July 9, 1904.] 
©a 
Massachusetts Fish and Game. 
Just Recognition of Merit. 
Boston, July 2. — Editor Forest and Stream: In my last 
letter I mentioned the gift of the Emperor of Japan to 
the chairman of the Massachusetts Commission. I have 
now to add other evidences of the great appreciation of 
Capt. Collins' work among those cognizant of it in foreign 
countries. Dr. Erenbaum, the celebrated biologist at 
Heligoland, Germany, on his way home from St. Louis, 
took a run on from New York for the sole purpose of 
paying his respects to the Captain. Among other dis- 
tinguished visitors from abroad are Hon. Harrison Mudd, 
ex-Mayor of Grimsby, England, and Mr. Wm. Grant, 
member of the municipal government and a prominent 
citizen of that place; also Mr. T. Robinson, wife and 
daughter, of the same town, who were on their way to 
British Columbia to visit their married daughter. While 
it is well known that the work Chairman Collins had per- 
formed years ago in connection with the United States 
Commission was such as to make him generally known 
among those connected officially with the fisheries depart- 
ments of European nations, the very elaborate and valu- 
able reports of the Massachusetts Commission prepared 
by him each year since he became chairman of our State 
board, have been of such a character as to excite wide- 
spread interest and admiration. One marked feature of 
his last report is the pronounced fairness with which it 
deals with the results of the efforts of the board in fish- 
culture. 
There is always a temptation before public servants in 
setting forth the results of their labors for the public good 
to claim too much, but in this instance, while showing by 
statistics some gain on previous years, the Captain con- 
fesses to a degree of disappointment with what has been 
accomplished. I will quote briefly from the report. On 
page 12 he says : "The results" [in raising fingerlings] 
"at the Hadley station has again been most disappointing;" 
and "it seemed impracticable to do more than was done in 
1902" at the Sutton station. On page 18 he speaks of the 
hatcheries at Winchester and Adams "as only what may 
be. called developing stations, where fish eggs may be 
taken in the eyed stage, hatched out and reared to the 
stage for distribution as fry." He expresses, the opinion 
that these stations are not capable of being put to any 
other use than as "distributing points" for fry. To sum 
up in a single sentence, there remains only the hatchery 
at Sutton for the rearing of fingerling trout. 
To all who have made a study of the subject, it has been 
known for years that the facilities for doing extensive 
work at' Winchester were wholly inadequate, and now the 
stations at Hadley and Adams are brought under the ban 
of condemnation by the commissioners themselves, so far 
as pertains to the raising of fingerlings. Who is to 
blame for the selection of these localities? It is charitable 
to say those responsible only erred in judgment. At all 
events, we will "let the dead past bury its dead," and turn 
our eyes toward the future. 
The courage and frankness with which the Captain 
states the actual conditions is worthy of high commenda- 
tion. "Meantime," he says, "the hope is cherished that 
additional and adequate means for rearing fingerlings, 
which at least may supply what is lacking at Hadley, 
Adams, and Winchester, will ultimately be available to the 
Commission ; * * * the necessity of meeting the pub- 
lic demand is too apparent to admit- of question. To those 
'who desire to see our streams abound in the gamiest and 
most beautiful of all fish, let me say there is work for you 
to do. That there are many localities where the waters 
are adapted to the rearing of fingerlings is a matter of 
absolute knowledge to the writer, and he believes there 
are within the limits of the State hundreds of such places 
which he has never seen." I venture the opinion, from a 
careful inspection of county and township maps, that it is 
feasible to so stock our streams and so facilitate the 
passage of fish to their spawning beds, as to multiply 
their numbers in the next five years more than ten fold. 
A law has been enacted the past winter giving the Com- 
mission authority to compel the building of fishways. 
where they deem them necessary, and, thanks to Chair- 
man Collins, the polluting of streams by sawdust has 
(almost) been brought to an end. There is much more in 
the portion of the report here referred to, the perusal of 
which will repay all trout fishermen. 
New State Forester. 
Boston, July 3. — Mr. Alfred Akermau was appointed by 
Governor Bates on Thursday to take charge of the 
forestry work of the State under the law passed last win- 
ter establishing that department. The appointee was' 
graduated at the Georgia State University, studied for- 
estry in Germany and at Yale, and has had experience in 
the employ of the United States Bureau of Forestry. 
For the past year he has been Assistant Professor of 
Forestry in the Yale School. It is understood that the 
friends of Mr. T. J. Borst, including several officers of 
the State Forestry Association,, are much disappointed be- 
cause of his failing to receive the appointment. Mr. Borst 
has been doing forestry work in the State with funds 
raised by leading members of the State Association for 
several years. The salary of the position is $2,000, and 
the appropriation for carrying on the work the present 
year is $5,000. 
Good bluefishing is reported in Buzzard's Bay, and ex- 
President Cleveland has arrived to put in a week with Mr, 
Jefferson, who is rusticating at his Buttermilk Bay home, 
known as the Crow's Nest. Mr. Cleveland's family have 
taken possession of his new summer place at Sandwich, 
New Hampshire. 
At Onset, Captain Edward Robinson one day this week 
brought in a bluefish that lacked but a few ounces of 16 
pounds, said to be the largest that has been taken there 
for several years. 
The residents of Barnstable are keeping a sharp lookout 
for seiners in the waters of Vineyard Sound. ' 
Visitors at Cottage City are also having sport with the 
bluefish. Captain W. B. Dawson, with a party on board 
his launch, The Owl, took 20 handsome fish off Cape 
Pogue on Tuesday. 
Of Massachusetts anglers who have been having fine 
sport in Maine, "their name is legion." For more than 
two weeki fly-fishin# has keen good,. Mr, A. D. Thayer, 
of Franklin, had his usual good luck at Kineo, from which 
place he has recently returned. Mr. E. S. Farmer, of 
Arlington, has been accustomed to pass much of the 
month of June on Maine lakes for several years. He re- 
cently had a long and hard fought battle with an 8-pound 
salmon at Moosehead, which lasted over two hours, and 
in which the boat was towed by the fish a distance of two 
miles. He found on landing him that he was hooked 
foul just behind the left gill. If any of your readers have 
had a similar experience they know what it means. At 
the close of the fight Mr. Farmer acknowledged the was 
just "done up." 
Fishing at the Rangeley Lakes for -the past two weeks 
and more has been reported excellent, and among those 
who have taken several large fish is Mr. Cyrus A. Taft, of 
Whitinsville, well known to your numerous Massachusetts 
readers, and one of the men who always does his part in 
promoting the interests of sportsmen. He purchased three 
dozen quail which he liberated this spring in the vicinity 
of his town. He also took pains before leaving in the 
early winter for California to make provision for feeding 
the birds in his absence. I have a photograph of an in- 
genious arrangement of his for doing this which I hope to 
see reproduced in your paper for the benefit of others who- 
are interested in works of charity and mercy toward the 
feathered creation. 
Few anglers of either sex have won greater distinction 
in angling annals than that recently achieved by a Boston- 
lady, Mrs." N. F. Cowles, who in one hour's fishing took 
an 8^-pound trout and an 8j4-pound salmon. Several 
other Boston ladies have had phenomenal success. Evi- 
dently men who practice the "gentle art'' must look to 
their laurels. 
Chairman Collins started yesterday morning for Kineo 
to speak before the Maine Sportsmen's Association, which 
convenes on Monday next. Central, 
In Colorado Streams^ 
Denver, Colo., June 27. — Colorado weather has been so 
backward that it can be said the fishing season has only- 
begun to open. Streams have been high, bank-full and 
muddy, and trout have been taking little else but worms. 
Last week, however, the willow-fly appeared upon the 
big waters of the Gunnison, and there has been something 
doing there since. Parson Thomas A. Uzzell, of Denver, 
came home with a week's catch last Saturday that aver- 
aged forty a day. Many of these were rainbows — if in- 
deed they are rainbows — ranging from 2 to 4^2 pounds 
each. He had very few that measured less than 12 inches. 
Parson Uzzell says the waters were almost "just right," 
and that the big fellows were about equally divided in 
their choice between the artificial fly and the willow-fly, 
now abundant upon the waters. . Others in his party who 
enjoyed somewhat of the same sort of luck, were Harry 
Davis, W. J. Connaton, and Thomas R. Powell, all of 
Denver. They went to Iola. 
John Montgomery, of Denver, is high line of all the 
Lyons anglers. Lyons is near-by, being only 55 miles 
north of the" gity. Out of the St. Vrains Mr. Montgomery 
last Saturday in four hours' time captured and kept an 
even two dozen rainbows, none of which was less than 
12 inches long. None weighed less than one pound, and 
several went above three. A couple weighed four pounds 
even. The water is low and clear, and trout are avid 
for flies. 
Judge D. C. Beaman, of Denver, goes up to Twin Lakes 
every Friday night, and returns laden with some truly 
lunkerish fellows every Monday morning. Twin Lakes 
was stocked with many Mackinaws some dozen years ago, 
and Judge Beaman and a half dozen others of the ini- 
tiated go up there and kill half a dozen or so whenever 
they choose. The Judge's greatest catch was last week, 
when he came in with several, the heaviest of which 
weighed 13^2 pounds, and measured 34 inches. He had 
four others, ranging from 7 to 10 pounds. They were 
taken on small trolling spoons. 
For nearby angling the Platte Canon is holding its 
own. Any fair fly-caster can take from 25 to 50 fair 
sized trout a day, and they have to weigh from half a 
pound up to several to be counted fair sized. F. T. 
Faster, of Denver, last Friday landed without net a 6- 
pound rainbow that gave him a pretty little ten-minute 
fight. This is the largest Platte Canon catch so far "this 
season, but the waters are high and the trout are not 
taking kindly to the fly, as they will later — say two or 
three weeks hence. Charles Carnehan, of Denver, last 
Saturday threw back everything less than 12 inches long, 
and came home with 24 mountain trout and rainbows 
from Platte Canon that ran from 12 to 14 inches long. 
This is the record on the Platte for the season, but it will 
be eclipsed before the ensuing month rolls by. 
The new Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railroad, 
the "Moffat Short Line," has opened up a big field for 
the prowess of the angler and the "man behind the gun," 
be he after big or little game, feathered game or game 
with fur. The new road passd through a virgin country 
that has heretofore been inaccessible except to the hardiest 
of hunters and gold prospectors. The showing of the 
streams made for the first time yesterday when a horde 
of anglers invaded the stillness of the forest, indicates that 
no better trout streams are to be found in the State. F. 
E. Shipley, a Denverite, killed 58 from Saturday after- 
noon to Sunday afternoon. The trout range from the 
legal size, 7 inches, up to 2 and 3^ pounds. Arthur Bush, 
also of Denver, and an expert with rod and fly, killed 29 
of the same general run of those aforementioned. They 
are found in all sorts of little mountain streams that one 
may jump across, and not having been trained to know 
the danger of taking artificial flies, the avid trout simply 
fall over one another in their efforts to be first into the 
smoking frying-pan. 
I note with pleasure, however, that the new road re- 
gards its trout streams as a valuable asset, and have al- 
ready begun a crusade that insures plenty of good sport 
for years to come. Before the road pierced the moun- 
tains to any extent, the officials had arranged with the 
State and National hatcheries to work in conjunction for 
the protection and propagation of game fish. Last sum- 
mer and thus far this spring these virgin waters have 
been stocked with over 600,000 fingerlings. They were 
placed in tributaries of the Fraser River, and are so pro- 
tected by fallen underbrush that it is impossible to either 
seine or dynamite them until they seek deeper waters. 
The biggest trout reported killed in a meandering 
stream to date is credited to Mr. Carpenter, who keeps a 
sportsmen's lodge on the Gunnison called "Carpenter's." 
He killed a fine specimen of the Sal mo irideus last Thurs- 
day, after a fight of less than ten minutes. The kill 
weighed % l / 2 pounds when taken from the water 
J. D. C. 
The Principle of the Thing-, 
Michigan City, Ind., June 28— Editor Forest and 
Stream: It seems to me that a paper which inculcates a 
high standard of morals in sportsmanship, as Forest and 
Stream undoubtedly does, is counteracting its own in- 
fluence in favor of the honorable observance of game and 
fish laws when it publishes without a word of censure or 
anything to indicate even mild disapproval, such a letter 
as that published in your issue of June 18, signed G. W. 
Cunningham. 
Here is a person who writes as if an account of how 
he and his friend the Doctor disgraced the name of 
sportsman by violating the fish laws of Michigan while 
on a shooting trip to that State, in catching trout out of 
season, must be very delectable reading for Forest and 
Stream subscribers. He indulges in a clumsy joke about 
the fish "all covered with pink spots" being chubs, " Ton 
my word they were chubs, and nothing else." 
While thus engaged in illegal fishing the writer and his 
friend are seen by a man who comes along in a buggy, 
but who immediately turns about and drives toward Re- 
public to inform the officers of the law, as they suppose. 
Probably the man was a subscriber to Forest and 
Stream, for he evidently desired to have the laws en- 
forced. It is nine miles to Republic, however, and your 
correspondent is not alarmed — he and his friend have 
plenty of time to enjoy their fish, and hide the heads and 
other evidences of guilt "under that wind-shaken spruce 
stump," and laugh in their sleeves at the futile efforts of 
the "citified young chap" — presumably a deputy game 
warden — who visits the camo next day, and is evidently 
looking for some incriminating evidence, which I, for one, 
heartily wish he had found. 
■ There are many men who succumb to temptation and 
violate the game and fish laws occasionally, but not one 
worthy of being called a sportsman who will boast of it, 
and try to make a funny story of the incident. 
The last paragraph of the letter brings the usual charge : 
"If they were looking for violators of the fish laws, they 
could find them most any day among their neighbors and 
friends." 
That is the excuse one often hears, but in most cases 
the party making the charge has no evidence whatever 
to support it; and even if true, it is no excuse. 
John G. Mott. 
Jersey Coast Fishing, 
Asbury Park, July 1. — -The heavier bass are now run- 
ning, and while not as numerous as they have frequently 
been, still each day produces results to some one or more 
of the patient fraternity. Mrs. Bruere, whom I men- 
tioned as being of the enthusiastic order, for more than 
ten days held the record for the season at 33 pounds, a 
most astonishing feat performed by a woman in a boiling 
sea ; and hooked and killed entirely by her own hand 
while casting from the beach. This is without parallel 
on our coast, and it is a question if the exploit will be 
duplicated in a decade. Still, I suppose we may expect 
anything out of the ordinary from the "new woman" 
when she goes fishing. I have many times known the 
strength of sturdy men to be pretty thoroughly exhausted 
before landing even much smaller specimens. There was' 
much secret hope that the weight would not be exceeded, 
but to-day Uncle Billy Brumaker. with characteristic luck, 
stepped in with one of 34 pounds, followed shortly after 
with one of 23^ pounds. Among the many prizes that 
are annually offered by the fishing club, a Julius Vom 
Hofe high-grade reel is the one most coveted, while 
Seger each year donates a hand-made bass rod. 
There was apparently a school of large bass at hand 
to-day, as eight large fish were hooked in rapid succession, 
and but three landed ; whether the five that got away were 
the big ones or not must ever be conjectured, but if there 
was ever a game in which experience, coupled with a 
cool head and steady hand, was more essential than in 
bass fishing in the open surf, then I have yet to meet with 
it. Kingfish are most remarkably scarce ; while the catches 
in the pound nets early in the season were liberal, but few 
have come within the angler's reach. The season is well 
advanced for them, and they should now be abundant. 
Reports from Barnegat are not as yet reassuring: what 
fish are being taken, however, are fine in size I contem- 
plate a trip there over the Fourth, and will know more 
certainly the conditions existing. 
Leonard Hulit. 
Planted Lake Trout. 
Keene, N. H., July 2. — Editor Forest and Stream: In 
reading my paper the other evening, I came across a notice 
which said, "report your luck to Forest and Stream." 
Ten miles from here we have a small lake which some 
years ago was stocked with lake trout, but for some 
reason they r were never fished for till May 2, when three 
of us, in less than three hours' fishing, took out seven 
which weighed 42 pounds 3 ounces. The following Thurs- 
day we caught seven more, which weighed 37 pounds 13 
ounces. The next Tuesday I caught five, which weighed 
38 pounds; in all 19 fish weighing 118 pounds in less than 
ten hours' fishing. Since then there have been about 100 
caught, weighing from 2 to 11 $4 pounds. 
H. R. Beale. 
Staten Island Fishing. 
The past week has been a good one for. salt-water 
anglers in Prince's Bay and at Great Kills very large 
catches have been made, some boats coming in with as 
many as 100 fish. The menhaden fishermen are catching" 
more weakfish and bluefish than those that do it in a legal 
manner; they use the right kind of bait to make a success- 
ful catch, but are riot caught themselves, *** 
