The Barometer and Trout Fishing. 
Philadelphia, March 8. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: Permit me to offer you a possible, if 
not a plausible solution of a problem, which up 
to the present time remains a questio vexata to 
all trout fishermen. 
I refer to the well known idiosyncrasy of all 
the varieties of the salmonidae, which at various 
times manifests itself by their obstinate and per¬ 
sistent refusal to take any notice of the most 
attractive flies, no matter how lightly dropped 
by an expert caster, though the conditions of 
weather and water are apparently just the same 
as those of the day before, when “the sport 
was good.” 
At these times the fish may be seen at the 
bottom of the pools, apparently indifferent to 
either subjective or objective impressions, and 
are neither tempted by curiosity, nor influenced 
by hunger to essay the capture of the strange 
insects, which at times flutter on the surface 
of the water above them. 
An experience which I had last July, on one 
of the best trout streams of central Pennsyl¬ 
vania, furnished me with a possible answer to 
the question, why on some days the fishing is 
good, very good, and on others, without any 
apparent reason, it is bad, very bad. 
I was camped for several days on the banks 
of this stream, and though the fishing was very 
good up to the morning of my arrival, yet on 
that day no fish were taken, except a few 
fingerlings, notwithstanding the industrious 
whipping of the stream, by a number of expert 
fishermen, who had fished this water for years, 
and were thoroughly familiar with it. 
The next day a hard shower muddied the 
water, and of course no fish were taken; but 
for several days after the water became clean, 
the fish refused to rise, though the weather re¬ 
mained clear. This sudden transformation of an 
exceptionally good water into an exceedingly 
bad one, gave rise to many discussions among 
the disappointed fishermen, and though various 
reasons were advanced as to the why and where¬ 
fore of the change, each one failed to meet the 
storm of objections with which it was received. 
As I am at the best but a poor fly-fisherman, 
I would have attributed my “bad luck” to my 
inexpertness, had I been alone; but my lack of 
skill furnished no excuse for the failure of the 
many accomplished and experienced disciples of 
the gentle art, whose luck was no better than 
mine. 
While I was puzzling over this sudden change 
in the very nature of the trout, and searching 
for a cause, T remembered that my aneroid 
barometer had fallen half an inch on the morn¬ 
ing of my arrival, and after carefully consider¬ 
ing the effects of a diminished air pressure 
upon the surface of the water, the possible so¬ 
lution of the problem became at once apparent. 
As it is a fact that all fluids absorb gases readily 
under pressure, and just as readily part with 
them when the pressure is removed, it must 
follow that with a diminished air pressure upon 
the surface of the water some of the air which 
the water has absorbed, while under a greater 
pressure or while passing through the rapids, 
must leave it. 
Now as the fall of half an inch of the baro¬ 
meter indicates a loss of one-fourth of a pound 
pressure on each square inch of the surface, 
some of the air contained in the water must 
necessarily escape. The deeper water being 
still under the greater pressure of the water 
above it, is less affected by this change of air 
pressure, and being colder than the surface 
water, in accordance with another well known 
physical fact, further depletes the surface water 
of its air by absorption. 
The recognition of this condition carries with 
it the realization of the fact, that the fish must 
find greater difficulty in obtaining the neces¬ 
sary blood aeration while swimming in the water 
near the surface, and consequently they remain 
at the bottom of the stream until the conditions 
change, making only such incursions into the 
regions of discomfort as may be required in 
quest of food, and only at such times as they 
will suffer the least discomfort. 
An analogous condition, affecting man, is 
found in the higher altitudes, under a decreasing 
air pressure, when the difficulties of respiration 
are it creased, as the air pressure is diminished, 
until jnally the danger point is reached The 
strain on the heart, which follows a marked de¬ 
crease in the air pressure, is so well known, that 
persons suffering from any organic or func¬ 
tional disturbance of the ’heart, are positively 
forbidden by their medical advisers to cross 
the Rocky Mountains, though in the comfort¬ 
able seat of a parlor car, no other exertion than 
that of breathing is required. The increased 
rapidity of the respiration calls for more rapid 
heart action, and that again for more respira¬ 
tion, until at last what is known as a “vicious 
circle” is established, and the weakened and over¬ 
worked heart gives way. 
The fisherman is himself conscious of the de¬ 
pressing influence of those days, when the lighter 
and rnoister air seems to deprive him of his 
energy, and diminish his desire to take active 
exertion. 
If, as I have shown, man is affected more or 
less seriously by alterations in the air pressure, 
is it not probable that the fish are equally af¬ 
fected. under similar conditions, for their blood 
is oxygenated practically in the same way as 
is that of man. When I had satisfied myself that 
I had found a possible solution of this problem, 
T announced it to my fellow campers, and stated 
that the fishing would not improve until the baro¬ 
meter indicated a return to normal atmospheric 
conditions. I will admit, however, that my 
solution was not accepted as being fully satis¬ 
factory, and my prognostication was scoffed at. 
After waiting a few days and seeing no pros¬ 
pect of an immediate change in the barometric 
conditions, and being sure that there would be 
no fishing until then, I returned home. Three 
or four days later the air pressure became 
normal again, and I learned with much satis¬ 
faction that the fishing was as good as it ever 
had been, both as to the weight and the number 
of fish taken. 
I am well aware that a single observation, 
such as mine, is not sufficient to firmly estab¬ 
lish a theory upon; but I hope that through the 
publicity it will receive in your columns, the at¬ 
tention of those who are most directly inter¬ 
ested in this subject, will be attracted. If but 
a few hundreds of the many thousands who will 
chase the elusive trout during the coming open 
season will take with them an aneroid baro¬ 
meter and note the changes in its reading on 
the record of the day’s sport, a series of ob¬ 
servations will be made, of sufficient number to 
prove conclusively either the truth or falsity 
of the theory which I have advanced. 
If these observations are forwarded to the 
Forest and Stream, you will be in possession 
of sufficient data by the end of the season, to 
enable you to give a positive answer to the 
question, “Is a trout fisherman’s success, or 
failure, in any way dependent upon the amount 
of air pressure, as indicated by the barometer?” 
If the answer be in the affirmative, and this 
theory of mine be proved to be correct, then a 
barometer will become a necessary part of each 
fisherman's outfit, and from the information it 
will furnish of conditions affecting the fish un¬ 
favorably, many a useless and expensive trip 
will be avoided, and many a stream, which has 
in the past received a full measure of condem¬ 
nation from those who fished it under unfavor¬ 
able conditions, will be restored to full favor, 
when again fished under conditions which are 
known to be conducive to strenuous activity on 
the part of its inhabitants. 
Tf the answer to the above question be in 
the negative, something will have been learned, 
and perhaps from the close study of the condi¬ 
tions which the collection of this barometric 
data has necessitated, some one may evolve a 
theory which will stand all the tests, and furnish 
a satisfactory solution of the problem. 
J. V. I. 
Trout Fishing. 
This luck be nvne! Upon a morning gay, 
Tn some secluded glen, where alders hide, 
Reside a brook, with rod in hand to stray, 
And whip the waters where the trout abide! 
What care to chose the fly! What eager zest 
Attends the making of the maiden cast! 
A tangled line! That gives the patience test! 
A thrill, a nibble—and a trout at .last! 
The wrist’s shrewd turn! That hooks him, past a doubt, 
And now the careful play of line and reel— 
The scoop-net deftly lifts the fellow out— 
A brook trout for the morning meal! 
IIis fellow lurks where queer raft-spiders skim; 
Another leaps from out a rock-paved pool, 
A swirling rift, or sunken, sodden limb. 
Yield treasure trove! ITeigh-ho! the basket’s full! 
A crackling fire! Potatoes roast in sand! 
Trout broil on hot stones. ’Tis a woodman’s way! 
'file coffee bubbling! Do you understand 
Why I prefer the woods this morning gav! 
Ernest Neal Lyon. 
