Sept. 28, 1901.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
253 
MuscalluQge, 
Mr. H. G. McCartney stated this week that in the seven 
daj's preceding there had been ten muscallunge killed at 
Kabckona camp, all over 20 ponnd?, and one weighing 31 
pounds, 
Lores for Muscallunge. 
I happened to find Mr. Caldwell deep in preparations 
for a muscallunge trip. Mr. Caldwell has had an extended 
experience in fishing for muscallunge, and usually has 
pretty good luck. He agrees with me that, although the 
muscallunge is far less numerous than it once was, wc 
are still in the infancy of our art, so far as angling for it 
is concerned. 
"I am going to try a few new wrinkles on the old boys 
when I get up there this next week," said Mr. Caldwell. 
"Here you will see a dozen different spoons, which I 
have been making purposeh^ for this trip. You will see 
the}' are larger than you can buy in the makes of the 
standard spoons, j'et they are of lighter metal. Some of 
them are cut with a narrow point and others with a 
broader wing for the spoon. I calculate that these spoon 
blades will rim near the top of the water. Of course the 
sharper-pointed ones will revolve closer about the shaft 
of the hook. I think they ought to stir up .something, for 
tbey will cut a big swath in the Avater. 
"Here is another kind of spoon I have made. *It is a 
propeller-blade spoon, or. rather, two propellers. One 
runs one way, and the other in the opposite direction at 
the same time. You will notice that they are of bright 
metal, and that thcA' are small. I intend to use these 
above bait, and it is my experience that a small, bright 
spoon above a bait is a good thing. 
"You will observe that I have done away with the tri- 
angle and am using instead a tandem made of hooks as 
large as tarpon hooks. You will also observe that I have 
painted the shanks of these hooks white. This Avhite 
tandem of shark hooks has done me good service in the 
past. I bait my perch or sucker through the mouth on 
the upper hook, and pixt the lower one back of the fin, I 
can use this bait either in trolling or casting. 
"Now here is another idea of the same sort. You will 
note the big, upper hook, or lip hook. To this are wired 
two long, shanked, big hooks, which are soldered to- 
geiher. at an angle of about 60 degrees. Fastened to the 
shank of tho^e double hooks is a baiting needle. I take 
a sucker or wall-eyed pike weighing a pound or two 
pounds, bait him on the lip hook, and run in the baiting 
needle under the belly skin. Thus the two big, lower 
hooks lie directly against the belly of the bait fish. This 
makes the whole outfit practically weedless, and I can 
cast it in the weeds or anywhere else. It can be used un- 
der a small, bright spoon, as I intend to use it. It is my 
theory that a muscallunge can eat a 4-pound pike at a 
bite if he wants to, and hence it is pretty hard to get too 
big a bait for him. 
"Here are some other things." and he threw down a 
dozen split-tails of the white-tail deer. "I intend to take 
one of these deer tails and bait it on my double hook 
tandem, and to use it both for casting and trolling. Y''ou 
will see that it makes a bait nearly a foot long. I have 
often found this to be a good bait for muscallunge, where 
other lures fail. 
"I think a nutscallunge likes a little red in a bait. It 
seems to stir him up. Yet. all said and done, I have had 
about as good luck with pork rind as anj-thing else. I use 
a spoon, with a tandem of big hooks below, and I cut 
my strip of pork rind at least a foot long, cutting it into 
two good, long legs at the lower end. This sort of bait 
has a kin-l of tremulous wiggle in the water, Avhich seems 
to stir up musky more than anything else. I agree with 
you that the muskies are so used to seeing ordinary spoon 
hooks nowadays that they will not rise to them. You 
want something to make a wake in the water about as 
big as steamboats. Noav I am going to Tomahawk Lake, 
where the Fish Commission of Wisconsin operate. Each 
spring they take in their nets a lot of muscallunge that 
weigh 30. 40 and 5c pounds. I know they are there, and 
I am going to see if I can't Avake 'em up. 
"As showing how stubborn and how fierce a big 'lunge 
is," continued Mr. Caldwell, "I Avill tell you what hap- 
pened to me once, and it happened when Frank Brandis. 
of Mercer, Avas rowing me. You knoAv Brandis very Avell. 
I had a strike from a small 'lunge, Avhich weighed about 4 
pounds, and Avas starting to pull it out into deep water 
away from the weed bed, Avhen I saAv a big muscallunge 
strike the hooked fish. It caught the little fellow midAvay 
of the body, and at once dived doAA-n into the weeds. I 
waited at least five minutes, all the lime telling Brandis to 
pull out into deep Avater. He thought I Avas joking, as he 
liad only seen the little fish. At last Ave did get out into 
deep water, and. thinking that I had the big felloAV hooked 
by this time, I began to shorten line. I got him up within 
20 feet of the boat, and then I could see that he still had 
his jaws set on the other fish, and had not taken the hook 
nt all. When he got that close, he opened his mouth and 
disappeared. This fact, as much as anything else, led 
me to belieA'e that a big muscallunge needs a big bait. 
Also, he Avill strike that big bait right in the middle, and 
there's A\'here vour hooks want to be — good, big ones at 
that." 
It Avould not be surprising if Mr. Caldwell were on the 
right track Avith his muscallunge experim.ents. What he 
says about the big fellow holding on to the bait is quite in 
accordance Avith pike habits. Sometimes a pike Avill catch 
a minnoAV or a small fish and hold- it thus, crosswise, in his 
mouth for several minutes before he SAvalloAvs it. English 
anglers counsel waiting sometimes as long as ten minutes 
for a pike to "punch" the bait before striking. I belicA'c 
good English pike anglers could come here and catch our 
niuscallunge with bait. A Avait of ten minutes is some- 
thing unknown in American angling methods, j'et I be- 
lieve if one woidd use this very large bait in some of our 
better 'lunge Avaters he Avould noAv and again get a strike. 
The thing to do then is to turn loose the line and wait ten 
or fifteen minutes for the muscallunge before striking. 
R\-en a bass should be struck on the second run. Avhen one 
is casting frogs. an<l the bass is by no means so fierce a fish 
as the muscallunge. In short, it would seem that one can- 
not Avait too long after the 'Ittnge has struck the bait. 
Once he has swallowed it he cannot disgorge it, and he is 
not apt to reject it if the bait is properly hung. 
J ppce ha4 a little personal experience Yfhicfa le^^J^ uie 
to believe that Mr. Caldwell's idea of a big bait is not 
far Avrong. I was a boy at the time, not more than twelve 
years of age, and was fishing with my father on the old 
Skunk River, of Iowa, As I was not a very skillful 
angler, and as the bait was running low, I was left alone 
at camp, Avith the precaution riot to use too many of the 
bass baits. There Avas a big sucker in the minnow can. a 
fi.sh which would weigh perhaps half a pound or more, and 
this I felt at liberty to use. Passing the hook through 
the mouth and out" at the gills, I thrust it through the 
body below the back fin, and started out to do a little 
trolling on my own hook. The bait, thus placed on the 
hook, naturally doubled up into a letter S, and, as it re- 
volved in the Avater. inade a wake about 15 inches across. 
I Avalked along the bank, dragging this outfit behind 
me, and all at once Avas surprised to see that the gyra- 
tions of the dead sucker had ceased. I was using a float, 
of course, and I could see the red top of this float slowly 
walking oft' across the stream. All at once it disappeared, 
and then occurred to nte that I might have on a fish. Boy- 
like. I thrcAv' the pole behind me in the grass, and began 
to do the hand-over-hand act. The float began to come 
to me again, showing just below the surface of the water, 
and the fish, whatever it was. offering no resistance, ap- 
parently. I was on a 4-foot cut bank, and, stooping over. 
] undertook to lift my prey up on to the ground. It would 
not lift. I .strained and tugged, and so all at once there 
appeared a vast, green form, which, by main strength, I 
pulled a foot or so up the bank. It heaved, Avrithed, 
turned over against the bank, broke the hook and dis- 
appeared, leaving a very much scared boy staring into the 
water, I think this fish was, in all likelihood, a muscal- 
hmge, and that it Aveighed at least 25 or 30 pounds. My 
father once took a muscallunge in this river which weighed 
26y4 pounds, and Ave used to hear of such Aveights occa- 
sionally in the early days. In nearly every instance these 
fish, when taken on bait, rose to an unusually large bait, 
trolled somcAvhat as I have described. My bait Avas small 
enough for the fish to sAvallow readily, yet had I waited a 
jiltle longer I should have landed my game. He had the 
hook in his jaws, instead of in his stomach, and hence Avas 
in a position to break off the Avire. It is one of the pike 
habits to strike a bait, then to retire to its customary rest- 
ing ground, where it lies for a time before it sAvalloAvs the 
food. If you CA'-er get tangled up with a muscallunge on a 
big bait. Avait, and then keep on waiting. Personally I 
should think a spoon hook abo\'e the bait Avould be a dis- 
advantage. One could not get the hooks too big. A tri- 
angle is not so desirable for bait-fishing. 
It is Mr. Caldwell's theory that muscallunge, like bass, 
lie Avith their heads pointing toward the shore. He often 
takes them from around logs and fallen tree tops, and he 
cast's inshore and reels out. He does not think that the 
■ fish go to ' he bars and lie facing out toward deep water 
until the cold Aveather of fall sets in. He admits, how- 
ever, that this is but theory on his part. We may wait 
with considerable interest the result of his fall experi- 
ments. PersonallJ^ I fully believe that there are lots of 
muscallunge yet in Wisconsin, but that we know mighty 
little about fishing for them. The old spoon hook game 
would seem to be pretty Avell played out so far as the 
big fellows are concerned, though comparatively few per- 
sons go after muscallunge Avith anything but the spoon 
hook. 
Speaking of big baits for muscallunge, Mr. F, N. Wood, 
of tins city, tells me that he once killed a 19-pound 'lunge, 
from Avhich he took a 2^'2 -pound wall-eyed pike. Many 
anglers report seeing bass, AA^all-eyes. etc., gashed by the 
teeth of the muscallunge. E. Hough. 
Hartford Building, Chicago, 111. 
A Day on the Philadelphia* 
West Roxburv, Mass. — It Avas a jolly crOAvd of us— 
seven in all — that met just before 10 A. M, on the Phila- 
delphia, a small steamer Avhich goes to the fishing grounds 
just outside Boston Harbor, every morning. We were 
Jake, a young felloAV about fourteen ; Uncle Lisha, Charlie, 
the Boss, Peter, Bill and myself. Lines, bait and a fish 
choAvder are furnished, and the fare is reasonable. It is 
a good plan to haA'e your OAvn lines and bait, as they are 
then reliable. 
Tavo pools Avere made up. and almost everybody on 
board entered one or both. One was a 25-cent pool ; the 
captor of the largest cod or haddock got two-thirds of 
the money, and the biggest fish on board brought its 
owner the other third. The other, a lo-cent pool, was 
awarded for the biggest fish. 
The boat reached the grounds about 12, and then the 
anchor Avas dropped and fishing began. Chowder Avas 
waiting for those who Avanted it. Although cA'erybody on 
board had fair luck, it was "up to us" to make the best 
catch. 
. Hake and -ilver hake were biting in great style, and a 
few cod, haddock and pollock made it more interesting. 
Peter swore Bill Avas a Jonah, and Bill SAA'ore that Peter 
owned that distinction. Peter A-indicated himself, hoAv- 
ever. Avhen he pulled up a 40-pound skate, the largest fish 
on board. There were about fifty-five fish in our croAvd. 
Jake had only caught one, for the roll of the boat had 
given him that funny feeling, and Uncle Lisha only looked 
on. A 714-pound pollock got afoul of my line. If I had 
that fellow on a silk line Avdth rod and reel, instead of a 
cod line, there wotdd have been some fun. The other 
fish ranged from i to 5 pounds Aveight. 
A 12-pound cod took tAvo-thirds of the 2^-cent pool, but 
Peter was satisfied Avith a third, and the small pool be- 
sides. 
The steamer started for the city about 4:30. We took 
home about tAventy-five fish, and gave the rest to paper 
boys and bootblacks on the Avharf, Avho Avere glad to get 
theni. EA-er^'body voted it a good day's sport, and Avent 
home happy, Mushkodos.a. 
A Fish That Was Loaded. 
This is a characteristic anecdotfe of'Crispi in his early 
years of storm and stress. In 1S56 he was at Paris, assist- 
ing in (he publication of the Courrier Franco-Italien ami 
conspiring againsit Napoleon HI. Mazzini used him for 
propagating his Avritings in France. One morning the 
porter came into his editorial foom with the announce- 
ntent, ''M, Crispi, ^ larg:e"fisi^ |ins yo,m.e for yo\i " . /^I^f 
date was April 6, and Cthpi repfsed at once, "Yoti are 
six days late, my friend, it) frying So fool me." But k 
was true; there was the magnifiicent fish, sent from 
AntAvcrp, where Crispi knew nobody. When opened ira 
his presence it was found that it was "stuffed" with thou- 
sands of Mazzini's leaflets, carefully wrapped in oilcloth.. 
An hour later they were traveling, each in its wrapper, to 
the foiu- corners of France. Presently the police dis- 
covered theni. and Crispi was arrested. But nothing' 
could be proved against him. and the then Prefect of the 
Paris Police, the famous Pietri, exclaimed, "Crispi is- 
Av^orse than his master, Mazzini, lie never writes any- 
thing." — London Fishing Gazette- 
he M^nmt 
Points and Flushes. 
TriE Atlanta Dog Shovv. to be held in connection Avith 
the Southern Interstate Fair, Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 9 to 12, 
will be sitperintended by Mr. E, M. Oldham. Spratfs 
Patent will feed and bench,. Entric* close Sept. 30, Entry 
fee $2. Mr. S. E. Taylor is the secretary. 
American Canoe Association, J 900- J 90 J. 
Commodore, C. E. Britton, Gananoque, Can. 
Secretary-Treasurer, Herb Begg, 24 King street, West Toronto^ 
Canada. 
Librarian, W. P. Stephens, Thirty-second street ana Avenue A,- 
Bayonne, N. J. 
Division Officers. 
ATLANTIC DIVISION. 
Vice-Corn., Henry M. Dater, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Rear-Com., H. D. Hewitt, Burlington, N. J. 
Purser, Joseph F. Eastmond, 199 Madison street, Brooklyn. N. Y. 
CENTRAL DIVISION, 
Vice-Corn., C. P. Forbush, Buffalo, N. Y. 
Rear-Com., Dr. C. R, Henry, Perry, W. Y, 
Purser. Lyman P. Hubbell, Buffalo. N. Y. 
EASTERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Com., Louis A, Hall, Newton, Mass. 
Rear-Com., C. M. Lamprey, Lawrence, Mass. 
Purser, A. E. Kimberly, Lawrence Experiments^. Station, 
Lawrence, Mass. 
NORTHERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Corn., G. A, Howell, Toronto, Can. i 
Rear-Com.. R. Easton Burns, Kingston, Ontario, Can. i j 
Purser, R. Norman Brown, Toronto, Can. ^j,^. ! 
WESTERN DIVISION. ^^^l 
Vice-Com., Wm. C. Jupp, Detroit, Mich. ' 
Rear-Com., F. B. Huntington, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Purser, Fred T. Barcroft, 408 Ferguson Building, Detroit, Michu 
Official organ, Fobest and SmEAU. 
'Mid Reef and Rapid.-XXn, 
BY F. R. WEBB. 
"Well, you see it Avas late in September," he began; 
"September. 1870. A heavy storttr broke up above an' 
come doAvn the river, an' it rained tremenjous for tAVO 
da3'-s — mebbe some of you rec'lect it?" 
"I do," replied the Colonel. "There Avas a regular cloud 
burst all over Augusta county, and all the streams were 
flooded." 
"It A^'as some years before I came to Staunton." I added, 
"but I've often heard of it, both in Staunton and along fhe 
river. LcAvis Creek pretty nearly SAvept the lower portion 
of the toAvn, I have been told." 
"A^'es," replied the Colonel, "it did a great deal of 
damage in the loAver part of the tOAvn ; the streets Avere 
Avashed and gullied out very badly in many places." 
"Commodore." said George. "V\t heard you speak of 
this flood often ; perhaps you know something about it." 
"Well." I replied, "on our various cruises on this river 
I've 'heard a great deal about it. It Avas probably the most 
memorable event in the local history of the river valley, 
even eclipsing the stirring events of the Avar in some re- 
spects, and the peaple — at least, those Avho are old enough 
to recollect it — still talk of it Avith interest, and at every 
hamlet or farmhouse along the river you can hear some 
thrilling .story of adventure and escape, or sad tragedy 
connected Avith it." 
"I haven't never heerd much about what it did other 
places 'en our neighborhood," said Mr. Martin, "but I 
'xpect more lives Avas lost here'n enny one other place on 
the river." 
"Yes," I replied. "You're right. This was probably the 
most fatal place on the Avhole riA'er." 
"I'd like to hear somethin' about it," Mr. Martin con- 
tinued, "an' ez you've b'en all along the river, mebbe you 
kin tell somethin' about its doin's other places." 
"Weil," I replied. "I cart by no means give you any- 
thing like a complete history of the flood, but I've picked 
up a fcAv points about it, here and there. The rise Avas 
the greatest ever known in all the traditions of the 
river "' 
"Yes," said Mr. Martin, "nobody hadn't never rec'lected 
nor heerd of sich a rise before — that's why so many 
houses an' nrlls was built so clost to th' river ; nobody 
never dreamed ther' Avas any danger. They don't build so 
clost an" loAV now. no more. ' 
"The rise Avas A'ery sudden." I resumed. "At Rippe- 
toes, up on North River. Polk told me teams Avere fording 
the river in the forenoon, and by 2 o'clock in the after- 
noon the water Avas loft. deep on that high bank along 
the right, and the mill and all the houses were gone." 
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Lacv. "Whv that bank's ^oft 
high!" 
"Yes. ftdly that. T should ihiuk," replied the Colone|, 
• "The bridge at Port Republic was carried off, anc\ tite 
town more or less flooded, I've heard," s^id Lacy. 
. "Yes, so I've, understood." I replied. *'Over o^i S,oiitI| 
River, a,t Weyer's Cave," 1 continued. "Len Mohlor' fold 
m ItijHs, Hpus?Sj bridges, etc, >ve|it tjy ^iw 
