FOREST AND STREAM 
329 
Movements of the Fishing Fleet. -T he news from the 
mackerel fleet is not favorable, and it begins to be feared that 
= slipped by while our vessels were seeking them at 
the Smnh Seven arrivals reported the present week but the 
recehrts will not exceed 100 bbls.; several vessels report 
Se to seines and seine-boats, aud none have paid their 
tav g A few mackerel have been taken at Gape Cod by weirs 
3 ■ ( i m ,r_net 3 . and 11,000 fresh were sent to doston Monday ; 
luree schools were reported off Cape Cod last week, but no 
vessels there to take them. Harwich reports four arrivals, 
one with 80 bbls., one with 40 bbls., and two with none. 
Nothing of consequence has been done on the Nova Scotia 
shore. The Georges fleet are meeting with rather better suc- 
cess and the shore fishermen continue to do well so far as the 
catch is concerned. The number of Georges arrivals the past 
week has been 40, and the receipts 800,000 lbs. codfish. 
Twelve Bank arrivals have been reported, bringing 2J5,0UU 
lbs. halibut. Whole number fishing arrivals for the week, 
59.-6 ’ape Ann Advertiser, May 24. 
Connecticut — New Haven, May 23. — Kingsley, the 
market man, opposite the Allyn House, exhibited yesterday, 
in front of his place, a striped bass that weighed 60* pounds, 
measured four feet in length, and two feet eight inches in 
girth. It was caught by O. Hubbard at Haddam in a shad 
seine. 
Rhode Island— Newport, May 24. — Six thousand barrels of 
porgies were caught off this place to-day. 
The A r>T rond auks — Saranac Lake, May 20.— Here again 
for the ninth year, and find many of the sportsmen here. We 
left New York May 11, arrived at Port Kent 5:10 a. m. on the 
12th, stage to Keeseville, and after having breakfast at the 
Adriondacks we started with one of Harper’s covered teams 
for Martin’s, thence to Bartlett’s Sportsmen’s home at this 
place. And all the care which we could ask for is bestowed 
with a grace here that makes it a pleasure, almost, to 
be sick. This is undoubtedly the pleasantest house and loca- 
tion in the woods. And such trout as we caught in the upper 
Saranac Lake this year ! I have seen three that would weigh 
20 pounds each, one 26, aud many 18, 16 aud down to 10. 
Dr. Romeyn having caught one 15, 16, 20, 11*. 10 and a good 
many between 10 and 6 pounds each. Mr. John W. Mason 
caught, on May 15th, three trout, one 26, 20 and 8 pounds each. 
Cyrus Currier, of Newark, one 15 pounds; Mr. Seeley, of 
Scotch Plains, 12$, 10, and lost one that would weigh at least 
20 pounds. Weather has been fine. Had season at least one 
month earlier. There is now at Bartlett’s Cyrus Currier, of 
Newark ; E. A. Seely, of Scotch Plains ; Dr. J. R. Romeyn, 
of Keeseville, N. Y.; W. W. Winchester, of New Haven ; Col. 
T. J. Hoyt, of New York ; Geo. E. Hart, of Newark, 
N. J. Vice-President Wheeler will be here on Thursday 
of this week. H. E. G. 
May 28, 1878.— Vice-President Wheeler, accompanied by 
Mrs. President Hayes and daughter, and Mrs. Dr. Woodford, 
of Washington, are at present at Bartlett’s on the Upper Sar- 
anac. They reached the Woods via Meacham Lake and Paul 
Smith’s. Already they have taken quite a number of trout, 
Mrs. Woodford taking one weighing 14 lbs. At Bartlett's I 
find also registered Col. T. J. Hoyt and Mr. Fred J. Phillips, 
of New York; Mr. W. W. Winchester, of New Haven ; Dr. 
J. R. Romeyn, of Keeseville, N. Y.; Mr. G. E. Hart, of New- 
ark, N. J., and the Smith party of Buffalo, N. Y. Trolling is 
excellent. Mr. Penfold, of New York, is at Second Pond. 
Romcyn-Hoyt party have been very successful in taking 
trout, trolling. The catch in large trout has never been 
equalled. Very few in the woods. Flies— the pest of the 
angler— have already commenced their blood sucking opera- 
tions. The Upper Saranac is full of set lines aud trout are 
taken from them in large quantities. D. B. 
Bunkeb Fishing at Shelter Island.— Shelter Island, May 
2i.—The bunker fishing up to the 19th has been good, though 
not as successful as in the two or three weeks preceding. The 
steamers have done much better than the fishing vessels. One 
factory has been catching more fish than could be attended to, 
so on the 18th they gave away 60,000 to an adjoining factory. 
These factories employ at the work from fifteen to twenty-five 
men each, who have at times to work day and night at this 
labor, which is very severe. The fish, on the arrival of the 
vessel, are hoisted to the wharf, removed on a short railway 
to the works, and then placed in large vats, where the oil is 
boiled and pressed out of them into barrels to be sent to New 
York market. The present price is about thirty cents per 
gallon ; and, as 1,000 fish will now produce four gallons of 
oil, you will perceive that the business is very remunerative, 
especially when one steamer can take some 700,000 per week. 
After the oil is pressed out the residue (called scraps) is placed 
on large platforms to dry, being turned over by a harrow to 
hasten the process. These scraps will sell for about $12 per 
ton, and are sold in large quantities for manure. Large quan- 
tities of them are sold to other factories, where they are ground 
to a fine powder and sold as an excellent fertilizer at the rate of 
about $30 per ton. This article is not considered equal in 
strength to the Peruvian guano, which is sold at about $50 per 
ton. Still it is a powerful fertilizer and is in very great de- 
mand. Each fish vessel has a gang of seven or eight men, 
with two large row boats in which the big seines for sur- 
rounding the fish are carried, being towed by the vessel. A 
man is always stationed in the rigging on the lookout for fish, 
and when a school is discovered the vessel is hove to. The 
two boats are hastily manned, the fish are taken, and the ves- 
sel returns at once to its factory. But the steamers have a 
great advantage, as they can push out to sea beyond Montauk, 
and even for miles along the south coast of Long Island, and 
return at any time, in any weather, to their factories. The 
steamers are built for this purpose, costing from $10,000 to 
$15,000 each. They have lately been taking besides the bunk- 
ers, large quantities ot bluefishand large sea porgies, and one of 
them brought in a large lot of codfish. The men depend for 
pay upon their share of the fish taken, like the mode adopted 
in whale ships. Isaao MoLellan. 
Fly Casting.— New York State Sportsmen’s Association ; 
C. C. Morse, of Rochester, and Geddes, of Syracuse, judges ; 
J. Hoekstra, referee. Trout fly-casting — Seth Green, Roches- 
ter, 70ft.; It. Wood, Syracuse, 69ft.; Ira Wood, Syracuse, 
65ft.; length of rod, 11 ft. Salmon fly-cast-ing— R. Wood, 
83ft.; Ira Wood, 78ft.; length of rod, 16ft. 
The Fly Casting at Buffalo.— 1 The following is an echo 
of -what is much talked of in angling circles : 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
For several years, I do not know how many, the first prize 
for fly casting at the meetings of the New York State Sports- 
men's Association has been won either by Seth Green or Reuben 
Wood, whom wo may term professionals. This year the 
former took the first and the latter took the second prize. I 
should think that a sense of self-respect would forbid them to 
enter when they know that their entries keep out competitors. 
I heard that they were to be barred out, and myself and friend 
went to Buffalo to enter for the contest. Neither of us has 
cast over sixty feet, but when we found the same old ring 
there on hand we knew there was no chance. If the associa- 
tion wish to give them prizes every year, they should let us 
know ; but if they wish to encourage fly -casting they go to 
work the wrong way. X. • 
New Jersey — Kinsey's Ashley House, May 25. — Yesterday 
Noah Taylor, of Jersey City, took 18 blueflsh. Blackfishand 
sea bass plenty and running large ; someas high as 4 lbs. N. 
Middleton and Hon. John Lesering, of yacht Sans Soucie, 
took 115 in two slaok waters. Sheepshead not bitin gyet^ 
Delaware Salmon.- -Mr. B. W. Richards, of Philadelphia, 
writes that a 24$ pound salmon was caught in the Delaware 
off Billingsport, N. J., on the 17th iust., aud another above 
Beverly, N. J., May 22, weighing 17 pounds. 
Maryland — Baltimore, May 24. — Lost week a party of five 
left Baltimore for a trout fishing expedition, via B. & O. R, 
R., to Webster, W. Va., where they embarked in wagons 
and proceeded overland to the head of the Elk River, in Poca- 
hontas County. The road was extremely rough and muddy, 
necessitating a portion of the journey to be made on foot. At 
the Elk River an encampment was made. The party hooked 
350 fine trout in one day’s work ; the second day was still bet- 
ter, 700 more of the princes of the finny tribe being captured. 
Many of the smaller fish were thrown back into tho river 
After another day of the pleasant sport the total amount 
was aggregated and numbered 1,200, making one of the most 
successful fishing excursions ever known on this Btream. The 
largest fish caught was nineteen inches long and weighing 
two and a quarter pounds ; fully one hundred of the fish were 
fifteen inches in length ; flies alone were used, and altogether 
the party, who are all experienced fishermen, pronounced it 
one of tbe most successful trout expeditions ever started. 
Tbaymore. 
The seven fish first named are the finest and iu the most de- 
mand in tho market. All are caught with hook. The red- 
horse is generally harpooned, aud the other larger fish are 
caught in wooden fl*h trays. 
We have in our State no fish law ; consequently every one 
has the right to seine, net or trap any fish without punlsh- 
meut ; but all our honest and good fishermen are in strong 
iavor that our next Legislature will make such a law, and 
prevent the wholesale slaughtering of fish, otherwise we will 
nave no fish, or very few, in five years from now iu these 
watera - W. Kellerman. 
25 — The Hon. Z. Chandler 
visited the Flats Thursday on the steam yacht Lillie, and 
caught the first bass of the seasou— a three pounder. 
Wisconsin.—' The following letter is from Ashland, Wis- 
consin. Ashland lies on an arm or bay of Lake Superior, 
and it is around the bold rocky shores of this bay that the 
much-talked-of “ rock fishing " is done and the immense trout 
are taken. The sandstone cliffs have been cut into by waves 
and riven by storms into all sorts of fantastic architectural 
forms ; and it is under Unnatural caves and around the frag- 
mentary rocks, which have become detatched and tumbled 
into the water at the base of the cliffs, that the angler finds 
abundant elbow room for casting and big trout to reward bis 
effort. Nowhere else can a man fish with such absolute com- 
fort and unconcern for his back line. The editor of the 
Forest and Stream wrote letters from this part of Lake Su- 
perior last year, and the help to notoriety which those letters 
gave may have aided in swelling the unusual number of visitors 
which our correspondent tells us have already gathered there. 
It will be seen from his letter that tho best season for trout 
fishing is from tho present date until tho end of June, though 
we have taken trout there at tho end of August. Many of 
our readers will be glad to receive tho information which his 
letter gives : 
Tennessee— Nashville, May 23.— Fish have begun biting 
again, and a number of fine ones have been caught. Three or 
four gentlemen took thirty pounds of bass in Orow Creek last 
Saturday, and some very nice black perch were caught in 
Mill Creek the same day. A small boy, with very poor tackle, 
succeeded in landing a bass in Mill Creek on Monday that 
weighed three and a half pounds. A gentleman from Clarks- 
ville reported to Col. Akers that last week his attention was 
called to a large school of fish in the Cumberland River near 
this place, that he believed upon close examination to be shad, 
and thinks that, were the fishermen provided with proper 
seines, a large number would have been taken this season. 
On last Saturday about one thousand pounds of fish from 
different parts were shipped from this place. J. D. H. 
Huntington, May 24. — Ernest Hawkins and Bill Hurt, at 
Jenkins’ Mill Pond on Crooked Creek, four miles north of 
town, Wednesday last, took 27 very flue fish, mostly trout 
and black and goggle-eye perch. They used live minnows for 
bait. Forester. 
Codfish on the Southern Coabt.— We are .indebted to 
Professor Spencer F. Baird for the following interesting com- 
munication recently received by the United States Commis- 
sion Fish and Fisheries, at Washington. Mr. J. M. Whitson, 
writing from Stumpy Point, Dare County, N. O., under date 
of April 30, 1878, says : 
The questions embraced in your circular do not very well 
apply to our part of the Atlantic coast. That part of the 
coast with which I am acquainted extends North aud South 
from Cape Henry, Va., to Ocracok, N. C. On this part of 
the coast, so profusely washed by the waters of the Atlantic, 
we have never known a single codfish to be taken till the pre- 
sent spring. Our principal fishing in this vicinity is the 
white shad fishing in the waters of the Pimlico Sound during 
the months of February, March aud April, and I think dur- 
ing the present spring about one dozen cod have been taken 
by our fishermeu from their shad nets, averaging about 5$ 
in. mesh. The writer is not prepared to say much about the 
quality of the cod taken in these waters, though others say 
they are finely flavored, the flesh being white and of very fine 
texture. I had the pleasure of catching but one the whole 
season out in company with my associate fisherman, who 
claimed the right of capture and therefore appropriated the 
prize to his own palate. Enough of this new visitor to our 
waters Las not yet been developed for us to give an accurate 
description of the time of its visitation, departure, size, etc. 
It would afford me great pleasure to be able to do bo, but 
must decline trying to do this at present. There are no cod- 
fisheries either off or in shore along this part of the western 
coast, therefore we possess but very meagre ideas about this 
species of fish, but we may be able to approximate truthful 
statistics at some future time. 
Mississippi — Aberdeen, May 20. — The fishing season has 
opened and is in full blast. We have some fine fishing 
B laces, as Twin, Horseshoe and Dead River lakes, and the 
uttahathie, Tipsey and Bull Mountain rivers. Those three 
latter are clear crystal water mountain streams, well adapted 
for fly and trolling fishing, and filled abundantly with trout, 
white perch, bream and other game fish. All the mentioned 
lakes and streams empty their waters into the rather muddy 
Tombigbee River. Bream abound in all adjacent lakes and 
rivers. White perch are plentiful in the rivers, and most 
abundant in the lakes. Dominick perch not so plentiful as 
the white perch, but frequently taken while fishing for white 
perch. Trout (black bass) iu all our lakes and rivers ; 6ome 
reach as high as 10, 12 and 14 lbs. Channel cat found 
abundantly in our nvers. Drum are very abundant in the 
Tombigbee River ; largest sizes from 10 to 20 lbs. Blue and 
yellow cat are taken both in lakes and rivers, and largest size 
caught here are 85 lbs. Bhovel bill cat— Taken both in lakes 
and rivers in nets and traps; they rarely bite at hook on ac- 
count of their long bill ; from 10 to 50 lbs weight. Buffalo 
abounding in the rivers ; largest weight 28 to 30 lbs. Sucker 
not numerous, but frequently taken from 6 to 8 lbs. Eel in 
great numbers in rivers and creeks, from 3 to 5ft. long. Red- 
horse in great schools during the spawning season (March, 
April and May); taken mostly with the gig; average 
weight 5 lbs. Sturgeon, though not especially sought for, are 
occasionally taken on the shoal trap a few miles above Aber- 
deen. Tho largest last season pulled down 400 lbs avoirdu- 
pois. Soft-shell turtle are caught chiefly in our rivers ; aver- 
age weight 10 to 20 lbs ; largest size 40 to 50 lbs. 
Ashland, Slay 1T.-We had a very early spring— la faot, unprecedent- 
ed, the rivers and bay opening tho 11th of March, the usual time 
being the last of April. So far, very few trout have been taken, though 
the streams have been In good ordor for Ashing the post three weeks. 
1 tried Fish Creek this week and look about SOibs. with mlnuows and 
Ales, but am satlsUed that the trout are up tho streams, as they (In this 
vicinity) descend after tho suckers have spawncd-ln faot, the trout 
follow tho suokers down. I soo quite a number of Buckirs In tho 
streams, but am satlsacrl they have not spawned yet, which shows that 
an early opening of the streams does not afreet the suokers. 
I also tried the rock Ashing, but with poor aucoess, only taking rive 
trout, the largest ono pound. Wo had a strong south wind, whluh 
troubled tbe waters rather too much around and under tho rocks to 
have good Ashing. I think after tho trout descend tho streams thoy 
visit this rocky coast. Taking all things In consideration, tnu luat of 
June, or from tho aotli, would probably bo a good time for Ashing. 
If I am not mistaken, It was about tho mlddlo of Juue wo had tho best 
Asblug last year, aud tho early season may chango tho time aud make 
tho 1st to the lBth the best this yoar. Wo havo had qulto a number of 
arrivals already, and some very Ane trout taken from our streams aud 
around tbe rocks. From all accounts wo shall have u large number of 
tourists this season. Our hotel, the Ohequamcgon, has now a Uno bil- 
liard bull, Ashing boats, yachts and experienced weu to run the sumo. 
We are expecting aoo editors to visit Ashland on tho imu of Juno. Tho 
Wisconsin Central R. R. run trains In hero at 0 p. u.; leaves hero ut T 
A. M. E. F. P. 
Idaho— Oceur D'Alene Lake, May 2.— I am now at Cceur 
D'Alene Lake, Idaho, thirty-seven and a hulf miles north- 
west of Spokan Falls, and just over the Idaho hue. The 
Spokan River is the outlet of the luke, and starts full grown 
one hundred yards wide at this season of high water, about 
ten feet deep, and with a very swift current. Couer D'AJeue 
Lake is about thirty miles long by two and a half broad, and 
is one of the most beautiful sheets of water 1 ever saw. Our 
camp is beautifully located on the shore of the lake, and I go 
to sleep every night lulled by the ripple on tho Bandy beach 
just back of my tent. The trout are beginning to Jump, but 
they take the fly with reluctance. The season is much later 
here than at Spokan Falls, and we have ice almost every 
night. Three or four nights ago it froze an inch thick. I 
have been fishing two or three times, aud hud fair luck, get- 
ting mostly Btnall fish. The big fellows are still out in tho 
depths of tho lake or the river, for one of our officers wed 
down the river bank a few days ago and saw a fine one leap. 
He said it made as much noise and splash as it fell back into 
the water as if a baby had been thrown in. 
May 8.— We also caught a trout which weighed exactly 
nine pounds, and so far as wo could ascertain by books or re- 
collect from personal experience— and there are several old 
trout fishers from Maine aud New York here— ho was a genu- 
ine Salmo fontinaUs, or brook trout. Tho markings were 
perfect. I mention this as an item in the trout question on 
this coast. I thought the head a little more pointed and 
the nose sharper, but the others did not agree. 
Monmouth. 
California— San Francisco. May 18.— Have just returned 
from a fishing trip in Mendocino County. Found fishing su- 
perb, though running rather small on account of too much 
water. No end to trout in all the streams I fished. Caught 
over COO in a trifle over three days’ fishing, the lurgcst weigh- 
ing 1 lb. 6 oz., all taken with a yellow-jacket and coachman 
flies. e. T. D. 
Whitebait.— We stated that before long all tho ichthyological 
facts in regard to whitebait would be determined! Dr. Bean, 
of the Smithsonian, writes tho following as to the mixture of 
fish in whitebait : 
“ The whitebait are partly alcwives and partly sea shad 
( Pomolobus mediocris). I thought there were some true 
shad amoDg them, but they proved to be P. mediocris. You 
may readily separate P. mediocris from the alewives by no- 
ticing that they havo the eye slightly smaller, the snout a 
little longer, and the number of abdominal scutes always 
greater. We have not before noticed tbe unmistakable young 
of Pomolobus mediooris. 6 
A Beautiful Trout Picture.— Mr. Robert Wiseman 
artist, ot New Haven, Conn., has presented to us tor exhibi- 
tion a very creditable painting of a half-pound trout, life size. 
The fish is represented aa rearing on the folds of the landing 
net which haa just lifted him from the water, surrounded by 
