72 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 14, 1890, 



Stream, which has recently taken very wide ground, 

 certainly, on the landowner's rights, will agree that the 

 police power of Wisconsin can watch over the fingerling 

 on a club preserve. But this is not apropos of anything. 

 The club in question will doubtless respect the law, and 

 so will the gentleman in question. 



Speaking of trout some more: I think I can direct a 

 belated angler to some really good trout water, though I 

 have not had time to try it. Go to Houghton, on the 

 North Peninsula (via M. & N. Ry.), and there charter a 

 tug and go twenty-five miles on Lake Superior to the 

 mouth of Elm Eiver, taking boat and camp outfit and 

 setting a date for the tug to call. Elm River is a nice 

 little stream which seems to have got lost in the shuffle, 

 and the Houghton anglers will probably not thank this 

 paper for giving the thing away. Only two or three par- 

 ties have been in, so far as anybody knows, and in one 

 day they took over 400 trout, many very good ones. The 

 brook trout of over a hand's length is elusive, reminding 

 one much of the poet's ''snowfall on the river," but I 

 presume that one could really catch some good fish in 

 there if he didn't wait till the stream was cleaned. A 

 new stream don't last long, and, in spite of all you hear, 

 there are not many new streams. Perhaps this one is not 

 very new, but it has been left alone lately. Messrs. Joe 

 Croze, Henness & Co. and C. D. Sheldon are all tug men 

 of Houghton, Mich. The last named is an angler and he 

 knows about the Elm. A party of "three or four might 

 do well to write him, perhaps. 



Mr. Hirtb, of this city, has been writing to his friend 

 Mr. C. A. Baker, of Minneapolis, asking for information 

 about good bass waters. Mr. Baker replies that Minne- 

 tonka was good in June, but is very poor now, the fish 

 having scattered for deep water. Mr. Baker thinks the 

 lakes above Alexandria, Minn., would be good now, Mil- 

 tona Lake, 15 miles north of Alexandria, preferred. He 

 also says that the lakes in Chicago county , near Lindstrom 

 and Centre City, are reported very good. 



Aug. 7.— Two new experiments, or novelties in angling 

 material, have fallen within my experience this summer, 

 though neither is original with me. The first is the 

 abalone spoon, a few samples of which I got of Henry 

 Skinner, at E. T. Allen's place in San Erancisco, last 

 winter. I believe I have mentioned before that this spoon 

 is not the common "mother-of-pearl spoon" sometimes 

 seen in Eastern shop- windows, but is cut from the natural 

 concave of the great abalone shell. The spoon is barely 

 over an inch in length, and oblong, but wide for its length. 

 It is very peculiar in the water, and is bright, though the 

 specimen I have don't revolve very much. They told me 

 that it wasn't meant to revolve. I never used one of these 

 little spoons but once, and T caught a bass very quickly, 

 but I had a frog on the other end of the spoon. Charlie 

 Porter tried one on Loon Lake the other day, and says he 

 had three strikes when the rest could not get a rise. I 

 don't know but this "spoon" might be a good thing to use 

 as a sort of attraction, above the frog, which latter should 

 be used on a single large hook. The corruscations of the 

 pearl surfaces can be seen a long way, and might be use- 

 ful on the reel-up after a cast. The idea needs more try- 

 ing. This spoon is said to be the best possible one to use 

 on the Coast, for salmon or the big lake trout. 



The other idea in question came through Mr. Chas. 

 Levings, chief engineer of the C. & A., who happened in 

 the other day. 



"Did you ever use a guitar string for bait?" asked he. 

 I confessed I never had. 



"Well, I was out on the Government Pier the other 

 day," said he, "watching the people fishing for perch. It 

 was slack fishing, and only one fellow.near me was hav- 

 ing any luck. 'What bait are you using?' I asked of 

 him. 'Haintgotno bait!' he replied, and slammed his 

 hook in again. I watched him, and after a while found 

 that he was catching his perch on a piece of soaked cat- 

 gut guitar string. He said that was a bait which would 

 ca tch crappies and rock bass when nothing else Avould. 

 The catgut becomes soft and white after a good soaking, 

 and frays out into little streamers, though it is so tough 

 that nothing can tear it off. This fellow had it just 

 looped up on his hook, like a worm. It seemed to work." 



This was something new to me. I tried, it on my late 

 trout fishing trip, and caught some trout on my catgut 

 "worm," too. I do not think a sluggish trout will long 

 retain it in his mouth, but in swift water and with eager 

 trout I believe it would be a killer and an invaluable 

 thing in the wormless pine woods. I should think it 

 better than the red rubber things sold as "artificial 

 worms," but trout will not swallow it quite as readily as 

 the plain red worm of commerce. For some small fishes, 

 and for trout under certain conditions, I have a notion 

 that there is something in this scheme of our unknown 

 friend on the lake pier whom Mr. Levings discovered 

 plying his nefarious art. E. Hough. 



Rhode Island Striped Bass.— Sachuest Neck, R. L, 

 Aug. 5.— Since my last notes to you on striped bass fish- 

 ing around Newport, there have been so many taken 

 that I have not been able to get accurate reports, but can 

 say that fish have been taken of 33, 39, 43, 47 and 591bs., 

 that I have seen. Of Sachuest I can give a more definite 

 account. Since July 12, 123 fish have been taken up to 

 date at one stand by two rods, a large number of them 

 weighing between 10 and 16lbs.: largest fish weighing 

 39ilbs., next 321bs. The next eight largest fish were 28, 

 27|, 24, 21*, 20, 18, 17* and 161bs. One pair was caught 

 of i71bs., largest fish weighing 121bs., smallest 5. Re- 

 ports from all points show that bass have not been known 

 so plenty for years; and in fact one of West Island's 

 oldest boatmen says that they were never so plenty as at 

 present. — W. M. Hughes. 



The Upper Magalloway River, Maine.— Trout fishing 

 just at the present time is a little dull, although several 

 catches we have seen the past week were of fair size. One 

 can easily get all he wants to use, and, at this season, 

 that is considered enough. Deer are unusually plenty all 

 through this region; in some places they have well-worn 

 paths along the banks of the river, and it is almost an 

 every-day occurrrence to see two or more feeding on the 

 lily pads in the shallow water, A party camping at 

 Lower Metalluc Pond report good sport and plenty of fish. 

 Several parties are expected on the river on their annual 

 camping pilgrimage the middle of the month.— Sewes. 



Those who would catch fish must have a supply of proper bait. 

 Mr. A. H. Dirkes, whose advertisement appears in another col- 

 umn, is prepared to furnish all kinds of bait, including white 

 worms and shedder crabs, at all times,— Adv. 



Habits op Walx-Eyed Pike.— Albany, N. Y. — Editor 

 Forest and Stream: I was surprised to see in your 

 " Answers to Correspondents" the naming of Lake George 

 pickerel as wall-eyed pike, and as much pleased by the 

 article of Mr. Cheney in relation to Mr. Brown having 

 put some in those waters. More than likely in their 

 ramblinga for a place to spawn they have gone down 

 Ticonderoga Creek back to Lake Cham plain. These fish 

 run up the rivers before or as soon as the ice is out, and 

 after spawning lie off the river's mouth feeding on and 

 off the sand flats, as the spring rains bring down plenty 

 of worms and probably other matter which tiny feed on. 

 As soon as the water gets warm they sag off and work 

 along the shores in 10 to 30ft. of water, preferring cobbly 

 bottom; from here they go into very deep water, coming 

 on the reefs to feed, and when the wind blows very hard, 

 or for a day or so after a big blow, you will find them 

 right on top of a reef. I think the wind changes the 

 water over the reefs, making a new current and cooler 

 water, so they come up to feed. They are a bottom fish, 

 and to fish for them successfully one must go to the bot- 

 tom for them. They are nearly as particular as salmon 

 trout about the water they inhabit, and consequently 

 rank very high as a food fish, being white, solid and ex- 

 tremely free from bones. Mr. Cheney no doubt is 

 thoroughly familiar with the reefs in Lake George, and 

 should he wish I would gladly furnish him with the way 

 we find them in Champlain, and he can soon satisfy him- 

 self as to whether they are in Lake George or not. I am 

 not familiar enough with that body of water to know 

 whether there is plenty of food for them in it or not, but 

 from what little I have seen of it I should say no, and 

 think they would be tempted to go back to Lake Cham- 

 plain.— Dexter. ["Dexter" has doubtless read our cor- 

 rection of the error in regard to the pickerel. The pike 

 is the pickerel of Lake George. We have the impression, 

 however, that early writers on the fishes of New York 

 include the wall-eyed pike among the species of Lake 

 George, It is probable that "DeKay's Zoology of New 

 York gives the range of this fish as understood at the 

 time of his writing, now nearly a half century ago.] 



Non-hibernating Black Bass.— New London, Conn., 

 July 30. — Editor Forest and Stream: Noticing in your 

 Black Bass Number that you credited the small-mouth 

 black bass with going to sleep in the mud in the 

 winter, I would say that in the winter of 1888, while 

 fishing through the ice for pickerel, with minnows for 

 bait, I caught in one day five small-mouth black bass, 

 the largest weighing 5|lbs., and the smallest 21bs. and 

 loz. I was fishing in a sinail lake in the eastern part of 

 this State, that had been stocked some ten years 

 previously. The same winter a small-mouth weighing 

 Gibs, and 1 loz. was caught in the same water through 

 the ice while fishing for pickerel. The day I caught the 

 five was a cold, blustering one in January and not by 

 any means "a good fishing day." I must say that these 

 six bass are the only ones I have ever heard of being 

 caught through the ice in this State, but in clear water, 

 with more or less sandy or rocky bottom, it does not seem 

 improbable that "a big catch" might be made with suit- 

 able bait. Last winter, which was the most open winter 

 we have ever had in Connecticut, I fished for bass a num- 

 ber of times from a boat, in the same lake, using a 

 number of the best artificial baits and all the natural ones 

 procurable, but did not have even "a run" from a bass, 

 although I caught "slathers" of perch. I found a red- 

 ibis bass fly "particularly fetching" for the common 

 yellow porch, and the large ones afforded fine sport on a 

 light rod. Whether the five bass I caught that day in '88 

 were troubled with sleeplessness or whether they were 

 unable to find a bunk to hibernate in, is a question I have 

 never as yet answered. I would like to hear from 

 some of the other "fishers." — Ni&ntic. 



Fishes Driven Ashore by Bluepish.— Philadelphia, 

 Aug. 1. — Editor Forest and Stream: Noticing your edi- 

 torial upon the bluefish at Atlantic City, I think proper 

 to drop you a line on the subject. I happened to be on 

 the beach at Atlantic City at the time when the bluefish 

 drove the smaller fish into the surf and upon the beach; 

 the fish so driven were menhaden mostly, with a few 

 weakfish. I saw one young man with five weakfish of 

 about f to lib. each in weight. The driving in lasted 

 about four to five hours, and occurred on two days in 

 succession.— R. W. [We are glad to have this additional 

 information about the ravages of the bluefish on the New 

 Jersey coast. The newspapers published just after the 

 occurrence referred to stated that weakfish, or sea trout, 

 were the chief victims of the onslaught, and our author- 

 ity was very positive as to the fish seen by him. How- 

 ever, it is sufficiently established that bluefish drive every 

 other species of suitable size away from their usual haunts. 

 At this moment one may hear from bays all along the 

 coast as far north as Massachusetts the complaints of fish- 

 ermen that sea bass, scup, tautog, mackerel and the food 

 fishes generally are remarkably scarce, and they charge 

 this scarcity to the abundance of bluefish. Knowing the 

 strength and ferocity of this fish, we are disposed to be- 

 lieve that it has accomplished the mischief laid to its 

 charge.] 



Delaware, Pike Co., Pa., Aug. 7.— There is a lull in 

 the black bass fishing at all points near me, from Ding- 

 man's to Bushkill. Yesterday we found a rise of 4in. 

 and the water full of floating dirt and confervas; the tem- 

 perature of the water was unusually high, and live bait 

 fishing proved very unprofitable. A day or two ago a boy 

 named Campbell caught a few bass with small toads. 

 Pickerel frogs can be had easily, but are not much used. 

 Helgramites, at $2 a hundred, and stone catfish, $2.50, are 

 the successful baits. Few fish of more than 21bs. are being 

 taken now, although two weeks ago 4 and 5-pound ers 

 were common. Young shad are occasionally seen leaping 

 out of water in large numbers. — T. H. B. 



Fox Lake, III., Aug. 6.— Dr. R. J, Piper, City Physi- 

 cian of Chicago, and Frank Eiterman, spent Sunday at 

 Howard's, Fox Lake, and caught the largest number of 

 fish caught at the lake this season, securing 125 of the 

 finest collection of fish.— E. C. H. 



Weakfish and bluefish are biting well at Perth 

 Amboy, and crabs are large and nu ncious. Porgies, 

 though abundant, are very small, and bass are scarce as 

 yet. 



Maine Black Bass.— North Bridgton, Me., Aug. 9.— 

 Dr. Cheever, of Mattapan, Mass., and Mr. Chas Cobb, of 

 Newton, have been two persistent and successful anerlera 

 for black bass. They recently returned from a day's 

 fishing in stream and pond with six fish averaging a 

 little more than 2ilbs. each. They, together with Mr. 

 Chas. Drost, of Boston, enjoyed some excellent fly-trol- 

 ling in Long Lake the same week.— J. C. M. 



Havre de Grace Notes.— Bucknetters have been doing 

 well at this point. From 50 to 2001bs. of rockfish are 

 caught daily by each boat, but hook and line fishing has 

 been poor owing to the high muddy water. White perch 

 fishing has been unusually productive. This is especially 

 the case on the Kent county side of the river. Around 

 St. Jerome's Island fish are very plentiful. — D. W. K. 



Lake Champlain Bass.— St. Albans Bay, Vt., Aug. 11. 

 — The bass fishing is better now and for the past four 

 weeks than at any time during the past two years. At- 

 tributed to the low water in the Great Back Bay of Lake 

 Champlain. Average depth about 40ft., but low upon 

 reefs and bars. Catches large and very large in size, 

 some catches averaging 3Jlbs. each,— Samson. 



Bluefishing on the Great South Bay, Long Island, 

 has again been most excellent. The average catch last 

 week was from fifty to sixty to a boat, and one boat made 

 a day's high hook record of 300. 



TROUT CULTURE DELUSION. 



ClOLUMBTJS, O., Aug. 2.— Editor Forest and Stream: I 

 ' notice in your issue of July 31 the fulmination of Win. 

 N. Byers, of Colorado. Your readers may some of them re- 

 call a communication published by you, from him, in your 

 issue of June 19, in which he endeavored to reply to an 

 article by me in your issue of May 29. To this I replied in 

 your issue of July 10, and I suppose Mr. Byers considers his 

 last fulmination a reply to it. I have to simply request that 

 those readers of Forest and Stream who feel interested in 

 the subject look over fcthe articles of both Mr. Byers and 

 myself, and see if they can find a solitary point made by 

 him in support of the alleged efficacy of artificial trout cul- 

 ture. I have in these communications made several state- 

 ments, based upon long, careful, systematic experience as a 

 practical fisheulturist. Has Mr. Byers in the remotest 

 manner refuted any of these statements ? Certainly not, 

 nor can he. Indeed, he has not attempted to do so, but has 

 simply resorted to blackguRrdism, and of the most rank, per- 

 sonal form. This kind of dust-throwing will deceive no 

 intelligent reader of Forest and Stream. It is the last 

 argument of an ignoramus when driven to the wall. He in- 

 variably resorts to personalities, and, as in this case, to 

 petty falsification in both his communications. In his last 

 he says that I stated that "I had never raispd a trout." 

 Those who will read my last previous article will find 

 that I said I had never raised a trout for market. This kind 

 of falsification will not help Mr. Byers out of his corner, 

 neither will his blackguard tactics. He has expressed his 

 ability and willingness to point out a large number of 

 streams (fifty or a hundred were the figures volunteered by 

 him), and I very reasonably requested him to name them, as 

 he had volunteered to do; but he utterly fails to do so." Is it 

 not fair to presume that he was not stating the truth when 

 he made the proposition? He also stated that there are a 

 number of people in the vicinity of Denver engaged in arti- 

 ficial trout culture. I requested that he publish a list of 

 their names, because I knew that numerous readers of 

 Forest and Stream would be glad to correspond with them 

 and make investigations. I for one would certainly wish to 

 do so. I have been making these investigations for over 

 twenty years, and for some fifteen years have been receiving 

 information direct from trout culturists themselves that 

 the business was at best a delusion. I must have some 600 

 communications from those that have tried it, and not one 

 solitary case of success has been reported, beyond the hatch- 

 ing and sale of young fry. Those purchasing the latter 

 have invariably lost the time and money expended in the 

 venture. I have published these facts several times, and I 

 believe on more than one occasion in Forest and Stream. 

 Others have also published the same facts substantially; but 

 very few persons are willing to publish their own failures, 

 even when misled by others. The correct principle would 

 be to do this for the benefit of others. 



In his anxiety to be offensibly personal, Mr. Byers refers 

 to the fish ponds several years ago owned by me at Wenonah, 

 N. J. I well know the source from which he draws inspir- 

 ation in that region of the country, and the reasons which 

 have caused antagonism in that particular quarter for 

 many years past; and were all th« facts in connection with 

 that antagonism to be published it would materially in- 

 crease the circle of my fishcultural friends, and prove to 

 the public that the ever-ready efforts of said party to seize 

 upon every straw which they think might annoy me, does 

 not have as much effect in that direction as would the oper- 

 ations of a healthy Jersey mosquito during the space of 

 fifteen minutes. I am glad of the opportunity to refer to 

 the fishcultural operations in connection with those ponds. 

 At no other private ponds in this country has there ever 

 been so much careful, systematic experimental work con- 

 ducted as that personally performed by me at that place for 

 at least ten years and until I acquired far more area of 

 water than I was pecuniarily able to own and availed myself 

 of numerous offers for the joint use of other waters and fish- 

 cultural establishments fitted up by me. And in this con- 

 nection I will state for the information of Mr. Byers, who 

 seems to be anxious to know something of my fishcultural 

 experience, that I have fitted up (including remodeling) 

 more fishcultural establishments than any ten men in this 

 country. Large numbers of readers of Forest and Stream 

 are perfectly familiar with these facts and need not be told 

 of them. In this connection some side notes may be of gen- 

 eral interest to readers, who will be glad to have Mr. Wm. 

 N. Byers dropped out. 



In these many years expose of the trout cultural delusion, 

 numerous comical developments have cropped out. One of 

 them I can appropriately refer to here. Among the numer- 

 ous publishers for whom I have furnished fishcultural 

 matter during the past fifteen or more years, is one of the 

 largest houses in the country, and which issues three papers 

 of enormous cumulation, and in which they maintain depart- 

 ments for the answer of questions of general interest tj 

 various classes of their regular readers. Thus, they have a 

 law department in charge of a competent lawyer, a veterin- 

 ary department in charge of a veterinary surgeon, etc. Some 

 twelve or fifteen years ago, they engaged me to reply to all 

 inquiries in regard to fishculture and to furnish matter 

 generally upon the subject. Some seven or eight years ago, 

 in reply to some letters of inquiry concerning trout culture, 

 I wrote an article in the same vein as that published in 

 Forest and Stream of May 29, and it was published accord- 

 ingly. The next week I was surprised to see in the same 

 paper a communication, of * decidedly personal nature> 



