810 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April i6,. 1898. 
way, and the six weighed nearXy 3 lbs., la>-ge eiiough 
for trout and plenty for me. 
In casting the wet fly, 1 would have left oi¥ the ad- 
jective if I had not been writing of the dry fly; after 
the fly strikes the water it should be allowed to sink 
a few inches, and then the top of the rod, which shoidd 
be from 2 to 3ft. above the water, is slightly twitched 
upward a few inches; a pause and another twitch; this 
is repeated so as to give the fly a darting motion, sev- 
eral times, until the rod is so well up that another twitch 
cannot be made without getting its tip so high that 
the line cannot be retrieved. This will depend some- 
what on the length of line that is out, but mainly on 
the judgment of the angler, who must ascertain for 
himself just how far he may work his fly and yet retain 
control of his rod so that he may retrieve his line for 
another cast. If he overdoes the working of the fly, 
and cannot retrieve his line, he must reel up until he 
can, and then start anew, making short casts and un- 
reeling line with his left hand as he lengthens them. 
The wet. sunken fly, with wings soaked and sodden, 
is not a bit like the artistic bit of millinery which you 
took from your fly-book, but when again dry it will 
look nearly the same unless you have boiight flies that 
are half dyed at some department store. Take the red 
ibis, or as it is often called, scarlet ibis; the feathers 
of the bird are more expensive than those of a white 
pullet which are dyed, that is certain; but if the dye is 
good the feather is as good, and there's the rub. If, 
after a day's fishing, your scarlet ibis has faded to a 
watery pink you may be justified in saying what you 
think, for barring accidents I calculate the life of a good, 
well-tied fly at twenty trout. After that it becomes friz- 
zled, frazzled and bedraggled, even if it has not partly 
broken away from the gut at the point of attachment. 
That is the weak point in all flies, but weakest in the 
cheapest. I will ijot have double gut on a hook except 
perhaps an inch at the attachment, and as a writer may be 
expected to give reasons for his opinions, this is the 
reason: A double snell of 6in. long will catch a bit of 
weed, as it is not twisted, and no fish wfll rise to a fly 
that has weed attached to it. Then if one strand breaks 
the other follows. This wearing of the gut at the top 
of the shank of the hook is a serious evil; not serious 
to the fly makers, but to the angler's pocket. 
On the other side of the water they have been using 
eyed hooks, both turned up and turned down, for flies; 
and w-hile I have not seen them they se«m to be a good 
thing. Then one merely hitches on a snell with a '"fish- 
erman's bend," and if the gut is frayed after use it can 
be shortened or thrown away. It is possible that such 
flies may be found in he tackle shops, but I have not 
looked over flies in the shops in some years, because I 
haA^e a large stock on hand and take care of it. I have 
picked up half a dozen of this or that fly here or there 
when they looked inviting, and that is how a stock ac- 
cumulates. 
The care of flies has been a subject of discussion in 
angling papers for many years. The main troubles are 
the moth and brittle gut. Many an angler has opened 
his fly-book in the spring of the year and found a few 
good flies and a lot of refuse and empty moth cocoons, 
as well as brittle gut on his flies. Much has been said 
of camphor, cedar boxes and other moth repellers; but 
some dozen or more years ago I reasoned this way: The 
moth eats many furs, but never the dyed ones, like 
sealskin and others. The flies which it leaves un- 
touched are those with dyed feathers or dyed wool. The 
feniale moth likes to lay her eggs in dark places, where 
there is little disturbance, and my fly-book, after Sep- 
tember, is just the place. They must be hermetically 
sealed, but how? Thoughts of tin boxes, soldered tight- 
ly, were floating around, when a soft voice said: "Won't 
you come into the dining room and open this jar of 
fruit? My hands are not strong enough." After the cap 
of the Mason jar was started the fly-preserving prob- 
lem was solved. No moth could get in there, and if 
the jar was perfectly dry the gut would not get brittle. 
A dozen years of canning flies and fly-books has proved 
the utility of this plan, which I do not remember to have 
seen published. There is no patent on it, but it has 
worked so well with me that I wonder that the rubber 
ring of the Mason fruit jar never commended itself to 
anglers to preserve their flies as well as their fruits. 
When I started this series it seemed as if one kind 
of fishing might be done up in a chapter, but as I read 
over what I have written it seems as if there was enough 
of detail left out to make a volume, and I have not 
touched upon the fishing for trout in lakes, from either 
boat or shore, and must let that run over until next 
week, or the editor might rip the scissors through a 
paragraph wdiere he thought it best to stop. 
Variations in Fish Supply, 
Chicopee Fall.s, Mass. — Editor Forest and Stream^ 
I wish to make an inquiry, and ask if some readers of 
Forest and Stream can explain the following: In 
Plymouth, Vt., are ponds of from, say, one-half to three- 
quarters of a mile long and one-third to one-half 
of a mile wide, fed by good mountain spring streams. 
Fifty or sixty years ago they had plenty of speckled trout 
in them, also bullheads, or hornpouts, and eels. The 
trout and bullheads all disappeared. Next came pike 
and grass pickerel. Some ten or fifteen years ago black 
bass were put in by the Fish Commissioners, and per- 
haps yellow perch; at least they are in there, and perch 
in particular are plenty. There are also wall-eyed pike, 
put in also by the Fish Commissioners, T presume. Thir- 
ty or forty years ago it was no trouble to go up there 
and get a good string of pike; but of late years very 
few are caught. The same may also be said of black 
bass and wall-eyed pike. I have, and many others have, 
quite a curiosity to know the cause of all of this change. • 
Of course the pike after being put in soon cleaned out 
'the trout; but what is depleting the ponds of all 
the other kinds of fish, except yellow perch and black 
bass? Some say they are fished to death; such is not 
the case, considering the area to be fished over; and 
then again, those that do fish do not get much but perch, 
occasionally a wall-eyed pike, a black bass, and once in a 
while a pike. An Inquirer. 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Love of Fishing." 
Nearly every one who fishes has at some time or 
another expressed his interest in or love of the sport; at 
least I imagine so, for I have heard many fishermen 
declare how fond they were of angling, and this love 
of fishing is usually measured by something to indicate 
the degree of intensity; as, for instance, when a man says 
he would rather fish than eat, which is usually a figure 
of speech rather than a fact when it comes to a test 
after omitting a single meal. Never have I heard any 
one declare that he loved fishing better than his life, 
but a certain playwright must be, as I thought up to a 
certain point, an enthusiastic angler, and perhaps he 
would go without two meals for the sake of fishing, if 
we can judge of his fondness in this field by what he 
causes two characters to do and say in one of his plays. 
The scene is in the cabaret of the '"Silver Trout" in 
France during the time of the French-German war. On 
the wall in a case hangs a mounted trout of i2lbs. 
weight, and two old fishermen are discussing the fish- 
ing of other days, and the capture of the particular fish 
on the wall. The German army is in possession of the 
town, and orders have been issued that no fishing will 
be permitted in the river which runs through the town, 
under penalty of death. The two old men become en- 
thusiastic over the thought of the sport they have had, 
and the longing to cast their flies on the river (for they 
are fly-fishers) otitruns their discretion. They under- 
stand fully that if they are discovered they will be shot, 
and in explicit language one asks the other if he is 
willing to risk his life for one night's fishing under a 
full moon; and the answer after due deliberation, as 
becomes a patient fisherman, is yes. They depart from 
the cabaret to engage in an evening's fishing, while the 
German soldiers are enjoying\ a night of festivity at 
the conveniently situated castle. The fishermen are cap- 
tured and brought before the commanding officer of 
the invading army, and the fly-book of one of the men 
contains memoran-da of pools, fords, rapids and shallows 
which prove to be of use to the invaders. The string of 
trout captured with the men bear mute testimony to 
their occupation and their devotion to it, but having 
met the lord of the castle during their fishing, a per- 
sonage whom the Germans are particularly anxious to 
lay hands on, they decline to answer any question which 
relates to the meeting, and are led out and shot in one, 
two, three order. 
What seems strange to me is that a playwright who 
makes his characters talk intelligentl}^ about fish and 
fishing, even to the correct Latin name of the fish, and 
who introduces a scene such as that at the "Silver 
Trout," does not devise a way to enable the devoted 
fishermen to escape the extreme penalty for having in- 
dulged in their favorite sport. The lord of the castle 
is lugged in by the heels anyway, and if the meeting 
had been omitted no one would have missed it or known 
anything about it from the front, and it would have 
been such a gracious act on the part of the officers of 
the army of occupation to have excused two old men 
superlatively devoted to fishing for having allowed their 
desires to run away with their judgment. I came away 
from the play, well acted and well mounted as it Avas, 
simply disgusted because those two kindly old fishermen 
Avere sacrificed when a fcAv strokes of a pen and a A^ery 
little ink would have saved them; and I finally changed 
my opinion and came to the conclusion that the author 
was not a simon pure angler, but perhaps just a pot 
fisherman. I do not Avish to be too severe in my criti- 
cism, but really the act of the two old fishermen in giA'- 
ing up their lives for a few small trout is as near real 
life as some other portions of the play; but I would 
not have kicked at a brutal rufiian, disguised as an 
army oflicer, becoming a tearful saint in three hours' 
time, nor at the strange vagaries of a Avoman* during 
the same period, if the author had not deliberately, and 
Avith malice aforethought, killed the simple old fisher- 
men. 
A little further down Broadway, at another playhouse, 
there is a play on the boards, and here too there is a 
fishing incident in one of the scenes. A bright-eyed, 
bare-legged urchin, cheerfully soiled and rumpled, ap- 
pears with crude fishing tackle, gentles in a bottle and 
ground bait in a box, evidently, for the scene is laid in 
England on one summer's day, and fishes in the Avater 
on the drop at the back of the stage. An unsavory gipsy, 
Avho looks as though he would cut a throat for a six- 
pence, gives the boy some ad\'ice about the fishing, and 
charges him finally to put back all fish under lib. 
weight. This may be considered a bit of pleasantry 
on the part of the ill-favored gipsy, but I choose to look 
upon it as sage and timely advise, and it then and there 
occurred to me that the stage might be made the vehicle 
for educating our fishermen to return small, under- 
sized fish, and to discourage the record breaker and 
fish hog. 
If any one Avill write a play on these lines, I Avould 
be glad to submit for his approval one scene showing 
the end of the man who kills fish to make a record or 
to have them photographed Avhen there is no possible 
chance to utilize them, and promise that the scene de- 
picted Avill be hot. 
Fish Planting under Difficulties. 
To one who plants fish to improve the fishing, to stock 
or restock overfished waters, the selfish attempts of 
others to thwart all good designs in this direction 
causes a feeling to arise Avhich cannot be expressed in 
print. The utter selfishness of some men is beyond com- 
prehension, and no punishment short of instant and 
violent death seems adequate to fit the crime. Here is 
an example: I planted some choice fish in a certain 
lake, and a 'bill was introduced and passed in the Leg- 
islature to close the streams tributary to the lake where 
the young fish were planted for a term of years, to en- 
able the fish to get a start and protect them Avhen they 
ran up the stream to spawn. For these purposes the 
stream was closed to all and CA^ery kind of fishing. The 
young fish, 'and they were landlocked salmon, did Avell 
in this stream, and finalhr ran down into the lake, where 
they eontitiued to grow, and everything gave promise 
of establishing the fish in the lake to furnish the best 
of fishing. When I expected the fish would run up 
the stream to spawn I told a game protector that the 
fish would be due in the stream about such a time, and 
I wished him to watch for them to see if they actually 
put in an appearance. 
It must be understood that at that time I had no 
idea that the fish would be molested on their spawning 
beds, for the sentiment of the community was in favor 
of game and fish protection, and the lawless of the re- 
gion in several instances have had a taste of the law 
for illegal fishing. The game protector was not to watch 
the stream, for when every one Avas apparently interested 
in establishing the fish it was not considered necessary; 
but the protector was selected because he was a safe 
man for the work, and would report to me exactly 
what he found. He did find that the salmon ran up 
the stream and prepared spawning beds, and at one 
place he counted about twenty fish, and he made occa- 
sional visits to this particular part of the stream with- 
out his visits being known. 
One day he reported to me that the salmon were gone, 
and there was evidence on the bank in the form of tracks 
that made him believe that the fish had been speared. 
The fish were not again seen where they had made 
their spaAvning beds, and from Avhat I can learn I fear 
the worst — that is, they had not spawned before they 
disappeared. If there is anything more contemptible 
than taking fish at such a time, I do not wish to know 
of it, and it is most discouraging to attempt to stock 
waters with choice fish under such circumstances. But 
this is but one of the many obstacles that are encoun- 
tered AvhsRi one tries to improve the fishing by planting 
with fish the waters that are fished out. People wonder 
Avhy the fishing does not improve in some streams that 
are perhaps planted annually with fry or older fish, 
but the people who do the Avondering are law-abiding 
and do not realize the constant war that is waged against 
the fish by all sorts of engines, from early spring as 
soon as the ice is out until after the spawning season 
in the autumn. The methods of the fish thief 'are 
secretive in the extreme, and it is only one out of many 
that is apprehended and punished for illegal fishing as 
to season or methods. Too often the sentiment of the 
community where the illegal methods are practiced is 
in a great measure responsible for them; not that the 
illegal fishing or the illegal engines are approved of, ^but 
because they are not disapproved of in a forcible man- 
ner. The people are simply passive in the matter, and 
the destruction goes on unchecked. Nothing in this 
Avorld so discourages illegal fishing or iflegal engines as 
a conviction in the courts and the imposition of a fine. 
This not only checks the actions in this line of the party 
of the first part, but it discourages his associates of same 
kidney. A. N. Cheney. 
My Reputation for Veracity ♦ 
From the North Carolina Presbyterian. 
Let me explain that I am a minister of the Gospel, 
and at the same time something of a sportsman. When 
my physician prescribed a rod and gun for my dyspepsia, 
I determined at once to take his prescription. I did not 
see anything inconsistent in the character of a minister 
and a sportsman. I could not see how fishing and hunt- 
ing could hurt either my reputation or my usefulness. 
But sad experience has convinced me that it is very dilfi- 
cuit for a fisherman to keep his reputation for A'cracity, 
even though he be a preacher. 
I solemnly assert that I never told a lie in my life about 
any of my fishing or hunting experiences. I have been 
scrupulously exact in my adherence to truth. And yet I 
have lost my reputation for A^eracity. I Avant to tell you 
how, as a warning to all fishermen, and especially to my 
brethren who think of going a-fishing. One of my pro- 
fessors of the6logy used to saj^ to his class in the semi- 
nary: "My young brethren, if you Avish to maintain your 
reputation for veracity, j'ou must not always tell the 
truth, but ahvays tell a probable truth." He spoke from 
experience. It is to the neglect of this wholesome advice 
that I OAve the first step of my doAvntall. Being de- 
barred by ray profession from the sportsman's privilege 
of drawing on his imagination, now and then, I have 
yielded to the temptation to tell some extraordinary 
truths. When the circle is gathered round the camp-fire 
at night, even a preacher does not like to be outdone. 
As he cannot invent, he must run the risk of telling some 
improbable truths. T thought my reputation would 
stand the strain. So it did, for awhile." But I had too 
many improbable experiences. 
For example. I was fishing one hot day in July in a 
lake. My companions had gone off with the boat, and 
had left me on a log near the outlet of the lake, which 
Avas choked Avith drift. My minnows Avere all gone, and 
I had no flies. I put a spoon troll on my line, leaving 
the float on. Then I let the current carry it down to the 
drift and drew it along a log. At about the third cast 
it caught on something. At first I thought it was a snag. 
But presently the snag Avoke up, and then for about fif- 
teen minutes I had the liveliest tussle I ever had in my 
life Avith some unseen monster. At last I landed him, 
and it proved to be a big black buffalo,* weighing nine 
and a half pounds. Now this is an improbable story, 
because it is a well-known fact that a buffalo never 
strikes at a troll. W^hen I told the story in town it was 
received with an incredulous guffaw. One good old 
doctor, himself a sportsman, Avhen he heard it, said, 
"Well, that just shoAvs that even a preacher can't help 
telling a lie about his fish." I appealed to my compan- 
ions who had seen the fish; but unfortunately they had 
not seen me catch it; besides for some reason their tes- 
timony Avas supposed to weaken my case. And, to 
crown all, one of them Avent down there about a Aveek 
afterward and reported that he had caught another buf- 
falo on a troll in the same place. That was too much. 
Let me explain that I had hooked my fish in the gill. He 
was in the way, and the troll had caught him by accident. 
When once my doAvnfall had begun it was assisted by 
others. I had a friend, a lawyer, a sportsman, and with 
some talents for fiction. He used to say that the only 
* To preserve some shreds of our correspondent's reputation, 
■we explain that "buffalo" is not the wild animal of the Western 
plains, but a species of fish. — Ed, 
