112 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 28, 1890. 



THE CLUBS OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS. 



THEEE is no sporting locality in the Western country 

 which has a wider reputation than the St. Clair 

 Flats, and the sporting clubs of that locality have long 

 been the name of everything denoting thoroughness, 

 wealth and luxury in sportsmen's organizations, It is 

 not every one, however, who has had the privilege of 

 visiting this land of ducks and small-mouthed bass, and 

 not every one knows definitely much about the forms of 

 the sport there or of the great clubs which have made 

 that their abiding place. The story of the St. Clair Flats 

 may therefore be of interest. It is believed that the 

 effort of Forest and Stream to secure complete infor- 

 mation for such a story is the first noticeable attempt of 

 the kind made by any sportsmen's paper. Before pro- 

 ceeding to the actual clubs of the Flats, it will be well 

 just to say a word or so about a couple of clubs which 

 belong on the same chain of waters, but which lie below 

 Detroit instead of above it. 



THE POINT STOUILLE OLTJB. 



This is a very exclusive and wealthy organization, 

 whose membership, confined to only about a dozen, cov- 

 ers several States in residence. Shares of stock in this 

 club are not obtainable. If one were sold bv a holder it 

 might bring $3,500 to $5,000. The shooting at this club 

 is perhaps the finest and pleasantest of which any know- 

 ledge can be obtained in this country, and it is peculiar 

 in its way. 



Point Mouille Club lies about 30 miles below Detroit, 

 on the American side of the Lake Erie shore. Here na- 

 ture has formed a narrow beach, and back of this beach, 

 on which the club buildings stand, lies the marsh, which 

 is one of the finest wild rice beds in the land. The ducks 

 work back and forward across the beach, between the 

 marsh and the lake, and the pintail decoys are sometimes 

 put out on the edge of the beach, it being one of the 

 tricks of the club for a member to see how many ducks 

 he can drop on the woodpile. The club has about three 

 miles of marsh,the latter being much cut up by deep creeks. 

 This peculiarity makes the sport of "jumping" mallards 

 out of the rice a very popular and easy one. It is not an 

 unusual thing for the dogs to point mallards in the thick 

 rice that runs up close to the beach. Geese and swans 

 frequent the marsh also. A boy lately caught two geese 

 in steel traps, and two swans were killed with a .22 rifle. 

 As to the size of the bags made, nobody knows just how 

 many ducks could be killed by a boat "in a day on Point 

 Mouille marsh, but bags of over 100 are not thought re- 

 markable at all. 



The boat used by this club is a type of itself, and is 

 known as the "Point Mouille boat." This is a sharp 

 double-ender, a three-piece boat decked over about 3ft. at 

 each end. It is made sometimes in iron. Its draft is 

 about as light as that of any duck boat made, and it is 

 intended solely for punting. 



The buildings of the club comprise a dining hall, a 

 "Rowdy Hall" and a number of cottages, besides boat 

 houses, etc. The keeper, Bill Jardine, himself a very 

 good marsh shooter, is raid $600 a year. Board is $3 per 

 day, and the pusher's fee is $1 per day. 



Mr. Wm, C. Colburn is president of the Point Mouille 

 Club. Mr. H. H. Warner, better known as "Kidney-Cure 

 Warner," is one of the members, among whom are also 

 Messrs. Harvey Brown, Sheffield and Barber, of Detroit. 

 Mr. Fay, one of the members, lives so far east as Boston, 

 and Mr. E. E. Flint, another member, lives in Chicago. 

 Mr. Flint is a member of many clubs, and he goes where 

 he likes for his shooting; but he always says that no duck 

 shooting in the whole country surpasses that of Point 

 Mouille. 



THE ISLAND SHOOTING AND FISHING CLUB. 



Forest and Stream was cordially invited to visit the 

 quarters of this thriving young club, now only one 

 year old, but the possessor of franchises very enviable 

 indeed, since the grounds of the club lie only seven miles 

 below the foot of Woodward avenue. The journey down 

 was made one morning in the latter part of last May, in 

 the tight and speedy little steam yacht Ida M., owned by 

 Mr. Chas. H. Preston, the president of the club, the latter 

 himself presiding at the wheel. There were on board 

 that morning also Messrs. John Parker, Wm. Hunter, A. 

 F. Roehm and Edward King, members of the club; Mr. 

 Stenton, of the Peoria Gun Club; Mr. H. A. Penrose and 

 a friend from Corry, Pa. ; Mr. A. G. Courtney, of the Le- 

 fever Arms Co., and Mr. Rolla O, Heikes, of Dayton, O. 



The first stop was made at the head of Fighting Island, 

 a mile or two above the club grounds. Here is a beauti- 

 ful point of land, occupied by a cottage, a spread of fine 

 turf and a rare old orchard. Mr. Preston, in association 

 with Messrs. E. H. and W. H. Gilman and Howard 

 Barnes, all of Detroit, has secured a fifteen years' lease 

 of this upper part of the island and will put up a fine 

 summer resort provided with attractions to the public. 

 A more inviting spot in the summer could hardly be 

 found. There is marsh near at hand here, on which good 

 bags are often made. 



We now ran quickly down to the club house, passing in 

 sight of some fine points of marsh, where we were told 

 that heavy shooting is often had. The club house is 

 merely an old farmhouse, one story, rather picturesquely 

 located on the bank of one of the river channels. The 

 marsh lies back of this, covering some 1,500 acres or 

 more. The total territory of the club covers about 

 HX5 miles. The marsh, which is nicely traversed by 

 creeks and broken by good pond holes, is plainly visible 

 from the observing tower. There were some birds work- 

 ing on it as we looked. The ducks breed there to some 

 extent, chiefly mallards, woodducks and teal. The pres- 

 ent Island Club is the successor in leasehold of another 

 club, which forfeited its lease, and as was stated is only 

 a year old. Records of the marsh are therefore not yet 

 abundant; but four guns bagged 89 ducks in a half day, 

 and it is said that in one day two guns have killed 193 

 here. There is a heavv flight up and down the Detroit 

 River between Lake Erie and the Flats, and these side 

 marshes catch more or less of it. There were five bevies 

 of quail on the preserve last year, and it is thought that 

 these birds can be kept, as they are sharp enough to take 

 to the marsh when pressed too hard. 



The dues at the Island Club are $30 and a monthly as- 

 sessment which brings the total up to about $50. The 

 steward, Mr. Roehm, familiarly known as "Pa," does the 

 providing for the club and levies such assessments as are 

 necessary therefor. The keeper, Keyser, has as perquis- 



ites all the fur and fish he can take in and around the 

 marsh, and his wife is paid $10 per month. The mem- 

 bership of the Island Club is as follows: Chas. H. Pres- 

 ton, Pres.; Chas. Smith, Vice-Pres.; William Hunter, 

 Sec'y; Wm. H. Gilman, Treas.; also Messrs. John Parker, 

 A F. Roehm, Edward King and Howard Barnes. Mr. 

 Henry Bromly and Wm. Milner are members formerly in 

 the old club also. 



There is no bass fishing of consequence about the island 

 itself, but there is good fishing for lake fishes. The party 

 of our visit fell to catching perch and rock bass, and out 

 of this grew a rivalry, which terminated that in a wager 

 Messrs. Parker and Penrose could catch more fish 

 than Rolla Heikes and the writer. The latter team was 

 fortunate enough to strike a "hole" of rock bass and 

 using two hooks to the line was snaking out the fish in 

 great style until discovered by their rivals, whose faces 

 fell when they learned how the count stood. An idea, 

 however, seized them and hoisting sail they at once sped 

 away to a point where John Parker, himself the game 

 warden for Wayne county, knew there were some nets 

 set, on the Canadian side. By dint of stealthy raising 

 three or four of these they secured a fair miscellaneous 

 lot of fish, including dogfish and sunfish, and this they 

 endeavored to count in upon the returns. Objection to 

 this was promptly filed on the ground that many of the 

 fish did not show shot marks, and the challenge, after 

 much argument and final admissions on the part of the 

 guilty parties, was duly sustained by the referee, Mr. 

 Andrew Gackson Courtney, the same a fisher of great 

 accomplishments as proved that day. Thus felony was 

 detected and punished and became a byword among the 

 people. Mr. Parker and Mr. Penrose may be good fishers 

 with nets, but when it comes to fishing with hook and 

 line they are not in the competition at all. 



We passed a very delightful day here on the island, and 

 could well see how all there might be delightful. The 

 voyage home, between the beautiful green shores of the 

 beautifully blue Detroit River, was pleasant also. The 

 Canada side of the river is especially charming, occupied 

 as it is by drives, lawns and residences. Near the Fort 

 we stopped, and here the writer made an acquisition, in 

 the shape of a handbill announcing a shooting match, 

 which is too good to withhold from shooting men in 

 general. The inventor of this bill is a Frenchman, and 

 his English is worthy of Mr. Robinson's Antoine Bissette. 

 The announcement was as follows: 



"Shooting match at Thomas Gignac's Hotel Petite 

 Cote Friday May 30 th., 75 pigons blue rock glas balls as 

 many, a,3 wanted. To begand at 1 P. M. Come one come 

 all Thomes Gigans Prip." 



Soon after the island trip, preparations were made to 

 go up among the club houses of the St. Clair Flats proper, 

 about a week being devoted to that work. At the time 

 it was announced tha.t Mr. John Parker, warden for 

 Wayne county, with Mr. Frank Wherry, acting as as- 

 sistant State warden, were going up to look after some 

 violations of the fish laws, complained of by some of the 

 larger clubs. The writer, being invited to join them in 

 this trip, did so with pleasure, since it afforded the best 

 possible method of learning thoroughly the peculiarities 

 of the country. We set sail of a Wednesday morning in 

 the cabin boat owned by Mr. Gilmau, which is much 

 used by the Detroit boys on their shooting trips. This 

 boat is called "No. 11," and she is a study in naval archi- 

 tecture. She is a flat-bottomed centerboard craft, with 

 two masts, about twice as broad as she is long. The 

 cabin, however, is very large and roomy and provided 

 with every convenience for cooking, eating and sleeping. 

 There is a good cook stove, a handv folding table along 

 the centerboard well, plenty of lockers under deck, and 

 a. place where a false bottom is laid for the beds at night. 

 Under the deck forward is a vast cavity, where are 

 stowed the bedding, guns, valises, etc. The boat bore 

 evidences of having been occupied by shooters who knew 

 how to live and yet kept things neat and shipshape. A 

 better abode for three men bound on such errands as ours 

 could not be devised. 



The Detroit River is a very swift stream, and as we met 

 a hard head wind the first day, we were able to get up 

 only as far as Belle Isle Park by evening of the first day. 

 Numbers of the craft out on the river were tacking up 

 stream, but No. 11 wasn't built that way, and we couldn't 

 ^et up the hill, no matter which end of the boat we sailed 

 arst. A steamer just pulling out for Walker ville offered 

 us a tow up, and we cast them a line, and went flying. 

 In this way we came upon the point of sustaining what 

 would have been at best a very serious accident, and 

 learned that the simple operation of being towed, even in 

 so large and steady a craft as ours, may in reality be a 

 very dangerous one. Our boat when under tow ran very 

 high forward, and we shipped a great amount of water 

 astern, through the rudder hole. Wherry and myself, 

 acting under the orders of Parker, who was in command 

 of the vessel, went forward by the foremast to try to keep 

 her nose down all we could. We were going a good gait, 

 when Parker also came forward. His weight was enough 

 to overcome the balance of the loose water ballast 

 we were carrying. This rushed forward under 

 decks, and the No. 11 began to go down by 

 the head about as fast as any vessel ever did. 

 The water surged up over the bows, wet us to the knees 

 as we stood on deck, and even swashed across the top of 

 the cabin. Parker called out for us to jump astern, and 

 at the same instant the engineer of the steamer saw our 

 plight and at once reversed his engines. Otherwise we 

 should certainly have gone to the bottom; as it was, the 

 tons of water that went over us were mostly turned from 

 the cockpit by the build of the deck, and we slowly came 

 up again, not much the worse for it except in the wetting 

 of our cargo, and for a scare which never reached its 

 height till two or three days later, when we got to figur- 

 ing about it. 



We were now fain to cast anchor off Belle Isle, but the 

 park policemen, not liking the looks of our piratical craft, 

 ordered us away. Laboriously we worked across the 

 river, pulled through the bridge, and after finishing the 

 pumping out of our vessel, closed the first day of our voy- 

 age toward the Flats within the city limits of Detroit, 

 with a good supper on board and a damp bed after that; 

 for our bedding had been well soaked during our towing 

 escapade. - E. Hough. 



Forest and Stream, Box 2,833, N. Y. city, has desertptive illus- 

 trated circulars of W. B. Leffiug We lTs book, "Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing," which will he mailed iVae on request. The book is pro- 

 aounced by "Nanit," "Gloan," ^Dick Swiveller " "Sybillene" and 

 other competent authorities to be the best treatise on the subject 



SHENANDOAH BASS GIGGING. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, Aug. 20.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: I have just returned from Stra-burg, 

 Shenandoah county, Va. Clever people up there— hut 

 clever to everything except fish. The aborigines of that 

 section, for some reason known only to themselves and 

 divine Providence, have a deadly enmity to that great 

 fish, the black bass. The Fish Commission are rather 

 disgusted with the slaughter of the bass that they have 

 been trying to cultivate in the Shenandoah River and 

 branohes, and have concluded that if the slaughter is 

 permitted by the State they will allow the river fr> go 

 without the noble fish, and let the pot-hunters dirty their 

 own nests and then seek other fields for murderous fame. 

 They hunt fish up there with a long gig, as it is called, a 

 pole from 12 to 15ft. in length, with 6 or 8 sharp prongs 

 on end. They hunt at night and more especially in win- 

 ter season, when the fish "are more or less torpid. 



These pot-hunters take their boats by night and fasten 

 on a basket of pine knots at the stern or middle of the 

 craft, and as they shove about the stream they see the 

 unsuspecting fish, which are gigged without mercy as 

 they lie at rest. 



Now every sportsman must admit that this is all 

 wrong and that this game fish should be protected as 

 much as any other game. It is said that laws for the 

 protection of fish would have been pissed but for the 

 opposition of the counties of Clark. Warren and Rock- 

 ingham. Understand that these counties have agreed 

 that whatever is found in the fields or the woods or the 

 rivers is indictable for food. The natural inference is 

 that if any poor little human being, whether in the form 

 of a hunter or otherwise, cnuld or should be caught in 

 the fields or rivers or woods of any of these three counties 

 he could be legitimately cannibalized. 



It certainly will seem strange t > the sportsmen of the 

 country to realize the fact that Virginia gentlemen and 

 sportsmen will countenance and permit this murderous 

 slaughter of one of the gamiest fish that swims our 

 waters, and that for the paltry gain of pot-hunters. 



Well, they still have one satisfaction, and that is that 

 the waters will soon be depleted and that no sportsman 

 will spend a dollar where this murder is carried on. 



It is the old fable of killing the goose that laid the 

 golden egg, No more eggs, no more fish. Alio. 



Voracity op the Wall-Eyed Pike.— One of the 

 statements made in these columns by "Stehman," June 

 26, concerning a singular capture of a Susquehanna "sal- 

 mon," otherwise known by the name of wall-eyed pike, 

 pike-perch, etc., etc., was evidently looked upon by some 

 of our contemporaries as a pleasing fahle instead of a 

 sober fact. Dr DeKiy, in his "Natural History of New 

 York," Part IV., published in 1842, has the following to 

 say about the species: "This is the common pike, pick- 

 erel, pickering, glass-eye and yellow pike of the Great 

 Lakes, and of most of the streams and inland lakes in the 

 western part of the State. . . . The pike-perch is ex- 

 ceedingly voracious, and is highly prized as food. It is 

 caught readily with the hook, and appears to prefer as 

 bait the common fresh-water crayfish (Astacus bartoni). 

 The best time for fishing is in the dusk of the evening 

 with a great length of line out, and keeping it gently in 

 motion. The foot of rapids, or beneath mill dams, ap- 

 pears to be its favorite haunts. Tn the heat of summer 

 it seeks the deepest parts of lakes, or in streams in the 

 coolest parts concealed under weeds or grass. , . In 

 Chautauqua Lake I was informed of one which was SOin. 

 long. It had swallowed a duck, which had thrust its 

 head through the gill openings of the fish, and having 

 thus destroyed it, both were found dead on the shore." 



Spanish Mackerel.— On Monday, Aug. 18, upward of 

 9,000 Spanish mackerel, some of them weighing over 

 81 bs., were caught at Virginia Beach, Virginia. A por- 

 tion of these were sont to markets in Washington, D. C, 

 and sold for 20 cents per pound. These are frequently 

 called bay mackerel by the fishermen. We have not 

 heard whether the anglers have paid any attention to the 

 Spanish mackerel in Virginia; but if not they have missed 

 one of the finest game fishes of the coast. It can readily 

 be taken by trolling in the way pursued for bluefish, and 

 will handsomely repay, by its game qualities and excel- 

 lent flavor, any efforts bestowed upon its capture. Be- 

 sides, it is one of the most beautiful fishes of the East 

 Coast, and commands a high price in New York and 

 other Northern cities. 



Mtjscalong-e in Indian River,— Lockport, N. Y., Aug. 

 20.— Mr. G. Pitt Evans, of Theresa, Jefferson county, N. 

 Y., writes: "Dan Tyler went down after 6 o'clock one 

 evening and caught one back of the island; it weighed 

 391bs. 12oz. Not many muscalonge have been taken yet 

 this season, but many pickerel and some very fine black 

 bass." Although Indian River is a small stream com- 

 pared with the St. Lawrence, 11 miles distant, I will ven- 

 ture to say that there are more muscalonge taken from 

 it in the same number of miles in length. I was at 

 Theresa in August, 1885, when the water was too high 

 for good fishing, but in September there were a number 

 caught, weighing from 30 to 371bs. each.— J. L. Davison. 



Mr. Henry Geck, representing Yawman & Erbe, of 

 Rochester, is now in the city for a stay of a month or 

 more, introducing some of the firm's specialties. One of 

 the special articles manufactured by this well-known 

 concern, is the equally well-known automatic reel. 

 Various improvements have been made in its construc- 

 tion, until now it is as near complete as human skill can 

 make it. Mr. Geck reports an exceedingly good trade 

 during the present season, the firm being away behind 

 their orders. An additional stock will be made ready for 

 next year so that all orders can be filled as received. 



Pasque Island and Newport.— Mr. E. Vom Hofe, of 

 95 Fulton street, has reports that the striped bass fishing 

 at Pasque Island has been very good. Mr. John E. Stet- 

 linius landed one weighing 46lbs. The heaviest so far 

 taken was one of 491b?., and the average of some fifty 

 fish being 161bs. and over. Mr. John G. Hecksher, Jr., 

 at Newport, R. L, took two bass, one weighing 501bs. and 

 the other 571bs. They are now mounted and on exhibi- 

 tion at Mr. Vom Hofe's store. 



