B06 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 27, 1903. 
the method of preparing a pickerel practiced by Mt. 
Carrington Phelps, of Lake Minnetonka. This is to 
take a pickerel, preferably one of 5 or 6 pounds, and to 
skin the fish, then removing the flesh from the back- 
bone and ribs in the form of two long steaks, which 
are nearly boneless. These pickerel tenderloins arc 
then broiled after proper seasoning. If the cooking is 
done out of doors, the fire employed should be made 
of sound, dry ironwood, burned down to a bed of 
glowing coals from which no smoke issues. 
Summer Fly-Fishiog for Trcot. 
Last week some comment was made upon the grub 
or larvas of some of the caddis flies, which latter are 
familiar to all fly-fi.shermen for trout. Germane to 
this is the following comment by Mr. H. G. Cutliffe, 
who writes in the Fishing Gazette of London, and 
whose hints may perhaps be of service in summer ily- 
fishfng for_ trout as practiced by American anglers un- 
der conditions practically simlar to those of the Old 
World: 
"I find much spoken about the natural fly and its 
imitation, but little about the insect before arrived at 
its maturity. How seldom does one imitate the larva 
or pupa of the several insects! Many of them must 
necessarily be often washed into the water and de- 
voured by the trout; and if looked into, these will be 
found more like some of the hackle flies I use than 
are any flies in their perfect state. I never have at- 
tempted to imitate them, trusting to my stretcher sim- 
ply as something to rouse the fish and attract him, 
with some idea of its being eatable. I never use a 
winged fly on a rapid stream for a bob, excepting tlie 
March-brown, and this only in March. A winged fly 
washed by the water looks more like a Httle roll of 
the dung of a rat than a fly — for the force of the cur- 
rent washes the wings close round the hook. For a 
stretcher, as I have sa»id, always select a smart, gaudy 
hackle fly. The brighter the weather the more gaudy 
the stretcher fly: and in June or July, sometimes I use 
a fly made with a body of orange-colored worsted, 
ribbed down with yellow silk, to make it last the longer, 
and a hackle of a light yellow red, such as one can only 
get from a smart little bantam cock. This fly I have 
found very destructive. In low and bright water, with 
these bright, gaudy flies. I find one need be very quick 
with the rod in fishing; the sport becomes dashing, one 
must work the flies quickly in the water, for from their 
greater conspicuity they are the more quickly seen, 
and will be the more quickly refused if one let them 
be still in the water. The instant they pitch they will 
be darted at, and as quickly must the fish be struck. 
It is just this dash that I so much like in bright water 
fishing — one never sees the trout so lively or quick or 
agile as they are on a hot bright day in July; and 
though this quickness or vivacity may be by some con- 
sidered an obstacle to sport, it is, in truth, a very in- 
centive to it." 
It is quite probable that the dark flies, black hackle, 
etc., are taken in the spring by trout as the larvje, and 
not the winged form of the fly on which they feed, the 
wet fly looking like the black case or "stick bait." 
Good Bass« 
Chicago, III., June 16. — A 5j4-pound black bass is re- 
ported frpm Fox Lake, Wisconsin, this week. The 
deputy game wardens from Madison who have been un- 
dertaking to seine out the worthless fishes, dog fish, 
gars, etc., from Fox Lake waters, seem to have got about 
everything there was going except the fish they wanted. 
The dog fish and gars took to the weeds, but large quan- 
tities of black bass, pike, etc., were dug out by the war- 
dens, of course to be returned to the water. The sight 
was very encouraging to local anglers, whO' have been 
having rather bad luck the last few weeks during the cold 
weather. Mr. Hotchkiss renews his invitation to come 
up and 'help him destroy these black bass, which make life 
in that neighborhood dangerous wlien they go strictly on 
the feed. E. Hough. 
Hartford Building, Chicago, 111. 
Massachusetts Fishermen. 
Your correspondent yesterday received a call from 
Mr. E. H. Richards, of Woburn, who reports a very 
pleasant fishing vacation at Bcmis. He was away for 
two weeks and says he got about 100 trout and salmon. 
He found the "Archer" (?) spinner a favorite lure, and 
says it is the same device as the so-called New York 
spinner, which is reported to have been a favorite at 
Lake Auburn this year. Mr. Richards says he ob- 
served while at Bemis that there seemed to be fewer 
anglers remaining there than heretofore, more of them 
going further. The extension of the rails to Oquossoc 
has no doubt some tendency to make that the objective 
point for many. He went on an exploring tour to the 
new Barker and other points on the lake, but said he 
found the sport at Bemis "good enough" for him. 
Mr. W. H. Maxwell, an Eliot street merchant, gave 
me to-day a glowing account of his recent trip to Lake 
Cabbossecontee, Me. There were five in the party, and 
he says they caught chiefly bass. In one day the catch 
ran as high as 120 fish. They drove in from Hallowell 
by team, six miles, and fished at the "Outlet" chiefly. 
I hear that Col. C. E. Billings, of Hartford, has gone 
to Billy Soule's again this year, and has taken along 
a hunting knife of his own make—the handle made of 
a buck's foot of a deer shot by Billy. On the blade is 
the inscription: "Designed by C. E. Billings, of Hart- 
ford, Conn., for Captain Billy Soule, the mighty hunter 
of Cupsuptic Lake, Me." 
Dr. G. W. Field, of the Institute of Technology and 
the Sharon Biological Farm, Sharon, Mass., tells me 
the brook running through the farm has yielded some 
good trout this spring, and while no shooting is al- 
lowed, the brook is not posted. The doctor is en- 
thusiastic in promoting a knowledge of both plant and 
animal life. The farm contains 300 acres and is about 
22 miles from Boston. The town is noted for its won- 
derfully salubrious climate. 
The Pittsburg Eagle, June 10, un4er the heading of 
Gt. Barrington items, says: "Dr. Stockwell, of New 
Marlboro, took a aJ^-pound trout in Konkapot Riyer 
on Monday, and it is to be mounted by Henry Rudge, 
taxidermist." This is a wonderful fish for Massa- 
chusetts waters. The writer has no knowledge of one 
larger having been caught in our State. The largest 
square-tailed brook trout taken in Massachusetts that 
I have seen was taken in the Frog-foot Reservoir, 
Wareham, by the late Dr. J. T. Stetson, of Boston, a 
few years ago, and weighed 2^4 pounds. 
Representative Knight, of Townsend, Mass, tells me 
that within a week he has seen seven deer together at 
one time in his town. I have not the slightest doubt 
of what he says, although it seems almost incredible. 
I am personally acquainted with that section of the 
State and know there are large tracts of woods, both 
pine and hard wood, and there are several fine trout 
brooks which Mr. Knight proposes to have stocked by 
the State. 
If they can raise 3J^-pound trout in Berkshire, there 
is no reason why they should not in other counties. A 
reliable friend of mine said he saw a 2j4-pound Salter 
or sea troiit caught in a Gloucester pond, on exhibition 
in a Boston fish market Thursday. 
During the dry period as well as since, there have 
been many fine strings of trout taken from Maine 
streams, in the Rangeley country. Dead River region; 
in fact, we may say all over the State where anglers go. 
Commissioner Wentworth has recently put three men 
into court for illegal fishing at Wyndham, Vt., for 
which they were convicted, and he is now on track of 
men who are not obeying the lobster law. Trout 
streams in the Pemigewasset Valley are reported at 
their best, but probably in Mad River, Compton, sport 
will be better in a couple of weeks. Central. 
Mr. Spaeth's Pickerel. 
Jersey City, N. J., June 20. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
T note Avith much interest the contribution in last week's 
issue by Dr. French and Mr. John B. Lunger relative to 
the 7l'<-ponn(] salmon landed by Mr. Edward Spaeth after 
fifteen hours of" battle, begitming in the afternoon and 
ending in the morning of the day following. 
I made the acquaintance of Mr. Spaeth last summer at 
Brown's Inn, Newfoundland, New Jersey, and since our 
meeting have awaited an opportunity to heap a few coals 
of fire on his head, for while at the place mentioned he 
captured a fish in which I thought I had even more than 
a qualified interest. The article by Mr. Lunger is in- 
dorsed by Mr. Spaeth and I write for the benefit of the 
last-naiTied gentleman and primarily to add my testimony 
to his prowess on other fish besides the kingly salmon, 
and help him out among the few readers of Forest and 
Stream who may be so ungracious as to take the salmon 
story cum grano salts. 
A few miles from the hotel at Newfoundland lies a 
body of water known as Green Lake, which has long 
been a favorite stamping ground of the angler. On a 
certain day in mid-summer I had been fishing the lake in- 
dustriously and had not been very well rewarded. There 
is one particular spot located near the boat landing where 
more fish have been taken than at any other point. It 
lies off the lily pads near the south side of the lake, and 
is marked by a large fence rail, to which the citizen first 
on the premises is wont to tie his boat. 
On the day in question the lake was very calm and 
objects could be seen at the bottom. At mid-afternoon 
we came to anchor at this spot and had not been there 
very long before I observed a large pickerel at the bottom 
and started in to tempt him from the water. I played 
tag with all kinds of bait for an hour or more, but could 
not get a strike, and finally left the spot and started for 
the hotel. 
As pickerel of late years have seldom been caught in 
the lake, I did not feel very well satisfied over the fact 
that this monster had gone unscathed, but found conso- 
lation in the thought that we would return later in the 
week and make a further effort to capture the fish. 
On reaching the hotel that evening Mr. Spaeth and 
Judge Coult had arrived for a few days' fishing. In con- 
versation with the first-named gentleman that evening, 
and in an unguarded moment, I told him about this 
pickerel and my qualified interest in it, and also told him 
that I expected soon to reduce it to possession. Mr. 
.Spaeth seemed very much interested, and the next morn- 
ing I found that the two gentlemen had made an early 
start for Green Lake and had taken with them an impor- 
tation of shiners from a pond near the hotel. At that 
time I did not know the amount of pluck and endurance 
wrapped up in Mr. Spaeth, as exemplified by his fight 
with the salmon, and did not for a moment doubt that 
my pickerel would safely withstand all efforts to capture 
him. 
In the evening, however, the gentlemen returned, and 
on inquiry as to the catch, they produced the identical 
pickerel which had fooled us the day previous. Now, I 
am sure it was the same pickerel, for it was caught at 
the spot I have mentioned, and the lake contains very few 
members of the Esox family; in fact, the number caught 
each season does not average over a dozen. 
The superior skill of Mr. Spaeth, and that alone, 
brought about the capture, and I am sure the aforesaid 
importation of shiners had nothing to do with it. The 
fish had already been weighed and according to Mr. 
Spaeth tipped the scales at four pounds. It certainly 
was a splendid specimen and looked even larger as it lay 
in their basket garnished by some four or five infant 
small-mouth black .bass, and as the little darlings of the 
bass family had hardly cut their fins, it reminded one 
very much of Gulliver and the Lilliputians. 
Knowing that such a noble fish was not captured with- 
out incident, I finally drew out the story. Judge Coult 
assisting. If my memory serves me correctly it was prac- 
tically as follows: At exactly 2:15 o'clock in the after- 
noon the pickerel took one of the irnported shiners; pre- 
cisely fifteen rsiuutes was allowed in gorging the bait, 
and at 2:30 the fish was hooked and Mr. Spaeth began 
to play him. Just one and three-quarter hours later, at 
4:15 P. M. by Judge Coult's watch, the fish was brought 
to the landing net. During this long interval, when fight- 
ing for his life, the imp of four pounds ran, dove, slid 
under the boat and sulked, made fourteen distinct and 
separate lunges toward the lily pads and nine desperate 
efforts to connect with the fence rail to which the boat 
was tied. Judge Coult estimated that the monster 
traveled at least four miles during the fight and regretted 
that he could not be more accurate in view of the fact 
that he had no cyclometer with him. 
While weighing but four pounds the pickerel was more 
rakishly built than usual; in fact, was of the torpedo 
boat variety. 
Mr. Spaeth has been singularly fortunate in hooking 
and landing within a year two such remarkable fish as the 
clipper-built salmon and the torpedo-boat pickerel, and 
should certainly be satisfied with these honors for sume 
time to come. 
It will be hoped that he will soon give us the story of 
the salmon from his own pen, and perchance get his com- 
rade and whist partner. Judge Coult, to add a brief. If 
he should disclaim some of the facts that I have given, 
his action will be due to modesty alone, for I have en- 
deavored to tell the truth. 
Kenneth Fowler. 
Amphibious Trout. 
It is not safe at all times to tell another man's story-^ 
especially if it be a fish story. Some people do not know 
the meaning and import of quotation marks, and as my 
article in the Forest and Stream on "Wild Trout I Have 
Met" has been freely copied in the public prints, I find I 
have established myself in the minds of my friends and 
the public generally as a man who intimately associates 
fish and mendacity. 
And yet everything in that article beyond the pale of in- 
verted commas was literally and absolutely truthful. 
Moral— Don't tell another man's fish story, no matter how 
good it may be. 
As to Mr. Roxbury's suggestion of "jacking" the first 
big wary and flouting trout that I meet, I can hardly 
agree with him as to the propriety of such a course. It 
certainly would be a low down trick on that trout and 
would, if the fish were so captured, add but questionable 
laurels to the brow of the captor. Fool a trout, if you 
can, in open daylight, and when hooked and fairly fought 
and landed exclaim, "Old fellow, I fooled you that time." 
But ni the darkness, after having landed a big fellow by 
means of bullseye lantern and worm, what answer could 
we make were the trout to exclaim : "You have me, I'll 
admit, but you couldn't do that in the day time." 
To espy a floating clod of earth and grass coming 
gently down stream and to throw one's worm (let us be 
honest with ourselves— we all of us have descended to the 
lowly worm and agile hopper at times, let us roll our eyes 
in holy horror as we may when worm and trout are men- 
tioned in the same breath) across the same, the wriggling 
bait showing just below the sod and thus tempt a post- 
graduate trout and land him, is simply a case of tact and 
strategy on the part of the fisherman. My friend Country- 
man played this trick on a two-pound brook trout, and 
Countryman is a sport.sman in the cleanest acceptation of 
the term from the ground up. When Countryman gets 
full of rheumatism, wheezy from asthma and can fish no 
more, he'll smoke his pipe under his vine and fig tree and 
tell that story of how he fooled that trout to his grand- 
children as one of the great feats of and during his long 
life. But I know if he had taken that hyper-educated 
trout by means of a bullseye lantern in the dead of night, 
when shadows and noise are swallowed in the darkness, 
he would not tell about it. Charles Cristadoro. 
St. P/>ul, June 12. 
Trout Mortality in the Adifondacfcs* 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Answering the interrogatories of Geo. L. Brown m a 
late issue of the Forest and Stream, "what killed the 
brown trout in the Bouquet River at the burning of Euba 
Mills in the Adirondacks June 3, 1903, was it extreme 
heat, lye, lime, oil, or fright?" Three of the causes sug- 
gested can be eliminated with the stroke of a pen — "lime, 
oil and fright." What would produce "lime and oil" at 
a fire along a stream of pure, uncontaminated mountain 
water 1,000 feet above tide? And if fright would kill the 
trout, there would not one be living to-day in all the 
.Adirondack lakes and rivers. They have heard blood- 
curdling fishing lies enough to exterminate the entire 
.species. Then the cause must be looked for in the two 
other queries— "heat and lye." It is inferred that there 
was a pond of some capacity at the mill, and a dam, that 
the fire was so intense that it not only burned the mill 
and its accumulation of waste and debris, but also burned 
the dam and drained the pond. These dead fish found 
down the stream from the mill were at home at the dam, 
either just above it or just below and under the mill. 
They were probably partially landlocked in a shallow pool 
from natural causes, and partially from burning timbers 
of the mills falling into the stream, choking its flow. 
Thus the great quantities of ashes, coals and burning 
wood so suddenly precipitated into the water, accom- 
panied by intense heat, generated the alkaline salts (lye) 
in such quantities as first to stupefy and then to kill tlie 
fish before they were able to reach fresh water. It was 
not heat, nor heated water that killed— heat was only 
an auxiliary in quickly producing the deadly alkaline salt 
that did kill. This seems to the writer the most reason- 
able explanation or cause that can be given- for the killing 
of the brown trout at the burning of the Euba Mills. 
1 
I 
American Fisheries Society, 
1 
Appleton, Wis., June 4. — The annual meeting of the 
American Fisheries Societies will be held at the U. S. 
Fish Commission station. Wood's Hole, Mass., July 21, 
22 and 23, 1903. The objects of this society are "to pro- 
mote the cause of fishculture; to gather and diffuse infor- 
mation bearing upon its practical success, and upon all 
matters relating to the fisheries, the uniting and encourag- 
ing of all the interests of fi.shculture and the fisheries, and 
the treatment of all questions regarding fish, of a scien- 
tific and economic nature." 
The opportunities for advancing these objects were 
never better than at the present time, and the place of 
the annual meeting presents unusual facilities for observ- 
ing the practical work of rt^arin^ f^§hculture and biological 
investigations, -p Peabody^ 
" Segretary, 
I 
