428 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 28, 1898. 
depends upon the "action" of the rod, and by this is 
meant its "backbone," or stiffness. Weight in a rod 
means little. Balance, in connection with weight, means 
more; and tbig leads to another subject. 
Balance of Rods. 
Suppose an 8oz. rod, without reel, has most of its 
weight in the butt and balances on the finger a. short 
distance from the reel-plate; and another rod of the same 
actual weight, on the scales, is top heavy and its center 
of gravity is nearer the middle. The action of the two 
will differ greatly, and if the rods are put together, 
■'limbered," and placed in your hands you will say that 
the top-heavy rod will weigh several ounces more than the 
other, yet the scales will show your error. That is what 
the late William Mitchell, the most famous of makers of 
wooden rods in America, called "the leverage of a rod." 
I do not remember to have seen this written up, but my 
memory has a blue mould over it, yet I Avell remember 
hearing Mr. Mitchell say to me: "The weight of a rod 
tells nothing about it but its avoirdupois; it's the over- 
hang, the leverage, that tells on the arm." 
Anxious to hear the veteran rod-maker talk, he must 
have been about eighty then, when we were holding 
tournaments in Central Park, in the Bos, I said, as secre- 
tary of the National Rod and Reel Association: "Mr. 
Mitchell, we must make our rules for entries in the dif- 
ferent classes according to the weight of rods, as shown 
by the scales, there seems to be no other way of classify- 
ing rods." 
The great rod-maker t®ok a 6oz. rod and' laid it on 
the scales. Said he: "I can take an ounce out of that 
butt and the rod will not be well balanced, but with an 
extra ounce in the reel it will come right again. Some 
of these so-called light rods are not lighter than others 
except in the butt, and the balance is restored by a heavy 
reel." , . , . . 
As men do not agree on any one subject, and it is well 
that they do not, I cannot indorse all that the master 
rod-maker said. The very light rod of to-day has a 
butt piece which is distinct from the old-fashioned first 
joint, so far as there is no taper to meet the "grip" of the 
rod. The modern light rod has a spring, under heavy 
strain, down almost to the hand. There was little 
spring in the rod oi twenty years ago, until the second 
joint was reached. ... 
If there ie a trout rod which will bend so that its tip 
beats "triple bob majors" on the angler's knuckles as he 
presents the butt to the fish, I don't know it. Pictures 
have been made of such a limber-go-shiftless kind of a 
rod, and stories have been told of the quivering tip tap- 
ping the knuckles, but if there is such a rod it will not 
cast a fly to any decent angling distance, say 40ft., and it 
• a rod will not do that I would prefer a hand line and sink- 
er in bovhood style. Light tackle and delicate tackle 
is' desirable, but there is a limit to its usefulness, too 
much must not be sacrificed to these qualities. 1 he ex- 
cessively limber rod is slow to strike, and the trout may 
have discovered the fraud of steel and feather and ejected 
it, if possible, before the limber "double-action" rod can 
strike. 
A Double- Action Rod. 
In a bundle of old letters marked "rods" there is one 
which asks "What is meant by a double-action rod? 
As this angler did not know the meaning of the term 
it is fair to presume that there are others. We will 
consider the question. The original alder or cane pole 
had a quality of stiffness which responded to the wishes 
of the angler. When he gave it a jerk over his shoulder 
the whole outfit followed the impulse and the fish knew 
that it had received a call. Some genius evolved the 
thin "ever Hm-ber" rod, which is so weak in the second 
joint that when the angler strikes with a double-action 
rod the middle obeys his hand, but the tip dips down 
and actually gives line. Some men get used to having 
a rod do the^ontrary thing, but I have no desire to 
get into that way. Such rods are made and used, but 
why they are used is a question. Old Nessmuk de- 
scribed one as having "a kick in the middle," and that s 
about right. Such a rod is useless to me, and it seems 
that to use it successfully one should give the thing a 
jerk forward if he wishes to strike. When a cast is made 
with one of these invertebrate rods the tip wobbles 
round and round in the circumambient air like a bob-tailed 
pussy cat after the space where the tail was. From these 
remarks it might be inferred that my taste has not been 
educated to the point of enjoying a double-action rod. 
But if a lover of that slirnsv rod will show its superior- 
ity he may find a convert, but he will work hard if he 
gets him. ' _ *.. j 
More afcout Hooks. 
As this article is a sort of "Answers to Correspon- 
dents" screed, I will say to the man from Clyde, N. Y : 
Go to any good tackle dealer and ask to see the turned- 
down eye Pennell hook. The name should tell its char- 
acter without asking to have it figured. It is difterent 
with A Young Duffer, as he calls himself, who asks 
why I prefer sproat hooks. This is a short question 
that would require a very long answer if ah details were 
gone into, but in a short article we must boil dowii. 
The sproat is a flat hook, i. e., has no side bend. Space 
forbids entering into this question, but I do not care 
for the side bend of the sneck and other hooks. To rne 
this seems a useless point of weakness, which might 
twist the hook to the breaking point without any cor- 
responding advantage. , , , , , , 
Aa-ain, the sproat has such a bend that when placed 
point down on a piece of soft wood the point will draw 
in deeply; this is central draft. Consider this: If all 
men agreed on all things this worid would be a horrible 
place Thousands of good anglers, many better than 
the writer, prefer other hooks— or the other hooks would 
not be made. This was well expressed by an old Ojib- 
wa, who said: "Glad all men not eyes alike, for den dey 
all 'want my squaw." ^ , , , 
I like the round bend of the Aberdeen Carhsle, but 
not the same hook when given a side bend and called 
Carlisle Kirby. For salt-water fishing for blackfish and 
sea bass the Hemming: and Virginia hooks, with their 
heavy wire and side bend, %vill answer every purpose, 
but with a light wire I have yet to learn the use of a 
side bend, and until I do learn its utility I will continue 
to ^se a flat hook for all fresh-vater fishing. 
The "spring steel Pennell Limerick" with the turn- 
down eye is a candidate for favor, and those which I 
have used have given satisfaction, and this season I 
have ordered more. This turning down of the eye is 
an excellent feature, whether for gut or gimp; it shifts 
the draft and makes the hook draw in. This cannot 
be explained here, but the angler can easily test it for 
himself by taking an old style Limerick hook and a 
turn-down eye Limerick, and by attaching lines to them 
can see how they draw into a board, table-cloth or other 
material, when he pulls the liook, back up, toward him. 
That is the test of the correct bend of a hook and the angle 
at Avhidi its point is set. Some angler may know why 
the points of some hooks are twisted sidcAvays, but I do 
not. Therefore I prefer a flat sproat hook. 
^ About Creels. 
Johnny Gardner, who says 'he is twelve years old and 
lives on the Rappahannock River, Va., says, among 
other things: "Pap bought me a new fish pole and a 
lot of other things for fishing for our chub, or black bass, 
as you call them. Among the rest was a basket to put 
fish in, an' it had straps on it to go over the shoulder, an' 
1 don't know how to work it. The thing looks all 
right, an' Pap says it is the proper thing to bring fish 
in. He takes Forest and Stream, but he skims it 
over for the shooting, while I read it all. Say, how is 
this thing slung?" 
Johnny, T don't know how it is to be slung, because 
there are different methods of slinging creels, and what 
you call a "basket" is a creel. There is only one place 
for a creel, and that is on the left hip of the angler. He 
reels in his fish, takes it in his left hand and removes 
the hook with his right, and then drops the fish into the 
hole of the creel. 
This is after he has changed the landing net from his 
left to his right hand and laid the rod aside. 
A wicker creel is neat when it is bought. Fish sHme 
is not neat and is hard to remove. Therefore dry your 
fish with plant leaves and line your creel with grass or 
leaves, which will not only keep the fish moist and fresh, 
but will protect your creel. The best form of sling 
is a web to go over the left shoulder, while a strap from 
the back passes under the right arm and crosses the 
breast to snap into a ring. This throws the whole 
weight on the left shoulder and leaves the right arm free. 
Rubber Baits. 
There are a lot of rubber frogs, crickets, dobsons and 
perhaps other things. I see them in the tackle shops, 
and that is as far as I care to know them. The shops 
have many useless things to sell to those who wish to 
buy them. To G. A. 1 will sky let these things alone. 
If j^ou want to use frogs and crickets for bait get the 
real thing. The moment a fish gets one of these things 
in its mouth it knows whether it is real or a fraud, and 
if a fraud will eject it if possible. Under no circum- 
stances would a fish ever swallow a rubber bait. A 
rubber bait is a double fraud — one on the fish and one 
on the angler. Naturally a fish may be occasionally 
taken with a rubber bait, but they are things which the 
angler can afford to leave in the shops. 
Disgorgers. 
In bait-fishing for pike and other fishes, which are 
liable to be hooked down in the stomach, a disgorger is 
a handy thing to have around. It saves disfiguring a 
fish by cutting into its abdomen to release a hook, and 
most anglers like to show their catch in good shape. 
The disgorger slides along the line and hook, and en- 
gaging the latter in its curve brings a direct pressure 
on the point of the hook and afterward protects the 
point from entering the fish as the hook comes up 
through the throat and mouth. Bait-fishers will find a 
disgorger to be a useful tool. 
There is another useful tool which goes with me in 
my fly-book, which is not on the market. It is a small 
3in. ivory "marlinspike," as a sailor would >call it, and 
it was made and given to me by the late Ira Wood. I 
had picked at knots in lines and in leaders with the 
sharp point of a penknife, to the detriment of lines and 
leaders, when Ira gave me this delicate, round-pointed 
bit of ivory,' and I never fish without it. It will work 
into a knot without hurting the most delicate gut, and 
every time I use it the memory of Ira Wood conies up, 
and "I can hear him say: "Stop picking your leader 
into rags and use this. There! now the knot is un- 
tangled and your leader is as good as ever. No; keep 
it as a remembrance." 
This is the way it has been remembered, and among 
the useful things which an angler, whether a fly or bait- 
fisher, may add to his kit is one of Ira Wood's mar- 
linspikes, if some dealer will put them on the market. 
tablished field stations and laboratories for systematic 
investigation of the fresh and salt-water fauna, flora, 
etc., in charge of skilled and competent men. 
It is expected that many of the persons engaged in 
this work will be in attendance at the meeting, and will 
read papers relating to the work in which they have been 
engaged, thus contributing to the interest of the sessions 
by their presence and participation in the debates on 
the questions presented. 
Herschel Whitaker, Se.c'y. 
T2 Moffat Builtong, Detroit, Mich, 
American Fisheries Society. 
The twenty-seventh annual meeting of the American 
Fisheries Society will be held at Omaha, Neb., July 
20-22. This meeting will be the first held by the Society 
beyond Chicago, and it is expected there will be a large 
attendance, from the further West, of those who have 
heretofore been unable to attend on account of the re- 
moteness of the place of meeting. 
By that time the Trans-Mississippi Exposition will be 
fully opened and at its best, and its attractions will give 
an added interest to the meeting of the Society. The 
exhibits relating to fish, the fisheries and fishculture 
promise to be full and complete in all details, affording 
object lessons for study, as to history, methods and 
progress in all branches. 
At the last meeting it was decided to prepare and 
issue to members and others interested in the objects 
of the Society an advance programme of the papers 
to be read at the coming meeting, and it is hoped this 
programme will be issued not later than the middle 
of June. 
In the last few years a deep and growing interest has 
been manifested in the value of scientific investigation 
and study of the manifold questions relating to the fish- 
eries and fishculture, and much valuable knowledge has 
been gained through such inquiry. Investigators and 
students have been carrying on this work independent 
of State or Governmental aid. Several States have es- 
Fishing Up and Down the Potomac* 
High Island. 
About five miles above the Aqueduct Bridge in old 
Georgetown the Feeder Dam across the Potomac, on 
the site of what was once part of the Little Falls, sweeps 
in a graceful curve through a broad valley, and the 
waters tumble over the heavy rip-rap for its entire 
length. The bubbles sweep down and die in a broad pool 
below, which is interspersed with many little islands and 
vveed patches, or grass puds, as they are called in the 
tide water country. A mile and a half below, the wide 
pool suddenly 'narrows to a gorge, and the Little Falls 
proper drops its waters down to meet the tide with a 
rush. They have reached the channel of the Lower Po- 
tomac, the head of navigation, the end of the spawning 
run for the anadronious fishes. Here these are some- 
times netted, sometimes snagged, and fished for every 
season with nook and line by those who enjoy catching 
the spring run. 
This last month has probably fiitnished tons of white 
perch, taken with hand lines from this point to George- 
town. Some remarkable catches have been made both 
in number and weight. Fortunately under such condi- 
tions these fish do not take the fly, and we are spared 
a temptation which has seduced better men. They are 
usually caught in from 10 to 30ft. of water and best 
with small minnows. 
Tide water fish are supposed to need no protection 
from anglers, since they are wanderers, and would be 
lost in any event, but a spawning fish is not fair game. 
The Feeder or branch, which runs from the river into 
the canal, is not necessary now, as it was in the days 
when the canal crossed the Potomac over the Aqueduct 
Bridge and run to Alexandria, with its locks, its high 
bridge across Four-Mile Run, with two banks to main- 
tain through a soft country, and its consequent numer- 
ous leaks and wastes. Now with only a single level to 
the terminus at Georgetown, the Feeder is hardly re- 
quired, but still remains. 
Where it leaves the river for the canal it cuts off an 
island, whose only elevation is at this point, and gives it 
the name. The place is easily reached by electric car 
and has visitors every day of the long summer. The 
Feeder itself furnishes many bass to minnows, and most 
days of the season has a float or two somewhere on its 
short course. The Feeder stop lock, intended only to 
regulate the flow of water, is a gate within a couple of 
hundred yards of its junction Avitli the canal, and is a 
favorite spot with some; it is shady and quiet, and less 
liable to interruption by wandering picnickers than the 
head of the Feeder, and a good many good fish are 
picked up here with bait. We have done little in the 
Feeder with the fly. When the river is muddy so is 
the Feeder, and when the latter is clear it is a deep, nar- 
row channel, with overhanging trees for most of its 
length, and there are so many better places in the river 
that we have wasted few hours with it. There is a 
swampy, shallow spot at one point in its length nearly 
midway, where we have raised a few bass, but mostly 
we do not count it as part of our private preserve. 
The long, inclined face of the dam is a first rate place 
for fly-casting, either into the turbulent water below or 
the quiet pool above, but it is somewhat too exposed- for 
deadly havoc, and the fish caught here with the fly cost 
many an hour's casting per pound. 
There are many cozy nooks about High Island, and 
that in midstream crossed by the dam, where a float 
fisher may have a pleasant afternoon and usually catch 
some bass when the watef is not too niuddy. The very 
best fishing, however, to be found in this neighborhood 
is about the narrow channels and numerous green puds 
of the lower pool. These can be reached only by the 
enthusiastic wader, as no boat is kept here. The difficul- 
ty of fishing the water protects the fish, and by far the 
best baskets here have been secured by those energetic 
enough to wade far and strong, and fortunate enough 
to find the water right.. 
For the wader in northern waters warmer clothing 
may be necessary than here, though anywhere nothing is 
safe but wool, and our outfit would probably be open 
to criticism and perhaps uncomfortable in some locali- 
ties, but for this place we find the most convenient togs 
to be a combination suit. Bicycle trousers and golf 
hose; lawn tennis shoes (the fiftj'-cent cloth top sort, 
with corrugated rubber sole, called sneaks) ; a short, 
thin canvas shooting coat, all pockets; an outing shirt, 
and a light canvas yachting cap. That's borrowing 
from everybody, but each item has its advantages, and 
all it lacks of being the angler's distinctive costume is 
that it isn't generally worn. 
The shoes are light, hold no water, dry quickly, stick 
to the rocks till they wear slick, are inexpensive, com- 
fortable and nothing like so noisy on the rocks, where 
the bass hide, as the hob-nailed shoes usually worn, to 
say nothing of the weight of the latter in warm weather, 
or the discomfort of leather drying on the feet. The 
knee breeches and hose are infinitely more comfortable 
than long trousers, and get through the water easier, 
especially if one gets clean overboard, as sometimes 
happens, even to the careful. The pocket-coat, like good 
wine, "needs no bush." The cap is light, ventilated, 
of just the shape to hold random casts, with visor enough 
for the eyes, and best of all beats anything but a golf 
cap in the bushes, where a straAv or felt hat is a constant 
source of vexation and delay. A broad brim in the 
underbrush along the bank of a Southern stream, and 
some pools must be gone round, is a menace to that con- 
tented spirit every fisher is supposed to cultivate, an^ 
