4S6 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 18, 1891. 



'^m ^t(d §iv^r fishing. 



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

 Territories and British Pronnces are given in the jBooTc of 

 the Game Lmos. 



ON THE NORTH SHORE.-VII. 



[Oo)?ti?!«ecf from Page US.} 



BY 11 o'clock we reached the Lizzard Island, which is 

 owned by Capt, Ganley, who has an extensive fisheiy 

 here, and embarked in our sailboat for Jackson's Cove, 

 on the main shore, some three miles distant. There was 

 only a light breeze to aid us, and consequently our pro- 

 gress was quite slow; in fact to make any kind of head- 

 way one of the boys was compelled to help with the oars. 

 We had gone about a mile when, inquiry being made 

 about our overcoats, which were missing, it was ascer- 

 tained they had been left on the tug. Of course that 

 necessitated a return. In the meantime the tug had 

 steamed out and was on her winding way to Dog River. 

 Giving the signal of distress she soon overhauled us and 

 the coats recovered; and in addition got a tow within half 

 a mile of our destination, which place we reached about 

 noon. "We found most charming camping grounds on an 

 immense rock of two acres or more, which is united to 

 the shore by a little spit of sand of about 100ft., o'er 

 which the waves ran in a heavy blow. 



The rock was really a gigantic boulder of irregular 

 shape, with two lofty crowns and two depressions, which 

 had been scaled from the top by a thunder-bolt, prob- 

 ably, and which were now reservoirs for the rain and the 

 spray of violent tempests. On the inner side, and near 

 the water's edge, was a small cluster of cedai's, which 

 had sprung from the soil lodged in the crevices. In the 

 center of this growth was an open space, on which we 

 pitched our tents, and a lovely place it was, affording not 

 only shade but a cozy retreat from cold and violent 

 winds. Once over the sandy spit and you are at the base 

 of a gi'anite mountain which is a picture of the wildest 

 grandeur imaginable. Spruce and cedar are spai-sely 

 growing, while in the underbrush on the mountaintop 

 the huckleberry is found in great abundance. The granite 

 of this lofty pile was a strange confusion, blocks weigh- 

 ing many tons being scattered along the uneven terraces, 

 having, doubtless, been forced from the mountaintops by 

 the expansive power of frost, which scientists say has a 

 leverage of thirty thousand poimds to the square inch. 

 The seam once open nature steps in and does her work 

 with apparent ease. Prostrate on the declivitous rocks 

 are met at every turn decaying trees, while as many 

 more are erect, with their naked limbs appealing as it 

 were to heaven for resuscitation. In the crannies and lit- 

 tle juttings on the sides grasses, small bushes and wild 

 flowers have taken root and unfold their verdure and 

 beauty undisturbed by the wrath below. Out to the very 

 edge of the wave-washed rocks young birches and pines, 

 too, have stationed themselves to catch the fresh mists 

 that arise. It would, indeed, be difficult to conceive a 

 scene with greater beauty of lake, mountain and wood 

 than is presented at Jackson's Cove. 



While our men were getting the tents in place, Ned and 

 I took our rods and commenced casting from the giant 

 boulder. My second cast rose a trout which I was fortu- 

 nate enough to impale, and then after the usual battle, he 

 capitulated. The dilemma now was to net him, and as I 

 could not get close enough to the water's edge, fearful of 

 slipping off the declivitous rock, I shouted to Joe, who 

 put in an appearance at once. He took the net and, like 

 a monkey, slipped down the smooth rock and skillfully 

 landed him. He was no baby ti'out, I assure you, for he 

 weighed 31bs., and was a true knight of the red and 

 spotted garter. 



Joe returned to his \vork and I to my pleasure, but be- 

 fore he had fairly resumed his labors, I had aii other of 

 the same order, struggling frantically for liberty. Again 

 I shouted, and once more Joe came and landed the trout, 

 which was about the same size as the other. Both of 

 these were placed in the little lake on the boulder, which 

 answered capitally as an aquarium. 



As Joe left this time he cautioned me not to call him 

 again, saying: 



"Trout bite so fast never get tent up." 

 Ned was on the other side of the boulder, entirely out 

 view, and what he was doing with the fontinalis I was 

 unable to say. In about a quarter of an hour another 

 beauty was struck, and this being a small one of about a 

 pound, I concluded not to bother Joe, so I wonied him 

 until he could not move a fin, and then very carefully 

 pulled him up the smooth side of the rock, and added 

 another to the aquarium. 



Ned now showed up, and stated that he had received 

 but one rise and missed that, and when I referred him to 

 the little lake on the rock as evidence of my good luck, he 

 was very agreeably surprised. I insisted on his casting 

 in my lucky pool, and at it he went in a most industrious 

 manuer, sending his flies on the rippling surface with the 

 lightness of a falling snowfiake, but they came not to the 

 attractive lures. I, however, received a savage response 

 to a cast of mine, and striking home the barbed steel, 

 had a fight on hand with a mottled warrior of no mean 

 dimensions. He displayed a heroism in his mad rushes 

 and plunges that won my warmest admiration. My little 

 Chubb split-bamboo never did more loyal duty, forltheld 

 him to his work in a business like manner that made his 

 heart grow faint and his struggles weaker and weaker. 

 He tore around quite awhile, indulging in every trick he 

 was master of, but in vain, for the little rod yielded to 

 his terrific rushes with a suppleness and strength that 

 was quite remarkable, and when it came to giving him 

 the couj) de grace it displayed its perfection of marvelous 

 workmanship. I could then have embraced the honest 

 rod maker and told him what a credit he was to the 

 guild. Fifty battles or more I had fought with that 

 remarkable rod on this trip, and with savage warriors of 

 the deep that ran from 2 to 51bs., and not a thread had 

 frayed, not a joint weakened, nor had its balance or 

 whippiness in the least showed signs of failing. Last 

 summer I smashed two rods of celebrated makers on this 

 coast, probably from awkwardness, and must confess I 

 had this little rod in the same dilemma on several occa- 

 sions, bub it stood the racket nobly. 



In my admiration for the little bamboo I must not lose 

 sight of the captured trout, which was lying a few feet 

 from the edge of the rock with his spangled sides turned 

 to the surface. Not wishing to call Joe away from Jus 



duties, I requested Ned to take the net and land him. 

 Ned essayed to encircle the trout in the meshes, but could 

 not get quite near enough to do it. I advised him to 

 crawl a little further down the inclined rock, but the fear 

 of a plunge into the icy water disheartened him, and he 

 prudently declined the hazardous feat. Not wishing to 

 lose the lovely darling, I called him to take my rod, and 

 after handing it to him, I got down on all fours and. 

 crawled close enough to secure the toothsome fish, though 

 I must admit I felt uncertain as to whether the trout was 

 to come out of the water or I to go into it. Ned was all 

 of a tremor when he saw me performing the monkey-act, 

 and after I had crawled back with the glittering prize, it 

 being a 4-pounder, he said: 

 "There's no fool like an old fool." 



"Admitted, though nothing ventured nothing gained," 



This capture ended our fishing for the day, as we had 

 all we desired for the present, and as we intended to make 

 a trip down the coast for another raid in the morning 

 we did not care just then about having a surfeit of sport. 

 Our trout in the aquarium showing signs of departing 

 life, we took them out, and rapping them over the head, 

 carried them to camp, where we turned them over to the 

 cook with instruction to have them cleaned at once and 

 placed on the ice we had brought with us from the Lizzard. 



During our absence the boys had got everything in 

 splendid condition and a meal was under way. 



Joe showed us a gill net for whitefish, which he had 

 found hanging on a suspended pole. It was in a rather 

 demoralized condition, but he said he would set it that 

 evening and try and secure a few whitefish by way of a 

 change in fish diet. He never did, however, for about 5 

 o'clock that afternoon an Indian with his wife and two 

 children in a canoe showed up and claimed the net, 

 though stating at the same time that he did not care for 

 it and that Joe could have it if he desired. Joe did 

 nothing with the net, nor did he take it away, and for 

 aught we know it may now be rotting on the rocks Avhere 

 it was left. 



In this family that camped on the rocks a short dis- 

 tance from us was a young child that had been severely 

 burnt by its upsetting a kettle of boiling water. It was 

 constantly crying from the severe pain it suffered, and 

 by way of alleviation advised it being anointed with lard, 

 with which we freely supijlied him. He applied the 

 remedy, and it at once relieved the child of the great 

 pain under which it had been suffering. He was ex- 

 ceedingly thankful, and that evening to express his 

 gratitude gave us a large dish of huckleberries, which 

 he had gathered on the mountain top. We reciprocated 

 by giving him some salt pork and hard tack. He stated 

 that in the bay in our immediate vicinity he saw that 

 afternoon plenty of trout, but that he could not induce 

 them to take his bait. Joe said the Indian had come all 

 the way from Michipicottm, where he lived, on purpose 

 for trouting, the eighteen cents per pound being the in- 

 centive. He was said to be the best hunter on the lake, 

 and had made last season three hundred dollars with his 

 traps and gun. 



That afternoon, when Joe was over on the main shore 

 gathering some firewood at the base of the mountain, he 

 reported when he returned tbat he had seen a snake over 

 3ft. long. It must have been a harmless one, for no one 

 unless a naturalist ever, to my knowledge, saw any other 

 kind. Agaspiz says the following reptiles occur atout 

 Lake Superior: Tropidonoius sirtalis, Tropidonotus 

 erythrogaster (a species allied to rigidus from Lake 

 Huron), Bufo americanus, Rana lialecma, Rana sylvatiea. 

 "Tliese three species occur as far north as Nepigon Bay, 

 and a circumstance, which has struck me very forcibly, 

 is the remarkable size of the specimens observed in these 

 high latitudes." 



That evening after supper the boys indulged on the 

 sandy spit in some athletic sports. First they tried the 

 hop, skip and jump, which they kept up for over half an 

 hour. John always took the lead in this, but Joe, being 

 ambitious, tried his best to defeat him, and asked for 

 trial after trial, until finally Ned and I, who were acting 

 as umpires, decided in John's favor. Next they tried 

 throwing, with one hand, a stone of about 15 or 201bs. 

 weight. In this John was also successful. Joe now in- 

 sisted on the back throw, and badly defeated John at it. 

 Joe declared that he had never been beaten in the back 

 throw, which is simply a throw over the head, and had 

 thrown against all the Indians at Goulay and Baschewa- 

 naung bays. The Michipicoton Indian was a delighted 

 spectator of the games, but could not be induced to par- 

 ticipate in them. Ned said he saw him the next day, 

 when he thought he was unobserved, pick up the stone 

 the boys had been using in their tiial of skill, and throw 

 it at least five feet further than the champion, John. 

 Probably he did not consider our boatmen foemen worthy 

 of his steel. 



The day had been an exceedingly delightful one, but at 

 sunset it began to blow from the northeaet in enormous 

 sighs, as if pausing to draw breath. All night it blew, 

 and in each pause could be heard the answering moan of 

 the rising surf, as if the rhythm of the sea moulded itself 

 after the rhythm of the air; as if the waving of the water 

 responded precisely to the waving of the winds — a billow 

 for every puff, a surge for every sigh. 



Alex . Staebuck. 



_ Pleasant Lake, N. B..— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 i wish to correct, through the columns of your paper, a 

 statement which appeared on page 374 of your issue of 

 May 20, under the heading of "Pleasant Lake." Your in- 

 formant stated that 45,000 trout had been placed in Pleas- 

 ant Lake this year. As that number would be unreason- 

 able for a comparatively small lake, and in a community 

 where there are other lakes nearly as well adapted to the 

 production of trout might give just cause for a feeling of 

 jealousy, I wish to state the exact plant made in Pleas- 

 ant Lake so far, which was 10,000 salmon last year and 

 4,500 aureolus and 20,000 salmon this year. This is a 

 generous allowance, the exaggeration of which is need- 

 less.— B. H. 



Springfield, Mass. — A merry party of sportsmen, con- 

 sisting of a dozen members of the Springfield Fish and 

 Game Club and their friends, left last Thursday evening 

 on the Montreal express for Amabelish, Can. From two 

 to four weeks will be spent in this delightful region by 

 the members of the party, which includes E. L. Brewer, 

 E. M. Coates, D. N. Coates, E. H. Sterns, C, A. Nichols 

 and W. H. Gilbert, of this city ; W, H. Clark, of St, Louis; 

 C. H. Bryan, James Rice, DeWillis Jamea and A, Smith, 

 of New yorJr, and Herbert Fenner, pf Providenoe, I 



ANGLING NOTES. 



NOW that the weather has become more settled the 

 fish have settled down to serious business, and the 

 reports from the d iff erent fishing waters are very much 

 more encomaging. Those who have visited the far off 

 waters of Maine and Canada tell great stories of trout 

 fishing, and from the Beaverkill, nearer home, comes the 

 encouraging news that a prominent angler of this city, 

 Mr. Geo. B, Taylor, killed a handsome trout, weighing 

 2ib3. lloz. This noble specimen of the speckled trout 

 was taken under Mrs. Voorhees's dam, Beaverkill Beach. 



Dr. Kidd, of Newburgh, who with Col. Higgenson, 

 Homer Ramsdell and some other friends, has been after 

 the bass in Ulster county, reports the following score for 

 one day's fishing: Forty-two big-mouth bass weighing 

 104^1bs. The seven largest were as follows: One Sflbs., 

 two 5ilbs., one Slbs., one 441bs., one 4jlb3., one 41bs. The 

 following day they took thirty-two bass weighing Sllbs, 

 6oz., the largest of which weighed 71bs. 5oz. These 

 were weighed in the presence of a number of Newburgh 

 gentlemen on the club scales. They were taken with 

 live minnows. 



The weakfish are also showing up in good shape at 

 Broad Channel and are running up to 5 and 61bs, weight 

 each. One gentleman took over ninety fish in a couple 

 of days' fishing last week. 



Fortunately for anglers the black flies seem to have 

 almost disappeared this season, at least so far they have 

 not worried the visitors to the woods at all. What a few 

 warm days will do remains to be seen. 



The fires along the railroad to Lake St. John are assum- 

 ing serious proportions and destroying an immense 

 amount of property, including valuable timber lands. 

 This is an example of what will happen in the Adiron- 

 dack region before long. It is the most serious objection 

 to the projected railroads that they seem bound to spread 

 fires every season that it happens to be unusually dry. 



Mr. Chas. F. Imbrie, of the firm of Abby & Imbrie, 

 has been appointed foreman of the Grand Jury. WhUe 

 this is a great honor which he fully appreciates, it will 

 unfortunately cause him to lose 1 11 his fine fishing at the 

 Southside Sportsmen's Club, which is now at its best. 



Hoc. John A. Brandreth reports that about BOO bluefish 

 were caught off Rockaway beach, June 11. They ran in 

 weight from 3 to 7 lbs, each. Scarlet-Ibis, 



JUNIATA BASS. 



PORT ROYAL, Juniata County, Fa.— Editor Forest 

 and Stream: Memorial Day, the opening date of the 

 small-mouthed bass season in this State, as usual was 

 rather cloudy and threatened rain. However a goodly 

 number of modern Waltons betook themselves to the 

 banks of our "blue Juniata," which on that day was true 

 to its name, and in fair condition for fishing. The results 

 of the first day's campaign fell short of the fishers' ex- 

 pectations, which were rather good-sized owing to the 

 apparent favorable conditions, and good sport was ex- 

 pected. 



The writer heard of several only very lean catches, and 

 the owners of these reported the bass as being very in- 

 different indeed to their bait. 



I afterward learned that among the bass taken on the 

 first day, a number were srill heavy with spawn: I also 

 noted, myself, during a stroll along the river tvi'o weeks 

 since, several bass in the shallow water near the shore, 

 yet on their beds. 



These facts no doubt account for the lack of interest the 

 bass are at present showing to the anglers' bait. This 

 lateness of the spawning season seems to be unusual and 

 I have not heard, nor can I give a reasonable exolanation 

 of it. 



From the base of one of the piers of the Thompsontown 

 bridge, last week was taken a very fine bass, said to have 

 weighed 41 be. The toll-taker who has his perch- like 

 house on one of tiie piers, reminding one of a certain 

 character of Scott's in tlie "Monastery," declares that he 

 frequently sees a bass in the water below that is fully as 

 big as a roe shad, and will weigh Olba.; if this noble 

 specimen can be induced to materialize on one of our 

 expert's hooks and to pull his estimated weight on the 

 impartial steelyards, he will no doubt lay claim to be one 

 of our finest. The bass in this locality do not run over 

 Gibs., and a 61b. fish itself is of rare occurrence. 



Onyjutta. 



TROUT IN PIKE COUNTY. 



I AST Friday afternoon in New York, two men with 

 J rattling tongues and beaming and expectant faces, 

 their hands full of rods, creels, valises, waterproof coats, 

 their pockets stuffed with various paper parcels, could 

 have been seen hurrying down Chamber street to catch 

 the 3:30 boat. 



Last night these same two young men came up 

 Chambers street, and the electric light disclosed the fact 

 that their valises looked thin, their pockets lacked the 

 paper parcels, their rods got tangled with their creels as 

 they flopped easily against their legs. Their faces, how- 

 ever, were still beaming and more brilliantly than be- 

 fore, though their features were in repose. They did not 

 notice the smiles nor hear the remarks of the passers by, 

 as the yawning covers of their fish baskets disclosed their 

 emptiness. Their tongues, too, were quiet, but there 

 was a light in their eyes as of success and contentment. 



Why? Well, go and do just as they did. Get all your 

 tackle together and purchase a lot more flies and things 

 if you have the money. Tell your friends you are going 

 trout fishing and that they will be remembered and then 

 buy an excursion ticket for Rowland's, Pa. 



But you say these men brought back no trout, so how 

 did they spend the time during those three days? Thomp- 

 son would answer that he drove them to a stream rush- 

 ing and resting through the rocks and woods and told 

 them to fish down two miles, when he would drive and 

 prepare luncheon, and then they were lost for three im- 

 mortal hours! 



Lost, you say? Yes, but only in the overwhelming 

 breath of freshness and purity that nature's lungs poured 

 forth about thenj, 



But what did they catch, say you? The softness of the 



