888 
FORSST AND STREAM. 
[May 17, 1902. 
Looking j ' Over; 1 the^ ?Fly-Bn ok, ' 
Where can there be found in all this broad land of ours 
an enthusiastic angler who, if he has an ambition to go in 
quest of brook trout this spring, has not already looked 
over his fishing tackle? Very likely this act was per- 
formed ostensibly for the purpose of ascertaining whether 
or not any of the necessary articles were lacking, but in 
reality often times under the influence of another though 
perhaps unconscious motive. It is highly probable that the 
angler was well satisfied in his own mind that there was 
actually nothing of importance wanting to complete his 
outfit, for the enthusiastic fisherman usually keeps his 
tackle in readiness for any emergency that may arise, but 
when once he had begun the examination memory took 
possession of his mind and held him enthralled. The chief 
instigator of retrospective thoughts was no doubt the fly- 
book, for in that were leaders and tattered artificial flies 
which served to vividly remind him of bygone days on the 
trout stream. 
In my own book, for example, is a string of flies eon- 
sisting of a scarlet-ibis, white-miller and queen-of-the- 
water, which were used last year on the closing days of 
the trout season, and which brought to creel some fine 
speckled beauties. As I gaze Upon them they recall the 
events of my last fishing trip as plainly as though it were 
but yesterday, and I live over again in memory the happy 
hours then enjoyed. A vision is conjured up before me in 
which I behold an Adirondack river which for many miles 
pursues a tortuous course through the lowlands, flowing 
slowly and peacefully through its alder-fringed channel 
without a piece of swift water of sufficient importance to 
be called a rift in all that distance. The still water is 
sufficiently secluded so that it is not fished continuously, 
and the guides, of whom there are two in the party, relate 
exciting stories of their experiences with big trout in 
this stream. Moreover, it is not only a famous place for 
trout, but for game of various kinds as well,, and the 
person who is not yet out of the kindergarten class, so far 
as his knowledge of woodcraft goes, cannot overlook 
this fact. Signs of deer are visible on all sides, and their 
runways intersect the stream at intervals of every few 
rods. A mink, muskrat, duck, fishhawk, kingfisher or some 
other form of wild life is often seen in the water or along 
the shore, and now and then a ruffed grouse whirs across 
the stream and plunges into the dark shade of the spruces. 
It requires six or eight hours to traverse this still water 
from head to foot in a rowboat and fish it .properly, but 
every minute of the trip is enjoyable. The alders which 
border the stream and for the greater part of the way 
come down to the water's edge, have a natural and pic- 
turesque background in the dense forest which rises up 
behind them on both sides, and sometimes extends away 
up the mountain slope and crowns the summit with ver- 
dure. Interspersed among the alders are other bushes 
and small trees, including the chokecherry laden with its 
ripened fruit, the high bush cranberry weighted down un- 
der its load of beautiful scarlet spheres, the mountain 
ash with its bright red berries and two or three varieties 
ef viburnum bearing purple or blue berries. The wild 
clematis, with its feathery white tufts of seed carriers, is 
festooned among the branches here and there, forming 
a most graceful and pretty feature of nature's decorative 
work. 
Wherever there is an opening among the alders and in oc- 
casional places where those extremely enterprising bushes 
have neglected to occupy the entire river bank, bright wild 
flowers grace the landscape, the cardinal lobelia, purple 
asters, goldenrod, turtlehead and purple throughout vying 
with each other in their efforts to lend color and bright- 
ness to the scene. Here and there a little spring brook 
empties its pure water into the river, and at such .points 
on the bank there are little clear places in the wilderness 
of alders, covered with a luxurious growth of swamp 
grass and sedges. At each point in the river where one of 
these creeks comes in there is what is termed a cold bed 
or spring h©le, and it is in these places that trout con- 
gregate during the summer in order to obtain water 
which is some degrees colder than that of the main 
stream. Some of these are known as the Leaning Pine 
Spring Hole, Cold Spring Jacob's Well, etc., while others 
derive their names from the brooks that flow in. It is at 
and near the mouth of the little creeks that the angler 
casts his flies late in the season, and there is no use in 
fishing elsewhere in the river. Judging from the present 
appearance of the trio of flies referred to above, they must 
have had quite ah active engagement with the speckled 
beauties, and that this was a fact is borne out by pleasant 
memories. There was no particu£ar trout taken on this 
occasion of sufficient magnitude to warrant its passing 
into history, but one of the stories narrated by the guides 
will bear repeating. 
One of the best half-day's fishing these two woods- 
men ever had together was on this identical stream. Thev 
began fishing early one morning and by 11 A. M. had 
taken 18 pounds of speckled trout, which quantity being 
all they cared for, they ceased angling while the fish were 
still biting freely. There were four of the trout which 
weighed i l A pounds each, and one that was half a pound 
heavier. When they were approaching the pool at Cold 
Spring they saw something which they thought was a 
young bird fall into the water, and it was immediately 
gobbled up by a big trout One of the anglers threw his 
flies over the pool 3s soon s.s he came within reaching dis- 
tance, but had no rise. The second time the flies alighted 
on the water the trout made a swirl upward to the sur- 
face, but escaped without being pricked. The third time, 
however, the big fellow took the fly for keeps, and went 
to the bottom of the pool like an arrow. Then he darted 
across the stream from side to side and made circles and 
all sorts of geometrical figures possible, but without 
avail, for he was firmly hooked and the pliant rod and 
expert hand which wielded it soon tired him out. The 
trout weighed plump two pounds. When its stomach was 
opened it was found to contain a mouse, and it was that 
instead of a bird, Which the fishermen saw fall into the 
pcd and so quickly disappear. 
Just at this season when anglers are starting out for 
the early trout fishing: or are making preparations to do 
so, stories relating to the gentle art are quite in order, 
and it is a very common thing to see two or more en- 
thusiasts busily engaged in* exchanging interesting remi- 
niscences. A prominent Utica physician tells a very en- 
tertaining story of an experience which he once had while 
fishing for trout on Independence River in the Adiron- 
dacks. It was a warm sunny day in June when all nature 
seemed rejoicing in the advent of summer. The distant 
mountains and even the nearer hills were enveloped in a 
blue haze which seemed as much a characteristic and 
essential of the day as did the warm air and bright pun- 
shine. The dinner hour had come and gone, and the 
shadows along the river were beginning to lengthen 
noticeably when the Doctor and his guide approached a 
bend in the stream which to their practical eyes appeared 
a good place for trout. The guide was not fishing, but 
the Doctor was, and he meant business. He had a 
staunch fly-rod fitted with an oiled silk line and 12-foot 
leader on which four flies were strung. Cautiously near- 
ing the spot he saw where the water ran deep and dark 
in occasionally swirling edd ; es over the big rocks, and 
made a long cast partially around the bend, and as near 
as possible to the opposite bank. Lightly as falling snow- 
flakes the flies dropped on the water, the leader straight- 
ened out, and the deceptive insects slowly made their 
way toward the most tumultous portion of the stream.. 
Suddenly there was a swirl near one of the flies, the Doc- 
tor made a slight wrist movement and the fun began. A 
trout apparently of fair size had taken one of the flies and 
the angler was somewhat disappointed in not fastening a 
larger fish, was rather carelessly reeling him in when there 
was a tremendous rush and splash and down to the bot- 
tom like a stone went the flies, leader and captive fish. 
There, thought the Doctor, that is something like it. I 
have got the big one this time, and judging from the 
strain on the rod, there was something very substantial 
on the end of the line. The Doctor believed the second 
comer to be a mammoth fish, and acted accordingly. 
Patiently humoring the whims of his captive for some 
time, but ever keeping his line from becoming slack; he 
at length felt that further action was necessary. Ac- 
cordingly he asked his guide if he could wade the stream 
at that point, and receiving an affirmative reply requested 
him to take the landing net and see if he could not get 
it over the trout. The guide waded into the stream some 
distance below and had no sooner caught sight of one 
trout than he perceived there were two other captives, and 
he so informed the Doctor. "Well," said the latter, "save 
the big one if you can." "Yes, but there are two big 
ones," replied the guide. After considerable maneuvering 
the three trout were safely landed by means of the net, 
one after the other. One of them weighed i}£ pounds, 
another 17 ources and the third about 12 ounces. 
W. E. Wolcott. 
In New England Waters. 
Boston, May 10. — The fishing at the Rangeleys is prov- 
ing remarkably good. Mr. J. G. Wright, of this city, has 
returned from a week's trip to Haines Landing and the 
Upper Dam. He was the guest of Mr. C. A. Robinson, 
of South Windham. Heretofore Mr. Robinson has been 
an enthusiast as to Sebago Lake fishing, where he owns 
a fine camp. But somehov? he has come to build a camp 
the past season on the Decker Purchase. Mooselucma- 
guntic Lake. He has had some success at Sebago this 
spring, but has reserved his prime efforts for the fishing 
at the Shark Grounds, Mooselucmaguntic, and at other 
points on that lake. His catch has been a good one. 
Mr. Wright had good success, though taking no remark- 
ably large trout or salmon. W. D. Bracket, the veteran 
angler, so many years with Mr. W. P. Clark, has taken 
a salmon of 8H pounds from the Pool below the Upper 
Dam. Mr. Clark has caught his usual big string of 
trout at Mill Brook. They were joined on Monday by 
Mr. S. Henry Emery, of Boston, who has fished with 
them for several years: Commissioner Henry O. Stanley 
has taken several large trout and salmon at Haines Land- 
ing, where the fishing is good. At Bemis some excellent 
catches have been made. Mr. W. C. Stevens, of Ridlon- 
ville, Me., with Mrs. Stevens, has had excellent success. 
He caught late last week a brook trout weighing 6 l / 2 
pounds. The following day he got another of a little over 
seven pounds. Their catch also included a good string 
of smaller trout and salmon. Nearly 100 trout and sal- 
mon were caught at Bemis within a couple of days soon 
after the season opened May 1. Most of the fishing at 
that point the first of the season was done by State of 
Maine fishermen. Oyer Saturday and Sunday about 40 
sportsmen were registered ■ at Capt. Barker's Bemis 
Camps, and out of the whole number there were only 
four or five from outside of the State. A guide caught 
a trout of seven pounds, a long and handsome fish, com- 
ing down the lake Saturday morning. He took the fish 
over to the station just before the train started. He de- 
sired to sell it, and it was the suggestion of an auctioneer 
that happened to be among the outgoing passengers to 
ask for bids on the trout. It went up rather slowly from 
$1 to $3.50, and there stuck. It was knocked off at that 
price to a gentleman who took it to this city for a friend. 
From The Weirs, N. H., come stories of good fishing 
at Winnipesaukee. Mr. and Mrs. F, M. Tucker and Mr. 
and Mrs. F. T. Parks, of Boston, have been stopping at 
the Lakeside House, and they report a catch of twenty- 
six lake trout, the string weighing over 100 pounds. At the 
same place Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Longley and Mr. and 
Mrs. Thomas Gray have made a catch of fifteen trout, 
with a total weight of sixty-eight pounds. 
The Dr. Heber Bishop party of twenty-seven anglers 
that went" to Clearwater Lake, Farmington, Me., last 
week, to Open the season at that point, caught one land- 
locked salmon that weighed l6% pounds, a record- 
breaker for those waters, and also for any waters north 
of Sebago. The lucky captor was Dr. John F. Phelps, 
of Boston, a gentleman who had never fished before, an- 
other proof that the beginners always get the big fish. 
The party only had fair luck otherwise. The Runaway 
Camp party, on the other side of the lake, had rather poor 
success, taking only one or two salmon. On the opening 
day a large number of salmon were taken from Varmim 
Pond, another fishing lake near Clearwater. 
L. Dana Chapman, secretary of the Megantic Club, 
had a letter yesterday from the superintendent stating 
that the ice is still in Big Island Pond, and that it is 
likely to stay till about May 15. This makes the Megantic 
season pretty late. The pond is located between lofty I 
mountains, and at a very high altitude; hence the linger- _ 
ing of the ice. Another big trout has been forwarded to | 
Boston from Belgrade Lake, Me., and shown in Dame, 
Stoddard & Co.'s window. The fish was a perfect speci- 
men of Sahno fontinalis, and weighed 6 z /> pounds. J. N»l 
Landers, Joseph Gridley and E. M. Gilmore, Boston 
business men, with their wives, started yesterday on a 
ten days' fishing trip to Kemptville, Nova Scotia. They _ 
have established a permanent camp there. 
Boston, May 12. — At Moosehead Lake there has been 
pretty good fishing since the ice went out. Still, some of 
the sportsmen who dote on big strings of fish are not 
satisfied, and are hoping f6r better fishing with warmer " 
weather and less wind. Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Foster and 
Mr. J. G. Wildman, of Boston, have just returned from 
a week's trip to Moosehead. They caught 65 trout, all 
"square-tails," four togue and one salmon. The brook 
trout averaged about two pounds; the largest weighing 
4V2 pounds, closely followed by another of four pounds. 
Of the one salmon they are not very proud; long enough 
to have weighed twice its actual weight, it was decidedly 
a poorly-fed fish. It is the general opinion that the food 
supply for salmon is limited in Moosehead. The record 
catch of the week was made by Harry Chapman, of 
Bangor. He had fourteen trout on his string, the largest 
weighing 4^/2 pounds, with several up to the neighbor- 
hood of three pounds. Two of these trout were secured 
on the fly, although it is still too early and too cold for 
this form of sport. George A. Paine, of Boston, with 
Fred W. Ward, of Gloversville, N. Y., have returned 
from Moosehead, having had a fair catch. The Winger- 
sheet Club, of Gloucester, Mass., is represented at 
Moosehead by John J. Pew, Benjamin A. Smith, Thomas 
Carroll, and E. P. Wonson. 
At Bangor there is still some sport at the salmon pool. 
The fish are running larger than ever before, nearly every 
fish weighing well up to twenty pounds, and above. 
Last Sunday a. guest at the Ouananiche Camps killed a 
togue weighing 14^ pounds, while a few days before he 
had taken one a little larger. Earl}*- last week a Bangor 
party consisting of C. E. Edmonds, Robert R. Gurney, 
George W. Sturtevant, Elgin Greenleaf, W. B. Pierce, 
and John F. Robinson, made a trip to Moosehead, and 
brought home a fine string of thirty-si-x trout, the largest 
about six pounds. Hardwood Island, Pushaw Lake, has 
been purchased on which to erect a club house for the 
West End Fishing Club, of Boston. 
The last of the week saw some remarkably cold and 
windy weather at the Rangeleys and other Maine fishing 
resorts. Friday morning a terrific wind prevailed, and 
no steamers were run on the lakes for several hours. 
Both Friday and Saturday mornings the mercury regis- 
tered way below freezing, and much ice would have 
been formed but for the wind. Before the cold days 
some fair catches of trout and salmon were made from 
the Rangeley waters. Dr. H. G. Hamilton, of Boston, 
who has been fishing at the Birches, Mooselucmaguntic 
Lake, brought home a salmon of seven pounds and sev- 
eral smaller fish. E. P. Brown, also of Boston, caught 
a salmon of 6jA pounds from the same lake; F. A. 
Nichols, salmon of 3^ pounds; Mrs. Nichols, salmon of 
3 pounds ; Arthur Currier, salmon of 3-)4 pounds ; Mr. C. 
P. Stevens, of Boston, accompanied by E. J. Shattuck, E. J. 
Shattuck, Jr., F. H. Stevens and son, has gone to open 
Camp Vivi Vale, Richardson Lake. J. J. Leviseur, of 
Boston, has been making good catches at the Birches. 
One day's catch included five fish, weighing 125/3 pounds. 
Henry H. Roelofs, of Philadelphia, who is at his camps, 
near the headwaters of the Oquossoc Angling Associa- 
tion, caught two salmon last week, their united weight 
being eleven pounds. At the Upper Dam the fishing 
was fair up to the days of the gale and cold weather. Mr. 
E. E. Suffren, of New York, an old-timer at the Pool, is 
present, accompanied by C. R. Young and a newcomer 
at the Rangeleys, Mr. C. R. Pratt. Mr. Pratt had seen 
a trout weighing i 1 /- pounds before he reached the Upper 
Dam, and his surprise and delight may be imagined at 
landing a trout of over seven pounds. He has also taken 
one of five pounds, with a lot of smaller ones. Mr. Suf- 
fren is making his usual record by catching a salmon of 
seven pounds, one of five pounds, and another of 4% 
pounds, with a trout of 5$ pounds. Mr. Young has 
takera some large trout, as well as losing most of his 
tackle in the lake, Mr. L. A. Reese, of Philadelphia, has 
landed a number of trout, the largest weighing 4J/2 
pounds. Mr. M. B. Waterman, of New York, has 
caught a good showing of trout, including one of four 
pounds. 
At the Middle Dam the fishing had started well, up to 
the terrible blow and cold of Friday and Saturday. Mr. 
and Mrs. R. H. Baxter, of Bath, Me., and W. H. Bing- 
ham, Waltham, Mass., arrived April 30, and began fish- 
ing the next morning. Saturday the party took eight 
salmon, weighing from 2^ to 4]/ 2 pounds. The largest 
salmon was taken by Mrs. Baxter, and returned to the 
water, as the party had all that were needed. Log boom- 
ing and driving bothers the fishermen a good deal at the 
Upper Dam, "in the Pool below, at the Mouth of the 
River, in the Narrows, in the Pond in the River, and all 
along the line. Several booms have already gone down, 
with more to follow. It will take about two weeks longer 
to complete the driving. The water is very high. 
Good fishing is still reported from Newfound Lake, 
N. H, when the weather has not been cold and bluster- 
ing. Herbert E. Taylor and George H. Wood, of Lowell. 
Mass., caught 23 fish during a short stay last week — 
eleven salmon and twelve trout. At Winnipesaukee, 
Charles Hinds, of Franklin, N. H., has landed a laker 
weighing eighteen pounds. 
The Attleboro party of well known rod and reel sports- 
men is off for Joe Merry Lake. In the party are Messrs. 
O. P. Richardson, A. A. McRae; Fred Sturdy, John 
Luther, W. Engley, C. M. Robins, E. A. Sweeney, R. 
B. Maganeney and D. H. Smith. They go for stream 
fishing as well as lake. 
Special. 
"On the Pefe Marquette." 
For the picture "On the Pere Marquette." which w r as 
given in our last number, the Forest and Stream was 
indebted to the courtesy of Mr. H. F. Moeller, General 
Passenger Agent of the Pere Marquette Route, 
