June 25, 1904.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
B2& 
more than banked full, the water spreading into the 
bushes along the shores sometimes several rods beyond 
the stream itself. 
In the middle of the river the w^ater vi^as a roar- 
ing, rushing, foaming mass, which pitched and tumbled 
over huge boulders and ledges in the wildest manner 
imaginable; but along both shores it was murky but 
foam-covered, and there was little motion in it except 
that which was caused by eddies and small waves from 
the rushing midstream. 
As I was standing on the dam one day, busily engaged 
in casting the fly in the still water above, I was joined 
by two men whom I afterward learned were employes 
of the Lewiston Water Power Company; they said they 
had come to close the gates, for a big raft of logs was 
coming down the lake above and a full head of water 
was needed. 
They went about their work at once, and they did it 
thoroughly, for the gates were not only tightly closed, 
but new flash boards were put on the dam, and almost 
every drop of water was held back. As a result of this 
action, the river bed below the dam was emptied of 
Vi'ater almost as quickly as would be a basin held in one's 
hand ; the rapidity with which the water dropped was 
astonishing, and it seemed as if I could in a very few 
minutes walk about everywhere in the bed of the stream 
where the water had been before the gates were closed 
from four to six feet in depth. 
There I found almost countless numbers of small trout 
which had been left by the receding waters among the 
bushes, crevices in rocks, and shoal places, they being 
unable to .escape with the quickly vanishing water; they 
were little fellows, from about an inch to an inch and a 
half in length, and there must have been thousands of 
them. I never saw such havoc in my life. 
How it happened that so many of these small trout 
had congregated at that point I never knew; they were 
all nearly of one size, and may have been of that season's 
hatch, which had ascended the five miles of rapid river 
in which there are a number of famous spawning beds, 
and had been stopped by the dam ; but whatever vhe 
cause might have been that brought them there, they 
reached the dam only to find destruction. 
Now, I do not know how far the authority of the Fish 
and Game Commissioners of Maine extends, nor whether 
there is any provision by law which will permit them to 
guard against such a catastrophe as I have named, but 
if there is not, there should be one, for if the men who 
had closed those gates and put on the flash boards had 
been compelled to do their work gradually, so that the 
stream would not have fallen so quickly, the thousands 
upon thousands of young trout that were then destroyed 
might have been saved. 
Nature's Prodigality, 
The wastefulness of nature in some of her methods 
is often as great as is that which is wrought by man, 
and in no way is this prodigality shown more vividly 
than it is in the reproduction of many of our fishes. 
I once had an opportunity for witnessing the mating 
and spawning of salmon, and as I watched the operation 
I wondered at its crudeness, if I may use that expression, 
and weighed the probable outcome that would result. 
I was out on a hunting excursion in New Brunswici<, 
and for several hours followed with my guide the course 
cf one of the salmon rivers of that Province. 
"If you would like to see salmon casting their spawn, 
sir," said my companion, "you may get a chance in that 
pool yonder, for they spawn there every season." 
I replied that I should be very, glad to do so, for I 
had never before had an opportunity of witnessing the 
act. 
"All right, sir," said he, "you'll have a chance now, 
without doubt," and as he spoke he led me to the pool in 
a round-about way, so that we could not be seen by the 
fish in approaching it, and crawling cautiously upon a 
ledge which overhung the pool we peered over its edge 
into the water below, which was so limpid that we could 
watch every motion of the fish it contained almost as 
distinctly as if they were floating in the air. 
There were two male and two female salmon in the 
pool, and apparently two beds of pebbles which had been 
prepared and were ready for the eggs ; each female re- 
mained close to her spawning bed, but the males moved 
about here and there in pursuit of the trout which 
hovered about the females; the male salmon, while the.> 
did not attack each other, seemed ready to do so at a 
moment's notice, their long, curved, hook-like jaws giv- 
ing them a distinctly belligerent aspect; they moved by 
each other as if they had tlie traditional chip on their 
shoulders which they were waiting to have knocked off. 
All four of the fish were very dark colored, seeming 
almost black as they moved about in the water below us. 
Toward the sea trout they displayed great animosity, and 
endeavored to keep them as much as possible at the ex- 
treme edge of the pool. 
Presently one of the females threw herself partially on 
her side, and partly upon her abdomen on the pile of 
coarse gravel and pebbles, which she pressed with a 
v/avering quiver or shudder, which seemed to force the 
eggs out from her body, a dozen or two being dropped 
at each pressure; this was the signal for the sea trout to 
advance, which they did from every side, seizing the 
eggs and eating them as soon as they were dropped, the 
number that fell into the crevices being comparatively 
few. 
The male salmon, of course, made every possible effort 
to keep the marauders away, and as soon as he had scat- 
tered his foes, he pressed his abdomen against the pebbly 
bottom as his mate had done, causing the milk to exude 
in a little white cloud in the water, which was plainly 
visible to us as we lay upon our rocky perch. We 
watched the operations of these fish for nearly an hour, 
and I venture to say that not one egg in a hundred 
reached a secure hiding place, and was properly fertilized. 
I have no memoranda by me showing the average num- 
ber of spavm cast by the female salmon, but I know that 
a 5-pound landlocked drops somewhere in the neighbor- 
hood of 1,500 eggs, and if it is a fact that not S per cent, 
of the salmon eggs are properly fertilized and produce 
fry, and this fact has been recorded more than once, and 
I have no doubt is correct, judging by what I saw on 
that occasion, it would appear that nature's method is a 
wasteful one ; for even if there were no sea trout to an- 
noy the spawning fish, and I believe they are rarely 
present in sufficient numbers to do much injury, the fer- 
tilization of the eggs which were dropped in the crevices 
among the pebbles by the milt which was ejected in 
small clouds only, and which was carried away from 
them by the current, rather than among them, would be 
impossible. 
Basing an opinion on what I saw that day, I should 
say that instead of 5 per cent, being the correct propor- 
tion, not I per cent, of the spawn that were cast naturally 
would ever produce fry. 
It may be said that so small a percentage of fertile 
eggs is all that is necessary to keep up the stock of fish 
under normal conditions, and this is no doubt true, for if 
all the eggs were fertilized like those of the herrings or 
smelts, the rivers could hardly mature the great numbers 
of fry that would be hatched, but somehow one cannot 
get rid of the idea that the salmon have adopted a waste- 
ful method of continuing their species. 
Edward A. Samuels. 
Ffsh and Fishing. 
Many American Anglers in Canada. 
The invasion of Canadian fishing waters by American 
anglers during the last few days has been exceptionally 
large, even for this favorite season for going a-fishing. 
The arrival of members of the Restigouche and Casca- 
pedia Salmon Clubs at their respective headquarters has 
so far been even larger than was expected, the tele- 
graphic reports of the arrival of salmon in the rivers at 
an earlier date than had been anticipated, bringing many 
immediate demands for accommodation. The fish are 
reported plentiful enough for the early run in most of 
the rivers, but those waters which are naturally dark 
have not yielded, as yet, any very great measure of suc- 
cess to anglers, because of the height of the water. It 
is therefore not surprising to find that the rising fish have 
taken only very large flies, and some of the orders sent 
up from the Restigouche by the earliest arrivals there 
this season were for Jock-Scotts, silver-doctors, and 
silver-grays, tied upon No. 4/0 hooks, which, as most 
fishermen know, means that the Restigouche salmon are 
looking for flies over two inches long. This is quite in 
keeping, too, with Mr. Charles Stewart Davison's ex- 
periences of last summer on one of the north shore 
rivers, where many of his best fish were taken on hooks 
of this size. 
I learn from correspondents on the Grand Discharge 
that there, too, it requires a fairly large fly at the present 
time to be successful, the water being still quite high. 
Several anglers were at Lake St. John before the Island 
House opened, and among those now fishing the Dis- 
charge and making their headquarters at the Island 
House are Mr. Geo. E. Hart, whose many Canadian 
friends are delighted to see him looking so well after his 
long and serious illness, and a party of guests. After 
fishing for some time at Lake St. John, Mr. Hart will go 
to the preserves of the Nonamtum and Triton Clubs be- 
fore returning to Waterbury, and may probably indulge 
in a little salmon fishing as well. 
Excellent Trout Fishing. 
Some excellent trout fishing has recently been enjoyed 
at Commissioners' Lake, near Lake St. John, by a party 
of friends, which included Mr. Bennett, president, and 
Mr. A. W. Hooper, former vice-president of the Win- 
chester Repeating Arms Company. They report the kill- 
ing of several trout of two and three pounds weight each 
and over by fly-fishing. 
Mr. Chase, of Syracuse; Mr. J. B. Emery, of Boston, 
and Mr. John J. Hays, of Lynn, Mass., have made very 
good catches of trout in Lake Edward, while it is re- 
ported from the lakes of the Stadacona and the Lauren- 
tides Fish and Game Clubs that the fish are very much 
more evenly distributed this spring than usual in the 
waters of those territories, where, as a general rule, they 
were taken in a few localities only. 
Plenty of Open Fishing. 
I am very glad to be able to report that plenty of open 
fishing is to be had this season along the line of the 
O'lebec and Lake St. John Railway. Of late years it has 
become customary for visiting anglers at Quebec to be 
told that all the readily available trout waters in the 
Quebec and Lake St. John district were tied up in the 
hands of private individuals and clubs. There was more 
truth in this some years ago than at the present time. 
The open waters in the neighborhood of the railway had 
been practically fished out by the men employed in its 
construction. It was fortunate that the neighboring 
waters had been leased by the Government as the rail- 
way neared them, for this insured their proper guardian- 
ship and protection. In the beautiful stretches of the 
noble Batiscan River, where the rapid stream hugs the 
railway for a distance of some thirty miles, nothing but 
the smallest fish were to be found after the completion of 
the road. All the others had been taken out. In the 
years that have since elapsed, however, the little fish 
have grown big and. millions of others have come into 
existence, so that the fishing has been gradually improv- 
ing. And this season it is better than it has ever been 
since the building of the railway. Numbers of people are 
now going up by the various trains, disembarking at the 
various small stations in the stretch of country through 
which the Batiscan flows, and camping in the wilderness 
while doing their fishing. Fish up to three and four 
pounds weight have been taken upon several occasions 
from these waters since the opening of the season. 
Pretty much the same thing is true of the lower waters 
of the Jeannotte River, which flows into the Batiscan 
near Mequick. The Mequick, River itself also offers ex- 
ceptional advantages to the angler, and is nearly all pub- 
lic or free water. Very few people have fished more 
than its lower waters, bordering upon the railway. These 
contain numbers of small trout, not sufficiently large to 
prove particularly attractive to anglers from abroad. In 
the early part of the present month I ascended the 
Mequick for over twenty miles, in consequence of the en- 
thusrastic reports of some of the Indians who hunt the 
neighboring country. The country is not an attractive 
one for tourists, because of the large fires which hay? 
devastated portions of it thereabouts. But the supply of 
trout is wonderful. Ascending the river from the railway 
station near its mouth, there are ten miles of alternate 
dead water and slight rapids, with only about half a mile 
of poling. The rest of the distance is by easy paddling. 
Then comes a portage of what the Indians call two miles, 
though it appeared to me more like four. Half of it is 
over a mountain. At the upper end of this portage the 
good fishing commences. For the next few miles of our 
trip I could not make a cast without hooking one, two or 
three trout, and some six miles above the portage we 
found fish of three and four pounds each. We had other 
experiences on the trip which I ijiay speak of on another 
occasion. 
Mr. Bayard Dominick, of New York, is fishing the 
Mistas sini this season. Mr. Charles Stewart Davison is 
on the Riviere a la Truite. Mr. Edson Fitch and Mr. 
Vesey Boswell are fishing the Trinity, but Mr. Morton 
Paton, of New York, is not with them this year, 
Mr. E. C. Fitch, of Waltham, is on the Romaine, and 
Mr. Ivers W. Adams, of Boston, has with him on the 
Moisie Dr. Heber Bishop and Mr. Walter Adams, and 
will later be joined by the Hon. Senator Aldrich and Mr. 
Henry R. Reid. E. T. D. Chambers. 
The Tuna in Atlantic Waters. 
Kansas City, Mo., June 15. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Some two years ago I wrote you about the pos- 
sibility of tuna fishing in the Atlantic ; and at the same 
time I started some gentlemen in Sydney, N. S., and in ■ 
Newfoundland after those fish. As per my instructions, 
Mr. Ed. vom Plofe manufactured several exceedingly 
large reels, each to hold nearly a thousand feet of his No. 
36 tarpon line. One of these I purchased, and the others 
were sold to my friends in Sydney and Newfoundland. 
My outfit was tried a year ago last August at Myra 
Bay near Sydney by a Kansas City man, but he failed to 
find the fish, and I do not believe that anyone else hung 
a tuna that year. 
Last year, though, several were hung at Myra Bay, 
and as I met at Ottawa some two months ago Mr. A. C. 
Ross, one of the Sydney gentlemen who tried to land 
these giant game fish, I secured from him some notes for 
your paper. 
He tells me that last year he hung two tuna. The 
first went immediately under the boat, fouled the line, 
and escaped. The second one struck so hard as to nearly 
pull the rod out of his hands. The reel handle fouled the 
arm of the chair and broke off, so, of course, the fish 
escaped. I had told Mr. Ross to use a chair with a back 
but no arms ; but he did not understand my reason for 
giving such advice — he does now. 
Mr. Wodill, of Sydney, also fished for tuna last sum- 
mer at Myra Bay, and succeeded in hanging two. The 
first one he held for six hours, then, being worn out, he 
cut it loose. He estimates the length of the fish at 10 
feet, the weight at 700 pounds, and the distance it towed 
him at 30 miles. Allowing for the natural overestimate 
caused by the angler's excitement, this fish must have 
put up a pretty respectable fight. 
The second one that Mr. Wodill hooked he held for 
only half an hour, when it got away for some reason 
that I could not learn. 
Mr. Dodd, the proprietor of the two "Log Cabin" re- 
sorts of Newfoundland, made last year an unsuccessful 
attempt to hook a tuna in one of the inlets of that island. 
He found the fish, but could not keep up with them. He 
writes me that he is going to try again this summer by 
using a naphtha launch. - 
The honor of landing the first tuna in the Atlantic with 
rod and reel is still open tO' competition; but candidates 
for the distinction are advised to, lose no time in getting 
tc work, as the Sydney sportsmen mean business this 
year. 
The best fishing at Myra Bay is during the entire 
month of July. It is also good in September, but the 
weather then is liable to be unpropitious. 
I regret that my professional work calls me to the 
Pacific Coast in July; for otherwise I would have made 
an endeavor to land the first Atlantic tuna myself. If 
this season goes by without one being caught there, I 
shall certainly try hard to tackle them next year. 
J. A. L. Waddell. 
San Francisco Fly-Casting Club. 
Medal contests, series 1904; Saturday, contest No. 7, - 
held at Stow Lake, June 11; west wind, fair weather. 
Event Event 
f No. 1, No. 2, 
Distance, Accuracy, 
Feet. Per cent. 
Event 
No. 4, 
Event No. 8. > Lure 
Acc. % Del. % Net % Casting % 
W, 
W. 
T. 
T. 
G. 
G. 
A. 
A. 
E. 
E. 
W. 
W. 
C. Edwards 
C. Edwards. 
E. Mocker 
E. Mocker. 
Brooks 
Brooks. . .... 
Brotherton. . . 
Brotherton. . . 
99 
98 
100 
98 
Young 
Young 
T. C. Kierulff... 
T. C. Kierulfl... 
G. W. Lane 
W. D. Mansfield 
W. D. Mansfield 
85.8 
85.8 
87.4 
87.4 
86 
91.4 
89 
91 
92.8 
92 
91 
90.4 
90.8 
85.4 
91.4 
86.4 
92.4 
89.8 
83.4 
88.8 
91.4 
92.4 
94 
93.8 
87.4 
94.4 
98.4 
94.8 
80 
84.2 
87.6 - 
87.6 
87.6 
86.8 
77.6 
88.4 
86.8 
90.10 
80 
84.2 
89.2 
93.4 
94.2 
82.8 
87.9 
86.11 
89.11 
88.7 
90 
83.1 
89.10 
89.6 
92.5 
87.3 
85.9 
91.9 
95.10 
94.5 
88 
87.7 
98 
95.5 
86.8 
89.1 
95.9 
97.6 
Judges, Kierulff and Brooks; referee. Mocker. 
Sunday, contest No. 7, held at Stow Lake, June 
v/est wind, clear weather. 
12; 
Brotherton 
Brotherton 
Dr. Brooks .. 
H. C. Golcher... 
F. M. Haight.... 
C. ' Huyck 
C. R, Kenniff.... 
J. B. Kenniff.... 
T. Kierulff 
A. Sperry 
H. B. Sperry 
C. G. Young..... 
J. O. Harron.... 
W. D. Mansfield 
W. S. Mansfield. 
88 
90.8 
95.10 
93.3 
84 
90.4 
90.8 
95.10 
93.3 
87 
92.8 
85 
90.10 
87.11 
80.2 
121 
91 
93 
85 
89 
88 
90 
93.4 
85 
89.2 
86 
88.8 
90.8 
80.10 
85.9 
107 
92 
94 
99.2 
96.7 
98.4 
120 
94 
91.8 
86.8 
89.2 
98.4 
90 
93 
85 
84.2 
84.7 
91.9 
90 
87.4 
81.4 
71.8 
76.6 
103 
87.8 
90.8 
75.10 
83.3 
87 
91 
88.4 
91.8 
90 
92.4 
81.8 
70 
75.10 
gi 
92 
100 
96 
93.1 
92.4 
94 
96.8 
95.4 
97.2 
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