14S 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Fes. 03, 1901. 
May I.— Went to the different Fishing Landings on 
both sides the river and found that few fish had been 
catchd. 
July 17.— Went down to Col Fairfax's White House 
to haul the Sein; returned to dinner." 
After the Revolution his home diary was resumed, and 
the accounts of the conduct of the fisheries, and con- 
tracts for sale of fish, etc., continue to read much like 
those already given. 
The present landing pier for Mt. Vernon, built on or 
near the site of the original, only reaches now far enough 
to permit a boat to get in and out, wi Ji churning up the 
mud at low tide, is used nearly every sunmier's day l>y 
fishermen. It rarely furnishes better than sunfish. or the 
perches, about the piles; sometimes a school of little 
rockfish dart about till frightened, and in the fall, bass 
on lucky days furnish first-rate sport. It is reported, 
but not very well aulhenicated. lliat a wandering school 
of small bluefish from the l)ay afforded unepected de- 
light to some anglers here, taking ravenously both 
minnows and fly. 
On the rivtT shore, north of the creek's mouth, a fish- 
erman named Harper has a fishing ."Station. Last summer, 
in his absence, river pirates fired his shed, burning nets 
and paraphernalia, perhaps to hide evidences of theft. 
He has replaced the net. and is making hauls every night, 
taking regularly a few fine bass, but principally coarse 
fish. Still higher up the river is tjid Fort Sheridan, now 
Fort Hunt. The United States wharf here reaches far 
across the shallows, towards the channel on the iMaryland 
shore, and from this pier soldiers off duty and civilians 
took last fall great quantities of large bass. 
The last trip of last season was to this creek to find 
the bass, which were said to be furnishing grand sport as 
Uiey came in from the river, presumably hunting winter 
quarters. It wai already too late for the fly, and as the 
Ml Vernon elirtric road crosses the stream on a trestle 
just before reaching the gates, an early train was taken 
on this line, and word having been sent the night before, 
to Four Mile Run, a bucket of beautiful pike smelt were 
put on at this place. The station at the tresJe is River- 
side Park, the road being interested in a summer resort 
here, which has as yet been not much improved. A 
ravine, called _ Carney's Gut in the old records, lies be- 
tween this point and the river, so it is necessary if one 
desires to enter the creek from the Potomac, to get off 
at Hunter's, a mile above, and drive over to the Point. 
On gettiiig off here, tiie expected team was not in sight. 
It was a mile and a half to the boat; the minnows were 
heavy; the sky lowering, and there seemed nothing to do 
but wait a dozen minutes for the car to return from Mt. 
Vernon, and go back home. Just as its shrill air whistle 
piped, along came my young friend driving a colt to' a 
sulky, vvhh a seat the size of a dining plate. He had 
made up his mind the weatl'.er was not fit, was on his 
way to the blacksmith shop, and apologized for the 
vehicle. We both climbed on the seat, and the colt tried 
to climb a tree; with the minnow bucket swinging be- 
hind, rattling and splashing, and the bundles clasped in 
front, we started. The fix was flimsy, the filly was frisky, 
the country road scatadalous with fall rains, and in an- 
i^uish. one of us climbed dow.. and carried the minnows 
the Tfst of the way; but relieved of the tackle bag and 
rod case, it was delightful to such a ride. 
Arriving at the river we found the boat had not been 
launched, because the sky was threatening; the tide was 
low, which meant a hundr:;d feet of mud, but my young 
friend went up \o the fisherman's cottage, and he kindly 
rigged us out with a heavv bateau comfortable enough 
Eor bob fishing. After an hour's delays we started and 
pulled around into the mouth of the creek, and up above 
the trestle, trying the likely places all the way up, but 
finding only a few fairly good yellow perch, which we 
promptly retnrnea; general results much like Washing- 
ton's frequent entry of "catchd nothing." We got to 
the fishing groimd at last, and it had grown very dark; 
the wind was rising and shifting from the east northerly. 
Caught one bass, and then all Dame Jul anna Berners' 
lisi of impossibles broke on us at once. Without trying 
to follow her spelling, she puts it thus: "Now shall ye 
wyte that there been twelve manere impediments, which 
cause a man to take no fish without other comyn that 
may casually happen, 
1. If your harness be not meet nor neatly made. 
2. If your baits be not good nor fine. 
3. If that ye angle not in bytynge time. 
4. If that the fish be frightened with the sight of man. 
5. If.that the water be thick, white or red, of any flood 
late fallen. 
6. If the fish stir not for cold. 
7. If that the weaiher be hot 
8. If it rain. 
9. If hail or snow fall. 
10. If it be a tempeste. 
11. If it be a great wind. 
12. If the wind lie :n the east, and that is worst, for 
commonly neither winter nor summer ye fish will not 
bite then." 
So far as concerned the first and second "ifs" we were 
all right; the harness wa.^; meet, and the ba'ts were fine, 
but it was evidently not "'bytynge time." When the pros- 
pective purchaser told an earlier David Harum he had 
13 reasons for not buying, the first being he had no 
money, he was mformcd he need not mind enumerating 
the other dozen. So it would seem any further explana- 
tion superlluous. but we had all the other ifs, save No. 7, 
against us. The ram which came like the "quality of 
mercy" for a few minutes soon fell in sheefs. the wind 
became 3 gale; we shivered with the cold; a hurried row 
to the trestle, minnows overboard, a scramble up the Iiill, 
and the brightest bit of luck of the day appeared: a car 
was in view coming round the bend, and in two minutes 
the episode was closed. One of those nice cheerful days, 
one recalls as he might a broken leg. tiiot from choice 
but because he can't help it. Henry Talbott 
A California Tttna in New Yoffe* 
Mr. Thomas J. Conroy, of 28 John street. New York, 
has on exhibition in liis store window a handsomely 
mounted specimen of the tuti.i. The fish wa<i caught last 
June at Santa Catalina. Cal.. by Mr. C. C. Paine, weighs 
124 pounds ami fought for two and one-half hours be- 
fore being landed. It is a splcudid spcciman ainl attracts 
oDD^erable attention. 
Salmon Rivers. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In a recent article on salmon rivers, replying to in- 
quiries of a correspondent, you say : 
"If Newfoundland becomes a Canadian possession there 
will probably be no free fishing, and no salmon rivers to 
be bought, as the Canadian Government is cognizant of 
the vahie of such properties, and its' policy is to lease 
rather than to sell." 
The inference to be drawn from the foregoing is that 
when any_ Province enters the Dc5minion confederation 
the Canad'an Government acquires the power to dispose 
of the river fisheries therein. This idea is erroneous. The 
Canadian Government has power only to regulate — that 
is. prescribe what are the legal modes of fishing, etc. The 
property right in rivers is vested in the Governments of 
the Provinces in wh^ch they are respectively situated. It 
is the Government of the Province of New Brunswick, for 
instance, that leases the Ristigouche (save the side in the 
Province of Quebec from Matapedia to the Patapedia), 
the Jacquet, the Nepisguit, Tracadie, Tabusintac, North'- 
west Miramichi, etc. 
It may interest a number of your salmon and sea trout 
angling _ readers to know that all the leases of New 
Brunswick rivers now running will expire on March i, 
1902. These rivers and their present lessees and rentals 
paid are as follows: 
Annvial 
TV- ■ . -r,. . - _ Rental. 
Risttsrouche River from T. C. R. Bridge to Upsalquitch, 
Ristigoticlie Saltnon Club $350.00 
Ristigovirhe River from Upsalquitch to Toad Brook, Harry 
T5. Hollins.. 300.00 
Ristigouche River from Toad Brook to Tom's Brook, Risti- 
gouche Sa'nion Club ......... .1,500.00 
Ristigouche River from Tom's Brook to Patapedia, Risti 
gouche .Salmon Club 800.00 
Ristigouche River from Fatapedia to Red Bank Pool, Risti- 
gouche Sa'mon Club 800.00 
Ristigouche River from Red Bank Pool to Tracy's Brook, 
Ristigouche Salmon Club 800.00 
Ristigouche River from Tracy's Brook to Little Cross Point, 
Archibald Rogers 1,000.00 
Ristigouche Rriver from Little Cross Point to Kedgwick, 
Archibald Rogers.. 1,000.00 
Ristieouche River, Rafting Ground Reserve and Lot 78, 
Harry Holbrooke... 60.00 
Upsalquitch River from mouth to forks, F. S^ancliffe 250.00 
Upsalquitch River from forks to sources, A. E. Alexander.,. 55.00 
Patapedia River, on western bank, from mouth to Quebec 
Line, Geo. Cyprian Jarvis 100.00 
Quatawamkedgwfck River, Henry P, King 175.00 
Tobique River and branches, Tobique Salmon Club 50.00 
Tacquet River and branches, Thos. Murphy 100.00 
I'abusintac River and branches, John Connell 60.00 
Tracadie River and branches, J. B. Snowball 50.00 
Nepisguit River from mouth to 11-Mile Tree, Henry Bishop 165.00 
Nepisguit River from 11- Mile Tree to Gt. Falls, Frank Todd 525.00 
Nepisguit above Gt. Falls, — . Armstrong 50.00 
Little Southwcrt Miiamichi and branches, Wm, F. Ladd 150. CO 
Northwest Miramichi and branches, above mouth Big 
Sevogle, R. TT. Armstrong , 50,00 
Big and Little Sevogle, J. Weidmann 150.00 
Bartibog River and branches, John Connell.... 4. -.r-.tt-,.. 5.00 
Dungarvon and its branches, J. S. Neill 50.00 
South Oromocto Lake, etc., W. H. Bamaby 200.00 
Indian and Popelogan lakes, A. E. Alexander 100.00 
The mode of disposing of these leases for periods of. in 
some causes five, and in others ten years, from March, 
ig02, will be by publx auction at the Crown Land Office, 
Fredericton. They always go to the highest bidder. 
D. G. Smith, 
Fishery Commissioner for New Brunswick. 
Chatham, N. B., Feb. II, 
The Remembered Event. 
Editor Forest and Stream:' 
The ordinary January thaw, which this year 
was postponed to February, ttirns my mind to 
thoughts of fishing; and while I am not tempted to repeat 
John Danforth's famous experiment of drawing a fly 
across the smooth upper surface of the ice to see the 
eager trout below rush to buiup their noses against the 
under .surface in the delusion that spring has jumped 
upon the lap of winter, yet there comes up in recollec- 
tion an experience which may have occurred to a number 
of anglers, but which stands out distinctly on my 
memory's background as the most del'ghtful of my 
sporting reminiscences, and the relation of which may 
not only lead other sportsmen to recount in your columns 
their one pre-eminently remembered event, but which 
may serve incidentally to tend to a settlement of that 
much vexed question, "imita.ion or non-imitation of na- 
ture in artificial trout flies." 
When I say that this recollection surpasses in pleasure 
even that of my first struggle with a salmon, anglers 
will appreciate my feeling. 
One tnorning in May a number of years ago I had been 
fishing down the Neversink with more or less success, and 
had arrived at a point where the s.reatn divides into a 
fork made by a wide gravel bar. The main stream passed 
off to my left and a very small branch, scarcely lo feet 
wide, flowed to the right. It was so small that I gave it 
no attention, and was fishing the main stream. 
But every once and a while I heard a splash, above the 
sound of the rippling waters, that attracted my attention, 
until finally I paused and listened intently. The sound 
came from the small branch of the stream behind me, and 
upon walking over the gravel bar to investigate, I found 
that there was a lafge fish — large for that stream before 
the brown trout {Salmo fario) were mistakenly placed 
therein — regularly rising under an overhanging red wil- 
low and feeding on the fly that was on the water. I knelt 
down, as there was no shelter, and cast a coachman, a 
beaverkill and a cahill over him, above him, and even a 
little below where he rose. 
He was not frightened, but deliberately refused my 
offer, for he came up with the same regularity and en- 
gulfed the natural f[y with a flip of his tail that 
seemed to even hit my coachman in derision. I finally 
moved back, laid down my rod and walked some distance 
up the stream until I succeeded in catching in my handker- 
chief, laid within my landing net, one of the natural f^ies, 
and found that it was a red spinner. I then substituted 
for my coachman the smallest red spinner that I had in 
my book (I tie them of a more delicate build than those 
usually sold) and crawled on my hands and knees to the 
place \vhere the trout was still rising, being careful that 
no shadow was cast on the stream. 
With my hmH if) «py mouth for fear of a bungle, I 
made an underhand cast under the bush, about 6 inches 
above the last "break," and. presto 1 I had him. I sprang 
to my feet and then commenced a soliloquy by that trout 
that I "received" over the electric circuit of m.y rod and 
line, and accompan'ed by gestures that I could occa- 
sionally see. That fish plainly told me that he thought 
that he was an old fool, that he had repeatedly warned 
youngsters against silk and feathers, that, notwithstand- 
ing the warning, they had gone to destruction, but that 
they were young and heedless. But that he, a graybeard, 
should have been deceived, was too much, and he showed 
his anger and disgust violently. Finally he told me 
that he deserved it, and that there was no use resis ing 
fate, and though the skies looked bluer and the sunshine 
brighter when I passed the net under him. I actually felt 
sorry for the fish, although elated that I had outwi ted 
him. J. E. HiNDOM Hyde. 
Nkw York, Feb 16. 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Salmon ia Canada. 
Mr. Alexander Mowat writes me that the upper waters 
of the Canadian .salmon rivers. Ristigouche. etc.. were 
teeming with breeding fish last fall, and that about 2 ooo,- 
000 salmon eggs had been secured for the new hatchery 
on the Ristigouche, and that next year there would be a 
retaining pond for the breeding fish. When I was on the 
river in June the fish were chiefly passing up streams 
without any halting in the pools, and this argued well for 
the future stock of fish in the stream, and Mr. Mowat 
confirms the opinion formed in tire spring, 
Newfouadland Fishing. 
A friend wrote me last spring to ask what I Icnew about 
trout and salmon fishing in Newfoundland. I was not at 
home, and so did not answer his letter until he had 
starred to find out what he wished to know on the spot. 
He wrote me lately: "I did go up on the west coa«t 
of Newfoundland, and when I went to see you and found 
you were iri Canada, I wished to get a few points about 
salmon fishing, as I had never seen a salmon until it was 
dead. I was late for this sport, but I saw barrels of 
salmon lying in the pools, though they were no: interested 
in artificial flies. The trout, the beautiful sea trout were, 
however, in full bloom. I could have taken lOO pounds 
a day had I been so inclined, but I had no use for so 
many. The first day two of us caught 36 pounds in an 
hour and a half. They would take anything offered and 
acted as though they were crazy. I consider them much 
be.ter than brook trout for the table. That is the greatct 
sporting country I ever saw. both for rod and gun, and 
it must be a great place or resort for sportsmen when 
they get better accommodations. It is hard getting along 
there now, unless you camp and take everything with you. 
Some time I will tell you more about it." 
Tfoal and Pike. 
It is generally understood. I believe, that when a per- 
son desires to obta'n fish for planting from the Forest, 
Fish and Game Commision of New York, particularly if 
ihe fish wanted are trout, an applicat-.on must be 
made out, filling in answers to cer ain questions, one of 
which is to declare whether or not the water is natural 
trout water, and another is to state the kinds of fish, other 
than trout tha: are in the water in which it is desired that 
the trout be planted. 
More and more, apparently, the answer to the last men- 
tioned question is "pickerel." This may mean the com- 
mon pond pickerel or it may mean the pike commonly 
called pickerel. Brook trout and pickerel do not. as a 
rule, thrive in the saine water, aside from the fact that 
pickerel will prey upoii trout, but occasionally pickerel 
will niake their way into and establish themselves in 
the cool waters natural to trout, and generally the Com- 
mission declines to furni.^h trout to be planted in waters 
that pickerel have invaded and become a fixture. Orie 
man wrote that to reject trout applications for waters that 
contained pickerel "would be to remove the greater part 
of the streams in that region from the lis: of trout 
streams." Another applicant who had declared thnt 
pickerel were found in the stream for wh'ch he wished 
the trout mentioned in his applica ion. made a persona! 
call upon the Commission after his application had been 
rejected, and argued that he should have the trout he 
asked for because he had been frank enough to admit 
that the stream contained once in a while a small pickerel, 
for he thought no one else would have made the admis- 
sion. He was somewhat surprised when there was shown 
to him a report made by one of the State game protec- 
tors that the stream was unsuitable for trout not only be- 
cause it contained pickerel, but because it was used by 
a large vilage as the outlet for its sewage. In one week 
two men asked for trout to be planted in waters in- 
fested with pike, or pickerel, rock bass, sunfish and yel- 
low perch, and both admitted when questioned that he 
water was not suitable for trout, but they thought if trout 
were planted this act would s op w"nter fish'ng through 
the ice under Section 58 of the game law, and they, were 
inclined to be indignant because their applications were 
rejected. One man thought if large trout were planted 
they could protect themselves from the pickerel. The 
Commission tries to inform itself about any water in 
which there is the least doubt as to its fitnf^ss for members 
of the salmon family, and so when the applicant's answers 
to the queries in the application are not conclusive the 
State game protector of the district in which the water is 
situated is asked to report on it. There are plenty of 
streams and ponds that have been improperly planted with 
fish, and in some ins ances there is a remedy for the mis- 
take and in others not. If there is a remedy the applicant 
generally wishes the State to apply it, for it means an ex- 
penditure of time and money. It is much easier to put 
fish into a pond or stream than it is 10 get them out after 
it is discovered that the putting of them in is a blunder. 
Again and again I have advised correspondents to re- 
move pickerel from trout waters and try and restore it to 
its original condi.ion instead of putting in other fi-h. gen- 
erally olack bass, that cannot be removed. The law pro- 
vides for the condition of things in Section 47 of the 
Can* Law ; "The Commisisiori tnas .psennit the taking or 
