860 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Nov. 26, 1910. 
the railway agent at that point, an experienced 
and enthusiastic angler. 1 found the initial 
effort much more successful than that corre¬ 
sponding in bait-casting, but improvement 
thereafter was slow. And the implied improve¬ 
ment does not mean success apace in hooking 
fish. Given that one has mastered the mere 
rudiments, has overcome the tendency to whip 
back too quickly after retrieving, which snaps 
off the fly, is enabled to place where wanted, 
there yet remains a subtle something to be done 
that, try as one may, one cannot grasp. This 
intangible quantity is angling. It was amply 
illustrated in my own case and I observed it in 
connection with others who were no further 
advanced in the art than I. Mr. Holder, Mr. 
Smith, owner of the ranch; Tom Moffatt, a 
ranch employee, all experts and willing teach¬ 
ers, but unsuccessful at the latter, were agree¬ 
able when fishing to precede or follow the 
pupil, and, using the same lure, casting over 
the same water, would uniformly, day after day, 
induce ten strikes to one for the novice. 
The object in tying the coachman as the lead 
fly is that its white wing is more readily seen, 
enabling the angler to determine which fly in¬ 
duced the rise. This is an important point, be¬ 
cause to strike the fish quickly is necessary; 
one can scarcely strike too soon after being 
aware of a rise. It is short only of the marvel¬ 
ous, the promptness with which a trout will 
eject a lure when .it discovers its error. This 
aptitude on the part of the fish is very dis¬ 
couraging to the would-be fisherman. 
However, right off the reel, as one might 
say, I struck three, landing two of them. Not 
gracefully and with dignity on my part, but the 
fish were conveyed to dry land in moments 
clouded with confusion, and viewed with 
wonder; small but 'beautiful rainbows, aptly 
named. It appeared that by far the greater 
number of fish in the Frying Pan were rain¬ 
bow trout, while in the very small streams empty¬ 
ing into it native and eastern brook trout were 
in the majority. 
Of these small streams within a mile of 
Ruedi, Ruedi and Freeman creeks were the 
most prolific. Excursions up these streams a 
distance of five miles entailed hardships in walk¬ 
ing and at times in crawling, but invariably 
were rewarded with plenty of fish ranging from 
seven to fifteen inches in length. The law pro¬ 
hibits keeping those under seven inches. It 
was while laboriously scrambling, tumbling and 
falling over big boulders and down timber along 
Ruedi Creek that I found the ideal rod for 
that locality to be my short bait-casting rod. 
A highly successful method was to literally 
sneak to within a foot or two of the brink of 
one of the pools made by the tortured water 
in its leaps down the gorge, and allow the fly 
to float naturally across its surface, carried 
where the eddies d : ctated. Of course this was 
not productive of the spectacular kind of sport, 
but while the battle lasted with a ten-inch East¬ 
erner the surrounding landscape was copiously 
sprinkled and the little pool certainly required 
the additional supply of water coming in from 
above. Sir, or Madam—If a woman can ever 
climb there—take it from me, a surprise awaits 
you immediately after you see and feel the first 
rush of what appears to be a streak of color. 
You will recover but you will be always ex¬ 
posed to its virulent attacks. 
Near the railway station, Thomasville, six 
miles east of Ruedi, Lime Creek empties into 
the Frying Pan. It is the largest of the small 
streams mentioned and flows between lofty 
green mountains, at points breaking into a 
ruggedness that is awe-inspiring. Except the 
deeper holes formed by erosion, it can be 
easily waded, and is about ten feet wide. A 
trout fifteen inches long may be taken from 
water little above the shoe-tops. Rain inter¬ 
fered greatly with the sport during my two 
days camping there and yet this, coupled with 
the obvious drawback, did not prevent my land¬ 
ing twenty-one of the mixed varieties. A most 
enjoyable trip could be made with a pack ani¬ 
mal to the source of this stream, known as 
Wood’s Lake, a distance of twelve or fifteen 
miles, where good accommodations may be had 
and the return to Thomasville made on a good 
road, the distance of which is but about eight 
miles. 
A week after my arrival at Ruedi the tank of 
a creosoting plant at Norrie, a station nine 
miles up stream, burst and let about 255 barrels 
of creosote into the Frying Pan. Thousands 
of dead and dying fish were • to be seen the 
morning following the alleged accident; rain¬ 
bow trout weighing as much as four pounds 
were numerous. The matter was immediately 
reported to the officials of the railway, who in 
a short time caused the State game warden 
to appear upon the scene. The superintendent 
of the plant, on being arrested and tried, de¬ 
fended himself by trying to prove that it was 
purely an accident. It appears, however, that 
some evidence tending to show carelessness se¬ 
cured conviction entailing a fine. The river 
did not completely recover its productivity dur¬ 
ing the two months I was there, but the game 
warden predicted to me that the following sea¬ 
son there would be no cause for complaint by 
the visiting fishermen, because the State would 
repair the deficiency by liberal additions. 
Apropos thereof, it is a fact that the State 
aims and to a remarkable degree succeeds in 
keeping the various streams and lakes of Colo¬ 
rado well supplied. This is accomplished 
through the agency of both State and Federal 
Governments. Only in the cases of water most 
accessible from centers of large population, and 
subject to the angling efforts of an enormous 
number of annual visitors, is there a lack of 
sport. It was interesting to watch the stocking 
of Rocky Fork Creek, a most picturesque and 
turbulent stream, not six feet wide, and a 
tributary of the Frying Pan, emptying into it a 
mile below Ruedi. The trout fry had been 
shipped from Leadville, the largest hatchery, 
in cans resembling those used by milkmen. 
The fry were about three quarters of an inch 
long, nearly all head and eyes, their bodies ap¬ 
pearing to be decidedly diaphanous. It was said 
that 15,000 were being placed in the creek, and 
25,000 in the main stream. These fry were of 
the native and Eastern brook varieties which 
are much more easily secured than those of the 
rainbow. The reason did not appear plain. It 
was said in explanation, however, that from the 
official propagation waters the fish were taken 
in large numbers by a seine, the spawn forced 
from the female, the proportionate amount of 
fertilization taken from the male added to it 
and under proper conditions incubation induced; 
that in gathering this organic life the rainbow 
trout contributed less than the others. 
For several days prior to my departure I had 
experienced very poor success and in despera¬ 
tion had determined to use a silver bass spoon, 
stripped of some of its appendages. By all the 
local wiseacres it was predicted for this lure 
that it had absolutely no chance of attracting a 
trout. In the face of this prophecy I went with 
one companion to a point on the river near 
the canon’s mouth. The. incongruous spoon 
was cast twenty-five feet from shore into the 
swiftest water, over ground that afforded a 
descending grade of probably 12 per cent. A 
moment later, in my unpreparedness, the tackle 
was almost pulled from my grasp. Elevating 
the tip of the very pliant rod and trying to re¬ 
member at least a part of the expert advice I 
had received, I waded into the water determined 
on vindication for my spoon. No sooner would 
I lead the fish into the shallower and compar¬ 
atively still water and believe that my aching 
wrist would soon get a rest than the trout 
would make a rush for the center of the stream 
altogether irresistible with the tackle in hand. 
It led me down stream and I led it back up 
stream; half a dozen times it appeared close 
enough and tired enough to warrant slipping 
the landing-net under it, only to make of the 
immediate water a boiling cauldron and force 
out twenty-five feet of line. 
When I rested, the fish would gq to the 
rocky bottom and bury its nose in the rocks 
with its body at an upward angle of 50 degrees. 
This little trick I found to be characteristic of 
the larger rainbow trout. When forced from 
its position it performed some of the most as¬ 
tonishing gyrations, always unexpected and 
spectacular. My companion watched the battle 
with breathless interest, while I do not remem¬ 
ber breathing at all until the net went under the 
fish and it reposed safely on the dry rocks 
ashore. Then it was quite a long breath. 
Four hours later this rainbow trout weighed 
two pounds, an exceptionally large fish there¬ 
about. Great success attended the use of the 
spoon for three days thereafter, when I re¬ 
turned home, and while some of those caught 
weighed a pound and three-quarters, several 
close to that weight, and while all were large 
enough to furnish most exciting sport, the 
foregoing vaguely describes the landing of the 
largest during my stay. Paul Id. Byrd. 
Channel Bass. 
About this time of the year channel bass fish¬ 
ing usually slackens off, but we have a reversal 
of the conditions this season. Gus Wittkamp, 
of Corson’s Inlet, N. J., sent word recently that 
the channel bass were biting better than at any 
time thus far. No less than six were taken on 
Thursday and Friday and their average weight 
was thirty-six pounds. Corson’s Inlet is a great 
channel bass grounds and when the fish are 
there, there is no finer fishing spot on the At¬ 
lantic Coast. A number of New York and 
Brooklyn fishermen go there regularly despite 
the fact that it is a hard place to get to from 
here.—Brooklyn Eagle. 
All the fish lazvs of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and nozv in force, are 
given in the Game Lazvs in Brief. See adv. 
a 
