Aug. 2, igo2.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
89 
^A^ New Whitefish, ' 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your last issue I notice that yotlr able correspondent. 
Mr. E. T. D. Chambers, of Quebec, quotes the finding of 
a new whitefish in the waters of Lake Simcoe, and that it 
has been identified bj' Dr. Bensley as Coregomis lahra- 
doriciis, or at least that its characteristics approach more 
closely to that form than to any other. As I had some- 
thing to do with the identification of this little fish, I feel 
for the sake of science that we ought to place it where it 
belongs before the public, for already the best scientists in 
fishery matters have recorded its existence as Coregomis 
richardsonii. 
These fish up to a year ago were classed as herrings 
by the local fishermen about Lake Simcoe, and nothing 
was thought of it until some Scotchman said that he knew 
they were Loch Fyne herrings such as he had so often 
seen in the old countr3^ This opinion was given as an 
item of interest in the Toronto Globe, where it met my 
eye. Of course, I knew that such an opinion must be 
wrong, for probably Loch Fyne herrings would not live 
in fresh water, so I at once wrote to Mr. S. T. Bastedo to 
see if he could have a specimen sent to me. Apparently 
last season he could not get one for me, although he had 
Dr. Bensley to examine a specimen. This spring, how- 
ever, he w-as good enough to have three of the little fish 
sent to me from Barrie. I saw at once that it belonged to 
the Coregomis family. However, I was not able to satis- 
fy myself as to its particular identity, so I forwarded a 
specimen to Dr. H. M. Smith, of the U, S. Fish Commis- 
sion at Washington, who has so ably written up some of 
the small whitefishes of Lake Erie. He very promptly 
acknowledged its receipt and stated that he and Dr. Ever- 
mann were surprised to find that it proved to be a speci- 
men of Coregonus richardsonii, and said that as far as 
they knew it was the only recorded specimen beside the 
type fish, and that they were very anxious for more 
specimens. 
I believe the type fish are dried specimens in the British 
Museum, and they were named after John Richardson, a 
noted author on subjects of natural history. 
Gunther, Cat VI., 185, 1866, says "its exact locality is 
unknown." 
The fish is found associating with the common fresh- 
water herrings in Lake Simcoe, and the fishermen say 
that it is not found at all in the adjacent waters. It sel- 
doin reaches more than a pound in weight, and is a most 
delicious fish for the table, being much finer and better 
flavored than its big relative, Coregomis clupeiformis. It 
is said that at certain seasons it will take the hook freely 
and rnany are caught in that way, but they are mostly 
taken in nets with the herring. 
G. A. MacCatxum. 
London. July 28. 
Ncw England Fishing:. 
SdstON, July 2§;— Coftespofidents in Maine are in 
eiirttest about something being done to prevent too much 
fishing. The law permitting the sending out of ten 
p(5unds of fish is beiiig assailed by the more thinking, and 
legislation will doubtless be asked to make a change. Box 
after box of fish goes out over the lines of railways tap- 
ping the fishing resorts. The express companies have not 
a Word to say j it is money to them. If information is 
Rsked concerning the number of boxes they forward, they 
l:ave tione to give. The tone of the letters is that fishing 
in Maine is doomed ; is .slowh^ being reduced to the posi- 
tion of that of the Adirondacks. Severe restrictions of 
excessive fishing can only save the fish from being too 
soon exhausted. 
Mr. E. C. Stevens, of Boston, fishing at Lake Dun- 
rnore, Salisbury, Vt., sends out one of his scores : Four 
pickerel, 6%, 4. 3^ and 2 pounds; three bass, 3, 2 and i 
pound. The monster pickerel, for w^hich that lake is 
famous, have not yet come to Mr. Stevens' net, but a 
more peculiar catch has. Mr. Austin L. Baker, of Bos- 
ton, and Mr. Stevens' fishing companion, has caught a 
live mink in that net. Another big salmon was landed 
at Lake Auburn the other day. Mr. N. G. Manson, of 
Camp Leatherstocking, Ridiardson Lake, writes me of a 
day of experiences. On the carry between the two ponds, 
Big Richardson and Pepperpot, a bear that must have 
weighed four hundred pounds, was seen. At the pond 
Mr. Manson caught a trout weighing fully five 
pounds, the largest trout on record from that pond. 
Eight deer were sighted on the same afternoon. Mr. Man- 
son writes that he is in a first-class fishing and shooting 
country : the only drawback is the fact of the great 
amount of poaching that is constantly carried on in that 
section, with no warden nearer than Rangeley village, 
nearly twenty miles away. Mill Brook, flowing from the 
Richardson ponds, was legally closed several years ago, 
but the Commissioners have neglected to post the brook, 
and nobody pays any attention to the law. The same con- 
ditions exist in regard to Metaluc Brook, flowing into the 
same lake, several miles below. Capt. Fred C. Barker 
looks out for Bemis Stream, flowing into Mooselucmagun- 
tic Lake at Bemis. He employs out of his own pocket a 
man to watch "the spring" or natural hatchery up that 
stream, or the brook that joins it, every fall. In the bot- 
tom of the spring, about fifteen feet in diameter, hundreds 
of trout may be seen any day in the spawning season, the 
bottom fufl of spawn. It is easy to see that this care of 
that spring does more to keep up the supply of trout in 
that lake than any restocking that has ever been done by 
the Commission. The building of a fishway from Moose- 
hicmaguntic Lake up into Rangeley Lake is being agi- 
tj.ted, and late reports say that it is to be done, Nobody 
dares mention the building of a fishway at the LTpper Dam', 
where the need is much greater. Two priests were appre- 
hended by Game Warden Templeton at Jackman, Me., 
last week for fishing Parlin Stream, which is closed to 
all fishing. The Rev. Joseph Forest and the Rev. John 
Blair were caught fishing there by the warden. It cost 
the Rev. Forest $50. he paying all the bills. 
Belgrade Lake, Me., has the reputation of being great 
for black bass. There is a story out that Monday over 
2.500 bass were taken, and five trout, the largest weighing- 
0t pounds. While J. L. Ogden, of Newark, N. J., was 
playing a small bass there, it was seized and swallowed by 
a big pickerel. Mr. Ogden had considerable sharp work 
to land the pickerel on a six-ounce fly-rod. Charles 
Peeling, of Ncw York, has two mounted trout hung in the 
ofiice of the Belgrade, one weighing 8 pounds 14 ounces, 
the other 7 pounds 8 ounces. Continued cool and wet 
weather has caused the fly-fishing to hold out remark- 
ablj'^ well at Moosehead; it is as good as it was three 
weeks ago, the height of the usual season. At Haines 
Landing Mr. Dexter C. Tiffany, of New York, has lately 
taken salmon of 4^^, 4, 3|4 and pounds, and trout of 
5^ and ^Yz pounds. New Hampshire fishermen are hav- 
ing great sport with bass in Ashquam and other waters. 
W. H. Thompson, of Chelsea, and H. H. Howard, of 
Worcester, caught a string Tuesday weighing 17^^ 
pounds. At Newfound Lake, a few catches of lake trout 
are still being made, the largest lately by Master Carl 
Bradden, weighing loYz pounds. Congressman Frank D. 
Currier, of Canaan, recently took a string of thirty fine 
trout from the brooks near Dorchester. The Pemigewas- 
set River is also yielding some good strings. 
Boston, July 26. — Boston trout fishermen continue to 
make some good catches. C. A. Mentzer and W. J. Lamb 
recently made a trout fishing trip to Hancock, Vt., to a 
brook that Mr. Mentzer is acquainted with. They struck 
a good pitch of water for trout^ and made a score_ of about 
ninety, some of good size for brook trout. As is almost 
ever the case nowadays, the camera went with them, and 
some pictures that they treasure were made. Another 
Boston trout fisherman — it is not best to give his full name 
for obvious reasons — went to a town in New Hampshire 
one day a couple of weeks ago, where he was to meet a 
fishing friend and try a trottt brook that the friend knew 
about. Our Boston man did not know the country very 
well and had never been to the brook. He arrived at his 
friend's place at night. The friend could not go afishing 
the next day. Important business had come up and 
must be attended to. But the Boston fisherman could 
take his team and drive to the brook and fish that day, 
and both would go next day. The directions to find the 
brook were quite explicit: "Drive to the second turn in 
the road and turn to the left, then to the first turn and 
turn to the tight, then to the forks of the road and go up 
a hill," etc. Our fisherman drove and drove, about as 
directed. Soon he came to a brook. He rigged his tackle 
and began to fish. The trottt bit remarkably well and 
were of good size. Soon he caught a fish that did not 
look like a trout ; one of a sort he had never seen. He 
caught another of the same sort, and then another. He 
filled his creel with handsome fish, and concluded that it 
was time to go back to his friend's house. He reached 
there much pleased with his luck. His friend looked the 
basket over, and began to look rather pale. "Keep those 
fish out of sight for heaven's sake. You've been on the 
wrong brook. Those are landlocked salmon, That brook 
is closed to all fishing, and if the wardens find out that 
you have caught them, they will cost you $10 apiece, beside 
the cost of prosecution !" The jaw of our fisherman 
dropped, and he felt like starting for Boston by next train. 
The brook was really posted, but he had waded right in 
the middle, and was so interested in fishing that he 
neither looked to the right or left, and did not see the 
signs. 
Secretary L. Dana Chapman says that fishing continues 
good at the Megantic preserve. The cool, wet weathel" 
has prolonged the fishing remarkably. Restocking has 
also done much to help the sport there, beside the prac- 
tice of fishing with the fly only, and that of returning all 
fish not needed to the water alive. L. O. Crane has made 
another record at Big Island Pond, a trout weighing 2 
pounds 10 ounces. 
Fishing has held out well at Lake Auburn, Me. Sev- 
eral good salmon were taken there on Tuesday last. One 
was caught by Frank Merrill, one by Mr. Thompson, and 
a third by Mrs. Curtis, of Boston, who has been a guest 
at Mr. Merrill's. I am not aware that these people used 
anything but the ordinary rigging, but I have it from 
good authority that local fishermen in that lake use a 
big spinner made at a tin shop, which the salmon take. 
; Special. 
Captwfe of an Ocean Sunfish. 
There was captured last Saturday near Seabright, N. J., 
a specimen of the ocean sunfish, an extremely curious but 
not very rare fish. 
The sunfish is known to science as Orthagorisciis mola; 
it has a compressed disc-shaped body, no tail at all, but 
very long dorsal and anal fins. The sunfishes grow to be 
seven or eight feet long, and about the same breadth, and 
weigh from 600 to 800 pounds. They are found in the 
Mediterranean, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and 
have been taken on the coasts of California and Japan. 
Their distribution is general throughout temperate and 
tropical seas. 
The sunfish has no economic value. Its flesh is thin 
and tasteless, and when cooked separates into oil and 
bunches of tough fibers. However, the fishermen of Cape 
Cod sometimes make from the livers an oil which is 
highly prized as a remedy for sprains and bruises. 
Nothing seems to be known of the time or place of the 
breeding of this species, but the young are occasionally 
taken. 
The sunfish gains its name from its habit of floating on 
the surface of the water, with fins partly exposed. They 
are con.spicuous objects when seen in this position, and 
are often captured and brought to cities, where they are 
exhibited as curiosities. 
The river has been higher this month than usual at this 
season, and the fishing was spoiled for the time being by 
the heavy storms of July 18-20, when the stream ros& 
several feet. 
At Hale's Eddy the pool of that name is well known 
among anglers, and I am told good catches are made there 
every year. The village is five miles below Deposit. 
Boats can be hired, but I have seen few persons trolling 
on this part of the river. The local anglers stick to their 
barnyard hackle, and perhaps for this reason they catch 
more catfish than bass. 
The best bass pool I have seen on the West Branch is 
less than two miles above Hancock. It is adjacent to the 
railway and may be approached from that side of the 
stream. One can fish from shore there by casting, as a 
series of ledges extend into the pool. Above these is a 
fall, in the tail of which, I am told, some famous catches 
of bass have been made. The water is deep and full of 
eddying currents. A nearer pool may be reached from 
Flancock by way of the road to Deposit, which passes 
nearby. This pool is also deep and dark, full of ledges 
where game fish can hide. It can be fished from the west 
bank by casting, and from a boat. Below it the river is 
swift, but deep for a long distance, even to Hancock. 
One who wishes to fish the West Branch can find lodg- 
ing at very reasonable rates in Hancock or Deposit, and 
the farmers along the river are accommodating and will 
no doubt find bed and board for the angler. 
Perry D. Frazer. 
Stockport, N, Y., July 21. 
A Morehea<d City Shaft. 
KiNSTON, N. C, July 26. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Herewith is a clipping from the Raleigh News and Ob- 
server of to-day. Take it for what it is worth : 
"MoREHEAD City, N. C, July 25. — The largest shark 
that was ever caught in these waters was to-day landed 
by Mr. Russell J. Coles, of Danville, Va., with a rod 
and reel after a most desperate fight, and before the shark 
was finally killed he was shot twenty times with a heavy 
revolver. Mr. Coles used 600 feet of No. 36 Cuttyhunk 
line on a heavy tarpon reel with short trolling rod, and 
his boatman had to hold him in the boat when he was 
trying to check the fierce rushes of the shark. 
"After the shark was killed six men were unable to lift 
him- from the water, and he was finally hauled up by block 
and tackle after several failures, as his great weight broke 
the first chain that was used. 
"The shark is twelve and one-half feet long and his 
w'eight estimated to be over i,20o pounds. 
"Dr. Milligan, of the Government Fish Commission 
boat. Fish Hawk, says that he has fished all over the 
world, and that he does not believe that as heavy a fish 
as this was ever caught on rod and reel in the world 
before. 
"Mr. Coles is justly proud of his great catch and has 
had him photographed and will preserve his skin." 
This will be of interest to tarpon and tuna fishers who 
are prepared to believe it. To those whose credulity is 
not in good working order, it will doubtless prove in- 
teresting from an entirely different point of view. 
Having lost several costly lines fishing for sheepshead 
down there, I am prepared to take it all in and hope that 
"it is the fish of my acquaintance. 
T. H. Faulkner, 
Adirondack Notes* 
Louis Wat.so, the Wabannake Indian, who years ago 
was a successful guide, died recently at his home at North 
River, aged about eighty-one years. Very few of the old- 
time guides are left. Mr. Watso belonged to a genera- 
tion of men mostly of lasting remembrance. All who 
knew any of them will wish that each may find his 
"eternal camp" in the "happy hunting grounds." 
Fred Bird and Frank Fuller, two young men raised 
at Blue Movmtain Lake, this week visited a pond some 
mJles away and returned with thirty-five pounds of 
brook trout. Bird handled the raft while Fuller cast the 
flies. The trout were nearly all taken in one day, and 
Fuller was lame and sore from the exercise. One trout 
was twelve inches long and the average weight was 
aboirt one-quarter pound. It was a fine catch, and the 
boys were heartilj' congratulated. They also reported 
seeing twelve deer on the trip. 
The weather continues wet. Juvenal. 
Fistiing: in the Delaware West Branch. 
The fishing in the West Branch of the Delaware River 
near Deposit, N. Y., has been fair recently until July 17, 
v-hen heavy rains roiled the water somewhat for a day. 
After that some fair catches were made just below this 
village. The river at this point has at different times 
been stocked with both black bass and wall-eyed pike fry, 
but I have heard of none of the latter fish being taken 
during my stay in this vicinity. Some fair-sized black 
bass were caught last week. Good catches have been 
made in Oquaga Lake, two and a half miles distant in 
the hills. Bass, wall-eyed pike and tropt ^re found there. 
The New Jersey Coast* 
Newark, N. J., July 28. — Since my last letter hut little 
of interest to the surf angler has been presented. While 
a few bass of large size have been taken at Deal Beach 
and at Avon, the catches have been so far between that 
interest has been on the wane at all times. The prize 
so far is to the credit of Niart Rogers, weight 26^4 
pounds. Last Sunday a school of weakfish broke in shore 
in pusuit of a school of butterfish. Those on the shore 
who were properly equipped had a gala day, as many 
specimens weighing from 5 to 8 pounds each were pre- 
sented. I have made a personal review of the entire ocean 
front between Atlantic Highlands and Barnegat City, and 
the results are as above reported — but few bass, no blue- 
fish and weakfish only of small size in the bays'and rivers, 
Leonard Hulit. 
''The Earth Is Our Own/' 
The eartli is ours? Nay, tenants are we all, 
Tenants at will of unreknting fate; 
Even now, before life's opening outer gate 
They stand, to whom the earth full soon will fall. 
Theirs are the streams ye drain for fancied needs, 
The trees ye fell, and leave a place of death 
Instead of forests with their healing breath, 
The falls that vanish to exploit your deeds. 
What will ye answer, when of you they ask, 
"Where is the beauty which you held in trust? 
What use to us these heaps of goJden dust. 
With earth a prison where we do our task?" 
—Ninette M, Ixiwst^r in N. Y, Sun. 
Rock Elm, Wis, 
