Sept. i6, 1899.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
229 
one egg of a bass while the parent bass hved. This offer 
is in good faith and not intended for a jestj and no con- 
ditions are attached save that reasonahljc convincing evi- 
dence shall be addxtced that a carp robbed a nest while 
the bass was on guard, and proofs that will convince the 
Fish Commission will be conside-red ample without re- 
gard to our own prejudices or opinions. Hampered with 
these as we are, the charge that carp eat the bass spawn 
seems to us absolute and outrageous nonsense. 
The Potomac River was overstocked with carp long 
jefore a few big-mouth bass and crappie were put in. To- 
day every trubutary of the lower river is bountifully 
stocked with the bass that range to 7lbs. in weight. 
The United States is stocked year by 3'ear with black 
)ass and crappie from the Illinois and Mississippi River 
Dottoiils, where there are more of these fish than can 
56 found anywhere else, and yet above 80 per cent, of the 
ish there are coarse fish, carp, buffalo, etc. 
The Fish Commisisoners of Michigan, Illinois and 
other States have again and again denied the foolish 
story, but apparently to no purpose. The Fish Commis- 
sion of Washington has no opinion on the subject if one 
goes by their reports since the carp were introduced. 
They indorsed the carp when they first took the responsi- 
bility of introducing it. They can well afford to enjoy 
the wonderful success of that experiment in silence, un- 
disturbed bj'- the carpers whose name the fish has made a 
byword. The principal of these are the anglers and the 
newspapers. The carp does not take a fly or live bait, and 
is therefore of not much use on the angler's holiday. The 
fisherman comes in with a light basket and somebody or 
something must be to blame instead of himself, and when 
other excuses are exhausted he falls back on the carp. , 
But it is time the Commission did the fish and itself 
justice. 
Without the carp there would be no bass in tlie 
Potomac, or but one big one in each pool. They would 
be driven to eat each other. 
The carp is nearly the only fish food they have in the 
summer. 
When the small-mouth bass was first introduced into the 
river it was full of minnows. They exhausted these, and 
fthc stock declined. The carp came and the supply of 
bass increased. 
For the last two months young carp of 4 or sin. have 
been the only bait used for bass between here and Alex- 
andria. These were found in an old canal pool where 
hundreds could be taken at a haul up to %lb. Ten times 
more bass have been taken with these than with all 
baits in a like period in any previous season, because the 
bass are wonderfully increasing in this section. Near 
every large city, especially in the West, carp is the best 
fish the seiner gets. Even here the shad sold as low as 
eight cents apiece, while carp are always good for two 
cents_ a pound. Himdreds of thousands of pounds are 
sold in every city of the West, and nearly as many carp 
sold as all other fish together. There is no fish to-day of 
nearly the importance to the public of the United States, 
•and cerfaiiily none to which the angler for game fishes 
owes a greater debt. Suppose he eats dirt. If you take 
him away that's all the bass would have to eat through the 
fishing season. As to the charge that he is bony," he is 
not worse than the shad, and it is not found an insuperable 
objection to the latter fish, for there are many people 
weak enough to contend he is delicious in spite of 
splinters. 
That the carp is unfit for food hardly requires denial 
in the face of his position in the inland markets. As 
to whether he is good eating is a matter of cookery and 
taste. ^ The writer never ate one nor saw one dressed by 
lan artist. Neither does he eat canvasbacks (at $10 a pair) 
nor mushrooms that may be had for the picking, but he is 
as sure carp are good eating as that these others are 
delicacies to some palates. If j^ou have any bass pre- 
serve, hasten to stock it with carp if you want more bass, 
bigger bass and better bass, and above all, do not let any 
one impose on you with the idea that the carp is useless, 
worthless or dangerous. There is no one fish we could 
not better afford to lose ; none lost, we could not sooner 
and more easily replace. Henry Talbott. 
A 'Massachusetts Bass Pocket. 
South Portsmouth, R. l.~Editor Forest and Stream: 
Ahhough I am more of a fisherman in salt water than in 
fresh, I often indulge in a trip for black bass ; and am 
fortunate in being situated so I can enjoy this grand sport 
to my heart's content, as you will note by the following. 
I have recently become a member of the Newport Fish and 
Game Club, which controls all rights to the fishing in 
Lily Pond, situated back of Bailey Beach, which fronts 
a part of the celebrated Ocean Drive at Newport. The 
pond is heavily stocked with black bass, white perch, trout 
and landlocked salmon; and as no member is allowed to 
take home over five fish, and all small ones are returned 
to the water, the fishing improves yearly. 
Then I am within two hours' ride by electrics of North 
and South Watuppa lakes. I think the length of the two 
is about seven miles, and they vary in width up to one 
mile, which is the extreme width. In depth they run 
from shoal water to 35ft. I think these ponds are as little 
known, as any in the United States to the fishing public, 
but they are well known to local anglers, and unquestion- 
ably no better fishing is to be found in New England than 
at the ponds when the bass are in biting condition; and 
as a rule this seems to be daily, judging from the fishing 
,had there by my son and myself during a week's stav. 
We left home Monday, Aug. 14, and reached the ponds 
to commence work at i o'clock the same day, returning 
Aug. 21. Our catch for the week was a total of 702 black 
bass, not counting yellow perch and white perch, of which 
we took a large _ number. I think I hear some reader 
saying "fish hog," and possibly I am. But I am not going 
to plead guilty, even after I tell my story, and here it is. 
First, there was a record established for the ponds of a 
ten days' trip fishing there by two New York gentlemen. 
I plead guilty to going there with the expressed intention 
of breakmg this record if possible. The record was 438 
for ten days. Our catch up to Thursdav night was 475, 
and total for the week, as stated, was' 702 black bass. 
Now the question will no doubt be asked. What could 
possibly be done with this large number of fish? They 
were not sold, and all fish under Sin. are by the Massa- 
chusetts law required to be returned to the water, with 
which law we complied, and also returned many others. 
Fall River is a mill city, and of course there are manj^ 
poor families Avho do not often enjoy the pleasure of a 
fresh fish dinner, or breakfast even, if they pay for it. 
The gentleman (and he is one) who furnishes bait and 
boats has an ice chest, and our catch daily was put in it, 
with the request that they be given to any one that needed 
a mess of fish. When we left there at i A. M. the 21st 
there were left about twenty fish ; we brought some 
home, and have the pleasure of knowing that we con- 
tributed to the wants and pleasure of numerous families 
of the Mill City, as Fall River is often called. Now, 
brother fisherman, does this "let me cjut" on the charge of 
fish hog, or am I guilty? 
Napoleon Fontaine, who has boats to let and bait for 
sale, is a "white man" in all respfects, and will do all 
possible to point out the ..best fishing points and make one's 
stay pleasant. We were unfortunate as to securing extra 
large fish, but they are there, and plenty of them. Our 
largest black bass was of 2%lbs. ; we got many of i to 
i^lbs. weight. We tried about all baits with fair success, 
but found shrimp to be a good standby; shiners and 
dobsons also proved good. Good board can be iiad near 
the pond, and it is an ideal place for an outing. I am 
interested in no way in this matter, except to call the at- 
tention of brother anglers to good fishing, and to share a 
good thing with them. Wm. M. Hughes. 
Off Cape Charles* 
South Boston, Va. — Editor Forest and Stream: While 
many articles are published in your columns in regard to 
fishing and yachting, very few, if any, seem to reach you 
from this mccca of locations for yachting. Virginia, with 
its Chesapeake and broad expanse of .sea shore, has few 
yachtsmen, nevertheless there are many who enjoy a very 
pleasant sail and more who enjoy fishing of which North- 
ern fishermen never dreamed. 
The Newport News Fishing Club consists of about 
twenty members, and it has been their custom for a num- 
ber of years to celebrate the Fourth of July with a fishing 
cruise and to invite a few guests to enjoy the day with 
them. Sometimes they charter a schooner, but as a rule 
find it more convenient to go on a tug, and then they 
can tell just when they will return home in the evening. 
This year I had the pleasure of being a guest of the 
club, and one of a party of eighteen all told. At 7 -30 
A. M. lines were cast loose at the C. & O. dock, and the 
tug Hinton headed for Cape Charles. About five miles off 
the cape anchor was cast at about 9:30, and fishing began 
in earnest. The sea was rather rough, and for the sailors 
there were barrels of fun; but you can imagine how 
the staid landsman felt when our vessel rolled and pitched. 
Nevertheless it did not interfere with fishing, and by 
11:30, when a halt was called to prepare dinner, at least 
200 fine fish had been landed. 
Soon after dinner a squall was seen coming across the 
bay, and the landsmen a-coming for the rail; but, alas! 
many never reached it. Our summer squalls never last 
long, and fishing was soon resumed. When the anchor 
was hauled aboard at 5 o'clock the party had over 500 fish 
to their credit, mostly croakers, with a good sprinkling of 
trout, spot and hogfish. Two sharks were caught ; one a 
hammerhead, which is a very curious object, and the other 
a dogfish. Among the curiosities of the day was the 
catching by one fisherman of a croaker and a spot at the 
same time; none here have ever heard of such before. 
Mr. H. L. Edmunds made the record catch of the day, 
landing eighty-one. Many caught over twenty-five ; the 
party would average over that number, though some were 
seasick and were not able to fish at all. I am a landsman 
pure and simple, and this was my first experience at open 
sea fishing; but give me my choice, I should spend all of 
my spare time boating and fishing. The man who has 
never tasted of the briny deep does not know what life 
has in it for hipi. 
The club presented their commodore, Mr. C. B. West, 
with a handsome remembrance, showing their esteem. I 
shall tell you of some of the pleasures of sailing on 
Chesapeake Bay. H. P. W. 
A Record Broken. 
Shasta Mountains, Colo. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I inclose the following item, clipped from the San Fran- 
cisco Sunday Chronicle : "The season's record for trout 
fishing at Lake Tahoe was broken last week by Henry 
Payot, of this city, and Mrs. Norman D. Rideout, of 
Marysville. Mr. Payot and Mrs. Rideout made a 
miraculous catch of fifty-nine trout, aggregating golbs. in 
weight, inside of four hours. The catch was made near 
the Rideouts' mountain home, Sunnj^side, on the banks of 
Lake Tahoe, where Mr. and Mrs. Henry Payot have 
been spending a fortnight as the guests of the Marysville 
banker and his wife. Mr. Payot is an enthusiastic sports- 
man, and the catch was the talk of Lake Tahoe, where the 
fishing has been unusually good this summer, although 
nothing approaching the Payot catch had been previously 
made. All of Mr, Payot' s friends have been feasting on 
trout since the great catch was made, as it is difficult to 
dispose of golbs. even of the finest fish in the world." 
There is some hair-raising sportsmanship for you ! This 
same paper gives much space to sportsmanship and 
achievements of the kind quoted above. It recently de- 
voted the main part oF one of its pages to and illustrated 
the article eulogizing thf sport of slaughtering mourn- 
ing doves at their watering places. As this has been an 
exceotionally dry year, and watering places were scarce 
and far apart, the ambushers shot many thousands of tmtie 
doves, without much exertion. Ransacker. 
Bass in West Virg^inia. 
RoMNEY, W. Va., Sept, 7. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Living on the South Branch of the Potomac and an ardent 
lover of both fishing and hunting, I have often read notes 
in your paper about the South Branch, and I try to tell 
your many readers something of our fishing and hunting. 
As most people well know, this stream at one time was 
the best black bass stream of the United States, but owing 
to so many fishing in it, and the laws never being executed, 
it is not so .fine as it once was. However, if the water is 
clear and in good condition it yet affords some fine fishing. 
This present season has been unfortunate because the 
river has been very muddy most of the summer, but some 
good catches have been made. One of the most dis- 
graceful scenes ever witnessed by a true sportsman was 
seen here this spring. It was sixty-three bass caught on a 
tie raft in muddy water by cross-tie men engaged in Float- 
ing these rafts down the river. The bass would jump on 
the rafts, when the men would run each end in to the 
banks, and two of them weighed sHlbs., and eight or nine 
weighed over 4lbs., and all were full of spawn. And 
here you see the reason for our fishing not being what it 
once was. These men were brought up before a magis- 
trate, pleaded guilty and were fined $5 and costs, which, 
con.sidcring the enormity of the offense and the net that 
they sold the fish for m cents per potmd, was a very 
light sentence. 
We are expecting to restock the stream this fall with 
125,000 small black liass, and with a more strict enforce- 
ment of the law, hope to bring our river back to its 
former standing as the best black bass stream m the 
United States. 
As to hunting this fall, we have jio squirrels, but the 
prospects for deer, turkeys, partridges and pheasants were 
never better. Of all citizens of another State a license of 
$25 is required. This was meant to protect the game; but 
I think if we could control some of our own citizens who 
pot whole coveys of partridges in the snow and bait- 
turkeys to a blind and kill as many as eight or ten at one 
""shot and kill half-grown wild tttrkeys in August, we 
would need no license for a real sportsman who comes out 
to hunt for fun and not for market. J. B. B. 
Parasites in Fish. 
CanandajguAj N. Y. — Editor , Forest and Stream: I 
fi.sh in a lake outlet and occasionally capture a bass or 
two, and I have frequently found imbedded in the flesh 
under the .skin a little rotmd, white substance; on remov- 
ing this it wottld straighten out and appear to become a 
thing of life in the nature of a little white grub. I also 
find "a great many little black specks both on the outside 
of the skin and in the flesh. 
I have read an opinion of a physician in which it was 
stated that the food quality of the fish was improved by 
foreign matter of this kind. That relieved me so far that 
I can conscientiously feed them to the rest of my family, 
but I seem to require cumulative proof on this point. 
The bass in our lake are fine and clean, and I never 
found any such thing in them, btit I much prefer the 
stream fishing. 
The still stretches in the outlet above the dams get full 
of weeds in summer. 
I supposfe it would not be wise to publish anything like 
this, as it might prejudice some people against bass, but I 
would very much like to know the cause of the appear- 
ance of such life in bass, and if you could find leisure 
some time to write me the cause and effect I would esteem 
it a great favor. 
1 \v'ould dislike to give up my fly-fishing in tliis stream, 
as it is the only one I can afford to fish in, but if the fish 
are not good to eat I am about ready to give it r.p, as I 
do not want to kill the fish and not use them, neitlier have 
I got to that gentle stage where I am willing to put them 
back. They come too slow and too high for that. 
I have imagined that they were more infested in por- 
tions of the outlet that are muddy and weedy than wlaere 
it is clear and rock bottom, but I am certain of nothing 
except their presence. 
I have thought also that those that were not ''grubby" 
fought much harder and longer than those that were. 
They are small-mouth bass. 
Bass Fisherman. 
GuELPH, Ont. — Editor Forest and Stream: The other 
day a friend of mine was trout fishing in one of the spring ' 
creeks in this vicinity, and among his catch was a trout 
about loin. in length, having on it two lumps, one near 
the dorsel fin, the other just behind the gill. On ex- 
amination the liunps were each found to contain a red, 
anake-like parasite, 3 or 4in. in length and probably i-32in. 
in diameter. Are such pa!rasites common in trout? They 
are the first noted in this locality. The water of the creek 
was pure, cold spring water. I have inclosed parasites 
for your inspection. W. H. 
[Various parasites are known to infest the flesh and 
intestines of black bass and trout and game and food fish 
in general; but though not appetizing, they are considered 
harmless. Cook your fish thoroughly, make no deep 
scrutiny, give imagination no play, and enjoy the good 
'things set before yon.] 
Leapingf Bass and Pacific Salmon. 
FairhaveNj Wash., Aug. 31. — The New York press, in- 
cluding Forest and Stream, seem to be considerably agi- 
tated about "the bass that jumped into the boat," an event 
reported frojn Oak Orchard Creek, N. Y,, July 27 last. 
From the attention the incident has attracted it is evident 
that most people, and m.ost anglers as well, are not well 
posted on the versatility of the black bass. I remember 
that it was a .very common occurrence on the Niagara 
River above the Falls. At least half a dozen bass jumped 
into the boat while I was rowing along the shores of 
Grass and Connor's islands at various times in the seven- 
ties. One of them displayed such jumping ability as to 
throw himself fairly against my face. The act always oc- 
curred in shallow water, and it was always plainly to be 
seen that the bass jumped to escape the oars. The ex 
perience of Prof. Pound is entirely worthy of belief. It is 
not so rare nor remarkable as the catching of the Pacific 
salmon on the fly in the rivers of this coast. I have never 
been able to discover that they had an appetite for any- 
thing but to climb as far up the stream as the mountains 
will permit. In the salt Avaters of the Sound, the silver 
and steelhead salmon will take a spoon, and they afford 
grand sport where a rod is used. September and October 
are the months to catch them, and within eight miles of 
this city such sport may be had as to make it well worthy 
of a trip across the continent. Comox. 
"Go to school, sonny," said Uncle Eben, "an' git- eduoated 'Ibdut 
geography. It'll help you to un'stan' dat dis wort' would keep 
gwine round, even if you didn' happen to be on hax\' to vnsh 
an' holler." — Washington Star. 
