400 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



[APBIL 28, 1898, 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST, 



I Prom a Sta# Correspondent."] 



C1HICAG0, 111., April 23.- There being no fishing yet to 

 J speak of, it is pro b Ably just as well to speak of fish 

 protection a little. The Slate League mentioned last 

 week seems to have been heard of pretty widely, if letters 

 from all over the State are any evidence. Mr. O. H. 

 Russell, of the Vermont Gun C'ub, writes Mr. N. W. 

 Duncan, the League treasurer, as follows: 



""Vermont, 111., April 15. — The Vermont Gun Club 

 begs permission to assure you that they are in hearty 

 accord with your league and would like to become mem- 

 bers of same. Our club is chartered by the State. We 

 own some fine grounds on the Illinois River and will give 

 the League our support.— O. H. Russell, Sec'y." 



This is the kind of comment most pertinent and valua- 

 ble. 



Mr. P. Richards, of Urbana, III., writes to Mr. Coie the 

 following, which the latter gentleman refers to me for 

 answer: ''Urbana, April 18. — Will you kindly give me a 

 few of the places where you catch black bast? I sec by 

 the morning papers that you are president of the Illinois 

 Fish Club League, on the strength of which this liberty 

 is taken. For the past four years it has been my custom 

 to fish at the Thousand Islands and vicinity with con- 

 siderable success, but would like to make a change this 

 season and do not wish to make a mistake as to locility." 



Mr. Richards evidently has faith in the practical work- 

 ings of the League. Really the best advice to him is to 

 tell him to take a reliable sportsman's paper which makes 

 a good specialty of angling. In that way he will gain 

 opportunity to review many experiences on many waters. 

 Tne Fox River, from McBenry down to Yorkville, affords 

 good bass fishing in proper season and under proper con- 

 dition" for the man who understands stream bass fishing. 

 Tne Kankakee River at H anna, at Waiter Valley, at I 

 Koutts, at Morn en ce, at Lorenzo, on similar conditions 

 offers fine sport. The whole Fox Lake system is full of 

 good big-mouth fishing, in the rushes. Powpt's Lake, 

 Delavan Lake, and plenty others in lower Wisconsin, 

 have good bass fishing. Spring Lake, bplow Pekin, Sen- 

 achwme Like, near McHanry, and a dozsn other lakes of 

 the Liinois valley, have fine bass fishing. The Illinois 

 itself is a good bass stream. The Rock R.ver, below Ft. 

 Atkinson, is a good bass stream also, and there are plenty 

 of others where the bass fisher who can cast a bait or a 

 fly fairly well can get bass. If one wants to catch so 

 many bass he is ashamed of himself, or ought to be, he 

 would better go further north, to the 'lunge country of 

 Wuconsin. Some of the little-fished lakes of that wilder- 

 ness are crowded with bass. B>rc Louk, a guide of Three 

 Rivers Station, Wis., can show a stranger plenty of these 

 lakes. The whole country up there is full of such 

 chances, though the catching is too easy to be sport. 

 Tnis is outside Illinois. In Illinois we need Mr. Richards 

 and a lot more men interested in bass fishing to take hold 

 of this State League work, so that after a while the in- 

 quiry for good fishing will be easily answered, if it need 

 be asked at all. 



Mrs. C. A. Baker, writing to the "Illinois Fish League," 

 Springfield, has the following to say: "Along Rock 

 River in the vicinity of Dixon many fish have been taken 

 in seines, and are being taken all the time. Is there any 

 way to prevent this? Are they allowed the privilege of 

 u-ing a seine — if so, what sized mesh? These fish should 

 be protected — how is one to accomplish it?" 



Answer was duly made to the above. Cannot anglers 

 see the necessity for the League, and the necessity it has 

 for funds? 



Mr. D.mcan writes me from La Salle: 



" Warden Green made a great seizure of nets on his trip 

 from Peoria to La Sille aboard the Lotus. A couple more 

 trips of the same kind will convince the poachers that 

 there is a fish law in this State that must be obpyed." 



Put Warden Green and Warden Buck to work the year 

 through, witb fund enough to back them, and they could 

 practically break up illegal netting in the State of Illinois. 

 Their record for this spring is over 200 nets seized. 

 Warden Buck is out on a still-hunt now, but it is not well 

 to say where just yet. 



The trout season is delayed. One catch of 120 comes 

 down from a stream near Sparta, Wis,, Mr. C. M. Burton 

 is going up there next week. 



Mr. Chas. Norris starts next Monday for his trout trip. 

 Mr. Karris has plans for dire vengeance on the big trout 

 of the Brule. 



Mr. Frank Shaw goes to River Falls, Wis., to-night, to 

 join his friend and partner, Mr. J. L. Wilcox, on his pre- 

 served stream. 



Early trout fishing is no sin, for trout do not spawn till 

 fall, and mosquitoes spawn in Mayor earlier. Early bass 

 fishing cannot rightfully be approved, as these fish are 

 spr ng spawners. They will spawn unusually late this 

 spang, as the waters are high and cold. 



Tne Scate of Missouri is overlooked too much by North- 

 ern anglers. The Gasconade, the St. Francis, the" Current 

 — these are streams whose superior we do not have. Be- 

 fore me I have some of the literature of the Current River 

 Fishing and Hunting Club, a successful organization of 

 150 membership. It read's thus in part: 



The Current River in 350 miles lona-, rising in the Ozark 

 Mountains in central Missouri, and running almo4 due souib, 

 emptying iaio the Rlaet River, nea' Pocahontas, Aik. The wafers 

 of ' hi« beautiful stream are as clear almost as the atmospnere, 

 and cool enougn to as« without ice in the warmest we ether. The 

 scenery along the rver is magnificent. No malaria exisis alon'< 

 the banks of thi« mountain stream, and its wa'ers abound with 

 laige and f mall-mouthed black hasp, white nercb, pike, blue cat- 

 fish, croppie, drum, striped bass, Muck perch" and sunflah. There 

 are do mud eat flan, or bullheads, garfish, grmnell or oogfisb, and 

 but tew crawfish in its waters, which are \ on clear and pure for 

 these scavengers and fishermen's pests. Mosq.uit.nes come late in 

 the season and leave early, and can easily he avoided by camping 

 on high ground. The <lui> house ts situited in a I>1 of the 

 mountain ranges, 200 mil^s long by 75 mii'S <*ide, constituting one 

 of the most magmheen'. natural deer parks in the world. 



The hunting and fi3hiug arounds are nnt so access b e as some 

 may deism ; but this is the secret of the excellent spore to be oo- 

 talned. Fish and game are soon destroyed where easily accessible 

 to 'he poi-huntev. 



Doniphan is 180 miles from Saint Louis You leave via I. M. 

 Bi'V at 8:30 P. M., and arrive at Doniphan at 7 A. M. n*xt da> . it 

 fs 18 radt s across the inoune«fn5 to the club hou^c, widen can also 

 be rr.i ched t>y boat up I he » iver. 



Trol ing with spoon, live bait fishing, casiirg with fly and b^it, 

 are ail suci essfullv practiced. Fi-h oanghi in this stream are 

 gam-y and bard fiahfrs. ReeordB of 75 and 7S black ba^s t o a 

 noax coQiainiug two ' r< lieis and a pionler.'n -\ live mile run ba< e 

 been ma'te several tim -s, the fish »verag?cg2ib8. weight; but club 

 memoets do not encourage such des.ructive catches— -these having 

 been maae merely as records. 



In the hunting sraioa the hills and valleys abound wi'h quail, 

 which are tame and easily found. Wild uirkev are plentiful, with 

 ;"ome pheasant. Large river bottom rabbits, almost as large as ' 



prairie jack rabbits, are plentiful, and furnish fine sport; while 

 for deer shooting this rauge is probable unequalled by any in the 

 United States, and an occasional panther or near can be found by 

 adventurous sportsmen by gung some distance bick in the bills, 

 which bids, at a distaLcs of live milts west of the Currpnt River 

 club house, Atp as tracul^ss as the wilds of Africa, and cm only 

 be traversed by aid of a pocket compass or experienced guide. 



That makes a fellow feel pretty good just to read, any- 

 how, and it sets a fellow thinking about the near use, one 

 place or another, of the compass or the guidp. 



E. Hough. 



GREEN RIVER TROUT, 



" \\7 sa ' c * Mel., turning in off the road, "this is 

 T t the place I have been thinking of to pitch our 

 tent. What do you think of it?" "Kinder nice; but 

 ain't it too near the road?" "Yes, 'tis very close; but, 

 then, hardly any one passes here, and no one around 

 these parts would touch our things, and we will be here 

 only one night you know." ' Very well. But I tell you 

 what, throw out the traps and go put the horse 

 in the barn, and I will scout around and see if there 

 is not a better place." So hustling around the things 

 were soon on the ground and Mel drove off; while 1 went 

 looking for a camping ground to suit me, and, after 

 walking for a few minutes, found the very place; well 

 sheltered from the wind or gaze of the traveling natives, 

 within a rod of the brook, and a nice bed of running, 

 mossy-kind of vines for a carpet. 



Mel. soon returned, and hear'ily approved of my choice, 

 and we soon carried the duffl * to the new spot. Then, 

 working like beavers, we quickly put up the square of 

 drilling that answered for a tent, and filled one end with 

 hemlocks to break the wind. A? our time was limited 

 we were content with some hay carried from the barn, to 

 answer for baddingin lieu of browse; this, with a blanket 

 spread over it, answered very nicely to us tired mortals. 



"Now," said Mel., puffing away on his pipe (which, by 

 the way, is the one thing about camping 1 cannot indulge 

 in, nodoubtto my loss), "you can go up the Moss Hollow 

 Brook to the bridge and fish it down to the river, and I 

 will walk up stream a mile and fish back to camp. We 

 want to gee supper before dark; about what time will 

 you be here?" ' Well, let's see," pulling out my watch ; 



'tis now about four; I guess lean make it by six-thirty; 

 let'd hustle," and putting on my creeJ I started off. Twas 

 only about a quarter of a mile to that bridge, but so anx- 

 ious was I to get fishing it seemed over a half mile. 

 Going above the bridge a few rods to a nice hole, I 

 dropped my hook in above it, and it drifted down into 

 the most inviting part— no response. There was another 

 good spot just below the bridge; tried that— no one home. 

 The water was low and very clear, and on both sides of 

 the brook were trodden paths where the fishermen had 

 been up and down, time and again, for the past few 

 weeks, leaving not a very bright ouilook for my side. 

 But I fished slowly and patiently down to the main 

 stream, getting only four trout, and by this time it was 

 necessary to start for camp, as Mel. might be there wait- 

 ing; so I hastened aad got there in time to clean my fish 

 and gather some wood before he appeared over the hill. 



"What luck?" said he. ''None hardly." 'That is a 

 slim looking supper," pointing to my four fish, "but we 

 will make out," and he opened his basket and showed 

 sixteen nice ones, from half a pound down. Selecting 

 eight to go with my four he set to cleaning them while I 

 made the fire, and soon bad coffee boiling and the pork 

 tried out. RolJing the trout in meal, they were soon 

 browned to a turn, and, with the bread, butter and 

 pickles, wer^ rapidly filling up the vast cavities under 

 our vests as Nawt Chase, our friend, whose barn the horse 

 was in, appeared to us. "Hello, boys; just eating sup- 

 per?" "We're most through, Newt; won't you have a 

 bite?" "Guess not; I have not eaten much the last few 

 days. My stomach has gone back on me." "Just try 

 one of these trout." said Mel.,, "they are cooked fine. 

 Hand him one." I passed over two that were joined 

 together by a nice brown piece of pork, while Mel. gave 

 him a slice of bread and butter. "Have some coffee, 

 won't you, Newt?" "Don't care if 1 do. You fellows 

 have made me eat more than I have eaten all day, and it 

 tastes good out here in the air," and he cleaned up what 

 we passed him with the ah of a man who was enjoying 

 himself, while Mel. lit up his blast furnace and. puffed 

 clouds of smoke at imaginary mo c quitoes. Rousing up 

 as the fire was getting low, I suggested that it would be 

 seemly and proper to draw on a pile of old rails by the 

 side of the road, called a fence, and Mel, started while I 

 gathered up the dishes and Newt started home, giving us 

 a perfect imitation of an owl's hoot as he disappeared in 

 the shadow caused by the flickering firelight. Mel- threw 

 on a number of rails and let them "nigger-in-two," as we 

 talked of past trips and of the morrow. After a last 

 smoke he was ready for bed, and we turned in. 



I woke at three, very cold, as Mel. had taken a grip on 

 the blankets and turned over, leaving me with one side 

 exposed. Not being able to recover my part of the 

 blankets, I called him up. "Come. M-d.! 'tis daylight, 

 and the birds are beginning to sing." He crawled out re- 

 luctantly from under the warm blankets, but once out 

 was soon ready for business and went fishing under one 

 dam while I tried the other. Taking six nice ones out of 

 one hole, I fished down stream a bhort distance with poor 

 success, and then returned for breakfast and found Mel. 

 had eight good ones. On arrival at camp found Newt 

 had been over and made a nest in our hay, depositing 

 therein eight fresh e-rgs, four of which did breakfast and 

 the, others we boiled hard for lunch. 



"Now," says Mel., filliog his pipe, "we will go up 

 stream three miles and fish down, then have lunch, after 

 which Newt can drive the horse down a few miles and 

 we will fish down to him, and then drive home." This 

 we did, but caught only a few decent trout, Mel. taking 

 one big fellow that weighed lib. 6:z. 



After lunch I put on a string of flies and could get all 

 the little ones, but so well had the lower part of the 

 stream been fished 1 had a ilse from only two good fish, 

 while Mel. could do nothing with bait. When about half 

 way down we met Newt coming back, so Mel. laid down 

 on the rocks and smoked while Nawt tried his hand. 

 "Say, boys," said he, "you ought to have seen the crowd 

 up here Arbor D ly ; there must have been twenty on that 

 Moss Hollow stream." "No wonder," said I. "that my 

 luck was so poor there." "If you fellows could come up 

 after a warm rain you would get a nice lot of good ones; 

 the water is too low and clear now." "We have done ! 

 well enough. Newt; had a nice supper out of them and j 

 got about fifty to take home; besides, think what a royal ' 



good time we have had, and how Mel. bassmokerl. Why! 

 he brought two pipes, so that one could cool eff while he 

 worked the other. Come, Mel., we must be going. Good 

 bye, Newt!' "Good bye, boys." And so we parted, he 

 going home to work in the mill and tend his sick folks, 

 and we to our team and then to Brat'leboro. 



My fish were cleaned and sent to Albany, to be fondled 

 and washed by three-year-old Sim, who enjoyed eating 

 them hugely, while we all talked of the fun we expect to 

 have at the camp this year, and the fioh we fit pe to 

 catch. DEXTtB. 



Albany. N. Y. 



NORTH SHORE FISHING STATIONS. 



I HAD often tried to imagine what it might be like, 

 and during a recent trip which Stephens and I made 

 to the North Shore we had opportunity to not only ob- 

 serve but also experience some what of the life. At Chi- 

 cago Bay there are three fishermen and they have their 

 wives and children with them, remaining at the station 

 the year through. "We have been here three years," 

 was the answer to our inquiry: "came here from 

 DulUth." 



All they know of the outside world comes by way of 

 the steamer which stops twice a week dudng the fishing 

 season, to take the "catch" to the great packing house at 

 Duluth, or an occasional party of fishermen, like Stephens 

 and I, who may chance to stop for a day or so. "There 

 has never been but one party here before you since we 

 have been here," said the boss of the station. "They run 

 in last summer because their tug was disabled, and they 

 only staid long enough for repairs." E v. ry thing with 

 steam power is a tug along the N n th Shore and Isle 

 Royal, or else a "big Canada boat." Why more fisher- 

 men do not visit Chicago Biy I do not know, as the 

 stream affords fine fishing, as Stephens and I proved, and 

 we were informed that later in the season the water at 

 the mouth of the creek was "alive with fine trout." 



The houses are built of spruce logs in the most primi- 

 tive fashion. Queer little gardens are found at all the 

 stations, often fenced in with nets. The fence is a neces- 

 sary protection against dogs, of which there are numbers 

 at each station. Savage, disreputable-looking curs, many 

 of them are too, and we wondered at their numbers until 

 we learned that they were used to draw sh dges and as 

 pack animals in the winter. On, the long, dreary win- 

 tei! The largest half of the yei r is winter. Then the 

 news from the world must come along the Indian trail 

 that winds along the shore from Duluth.to Grand Marais 

 and then on to Grand Portage. A faint thing this trad 

 is, a scarcely perceptible path. Stephens and I were 

 across it many timer, and always wonder pd that, with the 

 wear of years, the trail was so faint. At Chicago Bav and 

 Grand Portage Island the fishermen remain through the 

 winter. All they do is try to keep warm and occasion- 

 ally fish a little through the ice. But this is dangerous, 

 as the lake never freezes solid and the ice shifts and 

 drifts, and the fisherman may find himself and the seem- 

 ingly solid ice he is on drifting out into the lake. At 

 Grand Portage there are three men— no women or chil- 

 dren. Over on Washington Harbor, Isle R >yal, there are 

 eight fishermen, of whom only one has bis family, and 

 they go toDuluth for the winter. " We staid there last 

 winter," said Mrs. Johns, "but we went to the mine, and 

 many of the fishermen also went there, and worked all 

 winter." This mine is the prospecting diggings of the 

 Wendigo Copper Mining Comprny,.at the head of Wash- 

 ington Harbor, five miles from the station. Occasionally 

 two men will remain together all winter at some of the 

 stations, but words cannot describe the loneliness of such 

 an experience. 



A few years ago a man staid alone at one of the sta- 

 tions, but when they reached him in the spring he was 

 dead. "Was took sick, we think," said Peter. "Tried to 

 build a fire and could not ; put some grub on a chair by 

 the bed and crawled in, and there we found him dead." 

 One of the tragedies of the Isle. "Two years eg y ' said 

 Peter, "when the boat made her last trip, the man from 

 Washington Harbor did not comecJT, and the clay before 

 New Year's we started to sail over irorn Grand Portage 

 to find out what was the matter, and to get him away be- 

 fore ice formed. It was bitter cold, and after we were 

 started gusts of wind came with increasing frequency and 

 hardness, and before the island was reached we were in 

 a terrible gale. It was a chance if we would make port 

 other than the bottom of the lake. The boat was getting 

 heavy with ice and the sails frozen stiff, and we were be- 

 numbed with cold. At last we ran into Washington 

 Harbor, and right glad were we, for the gale proved to be 

 one of the worst of the year, We spent New Year's 

 there, then returned to Grand Portage, taking the man 

 with us." 



"There are many people coming and going in July and 

 August," said Mrs. Johns, "and it is quite lively on the 

 island, Last summer a party of twenty-four were en- 

 camped right where you are now for two weeks. Tney 

 were five brothers and their families." 



The hospitality of these fishermen is worth a long jour- 

 ney to experhnce, so freehanded and freehearted. What 

 surprised Stephens and I as much as anything was the 

 absence of swearing amoi g ihe men. We were thrown 

 in quite close association with the) men at three stations, 

 and only once did we hear a single oath, and that was so 

 modified that it could scatcely be c lied such. The 

 queer little settlement at Washington Harbor will long 

 be kept in memory. The little shanties of spruce logs, 

 chinked with most; their fimple, homely interiors: the 

 characteristic surroundings of net encompassed gardens, 

 net-reels, boats, bay and woedtd islands, > creaming, 

 chattering gulls, lauging loons, and generous, weather- 

 beaten men, all go to make a picture to b^ kept on 

 "memory's walls." Myron Cooley. 



Detroit City, M'nm, 



Adirondack Waters. — A Malone correspondent writes 

 under date of Ap-il 25: Tne prospect looks like anything 

 but an early season for trout fishing, and they can rest 

 secure beneath the ice for many days to come. Frost 

 last night stiffened everything in the way of a bud or 

 blade of grass. Mr. Fuller, of Meacharn Lake, informs 

 me that the ice is twelve to fifteen irch.es thick on the 

 lake, and from Lkes Tuns and Long I have similar re- 

 ports of winter's lingeriog in the lap of spring. How- 

 ever, we are girding our loins for the early sport, and 

 sportsmen are prophesying an unusu ally active campaign. 

 — H. E. Cantweix. 



