May 2, 1896.] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
367 
got tired he would go and swim away; and when I would 
cast again another one would repeat this until I got tired 
and quit, Sometimes a large one would take hold, and if 
it was of the size to eat he would be taken in, to serve for 
the next two or three meals. As it approached near the 
'noon hour we heard the signal from Joe that he was 
ready to move, or dinner was ready, so we gathered up 
the spoils of the morning's trip and found that we had 
about 801bs. of nice large brook trout, the genuine Salveli- 
nus fontinalis. These we ate in the next meals because 
we did not make much of a catch, as will be related here- 
after. The string made rather a heavy load for a man to 
carry to the main trail, and when we got to camp the 
Indians set up a yell of victory and immediately began to 
clean and cook them for dinner. As we had been work- 
ing hard and exerting ourselves all morning we were in- 
deed hungry, and we did not waste a single flake of the 
fish. 
The portage from camp Alexander to the river at the 
head of Cameron Pool and the foot of Lake Jessie is two 
and one-half miles long, and the fall is 137ft. in this dis- 
tance. Lake Nipigon is 915ft. above the level of the sea. 
You can form some conception of the rapids with this 
water coming from such a height and with the immense 
lake at its back. 
After cleaning up the dishes we embarked in our canoes 
and started north ttiroughXake Jessie to the Narrows* four 
miles away, and on the western shore landed, pitched our 
tents and prepared for the night. The Indians cut down 
brush for bedding, made fires and prepared the evening 
meal; in the meantime we got our rods, lines, etc., ready 
to draw in some leviathans of the deep. To our minds 
these waters could not contain any email fish, when the 
brooks yielded such large trout to our morning catch. 
Nor did it enter our minds that we^ after our triumphs of 
the morning, would fail to gather in some monsters right 
away. But alas for human hopes, they are not always 
fulfilled and I am free to confess that ours were not. We 
fished up, we fished down, we fished across and back, with 
short lines, with long lines and with every kind of bait, 
and the best we could do was one fish apiece to the Judge 
and me and two to Fred, the boss fisherman, and they 
were small, even smaller than what we killed in the 
brook. The fog began to fall and the chilly atmosphere 
d rove us to camp, to the side of the warm log fire, and 
al ter our evening devotions we slowly departed to the 
downy couches, prepared by the red men, where we again 
went through the sports of the day just passed. 
J. W. Hague. 
fTO BE CONTINUED.] 
NEW ENGLAND SPRING FISHING. 
Boston, April 27.— Monday, April 20, was observed as a 
holiday, Patriot's Day coming on the 19th, which was 
Sunday. Many of the devotees of rod and reel were out. 
The day was a beautiful one; not a cloud in the sky, with 
the sun bright and warm enough to cause the trout to 
take the fly almost for the first time this year. The 
streams and preserves were well patronized along the 
South Shore, with several pretty good records. Mr. Henry 
Thompson went down the Cape on Saturday and was back 
in Boston on Monday, with a record of about twenty trout 
the largest nearly 21bs. in weight. He says they took the 
scarlet-ibis fairly well, but angle worms were better re- 
ceived. The name of the brook is carefully not men- 
tioned. He says that some of the cranberry bog streams 
in the neighborhood of Sandwich are in good shape for 
fishing, and a permit from the owner ought to give the 
sportsman a good showing. Along the North Shore there 
was a good deal of fishing, almost for the first time this 
season. The brooks in Ipswich were given a good whip- 
ping, with a result of many fine trout. Charlie Bailey 
and Claude H. Tarbox— they are usually together— were 
over from Byfield early in the morning with a team, and 
Bull Brook gave them some good sport. Fourteen trout 
were set up to Claude's credit and thirteen to Charlie's. 
On their way back they came across a local angler who, 
as usual, had the big trout of the day. It must have 
weighed nearly 21bs., and its owner was very proud of it 
He would not give away the spot where he took it, and 
the other fishermen were inclined to believe that he might 
have spirited it from the town reservoir, which is stocked 
with trout, but closed to fishing at present. Tarbox and 
Bailey came along with their team on the way home. 
The fellow had the trout on display and was inclined to 
strut a little. Bailey asked to see the fish, and its owner, 
unsuspecting, passed it up to the men in the buggy. Tar- 
box says, "I could not resist the temptation of hitting the 
horse a cut with the whip, and away we went down the 
hill, trout and all. The fellow looked surprised, then ran 
after as, calling us about ail the names in the dictionary 
in as many minutes. Did he swear? Don't you think he 
didn't. We drove nearly out of hearing, and he was still 
gesticulating. Then we turned about and drove back. 
This surprised him fully as much as our driving away 
with his fine trout. We handed him the fish with several 
nice cigars, when it suddenly dawned upon him that it was 
all a joke. He smiled all over and then joined in the laugh 
with us." 
The ice is out of Sebago, the Maine celebrated landlocked 
salmon lake. It started Sunday and the lake was clear by 
Tuesday— about six days later than a year ago, those waters 
having been all clear on April 16, 1895. In 1894 the ice 
went out on April 6. This opens the landlocked salmon 
season, and a number of Boston anglers are off. Mr 
John G. Wright started Thursday, and will be the guest 
of Mr. Robinson at South Windham, as usual. Mr. Rod- 
ney P. Woodbury, one of the most enthusiastic anglers 
in the country, reached South Naples, on the Sebago 
Wednesday evening. He fished Thursday, with the re- 
sult of three landlocked salmon — one of 3lbs., one of 
3ilbs. and one of 51bs. Up to that time Mr. Woodbury 
was high line of the season at Sebago, and was a very 
happy man. He hopes for still larger fish and a number 
of them. 
Mr. John Fottler, Jr., well known to the Forest and 
Steeam as a salmon angler, and for his efforts in the 
direction of game bird distribution, has a letter dated at 
Gaspe, P. Q., April 11, where the salmon river of which 
he is one of the chief owners is located— the St. John's. 
The letter mentions a most remarkable snowstorm in 
that region. It began snowing on Good Friday and did 
not stop till Easter Sunday. There were 4 ft. of solid 
snow on the level. This snow, in addition to that already 
on the ground, promises to make one of the most re- 
markable freshets for years. To the salmon angler the 
prospect for spring freshets that greatly stir up the rivers 
means excellent fishing. "Great freshets are invariably 
followed by good fishing," they say, and their reasoning 
generally proves true for both salmon and trout. 
The ice is out of Dan Hole Pond, Ossipee, N. H. It 
went out Thursday, and Richard O. Harding and his 
party were off Friday afternoon. In the party were E, 
H. Wakefield, Edward Brooks and W. B. P. Weeks. 
Mr. A. J. Salfridge and Mr. C. P. Stevens were hindered 
till the next day, and Mr. Beggs was hindered by busi- 
ness. Mrs. E. H. Wakefield was scarcely able to under- 
take the trip, the weather being too cold. 
At this writing the ice is about all out of Lake Auburn, 
Auburn, Me., and there are hundreds of anglers in the 
two cities, Lewiston and Auburn, anxious for the lake to 
be clear. A great deal has been done to stock that lake, 
one of the State hatcheries being located there, and ex- 
cellent fishing has resulted for several years, improving 
each season. There is a special law for that lake, which 
provides that no fishing shall be done till the lake is 
"clear of ice." Already a dispute has arisen concerning 
the wording of the law. A citizen baited his hook with 
a smelt the other day and trolled in a part of the lake 
that was "clear of ice." Immediately he hooked and 
landed a 41bs. landlocked salmon, and was a good deal 
proud of his luck. But a fish warden came along and 
arrested him for illegal fishing. He was taken into 
court, his lawyer claiming that he had right to fish, as 
the lake was "clear of ice" in the part where he fished. 
He put in no other plea and made no denial of the facts; 
was a member of the local fish and game association, in 
fact. The court held that the meaning of the law is that 
the lake shall be entirely clear of ice, and fined him $10 
and costs. The fisherman appealed and gave bonds for 
his appearance at a higher court. 
Up to to-day there is no news of the clearing of the 
celebrated trout lakes, Moosehead and the Rangeleys. 
The warm weather experienced in New York and Boston 
early last week evidently did not reach that more north- 
erly region. Letters and newspaper reports mention 
thick ice and rather cool weather. Nothing but unsea- 
sonably warm weather, or a warm rain, can remove the 
ice from those lakes before May 10 at the very earliest. 
Boston sportsmen are anxious, but after all there is not 
the enthusiasm that once might be noted here. Many of 
the old parties have changed. Death and business changes 
have done their work, and old age creeps on to the angler, 
though perhaps not quite as rapidly as on to people that 
do not enjoy that recreation. A number of fishermen 
are waiting for telegrams that the ice is out of Moosehead 
and out of Rangeley, but the early parties will not be 
what they were a few years ago. Many, owing to the 
general popularity of those lakes'^. the coming in of rail- 
roads, the newspaper booming, etc., have sought and 
found more distant fishing waters, where the scream of 
the locomotive and the dress suit does not trouble them. 
Special. 
Monday, April 20, was a holiday in Massachusetts, and 
many of the anglers about Boston took advantage of the 
day to take an outing with the trout. T. A. Smith, of 
Everett; J. J. Gilligan, of Maiden, and H. H. Palmer, of 
Somerville, joined forces in a visit to Lakeville and vicin- 
ity. They did not get many, but Mr. Gilligan says those 
they did get were all gold-plated, and therefore they 
seemed valuable. 
Another party consisted of Winslow, Frank G. and 
Eben A. Thacher, W. A. Rich, R. G. Raymond and a Mr. 
Graves. They were down at Hyannis on the shore of 
Vineyard Sound. They fished both pond and stream 
near Hyannis and caught a few nice trout. Shooting 
sheldrake formed a part of the morning's pastime, and 
they had quite an adventure while crossing Lewis Bay in 
a small, leaky boat. When near the shore the boat filled 
and two of the Messrs. Thacher jumped overboard and 
pulled the frail craft to the shore just in time. 
The best holiday catch that I have heard of fell to the 
lot of two gentlemen of Waltham, Mr. Fred. Gilbert and 
his friend, Mr. Barnes. They came home with forty-two 
trout, all taken in stream fishing. Just where it was — 
well, that is to be kept quiet, but they had the fish, and 
that is enough said. 
C. S. Anthony, auditor of the Fitchburg Railroad, and 
F, H. Carter went down to Sandwich and fished a private 
stream. They could see a good many fish, but the most 
luscious bait they had would not induce them to rise, and 
consequently a rather small string was the fruits of the 
day's sport. 
That old and reliable fishing club of Worcester, the 
Nessmuks, consisting of Chas. L. Allen, O, A. Benoit, C. 
Harry Morse and Eclw. Dodge, went out on Monday, and 
this year proved no exception to the general good luck of 
the club. Forty odd trout were their catch, and they 
were all taken from streams not far from the city. It is 
a rule with the Nessmuks for the club members to do the 
cooking, and since they have been taking their own 
medicine for the last six or seven years and still live, it 
looks as though it was well done. 
Other gentlemen who made Monday a day for fishing 
were William Brewster and a friend, of Boston, who 
went well up in the country to fish a very hard stream, 
and E. J. Brown and son, who fished Mr. Brown's own 
stream near Sandwich on the Cape with good success. 
A Worcester man tells me that the big trout taken out 
of Lake Quinsigamond, which I mentioned in Forest and 
Stream of last week, was speared by a game warden who 
said he could not tell him from a sucker. I wonder if 
this is one of the qualifications necessary for appointment 
to this office. Tne same gentleman informed me that 
brook trout of 3 to 5lbs. are fairly plentiful in Quinsiga- 
mond, and some of this weight were taken by parties while 
fishing through the ice last winter. 
Out at Winchester, Game Commissioner Brackett has 
some Mongolian pheasants under his care. Occasionally 
a bird who gets out of the inclosure fails to return, 
and Mr. Frazer, the taxidermist, of Boston, has had one 
sent in to mount which was killed at the lower pond in 
West Medford, about four miles from its home. This is 
the second one he has had, the first being sent in last fall. 
It seems too bad to shoot these stray birds, and surely 
they are too conspicuous in plumage to be taken for any 
native bird. 
A Bangor gentleman who has been visiting in Boston 
for a few days past tells me that the ice went out of Green 
Lake abouj; one week ago, and since then several land- 
locked salmon have been taken. This lake is situated on 
the Mt. Desert branch of the Maine Central R. R, only a 
few miles from Bangor, and is a favorite resort for the 
anglers of that city. It is quite a large body of water, 
being nearly seven miles long, and salmon have been 
taken from it beyond the earliest recollection of those 
who live near it. The United States Government estab- 
lished a hatchery on the east shore about five years ago, 
and now the lake is used as a reserve to draw from for 
the purpose of stocking other waters. No fishing has 
been allowed through the ice since the Government built 
the hatchery, and as a consequence of this care the fish- 
ing has become very reliable. The salmon run to large 
size, 151bs. being not an uncommon weight. From this 
same gentleman I hear that the Moosehead Lake ice is 
rapidly softening, and he predicts clear water by the first 
week in May. 
Excitement runs high among Massachusetts anglers 
just now, and everybody is waiting anxiously for that 
telegram which will tell them that clear water is once 
more visible in the lakes where they delight to lure 
the bulky togue and the clean-cut salmon. The ice 
left Ossipee Lake and Dan Hole Pond in New Hamp- 
shire on the 23d. For the former a large party from 
Haverhill leaves to-morrow, while for Dan Hole 
there are several parties already en route. H. H. Moses, 
of Exeter, N. H., fished there very steadily last season 
and expects to get away on Saturday or Monday to try his 
luck again. Sebago Lake, near Portland, has been open 
for some days, but it is of no account to Boston fishermen, 
as only natives of Maine, or rather residents of that State, 
can fish there before May 1. The new Portland club, 
whose formation I mentioned in Forest and Stream a 
short time ago, are already there, but I have not yet heard 
how well they are doing. From reports which I have at 
hand the Newfound and Winnepesaukee ice will give up 
the ghost in a few days. An unusual number of people 
will visit Newfound this year owing to its solid reputa- 
tion for success, which has been growing steadily for the 
last few seasons. 
Harry M. Pierce writes me from King and Bartlett 
camp3 that he is building new cabins at Big Spencer Lake 
to accommodate his guests this season. This is a much- 
needed improvement, as Big Spencer is one of the most 
pictura^que spots in Maine, and the single cabin which 
graced its shores last year was totally inadequate to pro- 
vide for the many guests who wished to visit from the 
main camps of the preserve. Mr. Pierce has a reputation 
for that Yankee accomplishment, good guessing, and he 
asks me to record the fact that he prophesies King and 
Bartlett lakes will be clear of ice on May 10. I have 
made a mental score of his guess and we will see. 
A friend asked me to read a letter the other day which 
he had received from a gentleman to whom he had writ- 
ten regarding the financial ability of a man who wished 
to purchase some goods of him. It was really only a 
note, but was a composition as showing the genuine good 
feeling brought about by companionship as fellow sports- 
men, and rich in that good-natured chaffing which so 
often exists between men of this kind. It read: "Your 
favor of the 14th received. The only objection to Mr. 
is the fact that he wears yellow whiskers. I have 
fished in the same boat with him for upward of sixteen 
years and never knew him to dodge a bill. Should he do 
so in this instance please charge his purchase to me." It 
is needless to say the goods were sent. Hackle. 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Lake Trout Trolling. 
The season has arrived when anglers are preparing 
their tackle and arranging for surface trolling for lake 
trout when the law permits, on May 1. This year the ice 
will remain in the northern lakes nearly to the opening 
day for this kind of fishing, and consequently the fishing 
should be excellent. 
A correspondent in Orwell, Vt. , writes : "I wish to ask 
you a few questions about trolling for trout. [I assume 
that he must mean lake trout.] I know of a small lake 
where there are plenty of these fish, but they are seldom 
caught. I am a new hand at the business, but have caught 
a few trout, although I rarely get more than one or two 
in half a day. I have been thinking that perhaps I did 
not have my tackle just right. I use a gang of ten hooks 
and a No. 5 hard braid linen line, but use no leader. 
Would it be better to use a leader? I tie the sinker line 
on about 20ft. from the gang. Would it be better to have 
it nearer to the gang? For bait I have used Lake George 
shiners, chubs and small perch, skinned. I have had as 
good luck with the perch as with any other of the baits. 
The water in the lake is from 80 to 100ft. deep where 
we troll. I have caught several trout about July 1, using 
a sinker of 17oz Last May I tried these on top with a 
4oz, sinker and got no strikes, but put on 8oz. and got 
one. Are the trout not supposed to be near the surface at 
that time of year? I have never caught one before 3 
o'clock in the afternoon." 
No one that I know has a dead open and shut patent on 
catching any kind of fish at a particular time, if the fish 
are not in a mood to bite what is offered them, and if an 
angler had a sure thing in the way of catching fish ang- 
ling would lose something of its charm. It is the glorious 
uncertainty in fishing, as in litigation, that makes it so 
attractive for humanity. If I could always get one or 
two lake trout in half a day's fishing I would think I was 
in the biggest kind of luck, for I have trolled many a day 
all day long, until the boat seat seemed to have worn my 
vertebra up to my shoulder blades, without getting a 
single strike to encourage me to broil and blister in the 
sun. One year two friends trolled near me daily for 
about ten days and neither of them got a strike, while I 
caught a few fish every day. The gangs were all of my 
own making, the bait and tackle were the same, and we 
trolled in the same water, where we could talk from one 
boat to another. The next season they trolled about the 
same number of days without a strike, while I caught fish 
every day. There was no good reason why they should 
fail and I succeed unless it was fisherman's luck. The tackle 
mentioned by the correspondent is what is generally used 
for deep trolling in the summer months, except that I 
would use a leader for any and all kinds of angling. 
The sinker line is properly placed. As to baits, there was 
a time when it was thought that a Lake George gold 
shiner (which is the bream) was the only thing that was 
sure to attract lake trout. To-day the whitefish of the 
lake is considered the orthodox bait, while the silver chub 
or fall fish has come and gone between the day of the 
gold shiner and that of the whitefish. No matter what 
the bait may be, if it is not properly adjusted on the 
