1018 
[June 25, 1910. 
tween the “whisp” of your casts a flop. 
Really you have had enough, and as John’s 
brogans grate along the shore, you are con¬ 
tent to follow. Below the elbow the last rays 
of the sunset are twinkling on the frame of 
an abandoned bateau, and the shadows rest 
awhile on the distant, storm-scarred hills. 
Douglas Wet more Cunch. 
Lake Sunapee Fishing. 
Springfield, Mass., June 15.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: A large Loch Leven trout was 
caught in Lake Sunapee, N. H., June 4, by Wm. 
A. Cone, of this city. The fish was thirty inches 
long and weighed fourteen pounds, and I be¬ 
lieve it is the largest fish of this species ever 
taken in Lake Sunapee. Mr. Cone was trolling 
on the surface with a shiner and single hook, 
having out 500 feet of line at the time the fish 
was hooked. 
The fishing at Lake Sunapee has been better 
this season than for a number of years. Many 
large chinook salmon have been taken from five 
to nine pounds in weight, and at the present time 
the Sunapee trout are biting well, and during the 
next four weeks anglers will' have good sport 
both with the trout and salmon. 
More fish have been taken this year, troll¬ 
ing than in any other way. The Lake Suna¬ 
pee Fishing Association is just now planting 
50,000 fingerling chinook salmon which were fur¬ 
nished by the United States Bureau of Fisheries. 
These fish are being planted in the streams that 
feed the lake, and as these streams have all been 
closed by the State commissioners, the fish will 
have a good chance to grow during the coming 
summer. 
The association planted 30,000 brook trout 
fingerlings last November and the brooks are 
full of these fish at the present time. 
Black bass fishing with fly only is allowed 
until July 1, and some very handsome catches 
have been reported. 
George H. Graham. 
North Shore Casting Club. 
Chicago, Ill., June 11 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The following scores were made at 
the club contest to-day at Lincoln Park: 
Bait. 
Re-entry. 
Fly. 
Re-entry. 
G. A. Hinterleitner. 
98.0 
97.9 
98 4-15 
98 13-15 
I. H. Bellows. 
97.2 
98.0 
99 
98 4-15 
Dr. A. M. Hall.... 
97.9 
98.1 
97 
97 3-15 
Sterling Cramer ... 
98.5 
99.4 
98 1-15 
98 9-15 
W. Liddell . 
97.3 
97.0 
95 1-15 
97 7-15 
Harry Madsen .... 
96.3 
95.3 
R B Benns. 
96.9 
97.2 
C. Weber . 
96.9 
97.4 
Chas. Mick . 
96.1 
96.9 
T. S. Luthv. 
95.4 
95.9 
97 13-15 
C. O. Dorchester... 
94.7 
97.5 
97 7-15 
H. E. Rice. 
98.6 
97.9 
99 2-15 
96 14-15 
Leonard Goodwin.. 
94.9 
97.0 
*A1. Berg . 
97.5 
97.3 
E. L. Mason. 
98.1 
98.5' 
E. A. Suter. 
95.0 
93.2 
E. M. Ercanbrock. 
96.5 
96.7 
Dr. O. T. Waters... 
89.3 
96.1 
♦Mr. JdcFarland... 
98.2 
98.2 
W. I. Marshall- 
96.8 
97.2 
L. T. Closman. 
97.9 
98.0 
98 4-15 
98 2-15 
T. A. Forsyth. 
♦Visitors. 
.... 
The next contest is quarter-ounce and will be 
held June 25. 
Sterling Cramer, Sec’y-Treas. 
All the fish laivs of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Minnesota Bass Fishing. 
Minneapolis, Minn., June 6. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: On the 29th of May the season 
opened for lawfully taking bass in Minnesota 
and by this time is well under way. Owing to 
the cold, blustery weather of the opening days 
thousands of enthusiastic fishermen were disap¬ 
pointed, but at this writing success is reported 
everywhere throughout the State. The bass are 
now in the shallows and seem rather shy of tak¬ 
ing bait. I do not think the wooden minnow 
useful in the shallows, but sometimes a bass will 
takei the minnow out of exasperation at seeing 
it unceasingly invading his domain. 
I have seen bass along the shores by thousands 
and have landed a number of them by using live 
bait, especially a frog. Small frogs—above all 
the little green fellows with a white belly—bring 
the best success. Most fishermen hook the frog 
through the head and find that they last for only 
five or six casts and are then lifeless. By hook¬ 
ing the frog through one leg or through both 
hips, they will last longer and produce better re¬ 
sults. For fishing in the shallows where the fish 
are easily seen I hook the frog through one leg 
so that it will be active when it touches bottom, 
and will begin to kick around. I do not reel in 
as soon as the bait touches the water, but let 
the frog sink to the bottom. One kick and the 
big bass comes swimming haughtily along and 
regards the tempting morsel offered it with 
critical eye. Another kick by the frog and sus¬ 
picion is dispelled and seizing the frog, hook and 
all, the bass starts away. Then the fight is on. 
How pleasing, how filled with breathless pause 
is that moment that we have all been waiting 
for during the long months of winter. Cutting 
the water in a wide circle, the pugnacious fish 
forces the fight, only to be brought up weak and 
exhausted in the net. As yet, however, the fish 
seem to feel the chill of the water and have not 
properly thawed out. Still, they are taking bait, 
and a week of fine warm weather will set them 
to biting with avidity. 
While still-fishing I caught several fine black 
bass with angleworms, and not an over-sized bait 
at that. I have found that by hooking on four 
or five worms, to form a wriggling mass, the 
bass will promptly snap it up if they are in the 
neighborhood. Frogs may be used in still-fishing 
with success, and helgramite, young carp and 
grasshoppers form a very enticing bait. At the 
present time there are thousands of midge flies 
over the water and along shore. If one can get 
the counterpart of this insect on a hook it works 
well; in fact, when the bass are in the shallows 
and the water of the lake is smooth, they are 
splendid. When one of these flies drifts into 
the water the bass promptly rise to take it. With 
the imitation fly skillfully manipulated over the 
spot where a bass has risen, one is almost sure 
of a rise. 
The early morning and the hours before night 
fall are the very best for bass fishing, although 
an occasional one may be taken in the afternoon, 
but they are not then hungry and invariably re¬ 
treat to the depths where they wait for twilight. 
When fishing for the bass when they are in plain 
view, one should as much as possible avoid being 
seen. By making a neat cast from cover of a 
bush or tree, the chances of capture are increased 
two-fold. A long cast when using a bait rod is 
not generally successful, but one should aim to 
place a bait at the right spot as lightly as pos¬ 
sible and with little splash. A big splash when 
the bait lands will not make the bass afraid, but 
it may arouse his suspicions. If a big bass is 
close to shore a long cast, lightly placed and 
easily reeled in will often get him. One should 
have a gut leader about five feet long to assure 
success; some even use one of nine feet. This 
increases the chances. Where you find one big 
bass there is usually a mate, for they travel in 
pairs in the spring when spawning. I find that 
they are not over half through with spawning 
and some are fat with the eggs. 
The best day for bass fishing is when the 
water is lightly ruffled by waves, for then they 
are found on the alert and will in most cases 
take the right bait. The wooden minnow, if 
rightly used, will be found useful. Personally 
I am in favor of the variety that have only the 
tail hooks. Of course in a lake that has been 
fished, the wooden minnow brings very poor re¬ 
sults, but then again in our northern lakes the 
bait is the star of them all. If one takes a pro¬ 
tracted trip through a wild country he will do 
well to include a half dozen or a dozen various 
artificial minnows in the fishing kit. 
On the 29th, the opening day, a cold north 
wind was blowing, and on the lakes one was 
chilled to the marrow. There was no fishing to 
speak of, except at twilight, when I went out 
and had the good luck to bring several to net. 
Frogs are very scarce on account of the dry 
weather, for they burrow down in their holes 
and do not appear to come out save at twilight. 
We struck a likely spot, and while one rowed, 
the other handled the rod. They were close to 
shore I found, so we kept outside the weeds and 
I was soon playing a very energetic black bass 
that bid fair to be the biggest I have ever caught. 
After a very spectacular fight we brought him 
to net. He weighed close on to four pounds. 
Robert Page Lincoln. 
Silkworm Gut in Spain. 
In reply to a Wisconsin inquiry, Consul-Gen¬ 
eral Frank D. Hill, of Barcelona, furnishes the 
following information in regard to silkworm gut 
in Spain: 
The raising of silkworms for business pur¬ 
poses is confined to the warmer climate, where 
such trade has a probability of becoming re¬ 
munerative. The principal countries producing 
silkworm gut^ used in the manufacture of fish¬ 
ing tackle, are Spain, Italy and Japan. The 
most important center of production in Spain 
is in the Province of Murcia, where the peasants 
collect and sell gut to the merchants, under 
whose care it undergoes a lengthy process of 
preparation before being delivered to the market. 
Barring their common origin, this trade has no 
point of contact whatever with the manufacture 
of silk, as worms that are destined for one of 
these purposes become entirely useless for the 
other. 
Prices in Spain for silkworm gut (called sedal) 
vary from $1 to $10 per 1,000 sedales or snells, 
according to quality, and a certain amount is 
exported, chiefly to England. 
Alexander Johnston has been appointed 
deputy minister of marine and fisheries of the 
Dominion of Canada. He succeeds G. H. Des- 
barats, who has been made deputy minister of 
the new navy department. 
