FOREST AND STREAM. 



,Sept. 29, 1893. 



compromise a fish question, particularly with a King- 

 fisher, deserved to be sentenced to a diet of pike— the 

 slimy, bony kind— flesh for sixty days. I overlooked the 

 date line or there would have been no misgivings con- 

 cerning the compromise, but when I read down to the 

 point where I realized that "Old Sam" was writing of a 

 Kentucky fish I felt that I was on solid ground again. 



I do not dare to take any liberties with the name of the 

 fish pictured in Foeest and Stream, as there would be a 

 row instanter if I did, for it is the picture of the pike such 

 as was mentioned in an Act in the reign of Richard II. in 



i higher price 



and for double the price of a lamb in the time of Henry 

 VIlI. And it is the pike of Izaak Walton, as it is also the 

 "pyke" of Dame Juliana Berners, who had a proper ap- 

 preciation of it, for she says: "The ele is a qaafy (by 

 which she means queasy, in other words it makes one 

 sick at the stomacQ or gives him a pain in the neck to 

 catch one of thrm) fyffhe, a rauenour and a devourer of 

 the brode of fyflPhe; and for the pyke alfo is a devourer of 

 fvfl'he; I put theym bothe behynde al other to angle." 

 She had no particular use for the pike, and only intro- 

 duced him after parading the "gentyllfamon." the "deyn- 

 tous troughte," the "delycyous erayllynge," the "fwete 

 barbyll," the "ftately chevyn" (chub), the "holfom 

 perche," and the "menow," which is "better when it 

 stayeth in the water." I have no more use for the pike 

 than had the good dame, but besides these people men- 

 tioned who called the like of the pictured fish a pike for 

 several hundred years the naturaUsts call it a pike to-day, 

 and it is a serious matter to kick against the naturalists, 

 and I am afraid to do it. But what does "Old Sam" 

 think f>f calling his fish, the Kentucky pike, the Muskin- 

 gum River pike, or the Chautauqua Lake pike, for T as- 

 sume that this is the fish he means. I think it was a Ken- 

 tucky angler who said: "There is not the slightest oc- 

 casion for any sjiortsman confounding the black spotted 

 pike mascalonge, the yellow-spotted pike [i. e., the fish 

 of the Forest and Stream picture], or the common 

 pickerel [i. e., a small fish with reticulated markings on 

 its sides and which av^erages in size from 1| to 31b3,, and 

 which is the pickerel proper], with unspotted pike or 

 great northern pike." So here is another name if it suits 

 better, namely, unspotted pike. The only trouble is that 

 "Old Sam" will again run against the scientists who say 

 that the unepotted pike, Chautauqua pike, Muskingum 

 pike or Kentucky pike is really the mascalonge without 

 spots. An effort was made to give this fish the ecientific 

 name Esox immaculahis, or pike of solid color without 

 spots or markings, but the fish sharps would not have it, 

 saying Esox nohilior would answer whether solid color 

 or spotted, Kentucky pike or Wisconsin mascalonge. 

 Now if "Old Sam" does not accept the compromise ( ff ered, 

 he must raise the hair of the naturalists. A. N. Cheney. 



CASUAL MENTION. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Some weeks ago there appeared in the Forest and 

 Stream a communication from a party by the name of 

 Hough, hailing from some town in lUiuois, in which the 

 writer complained that he could not find a line strong 

 enough to bold the black bass that he had succeeded in 

 hooking in the course of his piscatorial pilgrimages in the 

 Northwest. With this T send you to be forwarded to Mr. 

 H,, a section from the leader pnd of a line I used all last 

 fall in stream fishing for small-mouths, with an unmeas- 

 ured amount of satisfaction, and without a single break- 

 age. Thi-ee different times it landed a double catch of 

 good fish (all small-mouth bass of decent size), and alto- 

 gether proved itself worth many times its cost. This 

 paragraph is not written for the purpose of advertising 

 any particular maker, for the line was taken from a spool 

 of No. 25 unbleached linen thread, purchased at a dry 

 goods store at a cost of 8 cents, and I do not remember 

 the name of the maker. Of course such a line would 

 hardly do for trolling, since it is only twisted, and not 

 very tightlv at that. But if Brother H ough would like to 

 have one, I would be very glad to go into a Toledo store 

 and buy him one, for which he could remit when he got 

 ready. It might be added that all the treatment this line 

 ever had was a dipping in boiled linseed oil, and a little 

 rubbing with cil after it was partly dry. 



In the current issue of the Forest and Stream Mr. 

 Hough expresses some surprise that so little has been 

 written about grayling fishing during the last four years. 

 The truth is there has been, and still is, some excellent 

 grayling fishing in the lower penin&ula of Michigan, 

 especially in the two rivers that he is considerate enough 

 not to name. The best of it is thirty to forty miles from 

 a railroad tie, and the few who enjoy it are not writing 

 about it very much. But this is true in the opinion of 

 those who have tried it, that the finest piscatorial sport 

 imaginable, the one that comes nearest the ideal in per- 

 fection, is fly-fishing for grayling on one of these rivers 

 from a boat made for the purpose. Owing to the diffi- 

 culty of access, the price of good boatmen who under- 

 stand the rapid water, and other outlays, it is about as 

 expensive as salmon fishing, but under ordinarily favor- 

 able conditions .there is no other fishing in which the 

 fisher gets such satisfactory returns for his investment. 



Next spring, after Mr. Hough gets his game pocket 

 turned inside out, if he wants to go grayling fishing, and 

 will address a postal card to the undersigned, he can 

 hear of something very much to his advantage. 

 Toledo, o., Sept. ?A. Jay Beebe. 



PUT-IN BAY BASS FISHING. 



For many years the western end of Lake Erie has been 

 famous among anglers as the home of the black bass. 

 The islands reached from Sandusky by steamers have been 

 visited hj members of the craft, and their outlying reefs 

 and rocky points have furnished recreation and inspiration 

 forjudges and statesmen, editors and merchants, the 

 clergy and the leisurely tourist. 



From Sandusky, Cincinnati and Cleveland, as well as 

 cities of the East, the lovers of black bass fishing make 

 their pilgrimages in June and September. Some of them 

 sail in theii- yachts: some have bought little islands and 

 built upon them; the majority take the steamers leaving 

 Sandusky at 3:30 and 3 P. M. for Put-in Bay, where they 

 arrive in two and one-half hours, at a cost of 50 cents, 

 and where they find quarters in hotels charging usually 

 two dollars per day. Boatmen are readily hired for two 

 dollars a day ; but few of them know just at this time 

 where the angler can find the flesh he it* looking for. 



Yesterday a fisherman caught nine bass in a forenoon's 

 fishing on Ballast Reef, and the news was <)uickly cir- 

 culated among the disappointed visitors, with the result 

 of inducing several of them to stay over another day to 

 try the grounds once more. 



The range of fishing localities is somewhat 'xtensive, 

 embracing the rocky points of Middle Bass Island on 

 which the town of Put- in Bay is located. Ballast R'^ef. 

 Buckeye Reef, Rattlesnake Island, Starve Island, Gull 

 Reef, Grull Islartd Shoals, and Chicanole Reef. 



The best catch made recently was made by the Jay 

 Cooke party about the middle of September— 47 fish, 

 consisting of black bass, rock bass, and a few pike- perch 

 (here called pickerel), white bass and saugers. The bass, 

 as a rule, are small, few of them exceeding l^lbs. Cer- 

 tain occult signs, discernible only to the initiated, point 

 to good bass fishing in the near future. Some ardent 

 fishermen look forward less hopefully and fear that the 

 glory of Put-in Bay will be dimmed unless something 

 can be done to restore the waters. The causes of the 

 falling off' are unknown. The scarcity of ba?s can not be 

 charged to the operations of commercial fishermen, 

 because the pound nets capture few of these fish. It 

 occurs to the writer that the lack of a close season dur- 

 ing the spawning time may have a great deal to do with 

 the decline of hook and line fiehing. The lake is full of 

 minnows and other food for black bass, and the waters 

 are as suitable as ever for their habitation. 



During our stay we met Col. John M. Wilcox, editor 

 of the Cleveland Prm-, Mr. W. J. White, Dr. E, E. Bea- 

 man, Mr, J. H. Holmes of Cleveland, and Mr. J. J Strana- 

 han, superintendent of the Put-in Bay station, XT, S, Fish 

 Commission, all of whom are greatly interested in the 

 welfare of fish in western Lake Erie. Mr. W. G, Akera 

 of Cleveland, whose Forest City House is known to 

 anglers near and far, informed the writer that the fishing 

 in Put-in Bay and vicinity has been poor for the last 

 three years. He was in the habit of going to the ' islands 

 regularly and has made some very large catches, but 

 finds little to tempt him into the old grounds at present. 



Mr. Akers states that brook trout are unusually abund- 

 a,nt and thrifty in the preserve belonging to the Castalia 

 Club, He has received numerous fine creels of the fish 

 from members of the club during the last fishing sea- 

 son. Will it come to pass ere long that good fishing can 

 be found only in private waters wherein the fish are pro- 

 tected and fostered by the prevention of injurious fishing 



and the judicious application of fiehcultural operations? 

 " ' T. H. B, 



Bass in the Mohawk. 



SoHENECTADy, N. Y,, Sept. 35. — Now is the season of 

 the year when the Mohawk black bass fisherman spends 

 much of his time upon the river. Bass fishing here be- 

 gins in September, after the first frost, when the water 

 is low and clear. During the past few years the Mohawk 

 ha.s been low and clear onlj^ sporadically. O mng to the 

 wholesale destruction of timber in the Adirondacbs and 

 in the valley of the Schoharie Creek the river rises and be- 

 comes roily after slight rainfalls, but now the river is in 

 fairly good condition, 



Bass are not natives of the Mohawk, They first made 

 their appearance in 1847 on the opening of the branch 

 canal from Oneida Lake to the Erie Canal, when they 

 came in schools, and in the two following years were 

 caught by fishermen from the shores. Within the past 

 three years one six-pounder has been caught, but a four- 

 pounder is a curiosity and a three-pounder is an achieve- 

 ment. 



Between Schenectady and Amsterdam the fishing has 

 virtually been mined by the establishment of large fac- 

 tories, which send their dyestufts into the liver, driving 

 the bass away to less poisonous waters. Probably the 

 •^est still deep-water fishing in the Mohawk is now to be 

 found between Stryker's and Yost's, but very fine sport 

 is to be had below the upper aqueduct, four miles below 

 Schenectady, in the midst of some of the most charming 

 scenery in the State. Here, in the pools below the rifts 

 and in the long, still reaches of water down to the lower 

 aqueduct at Crescent, is fine ground, A convenient way 

 to reach it is by train from Schenectady or Troy, getting 

 oH' at Aqueduct Station. — New York Ttmes, 



Potomac Black Bass. 



Washington, D. C, Sept. Editor Forest and 

 Stream: On the 8th inst,, with a companion, I tried for 

 black bass in the Potomac River near Williamsport, Md., 

 and took seventeen, weighing in the aggregate 38lbg. 

 One splendid fellow weighed olba., down weight. On 

 the 23d we went again and took eleven, weighing 311bs., 

 the largest showing Slbs. Toz. These were considered un- 

 usually good catches for that place, though I, as well as 

 others, have sometimes surpassed them in the same 

 locality. Both files and spoons were rather disappointing; 

 the fish taken with them averaging little overhalf apoitnd 

 each. The favorite bait used was the "stony," with peeled 

 crawfish for second choice. October is said to be the best 

 month for that region. I hope to be able to speak from 

 experience in a few weeks. I failed to get to the West 

 Virginia trout streams this season, but one of our last 

 year's party reports to me that he and two others gave 

 four days in August to the headwaters of Greenbrier 

 River, fishing from four to eight hours a day. Results, 

 first day, two rods, 190; second day, two rods, 166; third 

 day, two rods, over 300; fourth day, three rods, 337. The 

 trout were of very good size, but the difliculties in fol- 

 lowing the stream were the worst any of the party had 

 ever encountered. Next season, ho for the sources of 

 Cheat River. Jere Williams. 



Tjf'outllof the Second Connecticut. 



"Ompompanoosltc" asks about the trout of Third Con- 

 necticut Lake. I am sorry I cannot answer him, for I 

 never reached that lake. I have been up half way to it 

 several times, to the falls on the "North Inlet," and fished 

 back to Second La ke, always filling my basket with trout 

 that ran up from Second Lake, which were to aU appear- 

 ances the same as the regular brook trout, though all the 

 lake trout I know difl'er slightly in coloration from those 

 in the brooks. 



. Perhaps "Rob" or some of your other northern New 

 I Fampshirejcorrespondenta can answer him. Von W 



Pike vs. Pickerel. 



Central Lake. Mich., Se^pt, 19.— Editor Forest and 

 Sti'eam: The old Scottish proverb which sayp, "Hawka 

 suldna pike out hawks een," seems to me applicable to 

 the case of Mr. A. N, Cheney and "Old Sam." Perhaps 

 I ought to have written "Judge" Cheney; but we anglers 

 are all judges — after a sort— and I know "Old Sam" is a 

 judge, for I have camped and fished with him enough to 

 know that when he sees fit to lay down the law there is 

 no appeal from his decisions. " Who shall decide when 

 doctors disagree?" One of the judges in this case being 

 scientifically accurate, a compromise seems the only way 

 out of the complication. 



Mr. Cheney's picture of the pike is exactly what my 

 experience says it should be, but so is .Judge Sam's 

 description; and the deadly accuracy with which I have 

 seen him awing a 3ft, "Muntle" when he chanced to have 

 a luckless pickerel within its sweep, leads me to observe 

 extreme caution in dealing with this matter. 



As the old darky said "befo' de wah'' of the North and 

 South: "Better git a copiiermise, if it cos' a hunderd 

 dollar.'' Kelpik, 



Sea Bass off Iiong' Island. 



The sloop Ella, Capt. Henry Cornell, took our party of 

 six recently for a day's fishing. We trolled from Barren 

 Island to Long Beach, but the bluefish were away from 

 their usual grounds, and we then cast anchor over a 

 sunken wreck some four miks from shore and fished for 

 sea bass. Of these sturdy fish we caught in about two 

 hours over a hundred, and they were all fair-sized, 

 weighing from ^ to 31bs. The wind springing up and the 

 sea getting rough prevented further sport. 



The sea bass much resembles the black bass of fresh 

 waters. Anglers miss the fascinating though dangerous 

 leaping of the latter, although, as the fishing is carried on 

 in 40 to 50Et. of water, and the fish is fairly exhausted 

 before reaching the surface, perhaps the action is sccord- 

 ingly less conducive to heart disease. W. H. R. 



A Lake Ontario Whitefish. 



Mr. Fkank J. Amsden was this morning presented a 

 whitefish weighing Bibs., caught last night in Lake On- 

 tario near Webster (outside the mile limit). The capture 

 of this monster shows that the delicious whitefish is not 

 extinct in Lake Ontario, and furni^^hes great encourage- 

 ment to enthusiasts on fishcuhure like Mr. Amsdf n and 

 his associates of the Cheaper Fish Food Association of 

 New Yoxk.—Boehester Union and Advertiser, Sept. 19. 



No Politics Here. 



YouE publication is the only one that sfforda me un- 

 qualified delight at this time, as there i« not one echo of 

 politics in it. All the others have "tariff," "reciprrcity," 

 "force bill,'" id est omne genus, ad nauserjim,, Akefae. 



A .JEWFiSH, weighing when caught 4501bs., and 6ft. 

 lOin. long, caught at Sarasota Pass, Fla., has been pre- 

 sented to the Virginia Military Institue, at Lexington. 



fisticuUur^. 



Hermaphrodite Trout. 



The FMiing Rmette contains an account by Mr. T. An- 

 drews, of London, ot a brown trout which has been pro- 

 nounced an hermaphrodite. Both eggs and milk were taken 

 from the fish, and about 950 of the eggs were impregnated 

 and hatched out. The fi.sh was sent to Prof. Stewart, of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons, who corroborated the oh.sprva- 

 tion upon the rearing of healthy young from the self-fer- 

 tilized eggs, and announced that the fish was fundamentally 

 a male, possessing genital diicts, though the greater part of 

 the genital glands had acquired an ovarian structure. 



We do not know of a parallel to. this case in the salmon 

 family, but hermaphrodites occur in .several other familie.s 

 of fishe.s. 



F I XTU RES. 



DOfi SHOWS. 



Sept. 26 to 30.— finch eater Kenuel Club, at Roctiester , N. \' . Dr. 

 O. S Bs ruber, Sen'y. 



Sept. 27 to .SO,— Dog Shn-sv at Ottawa, Can. Alfred Geddes, Se-^'y. 



Oct. i to 8.— EleYt-nth Anmial Dog sjhow of tlie Danbury Agri- 

 cultural Society, Danbury. Conn. B. C. Lynes, Sec'y. 



Oct. 25 to 28.— Omaha Kennel Olub, at Omaha, Neb. E, L. 

 Marston. Sec'v. 



Nov. to 35,— Brooklyn. H. W. Huntington, Sec'y, 148 South 

 Eighth street. 



1893. 



.tan. 5.— Gloversville, N, Y. F. B. Zimmer, Sec'f. 

 Feb. 21 to 23.— Westminster Kennel Club, New Vork city. Jab 

 MortimPT, Supt. 

 June 13 to 17.— World's Ffiir, Chicago. 

 Sept. 7 to 10.— Hamilton, Ontario. A. D. Stewart, Sec'y, 



FIELD TRIALS. 



Oct. 25.— Third Annual Field Trials of the National Be^elft Club, 

 at Nanupt, N. Y. Bench show ot the club Oct. 24. H. V7 -Jamie- 

 son, Sec'y. 



Nov. 7 — International Field Trials Club, third annual trials, at 

 Chatham, Out. Amateur Stake, Nov. 7. Open Stakes, Nov. 5. 

 W. B. Wells, Sec'y. 



Nnv. 7.-Unitpd St . , 



T. MadiFor, Indianapolis, Ird., Sec'y. 



Nov. 8.— New England Field TrialB, at Assonet, Mass. E. 

 Knight Sperry, New Haven. Oonri., Sec'y. 



Nov. 14.— Fourth Annual Trials of the Brunswick Fur Olub, at 

 Princeton, Mass. J. H. Baird. Sec'y. 



Nov. 15.— American Field Trials, at Columbus, Ind. W. J. Beck 

 Sec'y. 



Nov. 21.— Eastern Field Trial Club Trials, at High Point, N. C. 

 W. A. Coster, Sen'y. 

 Nov. 28.— Philadelphia Kennel Club Trials, at High Point, N. C. 



F. G. Taylor, Sec'y. 



Dec. a.— Central Field Trials, at Lexington, N. C, Col. Ode IJ, 

 Sec'y. 



Dec. 19.— Irish Setter Field Trials, at Lexington, N. C. Dr. G. 



G. Davis, Philadelphia, Pa., Sec'y. 



1893. 



January.— Pacific Coast Field Trials, at Bakersville, Cal. J . M. 

 Ki'garif, Sec'y. 



Feb. 8.— Southern Field Trials, at New Albany, Miss. T. M. 

 Brumby, Sec'y. 



