[FeS. i2j 189S, 
Fishing Up and Down the Potomac, 
Goose Creek* 
Into Loudoun county, one of the best in old Virginia; 
the summit of the Blue Ridge its boundary on the west; 
with high hills and beautiful valleys; healthy in loca- 
tion, rich as to soil, contiguous to a good market; its 
people, like Bloomfield's bold yeomanry, their country's 
pride, are as prosperous and contented, or ought to be, 
as any in the world. It is therefore with something of 
a shock comes the news of the recent depredations of 
the barnburners there. Taking the Washington and 
Round Hill Railway for five miles toward Alexandria to 
the Washington and Ohio Junction, we turn west nearly 
parallel with the Potomac, and passing Arlington and 
Fort Me3fer in the rear, the line goes on to Round Hill, 
fifty-five miles away. This is the present terminus of the 
road, lying at' the mouth of Snicker's Gap, some four 
miles off^ — the gateway through the Blue Ridge into the 
beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. 
Formerly Farmwell, now called Ashburn, a little over 
three miles from the creek, was the angler's station, a 
team meeting them and taking them four or five miles 
away to a farmhouse on the banks of the creek, where 
they were lodged, minnows furnished when desired, and 
such other attentions shown as are necessary to the 
comfort of fishermen. 
Our own numerous trips to thrs place have ended at 
Belmont Park, three miles beyond and about forty from 
Washington — only a platform at a crossroad, named 
from a picnic ground maintained by the railroad some 
3'ears ago for the encouragement of summer excursions. 
Traces of sheds for eating and drinking, and merry- 
go-rounds, etc., still show on the creek bank under the 
great trees, but it has long ceased to be a general resort. 
A hundred rods from the track is the house of a 
prosperous contractor and farmer, who showed us such 
good will and kindness on the occasion of our first visit 
we have never cared to wander. 
Scarcely a half mile from the station platform the 
road crosses a great iron bridge thrown over the deep 
chasm through which, 40ft. below, runs a peaceful little 
stream with hardly enough water to float a launch, save 
a few yards at a time, though the State is still paying 
interest, it is said, on bonds floated long ago to make 
this a commercial waterway; it would not have seemed 
half so foolish in one of Uncle Sam's river and harbor 
bills, where it would have found such congenial company. 
There must, though, have been at that time much more 
water than now, or the most credulous would have hesi- 
tated to invest; but the ruins of three or four great 
locks still stand along its banks, mute but eloquent wit- 
nesses to the o'erleaping ambition, the futile energy, the 
mistaken calculations of a former generation, who must 
have spent thousands in this vain effort. 
One boat did get up, but never came back. Its decayed 
remains are far up the creek, almost as distant from a 
channel as was the ark on Ararat after the deluge. A 
skiff could only get up the stream now by being carried. 
Goose Creek is formed bj' Crooked Run and Gap Run 
on both sides of Lost Mountain, with Jeffries's Branch 
and Cromwell's Run. Into the main stream just above 
Oakland runs the North Fork, fed by its tributary, one 
of Virginia's many beaver dam creeks. A hundred yards 
below the railway bridge Sycoline Creek comes in from 
the west, and still further down the Tuscarora. The 
main creek reaches the Potomac opposite Edward's 
Ferry, a name familiar to every angler who has ever 
cast hook in this queen of bass rivers. 
The fish in Goose Creek, like the most of those yet 
taken in the upper Potomac, are the small-mouthed bass. 
These come up from the river easily in ordinary stages 
of water, and the United States Fish Commission has- 
made plants in the creek itself. 
The water in good seasons is of the best, and the 
fish gamy and good. The pleasantest fly-fishing is above 
the bridge, where the ruins of locks and dams have in 
places filled the bed of the stream with broken rocks. 
The banks are heavily wooded and mostly thick of un- 
derbrush, which makes bank fishing only possible in 
spots; and treacherous holes in the longer reaches make 
wading dangerous, so that there are better streams for 
the peripatetic angler. But to one who prefers bait 
fishing there are charming places where it would be a 
delight to spend some hours with rod and line, if one did 
nothing but dream the time away. 
"If so be the angler catch no fish, yet he hath a whole- 
some walk to the brookside, pleasant shade by the 
sweet silver streams; he hath good air and sweet smells 
of fine, fresh meadow flowers; he hears the mellow har- 
mony of birds," said Burton in his "Anatomy of Melan- 
choly," and that idea he fished bodily from Dame Juli- 
ana Berners, and gave no credit; this was far from 
sportsmanlike, and unworthy a true and gallant angler, 
which probably he was not, or he never would have made 
so large and varied a collection of "blue devils." 
One good trout on a bending withe is potent enough 
to put to rout a whole regiment of evil spirits and 
megrims, and no man could analyze Melancholy with a 
rod in his hand, for she would never come near enough 
to be touched. So if Burton had fished, the world had 
probably lost a literary treasure. 
One of the maxims laid down in the "Angler's Guide" 
by T. F. Salter, Ghent, 1816, was: "Continue to cast your 
line in search and fish every^yard of water likely to afford 
sport, and never despair of success." 
A very pretty illustration of the soundness of this ad- 
vice was given me on our last visit here. My companion 
had been watching a bass breaking in the eddy at the 
mouth of Sycoline Creek. A shoal of sand ran down 
midstream from the pier of the bridge, and reaching this, 
he waded cautiously down until nearly waist deep. Here 
the sandspit sheered down to deep water, and he could 
go no further. He cast again and again, but was at 
least 2oft. short. Dusk was approaching, and putting 
up my rod, a seat on the bank at the end of a fair day's 
sport was pleasure enough. 
It was that charming angling author. Prime, who said: 
"I believe I am sincere in saying that I enjoy seeing 
another man throw a iiy, if he is a good and graceful 
sportsman, quite as much as doing it myself." 
My friend continued his efforts for ten minutes — 
twenty, apparently— without the slightest effect. The 
bass seemed to find plenty to amuse and comfort him 
in the little swirl near the center of tbe eddy, where, 
among the circling bubbles, he probably found floating 
flies. At any rate, every few minutes he came up with 
that attractive sound that suggests Chimmie Fadden's 
little "cold bot," and giving us a tantalizing glimpse of 
a broadside that put new steam each time into the flying 
line. Sitting high above, it seemed to me the fish began 
to break a little nearer to the fatal lure. The fly and 
fish were each time a trifle closer together; ten minutes 
later there was a wild rush, a little cheer of congratula- 
tion from the watcher on the bank and the two boys who 
carried our impedimenta, and after a pretty struggle in 
the open water the bass, which was a big fellow, came to 
net. 
It was a triumph of skill and patience. My own 
would have 'been exhausted long before, and this shows 
the effect of education and early training on disposition. 
His fljr-fishing had been done mostly from a boat in 
the lower Potomac, where the water is always new, since 
the fish move about with the tides, and one may cast in 
the same spot repeatedly with always a new chance for 
reward. My own early experiences had been on Western 
lakes, where the bass had a local habitation about a 
stump or moss-bed, or under the great peltate leaves 
of the nelumbium, which, shading a 3ft. circle as they 
float on the surface, are favorite shelters for the bass. 
A cast or two about such likely spots will tell the tale, 
and if there is no immediate response the angler may as 
a rule count further effort as love's labor lost, and finds 
more profit in moving on. 
But this incident made its impression, and the lesson 
learned brought its own reward later in the shape of a 
good basket of 2lb. bass, after an hour's painstaking 
labor on a school in plain view had brotight only despair, 
and the rod had been unlimbered, when, this picture re- 
called, incited one more determined effort with surprising 
results; but that is another stor}'. 
Every season parties from Washington or elsewhere 
camp somewhere along the banks of Goose Creek for an 
outing, and on this trip two ladies were keeping house 
in a neat little tent in a sheltered spot not far from 
the stream. One of these, as we passed, was perched 
high on a huge rock in the creek, trying hard to beat 
her own record of the day before, when she had, un- 
aided, landed a 41b. bass. Her husband, indignant at 
being outdone by a woman, had thrown down his rod 
just before our visit, and gone gunning for squirrels. 
He tried later, in town, to explain to us that anxiety 
for fresh game had driven him away, but we knew it was 
jealousy. On one occasion here a friend was in the 
party who was new at fly-fishing, though he had caught 
trout in Erin's waters, and is altogether more familiar 
with the habits of nature's wild people than any other 
of my acquaintances. He is an ardent sportsman, and 
his excitement over his first big bass on a fly would haA'e 
given Niobe fresh occasion to turn on the pumps. 
Twenty times he thought his fish lost, and as many times 
he had him won. His shouts alternated between exulta- 
tion and despair. Every struggle the poor fish made 
scared him into an ague, and when a kindly disposed but 
ill-advised neighbor proft'ered assistance his indignant 
protests were voluble, lurid and excruciating. He 
wanted all that side of the creek, and kept saying so 
emphatically — so emphatically, indeed, that even the 
dumbfounded neighbor understood that much. When 
the bass finally came to net and was held up for inspec- 
tion, a me and Napoleon smile came to him, and $10 
would have been no price to insult him with for that par- 
ticular fish. Heney Talbott. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Short Fish and Charity* 
Chicago, Feb. 5. — Deputy Wardens Ratto and Goetter 
are on the trail of the dealers who sell fish of illegal 
size. On last Monday H. H. Regenburg was fined $25 
for selling two pickerel which had not yet attained legal 
length. Under the act the presence of short fish in a 
shipment subjects the lot to confiscation, and many hun- 
dreds of pounds of fish have been seized for this reason, 
Such fish have been turned over to the count}' agent, 
who has been distributing them to worthy applicants for 
charity. The poor folk of Chicago have been blessing 
the new fish law this week, and they may thank tlie local 
deputies for their vigorous prosecutions. In the eyes 
of some it may be rough on a dealer to take away a 
barrel of fish from him when the lot contains but one 
or two under-sized fish, but it is hard to see w'here the 
justice of this commiserative feeling exists. If the dealer 
has not bought the fish, but has received them for sale 
on commission from some country shipper, then the 
dealer has suffered no loss unless he has paid the freight 
charges, which, of course, he will charge back to the 
shipper. Incidentally he will, after one or two seizures 
of this kind, be sure to write to such shipper and tell 
him to be careful not to send any more short fish. If 
the shipper cannot sell these short fish he will not ship 
them and will not catch them. This is the law in prac- 
tical working shape, and in no other shape is it practi- 
cable or is it law. 
White-winged peace now sits over the troubled waters 
of the Illinois River. The State Fish Commission has 
explained to the irate fishermen of Peoria that no dis- 
crimination has been intended or will be made against 
Peoria fishers, or in favor of firms of other localities. 
The Peoria Star, which led the kick against the Commis- 
sion, publishes an interview in which it is explained why 
Deputy Brassfield was warned not to make too many 
prosecutions of net fishermen. It is stated that he was 
asked simply to confine his ardor to his own territory, 
and not to interfere with fishermen elsewhere who were 
using nets construed by the Commission to be of legal 
mesh. The work of the Illinois Commission is an im- 
portant one, and naturally it should apply rather to food 
fish than game fish. Yet if it be true that the State Fish 
Commission allows l4in. for shrinkage after a net is 
tarred, the situation is left rather whimsical than serious. 
To a fish trying to butt its head through a i^in. mesh 
it makes no difference that the mesh was ain. or 3in. 
wide when it left the factory. Are we to infer that the 
State Legislature intended to protect the fish or the hole? 
Maybe 1 am too curious about these things, but I was 
just wondering. I am going to ask Mr. Bartlett about 
this the next time I see him, because I want to know 
how a 2in. fish can go through a i^in. hole. Also, I 
would like to ask him how can the Illinois State Fish 
Commission, by taking thought, add a cubit to the stat- 
ure of a South Water street pickerel which only measures 
iiin. alongside a plain, hard wooden rule with inch 
marks on it? I have known even children to ask some 
beastly hard questions. Of course it is hard to see how 
a sportsmen's paper can ask for anything less than the 
letter of the law from the dealers who do so much to 
interfere with sport, and who have so long had the mat- 
ter of the interpretation of the law in their own hands. 
1206 BoYCE Building. Chicago. E. HoUGH. 
The Nessmuk Club. 
Alton, 111. — Editor Forest and Stream: I send yott 
herewith a copy of the constitution of a new sportsmen's 
club just organized in this city, thinking that it may be 
of interest to you as showing that the memory and the 
good w'ork of one whom Forest and Stream introduced 
to the world of sportsmanship is still working for good 
out here in the Mississippi Valley. 
The island thus leased by the Nessfnuk Club is one of 
the best in the Mississippi River, comprising over 300 
acres, and mostly in the primeval forest state. It is 
distant five miles up the river from this city, and the 
club members, who are all active business men of the 
world, hope to make during the year many yachting trips 
to the grounds, to spend a day or two in quiet, oblivious 
forgetfulness of the worry and fret of common affairs. 
The island commands a long reach of river sandbars 
where duck shooting is still good on occasion, and it is 
well stocked with squirrels, raccoons and other wild 
game, having also a natural basin that may be con- 
verted into an ideal fish preserve. 
A trap and rifle range will afford pastime for those 
who like practice at inanimate marks. F. C. Riehl. 
We give the Nessniuk Club's form of constitution for 
the benefit of otheV club projectors: 
CONSTITUTION. 
Article I. — Name aiKj Purpose. 
Sec. 1. This organization sJis(Jl be fe-no.vm and styled the "Neas- 
muk Club, of Alton, 111. ' ' ' 
Sec. 2. Its object shall be the occasional outdoor recreation 
and entertainment of its members and friends. 
Article II.— Property and Privileges. 
Sec. 1. The "property of this club shall consist of twenty mem- 
berships, representing a five-year lease of the hunting, fishing and 
recreation privileges of an island in the Mississippi River, located 
i^n Madison and Jersey counties, III., and commonly known 
.Scotch .Fimmie's Island, with the privileges attached thereto. 
- Sec. 2. These memberships- shall be and remain pre-eminently 
the property of ■ the club and shall be non-transferable; they shall 
be rented at a given sum annually to individual members, and 
each membership shall be subject to recall at any time upon a 
vote of a majority of the active members of the club. 
Sec. 3. Applications for membership shall be filed with the 
president or secretary at least one week in advance of a meeting, 
due notice of the fact being given, and elections shall be by ballot, 
tliree black balls being deemed sufficient to reject applicant. 
See, 4. The initial cost of memberships per annum shall be 
.$.5, payable invariably in advance upon the beginning of eafih -^nd 
every year, dating from the first of March. 
Article III.— Officers. 
Sec. 1. The diificers of this club shall be one president, one 
vice-president, and one secretary and treasurer. 
Sec. 2. There .shall also be an executive committe of.J5Ye"i!ieni- 
bers elected annually, to include the president and secretary as 
ex-oflicio members. 
Article IV. — ^Duties of Officers. 
See. 1. The president .shall call and preside at all meetings, 
and conduct the same according to parliamentary usage, and 
shall have general supervision of the affairs of the' club. 
Sec. 2. The vice-president shall have all authority and perform 
the duties of the president in the absence or inability of that 
officer to serve. 
Sec. 3. The secretary and treasurer shall keep an accurate 
record of the business meetings of the club and executive com- 
mittee, conduct correspondence, and in general do the clerical 
work of the club. He shall also receive and account for all moneys 
belonging to the club, keep a full financial record and pay bills 
upon the order of the executive committee. 
Sec. 4. The executive committee shall have general supervi- 
sion of the grounds and its improvements. It may appomt a 
superintendent of grounds and meet any emergencies that may 
come up, reporting the same to the club for ratification. 
Article V. — Government. 
Sec. 1. Robert's "Rules of Order" shall be considered the 
code to regulate as nearly as possible the business proceedings 
of this club. 
Sec. 2. Nessmuk's "Woodcraft" is hereby adopted as the guide 
to regulate as nearly as possible the conduct and habits of de- 
portment of members and of this club while on the grounds. 
Sec. 3. Member.s inviting strangers will be considered responsible 
for their conduct and for any indebtedness they njay incur to 
the chib. 
Boston Winter Notes. 
Boston, Feb. 7, 1808. — Winter fishing has received a 
natural check that will scarcely be gotten over till it is 
time for the ice to thaw. New England has been visited 
by one of the heaviest snowstorms ever recorded, aiid 
it is almost impossible to reach the lakes and ponds ex- 
cept with the aid of snowshoes. All the plans for pick- 
ereling are abandoned for the present, and for the season, 
if the snow is followed by a sudden thaw. 
The New England Sportsmen's Exhibition here in 
March is attracting a good deal of attention already. 
Mr. R. O. Harding, of Appleton & Basset, has just re- 
turned from Maine, where he was nearly snowed in. 
He visited the Lake Auburn fish hatcheries with Com- 
missioner Stanley, and has the promise of some beautiful 
trout and landlocked salmon for the exhibition. He 
has also secured other exhibits of live fish. The Govern- 
ment fish transportation car has also been secured and 
will be forwarded by the railways free. At a meeting of 
the Maine Hotel Association at Waterville last week 
particular force was accredited to what the fish and game 
interest is doing for the hotel men. while the usual flowery 
speeches were made about the "inexhaustible supply of 
big game" and the great efforts the State is putting for- 
ward in restocking her waters with landlocked salmon, 
all of which sounds well, and would be well, if the reality 
was up to one-third of the advertising. I suppose that 
it is fated that the summer vacationist must follow the 
lover of the rod and reel and the solitude of the woods 
and waters into his farthest retreat. This year he can 
hunt and fish in close communion with nature; next 
year the fashionable hotel and the brass band are there. 
SPECrAL. 
