May 29, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
4 29 
cations are denied Mascalonge are hatched in boxes snnk 
in theiake and provided with double bottoms and tops, so 
that the eggs may not be eaten through the wire meshes by 
other fish. About 97 per cent, of impregnated eggs are 
hatched, and with the wa ter at 55° Fahr. they hatch in about 
fifteen days, and it requires about the same length of time to 
absorb the umbilical sac of the fry. The fry when first 
hatched are extremely helpless, and a prey apparently to 
every living thing in the water. The ovaries of a SQ^lb. 
mascalonge weighed olbs., and one female Of 361bs, yielded 
265,000 eggs, although all of her eggs were not obtained. In 
spawning these large fish it is a rare thing, comparatively, 
to injure one of them. 
The pike is commonly called pickerel in this State; there is 
a marked difference between the two fish. The pike grows 
to a weight of GOlbs. and more, as one was recorded from 
Ireland the present year of 541bs. in weight. Our pike and 
the European pike are the same. The cheek and gill covers 
of the pike shown in Fig. 2 will explaiD how the scales are 
placed ; they cover the cheek and part of the gill cover. The 
pike is the fish sometimes called the great northern pike, 
although a claim was made a few years ago for this title for 
the unspotted mascalonge. 
The pickerel, proper, is a small fish as compared with the 
pike, as it averages in weight from H to 3ilbs., and one of 
51bs. is a very large fish. Fig. 3 will show how the scales 
are placed on cheek and gill covers, extending over both. 
The fish are of the same species, and exactly alike struc- 
ally, but one fish is spotted with spots that are 
nearly round, wMle the other has oblong spots, and the dark 
lines are more regular in the pond fish than in the river fish. 
There is no good reason for confounding the pike perch 
with the pike, as one look at the colored plate will show the 
former fish with two dorsal fins, while the pike has but one. 
The pike-perch are hatched artificially by the State in large 
numbers, and it is an excellent food fish as well as a game 
fish to be taken with hook and line. The pike and pickerel 
are not hatched artificially in this country, but the pike is 
cultivated m Germany by artificial methods, and is more 
highly regarded in Europe than in America. 
The reason for this is that we have such a great number of 
so-called game fishes that are considered superior to pike, 
that it has been relegated to an inferior position; and still the 
pike has its loyal adherents who regard it highly as a rod 
fish, and as a table fijsh. Should any one be in doubt about 
the species of the fish named, and desire to fit the fish with 
its proper name, the plates here given will prove a sure guide. 
A. N. Cbenbt, State Fishculturist. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
News In the Elevator Boy. 
Chicago, 111., May 22.— I found a bit of news in one of 
the elevator boys in this building the other day, which may 
be of use to the fish warden of the State of Wisconsin, if he 
cares to take advantage of it. The boy asked me when I was 
going fishing again, and I told him it didn't look as though 
1 ever was going anymore. "1 saw a whole lot of fish 
caught this spring," he said, "up at .Jefferson, Wis." "How 
was that," I asRed him? ' Oh, it was pike," said he, "hun- 
dreds of pike; more fish than I ever saw in my life before. 
You see there is a dam there, and these fish were trying to 
get up over the dam. It was just after the ice went out. 
The men had nets and seines below the dam, and they 
dragged the pike out by the wagon load. Of course it was 
against the law, but they did it just the same." 
Yes, it was against the law. 
The Temptation of Trout. 
St. Anthony was a good man, albeit sorely tempted, accord- 
ing to the traditions. If they had tried him with trout me- 
thmks he had fallen. Any man who has a drop of sporting 
blood in his veins will forsake family, business, home and 
honol- to follow off after this subtlest, supremest and most 
dangerous of all temptations, which commonly, as dc*h the 
buhhead, in the end stingeth like an adder. . I have spent 
more lime, and been thrown down harder, chasing the elu- 
sive trout idea through far-off woods than has ever been my 
fortune in any other branch of activity. Yet I am always 
ready to go again, and when I can't go I want to go, and feel 
badly because I can't go out and fool myself again. This, I 
imagine, is the common experience of mankind. 
It is not a common experience of mankind, however, to 
have so tempting a trout temptation come at him as that con- 
veyed in the letter received from Mr. W. B. Mershon, of 
Saginaw, Mich. Mr. Mershon asked me to join him for a 
few days' fishing on Kinne Creek, the waters of the Pere 
Marquette Club, near Wingleton, Mich. The route to this 
country from Chicago would be by way of Milwaukee, 
thence by Flint ana Pere Marquette boat to Ludinglon, 
which is only about an hour's ride by rail from Wingleton. 
One can leave Chicago in the afternoon, and be on the stream 
at 7:50 the following morning. IVIr. Mershon says that he 
was on this stream two days last week, and got ninety trout. 
Six rods on the stream took 480 trout in four days. No fish 
"were taken except upon the fly, and all fish under 7in. are 
returned to the water. When I add that Mr. Mershon states 
that there is always a pleasant party at the comfortable club 
house, I have perhaps said all that is needful to give an idea 
of the acute form in which the temptation of trout in this 
case attacks me. I don't see how I am going to escape run- 
ning over there some night. There^Js a nice little crease 
which nature has deeply indented in the skin at the heel of 
my hand. It just measures the Tin. limit for a trout. Thus 
it seems to me obvious that nature intended I should some- 
lime fish a day on Kinne Creek. At any rate I thank Mr. 
Mershon for his temptation. 
The Temptation of Bass. 
Mr. D. ,T. Hotchkiss. of Fox Lake, Wis., knows where 
there is a good fishing hole for bass, and be is good enough to 
add to my unhappiness by asking me to come up and help 
catch some of them. I am sure he will allow me to give in 
full his in terestin g letter 
"Fox Lake, Wis., May 17. — Do you know how to catch 
a black bass? If so and you will come up here, I will tako 
pleasure in showing you black bass until you can't rest. Our 
lake is full of them, but we farmers don't know how to catch 
them except an occasional one on a spoon hook or still fish- 
ing with a live minnow. Our season opens next Tuesday, 
25th inst. , and I would be pleased to entertain you and give 
you some good fishing. You may not remember me. but I 
called on you once a year or so ago, and belong to Fokkst 
AND Stream family, so it don't cut much figure whether you 
remember me or not. You are entitled to all the 5port I can 
give you, and I will be giad to give you a day or a week at 
it, as you can spare the time. Will also show you a partridge 
(ruffed grouse) setting on a nest of twelve eggs, if you get 
here by the 25th. I have tried three times to get a picture of 
her, but my kodak don't seem to be able to make a picture of 
her, it is so dark on the ground where she is setting I have 
snapped her three times without getting a picture. She lets 
me get within 6 or 8ft. of her, and then not to get a picture 
is bard luck. She sits still enough for me, and I snap away 
at her; then if I don't get a picture she must think it is my 
fault, and I guess it is. Bring your camera and I'Jl guarantee 
you a shot at her. 
"Fox Lake is on the C. M, & St. P. R K.. about 150 miles 
from Chicago. You leave Chicago on the fast mail about 
4 A. M , and get here at 10:80, oi'leave there at 11:80 A. M. 
and get here at 6:30. Can get back at 10 P. M., leaving here 
at 4:30, so you see you can make the trip in one day if you 
can't put in any more time. 
"There is good pickerel fishing here, too, and the boys are 
getting lots of them, trolling. . 
' Do you know Johnson, the man who makes flies in Chi- 
cago? If so, bring him along. He promised to come up 
three years ago, but never got around to it. I have forgotten 
his name and address. Will guarantee to show you any 
quantity of black bass, and if you can't catch them, will 
give you pickerel fishing, and if that is too swift, will fill 
you up on perch. Come up and see us anyway, and if I 
don't show you lots of black bass I'll pay your expenses and 
.$20 a day for your time." 
It is too bad about Mr. Hotchkiss and his grouse, for I 
should very much like to add his picture to the interesting 
data of similar nature already in the possession or Forest 
ANT) Stream. As to the black bass, I imagine they are 
vulnerable in Fox Lake, as elsewhere, though there, as else- 
where, trolling and still-fishing are about the poorest ways 
to catch them. If Mr. Hotchkiss will get a nice basket of 
speckled frogs, and learn how to shoot them off a casting 
reel to a distance of 25 to 30yds. from his boat, he will be 
pleased to see the eagerness with which his advances will be 
met. A cloudy day, with a little wind, is better-, and the 
best places to fish will be at the edges of the bulrushees and 
lilypads, not in very deep water. If the day is warm, the 
best time will be from 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon until 
dark. A little later in the season the same bass will rise to 
the fly in the evening in the shallow water over clean sand 
bottom close inshore. I should very much enjoy having a 
go at these bass with Mr. Hotchkiss some time. 
Fishing Country. 
Mr. M. B. Proctor, of Kansas City, Mo,, wants to go fish- 
ing in Wisconsin. "I would prefer," he writes, "to go to 
some place in Iowa or Minnesota, which are more convenient 
to reach from here, but don't believe 1 can find the fishing in 
those places as in Wisconsin." 
If Mr. Proctor will write to Fay L. Buck, Manitowish, 
Wis., he can make arrangements for good mascallonge and 
bass fishing. I think he is mistaken, however, in supposing 
that there is no fishing in Minnesota, although it is true that 
the best of fishing in Iowa is a thing of the past. If he will 
look up the advertisement of Habbekona Camp, in Minne- 
sota, he can get into what I take to be new and very good 
country in Minnesota. 
Nearby Fishing Points. 
Bass are this week biting in fine style at Wilmington, on 
the Kankakee River, and are biting fairly well at Momence, 
on the same stream. At Fourth Lake, upper Illinois, they 
also bit well this week, and large catches continue to be re- 
ported from Cedar Lake, Ind. Mr. R. Miller was at Fox 
Lake, 111., this week. He struck a bright, calm day, and 
had poor success. He says the bass are now on the spawning 
beds in those waters. Fox River continues a little bit muddy, 
but should offer fishing this week. 
The Rockport Tarpon Country. 
Dr. Frothingham, of this city, is just back from a fishing 
trip to the now celebrated tarpon country of Arkansas Pass, 
at Rockport, Texas, where he took fom- good tarpon, and 
his wife also got one good fish. He reports the water a 
trifle muddy and not in perfect condition for the sport. 
Mr. S. M. Sutherland, of this city, perhaps holds the 
record of tarpon fishing at Rockport, where he took six fine 
fish in one day. Mr, Sutherland inaugurated a curious 
custom in tarpon fishing which might be emulated by others. 
Instead of gaffing his tarpon and landing them in the boat, 
he went ashore and* beached his fish. 'Then he fastened to 
the back fin of each fish a little tag of phosphor bronze bear- 
ing his name He replaced in the water eight tarpon thus 
tagged, and now he is waiting to hear from them again. 
Rockport, Texas, was known as a tarpon point apparently 
to but a few local anglers at the time Dick Merrill and I dis- 
covered it four years ago, Since then it has attracted con- 
siderable attention through one channel or another, and now 
it is visited by a great many tarpon fishermen from all over 
the country. There is no doubt that it offers far better 
tarpon fishing than the best points in Florida, which long 
claimed a monopoly in this sport. If all the tarpon anglers 
follow Mr. Sutherland's example, the visible supply of 
tarpon may not seriously be decreased. E. Hottgh. 
l!i06 BoTOK BurLDiNG, Chicago. 
SILKWORM GUT. 
Redditch, England, May 12. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
We noticed in your April issue, just to hand, an article on 
silkworm gut, and in reply to it would say the tackle dealers 
in the States have just the same chance of getting the first 
whack at the gut as the English tackle dealers, as tliey know 
the manufacturers and the grades of gut which are made. 
There is very little of the highest and thickest grade to be 
had at any price, and we find that as a rule the tackle 
dealers, with the exception of a few, go in for cheap grades 
of gut, whereas if they would deal more in what is termed 
in the trade Maranas and 1st. Padron, it is our opinion that 
it would suit black bass fishing much better and be far more 
reliable than the cheaper qualities, such as Regular and 2nd. 
Padron. 
As to the very long gut, there is nothing made 40in. in 
length, and such has never been produced to our knowledge, 
the average longest length being about 17in., and very little 
is produced up to 22in. most of which is too fine for fishing 
in the States, 
There is no difficulty in obtaining the finest gut if tackle 
dealers will pay the price for it. S. Allcock & Co, 
United States Consular Agent Theodor Mertens, at Grao, 
Spain, transmits to the State Department the following notes 
on Spanish silkworm gut : 
"An article of perhaps no little interest to many persons in 
the United States and of some substantial importance to 
Spanish industry is the so-called gut from silkworms. 'This 
is useful for fishing purposes, partly on account of its great 
tenacity and partly owing to its transparent quality, the line 
attaching the hook when in the- water not bemg visible. 
"Since the decline of silk culture in this country the indus- 
try of making these silk threads has increased, leaving the 
peasants some profit; the prices, however, fluctuate accord- 
ing to the value of the silk. The higher the price of silk the 
fewer silkworms are used for fishing lines, and vice versa ; 
yet about 4 per cent, of the silk grubs are destined yearly 
for the above-named purpose. 
"The manner of obtaining this thread-like gut is as fol- 
lows: After the grub has eaten enough mulberry leaves 
and before it begins to spin, which is during the months of 
May and June, it is thrown into vinegar for several hours. 
The insect is killed, and the substance which the grub, if 
alive, would have spun into a cocoon is forcibly drawn out 
from the dead worm into a much thicker and shorter silken 
thread, in which operation dexterity and experience on the 
part of the laborer are important. Two thick threads (from 
each grub) are placed for about four hours in clear, cold 
water, after which they are dipped during ten to fifteen 
minutes in a solution of some caustic, for which purpose soft 
soap dissolved in water is used here. This serves to loosen a 
fine outer skin, which is next removed by the hands, while 
the laborer holds the thread between his teeth. The silk is 
then hung up to dry, care being taken to choose a shady 
place, as the sun has the effect of. making them too brittle 
afterward. In some parts of the cjuntry these silk guts are 
bleached with sulphur vapor, which makes them look beauti- 
fully glossy and snow white, like spun glass, while those 
naturally dried retain always a yellowish tmt. 
"The quality of the gut is decided according to the healthy 
condition of the worm, round indicating a good quality 
and flat an inferior one; also, the length is important, thirty- 
two centimeters of fine, useful thread being sometimes made. 
The thickness depends also upon the condition of the grub. 
It is found to be as much as one milhmeter in the Spanish 
insect, while those from Italy and Greece produce very fine 
and thin gut strings. These are, to some extent, imported 
here and sold again by weight at from |50 to $60 (United 
States) per kilogram. About 40,000 to 50,000 threads are in 
each kilogram. The Spanish production is made up neatly 
in bundles of one hundred threads and sold by ten such 
bundles, or one thousand threads, at about $4 for the round 
kind and $1.50 to $2 for the flat kind. 
"The time for seJling this article wholesale is during .lan- 
uary, February, March and April; the retail trade is during 
the summer months and fishing season. Although Murcia 
is the principal place of this industry, yet most sales are 
made outside of that city. 
"The peasants of Murcia raised their prices upon the 
slghtest demand, which drove buyers from the place; the 
peasants now go every year with then- goods, packed in 
boxes, up and down the entire coast of Spain on the Med- 
iterranean as far as France. Valencia is considered the best 
market. 
"Orders from firms abroad should be given only to reliable 
persons here, who, at the same time, understand this article 
well. Direct negotiations with the traders should be avoided. 
This article offers too little opportunity for fraud. 
"This United States consular agency is willing to answer 
any inquiries from American firms and will place them in 
communication with a reliable commercial house here." 
Chicago Fly-Casting Club. 
Chicago, May 22. — Editar Forest and Stream: We send 
you scores of the bait-casting to-day. On account of the 
high winds prevailing, the other competitions were declared 
off. Bait-casting: C. Babcock 85ft . L, F. Crosby 69ft., B. 
W. Goodsell 82|ft., L. Goodwin 83iit., E. D. Letterman 
89|ft., C. A. Lippincott 89ft., G. A. Murrell 9aft., H. A. 
Newkirk 81|ft , F. K Peet 92|ft., J. E. Strong 76|ft., J. H. 
Smith 88ft. . J. Haskell 94|ft. 
The medal holder for bait casting is Geo. A, Murrell. 
Geo. a. Morrell. 
For Pere Marquette Waters. 
Saginaw, Mich., May 17, — Just came back from a two 
days' fishing at the Pere Marquette Club. Our stream is 
literally alive with trout this year. Had a couple of invited 
friends along, not expert anglers; there were six in the party, 
and in two days we took 480 trout. We are allowed to re- 
tain nothing smaller than 7m. 1 think this speaks well for 
our stream. They are not liver-fed fish by any means, but 
are as wild as hawks. We simply plant fry and yearlings 
every year in the stream and nature does the rest. W. B. M, 
FiGi. 1.-^Ma.soalonge. Fig. 2 -Pike. Fiu -S — Pickebel. 
LPART OF CHEEK AND GILL COVERS OF MASCALONGE, PIKE AND PICKEREL. 
