FOREST AND STREAM 
34J 
flies with poor success, until at last one morn¬ 
ing he entered my office in triumph. 
“You have got it now,” he said. “They will 
take this every time.” In his hand was the fly, 
dressed in a number six sproat hook. At once 
we arranged for a thorough trial upon the first 
holiday. 
Meanwhile I tried quite a bunch of the flies, 
but knowing that red had always been considered 
a good color for bass, I made a number of the 
flies with red bodies, although identical in other 
respects. We made up a party of six and voy¬ 
aged to waters said to be well supplied with 
bass. It was a rarely beautiful day, but for a 
time things were a bit slow, although I took a 
few fish. Then the bass began to feed and the 
sport became very exciting. 
We fished together and the fish rose at every 
cast. They took the new fly exclusively. The 
red-bodied flies on the same casts were entirely 
neglected by the bass, but a few perch rose at 
them. We quit fishing after killing 118 fish, 85 
of which were fine bass. On the way to the boat 
we followed the banks of a wide canal, through 
which the dark, clear water was flowing rapidly. 
At intervals a good bass would be seen to strike 
at something; the heavy loads of fish would be 
put down and I would cast to the bass. I think 
I took every one we saw. But all refused the 
fly with red body and not one bass was taken 
upon it. 
I could quote many instances when the color of 
fly and its resemblance to the natural made all 
the difference between success and failure. In 
some cases the other man had the fly and filled 
his basket, while I took a few small trout. In 
others I had the fly and remember convincing 
some quite obstinate unbelievers. 
Then I had a large quantity of evidence per¬ 
taining to salmon flies, as for a number of years 
I gave a few special patterns to friends and, in 
fact, to all anglers who would use them on both 
sides of the Atlantic. But the difficulties in ob¬ 
taining materials were great, even twenty years 
ago, and making intricate copies of salmon flies 
requires much time and close attention. 
Years ago there were a good many first-rate 
salmon fly dressers in New York, Philadelphia 
and Boston, usually English or Irish, and they 
made a fair living. Their trout flies sold for 
$1.50 or more a dozen, and salmon flies from 
$6.00 to $9.00 a dozen. Nowadays fishing tackle 
manufacturers find difficulty in securing and 
keeping good fly tyers, for as the remuneration is 
small, they are apt to seek other employment. 
But in Great Britain it is different. Such a 
large number of men and women have been care¬ 
fully trained and make their living by it, that 
any law seriously interfering with the supply of 
materials would cause great distress. As a mat¬ 
ter of fact, outside of game birds, ducks, tur¬ 
keys, guinea fowls, swans and cocks, the list of 
birds whose plumage is necessary for all the best 
standard patterns is a short one. Indian Crow, 
Toucan, Maceaw, Ibis, Jungle Fowl (game bird, 
wild chicken), Bustard (game bird), Blue Chat¬ 
terer, will nearly cover it, in spite of the many 
tropical birds mentioned in all of the old books 
on salmon fly dressing. 
What we need is not hot controversy, but com¬ 
mon sense and reasonable, considerate action for 
humanity. We love birds, but the important and 
most useful ones are to be found at home, and 
not in jungles and swamps. 
A campaign against cats, particularly during 
the breeding season, would save the lives of an 
immense number of the birds that add so much 
to the beauty and' charm of the country. 
As one grows older he becomes more and more 
disinclined to take life from any creature. This 
may in part be due to a realization of the short¬ 
ness of our own time upon earth, but in the main 
EXPERT ANGLER, THOUGH BLIND. 
Randolph, Vt., March 3, 1914. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Sheridan’s fight at Five Forks, Va., April 1st, 
1865, caused the total loss of sight of my left 
eye and injury to my right. At times I can see 
a little and other times is dark to me. One 
would hardly think that a man that could not see 
his rod would enjoy fishing. I have spent many 
a day in that condition and hardly think of my 
infirmity. I have caught many a go*od fish when 
I could not see my rod or landing net. All the 
help I had in catching many a good bass was to 
tow my boat to the reef and come after me at 
night. It takes some guessing for a man that 
can hardly tell day from night to secure a three- 
and-one-half-pound bass with a light rig. 
J. E. ELDREDGE. 
CLOSED SEASON ON PICKEREL. 
Game Warden James T. Hatch, of Springfield, 
Mass., recently issued a warning to local sports¬ 
men regarding the closed season on pickerel 
which began on March rst. He said that for 
every pickerel found in their possession after 
that date they would be liable to a penalty of 
$10. Last year was the first in which there was 
a closed season on pickerel. The fishermen were 
a little slow to realize that there had been a 
change and the authorities were therefore easy 
on them, but this year the law is to be strictly 
enforced. 
It is reported that the movement for the win- 
to greater sympathy and tenderness of heart for 
all things that breathe the breath of life. But 
we must think first of our fellows, and there is 
a vast field of effort open for all real lovers of 
humanity. 
Foreign birds should be preserved from ex¬ 
tinction by reasonable restrictive laws, but they 
should serve man, even if they have handsome 
plumage. 
ter feeding of game birds is meeting with wide¬ 
spread interest in that locality, and that far¬ 
mers especially have been lending their assist¬ 
ance in a practical and effective manner. 
VALUE OF FISH AND GAME. 
At a recent meeting of the Bennington, Vt.. 
Merchants’ Association, John W. Titcomb spoke 
of the economic side of the fish and game ques¬ 
tion. He referred to the fact that the fish and 
game of the state whenever regarded as an asset 
are considered solely as a bait for summer visi¬ 
tors and residents. He was willing to admit 
that they are of inestimable value in that way, but 
went on to prove that bringing visitors into the 
state is not the only economic merit. He figured 
that the annual trout catch for the state amounted 
to about 200,000 pounds, which at fifty cents a 
pound would amount to $100,000. The total value 
of the annual fish harvest he placed at $250,000. 
The total value of the animals and water birds 
shot in one year was estimated at about the same 
figure. 
FISH FRY IN MINNESOTA. 
A report from A. W. Kutzy, of the Rochester 
(Minn.) Game and Fish League, shows that dur¬ 
ing 1913 local fishermen distributed 126,000 brook 
trout fry, 24,000 wall-eyed pike fry, 1,200 yellow' 
perch fry, 600 sunfish fry, 300 rock bass fry, 2,800 
black bass fry and 1,400 croppie fry. Various 
locatoins throughout Olmsted county were judi¬ 
ciously selected and stocked. 
On the Portage. 
