May 2S, 1901,] 
POOREST AJNi-» STREAM. 
407 
Our hearts were soon gladdened by a sight of the 
Severn River. The dear old river we hadn't seen for a 
year, and we greeted it with a shout of gladness; for 
on its banks and in its shady pools I have spent many a 
delightful season and every bend, yea, every shady nook 
from the station, five miles down to Sparrow Lake, was 
dear to me. The next day or two I spent in varnishing 
my boat and repairing my tackle and getting ready to 
angle in earnest. 
Monday morning early I was out fishing for bass at 
the mouth of Grass Lake, and in a short time I had taken 
four or five bass and some nice pickerel. These I took 
to Bennett's and had for breakfast. In the afternoon I 
went trolling; in fact, I am too restless to stay in one 
place to fish. I very much prefer to be moving about 
and for this reason trolling specially commends itself, and 
the methods of taking fish this way are varied and afford 
the earnest angler abundant opportunity for studying 
out new devices for luring his quarry to doom. 
I have never fished much anywhere else than in north- 
ern Canada and mostly in this Severn River region. For 
many years I have fished the Severn River and Sparrow 
Lake and always -found enough fish to reward an earnest 
eflFort, and the hope of an unusually large muscallonge 
has kept me out in the sunshine and fresh air and has 
been to me a boon in the way of health and strength. 
This Severn River drains Lakes Simcoe, Lake Couchi- 
ching and Sparrow Lake, and after numerous water- 
clear over. He then started for some tree tops, but I 
turned him to deeper water. I had a very light silk line 
and was afraid his teeth would cut the line and cause me 
to lose my prize. I handled him as lightly as I could, 
putting very little pressure on him, and when he drew 
alongside I saw the line was cut to a shred. A blow with 
the boat paddle dispatched him and I lifted into the boat 
a loyi pound 'lunge, the finest of the season for me. 
A few days later I trolled the current below, keeping 
ray hook close to a reef of wild rice that fringed the 
shore for 200 yards or more. I hooked the largest bass 
I ever saw outside of a fish market. All the boats drew 
alongside to see the capture. After fifteen minutes' play 
the big fellow broke and made off. He would have 
weighed five pounds at least, and my disappointment 
was greater than his size. Last season I had more than 
my usual luck with large bass. Three days after the 
above experience I hooked a very large bass by some 
shelving rocks — our boat was passing a lodged stump. 
The big bass was in plain view, for the water was shal- 
low. We saw him dive again and again into a bunch 
of grass that grew on the bottom. Whether he caught 
the weeds and pulled them loose with his mouth or not 
the water was soon full of floating grass that had been 
pulled loose by the bass. After a long, hard battle, Mi". 
Kinser lifted him into the boat. A few moments later 
my friend Kinser hooked another beautiful fish and he 
manipulated him in fine style and I netted him just as a 
CAMPING ON THE SEVERN. 
lalls empties into Georgian Bay. All the way from Lake 
Couciijching to Glouster Pool there is fine fishing, and 
perhaps as good muscallonge fishing as may be found in 
Canada. Above Sparrow Lake there are two swift cur- 
rents, where I have whiled many an hour away in troll- 
ing, and since trolling seems to suit the taste of so many 
anglers, I will here say a few words about the method 
that seems successful. 
In fishing from a boat I row up stream very, verv 
slowly, with a live frog for bait, or a minnow. I usually 
have out forty or fifty feet of line and keep the bait 
moving and far away from the shock of the oar, and I 
try to row with as little shock as possible. Always work 
your bait in around any lodged drift or exposed rocks. 
In the journey up stream I more frequently take bass 
than any other fish. In drifting down I do not use the 
oars only to steer and use a large live angle worm and 
drift down stern foremost. As a rule fish lie with their 
heads up stream and catch their food as it drifts toward 
them. After a steamer has passed I have found they 
bite unusually well. These two worms and frogs are 
my standard baits, although there are days when min- 
nows are better, and again grasshoppers and crickets are 
best. Every angler should keep as large an assortment 
of baits as he can; for bass are 'rather choicy at times; 
but for every day fishing no bait beats the large angle 
worm. I do not mean the one you dig in the garden, 
but the large one that crawls out on the damp grass at 
night, and especially after heavy warm rains. No one 
who has not hunted for them has the faintest conception 
of the vast numbers that may be gathered. I fancy 
nearly every cubic foot of soil in the bottom lands of 
Pennsylvania passes through the bodies of these angle 
worms once in every two years, and the angle worm is 
certainly the farmer's most faithful friend in pulverizing 
the soil. 
I can hardly pass by without emphasizing the impor- 
tance of gathering these worms when the opportunity 
presents itself during wet weather; for in dry weather 
it is impossible to get them except by wetting with hose 
lawns or garden spots, which is much more troublesome 
than gathering after a warm rain. 
In trolling with hook and line the slower you go the 
better: and the quieter you handle the oars the better 
are your chances; if possible, don't jar the water at all. 
Fish cannot hear, but are exceedingly sensitive to jars. 
The only inconvenience is the frequent fouling of your 
line; but by rowing back it usually comes free; or a 
very small piece of cork fastened to the hook by a thread 
will usually float the hook over the rocks. A file of 
very fine serrations should always be carried and hooks 
need frequent sharpening. I am satisfied many fish are 
lost because of dull hooks. 
Occasionally you catch a fine muscallonge and then 
you have an experience long to be remembered. 
Last summer my wife and T were trolling around the 
mouth of Grass Lake and had taken some fine bass. 
Finally I hooked a small bass and as I drew him to the 
boat hs got off and just as he did so a magnificent mus- 
callonge darted for him, missed, but grabbed the frog 
I had for bait. I let the line run out fully forty feet 
before T set the hook. When the fish felt the pain of 
(iif hook be vpltf d two feet cle^r of the wst^r and tufned 
party of tourists passed up the river in their canoes. I 
held up the pair, saying, "What do you think of them?" 
"They are the finest I ever saw, and I've caught hun- 
dreds," said the leader." The two weighed over seven 
pounds — the larger weighing four pounds. 
In Deep Bay at Sparrow Lake, one week- after, and a 
few days before I left Muskoka, I hooked another that 
weighed 3^ pounds, and another 3^. These are the 
largest I have ever caught and were larger bass than 
any other member of our party has caught in the Spar- 
row Lake region. A Pittsburger, a Mr. Dotiglass, caught 
a bass that weighed 7j4 pounds. These are all small 
mouthed variety. This 7^2 pounder is the record for 
size so far as I know. 
Sparrow Lake and Severn River are both well fringed 
with reeds and wild rice. This cover is choice cover for 
the lordly muscallonge, and trolling with a copper spoon 
is splendid sport if you can have some one to do the 
rowing, otherwise it is laborious. 
I have always had best luck trolling with a small 
copper bait and keeping the boat going lively and very 
close to the weeds. Your file will here come very handy 
for trolling hooks seem easily dulled, and a muscallonge 
has a hard, bony mouth, and a sharp hook is a necessity. 
In August, 1899, I took seven fine fish in a couple of hours; 
but I never again found muscallonge so ready to bite. 
I had that day a copper minnow, with a gang of hooks, 
and above I had a copper spoon fastened. The bait was 
fully eight inches long, and was a curiosity. I am of 
the opinion that during the last half of July and early 
August it is wise to bait the troll with either a large 
green frog or live perch. During this time the 'lunge 
have sore mouths and seem to prefer live bait and the 
scintillating spoon attracts them. A little silver polish 
applied each hour or so during time of trolling helps 
your chances greatly. I learned this trick from the 
Chippewa Indians. 
I have frequently known m.uscallonge to swallow bass 
that were on stringers and when anglers were playing 
bass 'lunge frequently take them. 
Some time during last August there was quite a party 
of us fishing in Deep Bay, a branch of Sparrow Lake. 
Mr. Hill and his wife were fishing in a bay and had 
caught several bass, which he fastened to a stringer and 
dropped them into the water to keep them alive. My 
wife and I were fishing hard by when we heard the most 
unearthly screams. It seems Mrs. Hill was holding the 
stringer when a thirty pound 'lunge swallowed the largest 
bass on the string and tried to pull Mrs. Hill out of the 
boat. Mr. Hill shot it with his revolver, but didn't kill 
It. It disgorged the bass and got away. The poor bass 
had its head almost torn from its body and several angry 
gashes down its sides. In its efforts to free itself it had 
drenched Mrs. Hill with water. 
I had always considered that only experienced anglers 
were licensed to catch this noble fish with impunity; but 
this notion was set at naught last summer by a mere 
tyro, J. B. Coen, a Pittsburg business man, who had 
hardly wet a Ime until he landed a 7 pounder and a few 
days larer his wife took a 15 pounder. We all adivsed 
him tc) have it stuifed. as he would never get another so 
advi9(? ^nd sent jf- ft? Qrj)li.^ \q 
mounted, little dreaming how much better things were in 
store for him. 
The following day, Thursday, Dr. Rosselle, Rev, Miller, 
Coen and I went to the Ragged Rapids, some fifteen 
miles down the river. After carrying our heavy boats 
a quarter of a mile around the McDonald Rapids we 
learned our labors were lost, for we might just as easily 
have floated down, for a dam at the Ragged Rapids had 
backed the water over the falls. All our fishing grounds 
were flooded with water and the fishing was the poorest 
I ever struck in this region; but on the following day 
there came a genuine surprise. On our way home, be- 
tween McDonald's Chute and the first falls, it began to 
rain. At the foot of the rapids we drew our boats ashore, 
turned them upside down, crawled under for shelter and 
ate what remained of our provisions. In front was a fine 
circular bay, fringed around with wild rice and rushes, 
an ideal lair for a 'lunge. Presently fish began to break 
water, sending out concentric rings in ever-widening cir- 
cles. To think of wasting time eating when one might 
be fishing seemed great prodigality to Mr. Coen. and by 
the time a second fish broke water Mr. Coen exclaimed: 
"Boys, this looks too fishy to be wasting time," jumped 
into his wet boat and pulled away in the rain paying out 
his troll as he went. Fifty yards out I saw him scrape 
off a lot of weeds from his troll and he had not gone five 
rods more when lo! about five feet of fish flung itself 
from the water and we heard the splash on the shore. 
Coen was rowing with his line in his teeth. The fish 
jerked loose and we saw his pine shingle wrapper scud- 
ding up the river with Coen in full chase. He recovered 
his line and then there they had it out for fifteen minutes, 
when Dr. Rosselle haunded him a gaff and he hauled in 
a fish that tipped the scales at 30 pounds and was 47j4 
inches long. We again looked wise and advised Coen to 
have it mounted, which he did. 
When Coen came home to camp carrying his captive 
with him, he was soon the center of an admiring host, and 
that lucky angler received honor and compliment that 
would cause Edward VII. to wonder. Among the 
throngs on Sparrow Lake his name was likely unknown, 
but the fact that he had caught the largest 'lunge for 
many moons was uppermost in their minds, and we 
quickly gave him the honor that was due, and from that 
time — for his name was Rabboni. 
The season was now well spent and had been the most 
delightful of the many our party had spent on the Sev- 
ern, When my mind goes back, oh, what delights each 
day did bring! Fishing, exciting and enchanting, for 
morning and evening; bathing at Monahan's Point in 
the afternoons:, boating and singing by moonlight, and 
as each day dropped from the calendar we felt one more 
jewel had fallen into the sea. Pleasant as it is on the 
Severn River it is hard to go home without making the 
trip around Muskoka lakes, which are among the most 
beautiful in the world. The cool ozone laden air is so 
fresh and bracing it blows wrinkles away, and though old 
you feel young. 
The journey from Muskoka Wharf dowri through the 
narrows to Bala Falls for pleasant scenes of both land 
and water is rarely equaled and never excelled. Every- 
where brown rocky terraced islands, covered with Doug- 
las pine, gay with the flags and banners of happy-hearted 
campers, and from Bala up through the shallow Indian 
River through the locks of Port Sanfield and Port Cock- 
burn and return, completes as pleasant a tour as may be 
found. No tourist who visits the Pan-American Expo- 
sition should fail to see one of the fairest spots in the 
domain of EdAvard VII. 
On Aug. 26 E. S. Bennett hauled us on his hay wagon 
to Severn Station. Grand Trunk Railroad, and shipped 
our bodies to smoky Pittsburg, but our spirits remained 
lulled to a dream of peace by murmuring pines, tinkling 
brooks and tumbling water falls. 
James M. Norris. 
Rhode Island Waters. 
Providence, R. L, May 10. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Tautog have struck in down Narragansett Bay and dur- 
ing the past week several large catches were reported, 
especially from the vicinity of Conimicut Point. From 
present appearances tautog will run larger than usual 
this season. Their appearance is somewhat later than 
last year, which is attributable to the cold weather. 
The Barrington Town Council, on Monday afternoon, 
passed an ordinance prohibiting fishing on Sunday at 
the "Fish Ditch," in the highway, at the foot of Prince's 
Hill. . On Sundays of late the banks of the ditch have 
been alive with anglers. There is really good fishing in 
this ditch, as fish come up from the river to spawn, and 
for this reason there are plenty of them. The new ordi- 
nance does not affect fishing on any week day, so that 
anglers will have plenty of chances to enjoy themselves. 
The State Commissioners for the enforcement of the 
lobster law have given notice to the Newport fishermen 
and dealers that after Wednesday they will rigidly en- 
fore the law. They will board craft and demand free 
inspection wherever they will, and if opposition is offered 
will be prepared to use force. They made special visits 
to the Greek fishermen, who, it is charged, have been the 
chief offenders, and the general feeling is that they mean 
business. This impression was so strong that immediately 
after the notice was issued "shorts" were selling as low 
as a cent each, and there was a general hustle to unload, 
while a buyer of these unlawful goods from Tiverton 
failed to put in an appearance. The fishermen in gen- 
eral are much pleased over the situation, for they de- 
clare that now the lobsters will have some chance to grow 
and multiply. 
James Reynolds was arrested at Pawtucket last week 
for trapping yellowbirds. He was arraigned on a war- 
rant which specified two birds, although he had eleven 
in his possession when placed under arrest by Officer 
McGlowe. He pleaded guilty, and was fined $20 and 
costs. The birds were released by the police. 
In accordance with an act passed at the last session 
of the General Assembh' the commissioners of inland 
fisheries have appointed three deputy commissioners 
whose duty it will be to see that the laws are more highly 
enforced. The deputies named are William T- Luth, of 
Newport; Edward M. Kelley, of ^^erwport. and Gepme 
AV. Griffin, of mkefjeld, ' - 
