940 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June ii, 1910. 
a frightened chirp. Have you ever heard a 
water-thrush sing? If not, then you have some¬ 
thing to live for. Often uttered, even while the 
bird is on the wing, the song is a wild, ringing 
whistle of eight or nine notes, the very em¬ 
bodiment of the spirit of the mountain streams. 
The Kid will never forget the day when one of 
these birds darted past within a rod s length, 
singing as he went. The rapid flight, the danc¬ 
ing, sunlit water and that clear, bold song were 
all so completely in harmony that their effect 
was wonderful. 
The long June day was nearly spent as the 
fishermen reached a shaky log bridge and turned 
out of the stream onto the mountain road, built 
by the lumbermen years ago. It was almost 
time to go home, and so, sitting on the edge 
of the bridge with their feet dangling ovei the 
rush water, they began the pleasant task of 
sorting over the fish and repacking them in 
fresh, green leaves. How many had they 
caught? Well, just about enough for the family 
and a couple of judiciously selected friends who 
would appreciate a small taste of strictly fresh 
trout. But the two were just as well satisfied 
as if the catch were larger, for the day had been 
of the red-letter variety to which memory often 
gladly turns during the long months of the close 
season. 
' Then the quiet walk back to the wheels 
through the deepening dusk, while the sweet 
songs of veeries and hermit-thrushes rang from 
the darkened woods. Whip-poor-wills called 
back and forth to each other with endless repe¬ 
tition, and the stream, broken and fretting 
. down some little rapid, seemed to murmur mor e 
loudly to itself as the darkness grew. 
R. S. L. 
Curtiss’ Waders. 
When Glenn H. Curtiss was making piepara- 
tions for his great flight from Albany to New 
York city, he was naturally anxious to so clothe 
himself that body and limbs would remain warm 
and supple through the long flight in the chill 
morning wind. He therefore chose a pair of 
mackintosh wading trousers such as anglers wear 
in fishing deep, swift streams. These are prac¬ 
tically wind as well as waterproof, they extend 
above the waistline, and as Mr. Curtiss wore a 
leather coat and gloves, anglers can understand 
why he praised the waders so highly, for he was 
not chilled through as he probably would have 
been in other clothing. 
The fact that he donned the waders is also 
fairly convincing proof that Mr. Curtiss did not 
expect to fall into the Hudson and be compelled 
to swim for it, for waders are not very well 
adapted to this use. But with his air tanks, de¬ 
signed to save the valuable engine in case of a 
spill into the water, it was hardly necessary to 
figure on a swim. 
The One Plain Member. 
A BROOKLYN fishing club elected officers re¬ 
cently, revealing the fact that the names of 
nineteen members were required to complete the 
list. If there is a limit of twenty, it is easily 
understood that the member who holds no office 
may well feel lonely. Perhaps his unofficial title 
is “angler.” 
A Little Talk About Fly-Fishing. 
Sullivan Countyy, N. Y., June 4. —Editor 
Forest and Stream: Although a few trout were 
caught with bait, and some of them of very 
good size, fly-fishing did not begin in the Cats¬ 
kills and Sullivan county until after May 1. The 
weather has been for the most part cold and 
windy, but even on the coldest days there was 
usually an hour or two when the trout rose 
with some freedom on the Beaverkill .and 
Willowemoc. On the Neversink, the fly-fish¬ 
ing was good occasionally, but a - large'propor¬ 
tion of the fish taken are said to have fallen 
victims to bait. 
Since the breaking up of the heavy ice and 
freshet in February, 1908, natural insects have 
been much less numerous upon the Neversink 
than in previous years. Probably millions of 
larva were carried away and the floods this 
present year have not helped the situation. 
With a sparse hatch of natural flies, or none 
at all, the trout pay less attention to surface 
food and are not apt to be tempted by the arti¬ 
ficial insect—that creation of feathers, fur, silk 
and dubbing. However, I am glad to say that 
there were days when good baskets were made 
by the fly-fisher, pure and simple. 
To the angler who has acquired a fondness 
for dry-fly fishing, the scarcity of the insects 
born of the water is a real misfortune. He may 
pass hours by the stream and never spot a ris¬ 
ing trout of respectable size. If he sees fish 
midging in the quiet water near the pool’s foot, 
they are probably fingerling fontinalis, native 
trout too small for the creel. 
By the way, if you wish to learn how quickly 
even these baby trout may be educated, for the 
day at least, try these small fish from below 
with the tiniest of midge flies and finest gut, 
and note how quickly they get on to your de¬ 
ceptive allurements. As for the large trout 
feeding in quiet, slow flowing water, they are 
extremely diffident and require the most deli¬ 
cate and accurate casting, with finest gut near 
the fly. Of course, they are shy and easily 
scared, or put down. Stand well behind and "a 
little to the right or left of an angler fishing 
such water. If the light is good one can not 
fail to note the little splash usually made by the 
artificial fly and hook, also the long fine welt 
upon the surface created by the falling line. 
The heavier the line and leader, the larger the 
fly, the more difficult it is to avoid a splash. 
In the old days, when pliant twelve-foot rods 
and fine braided silk, or silk and hair lines were 
used, all the movements of the angler were com¬ 
paratively slow and gentle, and it seemed to be 
easier for the expert to place his fly softly. The 
modern rod is shorter and has far more back 
bone. Longer casts can be made and the move¬ 
ments of the rod are sharp and quick. The line 
must have weight to bring out the action of the 
rod, although for ordinary stream fishing quite 
a fine well-dressed line will answer. The taper¬ 
ing of the last ten to fifteen yards is certainly 
an advantage, and the gut casting line should 
continue this tapering to the fly. The last two 
or three lengths of gut next the fly should be 
as fine as we can use successfully, without leav¬ 
ing too many flies in the fishes’ mouths on the 
strike. Even the finest of gut will endure a 
steady pull from a big trout. It is the sudden 
jerks that are dangerous. Where there are 
many obstructions, finest drawn gut torments 
the angler, as he cannot butt his large fish 
quickly and surely. Big brown trout often have 
a hole or home and rush toward it at once on 
being hooked. 
I saw a beautiful trout yesterday that was 
killed on worm bait below the falls of the 
Neversink at old Fallsburg. This fish was 
twenty-one inches long and was said to 
weigh four pounds. This would indicate 
that its condition was good for a stream 
trout. One is usually disappointed in the weight 
for length when he puts his big fish on the 
scales. I hear that a seven-and-a-half-pound 
trout was speared on the Beaverkill last week. 
Every man’s hand is against the few “busters" 
whose presence in the river creates many of 
the dreams and hopes that add so much to the 
joy of angling. 
There are always more or less of the small 
yellowish caddis flies on the water in May and 
June, but the trout do not appear to be very 
fond of them. Should there be a good hatch 
of ephemeridte, the' sub-imago appearing upon 
the surface of the stream, no matter how small 
the insects may be, if they are sufficiently 
numerous, the trout soon become interested and 
rise freely. Occasionally they will take almost 
any small fly that is suitable for the water, but 
again they are strong on ane insect and will 
not notice anything else. A man may fling* the 
contents of his fly-book or box over the feeding 
trout, yet take none of them. This is harrow¬ 
ing to the soul and has a tendency to mar that 
tranquillity of mind and peaceful self possession 
which are supposed to be attributes of all .good 
anglers. This is the time when the true be¬ 
liever in the exact imitation of the natural in¬ 
sect has a chance to score. He usually carries 
a few gross of flies upon his person and can 
find among them something that is akin in color 
and size to the insect on the water. Presenting 
this for favorable consideration, he may have 
great sport as long as the rise continues, but 
it behooves him to be smart, not to waste these 
precious minutes. When the rise is over the 
trout go down, and as far as my experience 
goes, are hard to move, the stream seems life¬ 
less, and one would imagine that it holds but a 
few trout. ,There are not many things that 
tickle the fisherman more than hitting off the 
taking fly, when the fish are difficult and hard to 
please. It adds enormously to his bump of self 
esteem, and such experiences remain in happy 
recollections for many years. 
All things considered, the trout fishing has 
held out well in the Catskills and Sullivan 
county, but the field of action is narrowing year 
by year, while the fishermen appear in constant¬ 
ly increasing numbers. The best portions of 
the Beaverkill are now controlled by clubs, the 
west branch of the Neversink has long been in 
private hands; but to my eyes the most dis¬ 
couraging feature in the situation is the changes 
that have come through the action of floods 
and ice. There is not as much good holding 
water as in years gone by. Many of the large 
pools have shrunk or filled up. There are not 
many places now where a big trout can feel 
safe and at his ease unless the water is high. 
The changes in the bed of these rivers from 
year to year are very considerable. An old 
angler on visiting one of them after an absence 
of five years would feel almost a stranger and 
