Kot, 4 1905J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
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1 
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Fish and^ Fishing, 
A Letter aud a Reply. 
A CORRESPONDENT who has been feaditig “The Ouana- 
niche and its Canadian Environment,” and who has 
lately had his first experience of ouailaniche fishing, 
at Grand Lake Stream, Maine, writes me a long letter 
in anticipation of a trip to the Lake St. John country 
next year, and appends such a string of pointed ques- 
tions. covering almost every phase, of the sport, that it 
has occurred to me that the replies which he solicits 
may interest many other anglers I therefore propose 
to answer him through the medium of Forest and 
Stream, and as I am unaware whether or not he is a 
subscriber. I shall refer him to this Colurriil for the in- 
formation of which he is in search. 
First of all. let me quote what my questioner says 
of his experience at Grand Lake Stream, and elsewhere. 
He writes: “My two weeks this past season in Maine 
was my first introduction to the ouananiche. I en- 
joyed them immensely. They are magnificent fighters. 
As such. I place them a little ahead of the small- 
mouthed black bass and far ahead of the square-tail 
trout. I think I should rank them a trifle ahead of 
grilse, weight for weight, though I am not able to 
judge well from my limited experience, as my largest 
ouananiche wei,ghed only 2 pounds 5 ounces, while I 
have never caught a grilse under 2 pounds 12 ounces. 
I was a little disappointed in the average size of the 
fish I caught at Grand Lake Stream — i pound 7 ounces. 
I found them all that could be desired as fighters, how- 
ever. e.specially in quick water and with a 4-ounce rod. 
My- guide was inclined to look rather disparagingly 
on this rod as somewhat of a toy. but I netted sixty 
fish out of a possible seventy-four, which he allowed to 
be very fair for a novice. Candidly, I would rather have 
landed 50 per cent, with that 4-ounce rod than ninety- 
five with an 8-o'mce red, which I let the guide take sev- 
eral times and wh'ch he greatly admired. With the heavier 
rod I had a quadruple multiplying reel, but with my 
lighter rod a simple little single-action Leonard fly 
reel. Tn the heavier waters that you describe and with 
larger fish, no doubt I would have to haul in my horns 
somewhat, and resort to a little heavier tackle, but I 
confess to enough conceit to long for a chance to try 
a 5-ounce rod and double mulf'plier on the ouananiche. 
of Lake St. John. I have hanging over my library 
mantel shelf a 22-pound salmon caught in the Grand 
Cedroy in Newfoundland two years ago with an 8-ounce 
rod. after a fight of over two hours, and I suppose too 
much contemplation of that beauty has made me vain 
and left me just the sort of pride that those ouananiche 
of your north rivers are just waiting to take a fall 
out of.” 
I know enough of the pleasure of killing a salmon 
upon a trout rod, to fully appreciate the delightful 
memories retained by my correspondent of his in- 
teresting struggle .with the Codroy fish, which was 
quite a large one for that river, even though 
some have been taken out of it still larger. There are, 
of course, a hundred and one accidents, any one of wh ch 
might have occurred to prevent him killing the fish, but 
conditions being favorable, and barring accidents, there 
is no reason at all why an angler of such experience 
and skill should not succeed in killing a number of 
Lake St John ouananiche upon a s-oUnce rod. I have 
been lucky enough to kill several upon a tool weighing 
but 3kt ounces, and on one occasion successfully landed 
with it a fine double, weighing respectively 3 f 4 and 2 f 4 
pounds. I had a good guide with me at the time— 
John Morel— so often referred to by Dr. Henry Vati 
Dyke in his books — and as I was fishing from a canoe, 
Johnny landed me on an island in the Discharge, in 
order to facilitate the successful netting of the fish. 
The following quotation from his letter shows what 
my correspondent wants to know about the fishing at 
Lake St. John, and there are doubtless many more 
readers of Forest and Stream in the same boat with 
him : 
“I hope that I shall not be imposing upon the 
masonry of anglers, if I ask you to give me some in- 
formation and advice. In the first place, I shall proba- 
bly not be able to spare more than two weeks for the 
trip, and I should prefer to make it toward the close of 
the season rather than in the early part. 
“Secondly, I have in view one and only one fish for 
this trip, the Ouananiche (and spelled with a capital), 
and one and only one method of taking him — with a fly. 
Thirdly, I would like very much to take my wife. 
She has never had an outing of that kind in the woods, 
but is exceed. ngly fond of nature and the country. She 
would be able to stand a fair chance of roughing it, I 
am sure. 
“iMOw.' sir, the proposition is before you. Can you 
suggest a particular spot, where I could probably have 
fair sport and my wife could enjoy an experience in 
the north woods, not too ‘strenuous’ for a woman? 
And let me post you as to the particular definition of 
‘fair sport’ in this case. It would be an average of 
from ioui to six fish per day of an average weight of 
two pounds, with a good chance in ten days’ fishing of 
a 4-pounder, and a possibility of even a 5-pound fish. 
Perhaps I am asking too much in my defin.tion, but let 
me add, that I am too good a sportsman to ‘kick,’ 
however small the returns, and I have also had enough 
experience to appreciate how much the most sage 
advice is dependent on conditions of tveather and water 
and season for the fulfillment of the expectations it 
leads to. The fisherman an«l his flies are also, ot 
course, most important factors, and the selection of 
flies is another point upon which I should crave your 
advice. As to the fisherman, I am far more enthusiastic . 
than skillful, though fortune helps out my deficiencies. 
“In your book, if I remember correctly, you men- 
ti'n-pU places in particular as being good fishing 
spots for the last week of August and first of September. 
■ iueic piace.3 were the pool below the Fifth T'alls ) 
of the Mistassini and the pool belo,w the Falls of the 
Metabetchouan, about five miles up that river. I re- 
member specially a reference to a marvelous catch 
made at the latter place by Dr, Van Dyke in the first 
week of September 
“I should add that I w'ould prefer a place, if the choice 
were open, "Where I would hook fewer fish but of a 
larger size. I think you mentioned the Metabetchouan 
pool as containing fish of a larger relative average at 
the end of the season; fish on their way up to spawn. 
And here I have another question to ask; Do you 
consider that the fish about Sept, i are inferior in 
fighting qualities (more particularly the females carry- 
ing s^awn) 'to those caught in the early fly-fishing oj 
June?” 
'there is no reason in the world that I know of why 
my correspclident should not be able lo gratify every de- 
sire expressed in his letter, except in the matter of fish- 
ing in the ouanan’che pools of the Metabetchouan River. 
I'hese pools are the favorite spawning beds of the ouana- 
niehe, and while it is always quite easy for anybody who 
may drop a fly over them in the latter part of the season 
to kill many and big fish there, there is certainly net the 
sport in the killing that there is in the early fishing in 
the month of June. Any angler who has killed brook 
trout full of spawn in the last few weeks of the season 
will quite understand the force of this reply to my 
friend’s last question. The Metabetchouan is therefore 
now closed to anglers, so far as ouananiche are con- 
cerned, and its pools Carefully preserved as a nuysery for 
the spawning fish. Here, too, are sometimes taken the 
parent fish for the supply of spawn for the Roberval 
hatchery. 
It is quite a pleasure to give advice concerning places 
and seasons for fishing to an angler who so fully appre- 
ciates, as my correspondent does, the difficulties surround- 
ing such a case, and the many underlying conditions to 
success. 
In the first place, let him by all means take his wife to 
Lake St. John. There are few trips in that country which 
cannot be taken by a woman who is prepared to camp 
out under canvas, while at the Grand Discharge nearly 
everybody sleeps at n’ght at the Island House. As a rule, 
the fish ng at the Discharge cannot be depended upon 
late in the season, becau'^e of the danger of low water 
there, such as we had in Seotember last. 
Because of the great difference in the level of the water 
at different seasons it is not quite easy to say, a year in 
.advance, what might he the best fishing ground to try, 
nor is there any necessity to fully decide that point before 
reaching Lake St. John, where gm'des and others are al- 
ways familiar with existing conditions. I usually en- 
deavor, too, in this column to keep the readers of Forest 
and Stream posted as to the condition of water, move- 
ments of fish, etc., in these northern waters. As a gen- 
eral thing, I would say that sood fishing is to be had 
about the end of August or beginning of September at 
either Lac a Jim or Lac Tschotagama, each of which is 
only a few days’ trip from Roberval. One of these lakes 
is' reached bv the Ashuaomouchouan River, the return 
be'ng by ihe Mistassini, while the other is reached by the 
Pieribonca. Both of them are described fully in the book 
to which my correspondent refers, but which, unfortu- 
nately, is now out of print. In either of these localities 
the average of the take suggested by him has often been 
surpassed, as well as the weight mentioned in the letter 
from which I have quoted. Earlier in the season, when ‘ 
the fish afford the strongest fight, I prefer the struggle in 
the more active waters of the Grand Discharge. 
: The choice of flies is another point upon which I am 
asked for advice. This, too, will depend largely U])nn the 
choice of time and place, but as a general rule, I have 
fdu.nd a good selection of small salmon flies, Jock Scots, 
Silver Doctors, etc., together with brown hackles, pro- 
f(^sscrs, grizzly kinrs General Hookers and B. A. Scotts 
to contain all the killing patterns necessary for a success- 
ful campaign against the ouananiche. 
i E. T. D. Chambers. 
Frog: Fishing:. 
In my youthful days, an indulgent father furnished 
me with an old-fashioned rifle, made at Llarrodsburg, 
Kentucky, for the purpose of slaughtering wild turkeys 
and squirrels, and when I made further use of it — for 
killing bullfrogs — he taught me how to secure my game 
without going to the expense of purchasing ammunition. 
Taking an old fishing line, he fastened a large book to 
one end,, and some ten or t-welve inches above attached 
a single buckshot. The line 'was kpotled to the end 
of a small pine pole, some twelve feet in length, which 
completed the entire apparatus. I was then taken to 
the head of a mill pond, some half or three-quarters of 
a mile away, and quietly passing along its margin, soon 
spied a number of frogs, squatted on the lilypads, 
which covered a large portion of the water. Selecting 
what seemed to be the mammoth of the throng, he 
gently lowered the hook alongside his body, just aft 
of the foreleg, and a sudden twitch to the left given, 
which caused the hook to fasten just underneath the 
breast, and the game was switched on shore in a twink- 
ling. After capturing several others, I was permitted 
to take the rod and endeavor to whip up the game. My 
eagerness and excitement were so intense, that I was 
completely oblivious to the direction of my parent; 
consequently made a miserable failure in my first at- 
tempt. On my second, heeding his constant warnings, 
delivered in a low tone, I managed to firmly hook and 
land a fine fellow, which was followed by several other 
captures to my intense delight and gratification, and 
from that date forward I supplied our family table with 
dishes of bullfrogs whenever desired. 
Years afterward, when I reached maturity, I ex- 
perienced several extraordinary encounters with this 
batrachian, some of which I will endeavor to describe. 
I once happened to spend Sunday at a small station 
on the Rome and Watertown Railroad, and while 
lazily enjoying a cigar on the front of the hotel, my at- 
tention .was attracted by the bellowing of the bullfrogs 
in a mill pond in the immediate vicinity. Hastening 
into my room, I picked up my fishing rod, which, with 
the frog-catching line, was always my companion in 
my wanderings; and while passing out of the door, in 
the direction from , which the sounds emanated, I was 
stopped and questioned by the clerk as to the cause of 
my hasty movements. On. receiving my answer to 
his inquiry,, he requested the privilege of accompany- 
ing me, which was cheerfully given, and we started 
post-haste down toward the margin of a mill pond 
which lay but a short distance in rear of the hostelry. 
On arriving at the water’s edge, I found it tenanted 
by a host of bullfrogs, and immediately rigging my 
rod, I soon had one dangling in mid-air,' whereupoia 
my companion burst into a rOar of laughter, which 
was quickly silenced by my irritable gestures. On hook- 
ing a second prize, he stuffed his handkerchief intp 
his jaws, fell upon the grass, rolled and kicked, until 
he was completely exhausted. By this time I had se- 
cured quite an accumulation of booty, when he re- 
gained his feet and proffered to seek help, in order toi 
transfer my game to the hotel. On my acceptance o£ 
his kind offer, he immediately started for the hotel,, 
while I redoubled my efforts. On his return, in company 
with a waiter and hostler, they were staggered by the 
pile of frogs which met their view. The difficulty .was; 
how to transfer the catch to the hotel, as they kad 
come totally unprepared for any such difficulty. Suci-* 
denly the clerk darted off. after requesting us to ex- 
erciser little patience until his return. While he was 
absent, I added a good many others to the huge heap, 
much to the surprise of his companions, and was still 
busily engaged in enlarging the mass, when he put in 
an appearance, dangling a bunch of strings and carrying 
a fence rail on his shoulder. Thereupon there was a 
cessation of angling, and we turned our attention t® 
stringing and binding the game to the fence rail. When) 
this was finisled, it required all the strength of the 
waiter and hostler to stagger along with the load, after 
the clerk and myself had assisted in placing it on their 
shoulders. On our arrival at the hotel I selected sitx 
dozen, to be shipped to a friend in New York, while) 
the residue was turned over to the cook, for the delec- 
tation of the guests of the hotel. 
Some years subseq’ ent to the above, business calledl 
me to Machias. Maine, in order to deliver some pythons 
to the proprietors of a traveling show. Ellsworth was 
as far as I could travel by rail, and from thence I pTG>- 
ceeded by an open spring wagon, hired for the purposeu 
I arrived at my destination on Saturday afternoonr,. 
and after delivering the reptiles, concluded to make am 
early start the next morning on my return. While 
conversing with my landlord, I learned that a short 
time previous, a young Canadian lynx had been cap- 
tured by a pa^'ty near Calais, who was anxious to part 
with it As Calais was to be the next stand of the 
show, it was necessary for them to make a Sunday 
drive, in order to reach there in time for Monday’s 
performance. So I concluded to accompany them, and 
endeavor to secure the lynx. The next morn.ng the 
show folks made an ea.Iy start for their long drive,, 
while I waited for the regular breakfast hour before 
moving, and jogged along quite comfortably, until 
arriving at a place where the road crossed a stream 
by using the dam of a sawmill in lieu of the bridge. 
The surface of the pond was a mass of lilypads, 
nearly every one of which was occupied by a bullfrog. 
Of course I. couldn’t resist the temptation, consequently 
rigged my rod for frog fishing, and in making a circuit 
of the pond, filled the wagon about one-third full of 
game. How to get at those on the pads further out ita 
the pond than I could reach with my rod bothered me, 
until I determined to r.p up the floor of the short 
bridge, used for crossing the forebay, and construct a 
rough raft of it. With the assistance of my driver, we 
soon fabricated an affair which served our purpose. 
The driver acted as poleman. while I hauled in game 
enough in a very short t.me to nearly submerge us. 
My poleman carefrlly pushed the affair ashore, where 
it was unloaded, and we again made for the center of 
the pond, where it soon again freighted and returned 
to the shore. Some three or four trips gave us a suf- 
ficiency of booty to fill the wagon, when the bridge 
timbers were replaced and we resumed our journey at 
an abated pace, in consequence of the ponderous load'. 
On our arrival at Calais, we were received by the 
slow folks with expressions of joy. and looks of sur- 
prise by the townsfolk. In unloading our wagon, I 
noticed that the frogs were larger than any that I 
had ever captured, which surprised me, as I very 
naturally supposed that they would be smaller than 
those which I had frequently caught further south. 
The next morning everv showman had his fill of frog 
meat for breakfast, and’ by noon I had succeeded in 
purchasing the young lynx. This was about my last 
experience in big catches in the frog line, and I am 
sorry to say that the general introduction of steam has 
nearly ousted the old-fashioned mill ponds out of ex- 
istence, consequently the frogs lack one of the great 
essentials for their assemblage in huge numbers m com- 
paratively small spaces. Frank J. Thompson. 
Black Bass in the Delaware. 
Philadet phia. Pa., Oct. 25. — Editor Forest arid 
Stream: A singular fishing condition existed in the Dela- 
ware River during the last week or ten days of Septem- 
ber and extending for a like period into October. The. 
river all at once seemed to become alive with bass, and 
everybody, from the farmer boy with his “pole” and red 
worm bait, to the city an.Mer with his $50 outfit and min- 
now bait seemed to get all they wanted. It was no trick 
for two men in a boat to take twenty to twenty-five bass 
weighing 50 to 60 pounds in a few hours, and the fellow 
who could not get a boat cast from shore with about 
equal success. Any kind of bait seemed to be good 
enough, and the fish taken were not small ones, either, 
very few running below a pound, and from that to 4 
pounds and over. The river men say they have never 
known any such fishing since the bass were introduced in 
the river, and they are unable to explain it, though some 
of your scientific correspondents may be able to give an 
explanation. ■ , , * 
The fishing stopped as suddenly as it began, almost be- 
tween two suns, and thereafter no delicacy was tempting ■ 
enough to ind-ice a strike. The writer has frequently gone 
more than a thousand miles in search of bass, and never 
had half the success that he met with here while it lasted. 
Tohickon. 
THE MA’VV-U^E Oil CO., 
New YorR City, will sen4 Free Snmple. Write r\ow,^Atiz’. 
