FOREST AND STREAM 
fAm. H, 1887. 
New Jersey Coast Fishing. 
( AsBtrar Park, N. J., July 30.— Good catches of bass 
have been the order of affairs the past ten days in this 
\ icinity. The prevailing high, easterly winds and high seas 
have sent the bass, shoreward, and every tide has given some 
results, and some exceptionally fine fish have been taken. 
Howard Guyer, of Philadelphia, leads in point of weight. 
Early Wednesday morning he landed through the tumultu- 
■nu8 surf a magnificent specimen weighing preclselj' SOlbs 
jFew people realize what the killing of a monster bass means 
ia a boiling surf; tbe least error and all is lost; a sttadj^K 
lund and cool head are indispensable, as well as the most 
perfect tackle. 
L. P, Streeter, of Morriatown, N J , whose success with 
the drumflsh I made mention of in Forest and Stream 
early in the season, had an experience last evening hu will 
not soon forget. He landed a particularly game ItJlb bass, 
Irom our pier, and on his way home stopped at an adjoining 
drug store for a glass of soda, leaving bis fish and tackle 
outside, when some vandal appropriated his catch. It is 
perfectly safe to say that a madder man than Streeter wou'd 
be hard to find. 
The culmination of pound fishermen's arrogance was 
reached last week. Three lads, fishing in the ocean with 
hook and line near one of the nets, were set upon and beaten 
by Capt. Yarnali, their boat set adrift and the boys thrown 
in the pound boats, and after having their clothing badly 
torn, unceremoniously thrown upon the beach after receiving 
the threat that in future if caught they would be more 
severely dealt with. Publiclndignation was at once aroused, 
and theoutcomeof the matter is the arrest of the pugnacious 
Captain, and his being placed under bonds for his appearance 
before the higher court at the October term. 
Barnegat Bay is most prolific of fish life. Never has fish- 
ing been belter than the present season, and never have I 
taken or seen finer conditioned fish Siripcd bass are being 
taken at all suitable points, and weakfish are very abundant. 
Night fishing gives by far the best results, and to the man 
who is willing to give up his night's rest the best of sport is 
assured, providing he is familiar with grounds and methods. 
It may seem like direct contradiction to established custom, 
but my advice to all is avoid the channels for night fishing, 
particularly during flood tide Weakfish always seek the 
shoals and flats at night in search of food, and at that time, 
being on the fSed, they take the hook freely, and in shallow 
water they make the grandest of battles. 
IiEONARD HtJT-IT. 
The Ontario Fishingf Season. 
Belleville, Ont., July 29. — Fishing in tbe Bay of Quinte 
and the waters adjacent is now about at its best. Bass are 
taking the bait freely in bay and river, and maskinonge 
tiave struck at Mosquito Bay, their favorite habitat in the 
months of August and September. The following items, 
culled from the local papers during the week, tell the 
story: 
Messrs. James H. McGuire and Thomas Gay caught 
nine splendid bass near the bay bridge on Saturday after- 
noon. 
John Hurst and William Keeliher caught four maski- 
nonae in Muscoota Bay on Saturday. The fish weighed 
41, 9, 14 and Slbs. respectively. The 41-pounder was one 
of the handsomest specimens ever caught around Belle- 
ville. 
Several fishing parties in the neighborhood of the wreck 
off Point Ann and on the Middle Ground ofi" Northpo^t 
have been quite! successful the past few days. ; 
Mr. J. S. McKeown returned on Monday afternoon froni 
a two weeks' canoe trip through a chain of lakes extending 
north of Crow Lake. One of his party caught a 201b. gray 
trout during the trip. 
Bass fishing is good at present at the mouth of the 
jiver. Every evening there are from ten to fifteen boats 
iitnchored there, and nearly all of them got good strings. 
Two boys on Monday afternoon took twelve good-sized 
bass from the channel made by the dredge. There were 
over fifty caught altogether there yesterday, 
During tiie last few days rain has put a stop to fishing. 
I oughts to have mentioned that the winners of the 
Forest and Stream Club's prize for largest catch of bass in 
their first competition, namely. Major Carswell and Mr. 
Wm. Ormond,iare aged seventy-six and seventy- five years, 
respectively. E. S. B. 
Black Bass Fly-Flshing' in New England. 
A CORRESPONDENT asks respccliog fly fishing for black 
bass in New England waters in September and October. 
Will the fish rise to the fly in those months? We would be 
glad to have some of the experiences of our readers on this 
point. Von W, writes from Charlcstown, N. H., in answer to 
the query : "I have never been up at Sunapte in September, 
but some of my young friends wlio have tell me that the fly 
is of no use at that season. The bass get into deep water in 
August, and long line tithing with live bait, smelt or min- 
ijOW is necessary." 
Commissioner Henry O. Stanley, of Alaine, writes: "Sep- 
tember and October are not considerel good months for 
black bass fly-fishing in New England. The fish are now 
mostly in' deep water, and no good fly-fishing can be had for 
any kind of fish when they lie in deep water. That has been 
my experience for all kinds of fish. You will occasion^ly 
find a few bass about the shores in September if not warm, 
but none in October to amount to anything. If I wanted to 
catch bass m Maine in September and October, I should not 
expect any good catches with flies." 
- Bass Fishing in the Adirondachs. 
SARAiSTAC Cldb House, Barllett Carry, Franklin Coupty- 
N.Y , July 27. — The abundance of bass in the moun 
tains this year is a pleasant sui prise to the sportsmen Trout 
for ihe time being are neglected, bass fishing being all the 
rage. Monday of this week Wm. Bloodgood and Benj. 
Douglass, Jr., of New York, still-fishing and with fly on 
Raquette River, caught over forty bass, weighing about 
SOlbs., "the largest weighing from 3 to 3^1 bs., all caught with 
a light fly -rod ot 5oz, Tuesday, E. V. Z. Lane and friend 
caught stventy-six weighing nearly SOlbs. Heretofore bass 
Jaave been very scarce in the Raquttte Riuer. 
Saranac Cldb Member. 
The Forest aud Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday 
.Correspondence intended for publication should reach at the 
'-atestty Monday, and as much earlier as practicable. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Minnesota Muscailonge. 
Chicago, 111., July 31.— Dick Merrill is just back from 
Kahekona Camp on Woman Lake, Minnesota, and is satis- 
fled, though by a narrow majority. He and his brother, F. 
F. Merrill, of Milwaukee, fished ten days before they had a 
single strike from 'lunge, they being too late in the season 
for the sport at its best. They met a good deal of rain also, 
which detracted from their pleasure. On the eleventh day 
Dick had his first and only strike, and landed after a half 
hour's fight a fine 'lunge of 321b3.. which he thinks breaks 
the record of the camp for the year. The fish was 53in. long 
and in poor flesh or it would have sealed heavier. Dick says 
that one fish repaid him for the trip. Of bass and wall-eyes 
he and his brother caught any number, and on one day they 
hooked and landed forty seven pickerel, in each case killing 
the pickerel. He thinks they killed 250 pickerel during the 
trip. The orders from headquarters at the camp are to de- 
stroy all pickerel, as they are so thick as to con-stitute a 
nuisance to anglers. 
At Kabekona Gamp, during their stay, Mr. Gage and his 
son Jack, of Kansas City, had lather mixed luck. The boy 
hooked and lost three 'lunge, one of which was later found 
dead with the spoon in its gills. This fish weighed 271bs. 
In a little lake which these two discovered, which had not 
been fished by anyone so far as known, .Jack caught on one 
day sixty-three black bass. While pulling in one of these 
fish, a bass weighing some 3lbs., a large fish of some sort, 
probably a 'lunge, made a rush and struck the bass, cutting 
it in two. 
Mr. H. G. McCartney, owner of Kabekona Camp, has 
c'iusht one 'lunge weighing 23lb3. Dick Merrill thinks the 
fishing country thus newly opened up is all that could be 
asked, and he is much interested also in the moose news of 
which he got track. A large moose was killed by an Indian 
near Kabekona Camp during his stay there. 
From the South. 
Mr. Thos. B. Allen, of Memphis, this week stopped at 
Chicago on his way to the Mackinaw Island country, in 
search of rest and fish. He will probably stop at Grayling 
and have a day or so on the Au Sable after trout, and if he 
is lucky he may get his grayling. Mr. Allen come.s with 
letters from Mr. Tom Devine, of Memphis, who was to have 
been in Chicatio himself last week, but didn't arrive. 
South Peninsula and the Grayling Days. 
Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw, advises me that the trout 
are not all gone yet from the club stream at Kinne Creek, 
and says that some of the members have lately been having 
fine success. "Some of the boys have been' up to Kinne 
Creek, lately," he writes, "and had excellent success. Mor- 
ley got about sixty, one day about a week ago, and they 
were nice fish, and Grandfather . Brown had hold of one. 
down in the fallen timber toward the lower end of the 
stream that was an old whopper. He worked with him two 
or three minutes, but he finally got away. They all unite in 
saying it was a fiph of over 21bs." 
Mr. Mershon, in taking up again the ever plesant remin- 
iscences of the grayling, says that he has just had a letter 
from his old fishing companion, Mr. Wm. F. Dermont, once 
manager of the sawmill at the town of Wingleton, where the 
Pere Marquette Club now holds undisputed sway. Mr. De?'- 
mont cannot be consoled over the passing of the grayling, and 
recalls the good old times when he and Mr. Mershon used to 
run the Little Manistee with a boat and take a fine basket of 
fish without the least trouble in the world. Mr. Dermont is 
now at Trout Creek, upper peninsula; but he says they have 
no such streams there as those of tbe lower peninsula, and 
does not think the fish fi'^ht po well as they used to iu the 
old days in the lower country. In speaking of their trips to- 
gether, Mr. Mershon thus describes the manner in which 
they did their angling: 
"We used to go up on the night train, stay overnight with 
him, and the next morning he would take us on a logging 
train about eight miles. Then we would be driven by one 
of the teams from the lumber camp to the river. Those days 
we could not get in there with a luxurious private car, con- 
sequently we would camp out. Sometimes it would happen, 
though, that we wanted but a single day's fishing, but usu- 
ally we stayed one or two nights, carrying along a good, big 
chunk of ice. After we had commenced the day's fishing 
the teamster and the cook would break camp; that is, if we 
happened to have a cook, though generally your humble 
servant fried the sausages. At any rate, we had a long 
stretch of river to fi.sh, and would move the camp down 
stream three or four miles during the day. The Little Man- 
istee was then literally alive with grayling, and the catches 
made were tremendous. I never have taken one larger than 
l%lbs.,but have heard tell of 2-pounder3, but I do not be- 
lieve they existed. Guessing on the weight of a fish is not 
accurate, and I believe most of the Slbs.-and-over grayling 
were guessed at. 
"It was with Mr. Dermont that I first fished a wadable 
trout stream with a boat. He looked upon the project with 
considerable disfavor, but long before night he expressed 
his delight with the innovation. What fishing that was! 
Such grayling fishing never will be seen again." 
Good Advice from the Commission. 
Mr. Nat. H. Cohen, president of the Illinois Fish Commis- 
sion, has issued the following sensible and temperate address 
to the fi.shermen in the neighborhood of Peoria: 
"To Whom it May Concern: I would like to call the at- 
tention of the public to the fact that some people are mis- 
construing the intention of the Fish Commission. Its object 
is to replenish the streams and rivers of 'the State, and make 
them as bountiful of fish as they were in their primitive 
condition. 
"The only way that purpose can be accomplished is for the 
people not to violate the law and assist the Commissioners 
instead of censuring them. There have been numerous vio- 
lations in this part of the State, such as .seining, dynamite, 
trapping and wing-netting. The law strictly specifies that 
no seine, net, trap, or any other device except hook and line 
shall be used in any of the streams or rivers of the State of 
Illinois except in rivers used for navigation. 
"If the violations should continue as they have been, in 
the next ten years the streams will be completely depleted. 
The Commission hopes that all law-abiding citizens will do 
what they can to assist us in protecting the fish interests of 
the State, as we intend to carry out the law and prosecute 
all cases to their full extent. Respectfully yours, 
"Nat. H. Cohen, 
"President Illinois Fish Commission." 
Some Wisconsin Records. 
Mr. W. W. Nash, of Ottawa, 111 , writes from Camp 
Franklin, Trout Lake, Wis., to friends at home: 
"Here is a copy of our log book: Thursday, 15th, IJ^ hours' 
fishing late P. M., 18 pike averaging 2 to albs. Friday, Kith, 
2 hours A. M., 42 pike averaging 2 to 3lbs. Friday P. M., 
Charles Taylor and Nash in Canoe Lake, 6.5 black bass aver- 
aging 1 to 31bs. A. H. Taylor and Lynch, in White Saad 
Lake, 68 pike and 2 bass 2 to 3}{lhs. Saturday, 17th, Lynch, 
C. P. Taylor and Nash, 2>^ hours A. M., 40 pike 2to31bs.; 
P. M., Lynch and Nash in Canoe Lake, 3)4 hours, 70 bass 1 
to Slbs. C. P. and A. H. Taylor, in White band Lake, 1 hour, 
18 pike and 2 bass 2 to 81bs. Sunday, 18t,h, A. M., C. P. 
Taylor, Nash and Lynch, 3 hours in Canoe Lake, 33 bass, 
making a total of 186 pike and 174 bass for 3}{ days, fishing 
3 to 5 hours per day." • E. Hough. 
1806 BoYCE BunjDiNG, Chicago, 
A PARISIAN INTERPRETATION OF FLY- 
FISHING. 
(Translated for Forest and Stream from the Paris Figaro.) 
At this time of the year persons walking along the bank 
of a river may remark upon the surface the sudden apari- 
tion of a strange-looking insect, which is neither a worm 
nor a libellu.id. It is an indescribable little creature, float- 
ing along with the current for a second or two, and then sud- 
denly, as if touched by the wand of a fairy, transformed 
into a beautiful fly with a golden corset and diaphanous 
wings that glitter in the sunlight. The metamorphosis is no 
sooner finished than the beauty flies up into the air. 
This is the insect that is called the May fly. Before com- 
iug up to the light, it remains in the bottom of the water in 
an obscure shell formed in the sand, for about two or perhaps 
three years. During all that time it is simply a hideous 
larva, and, when it becomes a fly, it has only two days to 
enjoy life, wandering about, breathing the perfume of the 
flowers, sporting m the sunbeams, feasting and enjoying the 
manifold pleasures of its brief existence. At the close of 
the second day it drops dying upon the water, Irom which it 
came, and ia canied away by the current, until it disappears 
in the jaws of a trout. 
Now, this little fly is lucky indeed if it does not succumb 
iu the first few seconds of its short and triumphant career, 
because it has many enemies, among them the swallow, the 
water hen and also the trout The iish watches for it during 
the second or two that it remains upon the water tossing off 
its old clothes and donning its gala costume. When these 
little creatures appear in great numbers upon the surface of 
the water, the trout have a glorious time. So have the 
anglers. It is not necessary to offer the trout the natural fly : 
an imitation serves the purpose. The trout attack the arti- 
ficial fly with as much ardor as they display when rising to 
the real insect. The diflSculty is to present to the fish the 
artificial fly in the proper manner. 
Fly-fishing is splendid sport. We know that it is culti- 
vated in Great Britain, but in France, up to within a com- 
paratively recent date, it was the amusement of a select few. 
Now, however, it is becoming more fashionable, and the 
adepts in the art are becoming more and more numerous, 
especially in the upper circles. As a matter of fact, it is a 
refined sport, not less elegant, and certainly much more in- 
tellectual than hunting aad pigeon shooting. It is artistic 
even in the material which it requires. The fishing rod of 
the fly-caster is itself a work of art in its apparent sim- 
plicity. To give 10 it all the desired qualities, strength, elas- 
ticity, resistance, lightness, nicely, facility in the joining 
and disjoining, it requires the greatest care of the most skill- 
ful workmen. To compare it to the other fishing rods would 
be like comparing a chokebore full choke to one of our old- 
tim<; muzzleloadera The reel which ornaments the butt is 
an ingenious piece of mechanism. The long line that is un- 
rolled from it is made of fine silk. To this is attached a 
casting line or leader, as it is sometimes called, made of 
several lengths of fine gut carefully knotted and forming a 
single thread precisely the length of the rod itself. To tone 
down the whiieness of the gut and at the same time preserve 
its transparency, some anglers steep it ia a hot cup of green 
tea This gives it an extremely faint but indelible stain, 
which renders it almost invisible in the water. The hook is 
an extremely small affair made of the finest steel, and the 
artificial bait, or rather the fly, which is worked upon it, is 
a marvel of delicacy. 
There is nothing repulsive in this sort of fishing. There 
is no nasty worm to manipulate, and no unfortuaafe minnow 
to impale alive upon the hook. The trout fisher selects his 
artificial flies according to the months and the weather. 
These flies are made of Ihe finest kind of feathers and silk of 
artistic shades. Moreover, the fish that the angler pursues is 
the most beautiful and tbe most active of all the fishes in our 
rivers and streams. 
As one can see, this sort of fishing is the sport of a gentle- 
man. It is an active kind of fishing, always interesting and 
fertile in emotions. One doesn't have to wait for tho fish or 
watch a cork. The fisherman, like a hunter, walks along m 
search of his game. When the trout rises to the fly and is 
hooked, a aeries of skillful maneuvers becomes necessary to 
overcome, without violence, the energetic resistance of the 
fish. Tlie trout is a shy creature, but at the sapie time when 
hooked it makes a bold fiaht. 
Fly casting, even in a light breeze, is somewhat like an ex- 
ploit in fencing. It is often necessary to send the fly a long 
distance to a precise point, where it must fall upon the water 
as delicately as a living insect. This requires great dexterity, 
which is only attained by practice. Fly fishing for trout is 
diificult, and its difflculty forms one of its attractions for the 
genuine sportsman. Moreover, its surroundings are charm- 
ing, consisting as they do of beautiful valleys, picturesque 
rivers, sparkling waters that murmur while bounding among 
moss-covered rocks, or forming little cascades that seem con- 
stantly to be playing with diamonds and pearls. It is espe 
cially to this kind of sport that the expression of Alphonse 
Karr can be applied ; "One of the advantages of fishing is 
that if the play is not exciting, it is saved by the scenery." 
"That retnlnds ine.'' 
"What are we Here For?" 
Some two or three years ago a party of anglers, including 
a minister as one of their number, were fishing in the North 
woods, and when Sunday came the question arose whether 
the party other than the minister should not refrain from 
fishing, out of respect to his feelings. 
One of the party, however, made bold to ask him whether 
he thought that it was wicked to fish on Sunday, and he 
declined to express any opinion, on the ground that he was 
there as an angler and not by virtue of his calling, and that 
every person must act according to the dictates of his own 
conscience. He referred, however, to the following incident 
which had occurred not long before within his personal knowl- 
edge. 
A man and woman called at the house of a minister for the 
purpose of being married. After going through the prelim- 
inary part of the service, the minister asked the usual ques- 
tion, ''Do you, John, take this woman to be your lawful, 
wedded wife?" This was met by the rejoinder, "What in 
thunder do you suppose I came here for?" 
The party other than the minister went fishing, while he 
remained at home with ample opportunity for rest and medi- 
tation, J. B. Van C. 
