Aug. 3, 1901.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
89 
brook and rainbow trout were planted by the Fish Com- 
missions of Michigan and of the United States at about 
the same time, but since then each fish has in a way 
estabUshed for itseU' its own habitat in the stream. Thus 
the brook trout beh, which in May extends up to Gray- 
hng, in late Juh^ begins a dozen miles below Grayling, 
and it terminates at this season of the year a few miles • 
above the place where we we're now in camp, which is 
near the spot known as Connor's Bridge. 
At this part of the stream in the months of July and 
August the brook trout is rare — indeed Mr. McLeod and 
I did not see one in our entire trip. The rainbow has 
selected for himself these deep, long pools, and whether 
or not the temperature of the water or the presence of 
the rainbow is uncongenial to the brook trout, the latter 
is not so often foiind in that portion of the stream. The 
guides, and Mr. Alexander also, thought that the ratio 
there would be about 20 per cent, brook trout to 80 per 
cent, of rainbows. W e found this percentage much less 
in our own specific case. 
Everybody told us that we would not catch any trout, 
that the hot weather had killed the fishing, and that all 
we could hope for would be to get an hour or so of 
fishing in the evening or in the very early morning. We 
found this to be true, and although we fished in mid- 
stream the first day of our stay we did not repeat the 
experience, because it was useless. On the first evening 
we had a little fun with the rainbows, and it was then 
that I .got my first good specimen, a fish running per- 
haps close to a pound .and which gave me quite as much 
of a fight as any 2-pound brook trout I ever saw. I 
took four of these fish that evening, ail of them splendid 
fellows, and I must say that my eyes were opened as to 
the quality of the rainbow trout in his fighting capacity. 
The brooic trout simply is not in the same classification, 
and I should say that a half-pound rainbow would fight 
twice as hard as a half-pound brook trout. _ This is 
true on the Au Sable, though anglers 01 the Pacific Slope 
say the rainbow is but a very dullard. On the table, or at 
least as found on Rube Babbitt's table, the rainbow trout 
is a good eating fish. This was contrary to the impres- 
sion which Mr. McLeod and I had formed regarding 
this fish, which heretofore we had both found soft and 
rather tasteless. Perhaps it was the cookery, but more 
likely it was the Au Sable River environment. At any 
rate, the fish were good to eat, and perfectly beautiful 
to catch. Mr. McLeod. as usual, came in that night 
with more fish than anybody else. He had about a half 
dozen, and of these there were three which would run 
over a pound, and which were truly magnificent fish. He 
said that in the deep pools, below camp, where he had 
been fishing, he struck one fish that seemed to ofifer the , 
same resistance as a muscallunge, and he could do 
nothing with it. Specimens of the rainbow have been 
killed m the Au Sable up to 8 pounds, ahhough 3 pounds 
is in the neighborhood of the usual weight for the big 
ones. The fish which we took were about of the average, 
and we did not kill any very extraordinary ones,_ nor 
r^deed did I strike any fish larger than those which I 
was lucky enough to kill. 
On the next morning Ernie and I went out early, and 
we did a little business with the rainbows before Rube 
had breakfast ready. We got away about 6 o'clock, and 
I think had we been away at 5 we should have had even 
better fun. We brought in four more nice fish this trip. 
Of course, on the preceding evening, and on this morn- 
ing, we took several fish which were less than the legal 
limit of 8 inches, but not very many. The average size 
in these waters is very large. There is a little board 
nailed on the front of the live box of the Au Sable boat. 
In this board there are two sawed lines, and the space 
between the sawed lines is split out. If your fish is a 
little bit doubtful as to size, you put it in this measuring 
rule. If it is not able to touch nose and tail to the sides 
of this hole, you put back your , fish in the river, and no 
monkeying about it. The 8-inch law goes on the Au 
Sable, and the guides are as positive about its enforce- 
ment as the game wardens, which latter are very vigilant 
and eilective. 
Mr. McLeod went out on the evening of this second 
day loaded for bear or big rainbows. He had not fished 
in the morning, but declared that he was going to "do 
business" with some big ones that night. He rigged a 
bass hook and a swivel or two, and announced that he 
would send a live minnow down a certain pool._ He did 
so, and he lost his tackle, and as he had left his fly-rod 
at home he got no fish at all! Ernie and I were very 
lucky, and we met some very fine sport indeed. The net 
result was seven fine rainbow trout, the largest running 
about a pound, all, of course, over 8 inches, and I think 
none less than 10 inches. I raised perhaps as many fish 
as I got, and had several exciting experiences with fish 
which broke aAvay in the rapid water. On the whole, I 
was very glad to make this my first acquaintance with 
the rainbow trout, and to see it in what may be called a 
typical environment. Neither Mr. McLeod nor myself 
had any great fishing, nor did we expect it at this time 
of the year, which is the worst which could be selected, 
and which in our case was made yet worse by the un- 
speakably hot weather, although,, strange to relate, our 
last night in camp was a very cool one. I presume that 
had we stayed after that we might have had some very 
fair' fishing. As it was, I had the biggest average of fish 
I ever had on any Michigan stream. 
Game, but Not a Favofitc, 
Mr. McLeod and myself both agreed that the rainbow 
as we found him was a "sportier" fish than the brook 
trout. We asked the guides what they thought of the 
rainbow, and they all said that they would much rather 
the fish had never been introduced in the Au Sable. 
They admit that it outfights the brook trout, but for some 
reason or other they do not like it so well, partly- be- 
cause, no doubt, it is not quite so good upon the table. 
There is this to be said in favor of the rainbow as found 
in the Au Sable: It is a much heavier fish in the average 
than the brook trout; it is a much better fighting fish; 
it is a much better fly-fishing fish than the brook trout. 
The guides all told us that they did not try to fish for 
rainbow- trout with bait, simply because they could catch 
more rainbows on the fly than they could on bait. They 
all admitted that bait-fishing was far more destructive 
on brook trout than fly-fishing, but declare such is not 
the case with the rainbow. They all think that even the 
large rainbows feed freely on the surface, and hence can 
be taken with the artificial fly, whereas the brook trout, 
after it reaches a pound or so, becomes a heavy fish, a 
bottom feeder, and rarely rises nicely to the fly. 
As to the surface feeding qualities of the rainbow, we 
had ample proof. In the evening we could see them 
leaping just before sundown on every hand, and in 
water where during the day one would not have thought 
there was a fish in existence. This feeding time usually 
extends quite into the night, until it has become alto- 
gether dark, and sometimes, on moonlight nights, nearly 
until midnight. Hence fly-fishing for the rainbow on 
the Au Sable in midsummer classifies itself sometimes as 
a night sport. In our case we found that the fish ceased 
to rise in about an hour after they began — ^that is to say, 
they stopped rising somewhere between 7 and 8 o'clock. 
Our guides said that this was very unusual, and that the 
feeding spell in the evening usually lasted for three or 
four hours at least. 
The Eight-Inch Law. 
I have stated above that the tourist traffic on the Au 
Sable amounts to about 1,000 persons annually, and 
that it practically supports all the local population below 
the town of Grayling, since the farmers find their market 
for their vegetables at the tents of the campers, and since 
the wages received for guiding constitute the main cash 
revenue of the farming class in that neighborhood. 
Hence the question of this 8-inch law was a very nice 
one for the dwellers along the Au Sable. Mr. Alexander 
was the author of the measure which established an 
8- inch limit this year on the Au Sable and its tributaries, 
and also established a limit of fifty fish as the maximum 
amount to be taken away by any one party. When we 
asked the guides privately what they thought of this new 
law, they without exception said that they thought it 
was the best thing which could have been done for the Au 
Sable River. Asked as to whether it had cut down the 
tourist traffic, they replied that it certainly had, and 
that there were not half as many parties on the Au Sable 
this year as there have been in the past. A great many 
anglers do not like to put back any fish, and a good 
many do not like to put back a fish which is 7 inches 
and just short of 8 inches. At Bay City I saw many 
anglers who .have gone to the Manistee this summer in- 
stead of the Au Sable as was their habit. In spite of 
the fact, however, that the law is keeping away their 
Iraffic, these guides pluckily and wisely insist that the 8- 
inch law is the best thing that could have happened. Two 
years ago one man from Saginaw carried away 1,500 trout 
when he went home. That man is since deceased, but 
there are many others of his sort who are not deceased. 
The guides say that, wonderful stream as the Au Sable 
is without doubt or question, it was being fished too 
hard. Now they know that every 6 or 7 inch trout put 
back this summer will be an 8 or io inch trout next year. 
In short, they, the most interested persons, know that 
protection can protect, and that protection is a benefit. 
So much for a bit of contemporaneous history on the 
angling stream which, of all those of the West, is best 
fitted to be called the' most prolific and remarkable. 
That Mr. McLeod and myself were delighted with our 
two days' sojourn on this splendid river need not be said. 
There is a peculiar impression of individuality about 
this river which one finds it impossible to describe. You 
fish all sorts of trout waters, and they run 'very much 
alike. Fish the Au Sable, and you carry away an im- 
pression that you have been in surroundings different, 
distinct, peculiar and impressive. As there was never 
a trout stream more prolific than the Au Sable, certainly 
was there never one more appealing, more mystical, 
more fascinating. Long may it prosper, and the good 
anglers who know it and love it. 
For Mr. Alexander, the local attorney who framed 
and was largely instrumental in getting through the 
Legislature this 8-inch law, too much cannot be said by 
way of credit. Here and there such a sportsman stands 
up in this naughty world and does abundant good for 
other people. There does not exist in all northern Mich- 
igan, nay, nor in all southern Michigan or all the rest 
of the West, a broader minded or more public spirited 
angler than George L. Alexander. His work on this 
grand river is something which entitles him to the respect 
of thousands of his fellow men, and which ought to win 
him the admiration of his fellow men, whether or not 
they are ever able and lucky enough, as Mr. McLeod 
and myself, to make a personal visit to this sweet stream. 
Tackle. 
The proper rod for so heavy a water as this is per- 
haps one not lighter than 6 ounces. I used a 4-ounce rod 
and Mr. McLeod one of 3^ ounces, and although we 
stopped our fish, we might have had trouble with very 
heavy ones. I had the best luck with the Wickam's 
fancy No. 8, with a gray hackle for dropper, the latter 
No. 10. The smaller flies seem to do better on this 
stream at this season. 
E. Hough. 
Hartford Building, Chicago, 111. 
Chicagfo Fly-Castingf Club* 
Scores of contest held at Garfield Park, July 27, Ow- 
ing to a strong wind blowing during the contest, the cast- 
ing was not up to the usual standard. 
Accuracy 
Long^ Distance and Delicacy. Bait Casting. 
Fly. Feet. Per Cent. Per Cent, 
H. H. Ainsworth 80 90 5-6 90 1-2 
H. H. Aainsworth 80 90 5-6 90 J.-2 
I. D. Belasco 88 88 1-3 97 
I. H. Bellows ...104 92 2-3 95 1-5 
L. I. Blackmail .. .. 80 9-10 
H. G. Hascall........... fl9 93 2-3 96 4-5 
N. C. Heston 80 90 1-3 92 4-5 
G. A. Hinterleitner .. 84 7-10 
E. R. Letterman .. 85 3-10 
F. N. Peet 103 95 91 9-10 
H. W. Perce 78 89 1-3 93 1-10 
J. F. Robertson...,..,, ... 65 3-10 
C. B. Robinson ... 87 2-10 
A. C. Smith 102 92 1-2 94 4-5 
F, S. Smith ,. 76 9-10 
Winning Scores — Long distance fly, I. H. Bellows, 104 
feet; accuracy and delicacy fly, F. N. Peet, 95 per cent.; 
bait-casting, I. D, Belasco, 97 per cent. 
N. C. Heston, Sec'y-Treas, 
New England Fishing. 
Boston, July 29. — Mr. M. L. Crosby, of Boston, who 
has been stopping at Jackson, N, H., spent Wednesday at 
Double and East Branch rivers, where he had good fish- 
ing. He took one trout I4y2 inches long. There are bit- 
ter complaints of the disregarding of the law limiting the 
catch of white perch to twenty-five to each person at 
Sabatis Pond, Me. There are complaints of "whole boat- 
loads of perch." Persons who have been there say that 
the fishing has been great, but no pond on earth could 
supply so many fish for a very long time. Black bass 
are also rising well. The bass fishing is good at Great 
Point, Belgrade, and at East Pond, Oakland. A Mrs, 
Rowe is reported to have made a score of twenty-five 
bass at Great Pond in one day, and to have done about 
as well at East Pond another day. 
Lake Marancook, Me., reports continue good as to bass 
and white perch fishing. Dr. and Mrs. W. W. Kirby, of 
Providence, and Mrs. E. E. Shannon, of Boston, have 
been spending some time at that lake. Dr. and Mrs. 
Kirby made some good catches of bass. Mrs. Shannon 
is a good fisherwoman, and succeeded in landing a bass 
weighing 5 pounds, the largest taken there for a long 
time. A Mr. Wright is reported to have taken a salmon 
out of that lake this season that weighed 8 pounds. Mon- 
day noon a fisherman brought in five bass that would 
each tip the scales at about -2^2 pounds. He had only 
fished a part of the forenoon. Mr. Alvin Townsend has 
taken a pickerel there that weighed 4 pounds. Mr. A. 
C. Clapp has lately taken a bass of 4 pounds. It is 
claimed that there is now really pretty good fishing at 
Lake Aubui-n, Me., for those who have the patience to 
try for it. But only a few fish, the season being con- 
sidered to be over. Now and then a good salmon is 
taken. At Bridgton and Harrison, Me., good catches of 
white perch are being made. Black bass are plenty and 
bite well, but the local fishermen care little for them. It 
will be remembei'ed that Harrison is at the head of Long 
Lake, a body of water tributary to Sebago. and sepa- 
rated from it by the Songo River. At Bridgton there 
are several ponds, most of them well stocked with bass 
and perch. 
Mr. Walter L. Hill, whom many will remember as so 
very successfully connected with the first Boston Sports- 
men's Show, starts this week for a camp in Pond-in-the- 
River, just below the Middle Dam, Me. What makes 
this fishing trip of special interest to Mr, Hill is that 
he takes his two boys, of ten and twelve years — their 
first trip into the Maine woods. "Like' father, like son," 
they are both fishermen. Special. 
American Fisheties Society, 
The thii'tieth annual meeting of the American Fisheries 
Society was held at Milwaukee July 19 and 20, thirty 
members being present. Among the papers read were 
those by Gen. Edwin E. Bryant, discussing the power of 
the State to regulate fisheries and the taking of fish; by 
W. C. Marsh on the trout disease, Charles G. Atkins on 
the diseases of fishes, James Nevin on muscallonge propa- 
gation, and C. H. Townsend on life at the depth of the 
sea. 
The next convention will be held at Put-in-Bay in 
August, 1902. The oflicers for the year are: President, 
Gen. E. E. Bryant, of Madison, Wis. ; Secretary, George 
F. Peabody, of Appleton, Wis.; Vice-President, Eugene 
G. Blackford, of New York; Corresponding Secretary, 
John E. Gunckel, of Toledo, O. ; Treasurer, C. W. Wil- 
lard, of Westerly, R. I. The follfiwing named gentle- 
men were elected as the Executive Committee: John W, 
Titcomb, of St. Johnsbury, Vt. ; George T. Mathewson, 
of Thompsonville, Conn. ; J. H. Dunlap, of Washington, 
D. C; Henry O'Malley, of Baker, Wash., and W. H. 
Boardman, of Central Falls, R. I. 
The Smooth P«ffer in the Hwdson, 
Mr. C. L. Rogers, of Closter, N. J., has sent us for 
identification a specimen of a strange fish, which proves 
to be the smooth puffer salt-water species, which ranges 
from Cape Cod to Brazil, but is rare north of Cape 
Hatteras. Mr. Rogers reports that eight of the strangers 
have been caught in the Hudson River at PiermonL 
Everyday BJrds. 
Under this title Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin .& Co. have pub- 
lished a little volume of lOO pages, by Mr. liradford Torrey, well 
known as a charming writer on natural history subjects. It tells 
in a popular form a number of facts about certain of our com- 
moner birds, and is illustrated by twelve reproductions from 
Audubon plates, by the three-color process. 
Mr. Torrey's sketches are always attractive, and children and 
grown-ups, too, will enjoy this volume. The chapter on "Winter 
Pensioners" is especially worth remembering against the time 
when the bitter days shall come again. A little effort in providing 
food for the winter birds pays for itself many times over during 
the months of cold. 
We confess to a little regret that Mr. Torrey should use the 
term chipper for the to us more familiar and as we had supposel 
almost universal "chippy." No doubt it is a local term. 
This is one of the many attractive nature books of the day, and 
should do good. 
"Sam Level's Boy." 
Have just finished reading Rowland E, Robinson's charming 
book, "Sam Lovel's Boy." The character of "Uncle Lisher" 
appeals to one very strongly; don't you think so? In my humble 
opinion this little volume is much superior in its st3'Ie and con- 
ception to many of the recent novels that you see advertised on 
the street cars and elevated railway stations. It deserves its 
success, and I am glad to have had ray attention called to it in 
the columns of Forest and Stream. 
Fayette Durlin, Jr. 
9 
Take inventory of the good things in this issm 
of Forest and Stream. Recall what a fund was 
given last week. Count <m what is to come next 
week. Was there ever in all the world a more 
i abundant weekly store of sportsmen's reading f 
