April 37, 1898.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



867 



FISHING SEASON IN CANADA. 



I READ that bears are out again in Pennsylvania, having 

 made then- ffl[>ring appearance there as early as the middle 

 of March. I don't know how far the season may have 

 advanced in the Adirondacks, but up here in Canada, at 

 all events in northeastern Quebec, bruin is still in winter 

 quarters. Mr. B. A, Scott, the Mayor of Roberval, became 

 anxious last month for the safety of the tame bear that 

 was to have been seen last summer around the Eoberval 

 Hotel, and so dug him out of his hole beneath the snow. 

 When drawn from the barrel in which he was hibernating 

 the bear opened one eye and looked a,t the intruders, sub- 

 sequently devouring a piece of meat that they offered him 

 and then asking for more, after which he quietly curled 

 himself up again to resume his interrupted snooze, and 

 was left as before beneath a deep covering of snow. That 

 is the last that has yet been heard of him. As a rule, 

 when bears first wake up to business in the spring of the 

 year they are anything but ravenous, and live for some 

 time on the tender sprouts of budding plants, the grubs 

 which they find in the decaying trunks of trees, such ber- 

 ries as have survived the winter, witli an occasional 

 fish or frog. They seem to feel that after the long period 

 of iiiactivity enjoyed by their stomachs, it would not be 

 possible to digest a haunch of venison or a shoulder of 

 mutton, and are therefore somewhat particular as to their 

 memi. The rather extraordinary appetite of Mr. Scott's 

 bear when awakened last month was construed by woods- 

 men as indicative of a late spring and of bruin's intention 

 of remaining without further refreshment for some time 

 to come. 



The late spring we decidedly have; the ice upon Lake 

 St. John being reported still to be nearly two feet thick, 

 while plenty of snow remains at present writing, especi- 

 ally in the shade of the woods. If, as expected, and as 

 generally happens here in the event of a late spring, the 

 warm weather comes on with a rush when it first sets in, 

 the ice may yet break up on the lakes as early as usual, 

 which is generally from the 8th to the 12th of May. The 

 most prolific trout fishing of the entire season will then be 

 in order; but at first, at all events in the lakes, while the 

 wat^ir is high, bait-fishing is the more successful form of 

 the sport. Members of American clubs owning fishing 

 territories here are usually advised by telegi-aph when the 

 ice leaves their waters, and those anglers secure the best 

 sport who can manage to arrive here immediately there- 

 after. The same thing is true of both Lakes Edward and 

 St. Joseph, where the largest trout are taken in May and 

 in the early part of June. For the spring fishmg for 

 ouananiche, whether with bait in Lake St. John or with 

 the fly in the mouths of the Ouiatchouan and Meta- 

 betchouan, the best time is from the 20th of May to about 

 the 15th of June. The plague of flies is avoided at this 

 time of the year, but this fact is not much advertised, 

 simply because the hotel does not open for some time after 

 the commencement of the fishing season. The angler who 

 goes to Lake St. John, however, will find comfortable 

 enough accommodation in early spring in farm houses 

 close to the fishing waters. I forgot to say that the fish- 

 ing of both Lake St, Joseph and Lake Edward is open to 

 the public. The latter mentioned lake usually offei-s the 

 better sport, and is the rendezvous of Kit Clarke and other 

 well-known anglers. 



In the hope that they may prove useful to fishermen 

 who desire to try spring fishing in Canada, I will endeavor, 

 in the course of a few days, to send you notps of various 

 experiences here last spring with different flies in differ- 

 ent waters. E. T. D. Chambers. 

 Quebec, April IZ 



FROG-CASTING FOR BASS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Now that Mr. Abbott and "Eurus" have started the ball 

 roUing in regard to bait-casting vs. trolling I feel at liberty 

 to give my ideas, as they have hit on my hobby, "frog- 

 casting." First, I wish to ask Mr. Abbott if in his long 

 casting he can make his frog fall on to the water head 

 flLrst. I emphasize the word ' 'make," for this is perfectly 

 under the control of the caster, but I have not been able 

 to do it by ordinary casting. If Mr. Abbott can he will 

 shed my remarks as a duck does water. 



In ordinary bait-casting, where one reels the line in till 

 the leader touches the tip, one has veiy little control over 

 the bait, except to shape its course and drop it at the dis- 

 tance he wishes by thumbing and by dropping the tip. 

 This does very well for minnows and baits in which the 

 manner of touching the water is immaterial, but whoever 

 saw a frog jump into the water backward? 



I have had a bass take a frog before it touched the 

 water, but it would never have done so if the frog had 

 come hurling through the air backward, or side on, or 

 all doubled up. I have had many strikes in an instant 

 after the frog touched the water, but only in those cases 

 when he landed right, head first and with a soft "chunk." 

 If he landed with a splash or a slap no bass would take 

 him imtil after he began to move and strike out to swim, 

 which would remove all doubts of his identity, and a swirl 

 in the water and possibly a flash of dark green would pre- 

 lude the soft hissing of the line as it ran through the 

 guides 10ft.— 20ft.— then a httle pull as the bass shakes 

 his head in changing the position of liis frogship or swal- 

 lowing him— then the strike! 



In fly-fishing there is simply the rise and simultaneous 

 strike, but in frog-casting the seconds (they seem pretty 

 long ones) that elapse between the swirl of the bass as he 

 takes the frog from the surface and rushes with it to his 

 nest in the weeds, and when he changes it round in his 

 mouth or if he has caught it head in, before he really 

 swallows it, are full of anticipation. This time is to me 

 the most exciting and interesting of any fishing experi- 

 ence, for after the strike, if you have set youi- hook well, 

 there is something of routine work in bringing him to the 

 landing net, of course with exciting incidents and peculiar 

 rushes interspersed . 



But the judgment that is required when a bass takes 

 the frog is unUmited. In a day's fishing one will hardly 

 get two strikes and rushes just alike, and one's treatment 

 of them must vary accordingly. For instance, you are 

 using a small frog and a large bass takes it, if he goes 

 away head from you, strike. If he goes down or comes 

 toward you, wait. If a small one takes it, wait in either 

 case, as also if you are using a large frog. But how can 

 one tell if the bass is large or small if he don't see it? 

 Partly by intuition, partly by signs. A large bass seldom 

 breaks water when he takes the bait, but makes an angiy 

 swirl, in proportion to his size, sm^er ones up to 21bs. 



will come partly or entirely from the water with a splash 

 or slap, and I have noticed as a, general thing that the 

 smaller the bass the greater the noise. Also that the size 

 of frog used in no way controls the size of fish that will 

 bite, as last summer I caught a one-pounder on a bullfrog 

 whose body was fully 4iin. long, while I landed a 7+lbs. 

 large-mouth on a little spotted grass frog of liin. body. • 



Of course the time of striking a fish cannot be governed 

 by any arbitrary rules, but in the method of making the 

 strike depends a great deal of success or failure to land 

 your fish. A quick sharp jerk will lose moi-e fish than it 

 hooks; while a long, strong pull will set the hook through 

 bone and meat. 



If one holds his rod out in front of him, tip well down, 

 line just taut and arm almost straight; when ready to 

 strike and then brings his hand back nearly to his shoulder 

 and raises the tip of his rod, both in one movement, he 

 will not only set the hook firmly in wliatever part of the 

 mouth it may lie, but he will feel his fish and usually turn 

 it, and from that time can guide it to suit the water it may 

 be in. 



Now as to the raode of casting I claim tliat the ordinaiy 

 way of bait-casting is not suited to frogs. But not wish- 

 ing to provoke argument I will simplv give my way of 

 casting the frog. I use a rod just sufficiently stiff, vary- 

 ing it to suit the size of frogs used. If fishing from a 

 boat i make a back and a front cast, under the tip, that is 

 I swing the frog out in front, then by a side motion of the 

 rod bring him past me and back of ine and let him carry 

 out some Kne, then to make my actual cast, I draw out 

 some hue from the reel and hold in left hand and by a 

 similar motion of the rod aided by its spring, bring the 

 frog past me and out in front, and as he reaches the spot 

 desired, let go of the Ime in left hand and the frog re- 

 verses ends and comes easily and naturally into the water. 

 If fishmg from the shore or wading I make the same 

 under-hand cast, but with more line in left hand. In this 

 way I keep my frog alive and swimming, and his soft 

 dropping on the water brings the bass to him out of 

 curiosity; while a heavy splash will send them away and 

 one must wait for them to circle and come back. Thirty 

 to 50ft. or over can easily be cast in this manner and I 

 have found Httle necessity for more. 



I consider the frog so used one of the most killing baits 

 for either small or large-mouth bass, and right here I 

 should like to say a few words in defense of the large- 

 mouth or Oswego bass. Before residmg here I had fished 

 almost entirely for smaU-mouth bass only in the West, at 

 St. Clair Flats and elsewhere, and I expected but little 

 sport from the big-mouths round here; but I have had a 

 ciiange of heart forced upon me and have found that they 

 possess an amount of canning and trickiness that makes 

 up for the reckless coiurage and vim of the small-mouth. 

 And in cold spring-water lakes I have had them make a 

 fight that would challenge asmaU-mouth of equal weight. 

 One that took my frog just as the moon was rising one 

 evening left the water five times and made three long 

 runs before I brought him to the net and he stiU had 

 enough reserve energy to have kept it up longer, but I 

 was ready for supper; and that reminds me that a large- 

 mouth bass if dressed and cooked properly is a dish fit for 

 the best of sportsmen (and no man deserves better). Skin 

 your fish and split do-wTi the back and remove backbone 

 and if you wish, the ribs. Then rub the two pieces of 

 pink .flesh with pepper and salt, roll in flour, or rather, 

 stew slowly in butter. Try itl But don't cook him with 

 his skin on and bones in and then blame me. 



AlVIPHIBIAN. 



POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 



OREGON NOTES. 



The open salmon season commenced April 10. Ee- 

 markably heavy catches all along down the Columbia are 

 reported. I was told yesterday that the boats were aver- 

 aging about eighty fish per day. I am sure that I have 

 never seen in the Portland markets a finer lot of CJiinooks. 

 When the weather settles a little, what fun there will be 

 at Willamette Falls. 



Many of us would like to see the open season for trout 

 commence May 1 instead of April 1 in Oregon. Nature 

 and old Neptune have taken the matter in hand this 

 spring and are accompUshing, for this season at least, 

 what ought to be the general law. Here it is the middle 

 of Aj)ril, and no trout to speak of. The incessant rains 

 and continued cool weather since the first of March leave 

 the streams in such a condition that nothing less than 

 two weeks of very good weather wfll give the country 

 boy and pan fisherman an opportunity to use theu- detest- 

 able salmon roe to any particular advantage. It may 

 seem that I have a personal interest in this matter, and so 

 I have. All fly-fishermen have an interest in it, and it is 

 but natm-al that we should take a sort of fiendish delight 

 in seeing the April bait-fisherman wait for the second 

 table along with his betters. 



What sportsman of the Northwest does not know Judge 

 John W. Whalley? _ We recognize him as one of the oldest 

 and most "reliable" aU-round sportsmen in Oregon. We 

 look upon him as a kind of father-in-law, for you know that 

 we, every one of us, are wedded to either rod or gim, and 

 he is their master if not their pater. He is very practical 

 in some things, very theoretical in others, but ah^'ays 

 under all circumstances and in all conditions as fuU of fun 

 as an egg is of meat. Good fellowship is his hobby and 

 kindness of heart his chronic condition. He is the best 

 story teller on the West Coast, and to hear him tell it, he 

 is always ahead on every proposition; or m other words 

 the judge never gets left and wins on every deal. Here 

 is an instance: The day before yesterday he went up 

 above Albany after snipe and got five. Happening to 

 meet him at Court yesterday I asked him about his ti-ip, 

 and naturally (for me) fell to considering it from a 

 financial point of view. I always hke to know all the 

 particulars, asj the cost for the knowledge might come in 

 handy some day you know. 



Here are the items as given by the judge: Railroad 

 fare, $5; hotel bill, $3; team, beer and limcheon, §10; 

 cigars, §1.50; waiter at hotel, brushing clothes, 25 cents; 

 patch for snagged rubber boot, 50 cents; shells (a very 

 windy day you know), 50 cents; loss of time (attorney in 

 full practice), -$20. 



I called his attention to the fact that, taking his own 

 figures, his snipe has cost him .$7. 95 each. "But" said he, 

 "you have not allowed me the proper credits." Then he 

 fell to figm-ing and turned in the following "contra 

 credits:" Recreation, $10; medicine and doctor h ills 

 avoided, $50; snipe, 50 oenits; a clear profit of $30.75. 



It occurred to me that he placed rather a high valua- 

 tion on recreation and health for a man that never saw a 

 sick day in his life. Doubtless if the snipe had cost him 

 $100 each, he would have simply raised the price of 

 liealth and recreation proportionately and proved himself 

 a clear winner just the same. However, may his shadow 

 never grow less. S. H. Greene. 



PoBTLAKD, Oregon, April 14. ^ 



ST. LOUIS NOTES, 



For many years Murdock Lake, some twenty-six miles 

 south of this city on the Illinois side, has been" famous as 

 an angling resort. A couple of years ago, however, a 

 ditch was cut to the lake and part of the water drained * 

 off. Besides this the old club had so persistently caught 

 out the fish that the once popular resort was given up and 

 the old club removed to the St. Francis River. The high 

 water of last year reached Mm-dock Lake, and as a conse- 

 qence it is again full of game fish and some very large 

 catches have been made this spring. The restocking of 

 this fine body of water has led to the re-organization of 

 the Mm-dock Lake Fishing Club under the following 

 officers: President, Gen. E. A. Moore; Vice-President, G. 

 H. Kiiight; Secretary, G. H. Rawlins; Treasurer, M. L. 

 Houts. The above four are also directors and in addition 

 there are three more, namely: P. H. Felker, Henry Feld- 

 bush and Dr. Fike, of Waterloo, who is one of the fish 

 wardens of the State of Ilhnois. The new club will be 

 chartered under the lUinois law and sixty shares of stock 

 will be issued at $10 per share to the club members, the 

 number of which is limited to sixty, and is already full. 

 It will be remembered that Murdock Lake has a record of 

 the largest croppy caught by hook and line in the country, 

 it weighing over .81bs. 



The King's Lake Fish and Game Preserving Associationy 

 commonly known as the King's Lake Club, has elected the 

 following officers for the ensuing year: President, E, T. 

 Jester; Vice-President, William J. Baker; Secretary and 

 Treasurer, George J. Chapman. The club membership 

 now numbers 150 and the limit is 200. There has been 

 good duck and snipe shooting on the grounds this season 

 and fishing will be better than ever when the water be- 

 comes setiiled. 



Om- neighboring city of Carlyle in Illinois, has a very 

 prosperous club under the style of the Carlyle Fishing and 

 Hunting Club. TJie concern has a capital stock of $10,000 

 and has purchased Abbott's Lake, with 65 acres of ground 

 near the city of Carlyle. The lake is small, covering only 

 10 acres and has a beautiful httle island of 2 acres. The 

 water has been well stocked with fish and furnishes ex- 

 cellent sport. There is a new club house costing $1,560 

 built in modern style with all improvements and also a 

 boat house 34x30ft., and other summer houses. The 

 island wiU be connected with the main land by a rustic 

 bridge, and a drive will be made around the lake. It is 

 proposed to lay out a lawn tennis court, a race track and 

 bowhng aUey are also talked of. Most of the members 

 belong to the city of Carlyle, there are a few who belong 

 to the city of St. Louis. The board of directora are as 

 follows: G. Van Hoorbeke, August Sclilafly, F. P. Bacon, 

 Henry Bender and H. A. Niehoff". Aberdeen. 



THE "B. A. SCOTT" FLY. 



In your issue of April 6, under the heading of "Angling 

 Notes," Mr. A. N. Cheney refers to the now famous ouan- 

 aniche fly the "B. A. Scott." Permit me to say that this 

 gentleman is positively wrong when he claims that the 

 "B. A. Scott" is an imitation of Miss McBride's "Gen. 

 Hooker," which he describes as follows: 



Gen. Hooker: Body bright yellow and green ringed 

 alternately, red hackle (and this means chicken red); 

 wings, tail feathers of the ruffed grouse. Mr. W. Holber- 

 ton describes the Gen. Hooker as having light brown 

 mottled wings and a green body with yeUow bands. 



Now for the genuine B. A. Scott and my pattern: Body 

 pale yellow (almost white) and blue ringed alternately, 

 brown hackle; wings stone gray (plain), duck's down of the 

 bluebill preferred, hook No. 8. 



I fail to see the likeness between these two. Moreover, 

 the duck feather wiU retain its rigidity in the water, while 

 the grouse feather will he flat on the hook. 



Three years ago, in August, Mr. B. A. Scott called upon 

 me. He was looking for an imitation of a midget fly 

 which had proved to be the natural food of the ouana- 

 niche in the latter part of July and beginning of August, 

 a minute description of which couAdnced me that it would 

 prove a killer. Some fair substitutes were found, the best 

 being the queen-of-the-waters, black-fauy, grizzly-king 

 and golden-spinner. Meanwhile we set to work and had 

 tied what is now known as the "B. A. Scott." The first 

 lot were immediately mailed to Mr. Scott. Having tried 

 them he did not hesitate to proclaim them the best fly 

 known for ouananiche at that season. With Mr. Scott's 

 permission we named the fly after him, and this is the 

 history of its origin. 



This fly will kiU when such flies as the Jock-Scott, silver- 

 gray, Halifax, silver-doctor and fairy wiU faff. A peculi- 

 arity in ouananiche, this is the absence of scarlet, red or 

 wliite. The B. A. Scott has made its mark as a trout fly 

 and is getting very popular among trout fishermen. An- 

 other knier or hooker, as Mr. Cheney calls them, is the 

 "Parmachenee-belle," which I believe to be a creation of 

 the latter-mentioned gentleman, and I congi-atulate him 

 on it. I have known it some five years, and then they 

 came from Mr. Chas. Orvis. Since that time I have had 

 them from T. J. Conroy, Abbey & Imbrie and English 

 and Scotch firms, with the result that I have six distinct 

 patterns and as different as they can i^ossibly be, but they 

 are all killers and called by the same name. 



Ice on the lakes north of here is stiU 3ft. thick. W& 

 expect, however, to get our first fishing about May 30. 



George Van Felson. 



Qdebbg, Can. 



Dynamiters at Work. 



By a despatch from Fort Himter, N. Y., it is learned 

 that four men, named Jack Morgan, Edward Rivers 

 John Rockfeller and James Am bridge, aU of Amster- 

 dam, have been arrested on the charge of killino- fish in 

 the Mohawk River by the use of dynamite carti'ido-es 

 Thousands of fish, it is said, were killed by these men 

 The prisoners were held imder $250 bonds for trial Wed- 

 nesday. Fishermen are indignant over the acts of the 

 dynamiters. The prisoners will also have to answer ta 

 the charge of fishing on Sunday. 



