168 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[S'EPT. I, I9GO. 
!NEW vnRK sw^-^ 
Y/goasDJSluffs 
Camps, Cupsuptic Lake. He brings in handsome strings 
of trout almost any evening when he tries his flies. Pos- 
sibly here is one of the secrets of the unusually great 
catch of trout and salmon from Maine waters the present 
season — new and improved fishing tackle. I thoroughly 
believe that very many of the trout and salmon taken 
from the Rangeley waters late this season have been on 
the Stanley and other spinners. Other inventions are 
also rife for the taking of trout and salmon. What is to 
be done to keep up the supply of fish against the improved 
apparatus? Others are alarmed concerning the supply 
as well as I, and the best-posted anglers of the country 
are asking what the Maine Legislature will do this winter 
toward restocking. The Shilo Fishing Club, of King- 
field, Me., is to stock Tufts, Dutton and Grindstone 
ponds out of its own pockets. It will also ask to be 
allowed to screen the outlets. Special. 
A Few Miles of Fishing on the 
Upper Delaware. 
By the Upper Delaware we mean that part of the river 
which runs from Deposit down to Port Jervis and Mil- 
ford, Pa. For successful bass fishing in these parts of 
the river, the water must be in the right condition; it 
is so when it is low and clear. Fishing is never very 
satisfactory in the Delaware when the water is high or 
colored, or both. 
We present to the readers of Forest and Stream a 
rough pen and ink map of the Delaware River from 
about a mile and a half above the Lackawaxen station 
on the Erie R. R. to about three miles below the Shohola 
station, a distance by the river of nearly eleven miles, but 
by the railroad only about eight. This stretch of water 
includes some of the finest pools and holes in the river, 
and consequently some of the best fishing. Before pro- 
ceeding further with our subject, we can advise our 
readers that the condition of the river from Port Jervis 
up to Deposit can always be learned promptly by apply- 
ing by letter and inclosing postal card for reply to any 
of the station agents along the line of the Erie R. R. 
from Port Jervis .to Deposit., or by application to the 
general passenger agent, New York office. 
Should any fisherman start when the water is right, 
but on arrival at the proposed fishing grounds find that 
something has happened in the meantime to throw it 
out of condition, his trip and time are by no way lost. 
Should he make Lackwaxen his objective point, York 
Pond is only a mile and a half or two miles from the 
station; he can take his guide, outfit and bait up to this 
little lake, and as it is entirely formed by springs it is 
never out of condition; it is only a question of whether 
the bass are on the feed or not. Should the bass not be 
on the feed, the angler can give his attention to pickerel, 
which are numerous and average a good size. York- 
Pond is as pretty a little piece of bass water as any 
angler ever wet his line in. If Shohola should be the 
point of arrival, and the river is found to be out of 
condition, Washington Lake is only three or four miles 
away, and is always an excellent bass and pickerel water. 
If the angler finds the Delaware in proper condition — 
and it is seldom otherwise during the fall season — we 
can guarantee him a warm reception from the gamiest 
family of black bass that ever strained a rod either in 
lake or stream. 
The best live baits for the Delaware River are small 
catfish, grasshoppers, crickets and helgramites. The 
best artificial baits are the Delaware-belle and black- 
princess trolling baits and the following artificial flies: 
Black-princess, Montreal, yellow-Montreal and silver- 
doctor. The black-princess will take, on an average 
seven or eight bass while either of the other flies is 
catching one. When trolling in the eddies or casting in 
the rips with minnows we always use a No. 2 silver 
Skinner's casting spoon. 
We will now make a start at Lackawaxen from the 
Delaware House dock, having Fred the guide as our 
motive power and companion. He knows the river well, 
and is an_ honest, faithful, trustworthy guide. The only 
trouble with Fred is that he is rather inclined to get one 
up pretty early in the morning and keep one out until 
long after the dinner bell has ceased to ring in the even- 
ing. Weariness of arms and hunger are things unknown 
to Fred when the bass are on the feed, and if there is an 
old bouncer anywhere prowling around seeking what 
he can devour Fred is almost sure to run across him 
ajid sVake a fin before the sun sets over the western hills. 
From tlie Delaware House dock we will row across the 
river and commence trolling up stream close to the New 
York shore, this being the deepest side of the pool and 
th? c^rfent being ^ Ii|tl? §tronsfer there tb^n anywhere 
else. Explanatory of how to fish this water, we will use 
two rods — one on each side of the boat. On one line 
we will have a No. 2 silver Skinner's casting spoon with 
a minnow on the hook; on the other a Delaware-belle. 
About half way up the pool we cross the outlet of York 
Pond. It is always well to circle that point of water 
two or three times before moving any further up. It is 
seldom that one passes over the mouth of York Pond 
outlet without getting two or three bass, and generally 
pretty big ones. From here we will continue along the 
New York shore to the head of the pool. We will now 
take our boat up into the rips about the center, where the 
current is running swiftest, cast anchor, take off the 
spoon from the hook with the minnow on it and fish the 
boiling water as it enters the eddy with the phin minnow. 
It is well to allow the minnow to run down as far as 50 
to 75 feet into the pool. As soon as this boiling water 
has been fished with minnows, we let our boat run down 
about 75 or 80 feet, then cast anchor again and fish the 
smooth water with crickets, grasshoppers or helgramites 
if we have any. When we have thoroughly tried this 
water, we again put on our trolling rigs and work down 
the Pennsylvania shore until we come to the point on 
which the Delaware House stands. Just off this point 
there is a deep hole, which we have marked on the map. 
The water is about 14 or 16 feet deep. We anchor our 
boat on the edge of this hole and still-fish it with what- 
ever live bait we have. There are always some very large 
bass lying in this hole, and if fished in the evening, just 
before sunset, one is almost assured of getting two or 
three good fish out of it. It is no uncommon thing 
to take into ihe boat twenty-five or thirty bass out of 
the Lackawaxen pool, and • generally a few thoroughly 
good ones. 
W e will now leave our boat and scramble around and 
get below the dam while Fred "shoots the chutes." We 
will enter the boat again below the canal bridge and 
swing out into the river. This pool is known as Tower 
Eddy; it is very uncertain at all times. Occasionally a 
few good fish are taken, but more often only a few 
small ones. We will shoot the rips on the New York 
side and anchor directly our boat strikes smooth water. 
Just below this point there is a little drain running into 
the water, probably from the canal. One very often 
picks up one or two large bass still-fishing here. From 
this point we will commence trolling again, crossing the 
eddy and working the Pennsylvania side. From Gan- 
non's Eddy we will run down to Dunavan's (a few short 
rips only divide the two). This eddy should be thor- 
oughly fished by trolling, keeping principally on the 
Pennsylvania side. At the foot of Dunavan's Eddy on 
the Pennsylvania side there are two rocks standing 
well out of the water in about the center of the rip. The 
first rock is about 75 feet from shore; the second one 
about 100 feet from the shore. Just below the second 
rock — say 30 or 40 feet — there is a deep hole; we have 
had several good catches from it. On one occasion we 
got four fish, every one running between 4 and 5 pounds. 
This hole should be fished with live bait. 
We will now drop down to Big Cedar Eddy, which is 
very much like Dunavan's Eddy, in that the bottom is 
full of big boulders, which are first class hiding spots 
for the big bass. The principal fishing is from the center 
to the Pennsylvania shore. 
From the foot of Big Cedar the river takes a sharp turn 
and forms almost a semi-circle of shallow rips; these 
are not worth fishing. Around the bend of the river 
the rips end at the commencement of the pool known as 
Four-Mile Level. Here the conditions change; the 
deep water and the fishing is on the New York side. 
Anchor your boat on the right hand side of the first 
strong current, shown in our map, and fish it with live 
bait. From this point move 50 feet nearer to the New 
York shore and fish this current in the same way. They 
are two excellent spots for big fish. Troll the eddy well 
before leaving it, as it is all good water on the New 
York side. 
From Four-Mile Level down to Shohola, a distance 
of nearly two miles, the river is one continuous mass 
of rips and big holes. Magnificent catches can be made 
in this water by casting, but there is not 10 yards avail- 
able for trolling. The first pool of importance that we 
strike again is known as Little Cedar Eddy, and is situ- 
ated just abpve the bridge which leads from Shohola 
on the Pennsylvania side to Barryville on the New York 
side. ' 
Commence fishing this pool at the foot of the rips; 
anchor your boat a little distance up into the rips and 
use minnows and helgramites. A little distance down on 
the New York side, just off the pine trees, is a deep 
hole. This is a good spot for large fish. On the Penn- 
sylvania side, just above the bridge, there is a clamp 
of rocks; juit abpve and a little off these ro^ks is ap-^ 
other very deep hole. This is a good spot for wall-eyes. 
After still-fishing the above-mentioned spots, the eddy 
can be trolled up and down and alongside the main 
current, which starts in at the head of the pool on the 
New York side and crosses over about half-way down to 
the Pennsylvania side. Just below the bridge there are a 
good many rocks, some of which show out of water. 
This is an excellent spot for bass. Anchor your boat 
and still-fish with live bait among them. As the current 
is very swift, a heavy anchor is necessary to hold the 
boat. Just below these rocks and rips there is a small 
eddy known as Shohola Eddy. It is not of much ac- 
count. The angler may be lucky and pick up one or 
two small fish. From this eddy the river for about a mile 
and three-quarters is one continuous mass of holes and 
rips. The water is very swift, and requires an expert 
guide to successfully take the boat down through it. No 
novice to the river, however good oarsman he may be, 
should attempt to go down these rips without first 
taking some one who is acquainted with the currents to 
point out the peculiar turns and twists they take. 
Nevertheless, this stretch of water is a magnificent 
fishing ground. One hole in particular has always been 
a favorite of ours. It lies running in on the Pennsylvania 
a favorite of ours. It lies at the mouth of the Shohola 
Brook, which is quite a large stream running in on the 
Pennsylvania side. 
After leaving this turbulent and rapid, water we enter 
one of the grandest pools in the Delaware. We have no 
hesitation in saying that it contains more big bass of 
4, 5 and 6 pounds than any other pool in the river. Th4 
water on the Pennsylvania side is very, very deep, and 
probably stands next to Narrowsburg as a wall-eyed 
pike hole. 
The best way to fish this eddy is first to commence at 
the head and drift with the current along the Penn- 
sylvania shore, using live bait. The ground should be 
gone over, up and down, at least a dozen times. Occa- 
sionally anchor in some good water and still-fish for 
about half an houi-. At the lower end of the eddy on 
the New York side, just at the commencement of the 
rips, the water takes a sharp little turn and runs up 
quite close to the canal. This is known locally as the 
Horseshoe. It is probably not more than 50 feet across. 
The water has a circular sweep, as shown by the arrow 
marked on the map. It is probably 12 to 16 feet deep and 
is always literally alive with enormous big black bass. 
We have stood on the canal wall when the water has 
been clear and counted as ihany as thirty to forty bass 
lying on the bottom or moving gently around. We 
would make a big wager that not one of these bass would 
scale less than 3 pounds, while the majority would run 
4, 5 and 6 pounds each. 
Any clear day when the water is bright this school of 
fish can be seen. The best way to fish the hole is to 
anchor your boat about 20 feet from shore at the upper 
end of the_ horseshoe, where we have put an X on the 
rnap: use for bait the biggest minnows you can get, or 
little catfish 5 or 6 inches long. Cast your bait toward 
shore and run off line fast enough to allow the current to 
carry it along its natural course. Do not draw the line 
in until you find the bait has left the horseshoe and is 
being carried down into the rips. Some of the biggest 
bass we have ever taken in the Delaware have come out 
of this little hole. But the funny thing is, you will never 
get more than one or two at a time. 
We make it a rule always after catching one or two 
to leave the spot and go back into the eddy for an ho?ir ; 
then try it again. 
If the angler is of a nervous temperament and is leaving 
Shohola to fish Handsome Eddy we would advise him to 
get out just below Shohola Eddy and \^alk along the 
canal towpath until he strikes Handsome Eddy. It is 
only about a mile and a half, and by the time he gets 
there his guide, if he is a good one, will be in waiting for 
him, with a nice dry boat; but if the guide is a duffer 
(like some we have seen come down these rips) 
the angler will meet a sorry looking individual, having 
the appearance of a "drowned rat," his boat upside 
down, and his oars scampering merrily down the next 
rip. 
The probable reason why Handsome Eddy is such an 
exceptionally good pool is that it is so seldom fished. 
No one has a boat on it, and being about midway be- 
tween two stations on the railroad anglers very seldom 
either go up or down it, and is generally religiously left 
alone. 
James Churchward, 
New York, Aug. 10. 
The FoKBiT *m Stkeaji is put to press each week on Taeiday. 
Correspondence iatoided for publtcstion should iccch us Ui« 
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