1^8 
but when the book did catch a blade of grass a strike on 
my part produced a trout if well hooked, Owens had 
some peculiar ideas about the sti-iking of the trout and he 
was satisfied that they came up behind the fly, took it 
gently in the mouth and swam along with it until they 
cast it out as worthless after a trial. He said the sti-ike 
was so gentle that it was difficult to distinguish it from 
any motion of the rod, and so while he cast with the rod 
in his right hand he held the line in his left hand and 
struck at the slightest check of his line. 
I have an idea that if the "merest tyro" should go to 
Chapel Pond and could overcome his ethical scruples 
sufficiently to fish at night for trout to eat (and give him 
white millers at that) he would be found in the woods 
eating browse before he would be found eating trout of 
his own catching. 
Difirging Eels for Bait. 
On the last day of July I was called at 5 o'clock A. M. 
in Binghamton, N. Y., in order to get a train on the Erie 
K R, for Deposit. There was nothing particularly invit- 
ing about such an early call, for I could get no breakfast 
until I had ridden forty miles, and there was a journey 
ahead of me that would continue until 3 o'clock the next 
morning. 
Between Binghamton and Susquehanna I discovered a 
number of men fishing in the Suequehanna River as the 
train hurried past, and they interested me to the extent 
that I forgot about my breakfast. After breakfast at 
Deposit I had to drive eight miles to Cannonsville, in Del- 
aware county, to look at a new dam on a tributary of the 
West Branch of the Delaware, to see if it required a fish- 
way. The proprietor of a livery stable drove me to the 
little hamlet, having undertaken to get me back in time 
for a certain train. He was curiiUB to know who I was 
and what business I had in Cannonsville, and I was obliged 
to say I was not a commercial traveler, although this 
was my first trip over the road, As he would know sooner 
or later, I finally told him I was going to examine a dam. 
He knew all about it, knew who I was, and said he would 
give me a pointer: "I will drive you right to the dam 
and you can look it over and have time to get your train, 
if the people in the town do not find out who you are and 
what you are here for. If they do there will be fifty men 
there to give you advice, and if you listen to them aU you 
will not get any train to-day." 
IgThe dam did not require a fishway, as the building of 
such a structure would simply let the black bass up from 
the river into an excellent trout stream and destroy the 
trout fishing. My driver entertained me with fishing gos- 
sip of the neighborhood, and pointed out Collet's Dam as 
we passed *it as being the limit of the run of shad years 
ago, before the dam at Lacka waxen was built. After the 
building: of the latter dam no shad ran up the West Branch 
of the Delaware until fish ways were built in Lacka waxen 
Dam, and gioce then the shad have returned regularly ; 
' but they are not good to eat, as they have a peculiar 
taste, which spoils them for food." Collet's Dam is seventy- 
five miles above Lacka waxen. Returning to Deposit, I 
observed men, singly and in groups, fishing in the river. 
The water was so clear and inviting that I wifihed that I 
had time and a fish rod and I would have been in the 
river up to my middle, as I saw the men, I asked if it 
was customary for so many people to engage in fishing in 
the river, and my driver explained that after the farmers 
had finished haying and had gathered their oats they 
always took a vacation and spent it in fishing the river or 
neighboring pour's. ' I will bet a dollar that on a little 
pond containing black bass just back of that hill you will 
find twenty -five larmers fishing to-day." On the shore of 
an island in the river I saw a man apparently spading the 
margin of the river. He was digging in the water close 
to the shore and throwing the mud up on the bank, while 
seven men were fishing just bslow hini. I asked what the 
man was doing, and my iriend said, "Digging lampersfor 
bait." I was out of the wagon before he could stop, 
breaking my eye glasses in my haste, for I wished to see 
the operation of digging eels, even if I missed my train. 
Sure enough the man was digging young lamprey eels 
much as one digs angle worms. The young eels were 
from 6in. to a foot deep in the mud along the shore and 
he got one about every time he Ufted a shovelful of mud. 
The eels were about 5 or 6in. long and the men told me 
they were the best possible bait for black bass. The hook 
is put through the skin two-thirds of the way from the 
head to the tail, and when 1 went down to where the 
men were fishing with eel bait, and saw the bait in the 
water, I did notwondtr that it was good for bass. A man 
who furnished me with black bass bait in West Virginia 
brought me some black lizards, at which I drew the line, 
but young "lampers" are all right and make an excellent 
bait, although they may seem a little snaky at first, but 
they are such clean little things no fisherman can object 
to them. 
^The fishermen on the West Branch of the Delaware 
would do well to take a foot rule with them when they 
go fishing for black baes, or at least get a nice flat stick 
and measure off on it eight consecutive inches und cut off 
the stick where the 8in. begin and where they end, and 
if they apply the 8in. stick to the bass they catch they 
may find that some of them should go back in the water 
alive to avoid breaking Section 111 of the Game Law, 
which has a penalty clause of $10 for each bass retained 
under Sin. in length. 1 did not measure the small baes 
that I saw on a string and in a boat, but I judged that 
some of them were very small for 8in. bass. The history 
of the black bass in the river, as it was told to me, is like 
that of the bass in many other waters in the State, At 
first the bass grew to good size and fish of from 8 to 41bs. 
were not uncommon. Now a 31b. baBS is considered a big 
fish and there are a great many small fish from a few 
ounces in weight to three-quarters of a pound, the smaller 
ones outnumbering the fib. fish. It is only another case 
of exhaustion of the natural food of the river, and for 
lack of food the fish are dwarfed in size. Apparently 
there is no other fresh-water fish that will so thoroughly 
clean out the food sujjply as the black bass. 
Nature never intendea the black bass for small waters, 
but where they have been introduced food must be sup- 
plied when they have exhausted the natural food, or the 
bass will be of email size. Crawfish is one of the best of 
foods for black bass, and where they have been introduced 
to my knowledge they have multiplied rapidly in spite of 
the bass. 
Ouananiche in United States. 
If the so-called landlocked salmon, which is not land- 
locked, was first known as ouananiche, why should not 
the fish be known as ouananiche, whether caught in 
Canada, Maine, New Hampahire or New York? Priority 
in the scientific names of flshes establishes the name to 
the point of Calling a black bass a tlrout, through a mis- 
understanding of description and a deformed specimeh of 
fish; and why should not the same rule obtain with com- 
mon namesj particularly when the antecedent name is 
more appropriate than those which come after? 
Dr. John D. QuacKenbos, writing rae from Sunapee 
Lake, N. H,, tells me of the capture of a ouananiche in 
that lake. A gentleman was trolling the shores of the 
lake for black bass with a small Skinner spoon, when he 
hooked a ouananiche of lllbs. When the fish was brought 
to the side of the boat an attempt was made to net him 
with a small trout net. The net was placed over his 
head and that was as far as it would go, and then the fish 
went off with the net, wearing it as a collar. But an- 
other fisherman with a larger net came to the rescue and 
the fish was secured. 
Another visitor to Sunapee Lake was particularly for- 
tunate in his catch and the diversity of it. In one day 
he hooked and killed a ouananiche of IBlbs., another of 
5|lbs,, a speckled trout of Slbs., a golden trout or Sunapee 
saibling of B^lbs. and four smaller trout weighing 4ilb8., 
making a total catch of 27f lbs. The next morning he 
killed another ouananiche of Olbs. and several trout 
weighing from 1^ to 31bs. each. 
It is four years since the first fingerling ouananiche 
from Maine were planted in Lake Champlain, and this 
year a number of the fish have been caught by anglers. 
Lake Champlain and Lake George are destined to become 
fine ouananiche waters in the near future. Two years 
ago I planted a carload of fingerling fish of the species in 
each lakeTfor the U. S. Fish Commission, and last year 
two other carloads of Hngerlings were planted, to be fol- 
lowed by two carloads next fall. This year the Fisheries, 
Game and Forest Commission of New York planted all 
the streams where the young ouananiche have been de- 
posited with fresh-water shrimp as food for them. In 
one lake the adult fish wiU find an abundance of frostfish 
(round whitefish) for food and in the other an equal abun- 
dance of smelt. 
Black Bass Scores. 
On several occasions I have urged that the number of 
black bass to be taken in one day by one angler be lim- 
ited by law. Last winter the New York Legislature 
passed a law which does limit the number of bass which 
can be taken in a portion of the St. Lawrence River to 
twelve fish, and no bass are to be killed that are less than 
lOin. in length. That is a good law as far as it goes, but 
why it should stop at the St. Lawrence River is what I 
cannot understand. If it is a good law for this river why 
not apply it to all the waters in the State? The black 
bass is the one fish which the Fisheries, Game and Forest 
Commission cannot supply to fished-out waters except in 
limited numbers, and it is the one fish which is not pro- 
tected during the breeding season, except in Lake George. 
This year the people of the State asked for nearly 
3,000,000 of black bass to be planted in various waters, 
and the Commission could supply only a few hundred of 
adult fish, and yet these few hundred of black bass would 
be all-sufficient to stock or restock any waters in which 
they are placed if they could be protected during their 
breeding season and the fishermen would use ordinary 
common sense in fishing for them. If the fishermen all 
strive to see how many bass tbey can take in a day, a 
week or a season, simply to make a score or 
to have the catch photographed, no water can stand 
the drain for very long. As already stated. Lake George 
is the only water in the State in which the black bass 
are protected du ing their spawning season, as the lake 
is closed until Aug. 1. This lake was for years poached 
persistently, and bass regularly taken from their beds in 
the spring with "grab books" or burrs. The Lake George 
Association, under the presidency of Gen, Robert Lenox 
Banks, began a war agamst the poachers some years ago, 
and has kept it up until this day. Black bass, both finger- 
ling and adult fisn, have been planted by the State in the 
lake for several years past, and with moderation in fish- 
ing the lake is in a fair way to again become an excellent 
water for black bass fishing. Complaints are yet made 
that there are no black bass in the lake worth fishing for, 
but this is not truw, for the records prove the contrary. 
And such records! This year when the season opened on 
Aug. 1 one fisherman caught and exhibited TSlbs. of black 
bass. They were arranged in rows and photographed. 
Several of the fish weighed from 4 to 51bs. each. Another 
fisherman and bis guide caught on the first day twenty- 
seven black bas8, weighing 66ilbs. Sixteen of them 
averaged over 3lbs. each. A local newspaper comment- 
ing on this catch says: "It is believed that such anumber 
of large bass cannot be taken in a day by one gentleman 
and his guide between the St. Lawrence and Mississippi." 
Possibly not, and perhaps a fishing smack could not beat 
it, but if the crew of a fishing smack should beat it they 
would not call it sport, but business. With the State try- 
ing to restock the lake and the fishermen trying to skin 
it, the efforts of the State will sell as a poor second choice. 
A Record Small-Mouth Bass. 
A black bass of 7ilb8. was caught in Lake George since 
the season opened. This is about lib. heavier than any 
bass ever before taken from the lake of which there is 
authentic record, and the fish was not taken by either of 
the fishermen already mentioned. 
It is a laudable ambition to kill a big fish of any species 
by fair angling and such a record is praiseworthy, but I 
am not so cock sure about the other kmd of records made 
in a lake that is undergoing the process of restocking. 
Salmon at Mechanlcville. 
Quite a number of letters have come to me asking if any 
salmon have been seen or killed this season in the Hudson 
at Mechanlcville. I have heard of none being killed, but 
a number of salmon have been seen jumping in the river 
below Mechanlcville and above the Iroy dam. The sloop 
lock in the Troy dam is open much of tne time and thus 
the salmon can pass it in the absence of a fishway. 
A. N. Cheney. 
Jhe FoHBBT AND BiHKAM w put to pTesB toch week on Tuetdai . 
Oorrrtpondence intended for jmblication nhovld rfoch vm ai the 
ateat by Monday, and as much earlier as practicable. 
THE BIG TROUT OF RUSH RIVER. 
Up in Pierce county. Wis, , about thirty miles back of 
Maiden Rock, on Lake Pepin; there rises a beautiful 
stream, which, as it winds its way toward the lake made 
by the Father of Waters, runs throhgh one of the most 
beautiful and pibturescjue Valleys that it has ever been 
our privilege to Visit. Bush liiver was the name given 
this stream years ago by the eai^ly settlers, on account of 
the enormous growth of rushes that lined its banks for 
miles, making it a great tesort ior wild game of all 
kinds, particularly in the winter season, and great and 
wonderful are the stories told of the game and trout 
taken in this valley in an early day. 
Fed as it is at intervals by large and beaUiiful springs, 
the stream is clear and cold, and an ideal home for the 
genus Salvelinus; and were it not for the floods that oc 
casionally sweep down the valley, which have been more 
frequent of late years, trout would still be there in abun- 
dance; but the combination of floods, nets and illegal 
fishing has nearly depleted the stream, so that now large 
catches are rarely taken. There was one big fellow left, 
however, and it remained for Mr. G. F. Benson, of Lake 
City, to capture this royal beauty. 
A few days ago, while riding down the valley with a 
friend, after having fished for some time rather unsuc- 
cessfully, Mr. Benson determined to try for this big 
trout, which was well known, having been booked and 
lost several times in the same deep hole by different fish- 
ermen, thereby gaining quite a reputation. Putting on a 
large minnow, he cast into the deep hole where his lord- 
ship was supposed to live, and to his great surprise was 
soon rewarded by a strike, which at once told him that 
the king of the riVer was hooked — and now began the tug 
of war. Standing at the foot of a steep bank sloping 
abruptly off into water 10ft. deep, Mr. Benson could 
hardly move out of his tracks while playing the fish, 
which would make grand rushes first to the shallow 
water below the pool, then to the same above, evidently 
afraid to leave the deep water. Hallooing to his friend, 
who sat waiting in a buggy near by, Mr. Benson said, 
"I've got the big trout on. Don't expect to ever land 
him, but you may have a chance to see him if you'll 
come down." 
It is unnecessary to say that the friend came tearing 
down at once, and as the trout rolled up and down in the 
water like a porpoise he exclaimed, "Great ScottI you've 
got a whale. 
No one but a person of rare skill and judgment could 
ever have landed this fish with light tackle, but Mr. Ben- 
son possesses both; and after a long tussle he succeeded 
in exhausting the big fellow, so that the friend, who is 
also something of an expert, reached into the wat^r with 
both hands and landed him, when he was at once killed. 
It was then found that he had swallowed the hook, 
which was what saved him. His mouth bore numerous 
scars of former battles. He weighed exactly 51bs. and 
loz. I inclose a profile of the trout herewith. Mr. Ben- 
son has fished on this stream every consecutive season for 
nearly twenty-five years, and has caught many large, 
ones, but this is the king of them all. Wapahasa. 
Wabasha, Minn., July, 1896. 
CANADIAN ANGLING NOTES. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
While the ouananiche taken out of t' e Grande De-sharge 
this season have not, as a rule, been up to the size uf those 
of former years, they appear to have been larger in num- 
ber. The record fish thus far was a full 7 pounder, 
caught off the rocks on the south side of Isle Maligne by 
Mr. Ritchie, of the Island House. This fish rose to a small 
Jock-Scott fly. The fish are remaining later than usual 
this season in the Desharge, and at present the fishing 
there is quite productive, with promise of continuance for 
some time to come. Among recent visitors to these waters 
have been Monsieur Trubert, Ambassador of France at 
Washington, and Vice- Admiral Erskine, of H, M. S. 
Crescent. The Rev. Wm. R. Turner, of Washington, and 
his wife, and Mr. and Mrs. J, P, Dawes, of Laohine, have 
all been enjoying the ouananiche fishing at the Grande 
De-?harge. Mr. 13, J. Myers, of New York, finished up a 
most successful season's outing, as usual, by camping upon 
the island at the Fifth Falls of the Mistassini. Messrs. R- 
R. and W. F. McCormick, of Biscayne Bay, Fla, , have 
spent over two months in the country about Lake St. John^ 
and have now gone upon the Triton Tract after some of 
the monster trout that frequent Lake Batiscan and con- 
tiguous waters, 
Mr. Robert Mather and a party of friends from Chicago' 
went up the Peribonca some time ago on a prolonged trip- 
to Lake Tschatagama after ouananiche and trout, and 
Mr. Graham H. Harris, attorney, of the same city, ex- 
pects to spend about a month fishing the waters of the 
same section of country, including the lower stretches of 
the Aleck and Little Peribonca rivers. From this time on 
to the end of the ouananiche fishing season on Sept. 15, 
and the last of the trout fishing on Sept, 30, the best sport 
of the year may be looked for. In addition to the rivers 
above mentioned, the Metabetchouan may usually be de- 
pended upon to furnish a large amount of ouananiche 
to anglers during the last twenty or thirty days of the 
season. 
In July, which is usually the poorest month of the sea- 
son for both ouananiche and trout. Col. Andrew Haggard, 
of England, and the writer had some very good sport in 
a new section of country northwest of the Peribonca 
River, We ascended the Little Peribonca some thirty-five 
miles, crossed one height of land into the headwaters of 
the Epijiham River and another into those of the Des 
Aigles. In the best portions of the Little Peribonca we 
lost all the ouananiche and trout fishing that we might 
otherwise have had because of a landslide up the stream 
caused by a storm, followed by a flood. The water was 
so discolored that it could not be fished at all. In its upper 
waters we took any number of small trout. Lake Epipham 
swarms with trout, and here we enjoyed excellentsport. In 
Lac des Aigles the trout are larger, and in July rose but 
poorly, though we took a few good fish of lilbs, average. 
But in the discharge of the lake and all the way down the 
Des Aigles and Aleck rivers the trout rose freely, though 
not quite so large in size as those found in the lake. But 
chub and doie rose frantically at our flies in Lac des 
Aigles, and two of the dore or golden pickerel killed there 
weighed 5^ and iilhe. respectively. These pickerel mmt 
not be contounded with the true pike {Esox lucius), which 
I am aware is often called p'ckerel in ♦^he U"''^er) sta ^s, 
and a fine specimen of which, 261b8. in weightj was 
