168 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Feb. 8, 1913 
Out of Doors in Canada 
Some of the Best Bass and Musky Waters in Ontario 
and How to Reach Them 
One of a series to run in Forest and Stream during the year. 
By S. E. SANGSTER (CANUCK) 
old original fellow, with me, and well on in the 
afternoon he began to make queer motions as 
we came up to the trunk of a fallen large elm 
tree. Before I had time to change my shells, 
from the top of this old tree the gobbler burst 
forth like a cyclone. I made a quick snapshot 
at his head and neck and luckily filled him full 
of No. 7 shot, for down he came with a thud 
and old Bob went to him and tried to fetch 
him to me, but the thrashing and beating of his 
wings pounded the dog, so it was some time 
before he could get hold of him at all. My com¬ 
panion and I let out a war whoop that could 
have been heard for miles. He was a magnifi¬ 
cent bird with a beard nearly eight inches long 
and the colors of the rainbow are painted in 
bronze in his plumage to this day. 
We had to take turns lugging our game. 
Four partridges, the ammunition in our pockets 
and a turkey weighing nearly twenty-four 
pounds and a cross country tramp of a couple 
or three miles to make a train we had none too 
much time to meet, about tuckered us out. 
A letter from Bert Beach to-day reminds 
me of this shooting episode. He is in far off 
Arizona and says that somehow or other the 
shooting in these days is not like it used to be, 
a sentiment to which I thoroughly subscribe. 
Fly Campaign. 
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 27.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The house fly is not the only serious of¬ 
fender, since recent investigations show that the 
common biting stable fly is a carrier, possibly 
the usual carrier, of infantile paralysis. This re¬ 
cent addition to the list of man's known enemies 
breeds under much the same conditions as the 
house fly, though displaying a marked prefer¬ 
ence for strawy wastes. 
A successful fly campaign must depend 
largely upon a general appreciation of the unde¬ 
sirable character of flies and a widespread recog¬ 
nition of the practicability of suppressing the 
pest. Only about a decade ago it was considered 
impossible to control the salt marsh mosquito. 
The seemingly impossible of yesterday is being 
done to-day, and at no very great expense. The 
history of the house fly will duplicate that of 
the mosquito in large measure as soon as com¬ 
munities realize the vital advantages of generally 
abandoning middle age methods of caring for 
manure from the stable and wastes from the 
house. The overabundance of flies about many 
dwellings is proof of the excellent provision un¬ 
thinkingly made for these filthy insects. The fly 
campaign must be accompanied by a reformation 
of certain unsanitary practices in regard to the 
disposal of domestic wastes or by-products and 
should be supplemented by local health ordi¬ 
nances prohibiting under penalty the mainte¬ 
nance of fly breeding conditions. The actual 
work against flies in a community should be 
preceded by vigorous efforts along educational 
lines for the purpose of securing intelligent and 
general co-operation. This latter is very im¬ 
portant and may well begin at once if results 
are to be obtained next summer. 
E. P. Felt, State Entomologist. 
Forest and Stream is edited exclusively for 
the sportsman. There is no other publication 
like it in existence. It contains something of 
more than ordinary interest in each issue. 
T he Province of Ontario offers the choicest 
waters of all Canada for those anglers 
whose favorite game fish is either the 
musky—over here called the lunge—and the 
small-mouth black bass. There are other waters, 
here and there, that can produce some good 
lunge, but, taken as a whole, the lakes and rivers 
of Ontario stand par excellence. 
Down along the front, in the waters of the 
St. Lawrence River are found some mighty big 
muskies, the record fish in 1911 and 1912 com¬ 
ing from there, notably around Stanley Island, 
below Cornwall, and also in Hay Bay, above 
Belleville. There is a plenty of good hotel ac¬ 
commodation here available, and good guides 
and comfortable skiffs and motor boats are lo¬ 
cated without any trouble. 
The French River, together with its con¬ 
fluent, the Pickerel, offers a splendid combina¬ 
tion trip of canoe cruising, and both musky and 
bass fishing of the real kind. This is as yet 
essentially a camping proposition, and one 
would have to outfit at either North Bay, thence 
crossing the lake (Nipissing) by a small 
steamer, and putting in at the headwaters, or 
else getting off the train where it crosses the 
French, putting in just below the railway 
bridge. Some mighty big lunge have been 
taken from the French waters, a number over 
thirty'- pounds and a few over forty. Bass run 
well around 3 J 4 to 4Y2 pounds. Both species 
are still plentiful and yield all the fight their 
reputation accords them. 
Lying between the little villages of Cobo- 
conk, at the northwest corner, and Lakefield at 
the “other,” lie some twelve beautiful little 
lakes that offer a splendid proposition for a 
canoeing and fishing trip, yet having several 
very comfortable little inns where accommoda¬ 
tion may be had for any little fishing stop¬ 
overs desired. Primarily, I would make special 
mention of several of the best points, although 
fishing is good as a whole throughout. The 
Kawartha Lakes, as this system of connected 
waters is known, has been aptly so termed, for 
the Indian word “Kawartha” means “Happy 
Lands and Bright Waters.” From an experi¬ 
ence extending over a number of years and re¬ 
peated visits, I would say that the best all-round 
fishing may be had at either Buckhorn Falls, 
on Buckhorn Lake, or in Cameron and Balsam 
Lake, while Pigeon Lake, particularly the 
lower end, beyond Gannon’s Narrows, still 
produces some fine lunge. 
Reached from Peterborough and Lakefield, 
thence by steamer through Stony Lake to 
Burleigh, I would suggest the canoeist “put 
in’.’ above the locks here and paddle through 
Lovesick Lake and Deer Bay, up the narrows 
of Buckhorn to Buckhorn Falls at “Hall’s 
Biidge.” Here is a very cosy little inn where 
chirges are moderate and the board whole- 
so yie, and the fishing for lunge and both large- 
an 3 small-mouth bass is of the best. Another 
method of reaching this point is by road from 
Peterborough—some fourteen miles. Continu¬ 
ing from here, the party would paddle through 
the upper reaches of Buckhorn, turning into 
Gannon’s Narrows for some 350 yards, from 
whence one enters Pigeon Lake. If tents are 
aboard, swing down to the south and spend a 
couple days fishing here. Turning northward, a 
paddle of some 6^2 miles brings into view the 
little lighthouse just below Bobcaygeon, and 
entering the short Pigeon River one lands at 
the locks between this and Sturgeon Lake. 
Bobcaygeon is a good point to obtain camp 
supplies and boats or canoes—and there are a 
dozen splendid campsites anywhere from a mile 
to four from the village, where excellent fishing 
may be had. Passing on through Sturgeon 
Lake to Sturgeon Point, the route turns sharp¬ 
ly to the right to Fenelon Falls. This little 
village is the site of a big power plant; also, 
incidentally, there are two really good inns 
where satisfactory accommodation may be had 
at around $to to $12 per week; also boats and 
boatmen. The fishing immediately around 
Fenelon is best for small-mouth bass, although 
there is good lunge fishing as well. A paddle 
of some four or five miles through Cameron 
Lake takes one to the little single-locks at 
Rosedale, where there is excellent fishing for 
both species. Passing through into Balsam, 
some splendid campsites are found on either 
the mainland or on one of the several islands, 
and good fishing also anywhere in the lake, 
which runs up some four miles to Coboconk, 
at the head of the System. The party can turn 
this trip “hind end to,” as it were, and enter 
either by way of Coboconk on a branch line of 
the G. T. R. from Lindsay, or from Lindsay 
itself, down the si.x miles of Scugog River into 
Sturgeon Lake. 
As already indicated, while there is ample 
accommodation for stopping over at one of the 
smaller inns—all of which are comfortable and 
pleasant, I would recommend as the best plan 
a canoe cruise. The lakes are small enough to 
insure safety from heavy winds, and there are 
any number of good camping spots to be found 
all along the route. Minnows for still-fishing 
may be obtained in any of the lakes. It is well, 
however, to take in a complete assortment of 
fishing tackle, as one cannot obtain any choice 
at the small villages. 
The Georgian Bay waters offer a wide 
choice for bass and lunge fishing. Notably near 
Kagawong. on Manitoulin Island and around 
Key’s Inlet, at the mouth of the French. Mo§t 
of the lower points have become overcrowded, 
and while some fair fishing is had, it is, as a 
rule, much better in the northern part at the 
points mentioned. .A. very' good little inn is 
found at Kagawong Village and boats may be 
readily obtained. 
The Rideau System of lakes, extending 
from Kingston north and east to Smith’s Falls 
