December, 1922 
547 
except for the swift and almost in- 
visible flipping of his lateral fins or 
flippers — hovering without motion above 
a circular concavity in the sand in which 
rested several smaller and very youth- 
ful offspring. The nest, if it can be 
truly called a nest, was about one foot 
in diameter and not over two inches 
deep at the center, at most a shallow 
saucer of spotless sand in which hov- 
ered, like their parents, the small fry. 
Having been a hen fancier I argued 
by analogy that this sandy concavity 
was a bass’s nest; and certainly would 
have convinced my companions, who 
were now quite aware of what I saw, 
of the correctness of my conjecture, had 
I been able to point with triumph at eggs 
in the nest and a bass cackling with 
pride over her achievement. 
In sober truth I confess to having 
seen this unusual sight ; but for the life 
of me I know not the exact nature of 
what I saw. My companions will swear 
to having seen what I describe, and to 
having seen independently several other 
“nests” and their families. Now, For- 
est AND Stream readers, WHAT DID 
I SEE? 
G. E. Jensen, 
Conn. 
OVER THE SHOULDER 
Dear Forest and Stream : 
A ccounts of foxes running off 
with back loads of game recently 
published in Forest and Stream recall 
one of my earliest of memories. It must 
have been all of sixty years ago that my 
grandmother at the farmhouse in Con- 
necticut suddenly made an exclamation 
which took me to the window in a hurry. 
A red fox was running toward the 
swamp with a goose thrown over his 
back, his head turned somewhat to the 
left side as he held the neck of his quar- 
ry, while the body of the goose rested 
at an angle across his back in such a 
way that it was probably off the ground 
for the most part. At any rate it was 
not underfoot and the fox was making 
off at a fairly good pace on second 
speed. Geese and foxes average about 
the same in weight. 
The kitchen door was opened prompt- 
ly and the farm dog rushed after the 
fox with the effect of making him drop 
his load. Tooth marks of the fox as I 
remember were found at the junction of 
the head and neck of the goose. 
While we are on the subject of foxes 
an occurrnce of two mornings ago may 
be worth relating. In order to avoid the 
softening effects of city life I like to run 
down for a jump in the river on my 
country place in Stamford, Conn., about 
six o’clock in the morning. The stream 
is at the foot of the lawn about fifty 
yards from the house. My ducks were 
not far away on a little island as Billy 
Airedale and I ran down across the 
lawn. 
After taking a plunge and quickly get- 
ting out, meanwhile making remarks ap- 
propriate to frosty weather, Billy Aire- 
dale suddenly jumped toward a little 
hemlock tree at the foot of the lawn 
with a loud bark. Out bounced a big 
red fox that floated away across the gar- 
den like a sailing bird. He had doubt- 
less been watching the ducks and in all 
probability his sense of humour prompt- 
ed him to remain in the hemlock only a 
few yards away when he saw that Billy 
Airedale and I were not thinking of 
foxes and were evidently not after him 
as we ran across the lawn. I don’t doubt, 
however, that a pair of very sharp eyes 
and a sharp nose had been aimed very 
directly at me all of the while. 
Robert T. Morris, 
New York 
RECORD STURGEON 
Dear Forest and Stream: 
HERE is a report in this locality that 
there have been sturgeon caught in 
the Snake River, Montana, that weighed 
as high as 1,500 lbs. Kindly tell me if 
you have any record of a fish of that 
size caught in a fresh-water stream. 
Thanking you for any information you 
can give me, and best wishes for Forest 
and Stream. 
R. C. Hurley, Montana. 
A 1,500-Z&. sturgeon is not an impossi- 
bility, but the largest American sturgeon 
of zvliich zve can find definite record 
zveighed 1,000 lbs. It measured 10 ft. 
5 in. long and zvas taken in the Columbia 
River in 1911. [Editors.] 
TOO MANY SMELT 
Dear Forest and Stream : 
C EVERAL years ago Onota Lake, 
^ Pittsfield, Mass., was stocked with 
landlocked salmon. At the same time a 
quantity of smelt were also introduced 
to serve as food for the salmon. They 
probably did while the salmon lasted, 
but the latter also proved to be an ideal 
food for the pickerel already in the lake 
so that no sportsman ever made a catch 
of salmon. In the meantime the smelt 
multiplied enormously so that although 
there are many pickerel, large perch 
and large-mouth bass in the lake to-day 
they are so “fed up” that it is almost 
impossible to catch a worth-while mess 
of any kind of fish. 
The state fish and game commission 
therefore allowed the local Angler’s 
Club to attempt the extermination of 
the smelt. This has been accomplished 
by taking advantage of the fact that 
every spring for a period of about one 
week the smelt run up the brooks every 
night about ten o’clock for the purpose 
of spawning. Near the mouth of every 
brook entering the lake, except one, 
there was placed a screen which effect- 
ively prevented the fish from passing 
up the brooks to the spawning pools. In 
this one brook the screens were ar- 
ranged in the form of a V, with the 
apex of the V pointing up-stream but 
left open about 18 inches so that when 
swimming up the brook all the fish 
would be forced to pass through this 
opening. About fifty yards farther up- 
stream another screen was placed direct- 
ly across the brook, completely closing 
it, so that all smelt that passed into the 
long pool between the two screens were 
trapped. Millions of smelt were thus 
impounded and dipped out by game 
wardens who distributed the fish to all 
who cared to make a midnight trip to 
the brook. After each night’s run the 
bottom of the pool was raked over to 
destroy whatever spawn may have been 
deposited. 
A. II. Scott, Mass. 
THE “BASSINE” STORY 
Dear Forest and Stream : 
A FEW years ago I had the pleasure 
of catching in Lake Mahopac two 
large, small-mouthed bass, one weighing 
five the other five and one-half pounds. 
These bass made their home under a 
launch that was anchored in front of the 
Thompson House. An incident occurred 
just after I had landed the last fish 
about which I told many of my friends, 
and they have insisted on my publishing 
the story. Here it is: 
Disciples of Sir Isaac Walton, who 
lived at Lake Mahopac, and those visit- 
ing there, would daily try their luck on 
these two fish without success. Some 
of the would-be fishermen would lie on 
their stomachs on the launch for hours, 
trying to snare or induce them to bite 
by placing bait in front of them. Others 
had offered them all the newest and most 
tempting kinds of bait ; in fact, I am told 
that every conceivable kind of bass bait, 
artificial and natural, had been offered 
them, but they still remained in their 
home unhooked. 
I saw the proprietor of the hotel and 
said to him : “Would the people be pro- 
voked if I should catch one of these 
(Continued on page 556) 
In January 
The Monster Bear of Alaska, by John D. Thees — tells how a record brown bear was bagged last spring on the Alaska 
Peninsula. — Hunting and Fishing Presidents, by Alexander Stoddart, gives some interesting sidelights on what the 
outdoors meant to some of our greatest statesmen. How Big Fish Should Be Landed, by G. Horton Glover, and 
Methods of Winter Fishing, by Robert Page Lincoln, will interest fishermen. Black John, by /. Z. McConnell. 
a great dog story. Where to Go in January — tells the sportsman what he wants to know. Sixteen additional pages. 
