472 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June i6, 1900. a 
These bass are tlie rock bass or bar fish. The black bass 
fishing is not so good yet, but in its season, I am told, they 
are taken almost as rapidly. Lake Chico is a large, clear 
lake, a mile wide and twenty miles long. I hope to try it 
soon, and will write you about it. Bass fishing in the Old 
River, .twelve miles from Little Rock, continues very 
good." 
Western -Tfoot Fishers. 
Mr. Itha H. Bellows, of the Chicago Flj-Casting Club, 
left this week for a trip to the Rangeley Lakes of Maine, 
where he will attempt to try conclusions with some of the 
big ones. 
Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw, Mich., should be at 
just about this time on his way to the Cascapedia River, 
where he should get not only trout, but salmon. Mr. 
Mershom has a lease on some of the best pools in that 
river. He states that he has also no lease, but a cinch, on 
two or tliree good trout rivers in Michigan, about which 
he refuses to tell me unless I will come over and go with 
him. This I cheerfully promise to do. 
Mr. Leonard Goodwin, of this city, left this week for a 
business trip to Telluride, Colo. This will bring him in 
the neighborhood of some grand mountain rivers such as 
the Gunnison, and it need not be said that so ardent a fly- 
tisherman as Mr. Goodwin will not fail to take advan- 
tage of his opportunities. 
Mr. J. M. Rogers, of this city, leaves to-morrow night 
for the Little Traverse country of MichigEm, where he 
will spend pretty much all the summer. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dovenmuehle and their friends, Mr. and 
Mrs. Lamprecht, all of this city, start this week for. an 
extended fishing trip in the Yellowstone Park, and are 
outfitting to-day. They will have a delightful journey. 
Mayor Harrison and his friend, the Hon. Bill Haskell, 
returned this week from their very pleasant trouting trip 
at the Huron Mountain Club, of which Mayor Harrison is 
a member. The Mayor and his friend, Mr. Ellicott, took 
fiftj'-.seven trout, the largest of which weighed 4% pounds, 
there being numbers of 2 or 3 pounds in weight. These 
were taken on the club lake, inland, there being no fishing 
on the reefs of the big lake. In the little creek running 
into Trout Lake, Mr. Haskell said, he saw hundreds of 
big trout in the pools. He describes that country as a 
delightful one in every way. 
Up at Antigo, in the pine woods of our north country, 
there would seem to be some trout fishing accessible by 
those who are not afraid of a long ride or a brushy 
stream. The son of one of the railroad conductors at that 
point caught 112 trout in one day, fishing with bait in one 
of the brushy creeks, about sixteen miles from Antigo. 
Two fishermen who latety returned from a stream twenty- 
eight miles west of Antigo say they caught a great many 
trout of ^4, I and 1^2 pounds weight. I do not discover 
that this is good trout fishing for the fly. 
Mr. E. A. Renwick, of this city, has departed for a 
thorough trving out of the Manistee and Au Sable 
rivers of Michigan. 
Chicago Fly-Casttng Club. 
The Chicago FIj'-Casting Club practice meet lasit Satur- 
day turned out twenty members, who had a rattling good 
time, in spite of a chilly day. The club preparations for 
the August tournament are going along satisfactorily. 
A very unexpected gift came from the San Francisco 
Fly-Casting Club to the Chicago Fly-Casting Club in the 
form of a $75 trophj', to be put in competition at the 
tournament next August. It is needless to say that this 
courtesy is something very much appreciated by the 
Chicago boys. The Chicago Flj^-Casting Club and the 
San Francisco Fly-Casting Club appear to be the only 
organizations of this character in our Western country, at 
least, and they are both very worthy bodies. 
Ladies at Leech Lake. 
There will be a great expedition this week of the Minne- 
sota Federation of Women's Clubs, who will go up to visit 
Leech Lake, on the site .of the proposed Mmnesota Na- 
tional Park. The party will start over the Great North- 
ern Monday, June 11. It will be joined to-morrow at 
Minneapolis by a large number of Eastern and Southern 
ladies, who have this week been attending the biennial 
convention of the General Federation of Women's Clubs 
at Milwaukee. The expedition is under the conduct of 
Mrs. Martha Scott Anderson, of Minneapolis. It will be 
a notable as well as an enjoyable occasion. It should 
be remembered that the project of a Minnesota national 
park was first originated by the Women's Federation of 
Clubs of Minnesota. Mr. Henderson, Speaker of the 
House, will have to g.ccount to these ladies if he kills the 
park measure. 
Postponed. 
As to the Minnesota park in Congress, it is postponed, 
set forward or held up, as you choose to call it. Speaker 
Henderson, as was understood early in the week, refused 
to the last moment to take up the park measure at this 
session of Congress. None the less it will be taken up 
next December, and in all probability with success. ]\Iean- 
time, let the heathen rage. Secretary Ethan Allen Hitch- 
.cpck says there will be no more estimating and no more 
sale of that Indian pine. This much at least is sure, and 
so long, as the country remains as it was, we still have our 
park, and also the prospect of. its perpetuity. 
To the Rockies. 
Mr. John G. Mott and son, of Michigan City, Ind., will 
in earl}'^ September make a trip to the Wind River coun- 
try of Wj'oming, going to the hunting lodge of Mr. 
William Wells, in Uintah county. Mr. Mott goes to Mr. 
Wells' on my own recommendation, and I am sure he will 
not regret the trip, even though it includes a stage ride of 
150 miles over country, a part of which is something like 
the edge of the world. You have to get away from the 
railroad these days if you get snort. Mr. Wells had out 
lately Capt. McNeill, of the English Army, and therj' 
were very lucky, getting bear, lion and lynx. 
Above and Below Chicago. . 
Some years ago we used to hear a great deal about 
Momence; Ind,. as a fishing place, and manv is the good 
little bass trip I had there myself. To-day I hear from a 
gentleman lately returned from Momence that our old 
friends, Fred Knightheart and Fred Duree. are still alive 
and ■well, the fornter living on his farm not far out of 
town. They both go fishing and they both catch bass now 
as of yore. 
Dr. Oughton and wife, of this city, leave this week for 
a trip to Fourth Lake, one of the beautiful Madison Chain 
in Wisconsin. 
Mr. W. S. Phillips, some time known as El Comancho, 
is just back from a long traveling trip through the South, 
and started again this week for a repetition of the same. 
He touches at a great many good fishing points, but is 
mostly on the jump. E. HouGh. 
HARTroKD Building, Chicago, 111. 
Striking Salmon. 
There are few points on which fly-fishers differ 
more than the correct methods of striking salmon and 
trout. Not a few, in fact the majority of fly-fishers, will 
say that a salmon should not be struck. As a matter of 
fact, the differences of opinion among anglers on this 
subject are more verbal than substantial. Most men 
who have caught their 50 to 100 salmon and 100 to 1,000 
brace ot trout act in very much the same way, accord- 
ing to. the var3dng circumstances of each particular case. 
Francis Francis' direction was, as regards salmon, that 
when you see the boil and feel the pluck you may "raise 
your rod smartly, with a fair tug, over your 
shoulder." Some call this striking, others say it is 
simply keeping a tight line on the fish. In salmon fish- 
ing, perhaps the most important point to be remembered 
in connection with the strike is not to strike or pull too 
soon. Men who are accustomed to the quick-rising trout 
of rapid streams often make mistakes with salmon. These 
small trout dash at every passing particle in all haste, fear- 
ful of food escaping in a locality where food is all too 
scarce. Very different is the stately salmon, which as a 
rule shows no too great incHnation to feed, sometimes 
follows a fly for some yards before seizing it, and fre- 
quently breaks the surface of the water a half second or 
so before the fl.y is in its mouth. 
Thus, in salmon fishing it is a rule to which there are 
lew exceptions to strike only after feeling the pull of 
the fish. Even then the strike should not be such as 
would be given to a pike, into whose bony mouth we 
have to drive the hooks of several triangles. It should 
as a rule be little more than a tightening of the line 
sufficient to pull the point of the hook in over the barb. 
If the hook is small and as well pointed as all hooks 
should be, then the pressure need not be very great; but 
if it is of the meat-hook variety, such as is used on large 
rivers in the early part of the season, then of course 
the pressure must be very much more. Here it is that 
experience comes in, and beyond giving general direc- 
tions written instructions are of no great value. Another 
prime reason against hasty striking for salmon is that 
if. even after the fish has seized the fly, the angler strikes 
before it has turned, he may pull the fly clean out of its 
mouth without hooking the fish. This indeed often 
happens. Salmoii do not relinquish anything they have 
seized so readily as do trout. As a rule, after taking the 
fly they plunge down headforemost, and as soon as this 
takes place, when the strain comes on the line the point 
is puHed in the direction of the fish's tail — that is to say, 
into the side of its mouth and not the head of the fish. 
In summer, when small flies dressed on double hooks 
are much used, the salmon fisher should always bear in 
mind that there is every probability of both hook points 
resting against the salmon's mouth, and that the strike 
or strain, as one may please to call it, has in conse- 
(|uence to be very much increased. There are several 
objections to violent striking in salmon fishing. In the 
first place, we may break our tackle, for the resistance 
of a large fish is verj-- considerable. If we strike a half- 
pound trout hard with strong tackle the little fish is 
.^ent whizzing over our heads into the nearest alder. If 
we apply the same striking force to a heavy salmon 
there is a dead resistance, and the line, as likely as not. 
breaks. Another objection to violent striking is that if 
the hold is slight the hook may be torn away; and a third 
very practical reason for a moderate strike is that where 
rhe' salmon is treated roughly immediately he is hooked 
he may act in such a wild, frantic manner as to quickly 
sever his connection with the angler. The stiffness or 
suppleness of the rod is another element to be taken into 
consideration. Much more force must be applied with 
a supple rod th.an with a stiff one, for reasons which it is 
to be hoped are obvious to everyone acquainted with 
fishing. 
It may be taken as a general rule that the more rapid 
the stream the less occasion there is to strike. In very 
rapid water, unless the angler prevents him by hasty 
striking, the salmon invariably hooks himself if he takes 
the fly at all fairly into his mouth, and is not of Salmo 
irritans variety. In dead water there is a difference, and 
when rivers are low in summer we sometimes have to fish 
in almost dead water or not at all. Then the movements 
of the salmon are occasionally so slow and deliberate that 
if we do not strike on feeling assured that the fish has the 
fly in his mouth, we are apt to lose him altogether. In- 
stances occur when, in quiet pools, the fly is fished 
deep, of salmon' seizing the lure and releasing it again 
almost unknown to tlie angler. This rarely happens; 
but there are days when the angler finds himself catching 
fish by .striking when he sees his line slowly tighten. 
A keen eye and practice in the movements of the line in 
the waters are required to effect this — London Field. 
An Aditondacfc Six-Poond Tfout. 
MoKAiNE Farm, North Beverly, Mass., June g.— Editor 
Forest and Stream: I write to inform you of the capture 
of a large speckled trout.' The fish was taken by myself 
in a small pond near Raquette Lake, Hamilton county, 
N. Y., on May 25, 1900. His weight was just 6 pounds, 
length 20?4 inches and girth 16 inches. 
As far as I could learn this was the largest brook trout 
taken in Adirondack waters for some time, and, in fact, I 
could get no definite record of anything larger. The fish 
is now being mounted at the shop of H. H. Miner, Saranac 
Lake. 
Trout of over 4 pounds were taken from the same pond 
this spring, and I myself took another weighing 3 pounds 
10 ounces. 
I consider this rather remarkable for waters as played 
out as most of those in the State of New York to-day. 
JoTfisr C. Phillips, 
Good Angling in Canada. 
Reports which reach me from all the inland angling 
waters of Quebec prove the correctness of the prediction 
made some time ago that the sport has improved with 
the progress of the season. This, no doubt, sounded 
strange when it was made, particularly as fiishermen have 
come to regard the earliest spring fishing as the best of 
the 3'ear. But this has proved a very extraordinary sea- 
son, and the long continued cold through almost the whole 
of' May kept the fish from rising. There has been no very 
warm weather at all this spring in Canada as yet, and it 
is therefore probable that the excellent sport at present 
reported will continue for some time to come. 
There was a very jolly party of members and guests of 
the St. Bernard Fish and Game Club at the Saccacoma 
Club house on Monday, June 4, when the annual meeting 
of the club was held, and General Henry, U. S. Consul at 
Quebec, was re-elected president. The trout were rising 
freely on most of the club lakes. 
Anglers returning from Lake Edward report that the 
fishing there is just now rounding into splendid form, and 
that the big fellows are biting splendidly. Visitors to 
the Press Club and other resorts on the lake have niet 
with the most magnificent success. 
The same story comes in from every point along the 
Quebec & Lake St. John Railway. Messrs. D. E. Petit, C 
G. Cole, O. K. Hiscock, C. Andrew and W. J. Andrew 
returned on June 4 from the Triton tract, where they 
enjoyed some excellent sport. 
Mr. E. C. Fitch, Miss Fitch. Miss Mallon, of Bo-ston, 
and Messrs. W. J. Carroll and G. M. Hart, of New York, 
arrived at Quebec on Tuesday, June 5. and left the same 
day on Mr. Fitch's yacht for his salmon pools on the 
Romaine River. 
Dr. Francis S. Watson, of Boston, arrived on Monday 
and left for the Saguenay and Lake St. John, where he 
will fish for a short time. 
Dr. George L. Porter, of Bridgeport, and Mr. Wm. A, 
Lincoln, of Pittsburg, have just reHirned from Lake 
Kiskissink, where they report having had the best fishing 
in their experience. The trout were both plentiful and of 
generous proportions. Dr. Porter's experience in the 
Lake St. John country now extends over a good many 
years. 
Mr. W. M. Macpherson, president of Molson's Bank, 
and a large party of Montreal friends left Quebec by 
I. C. R. on Friday, June 8, for the Metapedia Valley. 
Colonel Colh'ngwood, of England, arrived on Sunday, 
June .3, and subsequently left for the south shore after 
salmon. 
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel C. Adams, of Utica, N. Y., are 
after the wily ouananiche at Roberval, Lake St. John. 
Mr. Robert E. Plumb, of Detroit, and Mr. Alex. B. 
Johnston, of New York, are both in Quebec on their 
way to their salmon streams. 
Mr. J. Montgomery Hare, of New York, is hooking the 
big red trout of Lake Edward. 
E. T. D. Chambers. 
A Six-Houf Tarpon Play. 
The party of fishermen who arrived here last week 
took their departure on Sunday, landing nineteen tarpon 
in the four days' fishing. The party came to Punta Gorda 
in the private car of F. Y. Anderson, who headed the 
party. He is land commissioner for the X. & N. R. R. 
Co., living in- Birmingham, Ala. The others were Col. 
J". A. W. Smith and Mr. Daniel H. Rogan, of Birming- 
ham, and Mr. Geo. T. Bonner, of New York. The 
guides for the party were Tillit Henderson, Geo. West, 
Bill Bartley and his son, Will J. Bartley. The latter was 
out_with Mr. Bonner, and the first day's fishing hooked 
a big tarpon. Instead of swallowing the bait the hook 
caught in the outside of the mouth of the big silver 
king, and a contest began for the master}' such as has 
seldom been witnessed. The tarpon was hooked at Four- 
Mile Island, and for six hours and fifteen minutes he 
fought for his freedom. In this time he carried the 
skiff and anglers across to the mouth of Whiskey Creek, 
back to Four-Mile Island, across to Rylander's, thence 
to the bulkhead across the river, and back again to Four- 
Mile Island, the distance covered by the fish being at 
least twelve miles. Finally he was brought close enough 
for Will Bartley to attempt to gaff him. Will struck the 
gaff' into him, but in a twinkling was jerked clean out of 
the boat into the water, although he weighs 180 pounds. 
He hung on, however, climbed back into the boat, and 
the gamy fighter had at last to give up and be killed. 
The silver king weighed 151 pounds, and was 6 feet 9 
inches long. 
Col. Smith also had a wonderful experience on Satur- 
day. He had two lines out, and hooked two tarpon at 
one time. This has happened to anglers frequently, but 
in this case one of the reels fell to pieces, and it was nec- 
essary to wind up the line by hand, and the other rod 
broke in two, but strange to relate the Colonel succeeded 
in landing both tarpon. — Fort Myers (Fla.) Press, May 
24- . 
New Jersey Coast Fishing. 
AsBURY Park, N. J., June 9. — The continued cold cur- 
rent has held surf fishing quiet during the past week. 
Some bass have been taken, -20% and 16 pounds being the 
largest. Kingfish are fairly plentiful and are taking the. 
hook well, with a most decided preference for blood 
worm bait. One small drum of 8 pounds, to the credit 
ot the inveterate, irrepressible Archie Applegate, at Shark 
River Inlet, apparently opens the season for that fish, 
although they are never plentiful at that point. At 
Manasquan bluefish are abundant, as well as at points 
further south. It is hard to determine just why they 
are there and none here, unless it is as charged, because 
of the pound net interference. The black bass season 
opened on the 30th ult., but so far as I can learn not one 
has yet been taken — why, is something of a mystery. Rods 
will, however, be busy, both in fresh and salt waters. 
Barnegat Bay is coming in line, as a friend who is an 
enthusiast, running in for a moment's chat this A. M., told 
me he saw some fine specimens of weakfish weighing 0 
pounds each taken in the lower thoroughfare the present 
week. That report sets the blood tingling, and a trip soon 
i , in orrlr r LEONARD HuUT. 
