298 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 7, 1893. 



a fly, and it is not necessary to touch upon the contro- 

 versy here, but a well-known writer in a foreign ex- 

 change has something to say ui^on the subject, which, I 

 think, will be read with interest over here. This writer, 

 "Silver Gray," says: ''Failing every combination of fur, 

 feather and tinsel, I have often found the quiet natural 

 fly most effective, and therefore I think we may take it 

 that the various species at their seasons should not be 

 neglected. * * * As an instance of this, I know one 

 stream in Ireland, and another in Scotland, in whicli, 

 though often tried, Jock-Scott has never done the 

 trick yet. By all means let us stick to the local lures, but 

 at the same time, as a saving change, the natural flies of 

 the water should not be altogether forgotten. The history 

 of salmon fly-fishing from its origin, if any one could put 

 it together, would be a most curious study. I quite agree 

 with 'Alces' that salmon have been gradually educated, 

 and no doubt in the Irish and Scotch rivers fish will ere 

 long leave the quiet mallard wing for the Jock-Scott, 

 thence go on to the Wilkinson, and finally grab at min- 

 nows, prawn, worms and other abominations, in prefer- 

 ence to fly. There can be no doubt that where bait is 

 habitually used,, fish are forsaking fly." The writer quoted 

 concludes his article by saying certain questions naturally 

 arise and asks for information on these points; What 

 are salmon flies, or rather what are they supposed to 

 represent, and what do the fish take them for? Who first 

 invented salmon flies, and upon what theories and obser- 

 vations dia he base his invention? 



Fishing Scores. 

 A sufficient number of fish scores get into print during 

 the course of a fishing season, and naturaUy I mean ex- 

 ceptional scores, big scores, or scores allied to them, to 

 cause the thinking reader to wonder what becomes of the 

 fish that constitute the bag in the scores recorded; and it 

 is not at aU probable that more than a smaU fraction of 

 the fish caught by angling during a season ever find their 

 way into print, so the wonder would increase, doubtless, 

 if the knowledge on this subject was greater. I made a 

 memorandum of notable catches of black bass— notable 

 for the number taken with hook and line, on one river 

 one season, and put down only such catches as were re- 

 corded in the public prints, and the same total of the bass 

 was rather appalling, considering the number of men en- 

 gaged, coupled with the thought that they were an insig- 

 nificent minority of the men who were fishing just as 

 earnestly, perhaps, to beat the record of the number of 

 ba,ss taken in a given time. What brought the matter to 

 mind just at this time was an extract from a Paris paper 

 as follows: "The only Frenchmen who do not go in for 

 shooting are the disciples of Izaak Walton, most of them 

 shop-keepers, who throughout the summer, in rain or sun- 

 shine, line the banks of the Seine, not only above and be- 

 low Paris, but even the embankments within the city limits, 

 who are perfectly content if a day of twelve hours fishing 

 enables them to return home with three or four min- 

 nows the size of a sardine." There is not an angler in 

 the United States of America that would be perfectly 

 content with that sort of fishing. We have such a wealth 

 of game and food fishes in our waters that we scorn the 

 commoner sorts, and kfll and throw away as worthless 

 sunfish, chubs and other of the lesser fishes that in France 

 would be looked upon as a prize. The fishing for big 

 scores will not ruin the fishing in this comitry in our day, 

 and bring it to the condition that obtains in France, for 

 the country is yet young, and the watei-s too vast, ac- 

 cording to the quoted paragraph; but it is just such 

 fishing, and the consequent Avaste of good fish that will 

 help materially to bring such a condition of things about 

 if persisted in merely to gratify this vanity of a moment. 

 With one exception, and that in Maine, far beyond the 

 Rangeley Lakes, I have not known hotel keepers or 

 guides in this country to be solicitous about the number 

 of fish killed by sportsmen who patrobize them. On the 

 contrary they, as a rule, encourage the big scores that 

 must tend to decimate the water for nothing in par- 

 ticular. A. N. Cheney. 



IN CAMP AT DRAG LAKE. 



The writer has just returned to work after ten days' ex- 

 perience as a ' 'campster. " (This term is probably not quite 

 as familiar as "rodster," etc., but to my mind it is quite as 

 euphonious as the latter.) Canadians do not seem to take 

 as much interest as Americans in relating their experi- 

 ences in Forest and Stream, and I would like to see an 

 improvement in this respect. Of course to newspaper men 

 the work of writing articles for publication does not offer 

 any recreation, but I feel that the opportunity of contiibut- 

 ing to the best and purest sportsman's jom-nal in America 

 has too long been neglected by many on this side of the 

 line. Of course Forest and Stream has a few valued 

 contributors in Canada, but the number should be largely 

 increased. 



A party of us, ladies as well as gentlemen, for our wives 

 enjoy an outing quite as well as we do, left Markham, a 

 station on the Midland division of the Grand Trunk, on 

 Monday morning, Aug. 7, for Drag Lake in the Halibur- 

 ton district. At Lindsay, a live town of about 7,000 in- 

 habitants, we had to change cars, and the time-table 

 allowing us about three hours we had ample time for din- 

 ner and to view the town. A small steamer plies between 

 Lindsay, Stm-geon Point and Bobcaygeon, but this was 

 not our route on this occasion. About 2 o'clock we took 

 the train again for Haliburton, the terminus of this par- 

 ticular division of the Grand Trunk, where we arrived 

 fifteen minutes ahead of time. At the station we were 

 met by the parties from whom we had previously engaged 

 boats, but, as if there could be "no joy without alloy," we 

 found the vehicle that had been provided was not large 

 enough to take all our luggage at one load. One of the 

 party termed it a "baby carriage." However, by making 

 two trips we finally succeeded in getting om- traps to "the 

 dani," the members of the pai-ty walking the distance, 

 which, by the way, is two miles or better. 



Before we got one of the tents up the dew and night 

 hadfaUen; and such dew! The grass was as though a 

 heavy shower had fallen recently. By-and-by we got the 

 beds arranged, and to the loon's lonesome iay we slept 

 the sleep of the "campster." (This is the last time I shall 

 use this term.) We were early astir the following morn- 

 ing, for we had not reached our permanent camp ground. 

 This was simply Lazy Creek, and up it and through two 

 small lakes we wei'e to find Drag Lake, where there was 

 said to be "any amotmt of salmon trout" waiting for us. 



After breakfast boats were loaded and we proceeded on 

 our journey. About 10 o'clock we found the entrance to 



Drag Lake, but came very near getting into Spruce Lake 

 instead. The narrows leading to Drag Lake sometimes 

 become blocked with cedar logs, roots, etc , making it 

 appear as though there was no way open in that direction, 

 and so we found it on this occasion. 



We had been told by a Mr. Neely (one of the parties 

 from whom boats had been secured) to look up old "LTncle 

 Billy" and he would direct us to a suitable camp ground. 

 After scanning the shores of the lake for some time we 

 finally found IJncle Billy's camp, but the old gentleman 

 himself was out looking after his lines. However, having 

 found the camp, we knew we would not be long in find- 

 ing the owner, and after a time we saw him some distance 

 off in his boat. We rowed up to the old gentleman, stated 

 our errand, and were rewai-ded by the information that on 

 top of the hiU, not far from his own camp, we wotdd fin d 

 as good a place for a camp as there was on the lake. 

 True, the task of lugging everything up the MU did not at 

 first meet with very great acceptance, but when up we 

 were high and dry, with two good springs a short distance 

 away on either side of us, and raspberries galore at our 

 very tent doors. I have read with delight of the King- 

 fishers' "rozberries," but I doubt if their enjoyment of 

 the berries picked by the neighbors' boys and purchased 

 at so much a quart, equalled ours when pai-taking of the 

 berries plucked by our own hands. We had raspberries 

 two and three times a day — without milk, it is true, for 

 there were no neighbors from whom to purchase the lac- 

 teal fiuid; for a change black thimble berries, and occa- 

 sionally huckleberries, which we gathered at another 

 point further down the lake. 



Mr. S. H. Greene, in a recent number of Forest and 

 Stream, briefly refers to his experience in the raspberry 

 pi-eserving line while in camp — or rather to Mrs. Greene's 

 experience in that line, and his own experience when 

 the supply of wood ran out. Our wives did not possess 

 the sugar and the other facilities necessary for the 



UNCLE BILLY AT HOME. 



work — ^and it was too far to go for them — else we would 

 have had a similar woeful experience. We are lost in 

 serious contemplation of the result should the ladies un- 

 dertake to turn all our camping expeditions into rasp- 

 berry preserving aflaus. We have heard of the "fish for 

 count" fellows, are we to have raspberry preserving for 

 count, too? Men, followers of the lamented Izaak, and 

 fellow sportsmen, lend me your ears! ShaU we submit to 

 the innovation? 



But to our text. The remainder of the first day was 

 spent in putting up tents — two sleeping tents and a dining 

 room — and in putting things in proper shape. The dining 

 room was simply a cotton roof mounted on poles and tied 

 at the four corners, the sides and ends of the structure 

 being open to admit the breeze, and it was by all odds the 

 most comfortable place to sit in. An old door picked up 

 on the journey made an excellent table when momited on 

 four stakes driven into the ground. For our beds we 

 gathered branches of hazel, raspberry bushes and ferns. 

 The latter were to be foimd in abundance, but the axoma 

 from them soon became sickening, and so we threw them 

 out, and replaced them with long grass or hay that had 

 been cut and allowed to dry for a day or two. 



Uncle BiUy did not give us much encouragement in 

 regard to the fishing. He said that the salmon trout 

 generally quit biting about this time of the year and that 

 for about six weeks business would be dull at the old 

 stand. Earlier in the season would have been better for 

 fishing, but then the flies would have been very bad. He 

 related the experience of a Mr. Edwards, of Toronto, who 

 had endeavored to live there in fly time. That gentleman 

 had at first endeavored to live with, or near by, Uncle 

 Bflly, but the flies had proved too much for him. Then 

 he moved to the hill upon which we were now located 

 and again he was routed, horse, foot and artillery, leav- 

 ing the field to the enemy and LTncle Billy. He must 

 have retired in great disorder, for we found some of his 

 despatches lying on the ground, and he had not even 

 taken time to draw all his tent pins. Uncle Billy had 

 stood his ground and now the flies were nearly all gone. 

 By the way, old residents do stand the onslaughts of the 

 little fiends better than new-comers. We got along first 

 rate in this respect, however. 



Having referred to Uncle Billy a number of times 

 already, it will, perhaps, be in order to give some particu- 

 lars concerning him. "Uncle Billy" is the only name we 

 know him by. Every spring as soon as the fishing opens 

 he wends his way to Drag Lake, puts up his tent and sets 

 his lines. Between bites he cultivates a little garden 

 patch, growing potatoes, onions, lettuce and other vege- 

 tables for his own use while in camp. He is a bachelor, 

 possessed of some property, talks like a Cornish man, and 

 evidently loves the life he is leading. We received some 

 interesting certificates of character concerning Uncle 

 Billy, "He is a decent, honest old fellow," said one. "He 

 would not do you an injury or tell you a lie for anything," 

 said another; and again, "If there is a man on the earth 

 without guile it is old Uncle BiUy." Is it any wonder 

 tliat we wanted to get a photograph of him and his tent? 

 I submit the result of our efforts to you for your approval. 

 The dark shade on the tent is where Uncle Billy had put 



on some oil to make it waterproof, for some reason 

 not finishing the work. The night before our arrival 

 a wolf chased a deer within a short distance 

 of this tent, as the humble occupant informed us, and the 

 second night after our arrival we distinctly heard a family 

 of bears that had come to wallow in a beaver pond not 

 more than two or three hundred yards in rear of our 

 tents. The shades of night had just fallen and we were 

 talking over the events of the day preparatory to retiring, 

 when the stillness was broken by the half squealing, half 

 barking noise of two cubs. The hunters of the party knew 

 at once what it was. The bears had smelt us and could 

 now be heard taking their departure on the double quick. 

 Pursuit in the darkness was nut of the question, but on 

 the impulse of the moment sheUs were sUpped into the 

 rifles. 



We told Uncle Billy of the occurrence, and the reader 

 wiU try and imagine the old man striking an attitude sim- 

 flar to that shown in the photograph, as he remarked, 

 "Mebbe they will pay my camp a visit some of these 

 nights. " He is an exceUent shot with a rifle, having taken 

 prizes at rifle matches held in the neighborhood for years. 

 Some of our party were sitting in a boat with him one 

 day, when he raised his rifle and sent a ball through the 

 head of a loon sitting on the water. There was consider- 

 able ripple on at the time, too. 



But this is quite lengthy enough for the first communi- 

 cation. If acceptable, you vvill hear from me again con- 

 cerning our experiences on Drag Lake. In the meantime 

 just insert this with Uncle Billy's photograph. 



W. L. Smith. 



Shelbhrot;, Ont., Aug. 39. 



THE WAYS OF THE SALMON. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your issue of Aug. 26, "Podgers" requests a state- 

 ment of my reasons for believing that salmon feed while 

 in fresh water. Heretofore, he and I have always agreed 

 pretty well on most questions except, possibly, on the 

 question of comparative merit, from the sportsman's 

 standpoint, where California and Oregon were involved. 

 And I beheve that, if I can make myself plain, we are not 

 so very far apart now on the question of whether or not 

 salmon feed while in fresh water. This question has, 

 for some yeai-s, been of one interest to me; and I have 

 given it such attention and consideration as my limited 

 opportunities offered. As I anticipated, "Podgers's" ex- 

 perience and observations are of great value in arriving 

 at a correct determination of this matter. Stone, Jordan, 

 Bean, Gilbert and other eminent students of this subject 

 have entertained views similai- to those expressed by Mr. 

 Podgers, and some of these gentlemen have, on several 

 occasions, paid my opinions the compliment of replying 

 to them through the colunms of FOREST AND Stream; but 

 I do not wish to be undei-stood as contending with any of 

 these gentlemen. What I have said or may say on the 

 subject is intended as suggestive rather than assertive. 



I have never claimed that salmon go into fresh water 

 to feed. 



Neither do I claim that salmon lose much time seeking 

 food, for, as we all know, their mission in fresh waters is 

 simply to spawn. But the fact that they are on, to them, 

 an important mission should not necessarily be taken as 

 conclusive evidence that they do not heed the calls of 

 nature, and appropriate such articles of food as may be 

 taken without the expenditure of too much energy and 

 time and which, as I take it, they must needs have to 

 support them and enable them to fulfiU their missions and 

 comply with nature's decree. When Columbus sailed the 

 blue seas for weaiy months in the performance of his 

 mission, he did not go to eat, but, doubtle.ss, he did eat to 

 go. The same may be said of every living creature that 

 undertakes a mission that requii-es the expenditure of 

 physical strength and energy. The motive power must 

 not be neglected, and food is the fuel of physical action. 

 But tlie most eminent ichthyologists of the world have 

 declared that the salmon eat nothing while running. 

 Even the U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, 

 supplied with all the essential facilities for the proper 

 study of the subject, has decided that the salmon do not 

 feed at aU while in fresh waters. AU the knowledge I 

 have of the subject has been acquired incidentally about 

 the Columbia and its tributaries, and from taking notes 

 of the observations and experiences of others far more 

 learned in the subject than myself; and at most it is to a 

 great degree speculative. 



Livingston Stone has, by very careful estimates deter- 

 mined that the salmon travel at the rate of about two 

 miles a day in the Sacramento, and about three miles a 

 day in the Columbia. However, he says: "Those that 

 enter the Columbia in the spring and ascend to the moun- 

 tain rivers of Idaho, must make an average of nearly 

 four miles per day." It is a well known fact that the 

 salmon ascend the Columbia and its tributaries more than 

 800 miles; as the river runs, more than 1000. Two- 

 hundred days on full time, against the rapids and 

 currents without a mouthful to eat, must be rather try- 

 ing on even a king salmon even though well supplied 

 with fuel when he leaves the ocean. No allowance 

 is made for the return trip, and doubtless, many do 

 return. 



It has been demonstrated by the learned gentlemen 

 above mentioned, that little solid food is ever found in 

 the salmon's stomach whfle in fresh waters. But I 

 believe that "Podgei-s" will concur in my objection to the 

 assertion that none is ever found. "Podgers's" experience 

 on the Sacramento, the Navarro and the McCloud, goes 

 to show that food is sometimes found in their stomachs. 

 The instances referred to by myself in this periodical a 

 few weeks ago, also have a bearing on the subject. The 

 further fact that thousands have been taken with bait and 

 spoon at WiUamette Falls, in the Clackamas River and at 

 the Cascades of the Columbia, is worthy of some consider- 

 ation; and while one swallow does not make spring, a 

 few swallows may indicate the inclinations of a salmon to 

 eat. There is little doubt that the great majority of those 

 we take with hook and line are males; and at one time I 

 believed that this fact warranted the belief that they 

 were prompted to attack by the combative proclivity, 

 observable in nearly or quite every species of game, 

 whether fish, flesh or fowl, during the rutting or running 

 season. On this proposition however, I am not now 

 clear. For why is it that the man that uses bait will, 

 ordinarily, catch foiu- or five times as many salmon as the 

 angler that uses spoon and fly. My friend J. P. Mead is a 

 very expert salmon fisherman and I, myself, am a little 

 bit egotistical on the subject. Ctoe day last Jime at 



