FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July io, i9°9- 
fiO 
Little Talks About Fly-Fishing. 
Sullivan County, N. Y., June 2 7 .— Editor 
Forest and Stream: The seasons of 1908-1909 
on the lower Neversink River have been re¬ 
markable for the comparative scarcity of natural 
flies. There were always fair numbers of in¬ 
sects on the water in May and June, during a 
portion of the day, in previous years; in fact, 
I have seen them hatching nearly all day as 
recently as 1906-1907. This season I have heard 
of good rises of flies but have seen none. 
There has been a lot of oddlings about at times, 
a few each of many different species. This is 
important for the man who is fond of the dry- 
fly style of trout fishing, as he finds very few 
large fish that are intent upon surface food. 
He may mark down a few rising trout, but after 
fishing in his best style for half an hour, and 
changing the pattern of his fly several times, he 
is rewarded for his pains with nothing better 
than nine-inch fish. Under these conditions 
one should be particularly smart and careful 
as to details when he does happen to find a big 
trout on the rise. 
There are few investments that pay poorer 
dividends than economy in the matter of gut 
or flies, and carelessness will be punished 
swiftly. I had several leaders of fine gut that 
had been used only once or twice last season, 
and the first day I went fishing this year, I 
mounted one of these relics, which certainly 
looked all right. After taking and returning 
several eight-inchers, I noted two undoubtedly 
good fish close to the opposite bank. Begin¬ 
ning with the lowest of these, the second cast 
was rewarded by a lively rise, that hurdle-race 
style of rise, when the trout shows his head 
and shoulders as he comes up and goes down 
with the fly in his mouth; I struck, and the 
fish kept that fly. “Well,” “Mount another,” 
“Must have hit him too hard,” “Let us try the 
other fellow”; I did so with the same result, 
exactly. The leader was strong enough dry, 
but after soaking was as weak as fine cotton 
thread. Testing dry gut is of no avail. I have 
had hanks of beautiful gut, long, round and not 
particularly fine, that could scarcely be broken 
by a hard pull, yet were weak as pack-thread 
when wet. 
Sport was good everywhere while the water 
was high, but deteriorated rapidly when we had 
dry weather and high winds. The Neversink 
was hard fished, and when one considers the 
large number of trout killed on bait and fly 
during a few weeks in the month of May, it is 
not surprising that the fishing is disappointing, 
particularly on the more accessible portions of 
the river. Last Saturday afternoon there were 
thirty men on about two miles and a half of the 
stream. I met ten of them, and hearing that 
twenty more were coming down upon me, con¬ 
fined my attentions to one long pool, until they 
began to appear at the top. Then discretion 
seemed better than valor, and I fled, through 
soaking wet bushes, homeward. First, how¬ 
ever, relieving my basket of its load of two 
fish, which I presented to the advance guard, 
as he had none, also, two flies, with which he 
caught one trout. 
To be in the real country, on a farm, is 
enough happiness at this season of the year 
for a reasonable human being. An hour or two 
of good sport is just a filling of the cup to over¬ 
flowing. The recollections of these fortunate 
days should be placed on file for future refer¬ 
ence, say when the wind blows cold in winter 
nights and the day has been short and dismal. 
Anglers are optimistic, as a class, and usually 
forget the days when the fates are unkind and 
disappointment attends them. Occasionally 
they tell a good hard-luck story, but usually 
only their victories are chronicled. Why do 
we work so hard when all conditions are an¬ 
tagonistic, and take it easy when sport is good? 
We fight the wind when it is difficult to keep 
a fly on the water, defy the weather when it is 
detestable and go on fishing when the water is 
dead low and not a trout is on the rise. We 
fish for many more hours than on a fortuitous 
occasion, and limp homeward at close of day 
almost too weary to eat a late supper when we 
do get it. Those confounded trout must be 
compelled to eat flies—and artificial ones, at 
that—whether they wish to feed or not. The 
water must be thrashed until it yields up its 
treasures; and sure enough they do come forth 
at the rate of about one per hour. I confess 
I could enjoy a little return to the Waltonian 
style of angling, the strolling along in dewy 
meads, “by shallow rivers, to whose falls 
melodious birds sing madrigals,” occasionally 
extracting a two-pounder, loafing under um¬ 
brageous trees and reading “Rhymes of the 
Stream and Forest,” by Frank Merton Buck- 
land, in which one will find poems to fit the 
angler’s mood. After lunch, a pretty milkmaid, 
with song, might be introduced, with advantage, 
while we burn tobacco and recline in dreamy 
ease. 
I know a few streams where one can have 
easy fishing, but the Esopus and Neversink are 
not in that class. Englishmen who pay one 
hundred guineas for a rod in a well stocked 
preserve, with footpaths and planks over the 
wet places and ditches, must enjoy the real 
thing. Think of a 12-inch limit and no bait¬ 
fishing allowed! Paradise! But even in merry 
England, winds are adverse and have to be 
fought with heavy rods and weighty lines. 
There is always a fly in the ointment', as well 
as at the end of the line. We yearn for a soft 
c nan ' Theodore Gordon. 
Tarpon at Aransas Pass. 
Akron, Ohio, June 23. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The Aransas Pass Tarpon Club, of 
Tarpon, Texas, founded in 1907 , is very pros¬ 
perous. It held its annual meeting at Tarpon, 
Texas, on June 7 . 1909 , and the following offi¬ 
cers were elected: President, A. W. Hooper; 
First Vice-President, L. G. Murphy; Second 
Vice-President, H. Wilcox; Ihird Vice-I resi¬ 
dent, W. E. Jones; Secretary and Treasurer, J. 
E. Cotter; Corresponding Secretary, J. E. 
Pflueger; Directors, Messrs. Hooper, Murphy, 
Wilcox, Jones, Cotter, Pflueger, Leach and 
Streeter. 
The directors decided to modify the condi¬ 
tions under which prizes are given and the fol¬ 
lowing rule was adopted; “Mutilation of a fish 
by a shark,” which, in the judgment of the 
measuring committee, does not interfere with 
its accurate measurement, will not be held 
against the angler. Another change extends the 
tournament season for the awarding of prizes 
after this year to Dec. 1 . 
The interest in the Aransas Pass Tarpon Club, 
shown by the anglers in this and other coun¬ 
tries, is manifested by the effort made to secure 
the prizes awarded by the club under the light ’j 
tackle rules. Up to June 9 , 280 tarpon have 
been taken, of which number 121 have been 
landed on light tackle and the number of rods 
taking these fish was twenty. 
Mr. Llooper, our new president, has been at 
Aransas Pass for the last three weeks, during 
which time he landed forty-seven tarpon on the 
regulation light tackle which for number place? 
him as the world’s champion in this class. &•] 
G. Murphy, our first vice-president, landed a 
tarpon on light tackle measuring 6 feet 6 inches 
long and accomplished the same in two hours 
time during which time the fish was followec 
three miles. Mr. Murphy has the honor 0 I 
breaking all records for size of fish up to thi: 
time on light tackle. 
Our president, Mr. Streeter, secured a libera 
share of tarpon on light tackle. Among hi.I 
catch were fish measuring 5 feet 9'A inches long 
5 feet, 4 feet 11 inches, 4 feet 6 inches long am 
many ’ other-?. A. L. Beebe, president of th 
Cataline Light Tackle Club, secured a silver but 
ton membership by landing a tarpon SlA fee 
long on light tackle. 
The present season at Aransas Pass excel 
all other seasons for tarpon. The accommoda 
tions are excellent and prices reasonable. 
Anglers w r ho wish to know how to get t 
Aransas Pass and how to make arrangenien 
before going should address J. E. Cotter, Seen 
tary of Aransas Pass Tarpon Club, Tarpoi 
Texas. He will give them all necessary info 
mation and make every arrangement which wt 
insure a successful trip. The tarpon are : 
plentiful that it will be practically impossib 
for anyone, no matter how inexperienced, 
fail landing this most gamy fish. 
Noted anglers from all over the world ha 
come and are arranging to come to Arans 
Pass, and none that have come have regrett 
the time and expense. The satisfaction .in lan 
ing a tarpon is well worth the price. The sens 
tion is simply indescribable. 
J. E. Pflueger, Corresponding Sec’y. 
On the Marguerite. 
Pointe au Pic, P. Q., June 31. — Editor For 
and Stream: One of the first fishermen to ; 
rive on the Marguerite is Walter Brackett, 
Boston, who owns the left fork of the M 
guerite River and whose camp, where he lj 
spent thirty-three consecutive seasons in co 
pany with Mrs. Brackett, is located tut a sb 
distance above that of the Marguerite Club. Ij 
and Mrs. Brackett have just gone into camp : 
will remain several weeks. Mr. Brackett s j 
markable skill in the painting of salmon b 
trout rising to the fly has brought him ink 
national fame, one of his pictures being in 
National Gallery in London and another 
having been presented to the Forest and Strt 1 
Club in Montreal. A. C. Barney, Charles • 
Bryan and several other New Yorkers are V 
enjoying the excellent sport at the Margue e 
Club. Amy Lyman Piiillip 
All the fish lazvs of the United States t 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, 1 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv 
