588 
FOREST AND STREAM 
May lo, 1913 
Newfoundland Salmon Fishing 
By G. H. F. 
I W'ILL give some info/mation for tlie benefit 
of the brotherhood. This is to assist in tak¬ 
ing tlie first degree, and may be uninteresting 
to those who have it all “by the book.” Arthur 
C. Fox, 175 Claremont avenue, New York city, 
followed my information obtained from you 
two years ago, and as he is a man of sober 
truth, and happy to help anyone in New York 
desiring to sift me down to the wheat, had best 
see him. He will be disposed to let the secrets 
out for the common good. I am a fisherman of 
sixty-six years of age, forty years at n3'-fishing. 
so many years “young,” of inflamed red 
corpuscles, and so refer to someone to cor¬ 
roborate me. 
Now for information. For Newfoundland 
salmon fishing we may as well start the facts 
from Boston, assuming that anyone can easily 
find tliat point. 
Two ways of going: By steamer to Yarmouth, 
Nova Scotia, leaving Boston at about noon, and 
reaching Yarmouth in the morning, and from there 
taking Dominion Atlantic train through Digby 
to Windsor Junction, and from there to Truro, 
where remain over night and take the train 
about nine in the morning for North Sydney; 
arrive there about 7:30 p. m., going to steamer 
landing. At about ii p. m. take steamer for 
Port Aux Basques, N. F., where you will be 
examined by custom-house officer perfunctorily 
and have to deposit duty on rods and cameras 
until your return, when it will be given back 
to you, if you bring back your rods. Maybe 
this is a good thing, so as to have some cash 
to spend on the way home. Paj- $10 for a 
license to fish, and fish as much as you wish 
to and anywhere. Get the license there. An¬ 
other way to journej’: Take train over B. & 
M. at 8 A. M. to Portland; thence Maine Central 
to McAdam Junction, N. B., where the C. P. R. 
train takes you to St. John, N. B., arriving 
about 10:30 p. M., where you change cars in the 
station and take sleeper to Truro, Nova Scotia, 
and arrive about 6:30 a. m., where you stop 
till about 9 -V. M. and take same train you would 
take had you taken the steamer at about noon 
the second day before. You can calculate the 
difference in the running time from this as 
about twenty hours. 
The steamers leave North Sydney every day 
but Sunday, if they do as last year, and as they 
have put on a new steamer, I have no doubt 
that they now' have tw'O new steamers and leave 
COMFORT. 
as above stated. The passage across to Port 
.^ux Basques takes about seven hours and is 
usually a smooth one. At P. B. take train about 
7:-|5 A. M. and arrive at the first salmon river 
at 9:15 A. M.— that is, Tompkins, on Little 
Codroy River. The only boarding place there 
is with Tompkins Bros., farmers, w'ho cater 
very well and have quite a number of rooms— 
enough to take care of all that come. The table 
is not w’hat is “high grade,” but is as good as 
can be expected in a fishing camp. There is 
abundance of fairly well cooked food, fairly 
well served, and the beds are good. Fastidious 
fishermen are scarce, and must enjoy their owm 
peculiarities as best they may. 
The people one encounters there are of a 
good class, educated and interesting, and ac¬ 
customed to put up with the absence of luxuries, 
depending on the substitution of salmon for 
what they left at home that was “way •up.” 
The boarding place is close to the train. 
within twenty rods. The river is away about a 
third of a mile. It is an open farming country, 
not too deep for w'ading, having sandy beaches, 
the banks in places fringed with alders, wide 
enough for casting wdth a good, long line; boats 
not used except way down toward the mouth. 
The black flies are not very bad, if there is 
a breeze, and there is usually one after 9 a. m. 
The mosquitoes are not at all “thick” and 
scarcely seen at night at the house, and not at 
all in daytime. One should be provided with 
“dope,” and I have never found any difficulty- 
in fishing at all times on account of flies, al¬ 
though a very sensitive person might find some 
fault on some days. 
The fishing begins about June 25 and lasts 
until the middle of September, but the best of 
it is from July i to Aug. 20. The fish in Little 
River are the largest on the island, but they 
are not so numerous and the “off days” are 
many. When the fish are “off” we go on the 
train up to the Grand Codroy in the morning 
and back at night, or else stop at another board¬ 
ing place of the Tompkins Bros, at South 
Branch, called the “Bungalow.” That place can 
accommodate only about ten people. The price 
of board is $1.50 per day. Guides get $2 and 
board themselves unless you lunch out, w’hen 
you pay 25 cents for that. Tompkins Bros, 
hunt you up guides. 
There is no camping allowed on that Little 
River. One can fish w'ithout a guide, if he pre¬ 
fers, but he misses the information which he 
needs, and the knowing ones are apt to get 
ahead on the pools. It is not best to try it, if 
comfort and success is w’orth having. In 
August there is apt to be all the rods on this 
stream that it is equal to, but I have never been 
unable to get a fair chance when the fishing 
was good, for that makes a greater number of 
fishing points. 
When the water is low, the fishermen get 
discouraged, and the persistent ones profit by 
.their discouragements. y\ good guide helps 
most on those occasions. He braces you up 
and won't let you fall out by the way. 
The temperature on the island is low for 
summer, about like May in New England. The 
nights are cool. The rains are not any too 
frequent to keep the streams up to fishing 
height, but when it rains, it pours and blows 
"great guns.” 
So much for that stream. If one goes as 
early as the loth of June, he can go to Doyle’s 
at the lower end of the Grand Codroy and fish 
up about three miles. Doyle Bros, keep 
boarders and look after guides and boats. But 
that is a point where the fishing does not last 
beyond the last of June with much certainty. 
Dioyle Bros, keep a good place. I have never 
stopped there, but know that the early fishing is 
fine. The trains pass only about a half mile 
from their place. They keep a country store 
at the station. This station is up about four 
miles from Tompkins. From Tompkins we go 
up to their bungalow, twelve miles, and get off 
at South Branch station. That is the post office. 
The boarding place is close by. There is no 
SOLID 
