30 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 
12, igo2. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST» 
Western Angling Situation. 
Chicago, III., July 5.— Pretty much everybody in Chi- 
cago left the city yesterday for some place" out of doors 
and out of town. About 125,000 people decamped bodily, 
leavmg behind only enough to make the streets untenant- 
able with the din of crackers, guns, etc. 
It would seem that the season has been a good one 
thus far, the high waters having resulted in a general 
movement of the fish and the cool weather having offered 
conditions favorable for angling. We do not often hear 
of big muscallunge in this country anv more, but a few 
came down from Wisconsin last week. The Milwaukee 
& St. Paul Railroad exhibited one taken by Mr. F. A, 
Wheat, of this city. This fish was caught in Bullard 
Lake, and w^eighed 26 pounds. A grand specimen came 
also from the Little St. Germaine Lake, 42 pounds, a 
beauty taken by a lady. Mrs. C. A. Wheeler, of this city. 
Mr. Wuthmann. of Chicago, also sent down a 3S-pounder 
from the same water. When it is remembered that the 
St. Germaine country has been hammered persistently for 
twenty years or so, it would seem that the angler "who 
has lost a muscallunge may yet take heart of grace. 
_Mr._ W. T. Davis, of the Manitow.ish Club, sends a 
kmd invitation to join his party at the Divide retreat on 
Turtle Lake, Wis. The club will be in camp until 
July 23, and it goes without saying that among m large 
a number of industrious and successful anglers some- 
thing will be doing between now and then. I regret that 
I cannot accept this kind invitation. 
Nepigon Troot AH Right. 
The Nepigon season being now at hand, and several 
Chicago parties being upon the point of starting for that 
historic stream, the following advices put out by the 
Canadian Pacific Railway may be of interest : "A report 
that has been going the rounds of the newspapers that 
a disease has struck the trout of the Nepigon. on the 
Canadian shore of Lake Superior, and is killing them off 
by the thousands, is contradicted by the officials of the 
Ontario Fishery Department. Inspector McKirdy re- 
ports to Toronto that the report is absolutely false and 
unfounded, and that the fishing has never been better 
than it has been this year." 
Tips From an Angler, 
A trout fisherman well posted on Michigan waters adds 
the following useful little tips on fish, fishing and fish 
laws. Anglers will please cut out these fly-dope recipes 
and place them in the rod case, where they are not to 
forget them in case they want them in a hurry some day : 
"Inclosed find recipe for Col. Fox's fly-dope-. I have 
not found it satisfactory on .some occasions. If mos- 
quitoes, midges, etc., are bad, fly-dope No. i on annexed 
sheet is good, in fact the best I have used; No. 2 answers 
for most places where I have had experience. The best 
way to use No. i or No. 2 is to put on exposed parts oi 
person and let it remain, simply w^ashing palms of hands 
and ej'es, as may be necessary. Not a pleasant way to 
do, but effective. 
"On two occasions I have caught speckled trout with 
artificial flies during thunderstorms. Last Wednesday 
I fished on the Boardnian from 7 to 11 A. M.. during a 
rain, and caught fifteen trout with flies. When I com- 
menced fishing the rainfall was light, but afterward quite 
heav3^ 
"If the State of Michigan would charge all non-resi- 
dents a license (excepting women and children) and use 
the money so obtained to enforce the protective laws, it 
would accornplish something. I am a non-resident; have 
fished in this State for many years. Dynamite is used 
freely by many persons in trout streams in this State and 
does more to ruin fishing than anything else." 
COL. fox's fly-dope. 
Oil pennyroyal, i dram ; oil cedar, i dram ; oil pepper- 
mint, I dram; fld. ext. quassia, i dram; gum camphor, 4 
drams; vaseline (yellow), 2 ounces. Dissolve gum cam- 
phor in vaseline by aid of heat and add other ingredients. 
FLY-DOPE NO. I. 
Pine tar, i ounce; oil pennyroyal, i ounce; vaseline, 3 
ounces. Mix cold in a mortar. 
FLY-DOPE NO. 2. 
Oil pennyroyal and oil tar, each i ounce; camphor 
gum, 1% ounces; vaseline, 3 ounces; carbolic acid, 2 
drams. Add a little paraffin wax to above to make it a 
little firmer, so that it will not be too soft on hot days. 
Mr. J. M. Oliver, of this city, wants to join me in a 
trip after small-mouths on the Mississippi River or some 
other stream. I cannot get away just now, but would 
suggest that he go to Prescott, Wis., on the C., B. & Q. ; 
to Alma, Wis., on the C, B. & Q. ; to La Crosse, Wis., 
or to others of the points between the foot of Lake Pepin 
and the city of La Crosse. A six-ounce fly-rod is heavy 
enough, but it is belter to take special flies for that river, 
the Onondago being the best, as I have often mentioned 
in these columns. 
Western Anglers in the East. 
Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw, Mich., is just back 
from his lodge on the Cascapedia River, and is good 
enough to give the following information regarding the 
success of himself and friends. Pretty young salmon 
anglers, these, at nine and twelve years of age] 
"I had a fine time on the Cascapedia," says Mr. Mer- 
shon ; "the fishing was good this year — better than I have 
seen it for years. The continued high water seemed to 
bring in a good many fish, though at times the river was 
so dirty we could not go out, and I lost a good deal 
of fishing, but more than made up for it when the water 
did get right. 
"Mr. Thos. Harvey stayed with me about ten days and 
missed the good fishing. He got six salmon, the largest 
weighing 31 pounds, but his average was a fraction over 
26 pounds. My beys and I had twenty-two fish, averag- 
ing 26 1-6 pounds. My largest was 41 pounds. Little 
Ted, nine years old, killed a fish. I hooked a small one. 
9 pounds in weight, and handed the rod over to him, and 
he played it until it was successfully gaffed and brought 
joto the bo&t. pilly, twelve years old, wag out a fe'iY 
days with his own boat, independent of his dad, and he 
had the good fortune to get three nice salmon, running 
from 22 to 27 pounds. 
"I never saw the fish fight better. Nearly all of them 
were jumpers. I used a large fly on account of the heavy 
water. My best day was six, although one day with my 
boys help I took eight. 
"I only saw two bright, sunny days in all the time I 
was away; cold wind and rain predominated, but I have 
come home feeling like a fighting cock. I ran across a 
good many anglers returning, and all reported excep- 
tionally good fishing." 
Mr. Watts Humphrey and Mr. C. H. Davis arc back 
from the Little Pabo.s. They took nine salmon. Mr. 
Bennett, of Minneapolis, was with them. The above is 
the score of the three rods. The salmon in that fiver 
are smaller, and their average was only 12 pounds. 
The Weight of Fly-Rods. 
Mr. E. W. Raymond, of Post Mills, Vt., oft'ers thf- 
following interesting and useful hints regarding the 
weight of fly-rods. His mention regarding the heavy 
rods, the "choke-bore rods" of which I have complained, 
is speech of gold. It is not the longest line which takes 
the most trout, or the stiffest fly-rods which give the 
greatest skill or the greatest pleasure. He writes : 
"I notice in the last Forest and Stream your inquiry 
for advice of a 4>^-ounce rod. I do not claim to know 
everything about rods, and the man who does claim this 
only shows his ignorance, but for twenty-five years I 
have been in touch with anglers from California to Maine 
all over the United States and Canada, am also a crank on 
trout fishing, and have made several trips into Maine 
and other waters. I will give you my opinion, which I 
think will be the verdict of the best-posted anglers in the 
country. Do not have your rod over 9 feet in length for 
4l4 ounces; with a 9-foot rod of this weight with proper 
'hang' you can cast a fly as far as will be required in 
practical fishing, and it will handle as large trout as you 
can hope to hook, and if you do get hold of that big 
one that always gets away, you need not be afraid of your 
rod in fairly clear water. It will also be light and a 
pleasure to handle it. 
"I think I have read all the articles that you have ever 
written and printed in Forest and Stream, and I think I 
only lack two numbers of having a complete file of Forest 
and Stream for the last twenty years, and I often think 
of some of those 'good things' that you are giving away 
in the Western countries. 
"Above all things, avoid one of those tournament rods 
M'hich are made for long casts; they are of no use in 
actual fishing." 
Chicago Fly-Casting Clutj. 
Following are the records of the Chicago Fly-Casting 
Club on June 21 : 
Distance and Distance Bait 
Accuracy, Fly, and Accuracy. Casting. Bait. 
Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 
C. F. Brown 94 98 4-15 87.3 81.8 
G. A. Davis .. 93.7 88.1 
H. G. Hascall 99 215 98 6-15 94.7 91.3 
E. R. Letterman .. 93.8 86.4 
E. L. Mason ., 95.2 89.3 
F. N. Peet 99 98 7-15 96.9 97.4 
H. W. Perce 99 98 5-15 98 97 
C. B. Robinson .. 91.2 92.1 
A. C. -Smith 98 7-15 98 11-15 98.3 99 
F. S. Smitli .. 95 S5 
Next contest, June 28. 
Winning Scores, Regular Event — Distance and accu- 
racy fly, H. G. Hascall; bait-casting, A. C. Smith. 
Re-entr}^ — Distance and accuracy fly, A. C. Smith; 
bait-casting, A. C, Smith. 
English and American Fly-Rods. 
There is a cock-sureness about our English cousins 
which is sometimes a trifle amusing. I presume Great 
Britain is the most provincial country in the world (un- 
less it's New York). Not that provincialism is not quite 
as well as cosmopolitanism sometimes, and not that it is 
not a poor province which will not stand up for its own 
notions. Here is what a firm of English tackle makers 
say regarding "light and powerful rods" in the Fishing 
Gazette of London. This firm makes a rod of 4j4 ounces 
feet, but I infer does not approve of it, for the com- 
munication noted goes on to say: 
'Tn discussing what is a reasonable weight, we have to 
bear in mind the strength of the angler and the condi- 
tions under which he is to fish. Both vary to a consider- 
able extent, and the writer (an angler of moderate 
strength, who has fished many of the principal rivers in 
Europe both for salmon and trout), if he may be per- 
mitted to give his opinion, considers one ounce to the foot 
as the maximum for trout rods. Lighter rods, down to 
as low as 7l4 ounces for 10 feet, and so on, are prac- 
tical weapons, and very suitable for men under the aver- 
age. 
"Do not let us be led away with the idea that these 
2-ounce to 4^-ounce rods are universally approved in 
America, because they evidently are not. It may be all 
very well for American makers to produce these toys, but 
the fact that we send into America a great many of our 
built cane rods of our usual weights, and that at any 
rate many prefer them to the rods they get in that coun- 
try, and are willing to pay our price, and an added duty 
of 45 per cent., is fairly strong evidence; and we might 
add further the fact that we have no complaints of over- 
weight, nor are we asked to reduce in any way. 
"To give an example. One of our latest productions* 
(which we have just had the pleasure of turning out for 
our genial editor), is a rod 10 feet 4 inches in length, in- 
tended for dry-fly. and sufficiently powerful to lift and 
drive a medium Houghton line. 
"The same style of rod can be made a good deal less in 
weight for wet-fly. We make no apology for giving par- 
ticulars of this rod as taken by us during manufacture. 
The length, as we have said, is 10 feet 4 inches. The 
rod is cork-handled, with lock-fast joint, and our patent 
combined spear and butt cap. The three pieces of cane 
forming the rod, before commencing to joint or do any 
work on them, weighed 4^4 ounces. The handle, winch 
fitting, lock joints, rings and varnish weigh 3^ ounces, 
thus making a rod of 8^ ounces. The patent spear and 
|}Utt g^p ^re. in comparing with a rod not sp fitted, de- 
ducted; they weigh ij4 ouiices, and if we add them to the 
SYz ounces, the whole rod comblfeted is 10 ouhcfes, btH-, as 
we pomt out, the rod dotlsidered Without this pateiit 
spear and butt cap Is 8H ouiices. Now, it will be seeh 
that if a fqd of this length requires 4^ ounces of bamboo 
alone (and neither the Americans nor any one else can 
use a lighter, better, or stronger bamboo), what becomes 
of these light rods of 4^2 ounces, or even anything under 
7 ounces? As we have said, and as the editor in a foot- 
note to a previous letter veiy wisely temafked, such 
things were only stiitablfe jor 'ladies and girls.' Now as 
5 ounces out of a totafof io ounces of this rod referred 
to is in the hand, there surely is not much for the avei^- 
age man to complain of in the way of weight." 
Another firm says on the same topic: 
"With reference to light rods, we would poiht out that 
we have had no inquiry for such a light rod as mentioned 
or we could easily have supplied him with a 41^-ounce 
or any other weight rod, made by the best firm of English 
rod-makers, who can produce a rod equal, if not siiperior, 
to anything made in America, both for lightfless and 
strength." 
The "genial editor" referred to is Mr. R. B. Marstoii, 
and I am sure no angler can read his writings without 
calling him brother. We would like him m Chicago. 
But the first thing we would do to him would be to show 
hm that American split-bamboo— or, as the English term 
it "built cane," rods are in the better grades called heavy 
when they run so high as 7 ounces, and even a 4^-ounce 
rod is thought heavy enough at least for stream fishing by 
men who can walk as far, jump as high, spar as well and 
do a great many other things as well as the average 
athlete on either side the water. An American 4-ounce 
rod IS by no means a rod fit only for "ladies and girls," 
but a tool with drive enough to it to fish in a bit of wind, 
and powerful enough to kill any trout or bass up to 3 or 4 
pounds. I have a 4-ounce rod with which I once killed 
two bass, either of which went over pounds, and that 
in a pool under a bridge on which I stood. I fished from 
the upper side of the bridge, and could hear the fish jump- 
ing below and behind me, the tip of the rod being popped 
down under the bridge. It held, and the bass came up 
stream and into the net eventually. I do not consider this 
rod relatively as powerful, ounce for ounce, as others I 
have owned since. In our best American makes a 5-ounce 
rod is a heavy one for trout fishing in an average stream. 
One of 7 ounces I have rarely seen used in any but the 
heaviest kind of fishing. One of 10 ounces I personally 
never saw used by any American angler who patronized 
our best makers. It would be thought nearer a salmon 
rod than a trout rod. 
We do not use 2-ounce rods in our part of the world, 
and would call that a fad. I know one angler who kills 
hundreds of trout each year on a 3-ounce rod, though he 
thinks 4 ounces or 4K ounces would please him better. A 
6%-ounce rod, in our best make, may, and in all likeli- 
hood will, prove too stiff for easy casting at short range, 
especially in so short as 10 feet. And poorer and cheaper 
rods run heavier. 
I have always thought the English sporting gear honest- 
ly made and very durable, but inclined to heaviness and 
c]um.siness. I don't see how they happen to make their 
dry-flies so dainty. One would expect an English fly, to 
be fit for any but "ladies and girls," to weigh about 2 to 
10 ounces. 
It is likely that the greater part of the weight in Eng- 
lish rods is in the fittings, reel seat, etc. I have seen some 
of their rods with a big ball at the butt, which meant 
weight of unnecessary extent. I do not hear of any 
English wooden reel seats or a butt finish like our Amer- 
ican Catskill pattern rods, where all the weight goes into 
the essential part of the rod, and not into balls, spears 
or metal butt caps. 
It is much a matter of fancy, or matter of habit, in the 
use of rods. It would be unkindness for one angler, or 
one set or cult of anglers, to seek to impose their ideas 
upon another. I imagine that, ounce for ounce, we could 
beat the British with our regular angling rods, such as are 
in general use; that is, of course, to say, with our high- 
grade rods as against their high grades. We have a lot of 
trash in our cheap American department store tackle. 
But that is not to say that we want to change the English 
Ephraim to another sort of idol. Their fathers have 
always made rods that way, and I think it is illegal in 
England to think of making them any other way. Two 
hundred years from now they will still be making them 
in the same old way. And the Americans will then be 
selling their style of rod to the Kalmuk Tartars and the 
Chinese mandarins. We are a light and frivolous people, 
especially in Chicago, but we come to arrive, as we say, in 
Chicago. E. Hough. 
Hartford Building, Chicago, 111. 
The Rangfeleys, 
Upper Dam, Me., July S-— Fishing is good here. The 
water is high for so late in the season. Both lakes are 
full, in fact, but the gates are closed, so that the Pool is 
not too "lively." Some record fish are being taken ; that 
is, fish weighing 3 pounds and over, caught on the fly. R. 
N. Parish, of Montville, Conn., made a big record June 27, 
a salmon of 6 pounds 6 ounces, one of 12 pounds 9 ounces, 
and one of 10 pounds 5 ounces. June 29 Mr. Parish got 
a salmon weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces. July 4 he took a 
salmon of 5 pounds 9 ounces. So far this year he is cham- 
pion angler of the Pool. It will also interest brother 
anglers to know that he catches these salmon on exceed- 
ingly small flies. No. 10 and 12, the bow of the hooks not 
over three-sixteenths of an inch across. June 29 John 
S. Donne got a trout of 4 pounds 4 ounces; J. Morgan, a 
salmon of 4 pounds 7 ounces ; E. F. Van Dusen, of New 
York, a .salmon of 6 pounds 8 ounces; July 3, J. C. 
Dougherty, of Syracuse, N. Y., a salmon of 5 pounds 3 
ounces; Mrs. J. C. Dougherty, a trout of 5 pounds 2 
ounces, a most beautiful fish that gave the lady lots of 
sport. It took nearly half an hour and till after dark 
to conquer it. Prof. J. F. Moody, Auburn, Me., got a 
trout of 3 pounds on the morning of July 4. That even- 
ing Mr. R. N. Parish broke his rod over a salmon, and 
lost him. That fish he believes to be as large, or larger, 
than his fish of 12 pounds 9 ounces, noted above, which 
is the largest salmon ever taken in the Rangeley waters. 
J. C. Dougherty caught a salmop of 3 pounds this morn- 
ing. " ■' ' ■ ■ Specxa;^ 
