370 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
IMat n, i90i„ 
ditions unfavorable to good fishing. At Cobbosseecontee 
there is good bass fishing, although it is early for that 
sport. The biggest catch of bass has been made by 
George Palmer, of Manchester;, ten, weighing from two 
to five pounds. Prof. Thieman, of Togus, took a salmon 
weighing fourteen pounds there last week. Fish Com- 
missioner L. T. Carieton and H. L. Pishon, of Augusta, 
have been fishing at Maranacook the past week, and are 
reported to have brought home good strings of trout. 
It is all too early for many reports of catches at the 
Rangeleys and Moosehead, although a great many fish- 
ermen have gone to their usual haunts on. those waters. 
From the Rangeleys reports continue to mention "too 
many smelts" by far. When the smelts have been done 
running for a few days the trout fishing is sure to be 
excellent. Special. 
On Old Back Creek Again, 
I NEVER think about writing up a camping trip until, 
sometimes, while sitting smoking in my "den," sur- 
rounded by fishing rods, flies, camping scenes, etc., my 
imagination carries me back to the dear old banks of my 
favorite fishing grounds, old Back Creek, where, to 
use the late Fred Mather's words, "Bass are jumping 
crazy for the fly." 
Back Creek is a favorite fishing resort for Winchester 
people, and in bass fishing season along Beaver Dam 
may be seen followers of Izaak Walton, patiently wait- 
ing to hear the musical click of the reel. There are a 
■ listen with pleasure to the sad notes of the whipporwiU 
and the plaintive cry of the catamount. All of these 
things go to make camp life pleasant and something out 
of the ordinary. 
The nearby farmer strolls in at night a,nd amuses you 
with some of his experiences about these parts. He tells 
you of a rattlesnake swallowing a deer and of a man see- 
ing two immense carp basking in the sun and jumping 
in and catching one under each arm, and many other 
miraculous things which we all take in and apparently 
believe. Bidding our good-natured friends good night 
we roll into our bed of straw and blankets and soon are 
dreaming of placid waters, the splash of the gamy bass 
and of skill pots. 
There is something tugging at my arm; ah! I say to 
myself in my dreamings, I have a strike; it feels like a 
big one; ' it keeps on tugging; I raise myself upon my 
elbows; I am reeling him in. Ah! it is only my friend 
"Snappj-" trying to wake me up. The morning sun is 
streaming in between the folds of the canvas and tells 
us it is time to be up, and then breakfast is the next thing 
on, the programme, ' 
-fjiy one who has been camping knows how good 
everything tastes on these trips; even fat bacon, which 
wc would not think of eating in town, is relished as 
much as a quail on toast. After satisfying our appetites 
, iWe strike out down the stream, with a pair of old shoes 
fon and very little elSe. casting here and there and every- 
where, and now and then having the satisfaction of see- 
ing the line go out and hearing the sweet music of the 
reel. In his frantic and game effort to free himself of 
Budd*s Lake, New Jersey, 
Budd's Lake is situated in the Schooley Mountains, 
Sussex county, N. J. The most direct way to reach it 
is by the Delaware. Lackawanna & Western Railroad to 
Stanhope Station, thence stage to the lake, three miles, 
three miles. 
Budd's Lake is not one of the most picturesque pieces 
of water that we know of. It is oblong, being about one 
mile across by nearly a mile and a half long, surrounded 
mostly by flat lands, rising a little distance back to rolling 
hills. But it is a good fishing ground, containing small- 
mouth black bass, large-mouth black bass, pickerel, etc.. 
We give a birdseye view of the lake, from which the 
fisherman can easily locate what fishing he wants. 
Small-Mouth Black Bass Grounds. — Small-mouth bass 
are taken more or less all over the lake, but the best spots 
are the deep water, 75 feet out from the Forest House 
dock, and extending from the point above down to the 
upper end of the bay. From the end of the deep water 
down to the point at the lower end of the bay is a sand 
bar in about 10 feet of water ; some nice small-mouths are 
often taken from this bar. Then around the reef off the 
lower point some are often taken. A very good spot, in- 
deed, is over and around the reef in the center of the 
lake. This reef can be located by following straight out 
from the reef just mentioned, until you are in a direct line 
between ihe Forest House dock and Smith's House, 
shown in map. The reef is about 6 feet under water. The 
best bait in Budd's Lake for the large fellows, and there 
are many of them that will run to 5 and 6 pounds, is 
BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF 
Rlin nQ I A K M f Delaware Laoka WANNA ^'W.R.f?. 
UUMUQ Im M 11 b JV.U. STANHOPE STATiON 3'MIL£S. 
good many people who can't see much pleasure in cast- 
ing a fly, but that is because the love of the sport was 
never born in them. When a man can lie flat upon the 
ground in the broiling hot sun in July, waiting for a 
bass to take his minnow, he is a true lover of sport, and 
gets more out of life than a great many people do. 
After hooking a big fish one experiences a sensation 
that is so exciting and intoxicating that sometimes after 
landing his prize he is attacked with a voilent headache; 
but he is perfectly willing to stand all that. 
But to go on with my story. I was accompanied on 
this trip, as I have been on all former ones, by my old 
friend Stiemman Snapp, who would rather wade all day 
in the creek enticing the bass than make love to a pretty 
girl. 
We left old Winchester at 12 o'clock at night and 
arrived at the creek about daylight. IJow familiar every- 
tliing looked. Even the crudely constructed table we had 
put up the summer before was still there, and served 
us again on which to eat our meals. 
The scenery around this section is beautiful. The \yater 
is as clear as crj'stal and as smooth as glass. To follow 
the windings of this stream is a strangely fascinating 
pastime. Sometimes it slips away beneath the low hang- 
ing branches of glossy green ivy and is as dark as ink 
among the dense shadows, and moans and sobs among 
the gnarled roots and shelving rocks that try to hold it 
captive. When you tire of rniu-muring streams you can 
climb the high cliffs near by and look afar to lands that 
seem fairer than this; where the soft fleece-like clouds 
bend down to kiss the slopes of the distant Blue Ridge; 
where the wind comes straight over the hills to tell you 
strange stories of what it saw and heard before it came 
to sob and moan among the dense pines around you. 
At night those who Ipye s©Utw<l? the w^ir4 ca"! 
the hook he throws himself clear out of the water only 
to plunge again into the water out of sight; now he is 
zigzagging; now he takes a straight shoot, but the hook 
is still fast, and my friend commences to slow him up; 
there is not as much line out as there was five minutes 
ago, and finally a quivering object is chucked into the 
fish basket. We continue on our way, now and then add- 
ing to our number. By noon we have caught enough to 
satisfy us and retrace our steps toward camp. 
We made arrangements to have the Winchester News- 
Item sent to us before leaving town, and reading it in 
the afternoon was one of the greatest pleasures of the 
trip. Before leaving town it was rumored that Mr. 
Charles Broadway Rouss, the blind millionaire mer- 
chant prince of New York., and Winchester's benefactor, 
was going to give $30,000 toward an opera house to be 
erected in the city, and on the day before leaving for 
home we received the news that it was really a fact, 
and to-day there stands in Winchester one of the finest 
buildings in the State, costing nearly $100,00, which 
but for the great generosity of Mr. Rouss might never 
have been erected. This man has done a great deal for 
Winchester and there is not a man, woman or child 
in the city who does not love him. 
Bidding farewell, but hoping to return again, we leave 
the rippling, musical waters of Old Back behind us and 
are soon going up hill and down hill toward home. 
Al Cltne. 
Notice. 
All communications intended for Fobest and Stream should 
always be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., qqH 
r\<)\ to individual connected with the paper- 
crickets and grasshoppers during the warm evenings of 
July and August. Crickets used in the deep water off 
the Forest House dock will generally bring three or four 
of the big ones to the net. 
Large-mouth black bass — and there are some old 
bouncers — are more plentiful than the small-mouth vari- 
ety. Their principal grounds are among the lifypads, 
skirting the western shore, and around the lower end. 
They are mostly taken by casting in holes among the 
pads with minnows and frogs. Frogs are a particularly 
good bait for them in Budd's Lake. 
Pickerel are all over the lake, but average smaller than 
most of the lakes in this section, but they are numerous. 
In other lakes, which we shall mention hereafter, one 
generally gets a fair percentage of 3, 4 and S pound fish, 
but here a 5-pound pickerel is quite a novelty. The best 
grounds for pickerel are : Starting from the Forest House 
dock take a bee-line for the point on the western shore 
shown in map, then down to Smith's boat house, keeping 
just clear of the lilypads. After passing Smith's boat 
house it is all good ground all over the bottom of the 
lake, either for still fishing or trolling. The best trolling 
rigs for Budd's Lake are Skinner's No. 2 silver and brass 
casting spoons, with a piece of white belly from another 
fish for bait. We have taken as high as 120 in a day with 
these rigs. J. Churchward. 
Like Picking Up Money. 
In every city, town and village in the United States where there 
is shooting or fishing or yachting we want agents to canvass for 
subscriptions for Forest and Stream. Every sportsman is deeply 
interested in its subjects, and every sportsman is glad to discuss 
his doings afield and to hear of the adventures of other sportsmen. 
Money is to be made by canvassers for Forest and Stream, 
and those who wish to take advantage of the opportunity we offer 
should send for premium list and circular.— Fore§t sfld^ S^^esit^i 
I'ublishin^ Company, 346 Broadway, New Yo^fc. 
