900 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 8, 1907. 
Brook vs. Brown Trout. 
Fitchburg, Mass., May 11.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: If a man remains faithful to his first 
love for upward of three-score years, his record 
for constancy may be considered as established; 
such is my case, and although I have become ac¬ 
quainted with and learned to appreciate the 
merits of almost every variety of game fish that 
receives the attention of our anglers, I have 
always returned to my old darling, the beauti¬ 
ful fontincdis, and to-day, if I might be permitted, 
I know of no greater pleasure than following 
the meandering of the mountain brook. I 
captured my first large brook trout just sixty-one 
years ago. The trout weighed about three and 
one-half pounds and was the largest fish that 
had ever been taken in that part of the State. 
During the many years which have passed 
since that eventful capture, I have always 
worshipped at the shrine of this most beautiful 
denizen of our waters; but although I have be¬ 
lieved that it holds one of. the highest positions 
among our fresh-water game fishes, I have not 
been insensible to the fact that there are other 
species well worth the angler’s attention. 
Among these I have found the. brown trout a 
game fish of very high order. 
My first acquaintance with the brown trout 
was made some ten years ago, and its gamy 
qualities were a revelation to me. I had been 
fishing the Liverpool River, in Nova Scotia, 
casting near the mouth of a large brook which 
emptied into the river near the point where it 
debouches into the celebrated Kejemakuvil 
Lake; I had taken a number of brook trout, 
when at length I had a rise from a fish which 
jumped at least a foot above the surface of the 
water to seize my fly. The runs that fish made 
were remarkable, being almost as quick and 
energetic as those of a grilse or ouananiche, and 
the trout kept me busy for over five minutes, 
for my rod was a light one and fifteen to twenty 
yards of line was often taken out at a single 
dash. I had supposed it was a very gamy 
brook trout. Within a quarter of an hour I 
rose and hooked another trout which possessed 
all he gamy qualities, of he first one and was 
of almost exactly the same size. 
On going ashore and removing our catch 
from the canoe I examined the large fish, and 
found, to my surprise, that they were not brook 
trout, but were distinctly another species, but 
what they were I did not know, for I had never 
before handled the brown trout. After a con¬ 
siderable discussion with my guide, I learned 
that- brown trout fry had several years pre¬ 
viously been planted in those waters, and those 
I had taken were undoubtedly members of' the 
original stock. I am convinced, that although 
it will never become a satisfactory substitute 
for fontinalis, it will prove a most valuable 
companion for it, one which the angler may 
enjoy in our cool and clear streams as fully as 
do our English cousins enjoy the same fish in 
the warmer waters of the British Isles. 
Edward A. Samuels. 
Gansevoort, N. Y., June 1.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The recent discussion relative to brown 
trout is no. doubt of great interest to a large 
number of the readers* of Forest and Stream, 
and the contribution to this subject in Forest 
and Stream, page 321, by Warden Harry Chase, 
is particularly interesting and valuable. 
I have no personal knowledge of the habits 
and peculiarities of this fish aside from what I 
have gathered from reading such literature on 
the subject as chance has placed in my hands, 
but if what I have read about it is true, I am 
sure it is just the fish we want for many waters 
in this section, not to take the place of our native 
trout, but tO' take the numerous places in which 
our native trout will not live. As examples we 
have in this immediate neighborhood two fine 
streams in which our native trout will not live, 
except, in the extreme headwaters, where the 
water in the small tributaries is shaded by alders 
and forest growths, and consequently much 
colder than in the lower and exposed parts of 
the stream. The smaller of these streams, from 
the point where it ceases to be trout water, flows 
for about four miles through meadow and pasture 
land to where it empties into the Snoeckkill. 
Through this four miles of its length it has an 
average width of about twelve feet and an aver¬ 
age depth of about eighteen inches. Suckers, 
chubs and eels are the only fish found in this 
part of it. The larger stream is the Snoeckkill 
mentioned above. A description of one will 
serve for both, except that the kill is a much 
larger stream-'and about twelve miles of its 
length is given up to suckers, chubs and eels. 
Now, these streams are fair samples of hun¬ 
dreds of others in this State, and I would like 
to know if there are any good reasons why such 
water should not be stocked with brown trout? 
Of course no fisherman who is acquainted with 
many excellencies of our native trout would like 
to see it crowded out of water in which it thrives, 
but it is not a question of crowding at all, but 
simply stocking water in which brown trout will 
thrive and in which our native trout will not 
thrive, or letting such water remain unoccupied 
by any desirable fish. 
I would like to ask if there is any place at 
this time where brown trout can be secured for 
stocking purposes, and what is necessary to be 
done by those wishing.to secure them? 
Jos. W. Shurter. 
Death of John Harrington Keene. 
John Harrington Keene, of Floral Park, L. 
I., who was prominent as an authoritative and 
entertaining writer on angling, died recently in 
a sanitarium in Bellows Falls, Vt., where he 
went a little over a month ago hoping to gain 
relief from the illness from which he suffered 
for the last five years. 
Mr. Keene was an Englishman, and to this is 
attributed the fact that he never received the 
appreciation that his work deserved. Not that 
an Englishman may not be honored in America, 
but because his writings were colored, perhaps, 
by too frequent reference to angling methods in 
Great Britain, where conditions are widely dif¬ 
ferent from those met with on this continent. 
He began to make artificial flies in England in 
' 1865. His best works probably were, “Fly-Fish¬ 
ing and Fly Making” and “Fishing Tackle, Its 
Materials and Manufacture.” The former, a 
handsome little volume; contains a deal of hand 
work, done by the author, who was an adept 
at fly tying. This was one of the first books of 
its kind to be published in America. It was 
published by the Forest and Stream Publish¬ 
ing Company and ran through several editions. 
He also wrote “The Angler’s Complete Guide 
and Companion,” “The Practical Fisherman,” 
and hundreds of magazine articles. He was a” 
man of good address, *as might be judged from 
his writings, and had many warm friends among 
those, anglers and others, with whom he was 
thrown. On the stream he was a patient and 
skillful angler, but it is said by the few who 
knew him well that he never quite became recon- 
. ciled to American trout and American trout 
streams. And yet, after the death of Win. C. 
Harris, he was perhaps the ablest writer on fly¬ 
fishing in America. Certainly his memory will 
long be cherished by the fraternity, the better, 
perhaps, when it is remembered that, though lack¬ 
ing the heart interest which he left behind in his 
native land, his writings were still at the time 
of his death the best that could be read in 
America. 
New Records. 
W. J. Jamison, of Chicago, informs us that 
on May 25, in the regular contest of the Illinois 
Bait-casting Club, N. C. .Herton cast- a half¬ 
ounce weight 200 feet 9 inches, exceeding the 
record cast of 200 feet made on May 18 by 
Charles Stepath in the open tournament of the 
Anglers’ Club of New York. Mr. Herton’s 
average for five casts was 1887/30 feet. In the 
accuracy event, half-ounce weight, he scored 99 
per cent. * 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dea’er to 
supply you regularly. 
New England Angling and Anglers. 
Boston, June 1.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
The salmon anglers who fish the New Bruns¬ 
wick rivers are preparing to leave for the sea¬ 
son's fishing. The heaviest run of salmon in 
the Grand Cascapedia, Restigouche, Matapedia, 
Nepissiquet and Miramichi usually takes place in 
June. C. B. Barnes and C. B. Barnes, Jr., left 
a few days ago for a month’s fishing at the 
Princess Louise pool on the Grand Cascapedia. 
Mr. Barnes, Sr., has owned the fishing on this 
famous pool for many years. The heaviest sal-' 
mon taken on the north shore come from this 
river. Last year in one day Mr. Barnes, Jr., 
hooked and landed a fish slightly under fifty 
pounds and within a few hours his father brought 
to gaff a magnificent specimen a little over that 
weight. Mr. John Caswell has gone to the Meta- 
pedia, a tributary of the Restigouche. He with 
four other gentlemen, owns all the pools for 
fifty-three miles of this river and lease the in¬ 
tervening waters, thus making their control ab¬ 
solute. They have every convenience in a sub¬ 
stantial club house and rarely fail to get the 
best of fishing. Last season Mr. Caswell landed 
twenty-eight fish. This does not include the 
trout which are nearly always to- be had with¬ 
out much effort. Each member is allowed one 
guest after June 20, although the privilege is 
not always taken. That they guard their rights 
on the river with jealous care is shown by 
the fact that they have employed as many as 
twenty-three wardens to protect their interests at 
times when poaching or trespassing might injure 
them. 
The early fisherman expects to be cold at his 
sport, but he does no.t expect to shovel snow out 
of his canoe and half freeze on June 1. Mr. 
E. V. Noble is camping at South Arm in the 
Rangeley Lakes. In a letter to a friend, dated 
May 27, he states that it was snowing hard and 
blowing a gale. His campmate had just come 
in with a $ l / 2 pound trout and was nearly 
swamped in the rough water on the lake. J. 
H. Parker, of Boston, went to his camp on 
Mooselucmeguntic long enough to get seven fish 
and was then driven out by snow and cold winds. 
Not discouraged, he will go back next week-to 
try it again. Herbert W. Northey, of Salem, 
has gone to his comfortable bungalow on Ran¬ 
geley Lake with the determination to stick it 
out. He has faith that a change must come soon. 
W. E. Northey, of Salem, is at Clearwater Pond 
just south of the Rangeleys. In addition to troll¬ 
ing Mr. Northey will fish the streams. 
The Catskills in New York State occasionally 
entice a Boston angler to wet a line for trout. 
Mr. Joseph Eastman left on May 31 for a'week’s 
fishing on leased waters. 
It looks as if motor boat fishing is’ going to 
receive a black eye in New Hampshire lakes. It 
is said that there are several hundred of these 
boats on Winnipesaukee and it is from* this part 
of the State that most of the complaints come. 
The claim is made that the general results of 
this style of fishing are extremely harmful. A 
motor boat with four or five lines out will cover 
more water in a day than a dozen small boats, 
and they seem to keep at the fishing ceaselessly. 
The impression seems to prevail also that there 
is a lack of sportsmanship displayed by the big 
boat people. Each crowd seems disposed to try 
to- outdo the other, thus causing the needless 
destruction of many fish. Report has it that one 
boat brought in over sixty lake trout a few days 
ago and were roundly condemned by public opin¬ 
ion at the lake as a consequence. It looks now 
as though an effort will be made to- place restric¬ 
tions of some kind on this fishing. 
The Algonquin National Park, of Ontario, is 
beginning to interest Massachusetts sportsmen 
very much. Last fall several made the trip for 
fishing and hunting, the latter being done out¬ 
side the park limits. Thomas F. Williams and 
wife will leave for the Park Headquarters on 
June 7. After picking up their guides they will 
make the northern trip, starting in at Canoe Lake 
and going through to Great Opeongo. 
Mr. Pluntington Lee, of Pittsfield, who went 
to Pierce Pond, Maine, a few days ago, has 
written me that he landed a five-pouftd square- 
tail trout on his* five-ounce rod soon after his 
