Km. 1899.1 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Ill 
ADDRESSING THE FROG. 
Rhode and P. E. Statler, all of Wausau, Wis., were 
among anglers who within the past week went in at 
Minocqua, Wis., after muscallunge. 
Among" other parties who are this week at Kabekona 
Camp, Minn., are Mr. E. M. Clendening, wife and son, of 
Kansas City, Mo. ; Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Reeder and N. G. 
Craighead, of Dayton, O. ; Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Callahan, 
of Cliicago; Messrs. C. F. Farnsworth, Metcalf and Dr. 
R. B. Meury and son, of Memphis, Tenn. All of these 
parties are now at Woman Lake, and reports come that, . 
they are having very fine sport, though I have not the 
weights of any of their fish at present. 
Messrs. Charles Comley, George Neafus and William 
Long, all of this city, spent a couple of days last week on 
Silver Lake, near Grand Haven, Mich. They caught 
eighty-three bass, the largest 4^1bs. These were big- 
mouths, and are reported as very gamy. 
Messrs. Comley, Neafus and Long, with their friend, 
Mr. William Thompson, also of this city, start next week 
on a yachting and fishing trip to Green Bay, expecting to 
be gone a month or more. They will have a royal time 
and will no doubt meet good fishing at different points. 
Reports from Weber's place on Cedar Lake, Ind., 
on the Monon road, state that the bass fishing has been 
good this week, two very good catches having been made. 
The bait was live frog. This water is fished considerably, 
and the above results lead one to think that the fish have 
been generally coming to their feed lately. 
The Cheneaux Islands, of Lake Michigan, have been 
known for many years as a fishing ground once famous. 
Of late years this locality has been chiefly given over to 
summer resorters, and there is more fishing than fish. Yet 
I hear of a i61b. muscallunge taken there within the last 
week, as well as one of 8^1bs. 
From Fox River points I do not hear very good reports 
this week, except that, a few miles below Aurora, a very 
handsome string of bass was taken on the fly one evening 
by two gentlemen whose names I cannot learn. I should l 1 
be very much disposed to believe that the bass ought tof<»' 
take the fly now on the riffs below Clintonville, on the 
Fox River. This is wading water, and the best time is 
toward evening. 
In regard to the fly-fishing for small-mouth bass on the 
Mississippi River, near La Crosse, of which I have spoken 
once or twice earlier this summer, I should say that re- 
ports of this week appear to indicate that the small-mouths 
are going on the feed. Mr. Tom Watson, of Franklin, 
MacVeagh & Co., of this city, had a report from a friend 
near La Crosse, who took sixty small-mouths one day last 
week. This was somewhere above La Crosse. The report 
stated that the water was just right and the bass were 
taking the fly in great shape. The way to fish this country 
is to start in at Winona, Onalaska, or somewhere a day 
or two above La Crosse, and boat down stream, casting 
close up against the cut banks. 
In regard to this very region near La Crosse, I find 
mention as below in a letter from Mr. L. Blair, of Des 
Moines, la., who writes me this week: 
"I notice iii Forest .\nd Stream for July 22 an item 
about bass fishing in August with fly along the Missis- . 
sippi. As a youngster, when we didn't use artificial 
flies I have caught bass in August by using the ephemera 
for bait, when fish wouldn't take the minnow at all. The 
best place for fly-fishing was below a mill dam, in still 
Avater, at the head of Rock Island, right in front of 
Mdline. The ephemera were thick in the air then, and we 
boys used to tie them on our hooks, throvi^ our lines out 
without sinkers, when as soon as the bait touched the 
water, flip would come a striped bass, then there was fun. 
Such a fish at the hook end of a line gives a lively tussle. 
You couldn't fish there now, for the Government long 
since took charge of the island, and would not allow any 
fishing on it. 
"I'll never forget the happy times in bassi fishing during 
spring and fall above Davenport ; along the rocky points 
was the best, where the fish were going north in spring 
and returning to cool weather, fat and juicy. I should 
think that still water below some projecting point along 
the Mississippi would give fine summer sport where the 
bass won't -take the minnow well," 
Minneapolis for Bass and Trout, 
Early mention has been made in these columns from 
time to time of the Long Meadow Gun Club, whose 
grounds are near the edge of the city of Minneapolis. 
Near these club grounds there is a deep creek, which has 
for some time been supposed to have small-mouth bass in 
it. Last week Mr. Harry Pratt and some friends de- 
cided to fish this creek and see what they could find. 
They used frogs and had a most exciting afternoon, taking 
a number of the gamiest small-mouths they ever tackled, 
and much to their surprise taking also a 4lb. brook trout. 
This trout is supposed to have escaped from the Davis 
trout hatchery on the Minnesota River, which hatchery 
was abandoned some time ago. The members of the Long 
Meadow Club must have opened their eyes to find that 
they had such sport so close at hand. This club, although 
within a short buggj'^ ride from Minneapolis, affords very 
good duck and snipe shooting during the season, and now 
that it seems to offer also both trout and bass fishing, I 
should think that the members might very well mark up 
their shares. 
The Largest "Westesn Small-moath Bass« 
The largest small-mouth bass which I have heard of 
being taken in Western waters is one of which I was 
told this week by Mr. Robert Lamp, of Madison, Wis. 
This fish was taken last October by Ike Palmer, of Madi- 
son, on hook and line. It was cold weather — indeed, there 
was a snowstorm in progress at the time. The fish 
weighed 81bs. looz., the weight being verified on three 
different scales. It was purchased by Mr. Lamp and two 
friends, who proposed to eat it, but it was rescued from 
this fate by a third gentleman, who had it mounted. I 
fiave often seen some of these large and coarse-looking 
small-mouth bass from the lakes near Madison, but I 
never saw one that weighed over 61bs. The largest small- 
mouth bass which has heretofore come under my observa- 
tion in the West was one of 7lbs. 2oz., taken on the St. 
Clair Flats. Even the big Madison record bass must take 
in its fins before the small-mouth mentioned by Mr. 
Cheney, a fish which weighed lolbs., but of which Mr. 
Cheney does not give us many particulars in his account. 
Notes from the Au Sable. 
Judge J. M. Kenyon, of Toledo, O., is so good as to 
give me some detailed information regarding the Au Sable 
River of Michigan, which I think may also be of interest 
to readers of the Forest and Stream. I have never fished 
the Au Sable, although I want very much to do so some 
day. From all I can learn from several friends who are 
experienced anglers, this is probably the most remarkable 
trout stream that we now have in the Middle West, and I 
take it that it holds something the same position once 
occupied by the Brule River in its palmy days. Judge 
Kenyon writes me thus regarding it : 
"I have been reading your article in the June 3 Forest 
AND Stream, and note what you say about the Au Sable. 
I fished the Au Sable this season from May i to 13, and 
from June 24 to July 14, inclusive. The first trip I fished 
every day, but on the latter trip only part of the time. The 
May fishing was fine— it was no trouble to catch sixty to 
ninety fish a day, running from 7 to iiin., with occasion- 
ally a larger one — ^but on July 3 and 4 and again on July 
7 and 8 we had heavy rains, which raised the water 7 or 
8i!i. — an unusual rise for that river — and after that the 
fishing was very dull. 
"The Au Sable has been fished very hard for twd or 
three years and a great number of fish taken out, but it is 
a wonderful stream^ for the natural production of trout, as 
its bottom is gravel and in a great many places just the 
depth the fish like for spawning, and a right current for 
the eggs to develop in; also, it is not subject to high 
floods or great discoloration, as it drains a barren sand 
plain, If the limit could be raised to 8in. (it is now 6) I 
think it would be almost impossible to deplete it by legal 
fishing. 
"A goodly portion o£ the fishermen take nothing under 
7 or 8in., but a great many who like to boast of their 
catch kill everything 6in. or over, and I am sorry to say 
a party from Chicago that was there in May arc of tlic 
latter class. A. C King and Doctors Brown and Sanford 
were there at that time, but they are not the party I 
refer to. The stream can be waded anywhere from 
Grayling to twenty or twenty-five miles below with 
waders, but in some places the current is so strong it is 
pretty hard work. Wading up stream is not practicable 
for any distance anywhere, so the fish must be killed or 
taken up by boat (in live well) if the fisherman works 
down stream any great distance. 
"About eight miles by team — fourteen by river— below 
Grayling are the Babbit and Stephens camps. Rube Bab- 
bit's camp, called Camp Toledo, is a log house 18 by 26, 
with board floor, good roof, good beds and located up the 
hill about fifteen rods from the river. Henpy Stephens' 
camp is similar, 'located forty to sixty rods below Camp 
Toledo, on same side. John Stephens has two similar 
camps — one called Camp Basker, the other Camp Gilkim, 
nearly opposite Henry's — on the south side. All the camps 
have fine springs near by. 
"I should have said that Rube has two camps — one that 
he uses half of for dining room, the other half for beds. 
At the Stephens the meals arc furnished in their houses 
near by. The table fare is 'good enough' at all of them. 
"My daughter and I were there twenty days last trip and 
enjoyed it hugely. The mosquitoes are bad, but no 
worse^ — ^and I think not so l^ad — than on other trout 
streams. 
"The quantity of young brook trout fry to be seen there 
in May was simply marvelous — they simply .warmed in 
, every favorable spot — but in July they had mostly dis- 
appeared from the main stream and* were in the little 
spring brooks. In July there were a good many small 
fry that T think are rainbows, as they spawn and hatch 
later than the brook. I know of only one grayling hieing 
taken while I was there — that in May." 
Wisconsin Bass. 
Fox Lake, Wis., continues to keep up its creditable 
record for big bass. Last week Dick Hoover and Al Ries 
took two bass, the former having one weighing 61 bs., the 
latter one weighing slbs. 70Z. A day later Mr. Ries cap- 
tured two picfcerel, weighing 8J4 and nibs. 
Fly-Casting Record. 
Mr. Itha H. Bellows, of the Chicago Fly-Casting Club, 
showed his fitness for the presidency of that body of able 
anglers a week ago Saturday by smashing all previous 
club records on long distance fly-casting. Mr. Bellows 
got a mark of 127ft., within 4ft. of the best record of 
Mr. Mansfield, of San Francisco. We have young men 
out here who are capable of doing strong arm work in 
more ways than one. Personally Mr. Bellows is a good 
specimen of the human being, above middle height and 
powerfully built, as pleasant as he is clever, and there 
are many of his friends here who would not object to his 
breaking all the records whether for indoor or out-of-door 
casting. Mr. Bellows is crowding Mr. Mansfield closer 
than anyone else has ever done. 
The Indiana Bass Law. 
In a recent issue of Forest and Stream, Mr. G. W. 
Cunningham, of Portland, Ind., quotes from "Chicago 
and the West" of an earlier issue to this effect: "Mr. 
George Murrell and his friend, of this city, have gone to 
Bass Lake, Ind., again after big-mouths." Mr. Cunning- 
ham refers to this as an instance of Chicago selfishness 
and Chicago lawbreaking. I would like to state in regard 
to this that the question of the Indiana bass law received 
very careful attention from many of our anglers this 
spring, and I think that Mr. Murrell was also among 
those who looked up the law on account of the changes 
made last by the Indiana Legislature. Mr. Murrell is 
Secretary of the Chicago Fly- Casting Club, and I think I 
may safely say that he would not intentionally break any 
game or fish law whatever. The section of the new 
Indiana law, as stated in the Game Laws in Brief, is this : 
"Season. — Sec. 4. It shall not be lawful to take any fish 
in any way nor by any device whatever in the months of 
May and June in any of the streams of this State; or 
except with a hook and line in any of the waters of this 
State except Lake Michigan and the Ohio River, and ex- 
cept also in private ponds between the first day of January 
and the first day of April and between the first day of 
May and the first day of July of any year." 
The above, in regard to season of taking black bass in 
Indiana, is certainly blind enough, but the construction put 
upon the section by the State Fish Commissioner and 
State's Attorney has been to the effect that bass fishing in 
the lakes of the State is not prohibited in May and June, 
although it is illegal to fish in the streams. 
Pacific Salmon Fly and Spoon. 
To-day I was talking with my friend Mr. F, .H^ Lord, 
general passenger agent of the Chicago Great Western 
Railroad, this city. Mr. Lord remarked to me that he 
would like to go out to Puget Sound and have a try for 
the salmon. "I was too late last year for the fishing," 
said he, "but they tell me it is very fine. My friends told 
rne when I was out there that while the salmon were run- 
ning they could not be induced to take any fly whatever, 
but if one found a pool in the stream where the fish were 
lying and resting they would take the fly there as well as 
any fish in any water." Of course everybody knows that 
the Coast salmon will take the spoon, but how about the 
statements of Mr. Lord's friends? E. Hough. 
480 Caxton Building, Chicago, 111. 
Adirondack Pike and Bass. 
Chilson Lake, Essex County, N. Y, — Editor Forest 
and Stream: A few New York and Albany lovers of the 
rod are trolling for bass and pike in this lovely sheet of 
water. Messrs. David Lewis, of Albany, and the writer 
visited a little pond in the vicinity last week and caught 
many bass. Each had luck, Mr. Lewis capturing a 5lb. 
black bass on a light rod. _A thick-necked Spring Lake 
pike fell to the lot of the writer. He weighed plbs. 
PsTER Flint, 
