FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 17, 18S2. 



Angling Talks. By George Dawson. Price 60 cents. Fly- 

 Rods and Fly-Tackle. By H. P. Wells. Price $2.50. Fly- 

 Fisliing and Fly-Making for Trout, By J. H. Keene. 

 Price $1.50. American Angler's Book. By Thad. Norris. 

 Price $5.50. 



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

 Territories and British Provinces are given in the Book Of 

 the Game Laws. 



TARPON LUCK. 



ABOUT the middle of February I went to Florida for 

 a two-weeks' sojourn among the tarpon and deer on 

 the southwest coast. The sport exceeded my fondest 

 anticipations. After the regular routine work of a 

 couple of weeks sitting in an open boat, with an um- 

 brella, novel and two tarpon lines out, I hooked a,nd 

 landed a "silver king," the monarch of Florida waters, 

 and the embodiment and ensample of all royal sport. 



After that my guide and I did not stick so closely lo 

 business. We often lay around camp for a couple of days 

 fighting the few sand flies that had begun to appear, wait- 

 ing for a return of exhausted energy. 



From Tampa I wrote oue day to Bill, and having a mild 

 attack of the so-called "blues,'" feelingly described to him 

 my lonely state and in the abstract the blessedness of 

 communion with one's kind. A week brought me the 

 unlooked-for but characteristic reply, "Wire me where to 

 meet you." With this request I promptly and cheerfully 

 complied, and on March 12 greeted the old man with feel- 

 ings probably somewhat akin to those with which Robin- 

 son Crusoe received the overtures of Friday. Great Scott! 

 Then I realized how lonely I had been. Let any one try 

 confinement in a small sailboat or rowboat for a month 

 with a guide who is scarcely companionable, much less 

 sociable, and such an one can picture the situation. 



Bill had brought a complete new outfit, purchased from 

 the best New York dealers, and we took the sportsman's 

 delight in overhauling his baggage. The next day we made 

 a fresh start. With two guides in a small sailboat and 

 skiff in tow, we began a cruise down the coast. Our out- 

 fit consisted of four 7-foot bamboo tarpon rods, each 

 rigged with a reel and 300yds. of Hall's 18-thread line, 

 and the regulation tarpon hook and wire-cored snood. 

 This snood is rather heavy for sharks to bite off, but safer 

 than the cotton- wired snood. Besides which we each had 

 an 8-ounce fly-rod for the capture of smaller fish, notably 

 mangrove snappers, harpoons for sharks and sawfish, 

 .32cal. Winchesters and provisions for three weeks. 



Down Tampa Bay, past Manatee River and Sarasota 

 Bay took us the best part of two days, as the wind was of 

 no use for propulsion. Quarters, too, were somewhat 

 cramped on board, and when the fourth day found us in 

 Charlotte Harbor it was with considerable relief that we 

 landed and built a palmetto camp a couple of miles below 

 Alligator River. 



That first night in camp was worth two years of life. It 

 was Bill's first experience of Florida, and he was en- 

 thusiastic. We had eaten part of a big channel bass for 

 supper, had smeared our respective faces with tar-oil, had 

 lighted our pipes and lay on our blankets beside the camp- 

 fire. Night had come down like the drop-shutter of a 

 camera, as it always does in this latitude, and the day 

 beasts and birds had given place to night hunters. The 

 moon was about half full and stood squarely overhead. 

 "Quawk," said the night heron, passing close over us; 

 "Hoot," said the owl behind the shanty (but I never yet 

 heard an owl say "hoot," it's an unspellable gurgle); while 

 the coons in the mangrove swamp back of us made no 

 end of a row. The guides were out wading with a 50yd. 

 gill-net after mullet, whose silver sides in death were 

 destined to a noble purpose: to lure the royal tarpon. 

 That was an exceedingly long pipe, and the silence 

 between us lay unbroken till naught but ashes remained. 



"How will you like your two weeks' breaking in !" I 

 said. 



"The tarpon are in, a light southwest wind which 

 means east in the morning, and fresh bait," was the 

 answer. 



"No such luck." 



"Probably not, but I'll bet fifty cigars." 

 "I prefer a pipe on the water, besides no betting on a 

 certainty." 



"Isn't one just as likely to catch one the first day as the 

 thirtieth? I'll take the sailboat to-morrow and go to the 

 west side of Pine Island, Big Pine, and you go down the 

 coast here with the rowboat." 



This was agreeable, and when the guides came back, 

 about 9 o'clock, with twenty mullet, we all turned in. 



Trivial annoyances, by frequent repetition sum up to 

 the greatest trials. Getting out of a comfortable bed may 

 seem a trivial annoyance; and palmetto leaves make good 

 mattresses, and it requires only a little practice to ap 

 preciate them. After breakfasting on the remains of the 

 channel bass we sought our respective fishing grounds, 

 and I saw the sailboat disappear round the north end of 

 Pine Island just as the sun rose. The wind was easterly 

 and light, and all indications were favorable. Neverthe- 

 less the day passed with me as many such days had 

 passed. The monotony was only reliev ed by occasionally 

 reeling in 50yds, of line, changing the bait and trying to 

 beat my last cast. Oace a shark ran out 100yds. of line, 

 and we had to pull anchor and row after him, but he was 

 a big fellow and broke away with a third of my line, the 

 wire snood proving too tough for him, I sat all day 

 under my cotton umbrella and finished "Endymion." 



At 5 o'clock Bill and the sailboat appeared crawling 

 round the point before the light southwest breeze. At 

 the time I thought I saw a sort of halo about the boat ; it 

 was not profanity: but my imagination is vivid. 



I sat on the shore in front of camp and watched Bill's 

 oncoming. Tarpon fishing teaches patience. He arrived 

 an hour after dark and tied the sailboat a few feet off 

 shore, using some vigorous language about the wind. 



"Well, if they were in yesterday they seem to have left 

 us to-day." 



"Humph," said Bill, standing by the tire lighting his 

 pipe. 



"Did you see any around 'your way?'* 

 "One," said Bill. 



I smelt a rodent and asked him how much it weighed. 

 He said he didn't know, which I expected, as he had no 

 scales. 



"How long was he ?" 



"Is he, you mean; bring your measure." 



We put the gaff hook under his gills and dragged him 

 out of the sailboat, across the beach up to camp, He 

 measured 6ft. 4in. over all, and easily weighed I401bs. 

 Bill's guide had stood dumb as an oyster during the pro- 

 ceedings. He was my former protege whom I bad with- 

 out reluctance detailed to Bill, as he did not mind soli- 

 tude in another's presence. He now delivered himself 

 thus, "Played him like Captain Randall." This heaped 

 over Bill's cup of happiness. 



After a hasty dinner eaten in silence we stretched out 

 by the fire, first hanging up the big fish as food for the 

 eyes, and Bill began: 



"We got down to work about 9 o'clock, with the tide 

 dead low, and in four hours, when the tide was at its 

 best, the reel ran off about forty yards and be broke water 

 mad, throwing up barrels of it and making for the bay, 

 apparently not going to stop this side of Sanibel. He 

 had made four jumps aad seemed solidly booked, when 

 we got after him as quick as possible. Great Scott! 

 How he tore the line out, spite of my best pressure on 

 the brake. He got out a good 200yds. before I could get 

 any control, so that the weight of the line alone would 

 have been troublesome. During a momentary pause I 

 took a furtive look at my watch to time the beast — 2o 

 minutes past one. Well, by hard rowing we got him 

 reasonably close to the boat, when he commenced his 

 short skips and rolled the fine around himself so that I 

 had to give him his head to shake it off. Then he began 

 his eternal nagging and jerking, which, as I was too ex- 

 cited to sit down, pretty nearly upset me. In an hour 

 we were somewhere near the middle of the bay and had 

 him down to close quarters; he couldn't jump more than 

 half out of the water. During these proceedings I be- 

 came as wet as if I had fallen overboard. I nearly 

 struck a snag when he began dodging around under the 

 boat and had to hand Sam the rod for a few moments' 

 rest. Then I took him again and put on my best strain, 

 and a big silver log floated up astern of ns, made a 20ft, 

 run and came to gaff — just an hour and twenty minutes. 

 We didn't fish any more, been taking us ever since to get 

 back here." 



"Well, Bill, I always said you were the luckiest man 

 on earth; a green hand landing his first tarpon on his 

 first day, and a big fellow, too; absurd ! Sure Sam didn't 

 do the handling in those 'few moments' that you were 

 resting?" 



Sam promptly repudiated the insinuation. 



"Well, allow me to tender my congratulations; ably 

 done, sir. By the witness's statement it could not have 

 been better." 



There i3 an example for you of what actually occurred 

 and does occur every spring. The average luck is per- 

 haps one a week. Two or three tarpon may be taken 

 every day, and then again one in a month, as was my 

 first experience. N. W. M. 



Rochester, N._5[. 



A BIG THING ON ICE. 



SOUTHBORO, Mass., March 8.— I have seen in most 

 every issue of your paper this winter, short sketches 

 descriptive of pickerel fishing through the ice. It has 

 been very interesting reading to me to note the different 

 kinds of traps or tackle advocated, I have done more or 

 less ice fishing for the last twenty-five years, and my ex- 

 perience has been that in the mere matter of taking the 

 fish (provided of course the angler pays strict attention 

 to the two essentials in fishing, i. e. , keeps the holes free 

 from ice, and the liveliest minnows on the hooks) it does 

 not make much difference whether one uses the primitive 

 bush with the piece of red flannel tied to the line, or the 

 most improved spring trap. Strict attention to business 

 will probably land as many fish in one way as the other, 

 but I don't think the bush quite so convenient nor so 

 pretty in its workings as the spring which throws the 

 flag high in the air, so that it may be seen a long way 

 off. 



For twenty-five winters I have driven holes through 

 the ice in most every part of New Eagland for that tawny 

 tiger of our waters, but never until this past winter did 

 I realize how much pleasure and comfort combined 

 could be crowded into a day on the ice. One evening 

 early last winter, a party of six fishing cranks got to- 

 gether for the purpose of devising some scheme tending 

 toward comfort and convenience on the ice during the 

 winter fishing, and the result was, I think, the most com- 

 plete, compact barge (suitable for both winter and sum- 

 mer work) that benumbed and weary angler ever regaled 

 himself in. A short description may interest some of 

 your readers. The body proper is 10ft. long and 4ift. 

 wide, the roof projects 1ft. at each end, forming hoods 

 which add to its proportions. The sides from floor to plate 

 are 54ft. high, the roof is arched, and its highest point 

 from floor is 6ft. The roof is made of 4in. narrow white- 

 wood boards matched, covered with heavy drilling and 

 thoroughly painted. Extending 1ft, from the plate 

 on each side is a whitewood board wide, with 3 lights 

 of 8X10 glass which serves sufficiently to fight the in- 

 terior when the ends are closed tight, and also allows a 

 survey of your traps while taking inside comfort. Join- 

 ing the lain, whitewood board, and like it extending the 

 length of the barge, comes a strip of heavy canvas oft. 

 wide, securely fastened to a light hardwood frame which 

 is hinged at the top and can be raised to any angle, thus 

 forming a splendid awning for summer use. Beneath 

 the canvas is a whitewood board 18in. high which 

 forms the base of the body. The floor is made entirely of 

 spruce, the frame being SJX3 scantlings firmly bolted to- 

 gether, and the floor proper being clear, | spruce matched. 

 The ends are protected by canvas curtains which can be 

 drawn perfectly tight, or thrown back for freer circula- 

 tion. A small camp cook stove rests upon a sheet iron 

 oven in the front end, (Sin. pipe running 15in, through 

 roof) and the driver's seat makes an admirable locker for 

 wood and kindlings. On each side are individual lockers 

 for four, they also constitute the seats at the table. 



The table, which is the pride of the "ex member of 

 Congress," is a double-decker and works upon two up- 

 right gaspipes. it lowers to the proper height for eating 

 or "old sledge" purposes, and when not in use is raised to 

 the roof and is wholly out of the way. One roomy locker 

 is ziuc-lined, and in winter carries the fish nicely, and in 

 summer it could be used as a cooler. Proper receptacles 

 have been provided for shovel, broom, axes and ice 

 chisels, also for kettles, plates, cups and saucers, knives 

 and forks, in fact everything necessary for the comfort 



and rapid filling of eight or ten hungry men. It is very 

 light, and a pair of good roaders will carry it (good sleigh- 

 ing or wheeling) six or seven miles an hour easily. 

 Five minutes will suffice to change it from runners to 

 wheels or vice versa. Its advantages are many, its cost 

 trifling, and with proper care it will last many seasons. 



Our most pretentious trip with it this winter was to 

 Moosehead Pond, in Princeton, distant from thiB borough 

 30 miles. The sleighing was execrable, but nevertheless 

 two horses took the barge and three men to a farmer's 

 near the pond in about seven and a half hours. The other 

 members of the party went by rail, and were there to 

 welcome us, We retired very early, and not until morn- 

 ing did we realize that the hospitality of those people 

 had prompted them to yield all their beds to us. We shall 

 never forget that. Quite early in the morning we were 

 all raised bodily from our beds by two or three fish-horn 

 blasts which fairly made the sides of the house bulge. 



Nate, the genial "hired man," had adopted that easy- 

 going method to let U3 know it was nearly 5 o'clock. We 

 were dressed when Nate announced that Henry was 

 ready with horse and pung to take the advance guard to 

 the pond. We decided the night before that four of us 

 should start early, so as to have the holes cut and the 

 lines set before daybreak, leaving the driver to follow 

 with the barge and cook later and give us a hot breakfast, 



A few minutes placed us upon the ice, and quite an ex- 

 panse it was, the pond contains 130 acres. Toe location 

 was soon selected, the traps distributed at proper inter- 

 vals and soon the woods and hills echoed to the rapid 

 "chuck" of two keen chisels. Two cut and cleaned out 

 the holes, and two followed, set up the traps, sounded the 

 depth, baited, and coiled the line near hole and trap. The 

 morning was not very cold, but the water was, and those 

 who baited the lines concluded that the chiselmen bad a 

 "cinch" on them. However, the work progressed very 

 rapidly, and as the eastern clouds lightened up sufficiently 

 to discern objects 20yd3, away fifty traps stood ready to 

 give the signal at the "strike" of the fish. 



We hear a shout, and turning in the direction of the 

 sound, see the barge come swinging on to the pond at a 

 lively trot and heading directly for us, a long stream of 

 smoke and cinders flying from the funnel, which indi- 

 cated that the cook had been awake since the fish horn 

 solo. As early as the barge reached us (and it was hardly 

 clear daylight) we called their attention to the fact that 

 four pickerel had already rewarded our efforts. 



The driver detached the horses and took them to a 

 nearby barn, and when he returned he shouted the wel- 

 come news that "Breakfast was ready." And what a 

 breakfast that was, words of mine fail to do it justice, 

 and the coffee and Deetfoot Farm cream— and the cook, 

 just let me devote a few words to him. He is not an im- 

 ported chef, but to a man we will back him against Mr. 

 Vanderbilt's foreign article, everybody on the pond said 

 so, and there were many there besides our i3arty. And 

 his urbanity and endurance were simply marvelous, from 

 early morn till late in the afternoon we stood in that 

 barge and dispensed hospitality with a lavishness that 

 would have put a "billion dollar" Congressman to the 

 blush. Let me enjoin all parties who in the future may 

 follow our example to see to it that your cook under- 

 stands his business, for upon him more than any one 

 thing depends the success or failure of your outing. 



Well, for two days we rang the changes on those 

 pickerel, and our success was all that we could ask for. 

 We got no large ones, but they ran very nicely for the 

 table, and were extremely handsome in color. The trip 

 and everything pertaining thereto was a fitting climax to 

 our season's sport, and we voted our barge an unequivocal 

 success. J. W. B. 



BASS OF THE CHAGRIN. 



ONE who has never fished for small-mouthed bass in 

 a woodland Btreani under beech and oak boughs 

 dressed in the rich foliage of autumn knows not the 

 pleasure of bass fishing. 



We left the city one day last fall on the morning train 

 over the C. C. & S. road, and before 9 o'clock had reached 

 the "Falls" village, where our friends were waiting for 

 us with team, lunch, minnows and all the paraphernalia 

 for an enjoyable day's outing. 



Our ultimate destination was one of the last branches 

 of Chaprin River, about six miles from the village, and 

 our ultimate object was small-mouth black bass. We 

 were in the midst of the most picturesque scenery of 

 northern Ohio, and for most of the distance our way was 

 along the narrow crest of a high ridge, which descending 

 on either side formed wide valleys, which rising again 

 rolled away in billows of high hills, so far as the eye 

 could reach the view extending for miles on either side. 

 The crops were all harvested, the corn was shocked in 

 the fields and already brown from the touch of the early 

 frosts. The cattle were roaming over the meadows en- 

 deavoring to eke out the fall feed in the pastures, which 

 was growing scarce for want of rain, but the whole coun- 

 try was brilliant with autumn colors. 



We reached the stream where it was crossed by the 

 highway after an hour's drive, and turned into the yard 

 of a deserted farm house standing close to the stream by 

 the roadside. Two farmhouses with their outbuildings 

 were in sight which a few years before had sheltered 

 large families but now stood deserted with their windows 

 and doors boarded up, the original proprietors and their 

 descendants having passed from the scene, leaving the 

 land to non-resident owners, probably the result of the 

 pressure of heavy mortgages on light farms. 



We were in a quiet valley, beyond the sound even of 

 the locomotive whistle, with no buildings in sight save 

 these deserted homes, which only intensified the quiet 

 and seclusion of the place. 



It took but a short time to adjust rods and lines and 

 get to the banks of the stream for the first cast. 



The stream at this p<*int was not more than 30ft. in 

 width and was made up of deep pools between the rip- 

 ples. The one we reached first was long, but too shal- 

 low and exposed, for while the bass were there in plain 

 sight we were in plain sight of the bass, and not one 

 would touch the minnow. So we pushed on up stream 

 and into the woods until we found a well-shaded spot 

 with water deep and cool. On the first cast here the 

 minnow had no sooner touched the water than it was 

 seized by a hungry small-mouth, who made the line sing 

 through the water and the split bamboo bend double 

 before he was brought to grass under the willows bor- 

 dering the pool. Here, concealed by the deep shadows 

 of the overhanging willows, we could see nearly every 



