March 16, 1893.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



2S8 



The Fish Laws of the United States and Canada, in the 

 ^Game Laws in Brief," 25 cents. In the "Book of the 

 ' Oame Laxos" {full text), so cents. 



CROOKED LAKE, MICHIGAN. 



During the past five summers, while the "other fellow" 

 has doubtless been catchmg elsewhere such wondei-ful 

 strings of fish, I have been contented to spend my vaca- 

 tions in northern Michigan, at Cincinnati Point, on the 

 shores of Crooked Lake. Each season myself and family, 

 with a congenial party of friends, have availed ourselves 

 of the courtesy of the Cincinnati Club, and occupied their 

 cottages during the month of July — ^this we could do 

 without inconveniencing any of the regular club mem- 

 bers, who, being mostly hay fever subjects, do not arrive 

 until August. The club has six cottages, club house, din- 

 ing room, kitchen and boat house. We hii-e our own help, 

 purchase all supplies, pro rata expenses, and thus obtain 

 each year at a nominal cost an enjoyable outing that 

 brings us in close touch with nature in her most beautiful 

 forms, and sends us back to our city homes strong and 

 light-hearted. 



Naturally, therefore, some of US (myseLE among the 

 number) have become enthusiastic lovers of the rod, and 

 notwithstanding the quantities of fish that are legitimately 

 taken from Crooked Lake each season (to say nothing of 

 jliose speared through the ce in tlie winter), we are never 

 obliged to buy fish, either for table use or for exhibition. 



As regards quantity, the fish in Crooked Lake may be 

 lamed in the following order: Perch, rock bass, pickerel 

 md bass, the latter becoming scarcer each year. I first 

 lad my attention called to the subject of brook trout dur- 

 ng my vacation in 1890, by seeing a catch of seven that 

 1^ been made one morning by a guest of the hotel at 

 pTden, a little settlement across the lake from Cincinnati 

 ?oint. This at once aroused my ambition, but as the end 

 3f my vacation was near at hand and as I was not 

 "rigged" for trout, I pigeon-holed the subject, resolving, 

 should I return the following year, to be fully prepared 

 to go regularly into the business. 



Therefore, when I reached Crooked Lake in July, 1891, 

 I was the owner of a comjilete trouting outfit, and at 

 once commenced pumping the natives as to the where- 

 abouts of the "spotted warriors." Ah, those natives! ui^on 

 manj^ a "wild goose chase" did they send me, where I 

 plunged through tangled woods, crawled under and over 

 fallen trees, fell into rushing brooks, lost hooks and broke 

 Hnes on overhanging branches or sunken logs, and 

 wearied, tattered and mosquito-bitten, returned to camp 

 with empty creel, blessing those self same natives from 

 the very bottom of my heart. Trip after trip did I make, 

 but always with the same result, until at last my fi-iends 

 had learned to pleasantly dub me "crank." However, 

 "he laughs best who laughs last." I persevered, and one 

 day (without the aid of a lantern) I found an honest man, 

 from whom I got the long sought pointer. The very next 

 morning, with that man as my guide, we pulled away 

 from camp. The day was ausj)icious, with a stifl' north- 

 west wind and now and then a cloud obscuring the sun. 



Ouj." course lay down the south shore of the lake, and at 

 a point about three miles from camp, we headed directlj- 

 for a mass of taU reeds which grew in the lake some dis- 

 tance out from shore. We poled our boat through these 

 reeds and then over a shallow bar into as typical a trout 

 stream as I ever expect to see — its name is Minnehaha. To 

 our right, in statelj- grandeur, stood a thick forest of pine, 

 hemlock and birch, and on our left a swamp which bore 

 "the appearance of a field of grain, so completely was it 

 concealed by the thick grasses that grew out of it. The 

 stream proper varied in width from 50 to 70ft. 



Acting under my guide's advice I deferred making a 

 cast until we "got f urther up beyant the bend," and as we 

 silently glided up the smooth surface of this miniature 

 river 1 contented myself with leaning over the stern of 

 , the boat and peering through the clear, transparent water 

 into the many dark, mysterious caverns beneath us. 



As we rounded an abrupt bend, the death-like silence 

 which surrounded us was suddenly broken hj a roaring- 

 like unto a small Falls of Niagai'a, caused by our having 

 startled a flock of young ducks, which hurriedly splashed 

 across our course and disappeared behind the tall swami^ 

 grass. Then a short distance ahead a lot of cranes de- 

 cided to argue the point, and by their clatter frightened 

 several blackbirds that rose from the thicket and flew 

 away, screaming their disapproval as they passed over our 

 heads. 



Eeaching the upper end of the bend we beached the 

 head of our boat, leaving the stern afloat at right angles 

 with tfie stream. My guide gathered up his pole and 

 worm-can (he took no stock in flies) and took a position 

 some 50ft. down stream. 



I decided to fish from the stern of the boat, and promptly 

 made a cast toward a promising dark pool just above. 

 "Now," I communed with myself, "must I do or die. 

 Now to forever j)ut a quietus on that peculiar smile which 

 heretofore has always awaited me on my return to camp." 

 Splash, and my heart bounded as a lusty trout sprang, 

 glittei'ing like a rainbow, full length out of the stream as 

 if to tamit me, and the circles caused by his descending- 

 majesty were mingled with those made by my lure, so 

 quickly did I jolace it over him. Pluck — and I held my 

 breath; pluck again — and the reel commenced to play its 

 part. In my eagerness I must have struck him very hard, 

 for there was an angiy fish and great sport for the next 

 few minutes, but at last I had him in the boat, and as he 

 lay in the net, panting, yet stiU defiant, as I gazed admir- 

 ingly on his bright and beautiful colors, I shall never for- 

 ' get the mingled feelings of triumph and exultation that 

 were mine. I had killed my first trout, and all past fail- 

 ures were for naiight; and while that j)articalar trout 

 measured onlj^ 9in. in length, yet when the contest was 

 over I was trembling as if I had a chill. Do you not 

 xinderstand this, brother members of the gufld? I have 

 caught many trout since, but never again do I expect to 

 have the "shakes" until I land one that will tip the beam 

 to 51bs. 



Luck was with me that morning, and before the dinner 

 horn had blown we were approaching camp with seven 

 "speckled darlings," the largest of which was lO.iin. long. 

 The whole party were waiting for me on the dock as we 

 anded, -with the query, "What luck?" accompanied by 

 that di-eadful smile, I permitted them to have tlieir 



inning-s until I unloaded all the traps, after which I mi- 

 covered my catch, and then I had my revenge— every last 

 one of them wanted to go trouting instanter. 

 Oixc-iNUATi, O., Feb. 8. Edm^N C. GiBBS. 



ONEIDA LAKE AND ITS FISH SUPPLY. 



Syracuse, N. Y. — Oneida Lake is situated in the coimtj' 

 of Oswego, N. Y., and is bordered on the south by Onon- 

 daga and Madison counties. The lake covers 57,000 acres; 

 it is about thirty miles in length and five miles in AA-idth. 



Previous to 1890 it was the "happy himtiug ground" of 

 men fishing for the market; in many cases tJiey made this 

 their only occupation; while in other cases, owners of 

 cultivated and productive farms having handsomely con- 

 structed and well furnished houses clear of incumbrance, 

 with money to loan, had no scruples against engaging in 

 the illegal practice of taking fish from this body of Avater 

 during the entire year. 



That the lake under such adverse circumstances should 

 not have been depleted of all fish within its borders, is one 

 of the unsolved problems of nature. 



Some few years since, a gentleman residing id.' a West- 

 ern State, being interested in the subject, and of an in- 

 quiring mind, caught from a river in that section a variety 

 of fish from one to two inches in length, and to ascertain 

 the food necessary for these "babies," placed the food 

 found in them under a powerful microscope, the result of 

 which was that almost without exception there was f otind 

 a like substance, too indefinite to be seen with the naked 



THE "NESSMOTx" JXEMORIAL BROXZE. 



The bronze tablet designed by Mr. G«o. T. Brewster, for the "Nessmuk" 

 Memorial. 



eye. The particular nourishment for fish just emer-ging 

 from the egg is essential to their life, and deprived of it 

 they will as surely die as the colt, the puppy, the kitten or 

 the baby Avill cease to live, deprived of the mother's mUk. 



That Oneida Lake, with its m;merous and shallow 

 bays filled with plants and vegetable substance, contains 

 in great quantity this essential food for young fish may 

 be the solution of its wonderful productiveness. 



There surely must be some such cause or it could not 

 maintain year after year the immense supply of fish that 

 has annually been taken from it by CA^ery design of net, 

 except the purse net, and it is one of the Avonders of the 

 nineteenth centmy that this marauder of public propert}% 

 in the hands of unscrupulous men, has not accomphshed 

 its destructive work even in this inland water. 



It has passed beyond the question of probability and 

 become a conclusion that the wholesale netting of fish 

 from this lake and other Avaters must have an end, and 

 that fish must be permitted to reach the age of reproduc- 

 tion, at least, or they will cease to exist. 



Within the last two years, liowever, the State of New 

 York, assisted at times by local protective associations, 

 has done such effective work that netting therein has 

 materially been prevented, and • as a consequence fish 

 have increased in size and quantity. 



Should the State establish at this lake a hatching house 

 and make it a central distributing place, AA'all-eyed pike 

 particularly, and other fish could be furnished for every 

 suitable water in Ncav York, and at the same time place 

 this lake rmder direct State protection. 



With the steady increase of population of Syracuse, 

 noAV reaching its one himdred thousand, and the demand 

 for summer resorts and places of recreation, there can be 

 none found more attractive within so short a distance 

 from Syracuse as Oneida Lake, reached as it may be by 

 the consti-uction of about five miles of rail of easy grade, 

 connecting with the R. W. O. R. E. at Clay Station, 

 thereby opening to the public a quick and delightful ride 

 to South Bay on the south shore of this lake, that would 

 be largely patronized, and also be available to the citizens 



of Syracuse, who would undoubtedly bu.ild similar sum- 

 mer cottages to those so attractive on the St. Lawrence 

 River. 



Here, then, i& a body of water in the center of this 

 State, easily approached by rail and otherwise, that is 

 commended to the considei-ation of laubhc-spirited per- 

 sons Avhose disinterested purpose is to furnish for the peo- 

 ple cheap fish food. J. N. B. 



MY CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE.-II. 



The old man pulled in his line, hauled up the anchor, 

 spat on his hands, laid hold of the oars, started the boat 

 and rowed in silence for several minutes. Then he asked, 

 "See that old tumble-down mill over yonder? Well, that 

 was the boss mill here onct, owned by a man by the 

 name of Blank. Used to live in the Rapids. Ever know 

 him?" 



"Not by that name," I replied. 



"Well, that Avarn't his name nuther; names don't 

 count anyhoAv. But I tell yon he was a cute one. Jest 

 the kind of a feller for a lumberman in a new country. 

 Didn't care for anything nor anybody. Lumber any- 

 where where there was a tree fit, 'specially if it could be 

 hauled out arter it were felled. Oh, but he was a rusher, 

 chuck full of business, jest made it hum. Lumber on 

 Uncle Sam's land or anybody's, cared no more for a 

 blazed line than you do for a dead bait. Stamp any un- 

 marked log he came across, and if he dropped on to some 

 particular good one, all stamped on the end why he'd cut 

 off the mark and stamp 'em right. He were a rip roarer 

 and a tough one. As for law, he'd a complete outfit in 

 the law business. Had a pile of books and a right to 

 swear besides his constitutional one. Got his fiead sawyer 

 elected justice of the peace, hisself constable, and owned 

 body and soul half the men entitled to sit on juries. 

 When he got into a dispute about a line, which he often 

 did, he'd fetch out his big brass mstruments and make 

 the feUers own up he were right whether they believed 

 it or not. He stole a nice fat two-year-old from me onct. 

 I knowed it well enough, but I daresen't do anything 

 about it, for the only justice in the township was his 

 head sawyer and I could a proved he had some of the 

 beef." 



"Ever do anything about it?" 



"Yes, I did. Jest kept still. Nevw let on that I'd lost 

 a critter. Tavo years arter he had a drove of the finest 

 hog-s I ever seed. W^eU, one night two of 'em strayed off 

 into the woods." 



' "Where did they fetch up?" 



"Oh, one of 'em I sold to a logging camp about ten mile 

 up the river. The other I kept in a kind of a "cockloft 

 overhead in my cabin for a month, when he died of heart 

 failure — touched it with my hunting knife." 



"Ever say anything to you about them?" 



' 'Nary a Avord, btrt he s'picioned me, for I larnt arter- 

 ward that he kept a Avatch on my place night and day 

 for tAvo weeks. But, say, we oughter git some bass here." 



Grand Rapids, Mich. A. W. 



TROLLING AND BAIT-CASTING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your issue of Feb. 23, "A Bait-Caster" counsels me 

 to try bait-casting as a more attractive and enjoyable 

 manner of taking the black bass than by trolling, in which 

 view I can concur, although I should not place th^ 

 amount of pleasure m the capture of a bass by the former 

 style, as opposed to the latter, at so gTeat a ratio as twenty 

 to one, for the greater j>art of the enjoyment is in meeting 

 the desperate leaps and rushes of the fish, albeit much of 

 the charm lies in the manner by which tlie game is in- 

 duced to take the lure. 



Although, contx-ary to his supposition, I have taken a 

 number of bass by bait-casting, and have attained some 

 degree of proficiency in it, neverless I rarely practice it 

 in the lake pf Avhich I wrote because I have found it 

 rather mefi'ectual, at least when practiced from a boat. 

 The reasons for this I shall endeavor to explain. In the 

 lake in question, the growth of reeds and other aquatic 

 vegetation is very sparse, as the entire lake has a rocky 

 bottom, and so the bass remain in deeper Avater than they 

 otherAvise Avould, therefore, AA^hile bait-casting from a 

 boat toAvard the shore has proved rather ineflective, I am 

 inclined to believe that casting from off shore, as he ad- 

 vocates, would proA^e more successful since I have met 

 with much success by using a fly in that manner. 



While I much i:iref er to take fish and game in tlie most 

 sportsmanlike way, and the creeling of a trout or bass by 

 a fly affords me thrice the satisfaction and pleasure of the 

 captare of one by bait, still, when it is impracticable or 

 ineffectiAre, I consider it no breach of the orthodox 

 angling- creed to resort to somewhat less scientific means, 

 and I trust that the view which "A Bait-Caster" holds as 

 to what constitiites a true sportsman will not dissent from 

 this. I intend, however, to follow his friendly advice at 

 the next opportunity and, having given it a thorough 

 trial, shall report the result. Eurtjs. 



The British Anglers' Society. 



A SUBJECT of much present interest to British anglers 

 is the wholesale destruction of immature sea fishes by the 

 use of trawl nets in shalloAV waters. A society, of Avhich 

 Sir EdAvard Birkbeck is president, was founded in London 

 last month, and will have branches in all parts of the 

 United Kingdom. This association, called the British 

 Sea-Anglers' Society, will undertake to foster the favor- 

 ite amusement of its membei-s, and at the same time 

 advance the public interest by collecting reliable infor- 

 mation as to the effects of injurious fishery methods, 

 and by urging- legislation for the protection of young 

 fish. 



According to Nature, the chairman of the prelimin- 

 ary meeting for organization, jNIr. C. H. Cook, opened 

 the proceedings AA-itli the following remarks: 



"I hope that the anglers Avill take up this cause of 

 immatiire sea fish. Already a moA'-ement, to which Ave 

 may give a strong impetus, is rolling forAvard in tliis 

 direction, but it is checked by the trawlei-s' interests. 

 The harm done by these men is almost incalcvilable. I 

 haA^e seen their nets Av^ithin a stone's throAv of the shore 

 in less than three fathoms of water, where they scoop 

 up and desti'oy the infant fish by the mfllion. It may 

 be that the evidence tendered by tnistAvorthy members 

 of the Sea-Anglers' Societj' may be the means of put- 

 ting an end to inshore trawling. I hope it will. It. 

 often hajjpens that the information given to the Fishery 

 Boards is wflfuUy misleading, owing to it being given 

 by fishermen who fear they wfll lose their hvtng." 



