May 5, 1891,] 



as far ahead as we could and heard the splash of water 

 aa they struck and concluded that it would be unsatis- 

 factory work to explore uncertain holes in a mountain 

 with no light. Besides the air or lack of afr became op- 

 pressive and those "green eyes" might belong to Old 

 Nick himself. We made an exit through the tortuous 

 passage by which we entered and spent the rest of the 

 day gathering material for a squirrel stew. 



We expressed our desire to try for pickerel the next 

 day, but the plan was surreptitiously abandoned when 

 our guide informed us that he knew where there were 

 some trout — "big fellers." 



On the following morning, long before dawn, we had 

 embarked upon our dubious voyage in a square-end punt 

 propelled by a single paddle, our guide paddling while 

 we bailed. It was the intention to direct our course to 

 the mouth of Dead River, which sluggishly makes its way 

 into Sabattis Pond, then follow up the stream to the 

 "trout hole." A thick mist rested on the pond, and after 

 traveling until sunrise and finding ourselves near the 

 point of our departure we concluded that we had been 

 cutting a circle in the fog. It was of no use to think of 

 catching trout then, our guide informed us, for nothing 

 would bite after sunrise but "flounders and hornpouts." I 

 was at a loss to know to what fish he alluded as "floun- 

 ders," but afteward learned that it was the little sunfish 

 or pumpkin seed (Lepomis gibbosus). The hornpout is a 

 small catfish (Animus catus). 



On the following morning we made a successful attempt 

 to reach our destination, where we arrived a little after 

 dawn. Our guide proceeded to unwind a stout line with 

 a large hook and baited with several ground worms. He 

 fished by hand with no rod, while we attempted to cast 

 our flies. The space was small, and very little chance to 

 play a trout should one be hooked. We had the pleasure 

 of seeing a beauty break away and disappear from our 

 covetous gaze. Our guide pulled in three 2-pounders 

 hand over hand, as they rushed from side to side, and 

 advised us that "them fellers like worms better'n feathers." 

 Those three trout were the only ones taken. Just before 

 sunrise the sunfish and hornpouts began to bite, and soon 

 seemed to fairly swarm in the water. We then pulled up 

 stakes and made our way back along this stream, which, 

 near the pond, made its way through a good- sized marsh 

 where numerous huge watersnakes {Tropidonotus sipe- 

 don) were sunning themselves on the banks and logs. 

 That day was consumed in an almost constant fusilade 

 against plovers and sandpiper, which were quite plenti- 

 ful, though wild, in the marsh. A good supply were 

 bagged, and graced our table in the shape of an exceed- 

 ingly palatable pot pie. 



This summer 1 met our old guide, who informed me 

 that the squirrels had migrated, the birds are few, the 

 pickerel extinct and the trout of the past, but the pond 

 still rested, there, snakes still abounded in Dead River 

 and bull frogs croaked out an undisturbed existence. 



___ Bill. 



BOSTON ANGLING PARTIES. 



BOSTON anglers were never more anxious for the de- 

 parture of the ice from the more celebrated of the 

 Maine trout lakes than they are this season. Up to the 

 time of this writing the ice was still hard and solid in 

 Moosehead Lake and the Rangeleys, and the chances are 

 not in favor of its moving before the Sth to the 10th of 

 May. Several parties will start from Boston as soon as 

 the telegraph brings word that the ice is out, while 

 others, of the less enthusiastic class, but often the more 

 fortunate, will wait for brighter days and warmer 

 weather. The latest accounts still mention extremely low 

 water, with rain badly needed. One party has already 

 left for Rangeley, indeed, with the hope that some sport 

 may early be had with the landlocked salmon in Rangeley 

 Lake. This party as made up, nearly to the time of 

 starting, was composed of Mr. Foster, of the boot and 

 shoe house of Lamkin & Foster, Mr. J. B. Field, and sev- 

 eral friends. They go to Rangeley first, then to the 

 Birches, as Capt. Fred C. Barker has lately renamed his 

 camps at Student Island, in Mooselucmaguntic. Another 

 party, anxious to be off, is the Camp Vive Vale party, 

 the owners of the pretty camp of that name in the Nar- 

 rows of Richardson Lake. This party is composed of Mr. 

 C. P. Stevens, of the printers' roller house of Wilde & 

 Stevens, his nephew, F. B. Stevens, of the same house, 

 E. J. Shattuck, manager of the printers' ink house of 

 Geo. K. Morrill & Co., and his brother, Chas. H. Shattuck, 

 manager of the San Francisco branch of the same house.' 

 Mr. Charles IL Shattuck, though an Eastern man origi- 

 ' nally, has never fished the Rangeleys, and is expecting 

 great sport. He came on to visit his brother a week or 

 two ago, and through the solicitations of the same 

 brother and Fred Stevens he has concluded to prolong his 

 visit till the ice is out of the lakes and then to try the 

 Maine trout. A letter to-day from Mrs. F. M. Thomas, 

 of Andover, says that the Narrows are already oppn' 

 though the ice is still in the lake above and below. For 

 Charley Shattuck's sake this party will be off even be- 

 fore the ice is announced as out, if it stays many more 

 days, though one or two of the older hands at the busi- 

 ness wish secretly in their own minds that it may not go 

 too soon. They have been up there before when the 

 weather was cold, with a freeze every night and the trees 

 bare of leaves, 



Mr. C. Z. Bassett, of G-eo. B. Appleton & Co., tackle 

 dealers, and his friend Mr. G. N. Smally will go to the 

 Rangeleys, but they are not over anxious for the ice to be 

 ont„ nor to be up there in the cold days of early spring. 

 They will go about the 21st of May, however, and they 

 will visit several of the best fishing points in the Rangeley 

 system. Among other attractions thev hope to be late 

 enough for some fly-fishing at Little Kennebago. Mr. 

 Basset had good sport last year, going over about the 

 same ground and leaving Boston about the same date. 



It seems that the Lawton party could hardly wait for 

 the Maine trout lakes to open this year. They started 

 Friday for Lake George, N. Y. They go for lake trout or 

 togue fishing, for which that lake is noted, in the way of 

 very fine fish. At least such was the opinion of the party 

 when it started. It is suggested, however, by friends of 

 the party, that they will come back ready to go to Maine 

 after the trout they did not get at Lake George. The 

 party was made up to include Mr, Herbert Lawton, com- 

 mission dealer in woolens, 145 Franklin street; Mr. Henry 

 A. Priest, of Priest, Page & Co. ; his brother John F. Priest 

 and Mr. Will F. Chapman. The Messrs. Priest have been 

 to the Rangeleys in former seasons, I believe. 

 A party of considerable dignity and influence has been 



made up for Grand Lake Stream, and it was to start on 

 Saturday. It was made up of Mayor Nathan Mathews 

 nf Boston, Superintendent of Streets Carter, Alderman 

 Lee, Mr. C. F. Rice, and Mr. Perry of the Massachusetts 

 Building Association. They have fitted out extensively, 

 and expect good fishing for landlocked salmon. The ice 

 is out in those waters, but not much fishing is yet re- 

 ported. It is plain that angling is popular in Boston. 

 Both the Governor and the Mayor, with most of the ex- 

 Governors, are earnest devotees. Then there are the 

 clergymen, the lawyers, the schoolmasters and the clerks, 

 who go later at vacation time, each with rod and line. 



Again there are reports of big sport salmon fishing at 

 Bangor. It is current that one day last week Mr. Fred 

 Ayer, the noted salmon fisherman of that city, took 

 twenty salmon in one day, while another report says that 

 he has taken twenty this season. The latter report is 

 probably the correct one. But there have been one or two 

 days of remarkable fishing in the great pool below the 

 dam at that place. A Boston gentleman who was in Ban- 

 gor on business on one of those days was attracted by the 

 crowd and stopped and saw the sportsmen land several of 

 these most noble fish. He came back to Boston wishing 

 that he was a salmon angler, and indeed he went into one 

 of the tackle stores to find out the cost of an outfit. But 

 when he had inquired about tackle to the cost of $200 or 

 $300 and found that he was scarcely more than begun, he 

 gave up in discouragement. 



What is termed the "Boy's Party" of the Monomoy 

 Brant Club got back to Boston the other day, after a week 

 or more of shooting. They found the weather good, but 

 brant proved to be searce, and only 15 were killed by this 

 party. The party was composed of four or five members 

 of the club and three or four invited guests. The mem- 

 bers of the club were Mr. Harry D. Reed, A. H. Wright, 

 Robert S. Gray, E. Frank Lewis and Henry Colburn. 

 Among the invited guests was Mr. Henry Simonds, who 

 has been with the same party a great many times. 



Mr. Henry C. Litchfield, with Dame, Stoddard & Ken- 

 dall, in the fishing tackle trade, received a very hand- 

 some [present on Saturday. It was a fine specimen of 

 brook trout from Swan Lake, near Belfast, Me. It was 

 sent with another one by Mr. C. B. Hazeltine with a let- 

 ter which stated that the two were out of nine taken from 

 that lake the day before by Fish Commissioner Henry 

 C. Stanley and a friend. Mr. Hazeltine also stated that 

 the two trout were about the average size— one weighed 

 over 41bs. and the other a trifle less — and he also remarked 

 that it was "rather slow fishing." His friends in Boston 

 would like to know what he considers "fast fishing" if 

 nine of such beautiful fish in a day as the one shown in 

 Dame, Stoddard & Kendall's window is to be considered 

 "slow." Mr. Hazeltine doubtless would like to take 

 twenty nine-pounders in a day, and so would we all of 

 us; but to the eyes of Boston anglers that4lbs. Swan Lake 

 trout was a "whopper." Mr. Hazeltine invites his friend, 

 Mr. Litchfield, to "try them any day." Perhaps some of 

 the rest of us may be there. By the way, it will doubt- 

 less be remembered by the readers of Forest and 

 Stream that Commissioner Stanley was about the first 

 to succeed in taking these beautiful trout from Swan 

 Lake a couple of years or more ago. It had been known 

 for some time that they were in the lake, but no one had 

 taken them to any extent till Mr. Stanley succeeded and 

 established the fact that they are there in abundance. 

 He took a number of trout for spawning purposes from 

 the same place last fall. 



Mr. Samuel Hano, owner of the beautiful camp on 

 Birch Island, in the bend of Cup3uctic Lake, is very 

 anxious for the ice to go out. Indeed, it is hardly possi- 

 ble that he will wait for the announcement that the ice is 

 gone, but will start this week. He hopes to get some 

 early trolling for landlocked salmon, Some of his friends 

 suggest that if he goes to Rangeley before the ice leaves 

 that he have a trench cut in the ice a mile or two long, 

 and that he troll in this, walking on the ice and dragging 

 the line behind in the trench. Mr. Hano has built about 

 as many houses in Newton and Alston as anybody in the 

 world. 



Mr. C. A. Hopkins, New England agent of the New York 

 Mutual Life Insurance Co., left for Grand Lake Stream 

 yesterday. He expects good sport. It would almost 

 seem though, as if a greater number than ever had gone 

 to that locality for landlocked salmon this year, and the 

 season is scarcely begun yet. 



Mr. L. Dana Chapman, whom the Forest and Stream 

 mentioned as down to Bourne with his friend F. A. Lar- 

 kin, of Milwaukee, trout fishing last week, brought back 

 a dozen. 



Some three or four years ago Mr. Henry C. Litchfield 

 got up a special split-bamboo fly-rod for Mr. Howe, of 

 the Emerson Piano Co. Mr. Howe made a present of the 

 rod to his wife. That very autumn Mrs. Howe was killed 

 on.the Tobique River in New Brunswick, the sad and un- 

 fortunate circumstances of which were related in the 

 Forest and Stream at that time. Mrs. Howe was a 

 sister of Mrs. Dizer, who is to make up one of the Chap- 

 man party to Student Island, mentioned in the Forest 

 and Stream last week. The beautiful fly-rod has been 

 presented to Mrs. Dizer by Mr. Howe, and it will be used 

 this spring. 



Mark Hollings worth, a visitor almost every season to 

 the Upper Dam, and well known in the world of art- 

 ists, will go to the old haunts this year again, and pro- 

 poses to take Mrs. Hollings worth with him. This will be 

 Mrs. Hollings worth's first trip to the trout lakes. I believe. 

 They will not start before the first of June, preferring 

 warm weather and green trees to ice water and over- 

 coats. Mrs. Hollin gsworth took an 8lbs. trout just out 

 from Camp Stewart last year. That trout had been pre- 

 viously marked by Mrs. Moody, of the Camp Stewart 

 party, but they came out one day too soon. Special. 



Bangor Fishermen say there is no such thing as a 

 Kennebec salmon, as the fish will not go into that river; 

 yet Kennebecs are sold regularly in the markets, and 

 even before the sea salmon have returned to the coast. 

 How is this accomplished? By bringing over from Puget 

 Sound the steelhead or Gairdner's trout, which passes 

 cm-rent for the Kennebec without the slightest trouble. 



Woodville, N. H.— The trout fishing in this vicinity 

 is opening well on the early brooks, though the snow is 

 not off yet back in the hills. The Wild Ammonoosuc will 

 soon be in condition, however, and some good strings and 

 large fish (from i to 21bs.) will be showed before the 1st 

 of June. I know for I have tried it before.— C. S. G. 



BASS FISHING. 



[ConeltiOed from page -m.) 



1 WOULD strongly recommend the novice to start in with 

 trolling. Flies can be used in this style of fishing by one 

 utterly ignorant of casting. In using' them let the lower 

 fly sink, but keep the upper fly on the surface: draw them 

 along with a jerky motion. Strike on sight or touch. In 

 trolling always use a swivel to connect the leader with 

 the line, to prevent twisting. The dead minnow can be 

 used as in directions given for casting, or this style may 

 suit you better: Take a piece of gut and fasten two hooka 

 about Sin. apart; the upper hook can travel on a small 

 gut loop or be made a fixture; have both hooks pointing 

 the same way; now, take a dead minnow, 3 or 4in. is 

 large enough, and pass the upper hook through the upper 

 and lower lips, and the end hook near the back fin. Use 

 two swivels with the arrangement, this lower one about 

 the center of the leader. Fasten by passing the upper 

 loop through the ring, bring it over the lower ring and 

 back to the starting point, bring the lower loop over the 

 ring and pass the hook, point first, through it; piill the 

 gut through and shove the loop down, about 3ft. from the 

 end, throw the leader into a loop and attach a fly in this 

 manner; if you fancy, have it on a piece of gut 3 or 4in. 

 long or take the fly loop, pass the strand around the 

 leader and bring the fly through the loop. 



The angler sits with his back to the oarsman, who 

 should row quietly over the best grounds. Paddling is 

 best in shoal water, and sailing is the best of all. About 

 35yds. for shoal water and a trifle less for deep is about 

 the right length of line. Trail the line aside from the 

 boat's course; it will then pass over undisturbed water; 

 lengthen the line by pulling it off the reel; the resistance 

 will take up the slack. Deep pools and places near the 

 bank of the stream are the best. In ponds troll near the 

 lily pads or any likely spot, keeping your boat well out. 

 Occasionally vary the motion of yotir minnow. Strike 

 close on the rise or tug. The same directions will apply 

 to grasshoppers, spoon, etc. If you are fastened to a 

 large fish get him away from the shore and into deep 

 water as soon as possible. In playing a fish near sunken 

 logs or weeds, net him the first good chance you get. A 

 6ft. leader in two parts, connected by loops, will be found 

 very useful for general bait-fishing. If possible, avoid 

 fishing with the sun at your back. The early morning 

 and late afternoon fishing is apt to be the best. Remem- 

 ber that to be successful you must keep your line wet. 

 The bait question is often a vexed one to the angler who 

 visits a strange locality. Minnows and grasshoppers are 

 often scarce early in the season, however, the humble 

 worm is always accessible and is a bait not to be despised. 

 Use a very small hook for catching minnows, tied on to 

 a piece of cast-off leader or a fine line; they are very shv 

 about biting sometimes. You can use a minnow seine if 

 you like. This is stretched across the stream and the 

 minnows driven into it. A fine-meshed landing net can 

 also be used. For my part I can generally catch enough 

 with a hook and line. For grasshoppers, a box punched 

 full of small holes, the width and depth the same, is the 

 best to use. Make a quick grab and shove them in head 

 first. Avoid overgrown specimens. You can catch frogs 

 the same way, or use a piece of red flannel on a hook; the 

 smaller ones are the best. Hook them through the skin 

 of the hind leg, close up to the body, and use them the 

 same as live minnows. Search under stones on the rifts 

 for crawfish; use them as a bottom bait. A flat box, with 

 pieces of cork glued to the bottom, will answer fairly 

 well to keep your hooks, flies, leaders, etc. Always carry 

 your leaders m a neat coil. Carry the leader you intend 

 to use coiled around your hat: it will soon straighten out 

 in the water. On your return draw all the line off the 

 reel and hang it up in coils to dry, the leader likewise. 

 Wipe off the reel and oil the working parts occasionally 

 with watchmaker's or sewing machine oil. Wipe off the 

 rod £.nd the inside of the ferrules; keep them plugged 

 when not in use; lay the rod down flat in a cool place. 

 In going through brush it is a good plan to either take off 

 the butt piece or take the rod apart and pack the joints 

 together by winding your line about them, not very 

 tight. Good tackle will last a long time with care. 

 Always put your bucket in shape and turn it bottom up 

 over night, and then hang it up. 



If any of my readers feel thankful for information given 

 they can give a substantial proof of their gratitude by 

 returning to the water all black bass under ^lb. in weight: 

 double it for pome waters. A few remarks about Milton 

 Lake and vicinity will be of interest to the anglers who 

 intend to visit us during the season. The west bank of 

 the lake and stream is by far the best; a rough place, 

 about a quarter of a mile below the bridge, has been 

 cleared sufficiently to give an abundance of casting room : 

 this portion of the stream is very secluded. The angler 

 will have no difficulty in fishing both sides, as the stream 

 is quite narrow, the pool at the camp excepted. There is 

 another good pond about 100yds. above the camp. Large 

 bass are seldom seen around the bridge, and there is no 

 fishing worthy of the name above it. There used to be a 

 pond stocked with black bass about a mile up stream from 

 this point. The great flood of 1884 destroyed it. The 

 greatest depth of water in the lake is off the evergreens; 

 this place will suit the easy-going angler, as deep-water 

 fishing does not require the same caution that shoal 

 water does. A boat is not needed, unless you want to 

 troll, as most of the fishing can be done from the shore; 

 seek for minnows in the stream above the bridge and 

 below the dam; rely on bait, as the fly is an uncertain 

 lure. The experienced angler always has a good fighting 

 chance, provided the water is not too high; remember, if 

 you leave before dusk you are liable to miss the best of 

 the fishing for both fly and bait. The pool at the bridge, 

 near Milton, contains some fair-sized bass; between this 

 point and the upper bridge there is a good place for min- 

 nows; about three-quarters of a mile to the north is the 

 water works. The Rahway River at this point is a charm- 

 ing combination of woods and water. A good spring of 

 water, along with a fair supply of black bass, contributes 

 to render the place attractive to the angler. The best 

 places are a short distance above the little falls; the bass 

 are very gamy, but average small in size. Rely on grass- 

 hoppers and worms, as minnows are scarce in this local- 

 ity. The angler who appreciates the beauties of nature 

 gets the best results from his outing. Artist. 

 Rahway, New Jersey. 



Trout Fishing in Alaska will open late this year, 

 writes a correspondent from Port Townsend, Wash, 



