June 9, 1898.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



543 



ANGLING NOTES, 



There are times when the ways of fishes, or some par- 

 ticular fishes, are past finding out. During the past year 

 or two pike (E. lucius), commonly and by statute in New 

 York called pickerel, originally introduced maliciously 

 into some of the trout waters of the Adirondack Wilder- 

 ness, have found their way through natural channels into 

 other trout waters of the region where they have previ- 

 ously been unknown. As yet there has been no system- 

 atic effort made to rid these waters of the pike, after the 

 manner that is successfully practiced in trout waters in 

 Great Britain, where this predaceous fish is found in 

 greater numbers than in the Adirondacks, and for a very 

 good reason, namely, that the law would not permit such 

 an effort to be made. The new law has remedied this by 

 providing that deleterious fish may be removed from the 

 waters of the Stateunder the supervision of the Fish Com- 

 mission; at the same time it provides a rebate amend- 

 ment to the clause which has hitherto made it impossible 

 to plant any species of fish not of the salmon family in 

 Adirondack waters, by giving the Commissiopers power 

 to introduce fish of any kind, if it is done under a resolu- 

 tion of the board. It is generally understood that this 

 amendment was inserted in order that black bass might 

 be introduced to prey upon and destroy the so-called 

 pickerel in waters where they are not welcome. This has 

 seemed to me like jumping from a moderately warm 

 frying-pan into an exceedingly hot fire. Now comes the 

 paradox, and one may well say, "Are things what they 

 seem, or is visions about?" 



My friend, Herr von dem Borne, writes me from Ger- 

 many: "I can assure you that I have never found that 

 my black bass have done injury to other fishes. The pike 

 is here the master, and I am in doubt if it will be possible 

 to make the black bass plentiful in our rivers and lakes 

 where pike are abundant. Prince Schwarzenberg, of 

 Bohemia, where there are some 12,000 acres of carp ponds 

 which can be drained and are cha,nged for a time into 

 arable land, writes me that the pike has made terrible 

 havoc among his black bass." This is a new indictment, 

 and doubtless comes from planting small bass in waters 

 with big pike, for Herr von dem Borne, who introduced 

 the black bass into Germany, has reared thousands of 

 young bass from a few parent fish. Four miles from 

 where I am writing is a spring pond, and when I first 

 knew it as a boy it contained pike in abundance, sunfish 

 and yellow perch. Adult black bass were introduced and 

 the pike disappeared utterly; then trout were planted 

 and they disappeared, and now the black bass, perch and 

 sunfish are in possession. 



A writer in Land and Water relates an experience in 

 salmon fishing where his flies and the flies of a friend 

 fishing with him proved so unattractive that altogether 

 they killed but a few beggarly fish in two weeks, while 

 amateur fishermen on the same water at the same time 

 killed two or three fish per day. The latter as he was 

 about to leave gave the others two flies of a new pattern 

 with which he had killed his fish, and thereafter for two 

 weeks of that season and many weeks of other seasons 

 this fly killed fish on that water when all other patterns 

 were refused, and he concludes thus: "Why such 

 should be the case is a question that has baffled me ever 

 since." He is not the only man who has been baffled in 

 this manner. Twenty-five years ago I was fishing in 

 an Adirondack lake when the trout rose to one fly in a 

 cast of three with such avidity that they tumbled over 

 each other in their eagerness to get it to the exclusion of 

 the others. The favored fly resembled nothing under the 

 sun that T have seen. Where I got the six flies of the 

 pattern that were that day in my fly book I do not know, 

 nor have I seen their counterpart since, except as I have 

 had them tied: but the strangest thing about it all is that 

 f rom that day to this, although repeatedly tried on many 

 waters, I never have found the same fly even moderately 

 successful. 



There are few, if any, trout streams in the Eastern 

 States that I have fished on which the coachman is not 

 a good fly. In fishing new streams I have generally put 

 on a coachman, either with white or lead-colored wings, 

 as one fly of the cast at some part of the day, and found 

 it killing. In fact, of all the flies called general flies, the 

 coachman in my estimation holds first place. On a 

 stream in Vermont that for nine successive years I have 

 fished each June (the very word brings up visions of 

 trout, and Lowell's lines, 



"And what is so rare as a day in June? 

 Then, if ever, come perfect days,'] 



describe the days on which they were caught, for to the 

 fly-fisherman there are no other days to compare with 

 June days). I once would have thought of leaving my 

 reel off the butt of my rod as quickly as of leaving a 

 coachman off my leader, but one day I put on a Mars- 

 ton's fancy with a coachman, and to my surprise the new 

 fly at once established itself as first favorite with the fish. 

 Mr. Marston had just sent me a couple of dozen of the 

 flies from England, and the trout never had seen it, but 

 they took it like an old acquaintance indigenous to the 

 water, and they continued to do so succeeding years and 

 in other waters. 



The season of the year and Mr. Marston's name reminds 

 me of another matter. A few years ago he told me in a 

 letter how he enjoyed fishing in England with dear old 

 Rouben Wood. He said Uncle Reuben "was charmed 

 with the sweet old English village of Hungerford, and 

 told me he felt as if he had lived there way back in May- 

 flower time. Our hawthorn was in full bloom. 'May,' 

 we call it 'a spray of May,' and spring was beautiful. 

 Spring is beautiful everywhere, but I cannot imagine it 

 so beautiful anywhere as is rural England," 



Last year Mr. Marston sent me two dozen hawthorns 

 that I might feel the spirit of Chaucer, Spenser and 

 Shakespeare in the air. I feared that every one of them 

 would die, but this spring, when all nature was putting 

 on a garb of tender green, the English "May" was robed 

 with the best, and later, when they put out their blossoms 

 of white and scarlet, I shall have a small bit of rural 

 England as a daily reminder of my friend over the water. 



It is but a step from hawthorns back to fly-fishing. I 

 presume that every fly-fisher has at some time or another 

 found a likely-looking trout pool and worked it carefully 

 with his flies from one end to the other, and perhaps 

 changed his flies and rested the pool and again worked 



over it without getting a rise from a trout of decent size, 

 and then proceeded down stream or up stream, just as it 

 happens that he is a down stream or up stream fisher, 

 feeling that in the pool a big trout is lurking, that he 

 must be there because everything indicates it, but un- 

 fortunately the fly-book does not contain the particular 

 fly that will bring his troutship from his lair. If this 

 should happen to a fly-fisher during this charming 

 blossom season, and he has fished the pool artistically 

 and well, instead of proceeding on his way, haunted by 

 the thought of a big trout left behind, let him fill his 

 pipe, if he is a smoker, and retire from the pool until the 

 soothing weed is consumed, and smoker and pool are 

 both rested. Then approach and cast the flies below or 

 at one side of the particular spot which appears to hold 

 the fish, and when the flies sink below the surface draw 

 them past the spot with force enough to make the water 

 curl as it is divided by the flies drawn so swiftly that 

 neither trout nor man can distinguish the particular flies 

 of the cast. A^N. Cheney. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST, 



[By a Staff Correspondent.'] 



Chicago, 111., June 4. — The Cisco are running on Lake 

 Geneva, Wis. Two men caught 400 June 1. Lovers of 

 this brief but lively little fishing season will do well to 

 hasten, as it lasts but a few days. 



The large party mentioned earlier as located for this 

 week on the Little Oconto have sent down two reluctant 

 emissaries who state that five men have caught 384 trout 

 the day before they left. Mr. Fred Taylor has sent word 

 also that the sport was good. 



Mr. Chas. Norris took 53 trout last week on one of his 

 buried streams of the north peninsula, but his largest only 

 weighed 21bs., the average being near fibs. 



Billy Fanner caught 15 bass and some good pike in Lake 

 Marie two days last week. The bass were taken trolling 

 on spoon and phantom minnow rather than on frog. 



Messrs. J. M. Clark. Geo. Morell and Chas. Porter spent 

 three days last week floating down the chain of the Fox 

 Lake system. They started from Camp Lake and passed 

 thence through Lake Marie, Grass Like, Fox Lake, Lake 

 Nippersink, and so on down the Fox River to Carey. 

 They camped out, and used one of Mr. Clark's new nest- 

 ing boats. They report a pleasant time, their catch being 

 40 bass. The best fishing was in Lake Catherine. Noth- 

 ing in the river. The lakes were high but clear, the river 

 full of mud. The bass were taken in the shallows of the 

 meadows or overflows. 



Mr. Homer Bevier, of Niles, Mich., writes as follows 

 concerning the angling outlook at that point: 



"I have just returned from an afternoon's fishing spree 

 after trout. Three of us went. Followed the creek for 

 about three miles and not a trout in the party to show 

 for our labor. Not even a bite, except by chubs, and 

 those we got a little too frequently for comfort or 

 pleasure. Worms are too scarce and hard to dig to 

 afford to feed to chubs. 



"Three years ago quite a number of trout were caught 

 near here in a creek. Two years ago there were not so 

 many, only a few taken out, ten fishermen for each 

 trout. Last year fishing for the beauties became very 

 monotonous, for we could not catch any. They were not 

 there to catch. This year, so far, three or four have 

 been out after them, but no fish have showed up, and I 

 think what little trout fishing we did have here has run 

 out. No one attended to stocking the streams, as should 

 have been done, and as a natural result fish have become 

 very scarce. 



"When I want any good trout fishing I get on train 

 and go down to Kalamazoo and fish on Silver Brook, or 

 go north to Cadillac or Traverse City. The best place I 

 know of is up north on Chicago & Northwestern R. R., 

 at a place called Watersmeet, a junction of two roads. I 

 was there on business two weeks ago, and while wait- 

 ing for the traiu hour) I saw three parties pass by 

 with a fine lot of trout. I understand one party caught 

 fifty-two there the day before. That country is full of 

 small streams and all have trout in. I met C. E. Hollen- 

 beck, of Chicago, at Iron Mountain; he was on his way 

 out to Watersmeet to spend two or three days with the 

 landlord there (who by the way is a very pleasant gen- 

 tlemen to meet and has a complete fishing outfit always 

 ready for the boys) and go for the trout. He says he 

 has been there every spring for the past four years and 

 never failed to catch all the trout he wanted. 



"Our trout fishing here I consider no good. But we 

 have got some very fine bass fishing within 5 miles of us, 

 at Barren Lake. Myself and a friend were out there on 

 Monday afternoon, did not get on the lake until 3:30 

 P. M., returned home in the evening with twelve black- 

 ies; rather a surprise to me, as I supposed it was early 

 yet for them." 



Mr. Bevier's comment on the fishing of his vicinity is 

 not encouraging. We have had the impression here that 

 the Watersmeet country has been pretty well skinned out 

 of good trout, though in the center of a great country 

 for all sorts of lake and stream fishing. I am glad to 

 hear so good report of the trout fishing there, 



Secretary Davis, of the Grand Calumet Heights Club, 

 has the following in regard to the Decoration Day cele- 

 bration at this pleasant and convenient assembly point 

 on the lake shore : 



"Our May festival was a grand success, thanks to the 

 efforts of some of the members, the attendance being 

 nearly fifty. The river fishing is now at its best, one 

 member of the club caught seven pickerel and two black 

 bass in less than two hours on Decoration Day. The 

 woods are one mass of brilliant colors, as wild flowers of 

 all kinds are in great profusion. As for sailing on the 

 lake 'we are right in it,' is the expression of some of the 

 members who indulged in that delightful pastime on 

 that day. 



"Let us continue the good work begun last week; run 

 down to the club often, invite your friends, bring in new 

 members, and above all, don't forget that the last Wed- 

 nesday of this month is the time your extra membership 

 certificates expire. It is also the time of the annual 

 meeting.' 



The secretary's little joke about being "in it" refers to 

 two gentlemen who capsized on Lake Michigan a half 

 mile out, and were saved by Mr. L. J. Marks only by a 

 very prompt, trying and highly manful effort. These 

 two gentlemen were sailing in a small boat. They had 

 the Bheet made fast. One would think there was no one 

 left on earth who would make fast the sheet in these 

 days, especially on so dangerous a water as Lake Michi- 



gan, but these two unfortunates did. It took three 

 minutes to untie the knot. It took three seconds to turn 

 the boat bottom side up. After all, it is not strictly ne- 

 cessary to hasten to save people who lash the sheet fast. 

 They ought to be left to soak a good long while anyhow 

 and get a good, fair taste of drowning. Mr. Marks, how- 

 ever, did not know they had done this until after he had 

 fished them out at the end of his long and desperate pull 

 to save them. Mr. Marks is justly the hero of that club. 

 He acted when others wailed and waited. 



The Chicago Fly-Castine Club held its first practice 

 meet at Washington Park, May 26, eighteen members be- 

 ing in attendance at the rather moist festivities, rain 

 falling most of the time. The park board assigned the 

 gentlemen to a small pumped-out lake with a high bank 

 rising back of the shore, but in spite of this unfavorable 

 feature a very pleasant time was had and the lines were 

 stretched for the first time this spring for many of the 

 anglers. There is some comfort in pitching a fly, even 

 in make-believe. 



Mr, Cole, the energetic president of the Illinois State 

 Fish League, issues the following letter: 



"I did not call our directors together as the flood would 

 prevent our meeting on the Illinois River. I now pro- 

 pose that we meet some time in June at Springfield. 

 Please let me know what you think of this, and what 

 date or dates will be best for you. I am writing as above 

 to each director, as I wish to consult the convenience of 

 all as nearly as possible. The Fox River Fish and Game 

 Association have voted to join the League. I have also 

 begun a canvass of individuals for life and annual mem- 

 berships. Am meeting with good success, and expect to 

 come to our next meeting with several hundred dollars 

 pledged. I hope that your people are taking an interest 

 in the organization, and that we can start our work with 

 good backing. I have made no move to appoint the 

 standing committees, as I wiBh that to be done by the 

 directors. Will you kindly appoint a good man for each 

 of the legislation and protection committees, and get 

 their consent to serve. We want men who will act. I 

 have received very many encouraging letters and feel 

 confident that with the proper amount of work and 

 energy we can make our League a marked success." 



Mr. Jas. St. John Greenough, the president of the 

 Whiteside County Club, writes as follows from Sterling, 

 this State: 



"The Whiteside County Field Club did have a member- 

 ship of 60, but we have had no regular meeting for 

 eighteen months, but we convicted 14 netters that year. 

 Last year they were quiet, but did some seining nights, 

 but were not organized. This year it is about the same. 

 Our fish warden, Mr. John Dickson, is a very effective 

 man, but has to work for a living and cannot devote 

 enough time to this business as he or myself would like; 

 still his close watch makes seining difficult and very ex- 

 pensive. I would like to have you write to Dr, Law, 

 Dixon, 111,, president of their fish club, and get him in- 

 terested, and I also will write him. Rock River is the 

 home of the black bass. It is the only rock bottom stream 

 between the Alleghenies and the Rockies, and until the 

 last eight years black bass were so thick fall and spring 

 that they w-ere snagged in large quantities with gang 

 hooks. But a man named Sampson started three fish 

 wagons through the country and got his stock from the 

 fishermen on Rock River, making a market for them, and 

 so they have depleted the river of all game fish. 



"I am going to get about thirty of us together for the 

 new club and join the Illinois Fish League, soon as I can 

 get around to it. Am obliged at present to walk on 

 crutches, which hinders me from doing active work." 



To sum up the angling situation for this section: The 

 rivers offer no bass fishing; the lake fishing for bass is 

 coming on, though the bass are by no means done spawn- 

 ing. Trout fishing is now good, though the streams in 

 the lower part of Wisconsin and Michigan are much 

 swollen, and all trout trips should be laid far north, 



Floods cost 500 lives in the West this spring, $35,000,000 

 damage outside of that done to crops, and a damage to 

 the spring season of sport of unknown and unspeakable 

 extent. E. Hough. 



WEST COAST FLY-FISHING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The comments of Mr. R. L. Ogden ("Podgers") in last 

 Forest and Stream, on my recent assertions regarding 

 fly-fishing for salmon and salmon trout on the West coast 

 are indeed gratifying to me. I had approached the sub- 

 ject with considerable hesitancy, for I expected every 

 body to "jump" me instanter; but with such backing as 

 experienced and practical "Podgers" I feel pretty safe 

 from attack. In fact his experience on the Navara will 

 probably set the matter at rest, as it should. By the way, 

 "Podgers's" Commentaries are highly entertaining and in- 

 structive and fairly bristle with good, practical hints all 

 the way through; and as practical suggestions from men 

 of such extended and varied experience as Mr. Ogden are 

 just what most of us want I for one hope he will con- 

 tinue this attractive feature of our beloved old Forest 

 and Stream. 



It will be impossible for me to accept Mr. Ogden's in- 

 vitation, although I appreciate his compliment in extend- 

 ing it. to join him on the Navara next October, as I have 

 already arranged to spend most of that month in the 

 Coast Range; but there are two or three men in this 

 world whom I hope to meet some day in friendly rivalry 

 with the fly-rod on the banks of some of our beautiful 

 Western streams, and one of these is "Podgers." 



S. H. Greene. 



Portland, Oregon, June 1. 



Lake Cham plain Bass. 



Lake A 7 iew House, Vt., June 3. — Fishing season 

 opened June 1 at Samson's Lake View House, St. Albans, 

 Vt., upon the Great Back Bay of Lake Champlain, with 

 many anglers from New York city. Average catch of 

 small-mouthed bass from seven to twenty-one. Mr. A. 

 F. Proescher, of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., 860 

 Broadway, made the catch of twenty-one bass and one 

 larg northern pike, 81bs. Bass average in weight from 

 1$ to 3|lbs. Prospects good. Fly and bait.— H. L. Sam- 

 son. 



Lamoille River. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In my article of May 26 on "Champlain Fish" you make 

 me say Lamville River; it should beLamcille. — Dexter. 



