
FORESTS 
Vol. XCV No. 6 
extensive fresh water frontage, 
and of a more diversified char- 
acter, than Wisconsin, or Ouisconsin, as 
it was known to the early French voy- 
ageur and fur trader of the long ago. 
Wisconsin has more lakes and streams 
than any of her sister states, and nat- 
urally more piscatorial wealth. 
In her palmy days, before the pollu- 
tion of her virgin. waters, Wisconsin 
boasted of a greater variety of fresh 
water fishes than any other state. From 
the northern highlands her brook trout 
streams flowed eastward into Green 
Bay, northward into Lake Superior, and 
westward into the upper Mississippi. 
Her two thousand lakes and numerous 
streams abounded in such grand game 
fishes as mascalonge, pike, pike-perch 
/ and black bass, often growing to, mag- 
| nificent proportions, and they were ex- 
| ceeded in numbers if not in gameness 
_by the smaller, but much appreciated 
calico bass, rock bass, white bass, blue- 
| gills and ring perch. At the present 
time, notwithstanding the pollution of 
'some of her streams by paper mills, 
pulp mills, lumber mills and canneries, 
_her angling resources are perhaps bet- 
ter than in other states. 
I have fished along the Lake Superior 
shore of Wisconsin when brook trout of 
' three or four pounds were not uncom- 
_mon about the rocks and at the mouths 
_of tributary streams, but those in the 
streams flowing eastward and west- 
_ward, while not so large, were more 
plentiful. At the present day, when 
brook trout are fast disappearing, or 
have already gone, brook trout fishing 
_in the localities just mentioned is still 
fair to middling. 
But it is especially in black bass fish- 
ing that the Badger State eacels. 
Small-mouth and large-mouth are still 
to be found in all parts of the state. 
Even in the northern watershed, the 
/ natural home of brook trout, Gogebic 
Lake, but twenty miles from Lake Su- 
. perior, was once the most famous fish- 
N: state of the Union has a more 
| 
| 


By DR. JAMES ALEXANDER HENSHALL 

The late Dr. James Alexander Hen- 
shall, Dean of American anglers. 
ing resort for black bass in the Middle 
West, although the inlet and outlet of 
the lake were trout streams. Both 
species of black bass undoubtedly en- 
tered Gogebic Lake through its outlet, 
Ontonagon River, from Lake Superior, 
and took entire possession of the lake 
itself. 
N all of the numerous lakes and 
streams of Wisconsin, from the larg- 
est, Winnebago, to the thousands of 
lakelets in the southern watershed, is 
still to be found, in greater or lesser 
abundance, the most popular game-fish 
of America, the black bass. Within a 
radius of ten miles of Oconomowoc are 
forty lakelets abounding in both species 
of black bass, and in many of them are 
also calico bass, pike, rock bass and 
perch. These different fishes have dwelt 
together in harmony from time im- 
memorial. — 
Tt was while residing at Oconomowoc 
| 
_ Contents Copyrighted by Forest and Stream Pub, Co, 
| 
STREAM 
June - 1925 
It Is Not All of Fishing To Fish 
A Brief Story of the Wonderful Resources of the Woods and 
Waters of Wisconsin and Its Abundance and Variety of Fishes 
amid this embarrassment of piscatorial 
riches that I made most of my studies 
of the black bass, and where I was the 
first, so far as I am aware, to propa- 
gate the black bass by pond culture, on 
my home grounds. 
HE lakes contiguous to Eagle 
Waters in northern Wisconsin still 
maintain their popularity for masca- 
longe fishing. Some years ago a brother 
angler and myself were jogging along 
in a buckboard on a tote-road through 
a coniferous forest a few miles from 
St. Germain Lake. The roadway was 
thickly carpeted with pine needles so 
that no sound was audible from hoofs 
or wheels. The forest itself was silent 
and gloomy, there being no manifesta- 
tion of animated nature of any kind. 
From this silent gloom and seclusion we 
suddenly emerged to a scene of joy and 
sunshine, for the road now skirted a 
sluggish but clear stream bearing a 
wealth of aquatic vegetation. Broad 
fronds of water lilies bore above them: 
their snowy white rosettes, interspersed 
with arrowheads and spatterdocks, and 
tall cat-tails, on which were swaying 
and swinging some merry bobolinks ut- 
tering their cheerful bell-like notes, 
while a flock of red-wing blackbirds 
were very busy in their gambols alow 
and aloft, and making the air vocal with 
their sweet metallic song. This part of 
our drive was very enjoyable, and we 
arrived at our destination all too soon, 
as St. Germain Lake appeared in sight. 
Swallows were skimming over the sur- 
face, while high up in the blue empyrian 
soared and circled the marsh harrier 
and duck hawk. 
By previous arrangement we were 
to meet here our Indian guide and boat- 
man. A large and roomy birch bark 
canoe was resting gracefully in the 
shallow water near the shore, but the 
owner was nowhere to be seen. It was 
now about noon and we were partaking 
of a hasty luncheon when our guide ap- 
peared, bearing a tin can in which were 
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