40,3 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March 29, 1913 
Canoeing and Fishing in New Brunswick 
N ew BRUNSWICK is known in every cor¬ 
ner of the sportsman’s world for its big 
game. The season 1912 saw some 1,000 
nonresident hunters take out licenses, of which 
something like 94 per cent, got their moose, 
caribou, deer or bear. But the average outer 
looking for territory for an extended canoe 
cruise during June, July or August and for 
trout fishing rarely considers this forest 
province. 
As regards the fishing, it is true that, owing 
to the greatest of all fighting fish (the Atlantic 
salmon) being here found, trout do not receive 
as much consideration as they should. Never¬ 
theless, there are a hundred streams and forest- 
encircled lakes where the water fairly boils 
some evenings, caused by the rising of thou¬ 
sands of these speckled beauties. 
The Tobique, Miramichi, Nepisiguit, Ser¬ 
pentine and Renous rivers offer much available 
salmon fishing, while their feeders are all full 
of speckled trout running from half a pound up 
to four and one-half pounds. The best time to 
try trout in the East is from June 10 on—al¬ 
though early May, immediately the ice goes 
out, is exceptionally good. 
Salmon are usually found rising best be¬ 
tween June 20 to Sept. 10 or 15. Last season 
the second and third weeks in July were barren— 
the fish refusing to rise for some unknown rea¬ 
son. While it is true that a great deal of the 
Province’s salmon waters are controlled by 
clubs, the fact remains that on the Tobique, the 
Serpentine and other rivers a number of the 
bigger sportsmen’s guides have arrangements 
whereby they can offer some excellent salmon 
pools. The average cost per diem for this king 
of angling sport ranges from $5 to $9. 
SOME OF THE BEST CRUISES IN NEW BRUNSWICK. 
The writer deems the following cruise one 
of the choicest propositions to-day to be had in 
the East. It is essentially a combination of all 
phases from the quiet trout waters of the forest- 
circled lakes and ponds to the most expert pole- 
juggling on a “strong water” stream. The big 
game—the moose, caribou, deer and bear— 
abound and are daily seen during the summer 
season, offering exceptional opportunities for 
live-game photography, a “shooting” proposi¬ 
tion ever fascinating. This cruise embraces an 
area of forestland, some of it fifty miles from 
the nearest back-settlement, in which lie some 
eighty lakes, ranging from nine miles down to 
ninety yards. Two years ago the writer counted, 
with his guide, in one day on the shores of one 
lake forty-two moose, seventeen deer and five 
caribou. Trout have been caught in all the 
lakes tried—while a number have never had a 
fly cast on their silvered waters. In one of the 
By S. E. SANGSTER (CANUCK) 
lakes I found an abundance of togue (called 
gray trout in Ontario) which I took on a troll- 
ing-line on a “Bristol” with a No. 5 spoon; at 
the same time I took in eighteen speckled 
beauties running from half a pound to three 
pounds, all full of fight. I ran over the Provin¬ 
cial limit of thirty fish one day, using a barb¬ 
less hook and returning them as caught; this, 
by the way, does the trout no harm, the vibra¬ 
tion of the reel humming only seems to add to 
their zest, and I have seen them get to the fly 
the second time before any of their eager 
brethren could get a chance. 
One lake I found particularly worthy of 
note—known as Mitnagic Lake—two miles long 
and one and a half miles wide—containing 
twenty-three w-ooded islands. The route lies to 
Oxbow, where the Ogilvy boys take you in 
charge. Their Home Lodge is the spot for the 
salmon fishing, which covers some five miles on 
the Tobique. The best fishing is between the 
lakes on the right-hand branch of the Tobique. 
Don’t start after the salmon until you have 
cruised up through the trout waters—else you 
will never start for the trout. It is only a 
three-hour run by canoe from the salmon pools 
to the railway station, or one can continue 
thirty miles further, to wdiere the Tobique joins 
the St. John River at Perth. The canoe route 
runs from the lakes at the head of the Tobique 
clear down to the Home Lodge and on to 
Perth, if desired—a total run of some 112 miles. 
Another very similar cruise is in Gough’s 
territory—one of the best big-game sections in 
America. It includes part of the right-hand 
branch of the Tobique, but swings into the Ser¬ 
pentine and Nipisiguit. The salmon fishing he 
controls is on the Serpentine and is also ex¬ 
cellent; the canoe cruise totals something like 
ninety miles and offers trout all the way. It, 
too, has quiet lakes and ponds and, again, 
white-crested boiling strems through which you 
flash at toboggan speed. Gough has his camps 
built on the very watershed of New Brunswick, 
and in addition to being one of the choicest 
hunting sections in the open season, the kodak¬ 
shooting possibilities are unlimited during the 
summer season. 
Another man who offers the best in a 
canoe cruise is Percy Ealding; his route runs 
across the Province, up the Tobique, thence up 
the Little Tobique and down the Nepisiguit. 
The fishing includes salmon, speckled trout and 
togue. This, too, is through a virgin game 
land, full of moose, caribou, deer and bear. In¬ 
cidentally a choice territory for fall hunting. 
The Magaguadavic River cruise, starting 
from Scotts’ Mills, a run of some forty-two 
miles with John Moore, is another fine trip, 
with excellent trout, but no salmon. The Can- 
nain River run is also delightful cruising with 
good trout fishing, likewise the Renous River. 
The writer is convinced that the fishing and 
canoeing possibilities of this eastern forest land 
are not appreciated to the degree to which they 
are entitled. Particularly for anglers from New 
York, Boston and the Eastern States, access is 
rapid and the game fish referred to found in 
abundance. Thousands of sportsmen go into 
this hinterland for moose and caribou; why they 
do not go for trout and salmon is a situation I 
cannot readily account for. 
Notes from New Zealand. 
BY DRUMMOND SHARPE. 
During the past weeks we have again envied 
our friends across the seas in their presumable 
experience of cool weather, for a heat wave has 
visited New Zealand, parching the earth and 
shrinking the streams. While it was with us, 
most people could realize the feelings of the 
wax candles, as they arched in their stands until 
both ends met. At last the wave passed and was 
followed by some extraordinary variations of 
temperature. Thus at the Ashburton Observa¬ 
tory, on Jan. 25, the highest reading of the 
thermometer marked 99 and the lowest 47; a 
difference in a day of 52 degrees. Doubtless 
variety is charming, as we have often heard, but 
as the “bud” said to the “boy,” “This is so 
sudden.” I am told that she used to say it any¬ 
way. 
However, a heavy rainfall has come to put 
things right; notably one of our chief sports, 
“the famous trout fishing of New Zealand.” 
The present season is by far the best of recent 
years, and though some of the most frequented 
fly streams have suffered from the drouth since 
Christmas, they recovered themselves wonder¬ 
fully after the rain. In two fishing days on 
the Upper Opihi, near the village of Pleasant 
Point, 246 trout, averaging more than a pound, 
were landed by two rods. At Lake Taupo, in 
the North Island, some friends from the United 
States have been hauling out the big rainbows 
wholesale, but there the pleasure of a sports¬ 
man is lessened by the difficulty—I should say 
the impossibility—of finding a use for his catch. 
It is far more interesting to go a short way off 
the usual track. When avoiding the ordinary 
fishing stations it is easy to choose a locality 
where one can enjoy splendid sport without let 
or hindrance. A little “know how” is needful, 
but if that is not already in possession of the 
traveling angler, he will discover that the 
dwellers in the country districts are friendly 
folk, who are quite ready to assist him. Here 
a valuable hint—let him be chary in offering 
dollars as an exchange for the help he will re- 
