

 streams have been quite muddy, but they are clearing 

 very fast. The anglers are holding themselves in readi- 

 ness, and just as soon as they are satisfied that the water 

 is in condition, there will be an exodus such as has never 

 been known before. Reports from Current River are to 

 the effect that a few bass and jack salmon were taken 

 down there the past week. If the weather remains set- 

 tled till next Wednesday, a party, consisting of about ten 

 members of the above club, will go down to the club 

 house to remain several days, "yanking" out members of 

 the finny tribe. — Unser Fritz. 



Trout Waste.— Newaygo, Mich., May 1.— Editor For- 

 est and Stream: The law for the protection of trout is a 

 dead letter in this section of the country, in consequence 

 of which the fish are scarce and wild. Their destruction 

 has been great recently, owing to the open winter, and 

 the poachers have been in the habit of openly selling 

 them to the public, which is a direct violation of the law. 

 and those who were not handy with the rod used other 

 means, such as nets, water-shells and spears, and com- 

 plaints made to the game warden were ineffectual. Two 

 brook trout, that weighed 5* and oflbs. respectively, were 

 speared near here and were viewed by a number of per- 

 sons. — Limbo. 



Canadian Waters.— Quebec, April 26.- The weather 

 is cold to-day, consequently the lakes are still frozen over. 

 I presumo from all appearances fly-fishing will not be on 

 till about the 15th or 25th of May. Usually the Queen's 

 birthday, May 24, is looked forward to by all anglers as 

 the first day's fly-fishing. Some of my "friends of the 

 Laurentian Club went out to their lakes in March. Oae 

 of them cast a fly in some open water at the outlet of the 

 lake, in the rapids, and was fortunate enough to rise a half- 

 pound trout, which took the fly and was captured. 

 Rather an unusual thing, I presume, because no one 

 would think of making such a trial. — J. U. Gregory. 



Wakeman's improved skeleton bait is a device ingeniously 

 arranged of Silver wirb, within which a live minnow is inclosed in 

 a manner which prevents its loss, and retains the natural look of 

 a harmless minnow. The bait can be used with success without 

 the minnow, but used in connection with one, is said by those 

 who have tried it, to have unequaleil catching power, a single 

 minnow having been said to catch twenty-five bass before being 

 rendered useless. The advertisement appears in this issue, and 

 full particulars wiJ] be given on application to the manufacturer. 

 — Adv. 



Net Results.— We have received from Mr. Thomas 

 Sedgwick Steele, No. 71 Woodlawn street, Hartford, 

 Conn., a copy of the proof edition of the gravure etching 

 reproduction of his famous oil oainting "Net Results." 

 The subject is a catch of speckled trout, and they are 

 painted with rare fidelity and most pleasing effect. It is 

 so difficult to find really truthful pictures of game and 

 fish, that we take pleasure in giving Mr. Steele the praise 

 he has won for his paintings of game and fish. "Net 

 Results" is a highly artistic piece of work. 



Movements of Fish.— Scup, tautog and butterfish are 

 becoming abundant in the Cape Cod traps. Mackerel 

 and bluefish also are taken in small numbers. 



THE MIDLAND COUNTIES FISH CULTURE 

 ESTABLISHMENT. 



AN American in London writes: ''The supply of fish ova 

 this season in England seems to have been unusually 

 plentiful, judging by the appearance of the hatcheries at 

 some of our fisbcultural establishments. I this week visited 

 the Midland counties fishculture establishment at Malvern 

 Wells, England, over which I was conducted by Mr. John 

 Burgess, wbo courteously supplied me with every informa- 

 tion regarding some waters which I wished to stock with 

 trout. I found the hatcheries full of Sa.lmonidce ova and 

 youug fish, aud tbe sight presented by the masses of tinny 

 life was one which I never shall forget. Within a large 

 building of brick were ranged side by side a series of tanks, 

 through which a stream of water coursed, oxygenated by 

 miniature sluices, which are fixed at the entrance of each 

 tank. Here we have a perfect stream, which gently ripples 

 over the little nurseries where the young fish lie in perfect 

 ease and safety. What a contrast is this peaceful scene to 

 that of the spawning beds in open waters, which are sub- 

 jected to destruction by flood, pollution and hundreds of 

 owners of gaping jaws, which fallmpon them and devour the 

 eggs. In the inclosed hatchery there are no enemies, no 

 Hoods, no noxious ingredients to destroy the ova. Here I was 

 shown that only a few dozen ova had perished, and not a 

 single young fish had died out of the millions that are being 

 propagated. Here is a triumph over nature, a triumph so 

 complete that I doubt whether in any other art we can find 

 its equal. On all sides I encountered masses of fish life, 

 waiting to be poured forth into the waters. Each variety 

 is kept in separate tanks, great care being exercised not to 

 mix them. Some of the trout are adapted for rivers, some 

 for lakes, some for ponds and some for streams. On no oc- 

 casion does be turu them into rivers, streams or ponds until 

 he has ascertained tbe exact nature of the water, t.he fish in- 

 habiting it and the amount of food available therein. Hav- 

 ing done, so, he furnishes such fish as are adapted to the 

 prevailing conditions. 



"In addition to native fish, Mr. Burgess cultivates some 

 valuable transatlantic forms with tbe kind assistaoce of 

 Col. Marshall McDonald, the Fish Commissioner; and these 

 fish embrace tbe rainbow trout, brook char, landlocked 

 salmon aud the whiteflsh. The acclimatization of the latter 

 fish is being energetically pushed forward. The tanks lit- 

 erally swarm with nearly hatched fry, and it is impossible 

 to describe the lovely appearance they present. Unlike 

 salmon and trout, they move incessantly immediately after 

 emerging from the ova, and are in full' possession of tbeir 

 powers of locomotion. The whitefish is well adapted to 

 English lakes and promises to occupy a position among the 

 commercial fishes in this country." 



WORK OF THE U. S. FISH COMMISSION. 



SHAD.— Car No. 2 left Washington. April 30, with 4,200,- 

 , 000 shai eggs, the fry of which were to be planted in the 

 Flint, Oi mulgee, Ogeecbee and Savanuah rivers and Big 

 White Water Creek. Gar No. 3 was sent, May 1. with 4,129,- 

 0b0 shad eggs to stock the Chattahoochee River at Colum- 

 bus, tbe Fliut at Reynold, and waters near Macon, Ga. The 

 low temperature of the water in the hatcheries produced 

 weak fry and made tbe shipment of Car No. 2 less satisfac- 

 tory than usual; therefore, this car has taken on a new sup- 

 ply at Havre d^ Grace for distribution from Macon as a 

 center. Shipments are constantly going out from the sta- 

 tions to various parts of the Middle. Atlantic States. 

 T,6bsteffs, — Dtiring the week ei'ded May 3 the Wood's Holl 



Station made the following exhibit: 



Lobster eggs collected during the week 1,252,147 



Lobster eggs now hatching 3,299,820 



Largest number of eggs from one lobster 22,848 



(This lobster was 13in. long). 

 Smallest number of eggs from one lobster 3,049 



(This lobster was 9in. long). 



Lobsters stripped during the week 109 



Average number of eggs 11,487 



The apparatus used in batching are the McDonald aud 

 Chester nars, in which the eggs can be cleaned more rapidly 

 than in the boxes. Mr. Maxwell considers the jars superior 

 to the boxes tor developing these eggs. 



SHIPPING SMELT EGGS. — The first attempt at shipping 

 eggs of the smelt, as far as we know, was a success recently 

 under the management of Mr. Fred Mather, Superintendent 

 of the Cold Spring Harbor station of the New York Fish 

 Commission. Commissioner H. Burden wanted some eggs 

 for the Sacandaga hatchery, in the Adirondacks, to supply 

 food in waters which are to be stocked with lake trout. 

 These trout would be obliged to come into shoal waters in 

 summer for lack of food in the depths. The smelt are in- 

 tended to remedy this unfavorable condition. When the 

 hatching of smelt eggs was inaugurated a few years ago, 

 nothing was known about the subject, and until recently 

 the limit of successful hatching was not over 50 per cent. 

 Packing tbe eggs for transportation is a new undertaking, 

 and, as we have said, a successful one under Mr. Mather's 

 direction. Mr. E. F, Baehm. wbo received the consignment, 

 estimated that 95 per cent, of the eggs were good. When the 

 box was opened the temperature inside was IS degrees, the 

 eggs were pronounced a fine lot and have been doing well up 

 to last accounts. 



AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY.— The nineteenth 

 annual meeting of tbe American Fisheries Society will be 

 held at Put in Bay, Ohio, May 14, 1890. A steamer will be 

 in waiting at Sandusky on the afternoon of the 13th and the 

 morning of the 14th, to convey delegates to the island.— C. 

 V. OsBOEN, Cor. Sec. A. F. C. 



CARP CULTURE and its results will be a subject of in- 

 quiry by the Census office. 



Angling Talks. By George Dawson. Pr ice 50 cents. Fly- 

 Rods find Fly-Tackle. By H. P. Wells. Price $2.50. Fly- 

 Fish tag and. Fly- Making for Trout. By J. H. Keene. 

 Price $1.50. American Anglers Book. By Thad, Norris, 

 Price $5,50. 



