330 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 14, 1891. 



The full texts of the game nsli laws of all the States, 

 Territories and British Provinces are given in the Book of 

 the Game Laws. 



THE MASTIGOUCHE WATERS. 



MONTREAL, May o.— Editor Forest and Stream: The 

 Mastigouche Fish and Game Clnb of this city at 

 their annual meeting elected Henrr W. Atwater, Presi- 

 dent: E. H, Botterell, Vice-Pres': W. T. Costigan, 

 Treasurer; Albert D. Nelson, Secretary: and Messrs. I. H. 

 Stearns, George A. Greene, Wm. S. Paterson, James 

 Slessor, and Benj. Tooke, Directors. The annual report 

 showed the club to be in a prosperoiis condition, with a 

 substantial balance in the bank, and no indebtedness. 

 Several new members from the United States were ad- 

 mitted dm-ing the year, and the club house was patronized 

 to a much larger extent than during any previous season. 

 The club has been incorporated, under a charter from the 

 Provincial Government of Quebec, slightly altering the 

 name from ''Pishing Club" to "Fish and Game Club." 



A reference to the record, furnished annually to the 

 Government of Quebec, of the number and weight of 

 ti-out caught in tlie 3Iastigouohe waters, as required by 

 the lease, shows that the average weight of all the trout 

 caught during the past five years, is slightly over one- 

 third of a pound each. The fishing is fully as good to-day 

 as when the club first obtained the property. The numer- 

 ous lakes and streams running into, and connecting with 

 each other, covering an area of froui 25 to 50 miles square, 

 forms such a vast breeding ground, that it will be im- 

 possible with ordinary legitimate fishing, to exhaust or 

 appreciably diminish the supply of trout. 



In speaking as I often do of our club waters and the fine 

 fishing to be had in them. I find that the impression 

 prevails to a considerable extent, that no one can enjoy 

 the privilege of fishing in these waters without being a 

 member of the club. I wish therefore to state that this 

 is not the case. AU the lakes and streams in the Masti- 

 gouche territory, with the exception of a very small por- 

 tion reserved for the club members, and which is situated 

 some three miles from the Mastigouche House, are open 

 to the public, and any one can go there and fish, just as 

 they can to Paul Smith's or any other resort. The 

 number of sportsmen from the United States, who visit 

 these waters, is increasing annually, as the place becomes 

 better known, and some of them who know a good thing 

 when they find one, now come from eight hundred to a 

 theusand miles regularly twice a year to enjoy the sport. 



I might say that any brother angler from your side of 

 the line will be made heartily welcome and no question 

 regai'ding the "Modus Vivendi" need trouble him, as that 

 is a fishy subject that is totally ignored in our territorv. 



Salve Lmus, 



FISHING IN SULLIVAN COUNTY, N. Y. 



WE had planned to go to Canada, Hem-y and I, but 

 our plans did not materialize, so we decided to 

 go to Bradley's at Ekh-ed. Many of the readers of For- 

 est AJy^D Stream probably know the house. The nearest 

 station to Eldred is Shohola, six miles distant. An ex- 

 cursion train leaves every Wednesday during the summer 

 from the Erie depot at Jersey City direct for Shohola 

 Glen. 



On July 10, before 9 o'clock, I was seated in the north- 

 ern train. I had the luck to find myself in a seat with a 

 gentleman who had seen a good deal of shooting and fish- 

 ing in the West. His stories of salmon fishing, bear 

 shooting, etc., made the time fly as fast as one could wish, 

 and I was sorry when we had to part as the train stopped 

 at Shohola. 1 soon found Mr. Bradley and everything 

 was ready after the rods had gone to the bottom 'of the 

 wagon. We crossed the Delaware River soon after leav- 

 ing the station, and then were in the Empire State and 

 in the wilds of Sullivan county. The bass fishing is not 

 very good at this point, though occasionally some are 

 caught. The road was picturesque, and we passed several 

 very pretty brooks before we reached the post ofiice at 

 Eldred. The tackle I had ordered was already awaiting 

 me, and if the fish were only doing the same all would 

 go well. I was introduced to Mr. N". w^hen we reached 

 the house, and he kindly offered to take me up Beaver 

 jBrook the next day. He has fished Beaver a great deal 

 and knows it thoroughly. We were to have an early 

 breakfast so as to get off; in good time. The thoughts of 

 fishing awakened me at an early hour. 



I went down to breakfast and found Mr. N, ready. 

 Breakfast never takes much time when you are going 

 fishing, and we were oft" before the other boarders came 

 down. Mr. N., though he now has a good many gray 

 hairs, is as active as ever and makes many a young man 

 shake himself to keep up with him. 



After thirty minutes we reached the stream, which was 

 quite different from the New Hampshire streams. The 

 trees grew close to the water's edge and one had to keep the 

 Up of the rod very near the water to avoid entanglement 

 with the branches. As there is no room for casting and 

 as there are long, deep runs, the line is put out by draw- 

 ing off a foot or two from the reel, and then suddenly 

 raising the rod, thus causing it to go through the guides. 

 We found lots of fine places, but most of the trout had 

 already been taken. We fished some distance before we 

 had the least sign that trout were in the stream, when I 

 landed a small one. As the stream was wide we fished 

 side by side. The trout evidently were not plentiful, 

 though we took a few when we got further down stream. 

 1 threw into a promising pool, the branches allowing it, 

 and nothing followed. I repeated the cast, when it was 

 taken after the hook had sunk below the surface. I 

 fastened the fish, and found to my disgust on landing 

 him that J had caught a pickerel, which got into the 

 stream from a pond several miles above. We fished the 

 best places with great care, but got small return for the 

 trouble. Out of one deep pool near the roots of a tree 

 where a plank had floated we each took two nice trout. 

 The trout showed very little spirit and took the hook on 

 most occasions more like a catfish than a member of the 

 salmon family. We several times caught one by taking 

 plenty of time at a promising place, leaving the fine some 

 time in the water. Of the few we took I only remember 

 one of these coming to the hook in shape. He came full 

 length out of the water when he took the bait. We 

 lunched xxnder acme of the trees and rested near one of 

 the pools where we had lost a good one. 



As Mr. N. believes strongly in the qualities of the 

 sneck-bend hook he induced me to try one, as I had been 

 unfortunate in losing several fish. He keeps his hooks 

 in a tin box, each being wi-apped separately in a small 

 piece of paper, the number of each hook being placed on 

 the wrapper. Though I lost no more I am not convinced 

 of the superiority of the sneck over the sproat.' 



The baskets were not very heavy when we stopped 

 fishing, Mr. N. having ten to my eight. The stream does 

 better for the angler early in the season, and it is not 

 worth while to fish it later. I decided to try Washing- 

 ton Lake and leave the few trout in Beaver Brook to the 

 tender mercies of those who wished to fish for them. 

 Washington Lake is about three-fourths of a mile from 

 the house, accessible by a nice shady walk through the 

 woods. The way the fishermen at our house secured 

 their minnows, catching them in the lake, was one of 

 the best cheaj) methods I have seen. They use a con- 

 trivance consisting of a rectangular block of wood with 

 four auger holes through it. Into these are put four 

 sticks, whose ends are attached to the corner of a mos- 

 quito netting. The square-sided block is of ash or oak 

 and is Sin, long and 2^in. in thickness. Auger holes that 

 you can put your index finger in are bored through the 

 block at such an angle that when the sticks, which are cut 

 from the woods, are put in, they will be in such a position 

 that the ends of the poles wUl form a square if connected 

 by straight lines. To these ends was fastened a net 

 containing four square yards. A pole is fastened to the 

 top of the block and the net bent down into an opening 

 between the pickerel weeds. By baiting with bread, 

 potato, cracked corn, etc., we took on the most success- 

 ful occasion enough m two draws to fill a large pail. 



The third morning, as the bass had not been taking the 

 minnow and as there was a nice ripj)le for trolling, I put 

 on a double-twisted leader and a light Hill spoon. This 

 is a very nice spoon for rod trolling, being a good spinner 

 and having strong hooks, and generally takes bass. But 

 this morning, as I had no strike the first time around the 

 lake with a looz. split bamboo rod between my legs and 

 60ft, out, I changed a hammered Spalding spoon of lai-ger 

 size for the Hill. As most anglers do, I use a hook 

 swivel; so this can be done easily. The left side of the 

 lake is the best, in my opinion, and when I had got half 

 way up I was opposite a long stretch of lily pads. I had 

 a splendid strike and almost immediately a fine bass 

 came into the air 80ft. from the boat. He made two 

 splendid leaps before he was landed, and was evidently 

 feeling very lively, as he gave me all I wanted to do to 

 get him in. He weighed on an English spring balance a 

 little less than 41bs. two hours after being taken, and 

 proved to be the best bass taken out of the water this sea- 

 son. 



We had poor success in Washington Lake the rest of 

 the week, taking perch and a few pickerel, but no bass. 

 So Dr. E. and I decided to go over to Sand Pond. We 

 secured a good variety of bait, such as minnows, craw- 

 fish, frogs, grasshoppers, beetles, bugs, etc. We were 

 anxious to get bass, and as Sand Pond by report was the 

 best bass grounds within five miles, we went there. 



The pond has a sandy bottom, as the name implies, and 

 iu many places rocky. This can be plainly seen through 

 the clear water. Some trout were put in this lake, but 

 of course were never heard of more, as the bass and pickerel 

 would not or could not tell what had become of them. 



We anchored in Oft. of water, and caught several bass, 

 but as they ran small we thought best to move. Before 

 starting I put on a Hill double No. 1|, and had a strike 

 as we passed over the flats. The pickerel, for the fish 

 proved to be such, came out of the water making a couple 

 of leaps like a bass. The pickerel of this lake are gamy 

 and of good flavor, due to the purity of the waterr He 

 doubled the rod, but did not succeed in getting any slack 

 by coming toward the boat, as he tried to do. After a 

 short time he was landed, and weighed on the spot Spbs. 

 We took several small bass trolling, but all under a pound. 

 Coming down I had another good strike. The fish, though 

 not leaping, showed himself at the surface, it took some 

 time to get him near the boat, and then he made several 

 sti-ong runs that made it necessary to let him go on. I 

 lifted him in with my hand, as we had no net; he weighed 

 exactly Slbs. These two were as gamy pickerel as I have 

 taken. Sand and Long Ponds are the best in this section; 

 the latter we visited only twice, as it is eight miles 

 away. ° W5i. Tom. 



New Beunswick, N. J. 



THE CASTALIA STREAM.-II. 



THE "LOWER CLUB." 



IT was a blustering day in early April when Mr. C. W. 

 Sadler, of Sandusky, and the writer undertook to en- 

 gineer a vehicle over the ugly road which at that season 

 lay between that city and the grounds of the "Lower 

 Club." We will call it by that name, for so it is com- 

 monly distinguished, though the real name of the incor- 

 poration is the Castalia Sporting Club. There had been a 

 heavy snowstorm on the night before our visit and the 

 ill-timed covering of white lield its own fairly well with 

 the bottomless muck of the fields and roads. Only a part 

 of our way lay along the pike, for we were to go by way 

 of Venice, a hamlet situated on the bay, directly at the 

 mouth of the Castalia stream. This part of Ohio looks as 

 if it had been shot with a load of small towns, and they 

 are scattered all over, between Toledo and Cleveland, 

 with a fauly good pattern. None of the towns is bigger 

 than about 4x9, and they happen about every four miles, 

 thus affording great facilities for grief, groceries and gos- 

 sip. Venice goes over in the morning and asks Castalia 

 for a cup of sugar and enough butter for breakfast, and 

 if Castalia hasn't got it probably Huron has, or, at least, 

 Berlin Heights, or maybe Ceylon- and in the afternoon 

 Castalia may want to borrow a handsaw and a garden 

 rake of Venice. It all evens up, and leaves more room 

 foi lawns in front of the houses and more yellow paint 

 for the go-cart of each local village magnate. I would 

 like to be a burgomeister in one of these smaU cities. I 

 should like to be great and to know it. 



Mr. Sadler said we should take the Venice road, so that 

 we could follow up the stream from that point, and thus 

 see something of bow it lay upon the ground. At Venice, 

 about five miles from Sandusky, we crossed the stream, a 

 wide and pretty w^ater, just at the railway bridge which 

 spans it as it enters the bay. A few rods to the left of 

 the wagon bridge stands the Venice mill, and we paused 

 a moment to look at the white water washing through 

 the sluitje and broadening out into a miagnificent pooL ' 



"This pool is really open water," said Mr. Sadler, "and 

 the club can not well protect it. There have been a 

 number of Slbs. trout taken out of here on worms. You 

 see, the trout drop down stream and get over this lower 

 dam. The club doesn't dare put in a fishway, for that 

 would let up pickerel, perch and all sorts of things. I 

 don't doubt that thousands of pounds of trout have come 

 down over this dam and gone out into the bay. The net 

 fishermen often find trout in their pounds, well out in 

 the bay, and they have been seen in the evenings jump- 

 ing all over this part of the bay. It is impossible to tell 

 what proportion of the escaped trout thrive in the 

 warmer lake water, but they certainly live there for a 

 while at least." 



We now tm-ned the corner of the mill and headed up 

 stream. To our left we saw some great pools or ponds in 

 a half marshy country. Before us we could seethe wind- 

 ing way of the natural stream, and away off to the left 

 my friend poiated out the course of the "old mill race," 

 which flows by the luina of the "old brick mill," long 

 since burned down. 



"This big water below here is called 'Dreer's Pond' or 

 'Dreer's'," said Mr. Saddler, "and here is unquestionably 

 the lurking grounds of the largest trout. Most of the 

 heavy baskets have been made along here this spring. 

 Mr. Fayette Brown made his fine catch here last week. 

 M. Julian Yale always gets some of his heaviest fish here. 

 J ust now the big fish are probably lying in this water, or 

 a great many of them. These pools are very deep, and 

 as you see hard to get at and quite too wide to fish 

 across. The trout can certainly protect themselves here." 



I had had no idea that there was such a volume 

 of water in the stream until I saw these lower reaches. 

 It is almost a young river. 



Before us now lay the Castalia Valley, not wide, not 

 long, apparently only an open farming land, pleasant 

 and pretty. The sharp pitch which gives the stream its 

 remarkable swiftness is impossible of discernment 

 through an open eye's glance over the landscape. The 

 httle valley seems quite flat. Houses, hedges, scattered 

 groves, a wood to the right, the bay at back and along at 

 the left this once mysterious, now imperious stream. A 

 wonderful pleasing, quiet nook of the world, and per- 

 haps hard to surpass in the totality of its charm. I have 

 never seen the Long Island streams, or indeed any of the 

 Eastern trout preserves, but I doubt if they are pleas- 

 anter than this rural, simple, quiet, dreamy little valley 

 by the bay. 



"The stream is full of trout," said Mr. Sadler, "and 

 they gi-cw very rapidly, because the conditions are simply 

 perfect. The feed in the stream is much superior to that 

 in the Caledonia stream of New York. This peculiar 

 moss is scattered along the stream from one end to 

 the other, and it is simply full of feed. If you 

 will take out a rakef ul you can see dozens and hundreds of 

 crawfish, fresh-water shi-imp, miller's thumbs, minnows 

 and the like. The entire stream is full of feed, and I do 

 not believe the like exists anywhere in the country. This 

 is not in the least artificial. Nature did it all, and just 

 made this stream a natural heaven for trout. The moss 

 not only feeds but protects the fish. They are lying down 

 in there, covered up out of sight, thousands and thousands 

 of them, 2 and 3-pounders. It is simply a sight to see the 

 spawning beds, further up the stream, in season. You 

 will see a perfect mass of large trout, such trout as you 

 wouldn't dream were in the stream. Then they disap- 

 pear, and where they go nobody knows, even in a stream 

 studied as thoroughly as this. The biggest trout are not 

 seen at all in the fishing season. They lie deep in the 

 moss, under the banks, or in these deep pools. All the 

 fish you will catch are broad, lusty fellows, and very 

 brilliant. Their shellfish diet gives"^ them their flaming 

 colors, I suppose.'" 



We were working slowly toward the club house as we 

 talked. Pulling laboriously along a terribly muddy cross 

 lane, we passed through a bit of sparse timber, where the 

 natural stream ran close by and spilled out into some 

 wide pools. All this was elegant fishing water, my in- 

 formant said, and so it seemed. In spite of the snow and 

 mud all about, the stream was bright and clear. It has 

 no surface water, the banks being so arranged that the 

 drainage flows back in ditches. The banks of the old mill 

 race are like levees. 



Miller's farmhouse was presently reached, a comfort- 

 able structure, well surrounded with barns and buildings. 

 This is in effect the club hotel. The club house proper 

 lies across the way, directly upon the bank of the rapid, 

 sparkling stream. A few sturdy willows and cotton- 

 woods stand about. If you loak closely in the meadow 

 below, you can see the traces of the old creek bed. The 

 club house is situated on the last curve of the old natural 

 stream. Just below the straight line of the race leads 

 out, over a mile as straight as a die. Half way, say, to 

 the ruined brick mill where the race ^ds, there is a gate 

 which lets out a boiling torrent of natiu-al champagne 

 into the natural bed, and here the stream wanders be- 

 tween the bush-clad banks for over two miles at its own 

 sweet wiU, coming by the road where we saw it in the 

 morning. At the old brick mill there is a tremendous 

 dam and a great drop in the water. Three miles or more 

 of water below this shute, and a union in the big pools 

 above Venice. Above the club house the stream winds 

 in its own natural channel through a pretty meadow, 

 open and lovely for casting, a regular English, Izaak 

 Walton trout stream, till it reaches the big trees and the 

 fence which marks the division line between the two 

 clubs. From ^tliis line to the bay is six miles. Add to 

 this the two miles of the old stream below, and the total 

 is eight miles of water, every inch of which has trout in 

 it. It is a magnificent property. 



At first the Castalia Sporting Club had eighteen mem- 

 bers. Then the limit was placed at twenty-five, and is 

 now full. It would be very difficult to secure a member- 

 ship there now. The stock is not transferred to any ex- 

 tent ; $1500 would not touch a single share, and I imagine 

 there isn't money enough to buy out the stock of some of 

 those men. No wonder, I am sure, for so far as my 

 travels have informed me, I would not trade a share of 

 this stock for one in any club in the country. This is 

 trout fishing convenient, accessible, infallible, with all 

 the comforts of home, after wild fish, big fish and plenty 

 of them. The men of this club cannot better themselves 

 very much, certainly. They do not remember their 

 $40,000 or $50,000 investment, or think of their annual 

 assessment of |75 or $100 a year. 



I have at one time or another met a number of the men 

 who belong to thi? club, apd I don't believe there ie a 



