Where Barefoot Boys Look for 
Trout.—V. 
There are many places on the Esopus—gener¬ 
ally preceding a rift—where the water is of an 
even depth from shore to shore and no trace of 
a channel can be seen. Often these stretches 
have a very peculiar formation of bottom which 
is most exasperating to the wader. I have a 
typical case in mind, where the bed of the creek 
is covered by irregular stones of quite a uni¬ 
form size. These stones lie as closely together 
as possible, and at good fishing stages stick a 
few inches above the 
water. The stream is 
very wide here and the 
current rather rapid, 
so that as one looks 
steadily across it, it 
produces a sort of 
trembly, streaky sen¬ 
sation upon the eyes. I 
fancy in some respects 
it is like the streaked 
water which Kipling has 
made the basis of one 
of his stories. 
What peculiar floods 
or glaciers may have 
been so discriminating 
in sorting their burden 
one cannot say, but they 
fixed a most rascally 
track for the foot-sore 
angler. He cannot step 
high enough to avoid 
stubbing his toe nor put 
his foot down firmly 
enough to prevent pinch¬ 
ing his instep or turn¬ 
ing his ankle. This 
ugly spot has its dupli¬ 
cates, not only on the 
Esopus, but on many 
other streams, the only 
difference being the 
average size of the 
stones. 
Many small rainbows 
and a few brown trout seem to like this sort 
of surroundings and random casting will come 
nearer catching them here than on any other 
part of the stream. However, unless one needs 
a fish for an old person or an invalid, it is 
better to go around these stretches, for they 
are little more than trout nurseries. 
One other sort of stream formation which 
is rare on the Esopus, but abundant on many 
creeks, is the sloping smooth rock bottom, ter¬ 
minating in an abrupt pool. We have all seen 
a creek spread out to a thin sheet, and then 
slide down a bed of bare rock as though the 
surface had been greased for the purpose. 
When the rock comes to an end there is either 
a little cascade or else with just a single swell 
the water settles into a deep pool. Under this 
swell or cascade there should be a trout or two. 
and then at the foot of the pool a few more. 
I have now described, in this and the preced¬ 
ing chapters, the several features which appear 
to me to be distinctive on many of our Eastern 
streams, particularly those in the sandstone re¬ 
gions. Sandstone is generally a very regular 
and dependable substance, which seems to have 
imparted some of its own character to its 
creeks. They stand out in striking contrast to 
the streams in granite regions. On those streams 
you have little to tell you what is coming next. 
The fact that you may now be on a perfect 
torrent of a rapids does not signify but that 
RICHARD CROKER PLAYING A SHARK. 
(See page 260.) 
within a half mile you will be in the midst of 
dead water and surrounded by a seemingly end¬ 
less, boggy swamp. 
In addition to the places already mentioned 
as being likely homes for trout, the young angler 
may hope for luck wherever he finds a tribu¬ 
tary flowing into the stream he is fishing. Here 
the water should be carefully whipped for sev¬ 
eral rods below the juncture. Also when he 
sees a spring trickling from the rocks on shore 
or flowing from a mossy bank, he should be 
on the lookout for strikes. These springs are 
cooler than the water of the stream, and at all 
times of the year the trout are inclined to stay 
where they can get the benefit of this flow. In 
hot summer weather the cold water becomes a 
positive necessity to the native trout and is 
welcomed by their brown neighbors. In small 
brooks the roots of trees and overhanging banks 
make good hiding places for trout, but very 
little of this will be seen along such streams 
as the Esopus. 
For some reason best known to themselves, 
trout do not always act alike in neighboring 
pools at the same time of day, even when the 
pools are similar in their formation. We saw 
this illustrated once when we were working for 
a catch to take home. While our angling is 
usually confined to a couple of hours in the 
afternoon or evening, on the last day before 
breaking camp we plan to fish quite faithfully 
for the sake of our 
friends and neighbors. 
On such an occasion 
Robert and I had se¬ 
lected stretches of the 
Esopus that were less 
than a mile apart, and 
where we knew big 
brown trout were plen¬ 
tiful. We both whipped 
earnestly from noon 
until dark. I had fairly 
good luck up to 6 
o’clock and then the 
trout began to rise very 
freely. In the last hour 
and a half I took four 
which were almost iden¬ 
tical in size, measuring 
about fourteen inches 
each. They were all of 
the brown variety, as 
was the balance of my 
catch except one. It 
made a splendid top 
dressing for an other¬ 
wise good creel. 
As I left the stream 
I kept thinking that 
Robert’s basket would 
be a sight worth seeing. 
I fancied he must have 
struck the same rise 
that I did, and as he 
is quite sure to catch 
about two to my one, it 
meant a considerable showing. To the surprise 
of both, while he had the greater number of 
fish, they were nearly all small rainbows and 
he had seen but one large brown trout rise dur¬ 
ing the afternoon. In another place I will re¬ 
late an incident which will show how abundant 
the brown trout are in the stretch which Robert 
had been fishing, and how tenaciously they must 
have clung to the bottom, while a mile away 
their brothers were jumping furiously, to my 
delight. 
So much on the subject of locations. Now 
let us turn to some general angling topics—for 
instance the much discussed question, shall we 
fish up stream or shall we fish down stream? 
It seems to me that it is best to look at the 
stream before deciding. It is one thing to walk 
up the bank of a little meadow brook, but quite 
