S98 FOREST AND STREAM. (Nov, n, 1905. 
— 
fishing. The wet fly wearies me; the worm I loath; the 
minnow has nothing to offer me; I cannot gud(dle; to 
snatch I am afraid. Yet, for lack of rising fish, I tried 
every lawful method during three days, in vain. I 
came in each night chilled and sodden with rain, and 
swore as often to go home in the morning. And when 
each morning broke with a promise of sun I put off 
my going for another twenty-four hours, hoping, like 
any angler, for a soft wind and fly on the morrow. On 
the fourth day the sun came out, but the fly did not, 
and I had but one new burden laid upon me for the rest 
of the week. I can say nothing of my sport more 
forcible than that it was of a badness sufficiently con- 
sistent to bring me to a resolution (since cancelled) to 
spend next summer with a big bamboo on the Quai 
d’Orsay. 
For to the Parisian angler such an experience would 
have been impossible. What does he know of the 
hopeless glance up wind for a break in the gray? If 
the day is unpleasant he stays at home like a sensible 
man, and so he always has fine weather for his angling. 
What does he know of the dodges and miseries of 
the dry-fly angler, the crawlings and the cramps, the 
cross wind and the drag, the branches and the barbed- 
wire, and the filled waders? He is not, let me tell you, 
the sort of fool to creep about among nettles or kneel 
on jagged stones — when camp stools are so cheap. He 
looks for no fish, so he is never disappointed. Six 
whole days without a kill? Flute! This is a bagatelle 
to a man who only begins to think sport dull when two 
whole summers have gone by without his float sinking. 
If he has not the fierce joy of the strike home he 
never suffers the wretchedness of the subsequent break. 
Though his heart never beats as the fish which has re- 
fused a dozen patterns at last opens his mouth, his soul 
is never rent to pieces as thq fly comes back. For 
him there is no futile comparing of patterns, no anxious 
scrutiny of the insects which float on the water, no 
doubts about the size of the hook, the material of the 
body, the tint of the wing. A lump of dough is all his 
bait. It requires little attention. Every now and then 
when the action of the water has taken away so much 
as was on the hook he renews it patiently. Thus he is 
free to concentrate his attention on the things that 
really matter. The steamboats which pass eternally, 
crowded with gay and interesting people, the digestion 
of his lunch, the conversation of his friends, the pro- 
tecting presence of his wife who sits beside him with 
her crochet, the prattle of his children, who scratch in 
the sand not far away; these are but a few of the 
thousand and one delights which serve to _ make the 
happy hours glide more happily by. He is as con- 
tented as a cow in a fat pasture.— W. Quilliam, in the 
London Field. 
Salmon Fishing in Newfoundland. 
St. John^s, Newfoundland, Oct. 26. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: During the season of 1905 a number of 
gentlemen in Scotland met to discuss the causes of ^ the 
great decrease of salmon in their rivers. An old High- 
lander was asked to give his opinion. He declared, “If 
there’s nae watter there’ll be nae fush” — “watter” is an 
essential element we all know, but there may be too much 
“watter.” It is from excessive floods, and a cold, damp 
spring that we have suffered this season. The fish were 
late in ascending the rivers, and the wet weather pro- 
duced a regular plague of flies. 
Several of our southern rivers, such as the Grand and 
Little River Codro3q Harry’s Brook, and other streams, 
in St. George’s Bay, have now been most carefully pro- 
tected from nets, poachers and all other obstructions for 
the past few years. I predicted that in consequence not 
only would there be a great increase of fish but also that 
very large salmon would eventually be caught by anglers. 
The well known sportsman, Sir Bryan Leighton, Bart., 
and Lady Leighton were out in Newfoundland this sea- 
son. Sir Bryan rather ridiculed my prediction until in 
the Grand River Codroy he hooked and held a 40- 
pounder. He held the fish for about half an hour, saw 
him jump quite close to him, but as he w'as badly hooked 
he eventually lost him. As Sir Bryan says, he has seen 
plenty of monster salmon in British Columbia, so he could 
not be mistaken about the size, which, he states, was be- 
tween 35 and 40 pounds. The warden before that in- 
formed me that late last season they saw numbers of very 
big fish in the pools. 
A large number of anglers went this year to the Upper 
Humber and all caught a great many fish, but I have not 
heard of any specially large salmon being taken; plenty 
of 20-pounders, but no record fish. It was the same at 
Little River Codroy. The biggest take was a 26-pounder 
by Dr. W. C. Woodward, of Middleboro, Mass., U. S. 
The veteran angler, F. I. Daggett, of Boston, Mass., who 
is generally high line on this river (last year he took a 
36-pounder), had nothing heavier than a 14-pounder this 
year. Everyone is agreed about the immense numbers 
of fish in the rivers, but they were extraordinarily capri- 
cious, often sulky and wmuld not look at a fly. 
Sea trout were, as usual, plentiful, and Colonel Nichol- 
son caught one 6V2-pounder. The highest average, so far,, 
in our southern rivers had been 5 pounds, but on the west 
coast there are several streams where the fish run to 7 
and 8 pounds, and on the Labrador sea trout of 10 and 
even 12 pounds are quite common. 
I send you the returns of the fish caught at Little River 
Codroy, the reports from the ether rivers have not yet 
been sent in. Great Codroy River shows well. 
D. W. Prowse. 
A L*rge Sturgeon. 
Canso, Nova Scotia. — A local merchant bought a stur- 
geon caught in a trap near this town a few days ago. The 
fish weighed 290 pounds entire, length nine feet two 
inches, girth nine feet ten inches. He thinks it is a 
record size for these waters. I maintain no. My natural 
history mentions the sturgeon attaining the length of 
twelve feet. Kindly verify. Forest and Stream is my 
sporting sheet anchor. The man who lives up to the 
teachings of our paper cannot ro far wrong in outdoor 
life. 
hi re fee,a trout I remember very distinctly a mackerel 
drifter taking over a thousand fine sea trout twenty odd 
miles west of Valencia Island, Ireland. That means, of 
course, over twenty miles off shore. Salmon begin to 
ascend Waterville River, County Kerry, on Jan. i, so 
you see there are other early rivers. 
Swordfish have afforded very good sport in our bay, 
some weighing 500 odd pounds have been landed ; pollock 
are_ numerous along shore, and no better sport can man 
desire than a 15 to 20-pound pollock on a good rod. May 
I mention that this method of fishing pollock is as “old 
as the hills” in Ireland. We used to fish with flies, arti- 
ficial sand eels, rubber baits of all shapes and sizes. 
I have interviewed numerous old and young skippers 
that were or are still in the habit of voyaging to the 
Labrador coast, and they all agree that there is no duck 
egg traffic carried on now, but in years gone by quite a 
few hookers used to bring back a load, as one old salt 
remarked. During the American Civil War a large traffic 
was done in this business, the eggs were disposed of to 
hotel keepers, restaurants, etc. Even in those days the 
eggers had to be very careful, as the Government cruisers 
of Canada watched them pretty closely. One captain told 
me that some of his men (they w^ere fishing down there 
some twenty-five years ago) landed to pick berries, he 
seeing a mossy spot below a bank with good berries 
growing near by, jumped off the bank and sank to his 
armpits in eggs that were cached there. But for one duck 
that flies past here now there were a hundred then, and 
in the fa'l they come down this bay in thousands. There 
is no egging now, but every boy able to carry a gun goes 
after them in and out of season. It is no uncommon 
thing for one gunner to bag fifty or sixty ducks in a 
spring morning when the birds are flying north to their ' 
breeding grounds. C. K. O’D. 
Concerning Bass. 
Harrisburg, Pa., Nov. 3. — Editor Forest and Stream:, 
In your issue of Nov. 4 I noticed a very interesting item 
entitled “Concerning Bass,” by Peter Flinn. In the item 
he says : “All this leads me to the question, whether the 
large-mouth bass breed in the same lake and do better 
in water inhabited by the small-mouth bass variety. Or 
do each prefer a peculiar part of the same lake?” 
From something I noticed in a pond in one of the State 
hatcheries last year I should say that the large-mouth 
bass most emphatically prefer a part of . a body of water 
as far away from the small-mouth bass as it can get. 
And it is its personal safety which provokes this desire. 
Last year a large number of large and small-mouth bass 
were planted in the ponds at the hatchery mentioned for 
use for the Pennsylvania exhibit at the World’s Fair. 
Within forty-eight hours after being placed therein there 
was a complete separation of the species, the large-mouth 
bass occupying the shallower and muddiest part of the 
pond, while the small-mouth bass occupied the other. The 
separation was not voluntary. If a large-mouth bass 
ventured anywhere near the precints of the small-mouth 
there was trouble, and the large-mouth bass found some 
difficulty in getting back to his own corner without dam- 
age. On the other hand, a small-mouth bass could ven- 
ture with some impunity among the large-mouth species; 
On one occasion, while at the hatchery, just to see what 
would happen, I threw some feed in the pond midway 
between the upper and lower end, and the large-mouth 
bass were not permitted to secure their regular share, 
hence my opinion, that the large-mouth bass and the 
small-mouth for that matter prefer to herd by them- 
selves. W. E. Meehan, 
Commissioner of Fisheries. 
In the Delawaie* 
From Washington’s Crossing, on the Delaware, comes 
the story of a curious freak of the finny tribe, which we 
give as it comes, leaving it to the experts to offer an 
explanation. 
In October, 1903, after a four days’ rain, occurred the 
greatest flood er er known in the Delaware. Not only 
was the river ‘ bank full,” but it swept over the farm 
lands adjacent, flooding houses and cellars, carrying away 
bridges, scooping out chasms in smiling meadows, and 
leaving huge piles of logs, bridge timbers and driftwood 
in fruitful cornfields. 
Before this flood fishing had been good ; black bass, 
perch, eels and catfish could be had in abundance, and 
in the season shad. .Since the flood there have been prac- 
tically no fish in the river, and anglers have almost ceased 
to try for them. Even the shad fishing is not half what 
it once was. The fishermen do not offer an explanation 
but are disposed to blame the flood for their ill-luck. 
Either, they argue, it washed all the fish out of the river 
or else it washed so much blamed stuff in that they left 
in disgust and have never come back. 
Perhaps some piscatorial expert wflll arise and express 
an opinion. L. 
Propagation of Lobsters. 
Consul-General Halloway, of Halifax, reports that 
an Ottawa special says that one of the experts of the 
Canadian fisheries department has returned from British 
Cohmibia, after successfully planting, at different points 
rn ih.e waters of that Province, a large number of good- 
sized lobsters. Attempts have been made by the fisheries 
department in ether years to transfer lobsters from the 
waters of the Atlantic to the Pacific, but without success, 
the long railway journey being too much for the crusta- 
ceans. Profiting by the experience gained in the past, 
extra precautions were taken this year, with the results 
that of the original consignment of several thousand lob- 
sters shipped from the maritime provinces, forty per cent, 
reached Vancouver in good condition, and were speedily 
transferred to the sea at various points, both on the main- 
land, coast and Vancouver Island, upon which a strict 
closed season will be observed for two or three years. 
The Hay Bay fi.5hing lodge advertised on another page will 
interest visitors to that angling resort. 
THE MANY-USE OIL 
This famous reel oil neyer gums. Substitutes will fail you,— Adv. 
Officers of A. C. A., 1906 . 
(Assumed office Oct. 1, 1905.) 
Commodore — H. Lansing Quick, Yonkers, N. Y. 
Secretary— William W. Crosby, Brighton Mills, Passaic, N. J. 
Treasurer — Frederic G. Mather, 164 Fairfield Ave., Stamford, Conn. 
... ATLANTIC DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — Woolsey Carmalt, 82 Beaver St., New York. 
Rear-Commodore — Matthias Ohlmeyer, Francis H. Leggett & Co., 
128 Franklin St., New York. 
Purser — George S. Morrisey, 73 Mercer St., New York. 
Executive Committee — William A. Furman, 84G Berkeley Ave., 
Trenton, N. J. ; Louis C. Kretzmer, Schepp Building, New 
York; Clifton T. Mitchell, 46 E. Sedgwick St., Germantown, 
Pa. 
Board of Governors — Robert J. Wilkin, 211 Clinton St., Brooklyn. 
Racing Board — Daniel B. Goodsell, 36 Washington Sq., New York. 
CENTRAL DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — Henry R. Ford, 45 N. Division St., Buffalo,N.Y. 
Rear-Commodore — Edward H. Demmler, 526 Smithfield St., Pitts- 
burg, Pa. 
Purser — B. Irving Rouse, 981 Lake Ave., Rochester, N. Y. 
Executive Ccmmittee— John S. Wright, 519 West Ave., Rochester, 
N. Y. ; Lyman T. Coppins, 691 Main St., Buffalo, N. Y.; Jesse 
J. Armstrong, Rome, N. Y. 
Board of Governors — Charles P. Forbush, 164 Crescent Ave., 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
Racing Board — Harry M. Stewart, 85 Main St., E. Rochester, N.Y. 
EASTERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — H. M. S. Aiken, 45 Milk St., Boston, Mass. 
Rear-Commodore — Frank S. Chase, Manchester, N. H. 
Purser — Edgar Ward, 112 Highland St., Vi'est Newton, Mass. 
Executive Committee — Daniel S. Pratt, Jr., 178 Devonshire St., 
Boston, Mass.; Arthur G. Mather, 84 South St., Medford, 
Mass.; H. L. Backus, 472 Lowell St., Lawrence, Mass. 
Racing Board — Paul Butler, U. S. Cartridge Co., Lowell, Mass. ; 
Herman D. Murphy, alternate. 
NORTHERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — J. McDonald Mowat, Kingston, Ont., Canada. 
Rear-Commodore — James W. Sparrow, Toronto, Canada. 
I’urser — Russell II. Britton, Gananoque, Ont., Canada. 
Executive Committee — Charles E. Britton, Gananoque, Ont., Can. 
Board of Governors — John N. MacKendrick, Galt, Ont., Canada. 
Racing Board — J. McDonald Mowat, Kingston, Ont., Canada. 
WESTERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — John A. Berkey, St. Paul, Minn. 
Rear-Commodore — Lucien Wulsin, The Baldwin Co., 142 West 
Fourth ,St., Cincinnati, O. 
Purser-r-Wade Hampton Yardley, 49 Pioneer Press Bldg., St. 
Paul, Minn. 
Executive Committee — George H. Gardner, 149 Kennard St., Cleve- 
land, O.;- Augustus W. Friese, The Journal, Chicago, 111. 
Beard of Governors — Henry C. Morse, Peoria, 111. 
Racing Board — Frank B. Huntington, 90 Sheboygan St., Fond-du- 
Lac, Wis. 
How to Join the A. G. A. 
“Application for membership shall be made to the Treasurer, 
F. G. Mather, 161 Fairfield Ave., Stamford, Conn., and shall be 
accompanied by the recommendation of an active member and by 
the sum of two dollars, one dollar as entrance fee and one dollar 
as dues for the current year, to be refunded in case of non- 
election of the applicant.” 
Canoeing in the State of Washington 
BY D. C. CONOVER. 
There ‘is probably no aquatic sport so enjoyable and at 
the same time so healthful as canoeing. This form of 
pleasure is increasing each year, and particularly so in the 
Far West, where streams and lakes as well as ocean 
waters abound. It would be difficult to find in any sec- 
tion of the United States a section so well adapted to 
canoeing as that part of the State of Washington known 
as the Puget Sound country, and more particularly as 
applied to the immediate vicinity of that great metropolis 
of the Northwest, the city of Seattle. 
Seattle, by virtue of its many natural advantages, has 
grown in the past five years from a town of 8o,ooo people 
to a city of i6o,ooo, and its population is increasing at 
the rate of between 15,000 and 20,000 each year. One 
reason for its remarkable growth, and probably the great- 
est, IS its situation on Elliot Bay, which is a part of the 
inland sea — Puget Sound. This fact, together with its 
comparative proximity to Alaska and the Orient, has 
been the means of the wonderful strides in its develop- 
ment. 
On the west side of Seattle, in fact its western boun- 
dary, is Puget Sound ; its eastern boundary, four miles 
from the Sound, is Lake Washington, one of the most 
beautiful lakes imaginable, with its numerous little bays 
and islands, and having visible, apparently rising from 
the edges of the shore, although many miles away, the 
mysterious Cascade Range of mountains, and surmount- 
ing all the perpetually snow-capped peak, Mt. Rainier, 
rising nearly 15,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
Lake Washington is nearly twenty-five miles in length 
and from one to three miles in width. Its outlet is the 
scenic Black River, a stream twenty-five mile’s, which 
runs to the Sound. The lake’s inlet is the Sammamish 
River, or, as it is more commonly called, “Squak 
Slough.” This river or slough is very sinuous, having 
more than 275 sharp turns in a distance of less than ten 
miles. These turns, however, make the distance from 
Lake Sammamish, from which the slough originates, to 
Lake Washington, thirty miles. Lake Sammamish is a 
splendid sheet of water, ten miles long and one mile wide, 
with wild and rugged shores and here and there a human 
habitation. Thus it will be seen that from the head of 
Lake Sammamish to the waters of Puget Sound is a dis- 
tance of about ninety miles. This stretch of water is a 
veritable canoeists’ paradise, and is a trip which, in its 
entirety,- has been taken by very few canoeists. 
During the latter part of the month of July, of the 
present year, a party of canoeists consisting of Bertrand 
Johnson, Walter S. Osborn, C. M. Leedham, E. P. 
Moran and D. C. Conover, made the trip up Squak 
Slough against a three-mile current to Lake Sammamish, 
where, after a day’s outing, ' they returned down the 
slough to the canoe headquarters on Lake Washington, 
at Seattle, and after a few days’ rest the party, with the 
exception of Mr. Moran, who was prevented by business 
engagements from leaving the city, in two canoes, fully 
equipped with camping outfit, blankets, sails, etc., again 
embarked and cruising south along the shores of the lake 
entered the Black River and paddled down to the Sound, 
where the canoes and outfits were placed on the steamer 
Perdita and the next morning proceeded to Port Gamble, 
a lumber mill tovm just inside the entrance to Hood 
Canal, a branch of Puget Sound, which, although not 
