May 25, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
819 
Mr. Stepath’s weight also fell in the crowd, 
and again the chairman and his steel tape 
:'assisted the judges in determining the score. 
: The marked casting line, as we have already 
! stated, was carefully measured previous to the 
tournament. If it varies at all it is shorter in 
the water than on land, as it is twisted steel 
wire buoyed every foot and sags a trifle. 
Charles Stepath took first prize, the club cup 
apd a $40 tournament reel. Mr. Frazer won 
second prize, a high-grade casting rod; E. B. 
Rice, third, wooden minnows and line dryer; 
M. H. Smith, fourth, assorted lines; F. A. 
Niccolls, Jr., fly-book; George LaBranche, 
striped bass spoons; Dr. Held, half-dozen tourna¬ 
ment weights. A special prize, a subscription to 
Forest and Stream, was won by Charles Stepath, 
who had the best amateur average, 191 4-5 feet; 
KM. H. Smith was second, with 1511-5 feet. 
' Messrs. Leonard and Darling won club cups in 
their class. 
The rules called for single-hand casting with 
free running multiplying reels, overhead with 
j the standard half-ounce tournament weight. 
Two preliminary casts were allowed, but few 
[ took more than one. Five casts were then 
made, the longest one to count. The scores, in 
feet and inches: 
Amateurs: 
1 st. 2 d. 
Charles Stepath . 200 190 
Perry D. Frazer. 171 147 
E. B. Rice. 148 *40 
M. H. Smith . 143 151 
F. A. Niccolls, Jr. 115 142 
George LaBranche . *60 *75 
R. J. Held . *60 135 
C. M. Luckey . *0 125 
H. G. Henderson. *65 *75 
Non-amateurs: 
R. C. Leonard. 163 203 
L. S. Darling . *0 157 
E. J. Mills . *25 *40 
*Backlashes; line overrunning. 
-Casts- 
3d. 4th. 
190 197 
*35 140 
167 *30 
153 148 
139 *50 
*100 128 
*85 *68 
118 104 
120 *35 
199 194 
167 171 
160 140 
5th. 
172 
164 
*85 
161 
*60 
136 
*90 
130 
*70 
Best 
Cast. 
200 
171 
167 
161 
142 
136 
135 
130 
120 
214 7 214 7 
176 176 
*0 160 
GEORGE M. L. LABRANCHE WINNING THE FIVE-OUNCE ROD EVENT, CASTING A FLY 83 FEET. 
New England Angling and Anglers. 
Boston, May 18 . — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Five or six years ago a party of sportsmen stop¬ 
ping at the Carry Pond camps in Somerset 
county, Maine, went to Pierce Pond for a day’s 
fishing. They had heard that some large salmon 
had been taken there and desired to verify the 
rumor. On their return they brought salmon 
enough with them to prove that rumor—for 
once—was fact. Out of this incident the fame 
of Pierce Pond was born. Charles W. and 
William J. Epting, of Philadelphia, pronounce 
it the best waters they have yet found and their 
testimony is backed up by some of the best 
known New England anglers. Good camps have 
recently been located at Pierce by Chas. A. 
Spaulding. Bingham, on the Somerset Railroad, 
is the railroad terminal en route, and from there 
a beautiful drive of two hours up the valley of 
the Kennebec and then four miles over the 
mountain brings one to these magnificent salmon 
and trout waters. The ponds comprise three 
basins connected by thoroughfares and cover 
about eight miles in length with an average 
width of one-third of a mile. They are of great 
depth, have bold and well wooded shores with 
no burned timberland to mar the beauty of the 
scene. Pleasant Pond Mountain, Shutdown, 
Pierce and Bigelow Mountain are all in easy 
range of the eye and present a sight long to be 
remembered. Gravel and sandy shoals near the 
shore in many places furnish natural spawning 
beds and the water is full of the insect life so 
necessary to the propagation of large fish. The 
trout are large and beautifully marked. They 
take the fly viciously and fight to the last gasp. 
The landlocked salmon are restless and con¬ 
stantly on the move, and when feeding a single 
glance of the fly will cause them to accept the 
challenge instantly. They put up a fierce battle 
and he who would bring one to the net must 
possess both skill and patience. Two years ago 
quinnat (Pacific coast salmon) fry were intro¬ 
duced to these waters by Frank J. Durgin and 
last fall they were taken on the fly weighing 
two and one-half pounds each. This shows an 
extremely rapid growth for so short a time. 
It is well known that quinnat salmon have at¬ 
tained a great weight on the Pacific coast, and 
it would appear that these fish have found very 
favorable environment at Pierce. I append the 
record of a few of the best catches of last sea¬ 
son ; Dr. W. H. Barrett, landlocked salmon, 
7, 8, 6, 7 ( 4 , 9%, 5( 4 , 6)4, 6, 11, 8)4 pounds; 
three quinnat salmon of 2)4 pounds each; square- 
tail trout, 3, 4 ( 4 , 3(4 5(4 3(4. 5. 2 ( 4 , 4, 4, 5 ( 4 , 
1(2 pounds; Willis Fleisher, landlocked salmon, 
5 and 6 pounds; C. W. and W. J. Eoting, salmon, 
5(2 and 2(4 pounds; trout, 4(2, 4(4, i(4 and i(4 
pounds; R. C. Richardson, salmon, 7 pounds; 
trout, 4(4 and 6 pounds; John F. McDonald, 
salmon, 7 and 8 pounds; John O’Day, salmon, 8 
and 9 pounds. 
Close to Great Pond, one of the big Belgrade 
lakes, is situated a smaller reach of water known 
as North Pond. It has lately been discovered 
that the small-mouth bass attain to larger size in 
this water than they do in the greater lake, and 
New York and Boston anglers have acquired 
camp sites and are putting up substantial build¬ 
ings on the shores of the smaller pond. A. C. 
Dunmore and J. L. Jellerson, of Boston, have 
camps there and are to leave next week for a 
long stay. Mr. Jellerson knows all the waters 
of the Belgrade chain thoroughly. He is con¬ 
veying a good part of this knowledge to his 
friend Dunmore. Reports from Belgrade waters 
during the last few days show good catches of 
squaretail trout. In one day Mayor Gaus, of 
; A V; ■ 
1 
R. C. LEONARD CASTING A 2(4 OZ. WEIGHT 2 IO FT. 
Albany, N. Y., landed seven trout, four of which 
ranged from three to five pounds. Many other 
fishermen have done well. 
At last the Rangeley Lakes are open, the ice 
leaving May 17. Dr. E. F. Gleason, of Boston, 
with family, leaves on Monday for a ten days’ 
trip to the Upper Dam pool. Nova Scotia con¬ 
tinues to attract Massachusetts anglers. Fred. 
M. Gould, of Malden, left for the Belleville dis¬ 
trict last week. W. E. C. Goudy, of Boston, 
and Albert Cann, of Somerville, left on the 17th 
for Kempville. N. S. Mr. Goudy is a native of 
the locality and knows the salmon and trout 
pools of the Tusket River and its tributaries as 
few do. Another gentleman who has gone to 
the Kempville region is Mr. Chas. Andrews, of 
Boston. He intends to camp along the Tusket 
River for ten days, after which he expects to 
tour the country in his automobile. 
Hackle. 
Whitefish Taking the Fly. 
Quebec, May 18—Editor Forest and Stream: 
I have heard fishermen and careful students of 
fish life say over and over again that whitefish 
will not rise to the fly. I have taken them my¬ 
self on the fly in the Grand Discharge and there 
are any number of competent authorities to 
testify to the same effect. Mr. A. P. Low re¬ 
ports that he caught whitefish on several occas¬ 
ions on a May-fly with rubber gauze wings. Mr. 
Low, being the director of the Geological Survey 
of Canada, knows what he is talking about, and 
identified the whitefish of the interior of the 
Labrador peninsula, which he captured with the 
fly, as Coregonus clupeiformis, the common 
whitefish of commerce. 
The late R. B. Roosevelt admitted that the 
whitefish might be tempted by the artificial fly 
or the crayfish, though he explained that it was 
the general opinion that it would take no bait, 
natural or artificial. Genio C. Scott was au¬ 
thority for the statement that the whitefish some¬ 
times takes the spoon or spinning bait. 
A very important authority on this point is 
Mr. Charles G. Atkins, former State Fishery 
Commissioner for Maine. At page 25 of the 
State Fish Commission’s first report (1867-68), 
Mr. Atkins says: “In Moosehead Lake they 
sometimes take the fly. In June last we saw one 
taken with the fly near Mount Kineo, by Arte- 
mas Libby, of Augusta. It weighed one and a 
half pounds. Two trout weighing a pound each 
were taken at the same cast. They can be taken 
with the hook at any season of the year in deep 
water. Almost any bait will answer, but the 
best is a piece of small fish. The most of them 
are taken in winter. The greatest success is 
obtained by sinking through a hole in the ice, at 
> , 1»> 
