c7^ Fishing ^Resorts ALONG THE CANADIAN Pacific RAILWAY. ri\ m*i\imm Fishing I^esof^ips ALONG THK ©iBadia^^^aciifiQ #ailwaY. HIasterrL Division. WHERE TO GO FOR TROUT, BASS AND MASKINONGE, AND WHAT IT COSTS TO GET THERE. FROM SPECIAL EXPLORATIONS BY COMMISSIONERS OF Issued by Passenger Department, Canadian Pacific Railway, MONTREAL, 1887. I'RESS OF De Leeuw, Oppenheimer & Myers, io8 ft no duane street. New York. FISHING RESORTS ALONG THE Ga^adiaH faGiiig Railwaf A WONDROUS land — Where the rocks are piled on every hand ; With waters foaming in ceaseless flow, Down the mountain steeps to the lakes below ; Where the pine and spruce show darkly green, On lofty crest or in vast ravine ; And sturdy cedars the winds defy To shake them down from their hold on high. The shadowed waters are dark and deep, Where the rocky walls show sheer and steep; Where the otter sinks with a silent plunge To share the depths with the mighty lunge ; Where the brown mink follows his fearless way And timid beavers dive and play, Or raft their logs to the saving dam, Safe from the fatal arts of man. Great arms of green stretch o'er the pool Where the moose sinks down in the waters cool ; 4 In the lily pads to his very eyes, He bids defiance to gnats and flies. No hunter here to claim the prey, No gun booms out on the drowsy day. For no foot these lonely rocks has trod Save he who bears the tapered rod. The sun sinks low o'er the purple hill, Where the deer and caribou roam at will; And the lake smiles back to the rising moon, While the spirit cry of the ghostly loon Rings on the camper's startled ears. And fills the novice with groundless fears Of that mournful cadence wild and high. As some gruesome fiend's ill omened cry. Morn's golden hand, with a touch divine. Wakes the silver birch and the gloomy pine. And a chord chimes in with the whispering breeze, As though spirits sang in the swaying trees ; Rousing up in his forest lair To another day the lazy bear. And filling the angler's silent tent With a cure-all for lungs and shoulders bent. The lake's broad bosom is glancing bright, As the ripples gleam in the golden light; And the speckled beauty leaps bold and high. As the master hand casts the fatal fly ; While the reel shrieks out on the startled air, For strength and science are fighting there A battle royal — he will not yield The struggling fight till he's safely creeled. rv By the murnmring shore the light canoe Skims noiseless over the restless blue, And the pickerel follows with lazy roll A deadly prey in the whirling troll. From a foamy rift where the waters pass, O'er sunken rocks, the hungry bass Darts on the silvered lure to feel The sudden prick of the barbed steel. A sudden rush and a mighty sweep, An upward flash and a flying leap. As he turns and darts with amazing strength, Till the braid runs out to its straining length ; Each art and trick is vainly tried, Till the gaff is plunged in his gleaming side. Who does not sigh for such days as these, When the tent is pitched 'neath the foiest trees, And the stream comes down with a foaming roar, Where line has ne'er been wet before ? Trout streams and lakes on every hand, In the rocky wilds of that northern land. In endless chain their courses run. E'en far to romantic Nepigon ; No better waters were ever known, Where fly is cast or troll is thrown. The opening uj) of the Canadian Pacific Railway has brought within the reach of sportsmen a region of country previously but little known. There are in Toronto, as well as in neighboring American cities, a large number of ardent disciples of the gentle Isaak, and the one great consideration with those whose annual fishing outing is limited to one or two weeks' vacation is to find good fishing within a reasonable distance of their homes. For the purpose of supplying just such information as will meet that want, we here furnish our readers a reliable guide to the best fishing waters contiguous to the Canadian Pacific Railway; and in furtlieraiice of that intention, we make a coinnieneenient by direct- ing attention, first to a district within a few hours' journey of Toronto, and then extend the jaunt for those whose time is not so limited. The cost of a return ticket, good for the number of days desired, from Toronto to Ilavelock, the point to reach, is $5.30 ; and should a party of five contemplate the trip they can secure a re- duction, even from that figure, by making ai)plication at the office of the District Passenger Agent. The distance is only a hundred miles. By taking the morning train, now timed to leave at 8:30 A. m., you reach Ilavelock at 13:14 p. m., where, within a few hundred yards of the station, will be found as comfortable a hotel as the most fastidious fisherman could desire. Its proprietor is a most obliging landlord, and having lived for many years in the neighborhood is well posted about the district. He will also supply comfortable conveyances at a very reasonable figure. Arrived at Ilavelock the si)ortsman can choose for himself whether he will journey to the numerous lakes northward or try the waters of the Trent river. The distance from the hotel to Ilasting's Bridge, where boats can be hired at a moderate charge, is only three miles, and there is good fishing in the river from the 15th of June to the end of the season. The trolling above the l)ridge, towards the town of Hastings, is good for maskinonge and bass, but the choicest spots for *' still" fishing are below the bridge. At various points between there and Ilealy falls, about five miles, there are numerous rocky shoals and gravelly beds on which the bass fishing is excellent. The width of the river varies from 100 yards to a quarter of a mile, while every here and there it widens into bays varying from half a mile to nearly a mile in breadth. Healy Falls and Rapids. Abt>ut two miles above Healy falls, in the right hand channel as you go down, the yellow-bass fishing cannot be excelled. In one afternoon last suiiiiiu'r tlie wrlh'i' scored a catcli ol' tliirty-iiiiie, varying in weijflit from a pound an big records of catches made on the last mentioned, some of the bass running over three pounds, hikI quite willing to ])e caught at the rate of fifteen an hour. 38 We stated that North Bay would be a good point for the canoe- ist and angler, and with good reason, for there is no finer route for a summer's holiday canoe trip than this. A capital plan would be to take canoes by rail to North Bay, thence to Trout lake. Once launched upon that water the tourist has a grand trip before him. From Trout lake he can go to Turtle lake, where a trifling portage enables him to reach Pine lake, and from there a portage of about a quarter of a mile sees him at Lac du Talon, whence he can paddle down the Mattawa to the Ottawa, as heretofore des- cribed. Once in the Ottawa he can choose for himself where the trip shall end, for he can either stop at Pembroke or **the Sea," for he is upon that highway of waters which ends with the mighty St. Lawrence. The Far-famed Nepigon and Steel Rivers. North of Lake Nipissing is a grand fishing country, countless streams, named and unnamed, intersecting the route of the Cana- dian Pacific, in many of which great sport can be had. But our destination is now the famous Nepigon, for sport can be ob- tained there that will repay many times over the time and money bestowed upon the trip. Leaving North Bay, the route crosses the Sturgeon river, which empties into Lake Nipissing, forming the outlet of Ijake Tama- gaming and several other small bodies of water. On and on, crossing small streams innumerable and passing lakes by the score ; across the Wahnapitaeping river, which flows from Lake Mata- gama into Georgian bay; across the Onaping river, which drains the lake of the same name; Spanish river, Mississaga (outlet of Winibegon and Ground Hog lakes); across Apishkaugama river and the Michipicoten (running into Lake Superior), and Steel, which has been visited by but a few anglers, but which is a stream second to none, if indeed not the very best of these waters, not even excepting Nepigon; across the Black river, Jackfish bay, 29 we Siially come to the Nepigon river, the outlet of Lake Nepigon, which empties its icy flood into Nepigon Bay. Nowhere can tlie fly-fisher find better employment for his rod and skill than on the Nepigon. That famous streatn is too widely known to require any special description of its attractions, but a ti'ip once taken there will surely be repeated when the season swings round again. Great fish are taken there, a six-pounder being not by any means such a rarity, and the river is easily fished. Canoes, guides, etc., can bo readily obtained at Nepigon station for moderate prices, and the whole trip can be arranged for a comparatively small outlay when the quality of sport is considered.* Of the fishing, enough has already been said by enthusiasts who have tested it for them- selves. It is quite certain that trout weighing six pounds are frequently taken, and a five-pounder is not anything out of the ordinary. Three and four pound fish are common. There is only one drawback, and that is the buzzing tribe of mosquitoes, which ever attend the angler. Were it not for those, you would indeed be in an angler's paradise ; but even as it is, there is sport enough, and ten times over to rei)ay the trial and make the mosquitoes utterly forgotten. Rates of Fare. We give a list of railway rates as a guide to the intending tourist, to which he can add living expenses at from $1 per day upwards according to what accommodation he requires as to guides, boats, etc. At the most, hotel rates will average $1.50 per day, and men and boats about a dollar respectively. Toronto loITavelock, single fare $3.10, return $5.20; Toronto to Sharbot * Particulars of cost, routes, cliaracter of the fishing, etc., etc., with a map and many ilhistrations, will be found in a pamphlet by W. F. Whitcher, Ex-Minister of Marine and Fisheries, of the Dominion of Canada. It is entitled "Nepijfon Trouting," and w^ill be sent free lo any address upon application to tlie Passenjjer Traffic Manager of the Canadian Pacific Kail- way, Montreal, or any of its general agents. 30 lake, single .$5.25, return |8.75; Toronto to Carlton Junction, single, $7.00, return $11.70; Toronto to Pembroke, single $9.20, return $15.35; Toronto to Mattawa, single $8.70, return $14.50; Toronto to North Bay, single $6.85, return $11.45. Si)ecial rate Irom Toronto to Port Arthur, with privilege of si opining at Nei)igon, for $30. Tourists to this point can have the clioice of cither going by rail and returning by boat, or vice versa. Special rates for transporting canoes, etc., for those desirous of ti'ving the voynge from Trout lake to the Ottawa river. GENERAL OFFICERS CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY. HEAD 8nt Geo. Stl'vhen, Bart, W. C. Van Hokne, C'UARLE8 DltlNKWATEIt, T. G. Shauohneshy, George Olds, . Lucius Tuttle, Henky Beatty, I. G. Ooden, VV. Sutherland Taylor J. H. McTavish, Wm. Whyte, . Harry Abboti', C W. Spencer, Robert Kerr, . D. McNicoLL, . (x. M. BOSWORTH, E. Tiffin, . G. W. SWETT, . OFFICES: MONTREAL, CANADA. ^President, Montreitl. Vice- President, Seert^tary, " Assistant General ManaK^'r, General Traffic .Manager, ... " Passenger Traf1i. B. Jackson, Pass. Agt 214 Montgomery St. SEATTLE, Wash. Ter. . . . E. \V. MacGinnes : SHANGHAI, China Messrs. Adamson, Bell & Co. . SYDNEY, AirsTRALiA Alex. Woods TACOMA, Wash. Ter E. E. Ellis, Frt. & Pass. Agt. . . . TORONTO, Ont W.R.Callaway Dist.Pass Agt. 1 10 King St. W. VANCOUVER, B. C. ...... D. E. Brown, Dist. F.& P.Agt.. VICTORIA, B. C George V. Heathcote. City Pass. Agent. WINNIPEG, Man G. H. Campbell, City Tkt. *Agt.47i Main St. YOKOHAMA, Japan Messrs. Frazar & Co., Agents for Japan. Thoh. Cook & Son, Tourist Agents, with offices in all parts of the world, are also the authorized agents of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and can supply tickets and information. ;w HE "CANADIAN SPORTSMAN," estab- V^ lished 1870. The only sporting paper published in Canada. Forty-eight col- umns weekly of the World's choicest legitimate sporting news. The fishing and hunting depart- ments are particularly attractive features of the paper, and those who have a fondness for either the rod or gun will find the ''Sportsman" an intensely interesting journal. Reliable informa- tion can, through its columns, be obtained respecting the best territory for sportsmen to visit, and those who accept its ''pointers" may depend upon their reliability. Subscription, $4.00 a year. Six months, $2.00. Strictly in advance. E. KING DODDS, Editor and Publisher, TORONTO, ONT.