468 
FOREST AND STREAM.- 
[June 14, 1902. 
Random Notes of an Angler* 
Moods and Caprices of Salmon. 
That salmon rise to the artificial fly as capriciously as 
'do their cousins, the trout, is a fact concerning which 
there can be no dispute, and that they will rise at all is 
something for which anglers have good cause for con- 
gratulation. 
They have their moods and whims, and sometimes they 
will come, and oftener they will not, but when they are 
inclined to accept the angler's offerings they furnish 
him more real sport in a given length of time than will 
any other fish, and if they are handled properly and the 
tackle is all right, there is no reason why a large percent- 
age of those which are hooked and played may not be 
saved. 
Concerning the Tackle. 
Without wishing to attempt to teach, I believe that a 
few words concerning the angler's outfit- will not be out 
of place here. 
First the rod. We all used to believe that nothing 
could ever displace the greenheart with spliced joints and 
lancewood tip, I don't know that, on the whole, it is not 
very nearly as serviceable as are some of the other rods 
which have become favorites in the present generation. 
Merits of Spliced Joints.^ 
In the first place, I am a firm believer in the spliced 
joints, for if the splicing is properly done it gives a uni- 
form sweep to the rod which ferrules cannot possibly 
supply. Of course, uniformity of action cannot be ob- 
tained unless the wood of the rod is evenly tapered and 
turned. If there is anything perfectly detestable, it is a 
rod which is either top-heavy or which has a double action 
in the middle, or has "a kick in the butt." I suppose that 
there have been more salmon lost by such imperfections, 
and more "language unfit for publication" used, than from 
almost any other cause. 
Given three joints perfectly spliced, making a rod six- 
teen to eighteen feet in length of uniformly tapered 
wood, and you have an ideal rod for hard work; but if 
you cannot obtain this, and you may search long before 
you can, the perfected split bamboo comes the next near- 
est to perfection. 
Merits of Split-Bamboo Rods. 
I have had thoroughly satisfactory success with these 
rods, and now have grown to prefer them to all others. 
They deliver a fly well on a long cast, and they are gen- 
erally to be relied on when one is playing a large fish. 
The weak points of a split bamboo have always been at 
the ferrules. Time and again have I had my rod snap 
like a pipe stem in playing a fair-sized fish, and I have 
for this reason been obliged to carry two sets of inter- 
changeable joints with me when I have been long trips 
away from camp or headquarters. 
The action and sweep of a split bamboo is superb, for 
if is built and tapered by the nicest adjusted machinery, 
which must give uniformity; but it is weakened at the 
points where it enters the ferrules, and the hard usage 
it gets from long continued casting and in the playing 
and landing of strong, heavy fish, almost invariably in 
time bring it to grief. 
I have been informed that one of the manufacturers, I 
do not know whom, has succeeded in producing fer- 
rules which instead of weakening the rod at important 
points, actually strengthen it, and that without produc- 
ing an undesirable stiffness at those joints. If it is a fact 
that all the old-time imperfections have been overcome, 
the fact should be well advertised in Forest and Stream^ 
for there are many anglers who would be glad to have 
their favorite rods rejuvenated. 
Avoid a Too Pliable Rod. 
Next to the rod with' a "back-action kick" in it to be 
avoided, is the long and excessively pliable one. We used 
to see in quite common use rods of twenty feet in length 
and almost as limber as a trout rod. Such great length has 
several disadvantages, and but a single point in its favor. 
In racing with a salmon down quick water, or in playing 
it in a shoal, rocky pool, by holding the rod up perpen- 
dicularly the angler can keep the line freer from obstruc- 
tions than he can with a shorter one; but in order that 
he may do this, the rod must have sufficient strength 
(backbone) to bear the strain; otherwise it is no better 
than, nor so good, as is the other. 
The chief objection to a long rod, no matter how per- 
fectly it may be constructed, is the great amount of un- 
necessary labor which its use entails. 
Casting for salmon is not child's play, though many 
make harder work of it than they need to, and to keep 
it up steadily day after day is trying to one's back. To 
be sure one becomes accustomed to it, and soon glories in 
the development of muscle which follows it ; but when one 
can get out all the_ line he wants to and can handle his 
fish comfortably with a rod sixteen feet in length, what 
is the sense in using a longer one. 
Line Guides. 
_ The line guides on the rod should have openings suffi- 
ciently wide to permit the line to run freely. Rings I 
have entirely discarded, for they bind or hold the line 
sometimes to an exasperating degree, particularly if it 
had become soft and somewhat roughened by long use. 
In treating of this, Norris, in the "American Angler's 
Book" says: 
"The advice of English authors to have the rod rings 
very large, that the line may pass through freely, shows a 
want of proper consideration; for if there should be a 
knot or kink in the line, it would be certain to catch in 
passing through the wire loop at the end of the tip. The 
large size of the rings, therefore, would not provide for 
the contingency, while they are awkward and rattle in the 
wind, augmenting the resistance to the air in casting, and 
increasing the leverage on the rod when killing a salmon. 
Jn making a couple of salmon rods for my own use, I 
went in direct opposition to this antiquated notion, and 
put on metallic guides like those on American bass rods, 
put lighter, and find them far preferable to rings," 
T,lfi ^imon in his wild runs moves with more than the 
speed of the fastest express train, and the line should 
therefore be permitted to render as freely and with as 
little friction as possible. 
Let those who still continue to use guide rings examine 
them closely and they will find that, if the rod has been 
much used, the rings are nearly worn through. 
With properly beveled stationary guides and cornelian 
tip, the degree of friction is reduced to the minimum. 
A business concern (of New York and Philadelphia) 
a year or two ago was preparing to put on the market 
salmon rod guides which promised to prove a great boon 
to salmon and bass anglers. They sent me specimens of 
these guides, and I was so pleased with them I wrote as 
high a testimonial of them as I could. 
They were made of cornelian or something similar, 
were perfectly beveled and so smooth that they offered no 
friction at all. They were in every way far superior to 
any metallic ones I have ever seen. I hope the makers 
have succeeded in interesting sportsmen in these guides, 
for they are certainly most meritorious. An advertise- 
ment in Forest and Stream would undoubtedly be of 
benefit to them. 
How Much Pull is there in a Salmon. 
Now the sheer pull at the reel of a salmon in the water 
when opposed to the upright, or rather perpendicular, 
spring of the rod is not nearly as great as most people 
imagine it to be. (If the rod, however, is by carelessness 
or accident allowed to become horizontal or nearly so, the 
pull of the fish is vastly greater, and I doubt if anything 
weaker than a cod line could hold him.) Repeatedly 
have I asked for the opinion of anglers in relation to this, 
and their guesses have run all the way from ten to forty 
pounds. _ Of course a forty-pound pull or anything like 
it is quite out of the question, for no casting line is 
strong enough to stand it. 
Ten pounds is nearer the right figure, and this may 
be easily demonstrated by fastening a spring balance on 
the lawn, to the ring of which hitch the casting line and 
lift the rod perpendicularly; by winding the reel the line 
is tautened and the rod begins to bend, and if this is 
continued until the rod describes a half-circle or as great 
a bend as any salmon at any time could give it, the ex- 
perimenter will be surprised to find that the scales show a 
pull of no more than eight or ten pounds, and very pliable 
rods will circle at even a less strain. 
Now I_ know very well you will say that a ten-pound 
live pull is quite different from a dead one. Of course it 
is, but your casting line will stand only a given strain, "be 
it alive or be it dead," and it behooves the angler to "take 
due notice thereof and govern himself accordingly." 
Lots of good fish have been lost by the butt being given 
too freely in a moment of excitement, 
As to Reels. 
There are scores of reels on the market of different pat- 
terns and degrees of utility and cost, but the plain, revolv- 
ing plate click reel has not yet been excelled in value. 
You must remember that simplicity and strength are 
absolutely necessary to stand the very rough usage a 
salmon reel goes through, even in a single season. It gets 
more hard knocks and banging about than a little, and as 
the angler's success depends very largely on the condi- 
tion of his reel, it is obvious that no matter how much 
knocking about it receives, it must be able to "stand the 
racket." 
Now I have in my time handled a great many reels, and 
have tested them thoroughly, and with this experience I 
have settled down to the conviction that none can excel 
the reel which has rendered me perfect service for many 
seasons, and is now as good as it was the first day I 
used it. It is made very strongly, and weighs with seven- 
ty-five yards of oil-boiled or varnished line on the spool, 
twenty-two ounces. The outer plate on the left side is 
vulcanized rubber, and is four inches in diameter. This 
is rigidly fixed in a strong brass frame, which is at- 
tached to the frame on the other side by four strong 
braces or bars, and the heavy brace at the bottom which 
holds the rod attachment. The plate on the right side is 
made of heavy brass, in which a smooth, somewhat 
conical handle for crank is fastened, by which the line is 
reeled up. This plate lies against another one of hard 
rubber, and so accurately is it adjusted it runs as smooth- 
ly and as free from any lateral play or motion as do the 
works of a watch. There is absolutely nothing about the 
exterior of the reel which can possibly catch or foul a 
running line. The line spool runs in an opening about an 
inch and three-quarters in width, and will hold from 75 
to 100 yards of well-packed line. 
The reel is contained in the spool, .and in its construc- 
tion is simplicity itself. Its resistance is not very great, a 
tension of six or seven ounces being great enough to per- 
mit the line to run, but even that is amply sufficient. 
To be sure, the experienced angler keeps his thumb on 
the revolving spool, as an additional check when playing 
a strong, lively fish, but ordinarily the click furnishes 
sufficient resistance to any tendency to overrun. 
As for multiplying reels, no one in this enlightened age 
would think of carrying one out to the wilderness to be 
used on a salmon river. No matter how elaborately 
gotten up they may be, they cannot stand the hard usage 
to which they would be subjected. Not only that, but the 
obtrusive handle or crank offers a constant invitation to 
the^overrun line to "come and get hitched." No, you 
don't want to take a multiplier on- a salmon stream, and 
yet I have seen good work done with one, but it was in 
the hands of an expert who knew exactly how to handle ' 
and humor it. 
As for a line, the best plaited oil-protected is the only 
one I can recommend. Seventy-five yards will probably 
be long enough, but one hundred yards are safer to have 
along with you. 
Casting Lines. 
Strong and perfect leaders or casting lines have always 
been a hobby with me. I used to buy them in the tackle 
stores, but they proved so unsatisfactory I determined 
to tie my own. In one outing I had a dozen "store 
leader's" go to pieces with me and leave me almost bereft. 
They were so worthless they could not stand a tension of 
even five pounds. Whether the gut was weakened by age 
or not I never knew. On other occasions, also, I have, 
from the same cause, met with disappointment, chagrin 
and defeat. And so in later years I have tied my ownjl 
leaders, and you have no idea how much pleasure I have I 
derived from the work, for in every knot I have tied I \ 
pictured in my mind a leaping, silvery beauty, and as I 1 
put the straining test on every strand, I knew that my ]) 
fish could not break it away. 
Although it probably costs no more to tie one's leaders 
than it does to buy them, there is no economy in it, II 
though a trivial saving is of no importance, for I select i 
only the very choicest and most perfect strands of heavy ! 
gut obtainable, and those with even the smallest imperfec- 
tions are rejected. By all means, if you want to feel safe, 
tie your own leaders, and my word for it you will bless jj 
me for advising you to do so the first time you "are fast ! 
to a big fish. 
Yes, the best tackle, and only the best, should be used ' 
in salmon fishing, for one has not only to contend with 
the strongest and gamest fish, for its size, that swims, 1 
but one also that is so full of crafty expedients to escape 
that I have often thought its reasoning powers are ab- ! 
normally developed. 
A fish that will try to spring a hook out of its mouth | 
by rubbing it against a rock, and when this expedient 
fails, will deliberately wind the leader around a sub- 
merged snag or rock, so as to secure a resistance against 
which a strong, quick pull will either jerk the hook out 
or snap the leader like a piece of pack thread, has cer- 
tainly something more than mere instinct to guide its 
movements. Edward A. Samuels, 
[to be continued.] 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Splendid Fishing in Wisconsin. 
Chicago, 111., June 6.— It seems to be the general be- 
lief here that this is the best fishing season in the State 
of Wisconsin which has been known for ten years or 
more._ This applies to muscallunge and trout fishing more 
especially. There has been splendid muscallunge fishing 
in the Minocqua chain of lakes in Wisconsin for the past 
two weeks. C. H. Lester, of this city, has, during his 
stay at Minocqua, taken in all seventy-two muscallunge, 
nothing heavier than twenty-four pounds, yet a continu- 
ous run of good fishing. Messrs. Veatch and Von Len- 
gerke, who went to Minocqua this week, had a taste of 
this same sport. The latter took one muscallunge in 
Arbor Vitse Lake which weighed eighteen pounds, Mr. 
Lester having one of twenty-four pounds the same day. 
Mr. Veatch was not so fortunate. The party got thirty 
'lunge in all. A lot of smaller fish were returned to the 
water. 
Good Trip. 
As to the bass fishing, the stories are similarly con- 
vincing. By the way, ih speaking of bass fishing, I must 
ask my friends to bear in mind the White River of Wis- 
consin, which is now accessible by the new Marshfiefd 
branch of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Go in 
at Nakooska, via Fond du Lac. There is a dam on the 
White River at Nakooska, and the best of the bass fish- 
ing lies down the river from that point. Write to Carl 
Bartle, Princeton, Wis., who will furnish a boat and guide 
on down the river to the good bass fishing. July or late 
June is reported to be the best time for this floating trip. 
The stream is not a large one, but runs deep and very 
clear, and with great opportunities for fly-casting from 
the bank, as much of the country is meadow through 
which it runs. The bass are small-mouthed bass, and at 
times they take the fly beautifully. This is one of the 
little trips which I should myself like to take. It is men- 
tioned very highly by Mr. G. A. Buckstaff, a well-known 
sportsman of Oshkosh, Wis. The White River is a trout, 
stream— a stream which Mr. Buckstaff and his friends 
used to drive forty miles across country to reach before 
this new railroad was built in. The trout in this stream 
run very large, some of them being rainbow trout. The 
stream is deep even well toward its source, a bright water, 
and bordered in great part by meadow banks. 
Many Good Trout Streams. 
A good place to go trout fishing is at Benjamin's siding, 
just below Wautoma. Go to Benjamin's farmhouse close 
to the stream and you will receive good accommodations 
and good care, and be directed as to the trout fishing on 
the White River, which is good close to that point. This 
is one of the best tips I know of. 
One could also go to Wautoma and fish in the east 
branch of the White, which is also known as Wautoma 
Creek. There have been good trout in this stream for a 
long while, and it is not even yet fished out. 
Yet other good trout waters in that immediate vicinity 
may be had. For instance, there is McCann Creek, which 
can be reached from Princeton. This is a good stream, 
and is not hit too hard, for that country is comparatively 
new. 
Willow Creek, accessible by way of Wild Rose, also on 
the Northwestern Railroad's new branch, is perhaps the 
second stream in the State of Wisconsin in the way of 
natural food for brook trout. Go to Billy Patterson's 
place, or to Geo. Campbell's, asking instructions at the 
Wild Rose livery stable. 
Duck Creek, reached by way of Bancroft, is another 
good trout stream to bear in mind. Get advice there for 
Ed. Mclntee's place. The latter will take care of you. 
The above information is valuable to any one wanting 
a trout fishing trip. The railroad has not been through 
that country very long. Of course the streams have been 
fished to some extent, as has the once famous Roche a, 
Cri Creek, but the trout have been planted there for some 
time, and the streams are highly favorable to their growth. 
Some of these streams are not to be fished with the fly 
throughout their length. Personally, I should prefer the 
trip to the White River, and a combined trip for trout and 
bass fishing, say from Wautoma to Princeton, would be 
my notion of a beautiful way to spend a week. The 
fishing along the older line of railroad is apt to be cut 
down in the course of time. I have been hearing of the 
White River for a number of years, but never was near 
it before this week— that is to say, in, such fashion as to 
know something of its resources. It is a fly stream, and 
holds good trout. #a,n.d!e it gently if you go, for it wiU 
