May 22, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



353 



HINTS FOR SALMON ANGLERS. 



TO the tyro salmon fisher no better advice can be given 

 than to avoid prejudice and learn something from 

 every guide you have. For instance, you will be almost 

 universally told not to fish when it lightens and thunders. 

 Don't believe it. Take a showery, squally summer day. 

 After the heaviest peals of thunder and flashes of light- 

 ning, let the sun come out, cast your fly, and, if it is a 

 good pool, the salmon will rise. If you have any doubt 

 of this, go to the Restigouche Salmon Club and see the 

 record of two fish killed on a July day in the midst of the 

 most violent storm and vivid lightning and heavy thun- 

 der. On tbat day the writer killed two in the same storm 

 about the same time, fifty miles higher up, in the heavi- 

 est thunder, lightuing and rain, so thick you could not 

 see where to cast. 



When you fi^h a good pool, and the season and water 

 suit and you know the fish are there, and they won't rise 

 day after day, make up your mind it's your fault. Put a 

 guard on at night and watch your pool, and the fish will 

 rise when you try again. No man until he has cast a fly 

 for a quarter of a century will believe what cunning a 

 poacher has. Often the man you employ as guardian 

 even will be in league with the poachers and worry your 

 pool. 



Never fish for a salmon so that he will have to rise at 

 the fly in quiet water to take it in swift water. If you 

 will examine all the places where they take the fly, you 

 will find this rule holds. When the fish has been in fresh 

 water a whde he becomes lazy, and will not make the 

 exertion to rush at a fly into swift water. He will, if you 

 fish on either side of the swift current, take it the reverse 

 way. If you cast to the right, he will take it on his left, 

 and if you cast to the left, take it on his right. I know 

 of men, Canadians, fishing twenty years, ignorant of this 

 -rule so necessary to follow. Piscator. 



s 



RANDOM CASTS. 



ALT PORK, beans, molasses, breacl and tea, as pre- 

 r^J pared by the lumbermen, is a bill of fare not to be 

 despised where hard tramping is the order of the day. You 

 can travel further and over rougher country than on any- 

 thing known to the culinary chefs ot Delmonico's. Fancy 

 additions to the meal may be necessary to tickle the pal- 

 ate, but they add nothing to the muscle-making and 

 health-giving qualities of these great standbys of the 

 wilderness. 



Did you ever feel the peculiar sensation accompanying 

 the first time of sleeping in a bedroom after returning 

 from a trip of six or eight weeks in the woods, where the 

 trees and rocks were nature's furniture? To me it seemed 

 as if I should suffocate for want of air and room. And 

 this only shows how quickly man accustoms himself to 

 circumstances. 



In pickerel fishing in New Jersey, where the fresh- 

 water ponds are often within a mile or two of the sea. 

 the salt-water minnow is the best of all baits. Ic is 

 tougher on the hook than the fresh- water species and will 

 stand abuse far better. I have kept them alive for five 

 hours in nothing but a basket filled with wet sea salad. 

 Of the many varieties that are to be found in the creeks 

 and inlets, those having a golden tinge to their scales 

 have proved the most attractive. The striped ones, how- 

 ever, are the longest lived. 



For snapping mackerel hook the bait through the lips 

 and pass the hook to and through the tail. If not done 

 in this manner it will be bitten off close to the hook and 

 then left. The fish always attack their prey from behind. 

 With a light fly-rod much sport may be had, as they are 

 very strong and gamy for their size. Occasionally a 

 gaudy fly will capture them. Big Reel. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



CHICAGO, 111., May 17.— Lake Calumet has claimed 

 one more victim for its long score. Two young men, 

 Earnest Hudson and James Grant, upset a half mile from 

 shore and the latter was drowned in the shallow but 

 treacherous lake. 



Messrs. Fargo, Shaler, Botsford, Douglas and Auger, 

 all of the Gayiord Club, departed a week ago for some 

 trout fishing on the club grounds of that favored organi- 

 zation. They should by this time have had some good 

 trout fishing in the Pike, as there may have been a few 

 warm days. Advices from the north say that the Re- 

 public and other streams n<ar by in northern Wisconsin 

 are very low, but the water is so cold the trout will not 

 bite yet. There was three inches of snow there four 

 days ,ago. The trout season seems unspeakably slow, 

 ana the snspense is something terriole. Most p .rties are 

 postponing their dates. Charlie Burton has letters out;in 

 Wisconsin, whose replies he awaits breathlessly, but so 

 far the man who wants a good lot of trout would better 

 stay at home and wait a while. 



I h ive often heard about there being "landlocked sal- 

 mon" in Trout Lake, Wisconsin, and much surprise has 

 been expressed that they shouJd be found there, since 

 this lake is out of the trout country, is south of the big 

 divide and among the mascallohge waters. I never 

 fished that country, but yesterday I hunted up Mr. Ryder, 

 of the Lake Shore & Western R. R., who knows all about 

 it, and asked him about these fish. 



"They are not the landlocked salmon," said he, "but 

 they are salmon trout landlocked. They are just the 

 same fish as the big trout of the Great Lakes. They have 

 been Caught in Trout Lake weighing 23lbs., and a fish 

 lighter than 4 or 5lbs. is rare. They bite a spoon." 



There are bass in Trout Hole also. Mascallonge Lake, 

 near by, is a good one for mascallonge, and the short 

 river running up to Boulder Lake is alive with magnifi- 

 cent bass. That is a great country. 



Mr. J. S. Cooper, an attorney of this city, soon starts 

 on a journey for which the gods might envy him. He 

 goes up the trail to Trout Lake, then all the way by 

 water down the Manitowish River, through Alder, Rice 

 and Manitowish lakes, then through Rest Lake and on 

 down the river to the railway. He then makes a rail 

 portage to the new Turtle River country, and goes on up 

 north through those lakes. It is fbh all the way. 



I wish I were so constituted tbat I did not want to go 

 fishing in every bit of new water I hear of. It makes me 

 unhappy. 



So far the mascallonge news remains mighty scarce. 

 Except the 30-pounder that came down last week from 

 the C. M. & St. P. Railway country, 1 have not heard of 

 any mascallonge of consequence being taken. The 

 '-'trout" or "landlocked salmon" are biting now at Trout 

 Lake. They never bite at all except very early in the 

 spring and very late in the fall. I have not heard any 

 results from Crosby's place on Twin Lakes. This is sum 

 mer resort weather with a vengeance. 



The pickerel have been biting in the Grand Calumet 

 River lately. Three rods took twenty-two fish two weeks 

 ago to-day, and some were caught last week. The Grand 

 Calumet is higher now than it has been for a long time. 

 The in-shore winds seem to force the water throuuh the 

 sand strip which fences the mouth of that stream and so 

 back it up. 



The Little Calumet is said to have ^ss in it, and good 

 ones, though I do not know of anything definite as to 

 results in that stream. Away up in the flat country 

 toward its head there is another confluent stream called 

 Salt Creek. In this, so a farmer told me, there are some- 

 times bass. On the strength of this single assurance my 

 friend, A. H. Harryman, and myself will to-day ran 

 down there about twenty or thirty miles and try to see 

 what there is in the rumor and the creek. This will do 

 to wet the lines anyhow, and avert an attack of conges- 

 tive want-to go-fishing. It is a shame not to go fishing 

 when the very hooks in the box cry out against the 

 delay. 



Mr. Fred C. Donald informs me that an engineer on 

 the C. & A. road often gets fine strings of small-mouthed 

 bass with the fly, fishing the Tippecanoe River, Indiana, 

 between the two crossings which that railway makes on 

 that stream. I think it must be the Cedar Lake on the 

 C. & A. where the Crown Point boys catch their bass. 

 The other Cedar Lake I have heard of as not being so 

 very good of late for bass, but perhaps I am wrong. " 

 have never fished in either. 



Billy Mussey and some friends will make their summer 

 fishing trip on the lakes near Madison, Wis. 



A party of which Mr. Babeouf is one starts soon for a 

 trip up Mackinaw way. 



Dr. Buechner is on his way to Coleman Lake and the 

 Pike at the Gayiord Club. 



Mr. Hawley, of insurance circles here, has had good 

 fishing northwest of St. Paul this spring, and may lead a 

 party of friends back there soon. 



The weather to-day remains cold and raw, but it is 

 brighter, and we hope for a warmer time before long. 

 Until then we will have no good fishing in this country. 



E. Hough. 



[For "Ohio," in last week's fishing letter please read 

 "Iowa."] 



A New Minnesota Association.— At St. Paul was re- 

 cently organized the Game and Fish Protective Associa- 

 tion of Minnesota. The dues are $2 a year, payable the 

 first of June of each year, and the executive committee 

 is empowered to levy assessments not exceeding $2 per 

 annum for special occasions. W. M. Brackett, Dr. J. B. 

 Dunn, of Shakoppe, and Sheriff Ege were prominent; in 

 arranging the organization. Pres., J. M. Regan; Cor - 

 Sec, W. P. Andrew; Rec.-Sec, F. H. Jones; Treas., W. 

 M. Brackett: A. G. Strong and W. W. Leonard were 

 elected vice-presidents from Minneapolis, the balance of 

 the vice-presidents to be reported by the nominating 

 committee at the next meeting. About thirty charter 

 membprs were placed upon the roll, and there is every 

 indication that the membership will reach large propor- 

 tions. Sportsmen all over the State recognize the neces- 

 sity for such an organization, and many state that they 

 stand ready to help it with their time and money. From 

 present indications there is room for hope that the game 

 and fish of the State will be so protected in future 5 that 

 Minnesota will remain the paradise for sportsmen and 

 fishermen that it has been in the past. The following 

 resolution was unanimously adopted: Resolved, That 

 this association invite the hearty co-operation of all or- 

 ganizations in this and adjoining States which are inter- 

 ested in the preservation of game and fish, and request 

 their members to become members of this association. 

 Resolved. That we recommend the organization of local 

 clubs in all game and fish centers, where no club now 

 exists, for the purpose of becoming auxiliary to this club 

 in the work for which it is formed. 



Lake Erie Anglers and Netters.— Cleveland, Ohio, 

 May VS.— Four wholesale companies are now engaged in 

 the fibheries at this point. They employ a great number 

 of gill nets, but as the warm weather advances the fish 

 will move to the shore for spawning purposes. To meet 

 them in time, pound nets are being set to the east and 

 west of the city. Tons on tons of fish are being taken 

 daily, composed mostly of pike perch, yellow perch and 

 saugers, a few whitefish of goodly size and many her- 

 ring. A half, at least, of the first mentioned are far 

 below the suitable weight for market, selling for 75 cents 

 per lOOlbs., and must be a drug, as many are salted for 

 want of ready sale while fresh. During the warm seasons, 

 for many years off this port, a noticeable feature has 

 been the swarms of small boats, carrying from five to 

 twenty anglers each, engaged in this healthful recrea- 

 tion, which, at the present time, gives many a. long string 

 of fish and wholesome dinners. A large number of men, 

 also, receive hand-ome returns in money from the hire 

 of boats, fishing tackle and sale of bait. If this whole- 

 sale netting here be not soon restricted, within four or 

 five years we will see this fishing entirely exhausted.— 

 Dr. E. Sterling. 



Woodmont Club— Washington, D. C, May 14— At 

 the regular annual meeting of the Woodmont Rod and 

 Gun Club, the following officers were elected for the 

 ensuing year: Andrew McCallum, Pres.: Judge Jere- 

 miah M. Wilson, Vice-Pres.; Dr. W. S. Harban, Sec'y- 

 Treas.; A. R. Tichenor, Auditor. Executive Committee, 

 Andrew McCallum, Jas. P. Willet, Dr. R. B. Donald- 

 son, B. K Plain and Dr. W. S. Harban. 



J. B. Crook & Co., who have for more than fifty years catered 

 to the wants of antlers all over this country, doing husiness at 

 their weU-knnwn stand, 52 Fulton strpet. have just opened a new 

 store at 1191 Broadway, lo meet the demands of up-town custom- 

 ers. The new store is a large one and is well stocked with a gen- 

 eral line of goods for sportsmen, nor alone in fishing tackle, which 

 i6 the firm's specialty, but in camping goods, traveling outfits and 

 numweus othtr lines of general interest to those who delight in 

 outdoor life.— Adv, 



A Large Jewpsih. — A jewfish, 6ft. long and 6ft. in 

 greatest girth, was recently caught by a fisherman at 

 Port Tampa, Florida, This i8 said to be the largest one 

 taken on the Gulf coast; its weight was 3481bs. Three 

 fishes of the sea bass family are styled jewfish. One 

 reaches a weight of 3001bs. and has been captured as far 

 north as Block Island, but is uncommon in that latitude- 

 this is the Epinephelus nigritus of Holbrook. The other,' 

 Promierops itaiara, has the reputation of being the 

 largest scaled fish in the Atlantic, attaining, in Cuban 

 waters, according to Prof. Poey, the enormous weight of 

 6001 bs. This jewfish is common in the Gulf of Mexico, 

 and young examples, at rare intervals, find their way to 

 northern waters near New York. There is a closely- 

 related fish, Stereolepis gigas, of very great size, on the 

 coast of California, to which the same name is applied; 

 this species reaches a length of 5ft. As these giant fishes 

 are voracious biters, anglers who seek them seldom fish 

 for count. 



A Fine Display of Tarpon, artistically mounted, is 

 now to be seen at Mr. E. Vom Hofe's establishment, No. 

 95 Fulton street, New York. Mr. Vom Hofe has a pe- 

 culiar way of treating this fish— a preparation which he 

 alone knows of and uses, which faithfully preserves the 

 silvery, sheeny tints exactly as seen in the live fish when 

 jumping from the water. There are ten or eleven tarpon 

 in this collection, varying from 70 to loOlbs, in weight. 

 They will be on exhibition for a few days, and will then 

 be sent to their respective owners. All visitors will be 

 made welcome, and anglers should view this large col- 

 lection. 



Large Perch and Pickerel.— More than one hundred 

 years ago Blackbird Creek, Delaware, had a dam thrown 

 across its head, and the pond thus formed became a 

 famous fish preserve. Charles Vogel has lately received 

 from that pond white perch said to weigh 91bs. and pick- 

 erel weighing 211bs. Mr. Vogel finds no difficulty in 

 catching shad with a hook in all places where a dam 

 stops the ascent of the fish to its spawning grounds. — 

 Geo. H. H. Moore (TJ. S. Fish Commission, Washington). 



That is So.— The Booneville (N. Y.) Herald remarks: 

 "The law prohibits the transportation of trout unless ac- 

 companied by the owner. It should also attach a penalty 

 to offering speckled trout for sale, as many persons strip 

 the small streams of all trout to sell in market. Trout 

 fishing should be followed as a diversion, not a business." 



Maryland.— Great Falls, Md., May 15.— The fishing 

 here this season is very poor and no good catches have 

 been made thus far. Black bass used to be plentiful, but 

 are leaving the Potomac, owing, it is said, to the intro- 

 duction of carp. — Patuxent. 



Spotted Shad. — In the Delaware River and in the Sus- 

 quehanna at Havre de Grace shad are showing an unusual 

 number of black spots along the sides. Capt. Piatt 

 counted as many as thirty-five in some Delaware River 

 specimens, and they covered the whole length of the 

 body.— Geo. H. H. Moore. 



Lake St. John.— There is no free fishing at Lake St. 

 John, Quebec. Permits must be had through Mr. Beemer. 



WORK OF THE U. S. FISH COMMISSION. 



THE hatchery at Gloucester, Mass., was closed May 7 

 after collecting 30,322,093 eggs of haddock, 47,556,000 of 

 cod and 40,166,394 of pollock— a total of more than 118,000,000 

 eggs of staple fishes. 



At the Woods Holl station the first cod eggs were taken 

 Nov. 18, 1889, and the last Jan. 26, 1890. The fish were kept 

 in live cars until their eggs were ripe; 8,545,722 eags were 

 collected from 91 gravid females and 102 males were em- 

 ployed in their fertilization. Sixty-seven per cent, of the 

 eggs were successfully hatched. The improved McDonald 

 tidal hatching box was the most satisfactory apparatus for 

 this species. Mr. Richard Dana, who had charge of the cod 

 hatching operations, reported that the winter was very 

 favorable for cod work, the temperature ranging from 47 to 

 33deg. without sudden changes, and the water free from 

 slime and sediment. Eggs, however, were scarce. Eggs 

 transported to Woods Holl from the Gloucester statiou fared 

 best in carboys. The period of incubation at Woods Holl 

 varied from 107 to 696 hours; the average time was 357 hours, 

 or about 15 days. 



Two hundred thousand embryo cod placed in the aquarium 

 did well for thirteen days, until the yelk sac was absorbed 

 and then all of them died from starvation. Mr. Dana tried 

 to feed them soft olams, crushed very fine, but they would 

 not take them. 4 607,760 flatfish were developed at the 

 station during the season. 



The Delaware River shad hatching station to which we 

 referred April 3, was ready for work May 10, and received 

 the first eggs May 12, 2,950,000 were obtained from Capt. 

 Piatt, and 553,000 came from Rice's fishery, Howell's Cove. 

 The season promises to extend through the first week in June". 



At Lackawaxen dam many thousands of shad have been 

 caught. An average catch of 300 nightly is being made at 

 Milford, where the river does not exceed 400ft. in width. 

 At this place 50 fish were formerly counted a good catch. 

 Farmers have united in buying nets, to secure the unusual 

 luxury of a supply of shad. In size the fish are remarkably 

 large, 81bs. being not an uncommon weight. A reported 

 capture, about 35 miles above Philadelphia, of a shad weigh- 

 ing 13Mlbs. is vouched for by Mr. Henry C. Ford, President 

 of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. 



The present abundance of shad in the Delaware is eviden- 

 tly due to the planting of fry in the upper waters of the 

 river. 



From our latest advices the Fish Hawk and the new sta- 

 tion have already handled about 35,000,000 eggs. 



CONNECTICUT RIVER SHAD.— Game Warden A. C. - 

 Collins, of Hartford, made a raid Sunday, May 10, on the 

 shad pounds at the mouth ofjihe Connecticut River, in Long 

 Island Sound. The law prescribes that the leaders which 

 drive the fish into the pound, must be raised from 6 o'clock 

 Saturday night to 6 o'clock Monday morning, so that the 

 fish may have in that time an unobstructed passage up the 

 river. Mr. Collins found that several of the pound men had 

 raised false leaders, in the heart of the pounds, but kept 

 dowu the real leaders which forced the fish into the heart 

 It was a cunning scheme. Mr. Collins discovered enough 

 evidence to arrest six Saybrook fishermen; and they will be 

 put through a course of sprouts. 



