486 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
[June 6, 1896. 
FLY-FISHING 
On the North Shore of Lake Superior. 
[Continued from page 437.] 
The next morning was anything but reassuring, no 
sparkling sky nor radiant sea greeting us. The west 
developed huge banks of dark and dingy clouds that were 
marching along with steady and solemn mien, driving 
all the blue and beauty out of the celestial archway. 
Despite this we crossed the bay, for such it was, and 
started in to make a record in the angle. I had made a 
change in my flies, and was using a professor and a 
jungle-cock, the former for stretcher and the latter for 
dropper. Ned clung to his bushy brown-hackle as 
stretcher and for his dropper changed to a gilt-coachman. 
Thus armed we sent the feathery ambassadors to capture 
a prince or two of the watery realm. The place we had 
chosen for our morning diversion was quite an isolated 
retreat and seldom a disciple of the rod ever ventured 
there. It was a lovely spot, fit place for a nymph's bath, 
where the little people of the water might find what 
Titania and Diana, longed for — a place of absolute seclu- 
sion, "Where the bright eyes of angels only might behold 
a paradise so pure and lovely." 
With such engaging surroundings, such breadth of rip- 
pling waters and of such crystal clearness, evidently 
abides the jeweled beauty whose every curve and graceful 
line are symmetry in perfection, while the ravishing hues 
rival the colors of the blushing pinks and the roses red. 
Here the livelong day 
"The air is fragrant with perfumes, 
All flushed with sunny rays." 
Our flies sailed out and dropped upon the ripples as if 
thistle down had there fallen, or a butterfly had merely 
alighted to sail along like a Nautilus seeking a palace of 
pearl. 
We went onward over many a chasmed lurking place 
for the brocaded beauty, and not till we reached a stu- 
pendous rock that rose from the water in Titanic grandeur 
did we receive a response. It, however, was a goodly 
one, and resulted in giving Ned a Sib. trout, which tried 
very hard to swallow his gilt-coachman, boots and all. 
We pursued the pleasant pastime for fully an hour, and 
along the waters of a sylvan shore, whose spreading trees 
and bright flowers greeted us with their beauty and fra- 
grance as if to make amends for the absence of the 
delicious and graceful trout. At last an undersized trout, 
but one that had the bravery of his royal race, tampered 
with my jungle-cock and realized a delusion that made 
him a tidbit for the table. 
This was our last victim that morning, for a sudden 
blow came sweeping through forest and over lake that 
sent us sailing back over billowy seas that lashed the 
ragged shores with wailing moan and flying foam. 
On our return we found that a Mr. Clapp and his son, a 
bright- eyed youth of some 16 years, and their two half- 
breed boatmen had camped in our immedate vicinity. 
Of course an acquaintance at once ripened between us 
and we therefore had an interchange relative to our ex- 
ploits. He stated that they had been fishing in the Chip- 
pewa River and had caught a large number of small 
trout. 
"What kind of flies did you use?" I inquisitively and 
immediately inquired. 
"We used no flies, but they rather badly used us," the 
father smilingly replied and then referred us to the ex- 
posed parts of his anatomy, which were severely swollen 
and inflamed. 
"Oh," spoke up the youth in answer to our interroga- 
tion, "we are simply bait fishermen and used nothing but 
the despised angle worm," 
"Don't you take to fly-fishing?" 
"I have never used the fly," he said, "but father declares 
that if I wish to be a gilt-edged angler I must take my 
trout only with the fly." 
"Have you any?" 
"I have neither flies nor leaders, I regret to state." 
"I have an abundance of both, and if you desire to 
make an attempt at casting I will only too gladly supply 
you." 
He accepted the offer with many thanks, but as he had 
no suitable casting rod I was positive his present attempts 
at luring would settle his flies on the water with a horrid 
splash. The lad was so intelligent and so earnest and 
ambitious that it was evident that at a later date, and 
when properly equipped, be would soon master the deli- 
cate art and finally toss a fly like an expert. 
The blow which nad driven us so hastily to our quarters 
turned out to be only a sudden equall and in a short time 
disappeared, and then the snowy fringes of foam soon 
vanished and the lake again ran in singing ripples, while 
crimson and gold burned among the bending branches 
and set the shadows dancing wherever sunlight peeped. 
The blue bells and wild violets nodded serenely along the 
shore and made a purple cloud among the tangled under- 
brush. Overhead was also grand transformation, for 
t iere prevailed fleecy seas so exquisite that we can only 
liken them to the colors of the purest gems. There were 
magnificent stretches of aqua-marine and chrysolite and 
drifting banks of amethyst and jacinth, and flushings of 
ruby and gold. It was a gorgeous picture of fascinating 
frescoes and ravishing tints, ' painted by the thought of 
the Great Artist." 
Shortly after dinner we tried along the shore just east 
of the camp and where Ned had his first rise the day 
before. Again he was fortunate enough to receive 
another response, and a savage one that made the water 
boil around his stretcher fly, but he failed to connect with 
the fleeing fontinalis. 
"Say," said Kenosh to Ned, "you pull a little too quick." 
"Was I not a bit too slow, and is there such a thing as 
pulling too quick at these leaping and snapping trout," 
he answered. 
"An authority on fly-fishing says the line must always 
be kept taught and the strike should come a fraction of a 
second after the response," I remarked. 
"That is right," Kenosh ventured to remark. 
"How do you strike?" says Ned to me. 
"Just as quick as I can, and I am positive my three 
score and ten years about fills up the fraction of time de- 
sired for the halt." 
"I presume, then, if you had, ten years more added you 
would always be behind time in your strikes." 
"Even so; but as a taut line, the same authority says, 
will hang about seven out of every ten responsive trout, 
I would not be without a goodly share of the quarry." 
"That is very consoling to the patriarchs of the rod, but 
as I am near your age, why did I not lag a little in my 
strike?" 
"It may be that you lagged a little too long and that 
haste had nothing to do with your failure to connect with 
the grabbing trout. And then again, there is a strong 
probability that you might have had a relaxed line." 
"You and Kenosh take divergent views on my fiasco, 
and either horn of the dilemma convicts me, but I'll mur- 
der this wolfish trout," says Ned, as one rose to him while 
he was dancing his flies over the water. And murder 
him he did, for he held him so tight that I was fearful the 
stricken fish would either escape or the ashen rod break. 
After he was duly netted, Ned turned to me and inquired: 
"Was I too fast or too slow?" 
"I think the trout hung himself on a taut line. The 
strike had nothing to do with it." 
"Bah, what kind of a conundrum are you giving me?" 
"Taut line, was it not, Kenosh?" and I winked at the 
cunning half-breed. • 
' 'I thought so. He no pull when fish strike," he serenely 
said. 
"Open-eyed conspiracy," solemnly ejaculated Ned, and 
that ended the all- important subject of the strike. 
Anglers must have a little pleasantry during an outing, 
and I felt just then that I might probably be the next 
victim before the sun sank in his rosy bed of crimson. 
We puBh along to an irregular shaped rock, the edges 
of which looked as if they had borne for ages the grind- 
ing fores of chiseling ice and the heavy batter of terrific 
storms, so torn and notched and scarified did the flinty 
mass appear on its exposed side. A solitary tree, a stunted 
spruce, with a sparse display of green leaves that told of 
its hard life for sustenance, stood feebly erect in the cen- 
ter of this lone pile, which appeared to sentinel a land- 
scape of wild pageantry exceedingly rich in blazing 
colors. Here we had in former years stolen many a blush- 
ing beauty of the radiant hues from their cosy lurking 
places, and it was evident that some of the royal race still 
remained and roamed through the winding passages of 
the chasmed roadways, and under the broad and over- 
hanging ledges that were in every conceivable form. 
Ned was the first to drop his flies among the tempting 
retreats, but the wary trout had so often noticed the fall 
of fluttering feathers over their abiding places that they 
were in no Hurry to come out and rise to the dancing 
lures. It was fully ten minutes before some shapely 
gladiator in spangled tunic rose to the surface for what 
he thought a choice morsel, but he found to his sorrow 
that the dropping and trailing feathera.were a mere delu- 
sion, and that which appeared animated was a mere de- 
vice for his capture. 
As he struck out for liberty with the adhering King- 
fisher, which I had here attached to my leader as 
stretcher, he hurriedly sought his marble halls from 
whence he came, there hoping to arouse aid, but he was 
' suddenly enjoined by the foe above him with the wizard 
wand and singing reel, which brought him to such a 
sudden halt as to fairly bewilder him. Slightly recover- 
ing, he rose to the surface as if for a solution of the 
perilous situation, and thinking the higher he (vent the 
more he would learn, he gathered vigor for the leap into 
the upper element, and then bravely vaulted into the 
dazzling rays of the burning sun like a flash of golden 
fire and there acquired, we thought, some little knowl- 
edge of his mysterious entanglement. Dissatisfied and 
discouraged, he drops back to the surface and then 
plunged and darted down to the rocky bottom in hopes, 
doubtless, of finding some cavernous retreat where at 
will he could sever the fatal thread that was stealing his 
strength away. In this he is sadly baffled, for the steady 
strain he realizes will not permit of rest, -and so perforce 
to gain his freedom he must either tear out the cruel 
hook or break the braided line. With this object in view 
he darts boldly and angrily away, fleeing o'er his old 
haunts and his dear home, yet still held from an entrance 
by his crafty foe, who has had too much experience with 
other members of his flame-painted family to permit of 
such foolish familiarity. 
He is now becoming frantic, as he feels the current of 
vitality departing from him and sighs as he thinks of the 
gushing waterfalls and the rippling rapids where he was 
wont to sport with his raiment o'erspangled with gold 
and gems and where he could poise as the monarch of 
the purling stream. All, all is now lost to him, no fra- 
grance of flowers, no frolicsome waters, no shadowy 
Eools again, and as his subtle foe draws him to his fate 
e renews his bravery and nobly battles, but he struggles 
in vain and only surrenders when resistance is useless. 
This is my victim who attempted to solve the riddle of 
the dancing feathers, but it proved a sacrifice to him 
more fatal than that of Iphigenia. He was a 3-pounder 
and a painted beauty of exceeding rarity. 
At this happy culmination to the victorious angler Mr. 
Clapp and his son came abreast of us with his mackinac 
and two half-breeds and stated that they were on their 
way to some very tempting waters two miles ahead, 
where he proposed taking trout with the wriggling angle 
worm, The lad eagerly watched our casting as long as 
he could see us, doubtless thinking that he could learn 
something of the fly-caster's art. 
"That boy is heart and hand in the angle," said Ned, 
"and some day, should he pass our way, may show us 
a thing or two in the gentle art that we know not of." 
Ned when he gazed upon my glittering captive renewed 
his efforts to tempt just such another to his lures, but 
they failed to attract, and so we pushed along the wood- 
crowned shore with our flies falling into every shaded 
line of the moBt promising waters. At last we reach a 
place where some gay flowers enamel the shore and the 
spruce and hemlock spread their o'erhanging branches to 
the very water's edge. Here must certainly range the 
bejeweled and bespotted beauties. 
"Look down there," said Ned, pointing to a disorgan- 
ized mass of rock that was as complete a lurking place 
for trout as I ever saw. ChasmB, ledges and fissures ran 
in all directions. In the center of this deranged pile was 
a depth of over 20ft. that was as irregularly walled and 
shelved as if nature had specially contributed it as an ap- 
Sropriate home for the ever radiant beauty of the tink- 
ng brook. 
I took a hurried:glance at the fortified £ abode and then 
sent my flies as avant courier. Some spangled warrior 
at this manifestation darted from his rocky lair and 
made a very Budden and savage attack upon one of our 
little plumed emissaries, and about as suddenly endeavored 
to retreat to his massive quarters, It was too late, how- 
ever; but when he found his escape cut off he turned and 
made about as bold a fight as did the Spartan at the pass 
Thermopylas and then went to the same bourne. He was 
smaller than the first, but equally as magnificent in all 
that makes this gamy fish the treasured idol of the gentle 
angler. 
We caught one more after much industrious whipping 
of the waters and then returned to camp. The bait fish- 
erman soon joined us and showed us three good-sized 
trout that came to the feast of the angle worm. The 
lad was exceedingly happy over the outing, for he had, 
I learned, caught two of tne radiant victims. 
We had been fishing so hard that afternoon that we re- 
tired shortly after supper to woo that gentle goddess who 
soothes the hearts of men wearied with the pleasures and 
toils of the day. Alex. Starbuck. 
[to be continued ] 
NEW YORK FISH COMMISSION, 
Concerning the Work of the Fisheries} Came 
and Forest Commission of the State 
of New York. 
BY A. N. CHENEY, STATE FISHCULTURIST. 
[A paper read before the American Fisheries Society.] 
So far as the Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission, 
of New York, is concerned, the request of Dr. Bean, re- 
cording secretary of this society, for a report showing 
results of work accomplished during the past year, may 
be summarized as follows: 
Applications were received from the people of the State 
for planting in public waters, for brook trout, 10,864,200; 
brown trout, 1,380,600; rainbow trout, 155,500; lake trout, 
6,110,000; pike perch, 13,143,000; black bass, 1,136,075; 
whitefish, 80 000,000; ciscoes, 34,000,000; frost fish, 2,000,- 
000; total, 98,789,375. 
To fill their applications, the State hatched and had for 
the spring distribution fry as follows: Brook trout, 4,315,- 
000; brown trout, 900,000; rainbow trout, 100,000; lake 
trout, 3,255,000; frost fish, 10 000,000; ciscoes, 32,000 000; 
whitefish, 11,750,000; total, 62,320,000. 
In addition, 265,000 brook trout, 81.000 brown trout, 
57,000 lake trout, 10,000 rainbow trout, 15,000 landlocked 
salmon, 3,000 sea trout from Europe, or a total of 431,000 
fry, were retained at the hatchery stations to be reared to 
8 and 12 months of age before planting in wild waters. 
The work of hatching and planting the spring spawn- 
ing fishes is not yet completed, but it will be observed 
that of the various specips of trout 18,510,000 fry were 
asked for, and only 8,560,000 were on hand to fill the 
applications. There was a shortage of 18,250,000 white- 
fish, 2,000,000 of ciscoes, and a BUrplus of 8,000,000 of 
frost fish, which is the round whitefish found in Adiron- 
dack waters. Among the fish not enumerated, 76,000,000 
of torn cods and 35,000,000 smelts were hatched and 
planted in Long Island waters; 50,000 eggs of the Atlantic 
salmon were received from the United States Fish Com- 
mission, and the fry hatched and planted in the head- 
waters of the Hudson River, and 302,000 lobsters in Long 
Island waters. 
One hundred thousand eggs of the steelhead trout were 
also received from the United States Fish Commission 
and hatched at the Caledonia and Cold Spring Harbor 
stations. 
It is the policy of the Commission to give its attention 
chiefly to what are termed commercial fishes, and in fur- 
therance of this policy 90,000,000 pike perch were hatched 
and planted as against 41,205,000 in 1895. 
This work of hatching commercial fishes has its limits, 
however, like all other fishcultural work, and the 
boundary point is the number of eggs that ciui be ob- 
tained. 
It is the policy of the Commission also to rear as many 
of the salmon family to 8 and 12 months of age before 
planting as the facilities of the stations will permit. 
Heretofore these facilities have been very limited indeed, 
and in 1895 but 12,750 fingerlings of 8 months and year- 
lings of 12 months (I say yearlings of 12 months, for fin- 
gerlings of 8 months are frequently called "yearlings" by 
courtesy), including brook, brown, rainbow trout and 
landlocked salmon, were distributed from the State hatch- 
eries. As I have already shown, 431,000 are now being 
reared, and arrangements have been made for building 
rearing ponds and boxes so that the output will be 1,000,- 
000 in the nearby future. 
The experiment was made during the spring of chang- 
ing trout fry and eggs from the water and food of one 
hatchery to that of another, much as members of the 
human family are moved from mountain to sea air, or 
vice versa, as a tonic, and the result, whether owing to 
the change alone or from other causes, has been the 
strongest, most vigorous fry turned out in years by the 
State, if the testimony of the hatchery men and the peo- 
ple who have received the fry is competent. Not a single 
complaint has been received that the fry were sick or 
weak or in poor condition. 
Yearling trout have been reared the past year that were 
9in. long. I moved one lot of yearling trout, receiving 
them from a hatchery messenger after a journey of 200 
miles and taking them seventy-five miles further without 
the loss of a fish, and there was scarcely one that was 
under the legal length of 6in. By legal length I mean 
the length exceeding which trout may be killed by statute 
when caught. The planting of trout over 6in. in length 
will tend to render the efforts of the Commission void in 
stocking streams to make them self-sustaining, as every 
one of such fish planted in the spring may be legally 
caught and killed before they have an opportunity to 
spawn. It is for that and other reasons allied to it that 
the Commissioners sought to obtain the power possessed 
by the New Hampshire Commission, and perhaps other 
State Fish Commissions, to enable them to close planted 
streams until the fish become established, or until they 
have had the opportunity to spawn at least once before 
they can be legally killed. As the law now stands it pre- 
sents the curious anomaly of practically nullifying the < 
efforts of the Commission to make the planted waters in 
a measure, at least, self-sustaining, and so far the Legis- 
lature has not seen fit to grant to the Commission the 
power it seeks to close such waters for a time, 
