S90 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 14, i8g8. 
principles can be laid down; the novice must take them 
and by practice work out the details for himself. 
It is essential that in casting the minnow the reel 
should be a free-running one; a click or drag is worse 
than useless; the only impediment that the reel should 
meet is the intelligent action of the thumb, which should 
be guided by the eye of the angler, which, after direct- 
ing the flight of the minnow, should be concentrated 
on the action of the reel. If the reel is giving only as 
much line as the flight of the minnow demands it is well, 
but a well-oiled multiplier is apt to exceed its duty, and 
its zeal will overrun and take up line the other way, 
which we know as back lashing, and suddenly the cast 
is stopped. The point on which the angler must con- 
centrate his attention is his thumb, until the minnow 
lands upon the water near the spot where it was aimed. 
No amount of written or oral instruction will make a 
man expert at this, because it requires a nice personal 
judgment which nothing but experience can supply. To 
impress this upon the beginner in this kind of bait cast- 
ing, or in fly-casting, let us glance at the variovts books 
which purport to teach the playing of musical instru- 
ments "without a master," They telj all tliat an expert 
can tell, but the pupil must work in order to profit 
by the rules and become expert. I do not mean that 
it is as difficult to learn to cast a bait or a fly from the 
rules_ as it is to become a musician from books, but use 
the comparison merely to show how difficult it is to put 
what one knows on paper, and how impossible it is for 
a novice to become an expert without practice. 
The casting of the minnow is the main thing. By 
no other method than the one which has been described 
can a man cast a half ounce minnow looft., and experts 
consider that a short cast, and that is what makes this 
form of bait casting an art. After the minnow is cast it 
is worked toward the caster by the rod, to give it the 
semblance of a living fish, and the reel recovers the line. 
Fly-Fishing. 
Here we return to the trout rod and the click reel, 
and while we admire the deftness of the minnow caster 
and accord him a high place among angling experts, we 
old fly-fishers, who it may be figuratively said form 
the Old Guard around the tomb of Charles Cotton, 
think that the capture of one fish Avith the artificial fly 
is more of an event than several taken in any other way. 
Just as Cotton failed to convert Iz. Wa. from bait to 
fly, i. e., to thoroughly convert him, so some of the old 
fly-fishers of to-day look respectfully at the scientific 
bait casters, and, paraphrasing the comment on the 
charge of Cardigan's Light Brigade at Balaklava, which 
Tennyson has made immortal, say: "It is magnificent, 
but it is not [war] fly-fishing," 
There is nothing to be said about casting the fly for 
black bass that has not been said in these articles about 
trout, except that the flies should be larger and more 
showy. The choice is large because anglers have success 
with a particular fly, or combination of flies, on certain 
waters, or at certain times. Most trout flies are good 
bass flies, but they should be allowed to sink and then 
be brought in by short jerks. Personally I like flies 
which have yellow in them, but every angler has his fa- 
vorites, and as these have proved to be good killers in 
his experience he has a right to extol them. Mr. Orvis 
sent me a dozen bass flies a dozen years ago, which bore 
my name, and I kindly gave them to angling friends, 
but I have never heard that even one simple-minded bass 
was fooled into the belief that the drab-colored bit of 
feather was good to eat, and my friends have been kind 
in not mentioning the subject. 
In a lake where both species exist, the big-mouth is 
the fish that the fly-fisher may expect to be a more fre- 
quent riser to the surface for an artificial lure. Whether 
his brother is more discriminating, or whether it gen- 
erally seeks its food further, below the surface, is a 
thing which ■«.'e do not know. At times both species 
rise freely to the fly and at others they look at it with 
indifference. A good assortment of flies for the bass 
fisher lo trie coachman, golden dustman, oriole, Mon- 
treal, professor, red ibis, and white miller; while of the 
hackles he will find the brown, ginger and red to be 
useful. 
New England Waters, 
Boston, May 9. — The Rangeleys are well cleared of 
ice, and what seems like a good fishing season has be- 
gun. Rangeley Lake was the first to open, and Dr. 
Heber Bishop, of Boston, was one of the first sportsmen 
to arrive. With a friend, Mr. C. C. Williams, of Bos- 
ton, he was in Farmington, in fact, when the news of 
the clearing of the lake came. They have been on a trip 
to Chain of Ponds, where they found excellent fishing. 
Wednesday they took eight trout, the four larger weigh- 
ing SYz, 7%, 6l4 and slbs. respectively. The first trout 
for the season on the fly was taken at the head of Round 
Pond by Dr. Bishop. They found 2ft. of snow in many 
places near Seven Ponds. They will doubtless try the 
salmon at Rangeley Lake. 
Fishing began in good earnest at the Upper Dam 
Thursday. Archie Poor and Cuvier Small, both of An- 
dover, caught about 3olbs. of trout just above the open 
gate at the dam. From the apron below the dam they 
also took several trout. There were one or two trout of 
about 4lbs. in the lot. W. K. Moody took five trout 
above the dam and one below, the united weight of 
which was about Slbs, Fishing the next day at Mill 
Brook, head of Richardson Lake, he took only one trout. 
That weighed i^^lbs. The curious feature of this trout 
was the fact that in removing him from the hook he dis- 
gorged thirteen smelt, by actual count, that he had 
swallowed. Many of these little smelt are to be seen 
floating on the waters of the Rangeley lakes this spring, 
the same as last. Something has nearly or quite killed 
them, and the trout are simply gorging upon them. 
Supt. 0. B. Brown, of the Berlin Mills Co., fished at 
the Upper Dam Thursday, though without great success. 
At Bemis the fishing has started in good earnest. Sat- 
urday morning Capt. F. C. Barker saw the minnows and 
trout jumping in the bay in front of the camps for the 
first time since the departure of the ice. He called the 
attention of a couple of guides, and they soon had two 
fine trout. The sportsmen — there were already stopping 
there W. L, Hinds, Walter Reese and George H. Gro- 
ton, of Portland; A. D. Barker, C. I. Barker, Ezra H. 
White, and George Drew, 6f Lewiston; and Charles E. 
Guild and D. E. Adams, of Boston — were notified, and 
part of them came out, though still at breakfast. Mr, 
Guild and Mr. Adams made a fine catch, their string 
weighing T^^lbs., including one trout of 4^1bs. weight. 
The Lewiston party made a good catch, as well as some 
of the other guests there, including Frank G. Emery, 
of Portland, and E. R. Leonard and wife, of New Bed- 
ford; yet the honor of being high line for the day fell 
to a lady. Mrs. R. E. Taylor, wife of Station Agent Tay- 
lor, took a trout that turned the scales at 4^1bs., "quick 
weight.'' Immediately she received the congratulations 
of the sportsmen, and later of the management of the 
Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lake Railroad. She took 
the handsome fish entirely alone. 
Fish Commissioner Wentworth writes R. O. Harding 
that there is "big fishing at Sunapee Lake," New Hamp- 
sliire. A Mr. Breck, of Claremont, has taken a salmon 
weighing i4541bs. Eight salmon in one day were taken 
from the wharves at Blodgett's Landing, weighing from 
Slbs. up to I4^1bs. A great many trout were also taken. 
Mr. J. A. Wade, of Cambridge, writes from Newfound 
Lake that Tuesday morning William Hj^de, of Salem, 
took a salmon of lolbs. and a trout of slbs. Tuesday 
evening Dr. Webber caught two salmon of 4 and Slbs. 
Wednesda}^ morning Mr. Wade himself caught a 7 and 
an S-J^lbs. salmon. These fish were all taken at the 
head of the lake, near Llebron. J. E. Devlin, with a 
friend, and E. H. Wakefield, Jr., left for Newfound Sat- 
urday. Hon. E. D. Hayden and wife left for Newfound 
Thursday. A. F. Gotthold went Friday. 
Commissioner Stanley writes from Lake Auburn that 
he saw lots of fish, but they would not bite. The weather 
is very cold, with easterly winds, which accounts for poor 
fishing. Mr. Hazeltine and Mr. Rankins, of Belfast, 
have taken two trout irom Swan Lake, of 3 and slbs. 
weight. 
Good luck continues to be reported at Newfound Lake. 
Among the many catches may be noted those by the 
guests at Grove Hill Farm, East Hebron; W. H. Grit- 
fin, a loj^lb. trout; G. G. Fellows, a 4lb. salmon. Other 
guests at J. W. Sanborn's have caught more or less fish, 
including Varnum Waugh, Boston; P. C. Hancock, 
Franklin Falls, N. H.; J. L. Byrne, Melrose, Mass.; 
Frank E. Foss and Mrs. Foss, C. A. Blake and Mrs. 
Blake, Hill, N. H. Tuesday, Albert F. Gate caught a 
151b. trout; C. A. Gale, islb. trout; A. T. Chase and 
F. H. Daniels, trout of 10 and I2lbs. 
From Bristol are reported a number of catches, in- 
cluding a trout of i6j^lbs., on Monday, by C. E. Rounds. 
The fish is described at 33in. long and very symmetrical 
in form. Late last week the same fisherman took two 
salmon of 4 and 4>^lbs. respectively. George E. Fowler 
and Henry Davis have taken trout weighing lolbs. each. 
George pf. FoAvler has caught four trout weighing W/z, 
iiYz, 4 and lolbs. A day or two after he took a trout 
Aveighing Slbs. John Marston has taken three trout of 
aVa, aY and loj^lbs. Aveight. Henry O. Page has a rec- 
ord of two trout of loYz and iilbs. weight; George H. 
Hartwell, a salmon of 4lbs.; George H. Greeley, two 
salmon of 61bs. and Slbs.; Mr. Adams, tAA'O trout; C. H. 
Fox and wife, and Miss Lilla Sargent, three salmon of 
3, 4 and slbs., and tAvo trout of 9 and lolbs. Hon. F. 
D. Currier and Hon, H. M. Cheney have taken two 
trout of zY and I3lbs., and tAvo salmon of 4^ and Sj/^lbs. 
At East Hebron the fishermen have had good luck in 
many instances, including H. E. Mills, three salmon of 
S, and 4^1bs.; Charles Mills, a salmon of 4lbs. and 
a trout of 7lbs.; H. W. Paye, Robert Leggett, S. Barton, 
H. K. Armstrong, C. W. Gosse and E. Messenger have 
all been fishing, Avith more or less success, from Amasa 
Highland's plaice. Special. 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Tfotit Fishing. 
A TRIEND who Avas fishing on Long Islahd on the 
first day of tlie open season made a cast over a pond, 
and before his flies struck the water two trout jumped 
at them, and both Avere hooked in the air and afterAvard 
netted. Curious, things are continually happening to the 
fisherman, and oftentimes they illustrate that true fish 
stories are .stranger than fish stories of fancy. 
While a guest of the Camp-Fire Club in New York 
city at dinner one of the speakers told of his experience 
at a club in Canada, and without mentioning the club he 
described the place where he fished so clearly that I rec- 
ognized the spot as the outlet of Wayagamack Lake on 
the preserve of the St. Maurice Club, and later when I 
questioned him about it he said that I had named the 
place. He Avas fishing in the outlet above the dam, 
and saw a big trout in the stream, but it Avould not 
rise to his flies, so he removed his stretcher fly and put 
on a big hook and baited it Avith a minnow. DraAving 
this minnow-baited hook through the pool, the big trout 
seized it and directly after another trout took the fly 
above, and he had a pair of trout hooked in a space 
that Avas circumscribed. As the fish took refuge under 
a log and sulked he told his guide to \A'alk out on the 
log and draAV gently on the leader to stir the fish up, 
instead of Avhich the guide took the leader in hand, and 
Avith a jerk parted it above the upper trout, and down 
stream the two fish went, yoked together with the re- 
mainder of the leader. 
The next day another member of the club, fishing with 
flies in the same pool, hooked the big trout Avith the 
bait hook in his throat and a piece of the leader hanging 
from his mouth, and soon after hooked the other trout 
of the escaped pair with the fly and the rest of the broken 
leader in his mouth. The larger of the two trout 
Aveighed 6>^lbs. The trout had parted the bit of leader 
which held them together after going below the dam, 
and had returned to the pool above, and the larger fish 
had taken a fly which he had previously spurned. 
The opening of the brook trout season in New York 
has had no charms for me for a number of years past. 
There was a time when I fished on the opening day, m 
snoAV or hail or rain, and felt perfectly satisfied to return 
home at night wet and tired, with no fish, or Avith fish 
taken with bait, and that came out of the water like 
so many suckers, and, in fact, that took the bait on the 
bottom exactly as though they were suckers. As a rule 
too the trout were poor, ill-conditioned, slimy things 
that gave no more pleasure in the eating than they did' 
in the catching. Consequently I long ago gave up 
observing the opening day, and have been content to 
wait until the trout had hadi a run on the gravel and sand 
and cleaned themselves of slime, and had eaten of in- 
sect food and put on fleshj and were ready to take the 
artificial fly. 
Opening Day in New Jersey. 
This year I was fortunate enough to open the trout 
season in two States on the first day of the season in 
each State. I was invited by a friend to fish in New 
Jersey on April i, and the invitation came to me in 
such a Avay that I would not haA'e declined it if the snoAv 
had been 7ft. deep and the streams frozen over, for Avhen 
a friend invites me to fish a preserved stream such as I 
did fish I mark the occasion as one to be treasured in. 
memory even if fish are absent. There Avas snow and 
there Avas ice and rain too; but there was sunshine also, 
in great, solid chunks that Avarmed the fisherman so that 
the snow did not count when it came, particularly as 
Ave Avere under cover; and furthermore it is not all of 
fishing to catch and kill fish, as some Avise man has re- 
marked, and pleasant companionship is often more en* 
joyable than pulHng fish out of the water against their 
will. Before the Avaters are warmed and insect food 
hatched out trout seem to come from the Avater under 
protest. Later, when food is on the surface, when fruit 
trees are in blossom, Avhen the sky is blue and the air is 
soft and warm, trout rise with a dash as though they 
delighted in being taken from the water and placed on 
a bed of fresh green ferns in a trout creel. 
For ECA^eral days up to and including the last day of 
March the Aveather had been so warm there Avas prom- 
ise of early fishing; but the ist of April in New Jersey 
was cold, the 2d was colder, and the 3d was coldest. 
The superlative means that the ice wotild form on the 
line and make Httle balls at the guide rings, and the 
wind Avould blow through your outer and inner clothes 
and your flesh and chill your spinal column, and yet I 
ncA^er enjoyed fishing any more than I did on those days. 
When one gets on a trout stream for the first time in 
the spring, if one is a real lover of fishing, the Aveather 
does not count for much, and the fish do not count for 
everything, for there is an indescribable pleasure in be- 
ing out Avhere the tender green is struggling to shoAv 
itself and where tlie Avater murmurs things Avhich only 
the fisherman understands, and at AAdiich his heart re- 
joices. 
The first stream to be fished on the ist Avas not large, 
and it was overgrown with alders in places, and my 
hook Avas baited with a lowly worm, and it soon pro- 
duced a trout which furnished me with a better bait-^its- 
OAvn belly fin. My friend and host is an artist in taking 
trout Avith the belly fin, and the way he will slide that 
fin doAvn stream, under banks and overhanging trees 
and brush, using the Spey cast occasionally to throw 
the fin at almost right angles across the current into 
some nook that could not otherwise be explored, shoA\'s 
that it required j^ears of practice to become expert in 
this particular mode of fishing. There are tAvo flies 
made to represent the belly fin of a trout — ^the Parma- 
chenee Belle and the fin fly designed by Mr. Orvis; 
and to use the belly fin well requires more skill than to 
cast a fly, if every portion of the stream is to be fished 
thoroughly withqttt J-ojsitig a score or so oi hooks and 
leaders. 
Once in a Avhile a troitt Avould come for the fin Avith a 
snap, but most of those taken on the first day were in- 
clined to be slow until the stream widened and ran 
through meadows, and there they would doubtless have 
taken the fly in many instances, but tAVO score of trout 
were all that could be disposed of, and they were creeled 
in time to return to the house Avhile the sun Avas still 
high in the western sky, 
Zebra Trout. 
The next day I was to enjoy a new experience, for 
we fished a larger stream in which a cross-bred trout 
had been planted. In England these fish are called zebra 
trout, and are a cross betAveen our common brook trout 
and the broAvn trout. They are mules, but in Europe they 
are crossed and planted annually in some waters simply 
for the fine fishing they afford. They rise to the fly earlier 
in the season than the native trout, and they make a bet- 
ter fight because when hooked, and in taking the hook, 
they come out of the water. 
Perhaps it will be' as Avell for me to explain that when 
I say that the cross between the broAvn trout and native 
brook trout is a mule, that it does not breed, I have refer- 
ence to experiments made at the hatching stations of the 
Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission of Ncav York. 
Males have been found with milk, but no females with 
eggs. 
In Europe the hybrid is called zebra, and leopard 
trout, the latter being a cross between the Loch 
Leven and our natiA^e brook trout. What is called a 
struan hybrid, that is a cross betAveen our trout {fonti- 
nalis) and the Scotch char (S. strimiensis) , will breed, 
both being chars; but the cross betAveen trout (Sahno) 
and char (SalveUmis) Avill not, in such experiments as 
have been made in this State of Avhich I have knoAvledge, 
although Day has, I think, recorded that a cross between 
American brook trout and Loch Leven trout has proven 
fertile; but as I recall the experiments at HoAvietOAvn 
Avithout looking them up, the hybrids Avere old, weakly, 
and many misshapen monstrosities among them, so that 
comparatively fcAv of the fry survived. 
The zebra trout that we caught in New Jersey wdre 
beautiful fish, and they came to the fly witli a rush and 
dash that Avas satisfying to the angler. On the table 
some of them compared favorably Avith the native brook 
trout, but as a rule their flesh Avas light-colored, and 
some AA^ere soft and tasteless; but I hope to try them 
again Avith fly and on the table, the latter under more 
favorable conditions. Certainly one cannot ask for a more 
game trout than the zebra; they are longer and more 
slim than a brook trout, and if their fighting qualities 
improve Avith warmer Avater and greater amount of food 
I shall not Avonder that the anglers of Great Britam cul- 
tivate them for fishing. 
