FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 20, 1899. 
good fishing for ouananiche around the shores of the 
lake and also in the estuaries of the southern rivers dur- 
ing the fourth week of this month. It is too early as yet 
to speculate upon the opening of the season in the Grande 
Discharge, because it will depend largely upon the 
amount of rain that falls between this time and the sec- 
ond week of June, and the period at which the spring 
floods of the lake subside. 
The unusually high waters expected this spring in con- 
sequence of the sudden appearance of hot weather and 
the large amount of snow in the woods are hailed with 
considerable satisfaction by salmon fishermen, many of 
whose rivers were spoile'd last year by the late runnmg 
of logs. This year everything promises well for an eariy 
and successful running of logs, and lumberers and anglers 
are both happj' in consequence. 
E. T. D. Chambers. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Western Trout Season* 
Chicago, 111., Ma;y 12. — Our trout season is now well 
under way, and withm the past week has been turning out 
a great success. The spring has been very late in the 
pine woods country, as it has at this latitude, later in 
upper Wisconsin than in the Michigan south peninsula. 
Ten days ago a series of heavy rains brought the angling 
industry to an end in Wisconsin, but for four days past 
the weather has been beautiful the stream.^ have cleared 
and the trout are rising beautifully. 
One of the best trips made by Chicago people thnn 
far was had by Charlie Antoine, of Von Longerke and 
Antoine. and Edward G. Taylor, author of Our much^ 
mooted "Taylor system." They fished the Prairie River 
for five days", and 'toward the close had some great sport, 
though they were caught for two days by the rains and 
high waters, which spoiled all the fun and kept the 
fish down. The swamp water filled the Prairie until it 
was too deep to wade. Shortly after that the weather 
cleared and the stream ran down, and at the time Char- 
lie came home the fish were rising splendidly. I need 
not say that it was with great reluctance he turned his 
face homeward. He tells me that cowdung and brown 
hackle were the best flies, though they used coachman 
and Rube Wood to some extent, and on one day the. 
Abbey was good. They took some very nice trout.. 
Mr. William Cooke Daniels, of the big dry goods 
house of Daniels & Fisher, Denver, Colo., came to Chi- 
cago all the way from Denver in order to have a little 
fishing for trout. Mr. Daniels was adjutant of one of the 
regiments at Santiago, and is recovering from the Cuban 
fever. He has fished in pretty much all corners of the 
world, and came here deliberately to tiT the trout of the 
Middle West. He has taken many trout in Colorado, of 
course, but says he does not like it there, for the fishing 
is too easy, so that anyone can float a line down stream 
and take trout. Mr. Daniels is an expert fly-tier and is 
very fond of drj^ fly-fishing, at which he served a long 
apprenticeship in England. Not being acquainted in this 
part of the world, he inquired of Spaldings' house here, 
and Mr. Hirth referred him to me, and I referred hmi to 
the Prairie River, where I am sure I hope he will make 
a pleasant addition to his trouting experience. Later on 
he mav go over into Michigan and try for the big rain- 
bows there. At the present time all Michigan is de- 
voted to rainbow chasing. First it was the grayling, then 
the brook trout, and now the rainbow is the article of 
angling commerce most sought for. It is conceded that 
the rainbow outfights the brook trout, but is not com- 
parable to the latter on the table. I imagine, howeyer, 
that Mr. Daniels will care more for our brook trout fish- 
ing as a novelty. ^, _ . , 
Mr. Fred N. Peet, of the Chicago Fly-Casting Club, 
is back from a rattling good trouting trip in the south 
peninsula, where he met his old friend, Mr. John Wad- 
dell, of Grand Rapids. Mr. Peet says that he found some 
streams running into the Pere Marquette where the fish- 
ing was all that could be asked. The wading was good 
and the fishing comfortable, and they took trout up to 
2i^lbs. in weight. Mr. Peet is in love with the south 
peninsula trout country, and will not go anywhere else. 
I need not state that he has the rainbow bee very firmly 
implanted in his bonnet. 
Mr. H. L. Stanton, of this city, will leave soon for St. 
Paul on a business trip, but will go via Wisconsin, and 
admits that he is sorely tempted to stop off and have a 
session with the trout. We have few more ardent trout 
fishermen than Mr. Stanton, though of late he and his 
friend, Mr. Frank Willard, have taken to muscallunge 
fishing. Mr. Stanton was born at Horicon, Wis., and he 
was one of those who saw the Kekoskee bullhead erup- 
tion near that place. He says he has seen his father 
sink a bushel basket in the water and dip it out full of 
bullheads, and continue this until he had a sled load of 
fish He has seen seventj'-five wagon boxes loaded m 
one' day in this way. He saw pickerel thrown out of th(' 
water with potato forks in great quantities. Later m tht 
season, when the ice had cracked on the mam lake, the 
fish got air and scattered' out again away from the air 
holes. 
South Peninsula , 
The opening of the trout season in Michigan south 
peninsula came under a very bad condition, a heavy raui 
on the dav previous to opening day having rumed the 
streams. This was followed by high wmd and colder 
weather, so that for the most part the army of fishermen 
who went out on opening day were more or less disap- 
pointed though some good baskets were taken. 
The Pere Marquette Club, on Kinne Creek, celebrated 
openina- day. of course. This stream is short and clear, 
and so" full of trout at the opening of the season that 
their tails stick out of the water. Messrs. W. B. Mer- 
shon of Saginaw, and Mr. John Morley, were-on hand, 
of course, but did not reach the club until noon. The 
former put twenty-four nice ones in his basket that after- 
noon and followed it up by forty-five on the following 
day The club members took about 450 fish in all on 
opening dav, and the trout expressed regret that ther- 
were not more gentlemen on hand to oblige them m then 
wish tn be taken in out of the cold water. That is a 
wonderful stream. I am not advised at this writing 
whether Mr. Morley operated the Montreal fly with 
which he did us all up at the time I was there, but it 
may safely be guessed that he was doing business with 
some sort of fly. Mr. Morley is an up-stream fisherman, 
and it is uphill work to beat him. 
The Little Manistee is one of the crack streams of 
Michigan, and has been from the grayling days on down. 
It is reported that there were fifty fishermen on the 
Little Manistee on opening day, and several parties have 
gone in there to camp for the season, some of them, I 
fear, with the purpose of marketing trout. I have seen 
such parties along that stream, though it is fair to say 
that they did not seem able to catch enough trout to spoil 
the river. The best reaches of that river are not easily 
accessible from hotels, and your genuine trout angler is 
not favorable to wasting time off the water. Baldwin, 
Mich., seems to be the great entry point for the Manis- 
tee system, and many good waters are accessible from that 
locality. This is the town to which our present Mayor. 
Carter H, Harrison, went in the good old grayling days, 
when he was a frequent visitor to Michigan. 
Mr. W. J. Hooper and A. Bush, of Baldwin, fished the 
Little South on opening day, and killed about forty trout 
apiece, in spite of conditions none too good. 
Mr. A, J. Bradford tried the Middle Branch, and he 
found it very productive, killing sixty trout. 
The Baldwin River comes into prominence this sea- 
son and seems to be very well stocked. Mr. Clarence 
Weavers took forty-three trout there on opening day. 
Among flies which seem to be useful in Michigan south 
peninsula this spring are the Cahill, grizzly king, queen 
and hare's ear. 
Bait Killed the Flies. 
It is a theory which may perhaps be supported by 
facts, that bait fishing, if long continued on a stream, 
will kill the water for any sport at fly-fishing. The use 
of a spoon hook is still worse, in the opinion of many. 
Thus, Mr. Daniels, of Denver, tells me that the Gunni- 
son RiA-^er, of Colorado, which was once a splendid fly 
stream, is now a very poor one, though productive to 
bait fishing. I do not know how accurate this may be 
in general, but I may say that the best fly stream of which 
1 have personal knowledge is one which has not been 
fished for the market for some time, and which has hap- 
pened to be fished chiefly in late years by fly-fishermen 
in the great majority. Of course, there is great tempta- 
tion to drop a worm now and then if the trout are not 
rising, but if we follow our religion to the limit it would 
seem that we sho-uld refrain from all but the fly, lest we 
kill the virtue of. the fly. At any rate this is doctrine 
which will not work to the detriment of the fishing. 
How to Bring Trout Home. 
It was Mr. Mather, I believe, who spoke about keep- 
ing flies in a fruit jar. which I should think would be a 
ver}- excellent method. There might be some danger in 
then- getting served as preserves if company came, but 
this is" so slight that it may be overlooked. The fruit jar 
is a good thing and a preserver of good things. A frietid 
of mine who has just come back from a trouting trip 
has shown me another one of its uses. He bad a big 
glass jar. with the cap screwed down tight, which he had 
brought along covered with ice. The jar was stuffed full 
of trout, and every trout was cold and stiff as a wedge. 
Of course, the fish had been kept quite dry, which is a 
most desirable thing. If a trout is soaked in ice water it 
will get soft as a sardine soaked in oil. The old way 
of packing trout in damp moss is a good one. for evap- 
oration keeps them cool. Mr. Dudley, of Dudley P. O., 
Wis., nearlv always packs the. trout for his guests in cot- 
ton batting'before' he puts them on ice. I have seen noth- 
ing better for carrying trout than the refrigerator basket 
used by the members of the Pere Marquette Club, of 
Michigan. I should think that if the trout were placed 
in jars in one of these baskets they would keep just as 
well, and perhaps be dryer. The basket in question has 
a nice chamber, but the latter is open at the top. I won- 
der how it would do. if a fellow had to make his own 
refrigerator basket, to take two or three big fruit jars, 
fill them with ice, and screw the caps down. These could 
be placed in a pail, and ought to set up quite an ice cel- 
lar of their own, in which the fish could be kept cold and 
dry. 
Wausaukee Club. 
There will be an informal opening of the Wausaukee 
club house in Wisconsin on Sunday, May 14, at which 
time a number of Chicago gentlemen will go up to try the 
fishing. The greatest spring celebration . of this worthy 
club, however, will be on May 30, which will be a highly 
enjoyable dav. with many ladies in attendance and a full 
showing of the club membership. This club comes as 
near to being a trout club as any we have in Chicago, 
though it is in good bass and deer country also. A full 
account of the opening of this club house at the begin- 
showing of the club membership. This club comes as 
the time, some years ago. 
"Where to Go. 
Mr. Gilbert L. Watson, of Parkersburg, W. Va., 
writes me as below under date of May 9: "Your letter 
in the Forest and Stream of February in relation to the 
use of flies in fishing in Michigan streams has_ been read 
with interest. Will you kindly inform me of the most 
favorable stream for trout fishing in Michigan, and also 
the proper time of the year for the best convenience 
and success." 
Perhaps Mr. Watson will find something of interest 
above in these columns. I would suggest that he try the 
Pere Marquette River, where he will get both brook and 
rainbow trout and stand a very good chance of striking a 
big rainbow. They tell me that the best time to get these 
bio-c^est rainbows in in August, when the fish are feeding 
on°grasshoppers. If Mr. Watson Avil! go to Grand Rap- 
ids and inquire at the local gun stores he can get the in- 
formation he will further need. Should he happen to 
meet Col. E. Crofton Fox, Mr. John Waddell or Mr. 
Harry Widdicomb he might be fortunate enough to se- 
cure advice which would be very useful to him. 
A New Tarpon Club. 
Mr A W. .A.dams, who spent the winter at San An- 
tonio Tex tells me that the dub house of the Tarpon 
Fishing Club, at Aransas Pass, is in fyll operation and're- 
ceiving much patronage from its members. More than 
this, he says that there is in process of organization an- 
other big club, which will be put up on the mainland at 
the quaint old village of Rockport. Mr. Green, presi- 
dent of the Tarpon Club, was asked to accept a similar 
oiiice for the new organization, but declined, stating that 
it would be better to have a different executive, so that 
a friendlv rivalry might spring up in the way of yacht 
races, etc. It seems now certain that this sleepy and de- 
lightful corner of the world is to be invaded by the 
throngs of fashion. We are going to Florida-ize Texas. 
It is a long way to the tarpon keys of Rockport coast,, 
but the trip is worth the making. That the new club wilt 
be a success hardly admits of doubt. 
In passing, and while speaking of San Antonio, I may- 
say that Dick Merrill also wintered there, and was at last 
accounts home in Milwaukee. He probably has trout in; 
his eye by this time. Joe George, who was postmas- 
ter, will probably not spend the summer at San Antonio. 
Mr. George made a recent trip to Monterey, Mexico, tO' 
take a rest and look around. Capt. Oscar Guessaz is now: 
home from Cuba, and being disappointed in his ambition 
to join the troops in the Philippines, will probably re- 
main at San Antonio for a time, unless those quail over 
in Cuba prove too strong for him. 
The Rockport Tarpon Club. 
May 13. — Mr. A. W. Adams, of this city, who has 
spent the winter, as is his custom, at the pleasant South- 
ern city of San Antonio, Tex., was often at the Gulf Coast 
at Rockport and other points, and he is so kind as to 
give me for the Forest and Stream the following de- 
tails regarding the latest club to go into that favored 
region : 
"A tarpon club, for the purpose of fishing and hunting, 
has recently been organized, with a membership of 400, 
and the following board of directors; Mr. J. C. Van 
Blarcom, St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. A. W. Houston and Mr, 
J. S. Lockwood, San Antonio, Tex.; Mr. W, C. Connor, 
Dallas, Tex., and Mr. E. H. R. Green, Terrell, Tex. The 
object of the organization is fishing and hunting, tn 
which end a handsome steam yacht has been purchased 
and the erection of a beautiful club house begun at St. 
Joseph's Island, Aransas county. Tex. 
"For fishing and hunting a better place could not have 
been found. Here in early winter are canvas-back, red- 
lieads, mallard, blue-winged and green-winged teal, pin- 
tails, widgeon and other varieties of ducks. There arc 
also wild geese of all kinds. The Tarpon Club house- is 
to be situated in the very center of this sportsmen's coun- 
try, abundant reservation having been secured for use of 
the members of the club, and will be kept open and in 
operation the year round, for every day in the year the 
locality furnishes sufficient amusement in either hunting 
or fishing. As a game fish the tarpon has no equal. 
.A.ransas Pass is its feeding ground. Tarpon fishing com- 
mences about April i and lasts until about Dec. i, when 
the cool weather drives them into deep water, and duck 
shooting about Oct. i, and lasts until April i. x\side from 
tarpon there is an abundance of Spanish mackerel, pom- 
panOj bluefish, sawfish, flounders, sheepshead, croakers 
and other varieties. About a quarter of a mile from the 
club house the surf bathing in the waters of the GuU 
of Mexico is excellent. The water has a temperature of 
about 70 "degrees all the year round. The inner bayS- ftir-f 
nish unexcelled opportunities tor j^achting. ^ ' ' 
■'The club building is to be two stories high, is shapetl 
like the letter L reversed, and is 176ft. long on the stem 
of the L by iS4ft. 6in. on the base line. On the first floor 
will be the office and billiard room, private office, a buf- 
fet, dining room and dancing hall, private dining room 
and kitchen. The private office will be fitted with lock- 
ers for the storage of fishing tackle, signal flags, etc. 
"One of the features of the first floor is a large open 
veranda, especially arranged for the accommodation of 
hammocks. 
"The second floor is to contain eighteen sleeping rooms, 
for both ladies and gentlemen, a store room, linen roonv 
and two servants' bedrooms. Each sleeping room ha.s. 
Uvo outside doors and two windows, and nine of the 
rooms are en suite. The parlor is on the corner of the 
building, and will be fitted up with especial view of mak- 
ing ladTes comfortable. Around all sides of the building 
both up and down stairs is a veranda. From the first 
floor veranda steps lead to the ground, and five stainvays, 
from the veranda lead to the second floor. 
"The interior of the building will be finished with 
matched and beaded wainscoting. The latter will receive 
an oil finish on the first floor and be painted on the sec- 
ond floor. 
"From the second floor balcony a stairway leads to the 
tower, aiound which runs a balcony at a height of 6oft. 
above the ground. In this tower will be placed a pow- 
erful searchlight. 
"The building will be lighted by electricity and elec- 
tric lights will be placed not only in the rooms, but on 
all verandas. The power for the illumination will be ob- 
tained from an electric plant located in a separate build- 
ing containing dynamos run by a naphtha engine, which 
will also be used in pumping water from a 26,000 gallon 
cistern to a tank of similar size 30ft. high. From the 
latter the water will be piped to the house. 
"The building will be constructed entirely of wood, to 
rest on piling driven into the groimd by hyraulic pres- 
sure. The first and second stories will be finished on the 
outside with pine siding, and the tower and gables will' 
be shin.gled. The main body of the house will be painted 
white, the cornice and windows green, and the roof red.. 
Some idea of the size of the building can be gained from 
i1ie fact that between 400,000 ans .soo,oooft. of lumber will 
be used inits construction. The lumber, when placed in 
the building, will cover 12,094 sq. ft. of ground, upon 
which it is erected. The total floor area, including the 
tower, is 24,477ft. .,1 r • u -n • t 
"The electric light plant will furnish illumination for 
126 incandescent lamps, each 32-candle power, and also 
for the large searchlight." 
E. Hough. 
480 GastoV fiiiti-DMSG. Chicago. HI. 
The FoRESt AND Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday. 
Con-espondencc intended for publication should reach ua a^^tfe^ 
l«te»t hr Moojjay M « WM* earUer as ^racttesbts. 
