Jitlt:S5, 1896.] 
71 
munition, told me the other day of a string of five trout 
taken by him from the Woodbridge stream six years ago 
that weighed over 71bs. Mr. E. M. Warner, of Hamden, 
also told me of a string of seven taken by him from a 
stream near New Canaan about seven years ago that 
weighed nearly lOlbs, The largest fish weighed over 21b3. 
Should fifty streams in Connecticut be given such atten- 
tion as set forth in this article, it would not be many years 
before there would be home fishing in abundance, and 
other strings would be taken as good as Mr. Stevenson's, 
Mr. Warner's, or my own. I know of two streams in 
this neighborhood that in the future will receive just such 
attention if I live. William H. Avis. 
Hamden County, Conn. 
BOSTON ANGLERS. 
Boston, July 20. — Mr. Edwin C. Stevens has been spend- 
ing his vacation at Lake Dunmore, Salisbury, Vt. lie 
writes that the fishing is i xct llent. He captured 751bs. of 
pickerel and bass in two weeks, not a pound of which was 
wasted, the camps and Lake Dunmore House taking all 
the fishermen had 1o ppare. In one half day's fishing Mr. 
Stevens caught eight pickerel, averaging iHhe. each, and 
two fine bass. He writes of the location as a "most 
lovely epot," the fishing as above, and the boating all that 
could be asked. The Lake Dunmore House and the cot- 
tages have a good many guests, but they are mostly from 
New York and Brooklyn. His wonder is that not more 
Boston sportsmen go there. Mr. Stevens and his friends 
were camped on the shore of the lake about a mile from 
the hotel. 
Mr. 0. S. Robertson, with his cousin and camping and 
fishing compaDion, John S. Vial, has lately returned from 
a most successtui fishing trip to Big Fish Lake, in the fur- 
ther Aroostook region. Their route was first to Ashland, 
the end of tbat branch of the Bangor & Aroostook Rail- 
road; thence they went by team, over an excellent road, 
ten miles to Portage Lake; thence by canoe eighteen miles 
to Big Fish Lake, This canoe part of the trip was novel 
and interesting to both fishermen. Game was plenty, 
which they did not trouble, having no guns in the party. 
Occasional fishing was obtained in the rapids. Arrived at 
Big Fish Lake, the fiy-fishing began in great earnest. Mr. 
Robertson has fished many waters in Maine, but be is will- 
ing to pronounce Big Fish Lake among the best. They 
caught brook trout up to 41bs. , and a great abundance of 
smaller fish, very many of which they returned to the 
water. As for a game country, it is a wonderful one. 
Mr. Robertson gives an account of a big moose that came 
out and wallowed in the shallows nearly every day, in 
plain view of them. As for deer, they were seen almost 
every day. In one afternoon the record was nine deer 
and one big bull moose. Let it be remembered that 
neither Mr. Robertson nor Mr. Vial has any interest in 
booming Big Fish Lake as a hunting and fishing resort. 
Mr. Robertson, in fact, never shoots; considers it cruel 
and dangerous sport. They simply give an account of the 
game and fish they saw. Partridges were also very abun- 
dant. Their guides expressed themselves as surprised at 
the number ot birds seen. 
Death of ex-Governor Wm. E. Russell. 
The saddest death of all the year to the New England 
sportsman must now be chronicled in the Forest and 
Stream. Ex-Gov. Wm. E Russell died at Little Pabos, St. 
Adelaide,?. Q , on Thursday morning, July 16 He was at B; 
F. Dutton's Deautiful camp, on that gentleman's salmon 
river. He was accompanied by his brother, Co). H. E. 
Russell, and Francis Peabody. They were intending to 
spend the rest of July at that river. The Governor re- 
tired apparently as well as usual, but was found dead in 
the morning by his brother. The position of the body 
showed that death was painless. Worn out by his labors 
at the Chicago convention and much grieved by the 
action of his party there, he came back to Boston, and 
after a day at his cfflce and a night with his family at 
Magnolia he went to seek rest in the woods. As an an- 
gler Gov. Russell was well known and greatly beloved. 
He made a number of trips to the Rangeleys even while 
Governor, the guest of the Messrs. Bayard and John 
Thayer, at the beautiful Birch Lodge, head of Richardson 
Lake. Later they built the camp at B. Pond, a camp of 
which Gov. Russell was exceedingly fond. Within a year 
or two the Governor has taken up salmon fishing, and 
grasped it only as a true angler can. He had spent a 
couple of weeks at Mr. Dutton's camps before the Chicago 
convention, an account of which has already been given 
in Forest and Streasi, 
Genial and kindly , with nothing of snobbish aristocracy, 
Governor Russell took to angling naturally. He always 
had some anecdote or good joke, and it was all the better 
to him if he was involved himself, even to the extent of 
making fun for others. In camp he was generally known 
as "Billy." At one time, and the very year he was serv- 
ing his first term as Governor of Massachusetts, he was 
fishing in Molechunkamuuk, the guest of the Thayers. A 
couple of ladies — guests at a camp below — were trolling 
at the same time, and frequently passed the Governor. 
Their guide was also named Billy. Unaware that there 
was any other Billy within a hundred miles, the ladies 
called upon their guide to bait their hooks just as the 
Governor's boat passed them. Unconsciously the Gov- 
ernor doffed his hat when his name was called upon, and 
was ready to be of any possible service in baiting the 
hooks in question. Explanations followed, at which the 
ladies wisned they might sink through to bottom of the 
boat to hide their mortification. But the Governor en- 
joyed the joke hugely, and in the evening he was instru- 
mental in starting a paper on which several hundred 
dollars were subscribed, for the good of a charitable 
society of which one of the ladies was treasurer. 
On Monday last he visited the tackle store of Messrs. 
Appleton & Bassett for the purpose of instructing his 
brother and Col. Peabody as to what to buy for the salmon 
trip. There he purchased a beautiful case of flies and 
ordered them sent to Mr, B, F. Dutton, owner of the 
camps they were to visit. He was extremely anxious 
that his brother and Col. Peabody should each take a 
salmon. Arrived at camp on Wednesday night, he was 
greatly delighted at the coming of a shower, about 9 
o'clock in the evening; the rain would cause the salmon 
to rise freely the next day. They would "have salmon 
for dinner," but his noble nature had made him declare 
that he would not put his rod together till his brother and 
the Colonel had both taken a salmon. 
He went to Chicago with no political ambitions, A 
call from the Hon. William C. Whitney was in hia hand 
at the verv time he was planning the fishing trip with hia 
brother Harry and Col, Paabodv. It was his duty to 
answer the summons and go to Chicago, but the fl'jhing 
trip was near his heart. Oace the ordeal at Chicago was 
over, he flew back to Boston by a fast train, having 
already telephoned his brother and Col. Peabody to be 
ready. Two weeks of seclusion in one of the most inac- 
cessible and one of the most beautiful spots in Atnerica 
was what he most desired. 
The end came silently — evidently without a struggle— 
and on the very spot, doubtless, he would have selected 
had the choice been vouchsafed to him. Anglers will misa 
hia gentle presence. E^en the simple country folk in the 
province he passed through on his Ashing trip previously 
had learned to love him. They turned out in sorrow as 
the steamer and the carriages bearing his remains passed. 
Flags were at half mast on the little churches and Gov- 
ernment stations. 
Word has been received from Mr, D. H. Blanohard, at 
his salmon river — the Northeast Branch of the St. Mar- 
guerite — and his success is remarkable. Mr. Keeler has 
returned. He had excellent sport. Up to nearly a week 
ago there had been taken by Mr. Blanchard seventeen 
salmon, one of 331ba. Six of the number weighed over 
30lbs. each. The average of the seventeen fish was 241ba. ; 
none less than 20lbs. Mr. Richard O. Harding expects to 
start for that river next Thursday, and everybody hopes 
that the good fishing will hold out till he gets his share. 
• Special. 
Mr. Russell as Angler. 
B. F. Dutton, interviewed by Boston Journal. 
You know that he was down fishing with me in June. 
There were four of us, the ex-Governor and his wife and 
Mrs. Dutton. And never have I enjoyed a week's outing 
as I did that week. The river was very low and the fish- 
ing was not extra good, but we had a splendid time. And 
only the other day, when he left for camp, he promised 
to telegraph me if there had been any rain to raise the 
river, and I said I would pack my grip and stai't at once. 
Therefore you can understand the shock that I felt this 
morning when I opened that telegram. I fully expected 
to hear that the river was high and the prospect for sport 
fine; instead I read the news of the death of one of my 
best and dearest friends. 
He was such a genuine sportsman 1 Of all the men I 
ever fished with I know of none that are his superiors 
and btit one his equal — my boy Harry. He never com- 
plained, no matter how hard his luck, no matter what 
misfortune came to him. Why, the last time I fished 
with him, I remember one day when he hooked a large 
salmon that soon made for the rapids. Without waiting 
to get into his boat, the ex- Governor ran down the rocks 
into the water. Twice and three times did he fall his 
length into the water, but he never gave up. He was 
bound to get that salmon, and he did. And we all had 
hard work for the next hour hunting for his watch. 
Toledo as an Angling Point. 
The waters of the vicinity of Toledo once abounded 
with all kinds of game fish. They were more abundant 
here than elsewhere on the American continent. After 
a careful examination of these waters, including the 
Maumee River, Maumee Bay, Ten-Mile Creek and the 
marshes adjacent to the bay, an expert of the fisheries de- 
partment of the National Government at Washington pro- 
nounces the opinion that they are the most superior in the 
world for the abundant propagation of all manner of food 
and game fishes. 
Toledo may be made one of the most attractive angling 
resorts in the country, and thanks to the efforts of Com- 
modore Gunckel and other writers, the fame of the waters 
of this vicinity for that kind of sport is beginning to extend 
all over the country. A writer in Forest and Stream, 
who has fished in all the accessible waters of the continent, 
after a week of variated angling on the Maumee rapids, 
in Ten-Mile Creek and Maumee Bay, says that for all- 
round sport; that for the exciting pleasure of always 
catching something and not knowing just what you are 
going to catch ; for being constantly employed in taking 
a string of a dozen kinds of fish; for the ever changing 
scenery of land and water, of green islands, of forest-clad 
mainlands, of marshes like floating gardens, in which are 
blooming the most beautiful flowers ever seen; of pure 
air that gives life and health and the appetite of a horse, 
the angling waters of the vicinity of Toledo lead the world. 
Favored by the ice, which prevented the fishermen 
from getting in their nets early in the spring, and by the 
currents of surface water flowing down the streams, as 
much as the enforcement of the laws in Michigan, the 
fish of Lake Erie have again come back to their old sum- 
mer haunts at this end of the lake. They are more nu- 
merous in the waters and the catches of the angler larger 
than they have been before for the past eighteen years. 
With a reasonable enforcement of the laws that already 
exist and better ones in the future; with the destructive 
gill nets driven from Maumee Bay, as they are now and 
will be in the future; with all iiiland streams kept clear 
of nets, the waters of the vicinity of Toledo will become 
famous angling resorts, drawing to this city thousands of 
people who spend their money freely. — Toledo Press, 
"Forest and Stream" Fishing Postals. 
Drop MS a line about the trout or bass, and where to take them. 
Denver, Colo. — I was up on the Gunnison River a few 
days ago and had some very good trout fishing. Sport is 
unusually good in Colorado this year owing to the low 
water. H. M. J. 
FOREST AND STREAM OFFICE 
346 Broadway 
NEW YORK LIFE BUILDING 
Present Entrance on Leonard Street 
A STAR ISLAND YARN. 
Star Island, Mich., July It.— ^I never see any notes ifi 
your piper of the catches of small-mouthed black bass 
made in the neighborhood. This pa,rticular sport seeras 
neglected in that respect. Here are a couple: Mr. W. 
R. Post, of Detroit, caught 216 in one week, his catch one 
day being sixty-four, with a total weight of 202ilb8, Mr. 
C. S. Cross and wife, of Emporia, N. D., caught in ten 
days 196 black bass and 28i pickerel and pike. 
I inclose a brand new and original fish story which was 
never in print before last Sunday's Detroit Tribune (July 
13), to whom I gave it. I think it could be used by you. 
James S locum. 
Mr. Slodum's Brand New and Original Story. 
It was a party of ten or twelve on the broad veranda of 
the Star Island House last Friday evening that heard the 
following fish story — a party of old habitues of the Flats, 
a crowd that assemble at this resort about the same time 
each year, and after the day's sports are over smoke and 
chat and tell stories. It was the turn of the young mam 
in the light suit, and he crossed one leg over the other and 
started : 
"Izaak Walton was a good fisherman and be was also a 
philosopher," said the young man thoughtfully, "but his 
abstruse philosophy isn't to be compared to Will Post's 
natural philosophy, and the latter is also a very good 
fisherman. It happened like this: Two weeks ago, while 
angling for bass near the lighthouse, a 501b. muscalonge 
ai)propriated the top joint of Will's new steel rod, together 
with about 40yd8. of line, and as the rod had jbeen pre- 
sented to him only a few days previous, he consequently" 
felt rather bad over his loss. Well, here's the strange 
part of the story. Last Saturday he was fishing near Snl 
Borro rather early in the morning when he saw a big 
'longe pass by his boat in the clear water, and, he at once 
recognized his former finny acquaintance. 
"Now, as you all know, Sni Borro is about five miles 
from the lighthouse, and if you have studied the habits 
of the muscalonge you will know as Post knew, that when 
hooked he will always endeavor to escape by going up 
against the stream. Post, making a rapid mental calcula- 
tion, arrived at a satisfactory explanation of the changed 
geographical position of thac fish, and also concluded that 
the missing part of his steel rod was attached to the line 
and in the immediate vicinity. 
"Promptly repairing here, he borrowed half a dozen of 
the cells used for working the electric bells and the spark 
coil from an electric cigar lighter. Then he went over to 
the aquarium and secured a good, large and active pike. 
The coil he fastened firmly to the pike, after making it 
water-tight (the coil, not the pike), and then supplying 
himself with about 40yds. of good insulated wire he re- 
turned to the spot where he last saw his fish. After an- 
other calculation, rapid and mental as before, he easily 
located his 'longe, and connecting the coil and the batter- 
ies with the wire he threw the pike in the water and 
turned on the current, thus converting the coil into a 
powerful traveling electro magnet, operating in a 15yds. 
radius. 
"Pretty soon there was a continual pull on the wdre, 
and after Post had payed out nearly all of it, the pulling 
ceased and a smile of satisfaction developed itself on 
Post's face. The result justified the means, for when he 
hauled the pike back to the boat there was the missing 
part of his rod held firmly against the attracting pole of 
the electro-magnet. It didn't take long to capture the 
big 'longe and bring him back to the hotel, where he 
formed part of the menu last Sunday. " 
THE UNCERTAINTIES OF SURF FISHING 
ASBURT Park, N. J., July 14,— Perhaps nowhere is the 
uncertainty of angling more powerfully illustrated than 
in surf fishing. One week the waters fairly teem with 
fish life, the next will be apparently entirely devoid of 
^ everything except the ubiquitous skate and the exaspera- 
ting spider crab. 
The week just closed has been one of extreme discour- 
agement to the fraternity. The extraordinary run of 
baas that was with us two weeks ago has apparently gone 
on a vacation, but those who are familiar with their 
habits know that it only needs a good easterly blow to 
send them to the front again. Kingfish too are not nearly 
so plentiful as in the past, but a little stirring up of the 
surf will speedily produce them in abundance. Even the 
plaice or fluke, usually so abundant in all the cues along 
the beach, are exceedingly scarce, but their absence is 
easily accounted for. The rapidly increasing number of 
pound nets along the coast throw out daily many tons of 
small fish suited to the appetites of the plaice, and as a 
consequence they stay where food is most abundant and 
easily secured. While the plaice is in no sense a game 
fish, and is — and I presume ever will be — classed among 
the "old boot" variety of fishes, still if taken in a good 
tideway, with tackle such as is used in taking weakfish 
and kingfish, it affords really good sport, and I nave spent 
many pleasant hours effecting his capture when other 
fish were not to be had. 
It is really astonishing to those not on the inside how 
many anglers are dividing their time between salt and 
fresh water fishing; even those who are the most pro- 
nounced salt water adherents can be seen daily on some 
of our lakes enjoying the quiet and glorious sport of tak- 
ing the white perch, which is particularly abundant in 
Deal Lake, and runs of large size, IJ and IJlb. speci- 
mens being not uncommon. When one considers the 
advantages to be had in lake fishing, there is small cause 
for wonder at the change. There is perhaps no more 
beautiful body of water in our State than this same Deal 
Lake; it embraces several hundreds of acres, and extends 
in an unbroken sheet nearly a mile straightaway from 
the ocean, where it divides in three arms, whose borders 
are covered by a heavy growth of timber. It is here the 
angler can have the restful quiet which dignifies the sport, 
with boat quietly at anchor beneath the outspreading 
arms of some patriarch of the forest, whose dense mantle 
precludes the possibility of sunlight reaching the water. 
Here goodly strings of white perch and pickerel can be 
lured from their watery homes. Whac though occa- 
sionally strings be not large or individual weights great, 
full recompense is had in the sweet, bracing restfulness of 
the contemplative man's recreation. Leonard Hulit. 
The FoRBST AMD Stbeam is put to preaa each week on l^tetdaj/ 
Correspondence intended for publication should reach iM at th9 
Ixleat by Monday t and at mwh earlier a* ptaotieable, 
