1182 
FOREST AND STREAM 
The American Angler Loves to Get Out Into the Water—Note the Natural Brushy Condition of 
the Stream. 
tory letters, both of which I was fortunate to 
secure. In the rivers before mentioned each 
club or person employs a water bailiff, whose 
chief duties are watching for poachers, and a 
general caretaker of the water, as a side issue he 
also ties flies and, generally speaking, is an ex¬ 
pert angler. The river Dove and manifold round 
about Dovedale is kept under similar conditions, 
exxcept that it is more difficult and more ex¬ 
pensive to get fishing, but the fishing is better. 
All these rivers are small, but deep, and they 
run through highly cultivated or grazing lands 
of which the farmers have nothing to do with 
anglers, being simply tenants of the nobility and 
gentry who lease the waters for fishing purposes 
separate to, and distinct from, farming or shoot¬ 
ing rights. The English system, as now perfect¬ 
ed, works all right. The poor angler never 
dreams of salmon, trout or grayling, having ages 
ago concluded that to aspire above angling for 
the common fishes, it is only necessary for him 
to work hard and earn money. In other words 
fishing in England is a regular class distinction, 
well understood by all ranks to be entirely under 
the control of a bank account. It is different with 
us, the “State” is our landlord, who provides the 
fish, giving the right to catch them both alike, 
rich or poor, each and all are equal on a State 
stocked stream. It would take centuries to get 
English conditions here in running order, like 
what prevails there, were it desirable, and I think 
it is not. It is thus that American anglers as a 
whole are free and equal, able to choose and do 
whatsoever they please, without the influence of 
caste. 
Yet, with all this freedom in fishing, our East¬ 
ern or Western trout streams are equally good, 
if not better than the best in England. I think 
our fish are more or less quite as numerous, more 
gamey and certainly furnish better sport. I know 
stretches of water on the various rivers of the 
Pennsylvania mountains, Catskills, Adirondacks 
and Maine, that I much prefer in every respect 
to these English rivers; as, for instance, the 
Broadhead, Beaver Kill and Esopus, which aver¬ 
age 150 feet wide, yet wadable, with plenty of 
big fish so wild and gamey as to tax the utmost 
skill of any expert. Though we have not the 
grayling, that furnishes winter fishing, we have 
a better fish in the bass which is absent from 
British streams and lakes. Their winter fishing 
much depends upon the weather, while running 
streams rarely freeze; during this winter from 
October to January all rivers were in continuous 
flood by incessant rains; I was told it was little 
better during the summer. With us climatic 
conditions are much more favorable, at least, 
judging from the last twenty-ffive years. I have 
never known a single time when my trout fish¬ 
ing was stopped by flood for more than a few 
days. 
Returning now to tackle and live bait methods 
I took along that useful tool, an American steel 
rod, which was a comfort in the pouring rain, 
and afterwards acquired an English solid wood 
rod made by Cummins, of Bishop Auckland, 
since discarded for a good American split bam¬ 
boo. It is eleven feet long, two feet longer than 
what I have hitherto used, but so well balanced 
and powerful that after a few casts I had an 
inward thought no English trout would be big 
enough for me to fear. I met one angler with a 
fifteen foot rod which seems absurd on such 
small streams that average not more than thirty 
feet wide. The grayling gut cast is very long 
and fine, and the flies exceeding small with 
two on a cast, though some use more, others use 
only one fly. In fishing the bottom with gentles, 
a nine, or even twelve foot gut is used, to which 
is fastened a couple of small or single large shot 
to take the bait to the bottom, it is then lifted 
from time to time a few feet in the water. The 
single hook is No. 8 but must have the point 
very sharp. In our streams where big trout 
congregate at the bottom of deep pools, or where 
bass lie in deep sluggish water, this rig, with 
three wriggling gentles, I should think would 
prove just as deadly or more so than either min¬ 
nows or worms, at any season. White, and live¬ 
ly in action, they do attract fish from a consid¬ 
erable distance much better than worms. 
In England, the gentle as a live bait, is sold 
largely for numerous coarse fish, roach, perch, 
chub, and others. Dealers supply and send them 
by mail in tin cans, and one of the many advan¬ 
tages they have is, if properly fed, they will keep 
in perfect condition as long as they stay in the 
“creeper” state, whereas the garden worm soon 
withers and dies unless kept cool in moss. 
It is in their salmon fishing that the British 
Isles are more favored, and that is due to wise 
laws being well kept. Most of the rivers contain 
a fair sprinkling of this noble fish—though the 
best waters are rented at high prices, many good 
fish are reported to be taken every season. In all 
our rivers, salmon have been destroyed and 
driven away years ago by shad netting. All our 
Eastern rivers from the Potomac to the St. Law¬ 
rence swarmed with salmon when Manhattan 
was ruled by the Dutch—so present anglers pay 
the penalty for past greediness. 
Nevertheless, in turning to salt water fishes 
and fishing we are immeasurably superior both 
as to quantity, quality and variety of fishes; ' 1- 
deed, so vast is the possibilities along the entire 
coast, East and West, that it seems impossible 
for any diminution of supply for centuries to 
come, even without legal restrictions. This is 
due mostly to favorable climatic conditions and 
the migratory habits of tropical fishes that pre¬ 
fer to spawn in temperate waters. We have all 
British salt water fishes (except the “sole”) at¬ 
taining a greater size, while they have no idea 
of the gaminess and abundance of our most val¬ 
ued food-fishes, like the bluefish, weakfish, tau- 
tog, sea bass, striped bass, channel bass, fluke 
and kingfish, etc., besides the giants of Southern 
seas. 
These, and many more are the obvious reasons 
why they jealously guard what fishing is avail¬ 
able in the British Isles. We can easily afford to 
be hospitably generous to foreign angling visitors 
in our waters, though I fear it would not be 
repaid, judging from my own, and others by 
whom I’m told have to pay dearly for sport of 
any worth. Another thing, this “hands across 
the seas” is all very well but there is an under¬ 
current of petty feeling, imaginary, and opinion- 
ative superiority of all that is British, and which 
oozes out in all their magazines and newspapers, 
as all Americans making a long stay will observe 
with smiling complacency, for, have we not got 
the fish and got the skill to catch ’em too? For 
those American anglers who take a trip to Eu¬ 
rope, Norway is the best place for good fishing, 
at a reasonable cost. Ireland and Scotland are 
also good salmon, sea trout, and other fishing, 
but our methods, our flies and most of our im¬ 
plements will have to be discarded for theirs. 
I would never dream, however, from my own 
experience, of going to Europe on purpose of 
getting more sport than we can get in our own 
waters. 
Two Handed Salmon Cast, American Tourna¬ 
ment Style. 
