Aug. 27, 1904.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
177 
The next problem was the rod. So one day, with my 
father's indulgence, I purchased, on Vesey street, New 
York, a split bamboo (?) for the phenomenal sum of 
$1.98. When I reached my native village and alighted 
from the train, behind the shelter of out-going freight, 
I removed the rod from its paper cover, and, there 
she lay, resplendent with varnish and silk. A. good- 
natured freight-hand looked back and smiled indul- 
gently. I often think of him now; I guess he had been 
there himself when he was a little boy— when he was 
a little boy, remember. (After all we are, all of us, 
little boys, even if we are gray-bearded.) The makers 
of that rod were -sound on the varnish, that I can 
testifv to. It mattered not that there were two flaws 
in the second joint. I had the rod, actually my own. 
A fondness sprang up in my heart for that rod so 
prettily decked with silk, that I forgot the flaws, and 
was accordingly proud of the varnish. I am. not quite 
certain but that the paper was not nearly off in the train. 
I do recollect, however, that the cord fastenings were 
cut, long before the train pulled out of Jersey City 
and, also, that that ride was the longest, seemingly, 
that I ever made. I recollect that I was the "first 
man off" that train. Enthusiasm! I'd have tried that 
rod if it were mid-winter and I had had to wear skates 
to do it. , . . 
The next episode was practicing the cast in the 
orchard. After lassoing myself with the line, a num- 
have done, and after a little playing— a little playing, 
mark you; for I might as well play a lily-pad, but I 
had to convince the jury on the bank who held my 
reputation in his hands, that I knew a. thing or two — 
I reeled in and landed with my hat (I could have lifted 
him out, but it was the effect I sought), not a bass, 
but a good-sized red-finned shinner. I was a trifle 
disappointed at its not being a bass; but I had taken 
a fish in the new way and had proven myself to my 
chum, who stood open-eyed with astonishment on the 
bank. I took nine more that day. all save one on the 
"red-hackle;" the other took the "blue-bottle." 
I smile as I gaze back at the picture of the country 
lad with his cheap fly-rod and a heavy brass salt-water 
multiplying reel. I cannot tell how proud I felt. I 
was pretty well pleased with myself, I remember. I 
cannot blame the lad for feeling proud of himself, 
though his fish was a shiner. Even at this late day, 
I feel proud of the lad; he had foisted a new departure 
upon his skeptical neighbors, and consequently stood 
or fell with their decision, and it was up to the boy 
to prove the truth of his assertions. It was a risky 
move but successful. 
I have said that I had felt proud of the boy; but, 
I have a sneaking suspicion that perhaps the boy might 
not feel proud of the man, seeing how at times when 
the fish would not rise to the fly, I have used worms 
—yes, gentle reader, I must confess, I occasionally 
results as those on the other side of the Gulf, and keen 
disappointment was the lot of the anglers on the Resti- 
gor.che, the Cascapedia, the Bonaventure, the St. John's, 
the York, the Miramichi, and the Nepisiguit. 
The Salmon Nets. 
Reference has already been made in this column to the 
complaints of the net fishermen. I have very good reasons 
for believing that in many instances these complaints were 
not justified. Many of the nets undoubtedly turned out 
badly in the early part of the season, but those along the 
easterly part of the north shore, in particular, yielded bet- 
ter than average results, and this proved to be the case as 
far west as Trinity Bay. The net fishing improved very 
much toward the. latter part of the season, and this is not 
surprising, when it is considered that the fish hovered 
about the mouths of the rivers so long without entering 
them. 
Into some of the smaller rivers there has been, just as 
anticipated, a very late run of fish, of which the Eternity 
furnished a fair example. This was only after the July 
rains had somewhat raised and cooled the water, and in 
some instances was only after the anglers had left the 
streams. If carefully preserved from poachers, there 
ought to be as many spawning fish as usual in these lesser 
rivers, for notwithstanding that a larger proportion . of 
them were probably netted while lingering for so long 
MR. J. ENRIGHT USING THE TROUT ROD. 
ber of days in succession, I finally got the hang of 
things and succeeded pretty well for a youngster. 1 
now decided to try the creek. 
Before going farther, let me introduce my friend and 
compan'on. Ed was one of a pair of twins and bragged 
that he was older than his brother Phil, especially 
when the elder should have precedence. I found after- 
ward that it was true he was older— about seven 
minutes. They were two direct opposites; Phil a big 
good-natured, fat boy of the "hail fellows well met 
sort; Ed, diminutive, nick-named "Mouse" by the other 
boys, a secretive, chicken-breasted, consummg-his-own- 
smoke sort of boy, but a true lover of streams and 
wood and all that appertained thereto. In our earlier 
adventures we used to tote Phil along, but experience 
taught us the rashness of such proceedings. Phil en- 
joyed it as much as wc did, but everything seemed too 
much exertion— he liked good things if others obtained 
them for him, or if they came easily; in fact, he didn t 
like work, resembling nothing so much as Long- 
fellow's lazy Shas-won-dah-see. With Ed it was dif- 
ferent no sun was too hot, no seat too hard, no trouble 
too much, if there was the slightest chance of success 
The elaborate maneuvers through which we passed 
to circumvent the game were amusing. We could both 
steal along like Indians; in fact, we made moccasuis 
for the occasion. We had been severe with Phil of 
late- but relenting one day, we took him along, after 
his promising to behave himself. We were out after 
English (Wilson) snipe, and I thought I saw Phils 
finish I marked one down and proceeded to stalk it 
Phil being less nimble, stumbled and flushed it out of 
range. It ended there. Ed was invisible, but judging 
from what issued from behind a neighboring tree, he 
wasn't far away. I felt sorry for Phil, but that was no 
affair of mine. Ed emerged looking like a score of 
red-hot asterisks chained together. Somehow after 
that Phil drifted away from us. He always did seem 
to have a few grains of horse sense in his make-up. 
After learning to lay out my line a sufficient distance, 
I began explaining the modus operandi to Ed; but, like 
the proverbial healthy dog, his nose was cold; he did 
not enthuse worth a cent— "durned 'f he cu d see how 
any durn fool fish 'ud take holt o' them f ethers n 
think they wus bugs!" You see Ed was a confirmed 
bait-fisher from way-back. But I was determined and 
persuaded him to accompany me, which lie consented 
to do, first depositing a can of worms m his pocket. 
Arrived at the creek which contained bass, sun- 
bass " the boys called them; but from dead specimens 
and 'the aid of the American Angler, I was enabled 
to identify my later day friend, Micropterus salmoides 
I made a cast up-stream at a bend where the depth 
was from two to four' feet. The result was that my 
Ries had a tendency to come toward me too rapid. 
I reeled in. got my line under control and began over 
again. It was exceedingly embarrasmg; and Ed knew 
it! judging from the face he wore. But I . had made 
un my mind and intended to prove myself right and 
maintain my reputation at all cost I remember, I 
made six casts without any" result, with Ed eyeing me 
closer than a kingfisher which sat perched on a nearby 
willow The seventh, cast went up-stream; and as 1 
elevated the tip of my rod. the tail fly landed m the 
center of the pool ahead, where the current was less 
raoid There was a lazy ripple in the pool right where 
mv fly fell and a pluck at the line. I turned; my wrist 
rather more sharplv than an experienced hand would 
MR. J. ENRIGHT, WINNER PROFESSIONAL SALMON FLY-CASTING. 
use worms. I think it was Jerome who said: "Try 
to live, so that the boy of fourteen will not be ashamed 
of the man of forty. I think we all of us try, more 
or less, but a healthy boy's thoughts, aims and im- 
pulses at that age are pure, truthful and lofty, and, 
I regret to say, "till the world creeps in!" So with 
me, not only the world, but the earth with its worms 
has crept in. I wonder what the boy would say, who 
decided then ever afterward to be a fly-fisher. Since 
I was fourteen, I have tackled and killed some lordly 
fish, and accomplished a few other stunts; but, with rt 
all, even at the crucial moment, I cannot recollect hav- 
ing experienced keener pleasure, or being filled with 
more genuine satisfaction than on the day I proved 
to Ed, that "fish 'ud bite on f ethers en think they wus 
b U gs!" G. W. Beatty, M.D. 
Fish and Fishing. 
More Salmon Reports. 
Now that the salmon fishing season has entirely closed, 
and all the anglers have returned from the rivers, it is less 
difficult than heretofore to sum up the net result of the 
season's experience. Comparing all the reports that have 
been received to date, I am far from sharing all the pessi- 
mistic views which have been expressed as to the rapid 
decrease in the supply of fish during. the present summer. 
The anglers' catches, as a rule, have certainly fallen much 
below the experience of most former years, but I am not 
nearly so sure, as many seem to be, that this necessarily 
indicates any large diminution in the stock of spawning 
fish. In the first place, it must be remembered that the 
weather conditions have been very peculiar during the 
season just ended. This season opened late, and up to. 
within the last few weeks was exceptionally hot and dry 
The early part of the summer was virtually rainless, and 
a^ the fish were late in running in, owing to the back- 
wardness of the season, they found some of the smaller 
streams so low that they failed to enter them. As the 
season wore on, the temperature of these little rivers, 
owing to the extreme heat and the want of ram, became 
unendurable for the salmon, except where deep pools 
abounded at the foot of waterfalls or heavy rapids, and 
such of the fish as ventured their ascent declined to stir 
from the bottom of the pools. This undoubtedly accounted 
for the unfortunate condition of affairs which resulted in 
many of these smaller streams being abandoned as useless 
for fishing before the season was many weeks old. Mean- 
while into many of the larger ones, especially into those 
on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, familiarly 
known as high water rivers, there was not a sufficient 
scarcity of water in the early part of the -summer to de- 
ter the salmon from running into them. But- the early 
heat and the lack of the usual rains soon raised the tem- 
perature of the water, even in very high latitudes, to the 
point at which the fish become lazy and depressed, and 
then .the fishing quickly fell off. In the meantime, how- 
ever, there were a few weeks of very good sport upon 
some of the larger northeasterly rivers, as was noted at 
the time in the case of the Moisie. One of the party who 
fished the Natashquan this summer told me the other day, 
in speaking of the excellence of the sport which that river 
gave in the early part of the season, that he had this year, 
strangely enough, one or two of the best days' sport ever 
enjoyed by him on a salmon stream. Even the. larger 
rivers on the south shore failed, however, to give as good 
about the points of the coast before entering the fresh 
water, and despite the probability, too, that many of them 
tired of long exclusion from it and ascended other and 
larger rivers, it has to be borne in mind that against these 
apparent losses sustained by the smaller streams, must be 
set the fact that few fish fell, in them, to the rods, of the 
anglers. Only those of the little rivers which were fished 
late in the season vielded anything like reasonable results 
to the fly-fishermen. Thus the comparatively small ones 
flowing into the Saguenay did better than those of the 
same character further east, the St. Jean and the Mars 
giving 56 fish between them for only a comparatively few 
days' fishing. The fishing in most of the larger rivers, on 
the other hand, did not improve toward the end of the 
season, but no complaints, so far as I have heard, have 
been received from these as to the scarcity of fish, the ap- 
parent fact being that though there, the fish refused to 
rise to the fly, on account of the peculiar conditions of 
weather and water already described. 
I trust that I have succeeded in making it tolerably 
clear why I am now disinclined, after learning all the 
facts concerning the salmon season cited above, to share 
the belief that these conditions prove any very serious 
diminution in the supply of the fish, notwithstanding that 
both personal observation and information that I believe 
to be perfectly reliable have convinced me of the rapid 
increase of late in the number of such destroyers of it as 
dogfish, porpoises, and seals. 
Incidentally it may be mentioned that the largest sal- 
mon which I have heard reported as having been killed 
during the past season on rod and line, was one weighing 
44 pounds, which was taken on the Magdalen, a river 
noted for the large size of its fish, rivaling, in this respect, 
at least the Moisie, the Cascapedia, and the Restigouche. 
E. T. D. Chambers. 
Superior Fishing - Club. 
The Superior Fishing Club, an organization of Cin- 
cinnati sportsmen, whose favorite recreation is angling, 
dedicated their new club house a few days ago, and 
had a most em'ovable time. The club bought a tract 
of land, at Camp Dennison. on the banks of the Little 
Miami River. Low hills rise on two sides of their 
grounds, which are plentifully supplied with large trees, 
furnishing an abundance of shade. Close at hand is 
the river where the members can wet their lines at 
any time during the season, with good prospects of 
quickly getting into an argument with some hungry 
bci s s 
A convenient club house has been erected, the ground 
floor having two large rooms for use of the members, 
and the second floor furnishing sleeping accomodations. 
A wide veranda extends along one side and one end of 
the building. The kitchen is in a separate building, and 
a large tent has been erected for use as a store room 
for supplies during the summer. 
The camp is about sixteen miles from the city, easily 
reached, and is a favorite resort for those members 
who are unable to get away for more than a day or 
two at a time. 
A large number of guests were present at the dedi- 
cation, refreshments were served and music rendered 
by a brass band, altogether an occasion which will be 
long remembered. 
Following are the officers and members of the club: 
G. Schenck, President; T. Gardner, Vice-President; D, 
