408 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 27, 1899. 
carries his name. Great success in large fish was put 
down to the score of this party last year. 
Another party of leading Boston, Cambridge, Worcester 
and NeAV York business men started for Moosehead Fri- 
day night. The party includes G. A, Fales, Boston ; J. H. 
Davis, S. R. Ellis, Cambridge ; Frank Holden. Frank Fitz- 
patrick, Boston;' M. K. Green, Jamaica Plam; W. F,. 
Perkins, Wakefield ; C. W. Chenev, Boston ; B. Heslor, 
Worcester; J. M. Deal, St. Albans/Vt. ; M. Bullard, Cam- 
bridge; H. C. Dilwoi-th and Mr. Ditmar, of New York. 
Mr. L. E, Pierce, of Boston, has been commodore of this 
party for many seasons, and under his management they 
usually have good success and a good deal of fun. He has 
a record of twenty-five trout, every one taken on the 
fly, on the 20th and 21st days of May last year, which is 
remarkably early for fly-fishing at Moosehead. 
The report has just come to hand that Mr. M. P. 
Clough, of Lynn, has taken a salmon weighing Sj/^lbs. in 
the waters fished by the Oquossoc Angling Association, 
head of Mooselucmaguntic Lake. The same report also 
states that Mrs. Henry Roeloffs, of Philadelphia, who has 
visited the Oquossoc Association camps for many seasons, 
has just taken a salmon of lolbs. J. S. Bartlett, B. N.. 
Johnson and C. W. Fox are on a fishing trip to Rangeley 
waters. D. T. Dudley, C. W. Arnold and P. B. Heintz 
are on a fishing trip to the same waters. F. A. Kennedy 
and C. S. Denison, of the Dobsis Club, are at Grand Lake. 
C. Z. Bassett and E. E. Pecker are on a fishing trip to 
Billy Soule's Pleasant Island camps. They will doubtless 
visit other sections of the Rangeleys. Mr. John E. Devlin 
has gone to Sunapee Lake, N. H., for a fishing excursion. 
Boston, May 22. — Interest in sport with rod and line 
was never greater. Fishing parties are numerous and of 
large size. But in truth it must be stated that up to date 
the fishing has not been great in the principal Maine 
and New Hampshire waters. The weather has been very 
cold for the past week, with disagreeable rains, and the 
water has continued especially high. Still, reports of 
success are beginning to come in. Better reports are 
being received from Bemis, Mr. J. Ross True and Mr. 
Herman Bickford, of Auburn, landed seven trout there 
on Thursday, the largest weighing 4>341bs. Mr. True's 
first strike was within ten minutes after he threw his line 
over and within ten rods of the shore. A letter from 
Haines Landing, Mooselucmaguntic, dated Friday, says 
that the fishing at that point is now at its best Several 
large fisli have just been taken. Mr. R. Babcock, of New 
York, has taken two salmon of 5-}41bs. weight] two of 
3lbs. and two of 2y2lbs. ; two trout of 4lbs., and three of 
3J^lbs. Mr. Walter G. Clark, of North Attleboro, Mass., 
has caught one salmon of 7lbs., and one of 5^1bs. ; two of 
3lbs. and two of 2j/2lbs., with several smaller ones. Ira 
Richards, also of North Attleboro, has made a record of 
one salmon of 6fi\hs., one of 3y^\hs., and some good 
trout. Mr. William Reed, of Brockton, Mass., has taken 
a salmon of 81bs., and a trout of 4^1bs, Rather better 
success is being reported from Lake Auburn, Me. On 
Wednesda}' Mr. Frank Hamilton caught a salmon there 
weighing plbs. He also secured a "'red spot" of good 
size. 
Sportsmen are unusually numerous at Moosehead. It 
is plain that business has been better, and that success- 
ful merchants are taking a much-needed rest. The list 
of anglers i^egistered at the hotels has never been better. 
Mr. George F. Searls, of Bangor, has taken home fifteen 
trout, the string weighing 25lbs. ; the largest, j^lbs. Dr. 
W. S. Houston, of Greenville, has hooked and landed a 
trout of 3l4\hs. Thomas Walker, of Portland, has also 
taken a big one. Dr. Houston and G. W. Brown also re- 
port a catch of 63lbs. in a few hours' fishing. 
At the Mountain View Hor\se, Rangeley Lake, the first 
big fish to go on record this season was a trout of sf^lbs,, 
taken by W. W. Thomas, of Portland. May 16, Mr. F, 
W. Smith secured a trout of 4J^Ibs., and a salmon of 
4lbs. Mr. J. R. Marble, of Worcester, Mass., secured a 
trout of 4>^ lbs., and Mr. L. H. Terry, a trout of sVjlhs. 
Mr. F. V. Prentice, of Worcester, i^ at the Mountain 
View House, where he has been for a good many seasons. 
One day last week he- tetok twenty trout, the largest weigh- 
ing 6Klbs. 
The last reports say that the srtifelt &tt fast disappear- 
ing, and there is little doubt but what the fishing will be 
better very soon. The smelt have been remarkably nu- 
merous in all the trout and salmon waters of Maine and 
New Hampshire, with more than the usual number of 
dead and dying on the surface. Later these little fish dis- 
appear — ^no one knows whither — and the trout and salmon 
that have been feasting on them are forced to seek otlier 
food. Special. 
Canadian Licenses. 
Quebec, May 20. — Editor Forest and Stream: Every 
non-resident of the Province of Quebec wishing to fi.sh 
and hunt on our territory is obliged by the law to first 
take a license. In the interest of the Province, the De- 
partment of Lands, Forests and Fisheries has thought 
that so far it was better not to apply that law to clubs 
and individual lessees of hunting and fishing territory; 
nor to their invited guests and honorary members of 
clubs. So many abuses, however, have been the conse- 
quence of this toleration that it has become necessary to 
apply the law in certain cases. The Department has quite 
lately addressed to all the lessees and to all secretaries 
of clubs the following circular, which explains itself : 
"Hitherto the law compelling all non-residents of the 
Province of Quebec to take out licenses for fishing and 
hunting, has not been applied to non-residents invited by 
lessees of hunting and fishing territories, or the honorary 
members of incorpiorated clubs. 
"I have the honor to inform you that with the view of 
putting an end to numerous abuses, the Department has 
decided that in future the bona fide active members of an 
incorporated club and the lessees of hunting and fishing 
territories in the Province of Quebec, shall alone be ex- 
empt from obtaining an extra license to fish and hunt in 
this Province. 
"Therefore, honorary members of a club and guests 
who are not residents of the Province must, in future, ob- 
tain a license, the fee for which shall be as follows : 
$10 for a fishing license and $25 for a hunting license, or 
$1.50 per diem for the right to hunt and $1 per diem for 
the right to fish when a license is required for three or 
four days only. 
"Please take note of this decision and notify the mem- 
bers of your club for you will be held responsible for 
all infringements of the law in this respect and any such 
infringement might entail the cancalling of your lease. 
"To facilitate the obtaining of licenses, secretaries of 
clubs can, on application, have sent to them a certain 
number of blanks which they can fill up for the con- 
venience of their- members and remit the fees to the De- 
partment, 
"I have tile honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 
"S. N. Parent, 
"Commisioner of Lands, Forests and Fisheries." 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Wausaukee Club, 
Chicago, III., May 20. — ^Wausaukee Club, of Chicago, 
one of the pleasantest fishing organiaztions in the city, 
will have quite an elaborate time on Decoration Day. 
There wUt be a special car, which will leave Chicago Sat- 
urday (night, and among others of the party will be the 
following: J. Allan Preisch and wife, C. H. N. Tobey 
and wife, C. D. Hoard and. wife, George S. Thurber and 
wife, B. D. Campbell and wife, H. K. Alien and wife, 
Messrs. W. R. Root, F. K. Root, II. C. L. Goggett, F. 
G. lioyne, W. R. Schutze, G. P. McWilHaras, P. B. 
Gibbs, H. B. Cook, J. A. Bloomington, with others not 
yet heard from. Wausaukee Club is out of debt, and 
owns 4,000 acres of land. The grounds are near the 
Peshtigo River, and there are near by many small streams 
and lakes that offer fine sport at trout and bass. The 
club buildings have been much improved and are in fine 
shape. There is a piano for the uoe of the musical ele- 
ment in the club. The table at this club is uniformly 
good. The club numbers about 100 now, twelve new 
members having been added recently. Sixty thousand 
brook trout will be planted this season in the Wausaukee 
River alone, the club keeping up this policy of stocking 
the stream. The entering point for this club is Athel- 
stane, on the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul Railway. 
This is in the center of a very good sporting region. It 
goes without saying that the Wausaukee Decoration Day 
gathering will be a distinguished and happy one. 
Bad SeasoQ for Ttottt. 
We have been having the worst sort of weather here 
for the past ten days, and our trout season is badly dis- 
figured. Heavy rains have swollen the streams and the 
temperature in the pine woods has been sub-Arctic. Con- 
tinued advices of this sort have held back most of thf 
trout travel thus far. A few parties will go out at the 
end of this week, and so far as human judgment may pre- 
dict, these should have good success, for the weather is 
now clearing and bids fair to give us sunshine enough 
to warm the streams. Among other Chicago gentlemen 
who will go north to-day is Mr. Frank B. Orr, of Orr 
& Lockett, this citv, who goes to the Prairie River, via 
Merrill, Wis. 
Methods in Fly-Casting ana Fly-Tying. 
I am in receipt of a letter from M r. Jeptha G. Dunlap, 
who writes from San Jose, Cal,, regarding some matters 
which may perhaps be of interest to readers of the For- 
est AND Stream. His letter is in substance as below: 
"The fact that, so far, little interest has been manifest- 
ed in what has been said on the Ta3dor method of fly- 
fishing need not be taken as evidence that the articles on 
that subject as pjresented by you and Mr. Taylor were 
not of great interest to at least some of the angling fra- 
ternity. As for myself, although I have not until this 
late day written you concerning the matter, I have not 
only been .=0 deeply interested as to copy in my book of 
items reiatnig to fishing and shooting the practical or 
salient features of the various papers referring to it, but 
to re-read them very carefully several times; something 
wliicli in other cases I rarely take time to do. Anglers, 
like other people, are many of them wedded to their gods, 
and when a man spends years in worship at a special 
shrine which i-epresents to him the highest a' id the best — 
when the long, light cast and the rod with its appurte- 
nances which best accomplish this are the objects of his 
devotion, he will not turn aside from them except with 
reluctance. So an innovation, such as this new method 
at first sight seems to be, very naturally meets with his 
disapproval. To me, however, it is not abandoning the 
old, but simply adding to it a new interest. There is 
plenty of use for the old method in every day's fishing, 
and if I should find it desirable to employ the new under 
such conditions as make it admissible, I should certainly 
find the old necessary with sufficient frequency to add the 
zest of variety. 
"In one or two respects there is an apparent discrep- 
ancy between you and Mr. Taylor. No doubt j'our ex- 
planation would not only be satisfactory, but additionally 
instructive; for in the absence of seeing Mr. Taylor fish 
there are still some things which it would be desirable to 
know. In your description which appeared in Forest 
AND Stream of May 28. 1898, you say: 'Instead of cast- 
ing with lightness and delicacy, he was slashing away as 
hard as he could, cutting up the surface of the water into 
long ridges, the whole leader and part of the line land- 
ing on the water and causing the greatest confusion.' 
Further on, Mr. Taylor says to you: 'Don't try to cast 
easJ^ Make all the splash you can. Wake up your trout. 
That is what I do.' While in Forest and Stream of 
Sept. 3, 1898, Mr. Taylor says: T generally fish with a 
short line, 5ft. leader, and cast the fly over the pool sev- 
eral times in succession before allowing it to alight; then 
I allow my fly to touch the surface of the water lightly 
several times, alwaj'S keeping the leader and line from 
striking the water. After repeating this performance a 
number of times, I allow my fly to alight on the water, 
always a few feet up stream from the point where my 
previous casts have been made (as described by Mr. E. 
Hough in the edition of May 28, of Forest and 
Stream), and then allow the fly to drift slowly down 
stream; thus it passes over the previously agitated water, 
and this is the most killing way to fish for large trout,' 
This differs so much from what he said and did on the 
Prairie River that one might think he had afterward 
evolved a new and better way. In the former case the 
leader and line were cast upon the water with the Inten- 
tion of making a disturbance; in the latter the leader and 
line are kept from striking the water. This point is fur- 
ther emphasized by Mr. Taylor where he meets with sev- 
eral anglers on the stream, illustrates to their skeptical 
minds the superiority of his method and then was amused 
at their efforts to imitate his new style of casting. He 
says 'they would slap line, leader and flies violently upon 
the surface of the water, which was a most comical and 
amusing sight' 
"Would you be kind enough to make a simple illus- 
tration of a fly which has been trimmed in accordance 
with Mr. Taylor's idea, showing the difference between 
the original fly and the fly after trimming. But if this 
seems an unnecessary trouble, be so good as to make it 
plain as possible in words. I would like to know just 
where he cuts the feathers, how much, and how the fly 
looks after the operation. As it is stated in one instance 
that the wing is trimmed and in another that more than 
two-thirds of the hackle is cut away, I am left somewhat 
in doubt as to whether both wing and hackle are reduced 
or whether it may be one or the other, according to cir- 
umstances. 
"As Mr. AveriU's paper on Japanese fly-fishing has 
been associated with Mr. Taylor's method. I am re- 
minded to ask you how the hackle on the enclosed fly 
compares in respect to thinness with the Japanese arti- 
cle I have tied it on a sproat hook, not, of course, hav- 
ing one of the Japanese, and I regret having at present 
no finer gut. It will, however, answer my purpose in 
reference to the hackle, and will also, I feel certain, take 
you some good fish if you give it the opportunity. The 
only way I can devise to make the hackle thin enough 
without the too tedious process of cutting out the alter- 
nate barbs is to remove the web entirely from one side 
of the feather. If this does not give the desired result, I 
would like to know by what method the Jap has the ad- 
vantage of me." 
I have recently been so much besieged with inquiries 
about this sort of fly-casting that I am prompted to take 
up the above communication at some length. In the first 
place, the discrepancy in the descriptions of Mr. Taylor's 
style of fly-casting is not a discrepancy of actual facts. I 
described only what I actually saw in practice, and in 
very effective practice. Laying before Mr. Taylor these 
remarks of Mr. Dunlap, the former said to me that I was 
quite accurate in m}'- description, but that very often when 
alone he practiced the semi-dry fly method which he had 
himself described. He said that this sort of casting was 
so tiring and so hard on a rod, as well as on the wrist, 
that he did not always use it, except when he was out 
gunning for big trout. He stated further that the prin- 
ciple was still the same; that is to say, of waking up the 
trout by repeated appearance of the fly. The last cast 
was not made with any attempt at lightness or delicacy, 
Mr. Taylor once more repeated to me that he had ofteil 
walked down on a big trout in a quiet pool, by cutting 
up the surface of the water with repeated slashings of 
the line. Reading together of the English method of 
dry fly-fishing, he rather laughed at the latter, and said 
he felt confident that he could kill the shyest trout of the 
English meadow streams by this same slashing Avay of 
fishing, which he declares he has never found ineffective 
on any stream that he has ever fished. 
I fished with this same angler on the Pfairie B.lver 
again one day this week, last Monday, and we tried the 
same method which I described last spring, and we found 
it eft'ective. In one case Mr. Taylor was cutting away at 
the water on the side of a log, when he raised a big trout, 
which sprang at or over the fly. A few moments later he 
raised the same trout again in the same manner, but 
again failed to hook him. Stepping back to change his 
fly, he said to me: "Go ahead in there. Hough, and see 
if you can get him." We had now seen this trout twice, 
and he might well have seen its, for we stood in the 
stream less than rsft. from the stump where he lay. 1 
began cutting the water along the side of the stump, in- 
tending to flick it with the fly, but sometimes allowing a 
foot or two of the leader to strike the water. I kept this 
up on the same bit of water for some moments, and then 
out came the trout again, springing clear over my fly. 
We all laughed at this, and my wife, who was standing in 
the water near us, said that was the last we would see of 
that trout Yet I stdl kept up the slashing along the edge 
of the stump, and in a few moments out came the trout 
for the fourth time! This time he seized the fly fair and 
full. I had good water to play him, and we duly put him 
in the basket, his weight proving ii-)4oz. Now. this trout 
was clearl}-^ an angry trout, and not a shy or timid trout. 
We worked for him, I should say, about four minutes be- 
fore he was !iOoked, and we got him by deliberately teas- 
ing him out. Had we gone along the stream and worked 
that stump with a long line and a light flj' we might never 
have known there was any trout there at all, and we cer- 
tainly never would have caught that trout. Mr. Taylor ex- 
plained to me that sometimes in casting a part of the 
line would strike the water, since one does not always 
cast as well as he wishes. This was not a vital matter, 
the main thing being the emphatic presentation of the 
fly directly in front of the trout. I cannot offer a better 
instance of the use of this "system" than the above ac- 
count of how we teased one big trout out . again and 
again, and finally caught him apparently against his will 
from first to last. 
Now, as to the trimming of the fly to which Mr. Dun- 
lap alludes, I have no means of making this absolutely 
clear. In general, I would say that the wings of most 
of our flies are twice as large as they need be. For this 
casting with a short line, or with a long line either, for 
that matter, you do not want a big feather fluffing in the 
wind. The wing of a drowned insect does not look very 
large. I should say that we removed on the average 
from one-half to one-third of the Aving of the fly .such as 
one ordinarily buys. The wing was left slightly shorter 
than the hook. When the hackle was- very heavy we 
trimmed it also. The Avhole idea is to cut the fly where 
it needs to be cut, whether in hackle or wing, and to fix 
it 'M that it will cast well and look more like a drowned 
insect than a furry, fuzzy object as big around as your 
finger. Usually the wing was trimmed along the top, 
and sometimes it was shortened very much. By compari- 
son with '"store" flies, ours looked pretty naked. 
Mr. Dunlap sends me a fly of his own tying, with the 
hackle very thin, as thin, I should say, as that of the Jap- 
anese fly which Mr. Averill sent to the Forest and 
Stream. I left this fly with Mn Taylor and asked him lo 
