

SEPT. 7, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
381 

great, even after the rushes had ceased. . Block- 
ing the line, the point of the rod was opposite 
my hands and | ‘was quite sure that | had 
hooked a brown trout of at least four pounds. 
Slowly the exhausted warrior was towed to the 
lower end of the pool, where the light was much 
better, and at last he was safe on the bank. I 
was d.sappointed, altlfough the trout was a very, 
fine one, seventeen inches long. The brilliant 
play and heavy drag upon the rod had led me 
to expect a real Jumbo; but the mystery was 
explained, when I found that the trout had 
gotten rid of the fly (the dropper probably), and 
was held by a single turn of the leader around 
its body, the tail fly, or stretcher, being hooked 
around the gut; in fact, this fish was harnessed 
to pull, and exert all the strength of its 
muscular body. 
It is marvelous how well the trout conceal 
themselves in this low stage of water.. A very 
large specimen is known to inhabit a pool above 
the Conklin Bridge, but it is rarely on view. 
It has been hooked at least twice, but wrecked 
the tackle and escaped. It is said to weigh over 
four pounds: We should try for this fish at 
dusk, but the distance is considerable and the 
tramp homeward in waders after dark. very 
fatiguing. For day time fishing it is better to 
eschew waterproots, wading in woolen stock- 
ings and hob-nailed leather shoes. The water 
is quite warm, but the evening air is apt to. be- 
come chilly, the water also runs cooler as the 
effect of the sun is Jost. 
What a blessed good thing fly-fishing is! 
There is nothing better in all this beautiful 
world. We may be old or young, married or 
single, strong or weak, male or female. It 
fascinates all and ever retains its charm. Any 
man, Or woman, for that matter, who has taken 
a few trout with the artificial fly, is a devotee 
of the art from that time forth. It is so un- 
certain, so varied in character, and always there 
is something fresh to observe, something new 
to learn. 
Trout and woodcock go together. If there 
is any cover or feed for them, you will always 
find a few woodcock near trout streams. Even 
on a tiny mountain streamlet, a brood of these 
beautiful birds may be found 4n June and July. 
After that month they are scattered and moult- 
ing. Just where they all go is something of a 
puzzle. Single birds may be found in the most 
out-of-the-way places. There are more wood- 
cock in the country than most people have any 
notion of. I have found them in many States, 
but they would probably be nearly extinct if it 
had not been for their peculiar breeding habits. 
A single pair can raise their brood: almost 
anywhere, but they require a large quantity of 
food and may be compelled to scatter or leave 
the breeding ground soon after the-young birds 
can fly. 
In these high valleys there is always a breeze, 
and we are filled with compassion for the many 
who are chained to the desk or office and can- 
not get away. Water in some form, lake or 
ocean, river or brook, is essential in any land- 
scape, but best of all is it in— 
“Shallow rivers, to whose falls, 
Melodious birds sing madrigals.” 
There be many men in whom the love of these 
natural beauties is innate and who were really 
born to be anglers, but who have been so 
bound down or restrained by various duties 
and necessities that they have no experience of 
bright waters, their surroundings. and in- 
habitants, until late in life. The delight’ such 
men display in fly-fishing, and their patience 
and perseverance in the face of- discourage- 
ments, is almost pathetic. I know one who 
kissed the first big trout he caught and of an- 
other who kneeled on the stony shore, thank- 
ing the Giver of all good gifts for the pleasure 
that he had enjoyed. These were men who had 
passed their lives in the world of affairs and 
were not given to sentimentality. 
It was a matter of keen regret with Sir 
Humphrey Davy that he had passed the age of 
fifty years before he became an angler. 
THEODORE GorRDON. 

THE Forest AND STREAM may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
Susquehanna River Fishing. 
Sayre, Pa, Aug. 29—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The Susquehanna River continues to 
furnish the best fishing local anglers have en- 
joyed for several seasons. Some exceptionally 
large catches of black bass have been made with- 
in the past fortnight, and in size the fish have 
averaged unusually large. Sayre anglers have, 
it is reported, caught a number of bass mark- 
ing the scales at four pounds each. As a matter 
of fact Susquehanna bass fishing this season 
comes close to, if indeed it does not equal, the 
record afforded by a long series of previous. sea- 
sons. 
Probably the most prolific strip of bass waters 
on the ‘river is covered from Rummerfield to 
Wyalusing, with Hornet’s Ferry as. the inter- 
mediate point around which centers the most 
exciting and profitable fishing. Here, recently, 
in a few days’ fishing, a party caught eighty 
pounds of bass. Other parties have been highly 
successful along these waters. Trolling and bait- 
casting are the favorite methods of angling, with 
helgramites and small bullheads and lampreys as 
the popular bait. 
From North Fair Haven, Lake Ontario, where 
Sayre fishermen largely consort, reports come 
to the effect that pickerel and mascullunge are 
being taken in goodly numbers from Ontario 
waters with the prospect ofa still better. run 
of luck as the season advances. 
Ellis Diedrich and wife, of Waverly, N. Y., 
fishing on the Seneca River, some four miles 
from Weedsport, which is reached from Sayre 
via a branch of the Lehigh Valley, yesterday 
reached home with what is doubtless the finest 
lot of pickerel brought to Waverly in recent 
years. In this lot was a monster pickerel weigh- 
ing, soon after capture, fourteen pounds, which 
is. said to be the record pickerel for the Seneca 
River. Mrs. Diedrich caught the fish, which 
came to the boat with the reluctance of a block 
of granite. M. CHILL, 


Boston Notes. 
Boston, Aug. 31.—Editor Forest and Stream: 
Several Boston anglers have lately had fine sport 
off Nantucket Island. Mr. Garrett Schenck, who 
has: been a persistent searcher for bluefish, has 
been rewarded with several good catches, a total 
of forty fish. Mr. Henry Edwards, of Boston, 
went out this week for sharks with quite a party 
of men and women. To the east of the island 
Mr. Edwards hooked a 600-pounder which, after 
a half hour’s play, was hauled alongside the boat. 
Mr. J. F. Gosselin had. an exciting experience 
with a monster while on Capt. Coffin’s boat, the 
Isabel, resulting after a hard battle in the cap- 
ture of the fish.: - 
The fishing in the Rangeley region continues 
excellent and the hotels and camps on the lakes 
are overrun with guests. Former president 
James R. Reed, of the State Association, is mak- 
ing preparations to take possession of his new 
camp, to be completed soon, in Nova Scotia 
some. forty miles from Yarmouth in the heart 
of the wilderness. He will go-by boat on Wed- 
nesday. President Brewster, after a few weeks’ 
stop at the Lakeside on Lake Umbagog, is now 
the guest of Prof. Edwin DeMeritte at Algon- 
quin Camp, Holderness, N. H. Col. Henry A. 
Thomas, Commissioner of Fisheries and Game 
of Vermont, writes that the Vermont Fish and 
Game League is to hold its midsummer outing 
at Bluff Point, N. Y., on Friday, Sept. 6. Among 
invited guests expected are the governors of 
New York and Vermont, J. Q..Cannon. Baron 
Rosen, Russian Ambassador, and several State 
and Provincial commissioners. 
H. H. Krmsa tt. 

Once River, Now Sewer. 
Ir is but a few weeks since we again called 
attention to the pollution of our lakes and 
streams by sewage and factory waste, and 
pointed out the danger to human: health and 
life and the loss in money which this ‘pollution 
brought about. We instanced the filthy con- 
dition of the Hudson River, and the fact that 
the fish which it once contained in such num- 
bers are no longer to be found there. 
Now comes the New York Sun with a perti- 
nent editorial on the same subject which, it is 
hoped, all readers, whether of the Sun or of 
Forest AND STREAM, may profitably ponder: 
The report made by Dr. Porter, the State 
Health Commissioner, on the pollution of the 
Hudson, caused by the discharge of mill wastes 
into its waters, amounts to a declaration that 
the stream is poisoned, but that there are no 
statistics available to show that its condition 
has injured the health of the people living on 
its banks.. Water and_.ice taken from the river 
belaw Fort Edward are: unfit for animal con- 
sumption; the poison in the water kills the fish; 
the pleasures of boating and bathing are inter- 
fered with seriously; these conclusions are stated 
as established by evidence; all that is not proved 
is that human life suffers from the conditions 
that: exist. 
In short, the Hudson is not yet enough of a 
sewer to drive humanity from its banks. One 
may build his home near its course without 
fearing immediate ill effects from its effluvia. 
Ten or twenty years hence the situation may be 
entirely different. By 1927 the stream may: have 
become foul enough to earn a place as a ‘cause 
of death” in the health reports. The question 
for the State to consider -is whether it is not 
perhaps -worth while to take action now to pre- 
vent such a condition. It might be wise to 
preserve the Hudson as a river, rather than to 
leave to another generation the task of trans- 
forming it back into one. 
Anglers’ Club of New York. 
THE second contest for August was held on 
the 28th at the Pool, in Central Park. This con- 
sisted of two events, both bait-casting for dis- 
tances, One with quarter- and the other with 
half-ounce weights, with handicaps. In the 
quarter-ounce event R. J. Held made one cast 
of 131% feet and averaged 121.1 feet, making a 
new record for this style of casting. Harry 
Friedman won second prize cup. The scores 
in the quarter-ounce event: 
Allow- 
ance. Total. 
Rae Je eleldirc an. 116° 118 117 123 131% 0 13114 
Harry Friedman $5 90 110 101 50 10% 12015 
G. La Branche. 96 97 9914 86 86 124% 112 
MoE. Smith 22 95 97 75 * 3 110 
W. J. Ehrich.. 95 35 40, 97 104 4 108 
Py; Frazer... 14 88 70 * 60 10% 9814 
Edward Cave... 68 65 * 65 74 104% 84 
In the half-ounce casting Edward Cave, won 

first cup and Milton H. Smith second. ' The 
scores; 
Allow- 
ance. Total. 
Edward Cave...104 119 *40 *70 142° 25 167 
M. H. Smith....*78 152 32 145 * 7 159 
P. D. Fraze 147 +*40 135 4153 = 149 2 155 
WJ. Eh ..“28° 1388 136 *60 33 17 155 
Harry Friedman*60 113 27% *50 *90 26144 154 
Re ps Lete saad *110 32. 146 * * 0 146 
*Backlashes. 
The September contests will be held on the 
Iith and 25th. The first one will consist of two 
events, both fly-casting for distance, one with 
five-ounce rods and the other for heavy rods. 
Racine Fly-Casting Club. 
Racine, Wis., Aug. 24.—Half-ounce accuracy 
contest, cast in a strong northwest wind: 
Pees) VINBSLICL wclen fs xi tendencies htonee he dukeee 97 10-15 
Bye ral, a Reman WEN IMT eeerranca honk vac Seach kek en 97 9-15 
PR OAR AREY «eek antoue et octet cnet ekace 97 4-15 
Bee Howler el... dea v's leanne mame medica oe tetine outs 97 4-15 
(Qe Ep eS GESTORG strats cs chy Dente meme katte Seles Ohne oawes 96 13-15 
VViern EUs MERE OF Ontarars's wala Meme ee cnc cia feted cas desc 96 11-15 
Pi Cre DeBBLOWIIEs oc Asatte ernest sarin ero eee 96 10-15 
A. F. Gates 96 9-15 
B. Hinrichs 93 7-15 

There will be a meeting of the club Wednes- 
day, Aug. 28, at 8 P. M., at the Racine Busi- 
ness Men’s Rooms, Reports on the Interna- 
tional tournament will be read, etc., also 
arrangements made for the club tournament 
Sept. 21, and to talk over prizes for same. 
Cuas. F. Browne, Sec’y. 

