FOREST AND STREAM 
761 
strike and implant the barb by a moderate up¬ 
ward snap of the wrist and forearm. Quickness 
is a prominent characteristic of the brook trout, 
and the angler should strike promptly as soon 
as his flies disappear below the surface. To 
wait until you feel the strike of the fish on the 
line is to court failure, for the fish then has had 
time to eject the fly. 
If your rod and tackle are suited for brook 
fishing, the trout must be played before bringing 
him to net, and the one thing to keep in mind 
is ever to keep a taut line, and tip well up, to 
bring a steady tension on the fish. At the first 
break for liberty give him a free reel, and when 
checking his run do so with the forefinger of the 
reel hand, by nipping the line on the rod. In case 
your cast has been made at a disadvantage to 
yourself, endeavor to lead the trout into deeper 
water away from snags. If you are a devotee 
of light tackle, and should have the good fortune 
to hook a big'one, you will then experience the 
best sport that can fall to the rod. Clearly the 
angler is here placed at a disadvantage, and must 
call into being all Ms skill to keep his tackle 
intact. The fish must be humored and the line 
must be kept taut always, for the brook trout 
fights gamely until completely exhausted. When 
you have him tired out and within reach of the 
net, watch out for the final struggle, and should 
he dash off again give him the free reel rather 
than risk the strain on the fine leader. Have 
your net in readiness and slip it quietly under 
the fish, with as little fuss as possible. 
The sportsman will, of course, kill his fish as 
soon as captured, either by inserting the knife 
at junction of head and body, or by smartly rap¬ 
ping at the base of the head. To allow the fish 
to flop about in the basket and die by degrees is 
an unnecessary and unpardonable cruelty, of 
which every fisherman should be ashamed. If 
the trout are killed as soon as netted, and the 
creel is lined with moist moss or ferns, the catch 
will keep in splendid condition until the day’s 
sport is done. 
How About the Plain Fishes? 
The First Pike Perch Taken in Lake George Described 
By Peter Flint. 
There is so much to be said about this well 
known and handsome inhabitant of our Northern 
waters that one hardly knows where to begin. 
He is the first fish to delight the angler when, 
as a mere boy, he hooks and pulls one from 
among the graceful weeds and grasses of that 
watery kingdom, and he continues to be his main 
reliance when the strenuous days of boat-troll¬ 
ing and long rowing trips to the bass reefs are 
over, and advancing years make quiet punt fish¬ 
ing along shore his recreation. 
A great deal has 'been written about the 'habits 
of the perch and the methods and implements 
required for his capture. One can, therefore, 
hardly be expected to throw much additional 
light upon the subject in an article like this to 
those who have read deeply and studiously. 
There is, however, a certain amount of knowl¬ 
edge that clings to a man. as lit were, who has 
made a long and practical study of the habits 
of any fish or animal, and the results of the 
writer’s experience, therefore, may be of some 
benefit, especially to the more youthful read¬ 
ers of this journal. 
The yellow perch in our cold interior Adiron¬ 
dack lakes, where he - frequently now abounds, 
was not found there fifty years ago. Only lake 
and brook trout inhabited such waters. The 
French Canadians who settled in the clearings 
and made their little log cabanes in many moun¬ 
tain valleys, after the original forests had been 
cut off, knew how to make the most of local food 
conditions, and, as soon as game and trout be¬ 
gan to grow scarce in any locality, they would 
make pilgrimages to Lake Champlain, which was 
then fairly swarming with yellow-barred perch, 
bass, sunfish. sheephead, bullheads, suckers, pike, 
pickerel and pike perch. On such occasions, 
after a party had taken its winter supply of 
large fish by the use of the net and in other 
ways, it was customary to save a large quantity 
of the smaller ones, and transport them back to 
some pond or lake in a whiskey barrel filled with 
water, having a small opening sawed up in one 
end and fitted with a tight swinging cover. In 
this way many Adirondack ponds were stocked 
with all the fish, except trout, that abound there 
to-day. 
These fish thus introduced found conditions 
very much to their liking, and soon developed 
qualities not observed in their former habitat in 
the great lakes. For instance, in the matter of 
size, the perch introduced in Crane Pond, Essex 
County, run up to two pounds or more in weight. 
They are brilliant in coloration, and are invari¬ 
ably in good condition, the flesh never becoming 
soft or “wormy” there. The pike, too, immedi¬ 
ately changed in appearance. The scales became 
silvery and iridescent, like those of the salmon. 
The fish grew rounder and more graceful in out¬ 
line. And, as to its flesh, everyone notices that 
change first of all. From a rank, tough, taste¬ 
less substance it took on a delicious flaky texture 
when properly cooked. Its viscera, when exposed 
by the dressing-knife, were beautiful to the eye 
of science, fin white and colorations on a back¬ 
ground of solid pink flesh, caused by the con¬ 
sumption, some say, of craw-fish or other local 
foods. 
At Eagle Lake, Essex County, N. Y., in certain 
places perch of great size are frequently taken. 
I have in mind a fine specimen caught by a re¬ 
tired Brooklyn shipbuilder, which was quite four¬ 
teen inches in length, and that was, certainly, 
some perch. It was hooked two years ago, along 
with a lot of lesser lights, in the "Pork Barrel,” 
so called because the “high hook angler” of that 
lake could take “a wooden pailfull” of bass and 
perch there any day when all other anglers failed, 
even the most clever. When this wizard of the 
hand line and cane pole got his “landmarks” 
right and was anchored over that famous place, 
no one in his vicinity could get a bite, and, con¬ 
sequently, all went home in disgust. Being 
more sought than formerly, the perch, like his 
neighbor, the small-mouth bass, is becoming quite 
“finicky” there about his diet, it being now neces¬ 
sary to tempt him in the depths with chubs, 
shiners and even craw-fish, on account of his 
growing indifference to angleworms, upon which 
his lacustrine ancestors fed greedily. 
If one were asked to name the most popular 
local food fish in the Champlain Valley and the 
Adirondack foothills, he would probably say 
perch. There is no question that the “Champlain 
pike,” or pike perch, which is a true perch, as 
its spine-rayed dorsal fin and general shape dear¬ 
ly show, stands first, by reason of its deliciously 
sweet-flavored flesh. The modest bull-pout has 
also many admirers, particularly among the 
French, but there is always a slight muddy or 
rank taste to this fish, as well as the bass, that 
keeps them in about second place, the perch 
family leading. 
Of course, our yellow-mailed favorite comes 
in with his larger cousin, the pike perch, and 
the former's flesh is particularly agreeable to 
those who do not care for the peculiarly indi¬ 
vidual flavor of the brook trout, preferring a 
variety with the least possible “fishy taste.” This 
position the yellow perch will always retain when 
properly prepared for the table. Of all the 
smaller game fishes he is the most difficult, as 
well as the easiest, to “dress,” according to the 
knowledge of the angler or cook who has him 
in hand. When it is desired to pan fry or roast 
the larger perch he should be killed and scaled 
in the usual way the moment he comes from the 
water. Half a dozen of these handsome fellows, 
well larded and lying in a pan with their heads 
and tails on, of course, form a most appetizing 
sight when the oven door is opened. 
But best of all out-of-door dishes is fried 
yellow perch, killed and skinned “Indian fashion.” 
Take a live one of medium size by the head, 
holding it firmly near the eyes between the thumb 
and first and second fingers of the gloved left 
hand. Now, place the fish on its right side 
on a firm board or table and kill it instantly 
with a dexterous pass of a sharp pocket-knife, 
severing the backbone at the head. Then, with 
a sawing motion of the steel, neatly cut off the 
back fins, drawing the knife from tail to head. 
The skin will thus be broken along the entire 
back line. Then continue this cut, going just 
under the skin behind the gills on the right side 
of the fish, down to the middle of the breast. 
Now, with a turn of the wrist, place the left side 
on the board with the back toward you and con¬ 
tinue the cut, just under the skin, from the head 
down to the middle of the breast on the left 
side, just as you did on the right side. 
The perch is now ready to skin and dress. 
Holding it firmly by the head, gently loosen a 
bit of the skin on the right side, at 'the base 
of the skull, in the angle formed by this back 
cut and the slit on the right side, taking hold 
of this bit of skin between the knife point and 
the right thumb. Pull this skin a little gently at 
first and you can easily draw the overcoat, scales 
and all, down to the tail, fin on the right side. 
Turn the fish on the right side, belly toward you, 
and pull the left side skin in the same way. 
