470 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec 13, 1902. 
chatterer seenis to be better as sides than jungle; it may, 
however, be men's fancy, but I have killed with no sides 
on the fly. This fly is just the Doctor fly for fish penned 
in by low water, hence getting sickly or brown ; but as a 
rule true sportsmen do not care to go for potted fish, and 
would rather leave them in quarantine. But sometimes 
this fly is a snooker in shallow necks of pools, with the 
whole-feather wing; anywaj^ it is well worth a trial when 
Red-Marine fails (perhaps mere fancy from a success), 
and the more brilliant the sun the more would I use 
Quarantine in preference to Red Marine; but not in all 
places. Black-List, also, is a good sun fly in very deep 
pools. 
In the words or thereabouts of Patent Office, common 
forrn, "haying now described my invention and the man- 
ner in which I work it," and having covered all possible 
future enlargement and all previous anticipation, I may 
as well finally say I claim no invention, no monopoly, and 
no particular cudos. I have merely endeavored, for my 
own benefit in the sport, to concentrate the sound virtues 
of several hundred flies into five. Others, I know, have 
worked in the same line, but, I believe, on standard pat- 
terns. Such men will be interested with kindly feeling 
toward my foregoing remarks. 
W. Baden-Powell. 
Jew Fishing Extraordinary* 
Tngleside. Texas, Nov. 30. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
While waiting for a howling wet norther to abate, 
and (from necessity) "remembering the Sabbath da}^ 
to keep it holy," I take the opportunity to send you 
a few lines descriptive of some extraordinary jew- 
fishing, which was done about a week ago at Tarpon. 
About sun-up on Sunday, Nov. 23, I noticed a small 
crowd of men and boats at Point of Rocks, some 
four hundred yards away. This I interpreted to mean 
that the roe mullet were running and that the jew'- 
fish were after them, a condition of aft'airs which we 
had been anticipating for several days, and to which 
the sportsmen had been looking forward with con- 
siderable eagerness and pleasure, especialljr because 
the tarpon fishing had been letting up somewhat, and 
we were anxious for some other sport to take its 
place. 
Turning my eyes seaward, T saw approaching the 
entrance to the harbor a small two-masted schooner, 
which I surmised to be the Flower of France, a vessel 
for the use of which, during the month of December, 
I had been negotiating for a couple of weeks, and 
whose delayed arrival at the Pass had been causing 
some uneasiness because of a terrific norther that had 
.struck the localitj'^ a few days before. 
There was just about sufficient time for me to col- 
lect my tarpon tackle, hustle out my boatman and get 
to the channel so as to head off the vessel. When I 
reached Point of Rocks I found there two sportsmen 
with their boats and several of the unemployed boat- 
men, all fishing for jewfish in the midst of a great, con- 
tinuous school of roe mullet. Tw^o or three jewfish 
had alread}' been landed, and two more were hooked, 
while I paused for a few minutes to view the sport, 
but I could not remain to see them landed, as the 
Flower of France was approaching rapidly. 
Hailing her, they threw us a line, then I went aboard 
and got the captain, Mr. Ray Dunbar, of Matagorda, 
to heave to while we concluded our negotiations, 
alter which the vessel proceeded on her way to Rock- 
port, and I joined the other fishermen. _ However, I 
was just in time to be too late, as the eighth and last 
icAvfish of the morning's catch was landed soon after- 
ward, while I failed to get a strike. At nine o'clock 
the fishing was practically over for the day, although 
two market fishermen, who spent the rest of the day 
fishing at the Point, landed two more in the afternoon. 
The average weight of the ten fish caught that day 
was probably about 350 pounds, as there was only one 
small one in the lot. 
Up to this time the world's record for weight of jew- 
fish landed on a rod was 435 pounds, the fish having 
been landed at Tarpon a year or two previously. The 
record jewfish of the Pacific coast weighed 415 pounds. 
The largest fish landed this first day on a rod was 
caught by a young gentleman from Cincinnati named 
Joseph. It was about six and a half feet long, and the 
formula made its weight 401 pounds. There were two 
other fish landed on hand lines that were a very little 
larger than this. 
Next morning before daylight Mr. Joseph, Mr. Sea, 
of Independence, Mo., and I, who were all the sports- 
men then at Aransas Pass, were at_ Point of Rocks 
with our boats and boatmen; and, in addition there 
were half a dozen of the natives with their boats and 
hand lines. 
Soon after sun-up the jewfish began to strike, and 
the fun waxed fast and furious. It was not long be- 
fore I was attached to one, which in a few- minutes I 
hauled on the beach, as it was a little fellow of 50 or 
60 pounds' weight. I had not more than gotten my 
line into the water again before I hung another. My 
boatman for the time being was Mr. Robert Farley, 
the taxidermist, who had offered to row me that morn- 
ing for the express purpose of trying to break all 
records. When he saw that I was again attached, he 
yelled, "sock it to him," which I proceeded to do. 
Meanwhile, Farley had taken up the anchor (for all 
of the boats were lying at anchor close to the rocks 
with their sterns pointing outward into the stream), 
and had shoved us off so as to clear the other fisher- 
men's lines and get out into deep water, where the 
fight could be fought to a finish without interference 
of any kind. It soon became evident that our fish was 
a monster. Fortunately my tackle was all new and 
of the very best, and the line was doubled back some 
20 feet; but we then noticed for the first time a dis- 
colored spot in it just above the long loop, which 
gave us some uneasiness. Our fears, however, were 
unfounded, as the line did not part. 
After about fifteen minutes of the hardest kind of 
fighting, we got the fish to the surface where we could 
see it well enough to judge of its size. Farley re- 
marked "that fellow is a record breaker; be careful 
YQV! 4^?i't lose bisB," 
It was one thing to get the fish to the surface, but 
quite another to keep it there, as it continued to 
sound for the next ten minutes, during which tiine my 
new ribbed-leggings that I suggested in a previous 
communication in your colunms, stood me in good 
stead, enabling me to bring a great uplift on the fish 
without any severe punishment on my legs. 
By this time the monster had begun to show signs 
of fatigue, and I at last succeeded in turning it belly 
upward, so we began to tow it to land, heading for 
Point of Rocks so as to give the rest of the crowd 
the benefit of the excitement. When we reached shoal 
water, Farley jumped overboard to haul the fish ashore 
with the gaff; but the creature then took a new lease 
of life by rolling over and striking out for deep water. 
In an instant Farley tumbled into the boat agaiti and 
grabbed the oars, I shouting to the other fishermen 
to get their tackle out of my way, as our quarry was 
striking out over several of their lines. Fortunately, 
though, we did not foul any of them; and I managed 
to stop the run without letting out a hundred feet of 
line, so it was not five minutes more before we again 
had the fish in tow, belly upward, and headed for the 
shore, This time the great brute grounded on the 
sand, and was hauled immediately by the gaff hook 
far enough up on the beach to prevent its escape; then 
a slit w-as cut in its lower jaw, and a heavy rope was 
run through and tied, thus bringing the fight to a 
close, much to the relief of all concerned. Farley 
immediately made the measurements of length and 
maximum girth, which proved to be respectively 7 
feet 3 inches and S feet 9 inches. The formula for 
these dimensions makes the weight 518 pounds, and be- 
fore it was computed Farley, who has weighed many 
jewfish, declared that it would weigh over 500 pounds. 
Unfortunately, there were no means at Tarpon of 
weighing such a heavy fish. We kept it alive for two 
days, then had it hoisted on to the deck of the mail 
boat and carried to Rockport, where the scales made 
the weight only 450 pounds. Farley declares that the 
two days without food in the water and the drying 
out in transit reduced the weight fully 50 pounds. Be 
this as it may. and calling the weight onljr 450 pounds, 
Mr. Farley and I can now claim the world's record for 
jewfish landed on rod. 
While I was struggling with my big fish, Mr. Joseph 
hung one but little smaller, and landed it in about half 
an hour, his boatman being Mr. Will Farley, a brother 
of the taxidermist. These two men, by the way, are 
certainly the best all-around boatmen and tarpon oars- 
men in the settlement, but Mr. Robert Farley very 
seldom can spare the time to row. Occasionally, as 
a special favor to an old friend and shooting com- 
panion, he rows for me. He is a first-class sportsman 
in both fishing and shooting, and makes a point of 
studying the habits of the fish and game which he pur- 
sues. Mr. Joseph's fish measured one inch shorter 
and 4 inches less in girth than mine, and the Rock- 
port scales made it weigh some t^veuty-five pounds 
less. 
Mr. Sea lauded that morning a fair-sized jewfish, 
and the hand-line fishermen secured two more, making 
six for the morning, and sixteen for the two days. 
If this kind of sport can be beaten at any other 
locality I would like to learn where. Every Novem- 
ber there are_two or three days' run of jewfish at 
Tarpon, and during the entire tarpon season, which 
begins on April i and is supposed to end on Novem- 
ber IS, occasional jewfish are caught on both hand 
lines and tarpon tackle. 
That the tarpon do not always quit striking about 
the middle of November, I proved this season by land- 
ing one at Point of Rocks on the evening of the 24th 
inst., and another at the same place the next morn- 
ing. 
it would be diflicult to conceive of a more delight- 
ful resort for anglers than this. The drawbacks are 
few and often there are none. Sometimes in the 
autumn, especially when there is an unusual amount of 
rain, as was the case this year, the mosquitoes are 
vicious and specially poisonous; but in the summer 
there are seldom, if ever, any. 
As a rule, the people frequenting the place are com- 
panionable and agreeable, but for the sportsman there 
is very little time to devote to social functions, as 
there Is fishing during all the daylight hours, and as 
tackle repairing demands a portion of each evening. 
As soon as I can find an opportunity to write it, I 
shall send you my promised letter on "Fishing for 
the Leaping' Shark." t a t x^r 
J. A. L. Waddell. 
Some Maine Records* 
Editor Forest and Stream: ^ 
Having just returned from a four months trip to 
Maine, T take the liberty of submitting my following fish 
and game scores, which may compare favorably with other 
records of the same order made in the State during the 
year of 1902 : 
Score of large square-tailed trout made with fly and 
troll from Deer Island Home, F. L. Gardner, proprietor, 
Moosehead Lake, Aug. 8 to Sept. 27, weight as follows : 
\Va, 4>2. 4/4 pounds, 4 pounds 2 ounces, 4, 3^, zVz 
and 3 pounds. 
My son. Master W. Chamhers Young, age twelve, took 
on the fly a trout of 5 pounds 2 ounces, which I think was 
the largest trout on fly caught during the year. 
Game record wdiile in camp at Ragged Lake, Oct. i to 
Nov. 2, Bert Duty, of Greenville, guide: One moose, 
spread of head, 47 inches; two black bear, two large 
bucks. 
Moosehead Lake and the surrounding country is full ot 
fish and game, and I feel that I have been particularly 
fortunate in enjoying the hospitalities of the Deer Island 
home, and securing the services of Mr. Bert Duty, who is 
one of the most reliable and best guides in the State. 
W. B. YOCNG. 
All communications intended for Forest and Stream should 
always be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., Nevy 
y^^!?j an^ |i9^ t9 gny individual conneetf4 TfVitll the paper. 
Size and Age of Fish, 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
It is diflicult for a writer without books to collect in- 
formation concerning the relation between the length 
and the age of certain food and game fish. The writer 
h:is examined the revised "Manual of Fish Culture" of 
the U. S. Fish Commission, and the "Transactions of the 
American Fisheries Society of 1902," and has obtained 
the following notes, which may serve to introduce this 
important subject. The notes are arranged in the order 
in which the fish appear in the most recent ichthyological 
books. 
Atfaolic Salmon. 
In two years the Atlantic salmon reaches the length of 
six or eight inches in captivity. Adult salmon are 
thought to be four years old 
At the Craig Brook Station, in Maine, mature fis-h 
measured from 29 to 31 inches in length, and weighed 
from 9 to 12 pounds. An occasional fish 35 or 40 inches 
long, and weighing much more, was taken. 
Salmon Aveighing from 9 to 12 pounds furnish from 
6,000 to 8.700 eggs each, but fish measuring from 35 to 
40 inches yield from 16,000 to 20,000 eggs. 
Lacdfocked Salmon. 
It is assumed that this salmon becomes mature at the 
age of four years. At the spawning season the average 
weight of males is four or five pounds, and of the females 
a pound less. 
Specimens of 12 to 14 pounds weight are not rare, and 
one weighing 25 pounds is recorded. The Union River 
fish are of about the same size. 
The St. Croix fish vary in weight in different parts of 
their range, but: the average weight of either sex at Grand 
Lake Stream is a little less than three pounds ; indi- 
viduals above 6 pounds are rare, and none over lo pounds 
is recorded. 
At Green Lake, Maine, in 1899, the average of 69 futl- 
roed females w^as : Length, 25 5-10 inches; weight, 7 8-10 
pounds. The males averaged as follows: Length 22 3-10 
inches; weight, 5 pounds. One female was 30 inches loiig 
and weighed ir pounds 6 ounces. One male was 31 
inches long and weighed 13 pounds 8 ounces. 
Rail bow Tfoot. 
In Colorado lakes, where the water becomes moderately 
warm in summer and food is plentiful, this trout reaches 
12 or 13 pounds, fish of this age being from 25 to 28 
inches long. In the An Sable River, Mich., the rainbow- 
attains to a weight of five to seven pounds. In their 
native streams of California, rainbows are often caught 
r.inging from 3 to 10 pounds, but averaging i to 2 
pounds. 
The largest rainbow ever produced in the ponds at 
Wytheville, Va., and fed artificially, weighed 6^ pounds, 
but many others of the same age in the same ponds 
\veigh from i to 3 pounds. Superintendent Seagle states 
the average growth of rainbow trout under fq.vorable 
artificial circumstances is as .follows: 
One year old, from ^ to i ounce; two years old, from 
8 to 10 ounces; three years old, from x to 2 pounds; four 
years old, from 2 to 3 pounds. 
These trout grow until they are eight or ten j'ears old, 
the rate of growth diminishing with age. 
Brook Trout. 
According to the experience of Superintendent Frank 
N. Clark at Northx-ille, Mich., this trout, under favor- 
able circumstances, reaches an average weight in the first 
year of }i ounce to T ounce; in two years it weighs from 
8 to TO ounces ; in three years about i pound; 
Laie TrouK 
According to the same authority, at Northville, Mich., 
lake trout artificially reared in from 10 to 12 months af- 
ter hatching measure from 4 to 8 inches in length. 
Shad, 
Observations made at Washington, D. C, during a pe- 
riod of years show that shad hatched late in April reach 
the length of from 4 to 9 inches before they leave the 
river, late in November. 
Black Bass. 
At the age of five or six months the young measure 
from 4 to 8 inches, according to locality and food supply, 
though some individuals reach a much larger size_ by 
preying upon smaller fish, not excepting their owm kind. 
At Neosho, yio., a black bass w^iich was known to be 
under rS months old weighed i pound 9}^ ounces. 
Rock Bass. 
At the age of six months the fish seldom average 2 
inches in length, adults usually weigh from to_ ?4 of 
a pound, occasionally reaching i pound, and an individual 
taken in a river of Virginia was reported to weigh nearly 
3 pounds. This bass may reach maturity at 2 years. 
Crapp e. 
This fish and tlie strawberry bass, when adult, range all 
the way from i to 3 pounds in weight. At six months 
old the young of both species are about the size of the 
black bass of the same age, or a little smaller. Some 
individuals in each school wall be larger than the majority. 
Mackerel. 
At maturity mackerel vary from 12 inches to 20 inches 
in length. Fish 12 inches long weigh from ^ to i pound, 
while a mackerel of 20 inches may weigh from 3% to 
4 pounds. The age is uncertain, but is supposed to be 
three or four years. 
Cod. 
According to observations made in Massachusetts, the 
following relation exists between the age, length and 
weight of the cod: 
One and one-half years, 9 to 13 inches, 7 to 8 ounces; 
2'/> years, 18 inches, 2 to 2ji pounds; syj years, 22 inches, 
4 to 5 pounds. 
The largest <;Qi QU r^Q^d ^^om New England weighed. 
