"You let me gug-gug-go early to dinner and I will kak- 
kak-catch you some and bring them bub-bub-back/' I 
rather lost confidence in the young man when he had 
worried himself loose from this information, as -^1 had 
always believed that you should follow the cardinal prin- 
ciple of the Homeopathic school of medicine in selecting 
bait for fishing — "Similia similibus curaniiir" — and could 
not subscribe to the heterodox idea of salt-water bait for 
fresh-water fishing. But even fishing could not be more 
entertaining than the spectacle of the boy twisting in 
agony as he gurgled out voluminous extracts from his 
g^at store of fishing information, while my sympathetic 
friend, the Judge, wriggled about in a most undignified 
and futile though praiseworthy effort to aid him in his 
difficult task; so I not only refrained from exposing the 
weakness of the boy's argument, but encouraged and con- 
tinued it as long as possible. 
He was a nice boy with good intentions, and we appre- 
ciated his kindness in catching us the shrimp just as 
much as though we had fished with them, instead of turn- 
ing them into the lake as soon as our boatman had pro- 
vided a bucket of minnows that afternoon. 
We secured a nice dry boat and the Judge's favorite 
boatman, who went out with us despite the fact that he 
both claimed to be, and certainly looked, ill. 
"What's been the matter with you, John ?" said my 
benevolent friend, who, though a young man, has all the 
rough edges and corners rubbed smooth, and is generally 
beloved. 
"I'se mos'Iy dis weak, suh," was the response, in the 
feeble pathos of the suflFering African. "I had a fit yis- 
tiddy, and like to have died." 
"Well, I am sorry to hear that, but I'm awfully glad 
you can go out with us to-day," said the Judge. 
I was not. I remembered the Scriptural injunction to 
rejoice with them that rejoice, but could not apply it in 
this case. The thought of being out on deep water in a 
small boat with one hundred and sixty pounds of lusty 
black man that might at any moment conclude to have 
another fit, and cause a shipwreck, in nowise inclined me 
to rejoicing. 
John and I did not hit it off as well as I like to be the 
case with all of my sportsmen helpers, and I do not re- 
gard him as highly as does my good friend; but I am 
sincerely and deeply grateful to John for the fact that 
he refrained from having another fit while I was with 
him. Like all anglers of experience, I was a little in- 
clined to offer suggestions, and these were not very well 
received by our boatman, who had decided opinions of 
his own. 
"Don't you think that bit of water over there looks like 
a good place," I would say. 
This suggestion would be received in silence twice out 
of three times ; then John would cease rowing, assume an 
injured air, and in a querulous tone say: "Well, of co'se 
I will go there, if you say so, but I takin' you now right 
where / know de fish is." Then the genial Judge would 
proceed to, act peacemaker, and soon have the . ruffled 
waters smooth ; but not for long, as but for the fact we 
were most of the afternoon fully occupied with the sport, 
it would have taxed the powers of even the gentleman 
from Virginia to keep the peace between John and me. 
As we approached the fishing grounds at the 
upper end of the lake (approved by John), the 
Judge proceeded to explain the method and the 
kind of fish we could expect to catch. The fish- 
ing was best, he said, among the brush and small growth 
where the water had spread out over what had been 
undergrowth in the woods, and we would catch "chub, 
perch, coon perch, pike, and perhaps an eel," all of which 
we did, and a little more. The Judge knew before, as 
well as I did after, seeing these fish that the "chub" was 
the big-niouth black bass, the "perch" the crappie, and the 
"coon perch" the yellow perch; but that had been the 
names given them in the streams that flowed through 
the red hills of the home of his boyhood in old Chester- 
field county, and as friends of his youth he could call 
them by no new names. Talk of the Ethiopian and 
leopard, transplant or even cremate a Virginian and he is 
a Virginian still. 
We finally got down to business, but not until I had 
left a new leader and three flies hanging to one of the 
numerous snags which stuck up out of the water, in a 
vain attempt to fish the water decently and in order as we 
rowed along. When we finally hove to, in a spot ap- 
proved by our boatman, the Judge declined politely, but 
firmly, the offer of my extra rod, and proceeded to attach 
his line to a tough, springy cane pole he had selected 
from the rack in the boat house. No reel, no rod, noth- 
ing scientifically orthodox — just a pole and line. I was 
shocked, mortified and grieved, but determined to say 
nothing, trusting to the strength of the object-lesson I 
would give to convert him. 
The Judge drew first blood — a lusty crappie, which he 
deftly lifted out of a nest of snags and dropped into the 
boat. What a pity, I thought, to waste good sport by 
dragging such a fish right into the boat, and I hope I 
may soon have a strike, so that the Judge's education 
may begin. My wish was gratified, and the strike vigor- 
ous. As the submerged forest was much in evidence, I 
did not give as much line as usual, but struck vigorously 
and immediately began to reel in. A snag extending out 
of the water near the end of my line was violently agi- 
tated for a moment, and then the line came in unresist- 
ing, and, as later disclosed, minus hook and sinker. _ 
"You will have to be a little quicker," said my friend. 
"Snap judgment is the best mode of procedure in these 
waters.'' 
While I repaired damages, the Judge took two more 
fish, a crappie and a yellow perch. Once more in com- 
mission, I cast into a bit of clear water and reeled off a^ 
few yards of line that had become bunched on the reel, 
intending to rewind it. While so engaged a warning 
shout from the Judge, followed immediately by a tighten- 
ing of the line, announced another strike. I tried hard 
to be quick enough, but got started a little late, and only 
succeeded in getting good and fast to another bit of sub- 
merged forest, with the same result as before. Somewhat 
ruffled in temper, but not discouraged, I repaired 
damages and prepared to try again. My friend was fish- 
ing away in a most unscientific, but successful, manner, 
tearing fish out of the water and slinging them into the 
boat. Not exceeding thirty seconds was the time he de- 
votfd to any fish— from the strike to boating— though 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
some of them were good for half hour of fine sport in 
open water, ' Occasionally I- actually believed the Judge 
struck first, he was so quick ; but he surely did catch fish. 
He was the personification of a man in earnest as he 
wrestled with the big gamy fellows, sitting with from 
six to twelve inches of atmosphere between him and the 
boSt seat, as he braced his feet and threw his whole 
weight aginst the fighting fish, only sinking back on the 
seat to rest a moment while John rebaited his hook. 
He was catching quite a variety — crappie, yellow perch 
and bass — and all running large ; the crappie especially 
averaging larger than any I had ever seen. 
Made timid by my bad beginning, I fished near the 
boat for some time without any result, but finally had 
another strike. This time I was about as much too soon 
as before I had been late, and missed altogether; but 
given another chance, I made connection, and that fish 
must have thought a butcher had him. He was a lusty 
bass, game from tip to tail, but I can honestly say that he 
did not gain_ an inch of line from the time he struck my 
bait to the time he lit in the boat. Instead of the usual 
methods, I simply jerked, hauled and dragged him 
aboard. I was tired of pulling snags, and willing to use 
any method to catch a fish. 
"That is the way," said my friend. "You have just got 
to get these fellows in the boat sans ceremony. They are 
Indians in their fighting tactics, and will take a tree on 
you every time. Some of our scientific experts occasion- 
ally take a fish into open water and kill it decently and 
in the approved manner; but for the most part we do our 
fishing here by the old-fashioned method of getting the 
hook in and the fish out with all possible expedition," 
illustrating the fact by snatching a vigorous but helpless 
3-pound bass out of a thicket of brush, in a small opening 
of which he had dropped his bait a moment before. 
As a disinterested spectator I should have criticised 
and condemned the methods we used ; but as "particeps 
criminis," and_ under spell of my _ principal's enthusiastic 
abandon, I fairly reveled in wickedness, and pulled, 
hauled, dragged and snatched those big game fish into the 
boat like a small boy catching suckers. I think nothing 
we caught weighed less than a pound, and the majority 
of our fish ran from two to four. The climax of the 
catch was when the Judge, with no more consideration 
than he had shown the little fellows, tore a six-pound 
bass out of the water and slammed it into the boat with 
a thud that all but knocked out the bottom. 
We kept the bass, crappie and perch, only twenty-three 
fish, but it took a well man to lift our string. 
Returning to the landing, we nearly ran down one of 
the largest moccasin snakes either of us had ever seen. 
Swimming straight across the lake, it crossed our bow 
not ten feet in front of the boat, and was first seen by 
the Judge. The interesting observation which he was 
indulging remains unfinished to this present time, and 
one look over the side of the boat in the direction of his 
fascinated gaze caused me to permanently lose interest 
in the subject under discussion. The big, ugly reptile 
was continuing its course with head twisted round to- 
v/ard us, and from its mouth was darting the forked 
tongue, in apparent defiance. 
"Shall I tackle him. Boss?" was John's inquiry, as he 
began to draw in one oar. 
No !" almost shouted the Judge. "Don't you make a 
motion at him — don't so much as look cross at him !" 
"Good thing we didn't run him down. He w^ould sho' 
have come aboard of us if we did," was the careless ob- 
servation of our factotum. 
"He would have found plenty of room," said my com- 
panion, with a shudder. "I would have given him my 
share of the boat if the water had been fifty feet deep and 
the shore half a mile away," which remark exactly voiced 
my sentiments. 
A strange thing about that snake, noticed by all — and 
fortunately, as the Judge and I belong to a profession 
not noted for veracity — was the fact that it rode the 
water like a duck, its entire body visible fro'n head to 
tail. Of the many swimming snakes observed in years of 
experience On and about the water, they had always 
swam with the body partially or wholly submerged. 
With no further narrow escapes we made the landing 
in time to get our tackle and fish put up for the cool-of- 
the-evening car to the city. 
With very pleasant recollections of the trip, fervent 
gratitude to John for not having a fit, and the snake for 
not coming aboard, I compare the fishing, as we found it, 
to a most enjoyable romp. Lewis Hopkins. 
Lake Champlain Fishing. 
Of the effort to secure an international agreement re- 
garding fishing in Lake Champlain, the Burlington Free 
Press says : 
"The people of Vermont, and particularly the residents 
of the Champlain Valley, have a lively interest in the an- 
nouncement that in the event of the failure of Canada 
to co-operate in the matter of putting a stop to seine fish- 
ing in Lake Champlain the Legislature of New York 
may appeal to President Roosfevelt. The movement 
against seine fishing began a number of years ago, and, 
as our readers know, it has been crowned with compara- 
tively little success. When the committee appointed by 
Governor Bell recently visited different Canadian 
authorities in company with a similar body of men from 
New York it seems that the excuse made by the 
Canadians was that the policy of the Government of the 
United States in propagating yellow perch in the lake 
had been injurious to other fish. A letter was sent to 
United States Fish Commissioner Bowers, asking if the 
Federal Commission would stop propagation of yellow 
perch in the lake. 
"Commisisoner Bowers, in his reply, says that the yel- 
low perch were released at Swanton, while the Govern- 
ment was experimenting with pike perch or wall-eyed 
pike. It was explained that the National Commission re- 
ceives requests from many parts of the country for yel- 
low perch, and that these fish are propagated at the 
Swanton hatchery to meet these requests. He saw no 
reason for releasing further fish in Lake Champlain. 
"With the argument in question disposed of, the Ver- 
mont and New York Commissioners will renew their 
efforts to secure the co-operation of the Canadian 
avthoritieis in suppressing seining in Lake Champlain, 
r IF®, 18, 190s. 
The Canadians have taken many tons of fish from Mis- 
sisquoi Bay every year, and the result is that Vermont 
sportsmen who try to fish in the lake with hook and line 
have very little success during the open season for dif- 
ferent kinds of fish. Residents of the New York shore 
have a similar interest in the movement. It is announced 
that some of the authorities are in favor of taking strong 
measures if the Dominion Government refuses to act, but 
the commissioners deprecate any strong talk of this 
character. 
"The explanation is made that the question in Canada 
is a political one, and t|iat officials hesitate to take any 
action which might affect the votes of fishermen living 
on Missisquoi Bay, or in that vicinity. People in this 
vicinity know how some of the residents on the Vermont 
shore of the lake have sought to influence votes on seine 
fishing, and it is hardly strange that our Canadian neigh- 
bors, who have everything to gain and nothing to lose 
from seining, should seek to make their political influence 
felt in a similar way." 
It is to be hoped that Canada's public men, despite the 
political influence brought against it, viiW see their way 
clear to entering into such a convention. They cannot 
but admit the justice of the contention put forth by the 
States of New York and Vermont. 
Their sense of fairness will tell them it is not right 
that the commercial instincts of a few fishermen on Mis- 
sisquoi Bay should be allowed to interfere with the larger 
interests of the section in which the great body of the 
lake is located. At any rate, let us hope that they will 
look at it in this light. 
Mr. Chambers on Sea Trout. 
Editor Forest and Stream: ' 
In your issue of December 24, Mr. Chambers takes The 
Old Angler to task for making gratuitous assumptions 
and drawing erroneous conclusions, and strenuously 
asserts that there is nothing in the context of his letter 
to lead the reader to conclude that last summer was the 
only time he had studied the "sea trout." Let us see 
about this. 
That part of his letter dealing with sea trout opens in 
these words: "During the last summer I was fortunate 
enough to enjoy opportunities for the study of the sea- 
run trout of the Saguenay and some of its tributaries." 
Then follows over a column of matter taken bodily from 
the writings of the late M. H. Perley, Frank Forrester, 
Charles Hallock, Thad. Norris and others, with all their 
errors of description and classification into a distinct 
species under the various names of Trutta marina, Salmo 
trutta, or Salmo immactilatus, according to the ignorance 
of the writers whose matter he appropriated and whose 
opinions he apparently indorsed ; but not another word 
throughout the whole letter to indicate that he had made 
any previous study of the fish. 
The Old Angler submits that any reader unacquainted 
with Mr. C.'s later explanations must come to the same 
conclusion he did without imagining or assuming any- 
thing, and without the slightest wish to misrepresent. 
Had Mr. C. been writing of Europe or New York, and 
had he adopted bodily, without a hint at quotation, the 
erroneous descriptions of writers more ignorant than 
himself, the irresistible inference would be that he had 
not been there, and that he did not write from his own 
observations. But the excellence of 'his matter on sub- 
jects he fully understands would preclude any possible 
inference that he had never been to school. 
Mr. Chambers quotes with admiration from our friend 
Charles Hallock, who has given up his first contention 
as to species, and even his subsequent opinion as to 
variety, and has settled down into what he calls, with 
Mr. C.'s emphatic approval, "the marine and fluvial 
types." To those of your readers who have followed 
the discussion, this must be very amusing. Mr. Hallock 
first sought the aid of Mr. Gregory, of Quebec, and Mr. 
Manuel, of Ottawa, who agreed with him that this 
"type" was a true sea fish that came into the rivers to 
feed upon salmon ova ! When the present writer showed 
the crass ignorance his friends displayed, Mr. Hallock 
invoked the assistance of Prof. D. Starr Jordan, who, 
consenting to "arbitrate," pronounced, ex-cathedra, that 
the only difference between the brook trout and the sea 
trout w-as that the latter was brought up and fed in the 
sea, and he volunteered the following sapient opinion : 
"Presumably the young of any brook trout hatched out 
in the sea and fed in the sea would be the same." 
Whether Mr. H. considered that this dictum of the lead- 
ing ichthyologist in the United States strengthened either 
of his contentions, The Old Angler is not advised; but 
the fact disclosed by Mr. Chambers that he has dropped 
both species and variety and taken his stand on type, 
would seem to indicate that he was not quite satisfied 
with the arbitrator's award, and was not so grateful as, 
in your opinion, we all ought to be for the condescension. 
Authorities competent to give an opinion now agree 
that the species is Salmo fontinalis and the variety brook 
trout. Where does the "type" come in? How will Mr. 
Hallock or Mr. Chambers, who considers the term so 
happy, distinguish between "types" that have no constant 
characteristics? How far up river does the "marine 
trout" change into the "fluvial trout," or how far down 
river does the fluvial type change into the marine type? 
Unless there are some permanent characteristics to dis- 
tinguish one individual from another, how are we to de- 
cide on the "type?" When all the characteristics that 
make a marine trout in one part of a river are changed 
into those that make it a fluvial trout in another part of 
the same river, what mere loganiachy is all this pseudo- 
science with which these savants are bewildering them- 
selves ! 
As the outcome of the discussion in your columns, the 
writer is gratified to know that both Mr. Hallock and 
Mr. Chambers are now agreed that when Salmo fontinalis 
is ^caught in salt Water he is a sea trout ; but when taken 
in fresh water he is a brook trout, which has been all 
along the contention of The Old Angles. 
All communications for Forest and Stream must he 
directed to Forest and Stream Pub, Co., New Yorlf, to 
receive ott^nHon, Wf hw^? no other oif},ff. 
