876 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



-^ rr-rsnu i— — — ■ — a — — 



NEW ENGLAND ANGLERS. 



THE ice cleared out of Lake Sebago, in Maine, about 

 the otk of April, an unusually early date for that 

 event to happen. But the State of Maine landlocked 

 salmon anglers are congratulating themselves that such 

 has happened to be the case once, and some of them 

 would be pleased if the ice would go out every year, even 

 in the trout lakes, so as to give them a few days fishing 

 before it became legal for sportsmen out of the State to 

 fish. The fact of the matter is that inhabitants of the 

 State of Maine may legally take trout and landlocked 

 salmon for their own use daring the months of February. 

 March and April, but persons residing outside of the 

 State cannot lawfully do so. Boston sportsmen are con- 

 siderably disgusted this season at this feature of the 

 Maine fish laws, and several who were planning to go to 

 Sebago after landlocked salmon will be very likely to give 

 up the trip altogether. But several landlocked salmon 

 have been taken from Sebago, so report says. Portland 

 fishermen were after them the day that the ice went out, 

 and W. G. Latimer, of Gray, Mr. Thompson, of Portland, 

 and Link Daniels of the same city, have been among the 

 successful ones. During the very warm weather early in 

 April several salmon were seen jumping in the pool below 

 the dam at Bangor, and Mr. F. W. Ayer is reported to 

 have taken one or two. But since the cold weather came 

 on but few fish have been seen there: at least so say the 

 reports written to fishermen here. 



Had. the weather continued as warm as early in April, 

 the ice must have gone out of the Maine trout lakes un- 

 usually early this year. But the warm weather has been 

 followed by very cold weather for April, with the mer- 

 cury down below the freezing point morning after morn- 

 ing in Maine, and up to date the ice in the Rangeleys 

 and Moose-head is reported hard and solid. One guide 

 writes that it is still nearly two feet thick at Rangeley. 

 This is remarkable when it is considered that the ice is 

 out of the Sebago and out of Winnepesaukee in New 

 Hampshire. Trolling for lake trout has begun at Winne- 

 pesaukee and at Newfound Lake, but I have not yet 

 learned of any catches. The weather is evidently too 

 cold. Boston fishermen have not yet started for these 

 lakes that I can learn of. 



Unusual preparations are being made for trouting trips 

 to the Maine lakes this spring. Some of the parties will 

 be off as soon as the ice is out, while others will wait for 

 milder weather. A very pleasant party will depart for 

 the Rangeleys on May 21. The party has been booked 

 for that day because, taking year by year, the ice has 

 always been out by that time, and almost always the 

 weather is warm enough for comfort and fishing, while 

 the dreaded black flies will not have begun. This party 

 is composed of Mr. and Mrs. S. 0. Dizer, Mr. and Mrs. L. 

 S. Davis and Mr. and Mrs. L. Dana Chapman. Mr. Dizer 

 is of the boot and shoe house of Prouty & Dizer; Mr. 

 Chapman is a salesman with Dame, Stodard & Kendall, 

 fishing tackle and cutlery dealers of Boston. The trip 

 will be new for the ladies, and the plans are great. The 

 party will be quartered at Capt. Fred C. Barker's camps 

 at Bemis. The guides are already engaged, and the 

 number of trout to be taken is — well, yet uncertain. Mr. 

 Ackerman, of Brooklyn, N. Y., is also expected at the 

 Rangeleys at about the same time. 



Mr. Pearson, of New York, is booked with a party of 

 old-timers at the Rangeleys, Mr. G. W. M. Guild, of 

 Boston, and Mr. H. Fox, of New York. They are now 

 expecting to go to Haynes's Landing, on the Mooselue- 

 maguntic. For a couple of seasons at least they have 

 visited Richardson Lake, where Mr. Guild has a record 

 of a 91bs. trout. Mrs. Bartleman, of Boston, who has 

 spent several seasons at the Mountain View House, at the 

 foot of Rangeley Lake, will doubtless go there later in 

 the season. Her son, who has always spent the summer 

 with his mother, has already left Boston for the home of 

 the big trout. Doubtless he will be one of the first to try 

 them, as soon as the ice is out. 



J, Parker Whitney, owner of the beautiful camps at 

 Mosquito Brook, Richardson Lake, though in California 

 at the present time, will visit his camps this spring. Mr. 

 Whitney is one of the veteran anglers of that section. 

 His camps were built more than thirty years ago, when 

 the genial owner was a mere boy, and he has visited 

 them almost every season since. He has fished in nearly 

 all quarters of the globe, and yet he falls back to his 

 home on Richardson Lake as soon as the cares of a very 

 active and successful business life will permit. He 

 usually takes his entire family and corps of servants 

 with him. 



There is scarcely anything that is new with the anglers 

 of the Bay State. * The weather has been very cold since 

 the very warm beginning of April, and the rods have 

 been neglected. Still, good catches of trout are reported 

 from the Marshpee River, and from some sections on 

 Cape Cod. 



Much to the disgust of the lovers of angling in this 

 State, the Senate has gone back on its first record and 

 has actually passed the Gilbert trout bill to be engrossed. 

 That body has killed this bill once, but in a sudden fit of 

 reaction, such as usually affects such bodies when poli- 

 tics begins to turn against sound sense, the matter was 

 called up again and was passed in spite of the efforts of 

 those who saw in the measure great danger to the wild 

 trout of the State. The bill permits the selling of trout 

 raised by artificial means when it is close season on wild 

 trout, and it is regarded by the lovers of angling as simply 

 an entering wedge that is liable to split the whole system 

 of trout protection. The bill has already passed the 

 House and the. only hope of the lovers of trout protection 

 is that the Governor will see fit to veto the measure on 

 the grounds that it is designated to favor only a half 

 dozen owners of trout ponds, and dangerous to the whole 

 angling interest of the State. Governor Russell is a 

 iriportsman himself, and very fond of fishing, and the 

 anglers have hopes that the celebrated Gilbert trout bill 

 may die in his hands. A committee of members of the 

 Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association, at 

 its last regular meeting, was chosen to wait upon His 

 Excellency and present the evils of the bill to him before 

 it receives his signature. 



The latest thing in fishing rods has been designed by 

 Mr. Li Dana Chapman, mentioned above. For a long 

 time this gentleman has observed that the guides use the 

 wood of the wild service tree, sugar plum (Atnelanchier 

 canadensis), or sugar pear, as it is often termed by the 

 people of Maine, for mending rods and often for tips. 

 The wood, be noticed, is extremely fine grained, almost 



equal to boxwood in that respect, and remarkably tough. 

 He had his guide look him up some nice pieces last sea- 

 son and forward them to Boston. He has had some rods 

 made and they prove to ba remarkably handsome. The 

 rods he has tested in all the ways possible, except actual 

 use, and in this way they will be tested as soon as the 

 opportunity offers. The wood takes a remarkably fine 

 finish, is much like boxwood in color, and seems to be 

 very light for a wood so very hard. The rods will be 

 thoroughly tested for good or bad qualities. 



Word comes up from the Monomoy Brant Club that 

 the third squad ha* taken 120 brant, a remarkably good 

 number for one squad to take. It is also reported that 

 three or four decoys have been secured from winged 

 birds. As mentioned in the FOhEST and Stream of last 

 week, the fifth squad will start from Boston on Wednes- 

 day the 20th. 



Mr. Al Tompkins and Nick, both of Waltham, went up 

 to Nick's camp on the Sudbury River Saturday evening. 

 Though it was dark and cold they could not wait for 

 morning to try the hornpouts. They fished for an hour 

 by the light of a lantern, with the result of 138 hornpouts. 

 The weather was so cold that they then begged each 

 other to stop, and stop they did and went to camp. They 

 almost blamed themselves for their good success when 

 they came to dress their fish. To skin 138 hornpouts is 

 no small job, even in camp. The next day they tried 

 the pickerel, but without success. Mr. Tompkins says 

 that they "could not make them bite, not even if they 

 took them out of the water and gave them a good flog- 

 ging." 



There were several reports Monday of a number of 

 landlocked salmon taken, at Sebago. One report from a 

 gentleman who came through by train Sunday night was 

 that "they are taking salmon like the mischief," but that 

 "the weather is so cold that the lines freeze when taken 

 out of the water." 



The Boston Herald had a special dispatch on Monday 

 morning which stated that nothing like the present run 

 of salmon has ever been known at Bangor. Seven fish 

 were taken with the fly Saturday, and the next day 10 

 beauties were captured weighing from 20 to 2olbs. This 

 report up to Monday evening had not been confirmed by 

 anglers here, who are daily expecting advices as to the 

 rising of the salmon. Special. 



A NEW MINNOW BUCKET. 



THE game qualities of the black bass are toe well 

 known to require any commendation in this article; 

 in him the angler finds a foeman worthy of his steel. 

 The wide extent of country he now inhabits places good 

 fishing within the reach of that large class of anglers 

 who have neither the time nor money to expend on 

 journeys to distant resorts. Marty are the devices used 

 to effect his capture, from the gaudy fly to the glittering 

 spoon. The minnow, alive or dead, is undoubtedly the 

 best general bait for black bass. 



For convenience in carrying live minnows, and keep- 

 ing them in good condition, the old-time pail and wire 

 bucket will suffer by comparison with the collapsing 

 minnow bucket, of my own invention, which I now 



place before the readers of Forest and Stream. A fair 

 trial will prove all I claim for it. I have used a bucket 

 with a seam in the bottom about two seasons. I intend 

 to use it through the coming season, as it appears to be 

 in excellent condition. This bucket, with a little man- 

 euvering, will stand on a perfectly level surface; a trifl- 

 ing inequality of ground, or a few blades of grass, give 

 perfect support, or you can hang it up. Observe the fol- 

 lowing directions for making the bucket. 



The bucket should be seamless, of close-woven canvas, 

 waterproofed, so as to leave it tolerably flexible, about 

 33in. in circumference and 12 or 14in. in depth is about 

 right. It will carry enough minnows for two anglers' 

 use during a half day's fishing. It can be collapsed into 

 the space of a hat brim, and readily carried in a large 

 pocket, otherwise it is better to carry it in its proper 

 shape, as it will undoubtedly last longer. The holes 

 should be about Jin. in diameter. After punching them 

 neatly, take a piece of copper or brass wire, about one 

 yard in length and }in. in circumference, and fill it 

 nearly full of corks about 4in. in circumference, now 

 bring it around the bucket and pass the ends through one 

 of the corks and turn them up. Or you can use rattan; 

 in this case bevel and lap the ends together and force a 

 cork or two over them, fasten by passing cord through 

 the holes and over the wire, to give greater floating 

 capacity: place the corks perpendicular: for the handles 

 use stout cord. Tie a secure knot in the end and pass 

 the cord through the canvas, which must be doubled 

 either by making a fold or sewing a piece on the inside: 

 have the cords in position about the width of the bucket; 

 the cord attached to any object keeps it from floating 

 away when off the bottom. 



Tne bucket is ready for use when enough water is put 

 into it to bring it down to the level of the corks. A con- 

 stant supply of fresh water passes through the holes 

 below. There is about five inches space between the 

 corks and the top, to prevent the minnows from jump- 

 ing out, After your minnows are in you can sink the 

 bucket to the first row of holes above the corks; they will 

 make no attempt to jump out after being in a short time. 

 Always drop your minnows in quietly. Minnows are 

 never injurnd in this bucket, as it is soft and pliable. Do 

 not crowd too many in, particularly if you intend carry- 



ing them some distanse. The mi nno ws need fresh water 

 occasionally when away from the stream. Spring water 

 is too cold for them. * You can buy a gauze ladle for 

 lifting them out. or use your hands. If they are few and 

 troublesome to grasp, pour the contents out on the grass, 

 select the minnows you want, and return the rest. One 

 bucket to every two anglers is about right. For a large 

 party fishing from the shore this arrangement will save 

 needless trouble in hurrying back and forth for bait, as 

 would be the case if you used one large bucket. To give 

 it a trial , take a piece of canvas and cut it in a circle 

 about four and a half yards; now pucker the canvas 

 around the edge and sew it with cord: the rest is easy 

 enough. This arrangement will answer well enough in 

 actual service if you are hard pushed. For waterproofing 

 try sugar of lead and powdered alum, i pound of each, 

 dissolved in half a bucket of rain-water. Soak the can- 

 vas thoroughly and hang it up to dry without wringing. 

 To buy the bucket ready made the anglers must create a 

 demand at the tackle shop— verbum sap. ARTIST. 

 Rahwav, N. ,f. 



A GAME SUCKER. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I noticed in a recent issue of our loved journal an article 

 from this place, signed E. Brown, relating the capture of 

 a 3ilb3. trout in Mill Brook, and it put me in mind of a 

 capture of mine in Broad Brook. I was fishing about 

 half way down the stream, using worms, as the brush 

 prevented the use of the fly, and have been having very 

 poor luck, when suddenly I got what I can only describe 

 as a heavy bite and, striking, I hooked what I knew would 

 be the record trout of that season if I landed it. What 

 rushes it made, now down stream, then up, then to the 

 bottom for a fit of sulks! Giving it the butt, I started it 

 again, and to curtail a long story, after fifteen or twenty 

 minutes, I finally landed the most magnificent sucker 

 (with the exception of the man) that ever was seen on 

 Broad Brook. I have never before or since had a sucker 

 act in such a game manner as that one did. I have, for 

 an experiment, been making me a rod out of hornbeam; 

 L have it finished and, from what I can judge from a dry 

 land test, it will prove satisfactory. If the weather in- 

 dications prove of an auspicious character, I shall give it 

 its trial trip to morrow and will let you know the result. 

 If something is not done here very shortly there will be 

 no fish to catch or game to hunt. Seining goes on when- 

 ever any one feels like it. I know of at least two 

 instances of illegal trout caught during the past week 

 We had some few years ago quite a strong club here, its 

 chief promoter being the late E. W. Yerrington, than 

 whom no truer gentleman or sportsman ever lived; but I 

 do not know whether the club is in existence now or not. 

 I left this part of the country before his demise, and have 

 only returned this previous fall, so am not so well in- 

 formed as I should be but I shall renew old associations 

 and do the best I can to prevent illegal capture of game 

 of any kind. A. F. D. 



NomvacH, Gonn. 



TROUT OPENING IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



ANGLERS were out in force from Harrisburg, Pa., 

 Newville and other points in Cumberland county, 

 notwithstanding the cold, snowy and generally unpromis- 

 ing weather. April 15 will be remembered for its un- 

 mitigated severity as well as for the unexpected catches 

 of trout. Governor Pattison did not go out on the open- 

 ing day because of the bad weather, but the success of 

 the Harrisburg party sent him to the Cumberland Valley 

 on Saturday eager for the fray. 



Silver Spring, about seven miles from Harrisburg, and 

 Big Spring, near Newville, are now restored trout streams, 

 and if you ask the fishermen how these famous waters 

 were renewed, they will tell you it was done by the State 

 Fish Commission, aided by the United States. Brook 

 trout are even nore plentiful than they were in the good 

 old days, and rainbows have become a welcome addition 

 to the trout life of the region. How were these happy 

 results obtained ? By stocking the streams with fish old 

 enough to subdue their enemies and grow by what they 

 conquered. But to return to our fishing. A Forest 

 and Stream representative asked the veteran angler, 

 Jacob Hahnlen, who was high line, and he modestly 

 confessed that he had creeled thirty fine brook trout. 

 Other Harrisburg fishermen, among the thirty or so that 

 whipped the brooks, were Ald.erman Fager, George Boyd, 

 L, Lehmer, John Lehmer, Horace Lutz, Prof. Seller and 

 Dr. Valerschamp. Fully ten of the trout taken weighed 

 lib. each, and one of Prof. Seiler's fish was a plump two- 

 pounder. L. Lehmer caught seventeen, and it is certain 

 that nearly all of the thirty creels which were brought to 

 Harrisburg in the evening were as heavy as the hearts 

 of their owners were light. The champion trout, taken 

 in Silver Spring by George Boyd, measured I7in. and 

 weighed 2|lbs. The stone fly was most killing, but for 

 the big trout the worm took the prize. 



An unpleasant "opening" for Gibler & Sons, of West 

 Fair view, was their arrest, about April 1, for seining 

 Susquehanna salmon or pike perch out of season and out 

 of reason, for these fish cannot be legally taken in the 

 waters of Pennsylvania, except in Lake Erie, at any time 

 "save with a rod, hook and line." The fish were heavy 

 with spawn, but this did not deter the Giblers from sein- 

 ing them, and meeting the warden sent over by Commis- 

 sioner Powell. T. H. B. 



Voracity of the Eel. — Two eels having ascended 

 through a rill of water into a newly made pond and 

 hid in a hole, remained there undiscovered. In the 

 month of May, 1,760 yearling trout were placed in the 

 pond; in the following August, when the pond was 

 emptied, not more than two-thirds (1 ,220) of them, were 

 found. The two eels, which then weighed Slbs,. had 

 consumed 500 yearling trout. This is an example i»f the 

 extensive damage which the eel may cause unless the 

 fishculturi8t is very watchful. Eel traps should be freely 

 used in all trout waters which contain the eel, and - what 

 waters do not contain it?— Ball. Soc. Centrale a? AquicuU. 

 de France, tome TV., No. 6S, 



Dr. J. A. Henshall has returned to his headquarters 

 at Washington from Key West. The results of ids trip 

 are very satisfactory, but owing to the fact that there 

 was a "norther" on every week of the Doctor's visit, his 

 work was much delayed'. Saltwater trout (black-spotted 

 weakfish) and Spanish mackerel were just commencing 

 to run as the Doctor left, about April 1. 



