Feb. 16, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



141 



grapevines, and turning a somerset, lit on the back of his 

 neck. Slowly getting iix), with a dazed look, he relieved 

 his feelings with these words: "Well, I'll be cnssed; if I 

 reach home alive to-night I shall be thankful." 



Picking up his loose traps we again sought the stream 

 and, the trout biting well, soon put Freezy in good humor 

 again. Even now the nerves tingle and the heart beats 

 fast as I think of the big trout I lost on that day (and 

 here I had cause for spmpathy with poor chum). A sharp 

 bend of the stream caused a deep hole under the bank 

 'neath the roots of a lordly old black oak. Many a great 

 trout have I taken from this place, but the boss of the 

 eddy, for all I know, stiU remains. 



This day I determined to give him a thorough trial, and 

 as luck would have it he was at home and hungry. Wrap- 

 ping on a No. 2-0 Aberdeen hook and looping on some 

 ^ood worms, I soon had a dainty morsel which no sensi- 

 ble trout could resist. Letting it floa t down with the cur- 

 rent, it settled in imder the bank, when there was a 

 mighty swirl of the waters, a sharp tug, and I kne«' I 

 had hooked the big trout. Then there was business for 

 the scribe. He ran off 50ft. of line in as many seconds, 

 then, turning, he rushed directly toward me, but with 

 my double multiplier I kept up the slack. Once he leaped 

 clear of the water and shook himself savagely in his ef- 

 forts to dislodge the hook. Well, to be brief, he soon 

 tii'ed, and as the right moment arrived I stepped back to 

 draw him forth, when my heel caiiglit in the roots of the 

 old oak and in a twinkling I was reclinuig gracefully on my 

 back and my hue, with empty hook, wrapped around an 

 overhanging branch. 



Well, I gathered myself up and in righteous indignation 

 cuss — blessed those roots, but finally consoled myself with 

 the thought that chum was not there to see my ridiculous 

 tumble. From a momentary glimpse of the trout as he 

 described a parabola in the au- when I went to grass, he 

 looked as big as a very small whale. Whistling to Freezy, 

 I soon received an answer, and joining him, I found him 

 on the sunny side of a large rock eating lunch. 



"Well, did you get the big trout?" were his first words. 

 "I came very near it," I replied, in a nonchalant way, 

 thinking at the same time "May I be blessed if you ever 

 will know just how near, chummy;" but I had made up 

 my mind that some time in the near future I would have 

 it out with his troutsliip. 



We finished the lunch and went down to the swamp 

 below the raihoad, down where the big fellows hve. Here 

 I hooked and landed a trout of lib. 6oz., and, considermg 

 the difficulties under which I labored it is a miracle that I 

 saved either trout or tackle. Owing to a recent rain the 

 stream was greatly swollen in the swamp. At one place 

 I had noticed an old, partly submerged rail lying across 

 the stream with the ends resting securely among the alders 

 on either bank. Haltuig a little below I turned and saw a 

 large trout quietly rise just above the old rail and seize a 

 fluttering miUer that had fallen in the stream. Under the 

 impulse of the moment I made a cast up stream. As the 

 fly settled on the w^ater the trout grabbed it and down he 

 went, bringing the tip down across the rail with a snap. 

 As the high water would not admit of my passage up the 

 bank, my poor tip had to stand the racket. Try as I 

 would I could do nothing with that blanked trout : lie just 

 hung under that rail and pulled and yanked; but the 

 trusty old lancewood stood the strain nobly, until, getting 

 tired of it all, in spite of his objections I just reeled that 

 trout in till his nose touched the tip, and passing the rod 

 behind me, hauled him out upon the ferns. No danger of 

 losing him. he was hooked clear down to the roots of his 

 tail. 



This wound up the day's sport, as it was getting dusk, 

 so we imjointed our rods and started for the home train 

 with a good creel of trout and in good spirits in spite of 

 the many mishaps of the day. E. M. Brown. 



Preston, Conn. 



BOSTON AND MAINE. 



The Maine Trouting- Season of 1 S93. 



Boston, Feb. 11. — There is about the usual interest being- 

 manifested in ice fishing, but the weather has been so ex- 

 tremely unfavorable that but little real fishing has yet 

 been done. In the event of some warm days the s^jorts- 

 nien, with bait pails and ice chisels, would take to the 

 ponds; but they are not going with the mercury below 

 zero, while being weU aware that the ice is thicker than 

 for many years. The recent heavy ram has raised some 

 of the ponds and lakes a foot or two, some of which were 

 remarkably low previous to the storm. This wiU be 

 favorable to the fi!shermen as soon as the \varmer days 

 come. The Maine paper's mention only a few catches of 

 trout. Doubtless there has been much less of fishing done 

 in that State so far in February than is usually the case. 

 All this is favorable to the summer fishing with rod and 

 line. While on the question of sprmg and summer fish- 

 ing in Maine, it may not be amiss to mention that indica- 

 tions point to a rather light ti'outing season in that State. 

 I have met a number of sportsmen of late who usually 

 calculate to make at least one fishing trij) into Maine every 

 year. Now they mention giving up their sjiring trips, at 

 least, and "taking in" the World's Fair. This will be 

 doubly the case, if the Maine Legislature passes the foohsh 

 hcense Law, imposing a fee of $5 on every sportsmen who 

 presumes to hunt or fish in that State. I hear more and 

 more of uidignation and disgust expressed at the bare idea 

 of such a law. Dozens of sportsmen have already declared 

 that they will not pay it. They will go to Canada or New 

 Brunswick instead of Maine. A gentleman whom I met 

 on Satm-day, in speaking of the license matter, expressed 

 it as "the most supreme piece of gall" he had heard of yet. 

 He has spent several seasons in the Rangele}^ region. He 

 aUows that he shall pay the hcense, if imposed, till he can 

 dispose of his camps. Then he will seek other water. Up 

 to the present writing the license bill had got no further 

 than the Senate, where it was first introduced. 



Massachusetts Legislation. 



Thus far fish and game legislation has made but httle 

 progress in Massachusetts; in fact, the amoimt of legisla- 

 tion asked for this season is less than usual. It is doubt- 

 ful if the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Asso- 

 ciation asks for much of legislation this winter. In the 

 first place the feeling is that the committee on fisheries 

 and game is scarcely favorable to the sportsmen, but is 

 more likely to favor such schemes as that of Mr. Gillaert 

 in his endeavors to have it made legal to seU trout inclose 

 season. His hearin'g has come off before the committee, 

 on the question of making the open season on trout begin 



on Jan. 15, but up to the present writing the committee 

 has not reported on the matter. lu the Blaine Legislatm-e 

 but little has yet been, accomplished in tlie way of changes 

 in the fish and game lav\-s. Bills have jitissed closing one 

 or two ponds in Frankhn comity to ice-fishing. Commis- 

 sioner Stanley and several other true friends of fish and 

 game are keeping watch against changes that are likely 

 to prove confusing or positively dangerous. 



Some pressure is being brought to bear for a change in 

 the laws, so as to make it possible for the fortunate 

 sportsman to be able to send out, or have sent out, his 

 moose or deer, without the trouble of being obliged to 

 accompany it in person. Considerable f eehng on the sub- 

 ject has been several times stirred up of lateyeai-s by what 

 hunters have termed the hardship or injustice of haAdng 

 their game seized by the wardens for the simple reason 

 that the real owner or actual shooter has not been with it. 

 A change in the law will be asked for covering this point, 

 and I am informed that considerable money and influence 

 from outside the State will be used to forward the change. 

 On the other hand. Commissioner Stanley very wisely says 

 that to change the law so as to allow the taking of y/.me 

 out of the State by anybody whom tlie sportsman ni.ght 

 employ or designate, would simply be to open the entire 

 State to market-himting. All anybody who happened to 

 kill a deer or a moose, either resident of the State or 

 not, would have to do would be to delegate some person 

 or corporation to take it out of the State and it could 

 easily be landed in Quincy or Faneuil Hall iharkets in a 

 few hours. The friends of game protection in Maine will 

 fight against any change in this part of the law. The 

 number of Maine deer landed in the Boston markets the 

 past season has been very small, notwithstanding the re- 

 markably great number kiUed. In fact almost the only 

 Maine deer seen in these markets have been shot by the 

 marketmen themselves or some members of then" himting 

 parties. To make any changes in the Maine game laws 

 that would tend to again allow of the marketing of Maine 

 deer, the true friends of game protection would regard as 

 a great mistake. It has ah-eady been told of in the For- 

 est AND Stream that previous to the non-export game 

 law in Maine, over 800 Maine deer were numbered at one 

 time in the Boston markets. That such indiscriminate 

 marketing of game may never again be allowed, is most 

 devoutly to be hoiked. 



Mr. John Bartleman, who, with his mother, has made 

 it his summer home at the Mountain View House, Range- 

 ley Lake, Me., for several seasons, will leave Boston for 

 that place the first of April. He intends to be on the 

 ground early this year. Last year he took several very 

 lar^e trout. His mother also has a record of a o-pounder. 



The floating hotel, John S. Danforth, has been all 

 winter thus far in reaching her destination. New Smyrna, 

 Fla. A special dispatch to the Maine papers the other 

 day announced her safe arrival after a very bad passage. 

 She arrived most too late for many guests and many ex- 

 cursionists this year. 



Mr. E. A. Tuttle, of Boston, the well-known proprietor 

 of Lake Point Cottage, Eangeley Lake, Me. , denies the 

 report published in the papers tliat he had purchased the 

 Ehnwood at PhiUijJs, Me., once a very celebrated hotel 

 with the Rangeley Lake fishermen. The glory of that 

 hotel has waned. The raUroad has gone through to 

 Rangeley and the sportsmen have no occasion to stop 

 over night at Phillips. 



That Trout in Close Season Bill. 



A bill, ostensibly to allow Mr. Gilbert to sell trout in the 

 close season, has bean introduced in the House of the 

 Massachusetts Legislature, and has passed to a third read- 

 ing, which reaUy means its final passage in the House. 

 The friends of fish protection are to oppose it in the Senate, 

 where they hope to defeat it. Last j^ear a bill of the same 

 nature passed both houses, it will be remembered, but was 

 vetoed by the Governor. Foi-tunately Massachusetts has 

 the same Governor this year, and he is just as much of a 

 sensible gentleman and as much of a sportsman as he was 

 a year ago. Special. 



Bullheads a la Kekoskee. 



There is great fishing at Beaver Dam, Wis. The 

 MilwaxLkee Sentinel describes it thus: "Over a himdred 

 men and boys are there aU the tune, dipping fish out of 

 large, square holes in the ice with flat, square nets. Each 

 time a net is lifted, which is about once in five minutes, 

 the fisherman secures from half a peck to a bushel of the 

 finny tribe. Ofttimes the nets are too full to lift, and 

 have to be let down again to let some of the fish escape 

 before it is possible to draw the net out of the water; or 

 the owner calls for help from his nearest neighbor. The 

 fish caught are principally bullheads, with now and then 

 some f)erch, jpickerel and suckers. 



"The place where these fish are caught is among a lot 



of springs, where the fish go for warm water. It is not 

 every winter that fish may be thus easily captured, but 

 only when the whiter is very cold and the ice thick, the 

 fish then flock in vast schools to these springs. It was 

 formerly believed that they went there for air, but this 

 idea is dispelled by the fact that in ordinary winters, other 

 conditions being the same, when it is not so cold, no fish 

 can be found. They are not always found at the same 

 place, either; sometimes changing to other locahties of 

 the same nature of which there are several. 



' 'Some fishermen, not having nets, make good catches 

 by chopping two holes in the ice several rods apart. The 

 holes soon fiU. up Avitli bullheads and all the fisherman has 

 to do is to scoop them out with a pitchfork. When one 

 hole is cleaned out he goes to the other one while the first 

 one fills up again. Sometimes the pressure from the fish 

 below force the upper ones way out of the water on the 

 ice. Many fishermen ca-tch as high as fifty bushels of fish 

 in one day, and the price they bring is from twenty to 

 forty cents per bushel. The market is right there on the 

 ice. Farmers come from a radius of forty mfles to buy 

 fish. Usually several farmers club together and send a 

 man and team here for a load of fish which consists of 

 from forty to sixty bushels. Some use double wagon 

 boxes while others use frozen pickerel for side stakes to 

 keep the bullheads from falling off. All day long loads 

 of fish are seen passing through Beaver Dam. Sometimes 

 as many as twenty loaded sleighs may be seen at one 

 time coming off the lake on their way home. Quite an 

 extensive business is carried on by shippers who buy the 

 fish, dress them and ship them to the city markets where 

 they find a ready sale at good prices; some are also sold 

 by the basket in neighboring towns. " 



The Appleton Crescent, Feb. 8, records: "The great fish 

 catch on Beaver Dam lake is growmg greater. Three 

 Elser brothers succeeded in catching twenty loads of bull- 

 heads in one day a few days ago with nets, which netted 

 them $297 for their one day's work. Many are makmg 

 from $10 to $20 per day catching fish." 



Wyoming Valley Notes. 



A Wilkes-Barre, Pa., correspondent, Mr. George W. 

 Lung, writes of the changes which have taken place iu 

 that famous angling center within the last decade: 



"Wilkes-Barre has grown asphalted streets and many 

 large building-s, and the electric cars rim all about. Soon 

 they win inn from Nanticoke to Carbon dale; but the 

 growmg mountains of coal culm are everywhere destroy- 

 mg the beauty of the valley, and, by reason of many 

 being on fire, send into the air much noxious gas. 



"Last year I spent mostly at Harvey's Lake, and 

 although I saAV fish, I was not successful in getting them 

 into possession. Either the fish food was so abundant, or 

 oiu- hooks were not alluring, or something else prevented 

 us from catching more than a few, 



"About six or seven years ago Dr. Crawford and Mr. 

 Butler put into the lake several thousand lake ti'out. They 

 are often seen in the wake of steamers, and are reported 

 as high as 3ft. long. Perhaps a dozen bave been caught, 

 one of which was 27in. long and weighed about 3-^lbs. 

 Black bass are in the lake and they too are shy of the hook. 



"I was at the lake recently and made soundings, to 

 learn the true depth of water, and found the deepest was 

 65ft. The usual sayings, oft repeated, of no bottom 

 spoken mysteriously of by the old lake dweUers prompted 

 the true measurement. 



"The new railroad route to North Moimtain is com- 

 pleted, and trains wfil soon run from here via Harvey's 

 Lake to Towanda, and a link is soon to be done when 

 trains will come from Williamsjiort by the same route. 

 This wiU open up a A^ast forest retreat to city people, who 

 may liide away where jpure water and air may be enjoyed 

 in the midst of httle lakes sparkling in then- pristine 

 beauty and trout streams not yet robbed of their treasures. " 



River Cruises for "C. J. L." 



Staunton, Y&.— Editor Forest and Stream: Your corres- 

 pondent "C. J. L.," of Detroit, seeks information in re- 

 gard to an eligible fishing and canoeing stream for a two 

 or three weeks' outing in the spring. There are so many 

 fine streams near him that he may well be embarrassed 

 in his choice. Permit me to suggest a few. The great 

 Miami River, in Ohio, wiU furnish him a deligh tf ul two 

 weeks' cruise from Sidney to Hamilton or Lawrenceburg, 

 Ind. In the Ohio, just below the mouth of the Miami, 

 the river is swift and fuU of little rifts, and the Miami 

 Valley is beautiful. The Wabash River, in Indiana, from 

 Huntington to Terr Haute will also furnish a lovely two 

 weeks' trij), or he may embark at Warsaw and descend 

 the Tippecanoe to the Wabash, and thence to Terre 

 Haute. The White River (West Fork) from Muncie to 

 the Wabash AviLL profitably employ from two to three 

 weeks, as wUl also the East Fork of White River from 

 ShelbyA'ille to the Wabash. The St. Joseph River from 

 Elkhart to Lake Michigan is also good for two weeks. 



The best time to cruise these Ohio or Indiana riA^ers is 

 in June, as the water is better, the weather not so hot 

 and rnaiaria not so apt to be around. The coimtry is 

 beautiful and well settled Avith houses, and railroad sta- 

 tions every feAV miles. Good bass fishing is found inmost 

 or all of these streams also. 



If "C. J. L." Avants to tiy a httle rougher water let him 

 come East to the Susquehanna, the Delaware, the Poto- 

 mac, or my oaa-u favorite, the Shenandoah, upon Avhich I 

 cruise eA-ery year; but I doubt if Ms Parker B. Field canoe 

 would stand a trip thr'jugh one of these rough mountain 

 streams. Commodore. 



Objects to *'Rodster." 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I want to file a protest against Brother Starbuck using 

 the word "rodster" Avhen he means the man using the 

 "fishin' j)ole." We can stand all his higlifalutin' heights 

 of poetry (quoted), but Avhen he expects us to SAvallow 

 ' 'rodster" it is time to kick. Had he occasion to speak of 

 a "bullwhacker" he Avould doubtless, and Avith equal pro- 

 priety, call him a "whipster," or a man using a gmi a 

 "gunster," or a small boy wielding a fish pole a "pole- 

 ster." 



Give us a word. Brother S., with a little more American 

 sense in it. "Rodster ' is a little too "English ye know" 

 for the digestion of a plain old Hoosieb. 



