410 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 24, 1902. 
ough investigation may establish the fact. At any rate the 
yast economic and scientific importance of the matter 
justifies a very careful and exhaustive investigation of the 
whole matter. 
The spawning time of the shad in the Ohio River is 
probably not earlier than the ioth of June. The numer- 
ous examples seen at Louisville May 16 to 19 were far 
from ripe, and it is doubtful if any of them would have 
spawned much before the middle of June. 
As an article of food the Ohio shad does not yet seem to 
have appealed to the citizens of the Mississippi Valley. 
At Louisville they sold at a low price, the price received 
by the fishermen being but two cents a pound, the same 
that was paid for carp, buffalo and toothed herring. Those 
who are familiar with the delicious Atlantic shad and 
who know how to prepare it find the Ohio species not 
at all inferior. 
If the shad should be found to be present in the Mis- 
sissippi and its tributaries in sufficient numbers to justify 
the establishment of permanent fisheries each spring, there 
is little doubt but that it would soon become quite as 
highly prized as its near relative in the Atlantic coastal 
streams. 
Flv-Casting for Bass from* the Wing 
Dams in the Mississippi, 
To keep the Mississippi River flowing in a given chan- 
nel a wise engineer planned the construction of wing 
dams, nothing more or less than narrow embankments of 
broken stone and boulders running from the shore at 
intervals straight out into the river. Between the points 
of these protruding dams the current holds sway, and 
between these points is the channel of the rivers kept at 
normal depth by the scouring of the sand-laden water. 
Fish, be they sturgeon or minnows, must pass around 
the point of each wing dam to move down stream, no 
other course is open to them. How well the bass know 
this ! How they form in schools and holding themselves 
in readiness in the eddy behind the point of the dam, 
await the coming of the quarry carried around the point 
of the rocks in the swirling tide. 
Now on any pleasant day in June, or July for the matter 
of that, run down to Prescott. Above this point the 
Chippewa and St. Croix rivers empty into the Mississippi, 
which in a measure explains the good bass fishing to be 
particularly, had at Prescott. 
Selecting your flies, have your oarsman row you to the 
nearest wing dam, and then leave your boat until you 
are ready for a move to the dam next down the river. 
No need of looking behind you for your back cast; you 
are out 300 feet from shore with space unlimited all 
around you. No overhanging alders are to be considered 
in the question; no partly sunken logs or gnarled roots 
meet your gaze as you scan the water. Things are cer- 
tainly propitious not only for throwing your fly, but 
for playing your fish after the hook has been set. You 
look at a piece of floating pine bark 200 feet down stream 
and wonder to yourself if you can not just top it with 
your fly. 
But there is no need for casting at great lengths, fot 
right at the end of the stone, embankment is an eddy, and 
there are your fish, so Whether you cast closely or at long 
range is with you to decide. 
Measuring your distance with a few casts up stream you 
finally turn and drop your Ry at the end of the dam right 
in the. swift swirl of water. Hardly has it fairly settled 
upon the water before it is taken with a rush that clearly 
exposes the head and shoulders of the active fish. A 
twitch of the rod and you have him. It is a job to prevail 
upon him to quickly leave the eddy and make his fight 
beyond, and thus leave the remaining fish undisturbed, but 
you succeed in doing so, and if your fly holds and the 
fates are kind to you, he is finally reeled to your very 
feet and carefully lifted upon the dry rocks. 
And when the eddy gives forth no further response, a 
few moments of rowing will take you to the next dam 
down or across stream, where you repeat the process. 
It is fly-casting under the most favorable conditions, and 
yet the fish are as wild as bass can be, and the current in 
the river helps to make things interesting often times when 
the fish is making his best fight. Save for losing a fish 
now and then — and who would have it otherwise, even if 
it is the largest always that we lose — one need spend 
an hour's fly-fishing without the vexation or care only too 
often the lot of the wader of the embowered trout stream. 
Perhaps it does look a little too luxurious this standing 
hundreds of feet out in a stream and having to pay at- 
tention to absolutely nothing save the proper placing of 
your fly and the handling and landing of your fish. But 
such is the fly-fishing one can enjoy for bass in the 
Mississippi River. Casting frogs among the lilypads and 
rushes for the greedy yet lazy large-mouthed bass is not 
to be compared with throwing the fly and playing the 
pugnacious bass in the swirling waters of the Mississippi. 
Charles Cristadoro. 
Sullivan County. 
Rock Hill, Sullivan County, N. Y., May 14.— -The 
weather here has been rather cold for trout fishing. I 
fished the McKee Brook down to Katrina Falls' and caught 
thirteen nice trout, one weighing % pound. A couple 
of days after I fished the Foster Meadow Brook and 
caught seventeen, using fish-worms for bait. I flushed 
quite a lot of partridge (ruffed grouse) along the brooks, 
and heard others drumming, so we expect to have some 
good shooting this fall if the broods turn out all right. 
There are six ponds around. here, all good fishing ponds, 
principally for pickerel, except the Fowlwood Pond, which 
has the small-mouth black bass as well — some big fel- 
lows, tOO. D. G. SUMMERFIELD. 
Of Course He is Ptoud of Her. 
Boston, May 16. — J. P. Tucker, the coal man, is the 
proudest Boston father in the vicinity of Kilby street. 
He has a daughter, Emily, aged six, who, by her own 
efforts managed to land a 1%-pound trout at Mr. Tucker's 
camp at Marshfield. She did not, of course, make the 
cast herself ; but she managed to get the fish on the fly 
firmly and landed him in a way that would have done 
I n .lit to a veteran, 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Fly-Gaatlng Trip Postponed. 
The members of the Chicago Fly Casting Club who 
were billed to start for Grand Rapids, Mich., last Wednes- 
day evening, were tremendously disappointed to get tele- 
grams telling them not to come. The lale storms which 
have crossed Michigan have ruined the fishing, and it is 
only the part of good judgment not to make the trip until 
the waters have somewhat subsided, which will probably 
be within a few days. Mr. C. B. Kelsey writes from 
Grand Rapids that the date to be later chosen will be left 
to the convenience of the Chicago gentlemen, and will be 
later announced. 
Carrying Trout Out of Michigan. 
To-day I met by accident Mr. E. Lipkau. of this city. 
Mr. Lipkau is just back from a fishing trip on the Au 
Sable river below Grayling. He said to me: "I have 
been going to the Au Sable River for eight or ten years, 
and I had the best trip this time I ever had. You may 
say we fished in a snowstorm part of the time, but the 
trout came fine. I caught rainbow trout up to -2% 
pounds, and I brought home a grand lot of trout. This 
is surely a great stream," 
I said to him: "If you brought trout out of Michigan, 
Mr. Lipkau, then you surely broke the law." Mr. Lipkau 
replied: "All you have to do is to put them on the 
sleeper, and they come through all right." 
"But it is against the law," said I. 
"Oh, they don't do anything to you," said he. 
Now there you are. I explained to Mr. Lipkau that I 
once wrote to the State Fish and Game Commissioner of 
Michigan laying before him this same question. I was 
answered by Mr. C. E. Brewster, deputy warden, that 
while there had never been a case brought before them 
of carrying fish out of the State, the department would 
be obliged to prosecute anyone carrying trout out of the 
State of Michigan if the fact were ' discovered. In the 
early days I was told that the non-export clause of the 
law applied more especially to the selling of fish, and that 
it was not intended to apply to a man carrying a few fish 
or game out of the State for his home table. Since hear- 
ing from Mr. Brewster I should not think of carrying a 
trout out of the State. 
Now, if this is the law, it ought to work just the same 
for one man as for another. I was fishing in Michigan 
last week and caught a nice lot of trout, but I did not 
venture to bring one fish home to serve on my home table, 
thus forfeiting half the pleasure of a fishing trip. Now, 
obviously, the law ought to apply to Mr. Lipkau and 
myself indifferently. 
The facts in the Lipkau case are these. He and his 
party were visited while on the Au Sable by a deputy 
warden by the name of Purchase, who lives or is accessi- 
ble at the town of Grayling, Mich. At that time the party 
had over 700 trout in their crates, alive. Mr. Purchase 
was entertained by the party and this is the conversation 
which it is said took place. 
"Now, I will give you the law straight," said he. "It 
is all right for you to have these fish alive here in camp, 
but I want you to understand that when you go away you 
can only take 150 fish with you." (I. e., 50 fish per man.) 
Mr. Lipkau said to me: "Mr. Purchase knew perfectly 
well that we came from Chicago." Mr. Lipkau therefore 
figures that he had express permission from the Fish Com- 
mission of the State of Michigan to carry trout out of the 
State. This is in contradiction to the attitude assumed by 
Mr. C. E. Brewster, another deputy of the State Fish 
Commission of Michigan. Now, I appeal to the warden 
of the State of Michigan to give us a final and authoritative 
ruling on this matter. If Mr. Lipkau is privileged to 
bring trout out of the State of Michigan, other anglers from 
this town wish the same privilege. I do not hesitate to 
use Mr. Lipkau's name under these circumstances, and 
indeed he gave me full permission to do so. Said he to 
me: "If I cannot bring my trout home with me, then I 
will never go on the Au Sable again." From this I infer 
that it has been the custom of Mr. Lipkau to bring his 
fish home with him every year. Will the State Fish and 
Game Commissioner of Michigan kindly give the readers 
of Forest and Stream his decision in this regard? I 
am mailing to him a duplicate of this copy, and I am 
anxious to have this matter cleared up. It may be re- 
membered that I stated that last week a party of Toledo 
(Ohio) anglers who checked fish out of the State had 
their outfits confiscated at Detroit. There are certain 
incongruities in all this which it seems to me does not 
comport with the dignity of the State of Michigan. There 
are hundreds of Chicago anglers who do not like to fish 
in the State of Michigan because they cannot bring trout 
home with them. Of course, we agree that the Michigan 
law is almost intolerably unjust when it punishes a Chi- 
cago angler to this extent. The Au Sable River trip is 
one of the most expensive angling trips which can be 
taken. If we go over there and put up our good money 
to this extent, it surely seems that we ought to be able 
to bring back a few fish. It is not, however, what seems 
to us right or constitutional, but what is the law and what 
is the interpretation of the law. This is one of the most 
interesting questions which offers to Chicago sportsmen, 
and it is to be hoped that Mr. Morse, the State warden, 
will decide it at once and finally. 
Bass Fishing. 
As a good tip for Chicago bass fishermen, 1 suggest 
Hamlin Lake, Mich., for large-mouth and small-mouth, 
especially the latter. 
As to our lakes in northern Illinois nearer home, they 
are attracting a big quota of bass fishers to-day. It came 
off bright and sunshiny to-day, and the effect upon the 
angling clement was phenomenal. Among those who go 
to the Lake Villa country are-Messrs. R. E. Kimball, hjs 
friends, Garrett, Brooks and Carter; Tom Walters, W. W 
Dunham, J. T. Hastings. Thomas H. Morrison. Harry 
Miner and Dr. Fowler. Good catches are reported from 
the Fox Lake country for the past week, and these gentle 
men ought to meet fine success, as the bass are now on 
the feed. 
As to the south-bound trains, Mr. J. T. Bramhall, of 
the Monon Route, leaves to-morrow with a party of 
i;l',oia: sinnls. largely composed of inejpbers of- the Press 
Club of Chicago, for a bass-fishing trip to Cedar Lake. 
Mr. Opie Read, a mighty angler of the Press Club, is 
slated to be of the party, with several others of piscatorial 
proclivities. Several members of the sporting press are 
invited, including the Forest and Stream representative. 
It is to be regretted that other arrangements do not ad- 
mit one's being present on this pleasant little excursion. 
Bringing Bass from "Wisconsin. 
I met my friend Jack Wiggins the other day at lunch, 
and he. said that his friend Mr. J. M. Oliver had just sent 
him six fine bass, which he had taken in the State of 
Wisconsin. There must be some mistake about this. Mr. 
Oliver is a lawyer, and surely he must know that the 
bass season does not open in the State of Wisconsin until 
May 25. 
Northern Trout Fishers. 
Two gentlemen just back from the Ontanogan River, 
Messrs. Fuller and Pagern, took something like 150 trout 
there in their late trip. They report that it was all bait- 
fishing, which removes much of the glamor of the story. 
Mr. Herman Warner leaves to-mght for Watersmeet, 
and if the weather has settled down up there ought to 
meet with very good success on the Ontanogan. 
Messrs. Frank B. White, O. J. Prentice and E. E. 
Critchfield joined with Dr. Lee M. Millard, of Nassau, 
Wis., to-day for a trip to the Prairie River, via the 
C, M. & St. P. Ry., going in at Merrill, Wis. These 
gentlemen go to Dudley P. O. and will remain for a few 
days. 
As to Tight Ferrules. 
Mr. H. E. West, of La Crosse, Wis.,, has the following 
to say of tight ferrules : 5 
"The next time you have the pleasure of going a-fish- 
ing, when you take that $30 rod out of the case to joint 
it you just rub the end of each joint that goes into the 
socket in your hair. If you are one of those bald-pated 
fishermen that have but little hair, then you might put a 
little vaseline on what you have before you go, so to 
get grease enough to do the business. But if your crop of 
hair is all right, and you wilLtry this, you will find it much 
better than your kerosene method. It always works nicely 
with me, and I have done it for years and never been in 
the fix you were in since I began to do so. From the 
fact that I enjoy your articles so much in Forest and 
Stream is why I let you into the secret, but do not give 
it away tintil you have tried it. It is simple, but a fisher- 
man will have his hair with him, even if he forgets some 
of his tackle." 
I don't know about that last, for I have known anglers 
to take their tackle and leave their hair. But as to treat- 
ing a ferrule, it serves equally well to rub the ferrule 
upon the skin back of the ear or even upon the nose if one 
is shy of hair. The oil of the hair or of the skin will 
lubricate the ferrule sufficiently. This, however, has 
nothing to do with the case of a tight ferrule after the 
latter has become an accomplished fact. Of course, kero- 
sene is something which ought to be kept away from a 
fly-rod unless in dire extremities, a.s I have suggested. 
After the ferrules are tightly locked, as they were in my 
case, it is too late to talk of rubbing them on the hair or 
anything else. I have had no trouble with this rod since 
then, for now in putting it together I am always careful 
to see that the joints are properly lubricated. 
As to Fine Tackle. 
I do not know how it is in New York, but out here in 
Chicago our angling devotees arc taking to finer tackle. 
This is the case more especially with the fly-fishermen. 
The old coarse gut, and heavily feathered flies tied on 
snellcd hooks will not do for use much longer. There 
is a chance for some dealer to make a killing here with a 
line of small flies, tied on eyed hooks and dressed thinly 
and properly. 
To-day Mr. E. E. Critchfield showed me some flies 
tied after patterns suggested by Major Daniels, of Denver, 
who has fished the Prairie River of Wisconsin several 
seasons. They were built from patterns suggested by in- 
sects actually caught on the stream, thinly-hackled, small- 
bodied, dainty-winged quill gnats, or thin-hackled gray- 
drakes, much different from the average trout fly. You 
could not give Mr. Critchfield anything else for that par- 
ticular stream. 
By the way, Mr. Critchfield shows an English fly-box 
with compartments numbered, and a pair of pincers to 
take out the flics therefrom. Mr. F. N. Peet pins his 
faith to a smaller fly-box, with clips. The old patterns of 
American fly-books are becoming old-fashioned, and some 
enterprising dealer might do well to take to these new 
ideas. The same thing applies in yet other ways. 
"I have one line, which I bought in England," said 
Mr. Critchfield to-day. "I paid $12 for it, and it will last 
me a lifetime. Last season when I got done using it, I 
wiped it dry, carefully coiled it up in a tin can, and then 
poured melted deer fat over it. This spring I took it out 
of the grease, wiped it off and found it pliable and per- 
fectly free from kink from one end to the other." 
Half the fun in fly-fishing is to have a good equip- 
ment. In many lines of angling gear the English admit 
their inferiority to the Americans, but as a matter of fact 
one. country can often borrow ideas from the other with 
profit. Last week over in Michigan my friend Mr. Mer- 
shon put me into a pair of waders which came from Eng- 
land. They were of soft mackintosh, with boot feet, the 
soles of leather and the half-sole of felt. The foot up to 
the ankle was covered with leather. These waders did 
not seem to sweat one so much as our heavy mackintosh. 
Tttey were pliable and comfortable, and one could get 
out on the bank and walk in them with perfect com- 
fort. T would not mind getting a pair if I could get 
them here in America. I should not wonder also if I 
should become so un-American as to like one of these 
English fly-boxes. 
All these things arc in the way of trade. As to the 
dressing of flies in smaller patterns, this is something 
that we ought to have made possihle by local fly-dressers, 
and it is simply a matter of perversity that we do not have 
it. Given a good fly-rod, the proper kind of a fly-line, 
good gut — that commodity so very hard to purchase at 
any price — and flies dressed light and "buggy" after the 
English fashion, and I promise you the man of average 
skill will discount in his catch the best efforts of the-nian. 
