27 , 1893 ] 
credit the augling public is left 
or their 
judge. 
the‘'S-tT migrations of fish in 
IN Orth Jisk—these being tlie sorins' the 
tlTfact’tr? ih® autumn migrations-buf from 
ine tact that the river is so productive of fish 
comh/^ of year when they are not 
distinffc 7n° It? ’ migrations, though 
are merged into one 
the sTmrJ® being exhausted when 
sum™ begins, and, similarly, the 
summer one not all over before the autumA one 
commence.s. The river is less famous for finnock 
^especTora^ S°"fb Esk, bufin 
and^Sh ^la bas a first-rate stock, I 
are Bv m size and very gamesome they 
n-PoVo fishers it is said thut their’^ 
to *be season would be from 31b. 
A 1 +u remarkable average. 
contain r fa?, North Esk still 
the fact tfi trout, notwithstanding 
them for many years past the majoritv of 
seZn^ bard plied by anglers during'the 
S fishiuf^ a best times for the different styles 
under entirely favourable con- 
fVio bardly any of the streams, exeept where 
th^^ t-ff eonstantly fished, will fail to yield to 
On th^esM baskets of trout, 
and fbe North Esk 
fishing W ‘waters will find plenty of 
little '"here not free there is, L a rule, 
courteoim permission provided 
courteous application is made. Heavy trout are 
m?nuu ^ bmg fine in the clear waters with the 
the AvZf w par-tail. These are got mainly in 
North E *^ba middle reaches of the 
i-Nortn Jtsk, whose long sweeps and wild roekv 
Hud *be smolts and par there 
b°au(bng m incredible numbers. 
a *be North Esk 
“Sights » is one of the noted 
distmTe f,r?® ®? ®^- *be district, and a short 
distance higher up the river are to be seen, within 
the romantic gorge of the lovely Burn Woods 
waterfall known as the 
muuo ^ and the—in the opinion of many—still 
more picturesque “Eocks of fSolitude.” The 
heH®Vr''?J yben the water is a particular 
fluid ‘^““pffteiy check the ascent of the 
anadromous Salmonidx to the farther inland 
reaches, and m no state of water will a spring 
fish, should It get forward, pass them until the 
isTeH^d b early summer, 
and ^l^^boby between the “Loups” 
the sea that the salmon angling in the 
wb?f?° obtained, the reaches farther inland, 
whether of much use or not for sport, bein? 
seldom indeed fished. “ 
flud^+t fisheries between Glenesk proper 
the^ ^be Dalhpusie (Lord Dalhousie’s), 
the Burn (Colonel Mclnroy’s , Delladies Stra- 
%■ ^l^“Pbell’s, M.P.), Pert and Gallery 
left hf Inglismaldie and Craigo 
!r? d a\ Nmtore’s), Balmakewan, Hatton 
(Lord Arbuthnott’s). Kirktonhill, Kintore.Crai?o 
Craigo, Morphie, and Charleston. The Craigo 
?rom^L!Zh ?°bb banks, and the Morphie also 
irom both banks, are by a long way the most 
productive fisheries of the lot in the aut?mn 
"^ben fished judiciously 
S m-ddi capable rods, as many fish after 
in 1 of September as any other fisheries 
fbc same extent. 
^tTi? f?^*b®usie, the Burn, the Delladies, the 
Stracathro, the Pert, and the Inglismaldie reaches 
are the best during summer for yielding to the 
rod sport with any sea-trout, grilse, or small 
salmon that may manage with the spates and 
during the weekly slap to run the river without 
being caught by the netters. 
The only hotel that has salmon angling on the 
river is the Panmure Arms at Edzell, in connec- 
J^'*b which the Delladies section may be 
fished m summer and autumn with a chance of 
tDlerable success when the water is all right. 
I he trouting flies for the North Esk and 
tributary streams are of ihe ordinary sort, used 
most commonly on all north-east and northern 
trouting waters of Scotland for stream and 
river trout; but there are two or three local 
ones which are at times esteemed the best, and 
these. It may be mentioned, the stranger can 
hive by applying to Mr. David Murray, tackle 
THE FISHING GAZETTE 
maker, Brechin, who is the great fly artificer for 
the streams and lochs of the county, 
d salmon, the minnow and the gudgeon are 
deadly North Esk lures in autumn ; prawn worS 
remarkably well when the conditions are per- 
^ ior It. Devon kills; as also does 
Ehantom; m fact anything will kill at times 
while occasionally nothing but the Plunger or 
Liapplesaul fly ‘'jerked into the ribs of him ” 
will work-so many say. The flies most to be 
Doctor, Dalhousie, 
Member, Carnegie, Bed Eover. Campbell, 
b^ightning. Dusty IHller, 
®'^”b®ld, and Silver Grey. If restricted to four 
out ot this list the writer would take the Silver 
Doctor, the Dusty Miller, the Member, and the Bed 
Bover. Sizes range from number six for small clear 
watei in September to the very largest sizes for big 
®"n°r®l'^''‘;®”*be second half of October, 
f,.- nff IS a splendid river, with a 
frightfully unenviable reputation. Its salmon, 
tor the netters, are trapped by dykes; and they 
are grappled wholesale by anglers with infernal 
^vi®+u®^’- sickening to think of it • 
all this IS enough, nay, more than enough, to take 
the whole poetry out of the business 
In character the North Esk-as has previously 
been said-m the main is a model salmon river, 
tor it possesses every variety of water—strong 
rock-girt currents, deep slow pools, ripplino' 
streams shelving rock-hazards, and surface” 
curled, boulder-bottomed flats, together with a 
I tar greater range in the aggregate of the 
perfection of spawning ground than is to be 
met with in the same extent of water in any 
other river in the country. Truly a fine river 
It IS, but like the “ Meadow Brook" (in the 
language of the poet)— 
“ It fills as long as falls the rain. 
In drought its springs soon dry again.’* 
And thus it is that throughout the minor part of 
Its extent, to which by reason of one natural and 
tiv® artificial obstructions the salmon angling is 
confined and only had for two short months in 
the whole year, it is fickle in its yield of sport, 
iill past the charming village of Edzell, a little 
over halt-way to the sea, it resembles the “ Water 
from Ladore” . . . “ with its rapid course 
and steep descent ; and after a great thunder 
aag on the mountains, or a night’s or day’s 
heavy rain, it is nothing unusual to see it come 
tearing down over its rocky bed in a “bore” 
4tt. or 4tt. breast high—a perfect chromatic 
turmoil ot water, red as the red sandstone 
mrrnation over and through which for miles it 
has torn its way with deafening roar, resounding 
through the lovely woods of the Burn, startling 
the kestrel from the crags of the dark “ Mooran ” 
0 ^ 1 - the echoes of the far-famed “ Bocks 
ot bolitude.” 
389 
TROUT FISHING IN MICHIGAN. 
Br Dtt. Heneage Gibbe.s, Ann Arbor. 
Beceiving the Fishing Gazette every week, and 
reading the articles with the greatest interest 
especially the accounts of Scotch salmon fishiuo-’ 
in rivers with which I am well acquainted, B 
occurred to me thai. a short account of the trout 
and bass fishing hero might be of interest to 
ttnghsh readers. I may mention that I came 
over here from London five years ago to establish 
a new chair in the medical department of the 
State University, and in that time I have made 
myselt tolerably conversant with the fishing 
throughout this state. There are one or two 
points where the tackle used here differs from 
that in England, one of which is in the weio-ht 
of the rods, many here using a fly-rod weighmo- 
about four ounces; this is, however, a mere faiT, 
and practical men after a time come down to a 
rod of sensible weight. There is, however, one 
thing m which the Americans excel us, and that 
IS the ferule. I have a number of English rods, 
but never use them. I have never known a joint 
throw out ill an American rod made by a good 
man. Split cane is made up here in perfection, 
and no one could wish for a better rod than one 
of Leonard's cr C. Forvis’. The American reel is 
much lighter than the English owing to the use of 
ebonite in its construction; it is also much more 
expensive, and not so durable. They tie all the 
flies here on 4-inch gut, each with a loop, and the 
casts have loops for attaching the Hies, they are 
also used larger than in England, and taken alto¬ 
gether do not suit a man like myself, brought up 
''’® ^ "’y flies from 
James Ogden, who has supplied me for more than 
wenty years, and these are much admired. I use 
a large number every season in consequence. 
hflUfl frn 1^^^® part of this state 
F?Jh P ^ file”’.'n'^stly planted by the State 
I ish Lommission ; m several of them grayling are 
thl°t 1 liave fished 
that will compare favourably with any trout river 
in Devonshire or North Wales, as far as fish go, 
and, in addition to a good basket of trout and 
grayling, there is always the chance of getting a 
rainbow trout. These magnificent fish run up to 
olb. or 61b., and one of 31b. to 61b. will give as 
much sport as a fresh run salmon of 181b. or 201b ■ 
^‘!^® in tiieir action when 
hooked, and take the whole pool to play in I 
mean, of course, taking the difference in size of 
rod and line in each case into consideration, 
iher® are, however, drawbacks to the pleasure of 
are happily free from in 
Lngland. One of these is the heat, which is 
ntense, and one has to wear long waders, as once 
to ¥^® f° no bank 
to walk on. The modus operandi is this : havino- 
taken up your abode at the nearest smafl 
town, you get a team and drive to the 
nearest road bridge to the part you want to fish. 
1 ou then carefully calculate the time it will take 
you to fish to the next bridge, and order your 
team to meet you there. Some of these bridc^es 
are many miles apart, and then you have to (fnd 
a point where it is possible for a team to get at 
the river. When you are once in the river, there 
you have to stay, as the banks are so thickl y over¬ 
grown It IS impossible to get along on them, and 
the country is entirely wild and uncultivated. 
I rom the time you start until you reach your team 
again you are absolutely and entirely ah.ne ; vou 
niay see a deer or bear come down 'o drink, but 
It IS rare to meet another fisherman if you go anv 
distance from a town. You are not entirely alone, 
however, the flies are always with you, black flies 
during the day, and mosquitoes if the weather is 
damp all day, and m the evening they come round 
you iiimillions; in addition to these there is a small 
ny, the no-see-um, which comes out in the evenino- 
and literally covers you. To endure these pests 
nearly everyone IS obliged to use what is called 
dope, a mixture in which oil of pennyroyal is 
the principal ingredient. I am, however, little 
affected by these flies, a long residence in India 
and Ghina having tanned ray hide, so that beyond 
the nuisance of the buzzing mosquitoes, I do not 
mind them much. The little no-see-ums are the 
worst for me, as they sting sharply at the time, 
although even black flies leave no mark. I have 
seen m®n, however, with their eyes closed from 
®c 1°^ f^®®® this 
that the fishinghere has its drawbacks, but after all 
overlooking these little discomforts, what greater 
pleasure can there be than a fine day, a good 
river with a good bottom for wading, plenty of 
rises, and the chance of at anytime hooking a 
lour or five-pounderThe only thing that I 
know that can beat it is a stretch of the Scotch 
Dee betw®en Aboyne and Bmchory in spring, 
, p,®, fishing on Don in September 
and October for salmon, but then Scotch salmon 
fishing IS just heaven. Black bass fishino'with 
i le fly IS capital sport, the fish are game, aiiu take 
readily at certain seasons They run to a good 
size, and I often in an afternoon’s fishing get 
eighteen or twenty weighing from 201b. to 301b 
they run generally from 11b. to 51b., smaller than 
this I always return to the river. I use a split 
cane lift, rod, and salnio?.i flies which I get from 
Scotland. 1 like them much better than the bass 
flies made in this country. Wehave a splendid river 
here for bass fly-fishing, but it is all deep wading 
It you want large fish, and this makes it verv 
warm work in the summer when the thermometer 
often goes overOOdcg. Still, it is fishing, and this 
compensates for any amount of weary routine work. 
A PAPER entitled “A Waltonian Sunday” will 
be read before the United Brothers at their club¬ 
house, Druid’s Head, Broadway, Deptford, on 
e^®ning next (May 28;, by Mr. E. S 
Shrubsole. Some sacred songs will follow the 
reading. The chair will be taken at 8.30. 
