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Thoaa too larga to ba antiraly Ineiudad in cna axposura ara filmad baginning In tha uppar laft Isnd eomar, laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framas <% raquirad. Tha following diagrama illuatrata tha mathod: L'axamplaira fiim4 fut raproduit grAea A la gAniroait* da: D. B. Weldon Library University of Western Ontario (Regional History Room) Laa imagaa suivantaa ont tti raproduitaa avae la plua grand soin, eompta tanu da la condition at da la nattat« da l'axamplaira filmA. at an eonformiti avae laa conditiona du contrat da fiimaga. Laa axamplairaa originaur dont la couvartura 9n papiar aat imprim^a sont filmte sn commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la damiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'Impraaaion ou d'lllubtration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la eaa. Toua laa autraa axamplairaa originaux sont filmte 9n commandant par la prami^ra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'Impraaaion ou d'Uluatration at an tarminant par la darniira paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Un daa symbotaa suivants apparaltra sur la damlAra imaga da chaqua microfiche, salon la eaa: la symbols — ^ signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbols V signifia "FIN". Laa eartaa, planehaa. tablaaux. ate., pauvant 4tra nimtm i daa taux da rdduetion diff«rants. Lorsqua la documant aat trop grand pour itra raproduit an un saul ciieh*. II aat film* k partir da I'angia sup4riaur gaueha, da gaucha i droita, at da haut an baa, an pranant la nombra d'Imagaa nieassaira. Laa diagrammaa suivants iliustrant la m^thoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 i „ ^ 1 i I ! I J\ G a ., I WATERS. » *1.2 V. Casting-bait for Striped Bass ^8 VI. Angling at the Bassing Clubs... 64 ""• 69 T IV ,«u CHAPTER IV. 1. VVeakfish or Squeteague.. , II. Southern Sea Trout ..*.".',' 79 III. Sheepshead 82 IV. Angling for Sheepshead."..'." 84 V. The Kingfish 92 VI. The Hogfish, 98 ; the Gnmteroo*'' tV,P rTr"*',;;"';, ^•''^ White Perch, 'lOl ; the Sm'ek 'lO^ tt"^ ^^""'^' ''' ' ^'^« Caplin ' ^"^ ' *h« Spearing, 1 03 ; the vm S'' S"" ^^''' 106; the Poi'gee.'.Z ^^^ VIII. The Family of the Wrasses or Rockfi;h"7;r":r"r;' ^"^ BIackfish,113; theFlounder ' '^ '' '^^ ^^"""g ^^ lA. TheBluefish 116 117 ^ Contents. Swtion X. Tlie Spanish Mackerel ' ^"^^ XI. The Bonetta or Boiiita. ^^^ XII. Thecero,cerus,or8ien;;'i347"ti;eHo;;;"Ma;;k^;i::::::::::::::; J3J — ■ — - ♦ ^^^ PART II. FRESH-WATER FISHING WITH FLY AND BAIT CHAPTER I. I. The Poetry of Angling. IL The Brook Trout .'." ^*' HI. Fly-fishiug for Trout, l^^rModern'^;!!;; fo^Fli^^j-;;;;;;;^^ ]^ CHAPTER II. I Fly-fishing on Mas^apiqua Lake II. How to Pish a Stream .f 105 ; -Lianding- nets, 173; Troui ' ightening Casting-lines, 1 7.-) rout-flies i^^ I/O CHAPTER III I. Middle Dam Camp... III. Bait-fishing for Trout ^^^ 189 CHAPTER IV. I. Lesson hy Josh Billings, 191 ; the Ardent Angler.. ,no H. Anghng for Children '^^ 198 CHAPTER V. I. The Salmon • IL Outfit for Salmon-fishing "^^ yn. Jolly Sport on Rattling Run ''^^^ MIL Ply-fishing helow the Palls '""""* ;^*' IX. Thoughts of returnii.g Homeward zt^ >... The Silver or Sea Trout, 2r„K , the whi;;T;;;;;;"^;;H:';j;;-vfi;;: nmish, 2.!0; Red Tro... of Long Lake, 2(12; Trout of Sene a and Cayuga Lakes, 263 ; the Mackinmv Trout.. " .r, XL American Pickerel or Pike, 2GG ; Skittering f<„. Pi.'.L^^d 'among a.e Lily-pads, 270; Still-baiting for Pickerel ... . o;, Vane . 126 . 132 , 135 CoJ^^TENTS. XI Section CHAPTER VI. I. Trolling among the Thousand Islands ^'^'^ II. The Maskhionge -74 III. The Black Bass, 280; the Oswego Bas^; 2827 iheBh^^Ba^ ^'^ r n'eTaLf ''-''-' "-^ - ^^^^' Hen;'2i.f r/ IV. The Sunfish, 28G ; the i'^rch,287 ;"ihe'^a:^;^'orW^n:;;^a '^' Pike, 288; theWhitefish,290; the Lake Herring, 291 deS coor Ciscoquette,2()2; the Shiner ^' ' ^'" ^^, mw^fn^^f" Trolling-bait, 297; the Propelling Min- now, 2Jh ; Buel's Patent Feather Troll 900 . c, ■ • ?r, , , for Live B„i„, ,,,, , Sp„„„ VicttirLS Jn^"™?. ^S' ...e We,,„er and Bai.s, 303; Ki.h - hooks *3oT"^,„t .fc 310 PART III. COMMERCIAL FISHERIES. T , ^. , CHAPTER I. Lake Fisheries 315 CHAPTER IL I. The »«;:;!":: '™ """"-'" °' ™" ™— "«- IL The Shad 319 IV. Ti,o codfeh-audiiii;;^ c;;,y,;gV-;3^^^^ ",-» o28 xvu ^ ^■.. CHAPTER IIL ^^ hale Fishing, 332 ; the Striped Red Mullet 008 ^ , CHAPTEr. IV. &alt-wator Fisheries, 339; the Chesapeake Bav Fishery 340. p;„ , Haddocks, 342 ; Preserving Food-fishes^ Fresh '^' ' "^'"^^"^ .,, o4iJ The Art among the Ancients PART IV. ANCIENT AND MODERN FISH-CULTURE. CHAPTER L 347 Xll CoNTEJJTS. Section CHAPTER II iMsh-cuftnre in Europe in Early Times ' ^ish-culture of this Centu^!;^!!!!./'^- ^^^^ ***** •••«.., Qr,*" x.f ITT- CHAPTER IV Natural History of the S-iImnn 'jr- t^ . y ^^"^^'^'™«»>^<''; Development of the Sahnon 371 I Fi.h P . CHAPTER V. X. i^ish Propagation assisted by Art '^7S i . «r Salmon. ;?«•? . ....,.;„, t.".^.^'^'.*^^^ 5 Ijest Wa bed, 3..i; fb;ding';;:7Tro;;r^'^^'' ^'"'"""'"^ ^ ^l™"'g- Ponds with Trout.. °' ''^'''"""' ^•'- 5 «t«^'ki"g old II. Aiiisworth's Race and ycreens'"'}' w r,? V'^^""/ ^^''^^•'"■"^' Farmer should have a Trout iZJi !r r^''"' f' ' '''"'y tions ^lesene, 40,, ; General Observa- _* 40G c I „ CHAPTER VI Salmon Passes, Ladders, etc -107 PART V. A GLIMPSE OP ICHTHYOLOGY. Cartilaginous Fishes .„_ . . . ' ' "^ '"''' ^''''•^•"^ «f" Wishes- rr. The common Eol -f^ri. fi,„ t ,' 4 ■". «... fo,. aoe,i,::;,t";, ll'VCSS •""" '""" " «' 440 APPEN^DIX Fancy Drinks, 4(;o • Genon,! i'„J ,','>' -^''^ ! <-' 185 191 193 •!iy Drake, FJy jg^ 23. Tackle for Kingflsh. 0^) t ^'"^'^ Trout-flies ' ' '^ 24. The irogfi.*. ..... "!.':t'- n,?'" ^'""'^'^ 25. The Oxrunttr 98 07. 1 lie Ardent Angler 20. The Golden MuVk.;." .■:::::.■ ,!";:'• ^"■?'^» «••«'■ 27. The White Perch J ' '^' ^^"'"? '^ ^'^'^-^ -'8.TheSmelt n! '?' ^''''"'"S 29. Oast for small Fishes:::;:; Tmi^lT'"'T] ■•iO. .-. .aring or Silverside ol n" "''^"^^^'^''"""■'•od . 31. The Caplin ' ^^''^-'looks - ^"'"^ "•*• Fishing Equipment . . ion 1.5. Getting a Bite 109 70. Encampment ; ; 111 77. Camp Bed ;;:;; 117 78. Pool ))elow the Chute 120 70. Silver or Sea Trout 121 8((. The White Trout ••i2. Sea Bass 33. Porgee U. Wrasses or Rockflsh 35. The Blueflsh 86, Bluetlsh Squids . . . . ; 87. The FlyiuL' Fish .38. Troll! ' ' " " " .^9. The Troller made Bait of 40. The Spanish Mackerel . . . . 41. Spanish Mackerel Feeding ling for Blueflsh ,00 «i' ti,„ iv . • , 'r,.„ii„ .1 IT 1-.SM. lho\\ inniuish. 122 S2.1?od Trout of Long Lake 127 8.^. Trout of Seneca Lake , ' " j""iKuuM reeding I.^n sjj Ti.„ iir i- ™ 42. SpainVl, Mnckere) H^xM^ ' - 'l ,;• ;!'^ ^ackninw Trout, -. . 13. Bonettu or Bonito. . ! 00 . ^ l^'^'^'S} "'' ^^'ke . 198 . 201 . 202 . 208 . 214 215 . 216 . 22.3 . 229 . 245 . 256 269 200 202 204 2G5 132,80. Open counteuauces ;::::;::::;;;;; oj? XIV IisT OP Illusteations. f!' ^'^'"ering for Pickerel . 88. Still-baitiug for Pxkerel . 89. Dragon Flies. PAOKl . 2T01131. Parr Fifteen Mouths 01(1. paqe 3T4 — 27^1132. Smolt Fifteen MnmhJ'AVj 91. The M;.kinong6 "'""'' '''""''' ' Hth ^^"^' «'^"«o"' • • •.■ lit 92. The Black Bast... f^f N The Swordfish Ill 93.ThecswegoBas8..:;:: Jltt-^^^''^'''^-^^''''^ •••".' S 94. Black Bass of the South..:::::;.- mS "'^if^'^^'T*'' '''•"y- »"rt Grili;'" S 95. Spottea Bass or Speckled Hen eS Loo' ^'P^°" '^^'^ ^'"cers ' f! 90. Rock Bass of the Lakes " ' " ?ff !f ' ^^"^^"ng Salmon Eggs. f*! 97. Sunflsh ' 286 140. Stripping a Tront ... f' 98. The Perch : :::; 28!| 41. Feeding Yo,;ng Tront:::: foj 99. Glass-eyed Pike .... f']f- ^msworth's Hatching-race f - 100. Whitefish . 289 143. A Hard Leap... ^ ^^' 101. Lake Herring 290 144. Salmon Leaps.... 102. Cisco or CiscoquetVe : : : : Sf/ ^;?"y««dare Salmon-pa.^^s 10.S. Shiner-natural Size lf,\]f- ^''S« Salmon-stairs . . . . 104. Bait-can ^94 147. Canadian Salmon-stairs 105. Spinning Tackle . . : H^\]f- Horizontal Screen 7,1 106. Spinning Baits ^97 149. Current WTieel. ... ^J! 107. Spinning Tackle fci; LiVe Baits ' " " Z '" ' ^^''^^"'"gy : : : : ' ' ""- 108. Feathered Spoons... •••^^^ 407 411 413 415 151. Pike-perch.::: ^23 152. Spine-rayed Fishes.::::::::;;' ■ ■■ tf. 3071m. 424 425 109. Fish-hooks.. ^^^ 110. Salmon Flies....; 11^ 111. Mounting Fliei 112. ponderaungSLkj;^ ::;:;;; SS r r°'-«^'^ •■:":::::::::: S 113. Indian Summer f "l S,^" !^™^h and Dace " ' J^J 114. Hammer-headed Shark Jo'^rl' ^^ S!"'^ ^"""'^ 4^ 115. The Mackerel ^ 5 .I S' JY ^'''' """'""^ "m lie. Shad, Menhaden, Herrin..' SlS" S ""n V"^ '^'''""^ ^'^^i'v ' 420 117. The Codfish " '-T • ^^^ ^""^ F'lmily .... Tor, 118. The John Do; 329 161. Flatfish Family jf 119. Whale Fishing fl|lC2. Sharks J..://: 431 120. Harpooned . . ff 2jl63. Sturgeon and Chimtera 121. Striped Red Mullet' ; ; ; ^.^fi ?f- ^^ay Family 122. A surprised Codfish. . . . ;; ^l^' ^"'^^^ Family 123. Morning '^^1 ^^^- Gi'euouille :„ 124. Ancient Pish-'culVure': ^3]%' 2:??^ ^""i^on Eel...:;;;;; 125. Modern Fish-culture . . . ; ttl^lTo' ?," ^^'"'P^'y 126. Cuttle-fish ^.f/^^l- Estuary Catfish and Sih.rc 127 History of the Salmon : : of I?" ^^o short Sunfish ^^ 128. Salmon Om and .Ito'n..: S -J' p°°^r^ ..'.m 129. Salmon Pry . . . IH]'^- ^eol to Dry Lines .... !^ 130. Parr EightMoutiis bid:: o"!;!'!" f^^e.^^^^^s Iw Field-sports 3»d|174. InvitnUnn f„ H,„Qi— .' 432 432 433 434 436 437 440 |1T4. Invitation to the Streams. 463 466 477 i paqe 374 375 376 377 377 383 He . . 834 385 387 391 393 .... 397 .... 407 .... 411 .... 413 .... 415 • ..416 .... 419 . .. 419 ... 423 ... 423 ... 424 . .. 425 ... 420 ... 420 ... 427 .. 428 .. 429 .. 42!) .. 430 .. 431 .. 432 .. 432 .. 433 . 433 . 434 . 43(i . 437 . 440 . 442 . 445 403 406 477 fJart I'lxst ON COAST AJS-D ESTUARY FISHI WITH ROD ANT> LINE. iL ill ill i! FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS. CPIAPTER I. GENERAL CHARACTERIZATION OF FISHES. SECTION FIRST. ON seriously contem- plating the immensity of the waters and their innumerable inhabit- ants, it is not difficult to realize the importance of these branches of ma- terial and animal na- ture, and I shall con- sider myself fortunate if able to present rea- sons sufficient to induce the employment of an amount of time at 'ill commensurate witl, the prope,- dividon of labor between ai^" .u,d water for the pm^ose, of health, wealth, and rlert: .W equeathed to flsh-kmd than to mankind, bat "its first fam- MuZuofn T^- ^'"^ ""^ " P'™'' ^hen all the in- habitants of th.s planet were fishes, previously to the sublime ...oment when "God said 'Let the dry. land appear "'tI ancents thought that the illimitable beautie T he wal were reflected iu the heavens; hence thev .ave to thl^r s.ellat,ons the nan.es of fishes. Thus, prior^to the time "f 18 Fishing m American Waters. -nd south.,,, ccstellation, to mo " '"'^ '"' """""•" were „a,ned after .heir favorit fiah o'r X 1 "'"'" connecting these fishes with heatli™ ,V ''S™'''' been evolved and handed down ?, "'*'"' """•" *•"'• the signs of the .odiaeMe^d in''. ,"""'' T" ''"P™-'^' of a man, whieh signs are m ,"""'"^' "^^ ""^ Agun. sailor and angler /^d the lar™"'™"^ ""'"""'^ "^^ b<«'' f"' of great suedes nn 3 •^"C """'" <">"«"»' or hope- Whether or no this be a Ine,^! *", '"' '"'°''« "■' l-"»- cieuts I have not bestovX; ";;„?•'*''''' "^ *^ - plead guilty to the woakne,, Z v ? esam,ning, but fluent of good sport o,;;r/;t:if"' """,'' ''"'''' "™- aoh, or bowels, but never T" i, *'" "' ,'" ""^ ''^''"' «'»■»- ' Man, from h s inferior <,h! . f '" "" '«S^ "'• <■«'• "ittle space he app";' "f, '"? r"'"'" ""■'■»"^' '« -"-h wing to soar, conLllate, w,h " '" " *" '" "'™ "^ " Wens; whiL the Zt " ^T'" "" f^'"'"'«'"S beating the shoi-es into f,.,„ • "'"'''"' "« breakers » elos'e lines, and ifs^ormfr ""',''' ""'owy battalions Us soul with'awe and Z eteTfh """"'-' P-««™e wMeh, in comparison, his own is nothinr"'' """'"■"'«'• ^" "at It ,s not n,y intention to estima'^;. ,1 waters, or their value for bi'hir. '"""'"'''"' Power of the «y object is to show the rea^rthn ""•"""» P"'^-* and to convince him that whe e™ f ""' °' """""«• have been made, the water, hi , f """'"'»'»«e efforts . his toil or skill than thitd T . "" f " ''''''' P™«'^ '« «^nance of a large ma, tile powr'lf "'™"'^"= '"« ""*"'- the experience of thp R.i, ■ t , " ™<""'^ of wealth, tively ilignifiea:' » thr:"tZ°""f; -<• -"»-- proves that nothing is too exaLd.^ ?''''* "" '^'"^ "">- eral maritime powe,- Bn, T ,^ ' ''"P'''^ '■™- ^i' " "b" the riches of their^habft \ ' ,' '"'""' "''*'>'' """ters in mention, ^s ^^L^ re^f ttrr''' ""'""^ '"^''" c^'itc or Uhlies, comparatively lit- Fl6HING INCLUDES AnGLING. IJ) tie is b^own ; but I feel assured that they would rank higher in the scale of entities" than the fourth class of vertebrate animals, accorded them by Cuvier, did all men of thought hnd science appreciate and pursue fishing. Fishing as a term, is general; while angling is a special kind of fishing The word angling is supposed to have been derived from the bend of the hook, forming an angle; but the ongin or antiquity of the term is comparatively unim- portant now. It is sufficient to know that the art of angling requ„.es as much enthusiasm as poetry, as much patience as mathematics, and as much caution as housebreaking." That field-sports were among the earliest and most respect- able pastimes of the ancients, we have abundant evidence from their poets and philosophers, such as Aristotle, Plato Cicero, and Horace; and that angling was practiced "with much succ^ess and love of the sport is evident from the Plali- eutics of Oppian, the only Greek poem iLow extant on this subject; but we learn from Athena^us that several other writers had written treatises or poems upon fishino- some centuries before the Christian era. "Fishing was a favorite pastime of the Egyptian gentle^ man both in the Nile and in the .acious ' sluices, oi ponds for fish,* constructed within his grounds, where they were fed for the table, and where he amused himself by anglino-f and the dexterous use of the bident, a two-pronged spear for striking two fish at a time. These favorite occupations were not confined to young persons, nor thought unworthy of men of serious habits ; and an Egyptian of rank, and of a certain age, IS frequently represented in the sculptui^s catching, fish ma canal or lake, with the line, or spearing them as^they glided past the bank. Sometimes the angler posted himself m a shady spot by the water's edge, and, having ordered his servants to spread a mat upon the ground, sat upon it as he threw his hne; and some, with higher notions of comfort' used a chair, as ' stout gentlemen' now do in punts. Thp rnd * Isaiah xix., ]0. * t • i. . t Isaiah XIX. . 8. 20 Fi8HiNG IN American Wateks. In; Au Egyptian geiUlemau liaiiiug. was short, and apjjarently of one mpoo • *hr. v "y sented for the benefit of those who retaS s aloT ^ '' ^"''' along the streets : ^''^ ^''' ^''^"' ^^''^"'^« "Poets are nonsense ; for they never say A single thing that's ne^v. But all they do Is to clothe oldideas in language new r Turmng the same things o'er and o'er again . ^"d ;>pside down. But as to fishmongers ' The. re an mventive race, and yield to none ffi Beauty IN Form and Coloeino. 21 In sliameless conduct. For as modern laws Forbid them now to water their stale fish, Some fellow, hated by the gods, beholding His fish quite dry, picks with his mates a quarrel. And blows are interchanged. Then when one thinks He's had enough, he falls and seems to faint. And lies like any corpse among his baskets. Some one calls out for water ; and Lis partner Catches a pail, and throws it o'er his friend So as to sprinkle all his fish, and make The world believe tliem newly caught and fresh." In regard to propagating fishes, the experiments of the an- cients amounted to little more than robbing the nests of her- bivorous fishes, and planting the eggs in other waters ; but the moderns have, within the past thirty years, invented success- ul theories for studying the habits of fishes at their aqueous homes, m rapid streams, or placid lakes, and deep down into the depths of old ocean. As these will be explained in this work under their appropriate titles of ancient and modern fish culture, I merely allude to them in passing as havino-- through their developments of the habits of fishes-opened up a subject so attractive as to have induced anglers and men of science to study more assiduously and minutely these creatures of elegant forms, whose colors vie with the rainbow and reflect the hues of every precious stone. Se . their scin- tillant scales, their metallic rays, and colors more beautiful than are given to birds of most favored plumage ! What satin sheen, aurora borealis, or heavenly sunset «^n vie witli the prismatic colors of the living trout or the dying«olphin '^ What gold so finely burnished as the spots on the Spaiiish mackerel ? or what shade of carmine so brilliant as the spots on a samlet? What so transcendently lustrous and beau- titul as a fresh-run salmon ? The Spanish mackerel, salmon, and bonetta combine to form the models for the speed and beauty of our ships il-ven as far back as the Revolutionary War, one of our ship, was named " Bonetta." In symmetry of form and beautiflil coloring, fishes stand at the head of animal creation 'J2 Fishing in American Wateks. f ' SECTION SECOND. prerequisites for fishing. In o-der to pursue with success any branch of fi«i • u^Hn„ 18 one of the most anc ent m"thod« nf fi.i,: and an of the lllTJ^Znl' V':. ™""' '" """"> which i^ f}.p ^n] • nothing to desire but a barb ^eSr^ir^r r;" --h' V"^ -^^^^^^^^^ their food. •^^eiuiiy studied. So also should "Fish have their various characters defined, Not roore by coJor than by mind " They have their times to eat and their choice of food Th tTuL I '""" *" """" *'«' approach of a shovfer Appetite and Locomotion. 23 (luring a fall of snow or rain. Indeed, ■ .tnow-storm seems to improve the appetite of some fishes; and rains which do not render the stream too turbid, but give to the water a slight- ly-darkened tint, do not injure it for even fishing with the fly. It is a commonly received opinion that angling is not as good as usual during easterly winds; but this is only true when the winds cause the tides to rise so high on our coast that fishes change their feeding-grounds. Fly-fishing for both salmon and trout are, in some waters, best during an cast wind. A really windy day is not good for fly-f shing. rhe gentle, balmy breeze, which merely produces a catspaw ripple on the surface, and carries the cast of flies out, so as to leave part of the merit for their graceful and snow-flake fall to the angler and the rod, under " a sun of mild but not too bright a beam," form a few of the conditions which give fly- fishing its peculiar zest. The prejudice against an east wind with the American angler on the Atlantic slope near the coast 18 probably caused by the fact that an east wind so raises the tides along the shores, and sets it back in the estu- aries and creeks, as to cover shoals and islets of eel-grass This gives fishes a wider range to forage and prospect over shallow and weedy places for shrimp, shedder and soft-shell crabs, instead of remaining in the tideway to watch for bait carried along by the current. To converse intelligibly about fishes, it is necessary to know the names of their fins, for these give the means of lo- comotion ; and though this work is not intended as a school- book, or to be especially scientific, yet, as all retfflilers of fish- stones should know enough of a fish to name fte^ns I pre- sent on the following page the form of a fish, with the names of them. The propulsive power of a fish is its tail or caudal fin The pectorals and ventrals assist a little in speed, but more especially in turning and diving, while the anal and dorsals serve as centre-boards to a ship, to prevent leeway and beino- easily capsized. Of rapid swimmers in the American water^ Ill i\ ; I ' I 24: Fishing in American Wateks. ii 'DorsaJ ^■ed the swiftest of the forkelt 'n» h , "'?' '■"■" '"""''^- so.he™e.„r;r;Lii!-tr:i;zr--^"^ SECTION TIIIBD. ia.-ge pans:?e::: e,^f:.o':r;:a t:[.k"" r """ '""' though the Chinese had uiKlerstood fish ouU '«»«,'■ a,„, M. OdK.,,, of thtvLl ^ ]^r"T"*"' "•'■ «"■ vato fish hv ...tififi. I ,„.; .-^ ' ' ^"""^"'^og^n to clti- differenee i' " , ' o^ flT'""- '''^' """ ■"'""■ '"=" ""• vcrsity of thd hi, S " " "," ="™''^'- "'"" « ^'"^ <'!• The Value of a Teak. 25 others bottom fish, like the flounders and the flat-fish fiimily ; some prefer a sandy bottom, as the kingfish, others a rocky^ as the striped bass; and yet others rejoice in mud, as the eels and catfish, with the rest of the silurus family. Some fish prefer salt water, others fresh, and yet others brackish ;. while eels prefer to spawn in salt water and fatten in fresh, as pal- pably as do salmon pursue the opposite by feeding in gait water and spawning in fresh. Thus salmon, shad, and striped bass prefer to feed in salt water, spawn in fresh, and dally in brackish waters. Some fishes keep near shore, others in deep water and for from land. Bottom fishes are usually sluggish, while surface swimmers are generally active. Som^losJ then- vitality as soon as they are landed, others live a long time out of water, and dart revengeful glances at their cap- tors. Some can creep like the eel, others climb trees like the anabas scandens. I may also state my conviction that a whale is a fish, and that the porpoise is also a fish, though members of this genm travel in pairs, suckle their young, of which they usually liave but one at a birth, wliicli the parent mammals guard with jealous care, making it swim between them; and if the calf is harpooned, the mother always yields her life an easy prey to tlw same weapon. The dudong, one of the must intelli- gent of mammal fishes, is the Malays' emblem of constancy m affection ; and as it is said to cry when wounded by the harpoon and brought on deck, they catch the tears and bottle them as a charm, supposing that the application of a single drop will render a wife constant for life. The black porpoise and the puffing i>orpus are great con- sumers of estuary fishes. Tlu-y should not only be hunted and harpooned, but small cannon loaded with grape or canis- ter should be so planted as to project their contents into the shoals which attempt to forage near bassing grounds. Por- poises watch mouths of rivers for salmon, and they are sup- posed to be the lu-incipal cause of depoi.nlating manv of tJie Irish rivers of that royal fish. m Fishing in American Watees. ! ! pofpot: IZt t:t^' "'■"■^^ "y -■"■ «-^ '•»' every estnarics should adonf » ■!?„ I °^ "'"' """s' and away. The plotcis olt ';:,^^P'""".S ^^ •Jiving them capture a, itrofl k th « "" "o*' VoAtaWe Ashe, for SECTION FOURTH. ON VISION IN FISHES. scicuoe and the ».^ler loZ "'"^^"■'*'" *» 'he man of both,m„re than dTt „ IXTd "if '"'"'' ^"™»'» "^ed devoured, and to aid thenTin . T "" '"""'' *" ""^^ being fl^hes; for their fortifieatLs arT 7"^- ™' """"""S "the! obliged to leave ^.TZ,Z7 7^'"' ''^'^ '^<>y -^-^ farther than^ tolo, t If""" """" "™<='P'- "^ -ence ".otives by ^^JZy'.T::ZZVf'''' °'"*^' ""> »--.her„.ith„;n"j.— Cl'tr^^^^^^^^ EouND Eyes detect Motion, not Foem. 27 erally taken by the angler while they are foraging for food. When salmon or trout rise to feed, they may always be taken with a well-made artificial fly, presented to them gently and artistically. The form of the eyes of almost all fishes proves them to be near-sighted. All animals with very c mvex eyes quickly de- tect the slightest motion, but lack the power to discriminate form. Hence a deer, with its full lustrous eye, will approach any still form to within a few feet of it, but at the first move- ment it bounds away like the wind. In addition to the eyes of fishes being convex, the density of the water— as a medium through which they see— rathor shortens than extends vision. "The vision must also be farther limited from the eye beino- covered with the common skin of the head to protect the eye^ ball; and as they have no eyelids, of course the eyes never close ; and, whether sleeping or waking, their vision must be mdistinct." White, of Selborne, states that eyes of fishes are immovable ; but it is known that those of the silver and gold fishes m glass cases turn in their sockets as occasion requires and that, while they take little notice of a lighted candle, they will dart and appear much terrified if their glass house is touched. As fishes have no eyelids, it is difficult to discern the difference between their sleeping and waking hours That they do not always sleep in the night is proven by the many instances when trout have been taken by risino- to the artificial white miller in total darkness. M. de Blainville at- tributes the greatest distinctness of vision to migratory fishes because he states their eyes are the largest; but, instead of tliat being so, the cod is about the only migratory fish which lias larger eyes than the general run of river fishes while those with eyes of moderate size, such as the genmPerca and those of the ^almo genus, give indications of better Sight than most sea fishes. Anglers of great experience and acknowl- edged judgment select baits, whether live minnows, or such artificial lures as flies, squids, etc., whicli contrast stronfflv with the water and the color of the clouds. Wliat angler If I II II 28 Fishing in Amebican Watoib. *t::^t:-rrr:ir^^^ 7 ?"""= «>- - -^^'■ water ,,vhether by a ship sel? 1. '" '"'' "P°" *''" ory by ,bc anecdote tbat ,L,. T ."^ ™"' "*'"''» ""^■ ■ Street from „„e of ,1, , I, ' '"'"'" ™"''"« »P Bon,l ago, .ai., a «« t^e'l^"^ "'"' ™ '"^riou^erso,,. "■ '» wall, a,^, that t,; , :^:~,rv.''r '"^™'=^' street he lilted. When thev I. ^ ''''""'' "''''■ <'*'"'o had not seen one, wh "theTtife T^ "' "" """ "" ''""^^ explanation was that h! °"«"; ^ad eonnted thirteen. The knowing that eats ^efer "r™ f^V'" "'""'> *' "Salmonia," gives tirlllo ^^ • ^'^ H'™P'"-y, in his «"ng.. " Wl eb en :l::X "\'r'''''="'^ ^* "■ baeks to the s„n, whieh 2 w ? ' *"'° *'"> y™'' shadows of yonr elv s and' o ^''« 7^ '''«'>' '»^ "'rown the have ala^ed thefisirXne™ , °" "'" ''''"' »"'' y°" -e I have fished wt m^ ^ ^VXtl """ ' '^^ ^"" ■neonvenieneed by the lii, 1 ' *""' ™d, though James Rennie if A f ^' f' .®'™" "" "'"■■»■•" of fishes prZtffeilav of """'"'''"'""' '" '"^ "-»" the flshes\ro so weU v3 " T"" ""«'"■' ^>''"' *"-- ha.- flies as to reft, e "tie "o " " ■'""' '''"■"'' "^ ?»••''<="- tienhu- days, and even t V^ '" '"""^ """""' ''"<' "" P"'- " Nothing'. „T no" 1 ?"' P"™''^ "'"'» '"""^ <3ay- vors.a. thongh it be .ronT''"""' "'"" ""''' » '""i^-""!- 'h.V theory 1s ^ut, d „/ ,,"? .T 1"^ ''"^'''" = ^"^ is to be acconnted for on\r /• f'"'»'°Phy. hnt the result Daniell state "th'e "^ '^"^'-™"* P™eiple." a eonsiderab ,i3an a^rth^'T "' ""^ «*- seein. that are .leeeived b^d ffc™ t h 't™ "' """"^ °' "'™- their food, give., room fo ! ^TF""'^'"''^ '" ™'«^«<>n »f distinctly ;?reeived';; .t^.r: ^.tr " "^ ""' -'>■ Gay Colors the most ArrKACTivE. 29 Light seems peculiarly attractive to fishes, as proven by their surrounding a diving-bell with a light in it. Walter Scott, in his Guy Mannering, describes the plan adopted in Scotland for attracting fishes by grates of living coal, or torches carried by the fishermen as they wade shallow streams for 'lo purpose of spearing. When a fish is thus discovered, it remains fascinated by the glare of light, sel- dom makes an effort to escape, and is easily speared. This is one Of the many devices by which the Indians and vagrant whites kill the salmon and trout while on their spawning- beds, both in Maine and in the dominion of Canada. The Chinese catch fish by employing two narrow boats, with a board painted white and varnished nailed to them, so as to slope outward and almost touch the water, and so as to reflect the light of the moon. Toward these boats the fish ^'' -n on t..e w,.te™tf TZ^^Z^^ T1 '"'-* resulted fi-om the frequent rice, .J, ''" •■wloption fi»l.i"g with buit. I !. ce : "■" '" ""•' '■"<' «°"' ^>">ife willing to ri,k hi reputat:^,™"""'^' ^ "*'" '"« ''» ''""■■•I *« a red float is t fe ' ^'1 r"' ""'"'"'• "''O" "'--^ting gcoran, regarded trXTtrr"'""^- ^"""'^^ -1 cafirice of theirs while on a ;t Z T " " "■'''"'^'- Judge Philo T. Ku2<-Ies a„d M.t- ' '"'»>=™i-, with fly-fi.l>ersi„ the stale Cy^onAd"',?" """"^ "'» "« trout by oftering them a L T 1 '" '""' "'<= ''»'"=y »f bought a ml ibfs of a ta.id fj'; t'"'"""?'^' ^''- J''™ to make it into flies. T e ^I ir' ""'""^'^" " %-*y«- tyor, who w-as presented wira,ro:,;""r' '"" '"" «>- .io.e„, actually n.ade n.oney „o"„h bvTh , " ^-P'" "'" The Aktificial Dkagon- FLY. Dessert for Salmon and Trout. ^i of a claret body, brown mallard wing, and tail of the top-knot from the golden plieasant ; or the blue professor, with blue silk body and dark gray wings. With the following remarks from a clever writer on an- gling in the Encycloptedia Britannica, and a few comments on them, I shall dismiss the subject of the vision in fishes: " It may be asked upon what principle of imitative art the different varieties of salmon-fly can bo supposed to bear the most distant resemblance to any species of dragon-fly, to im- itate which we are frequently told .that they are intended ?" The reader will please compare the artificial dragon-fly with a true copy of a natural one on the following plate of natural salmon and trout flies : Amehioan Neeve-winoki) Insects, tiatural size. 1. Common Dr-trni. flv o ti,„ a Of the dissimilarity of the artificial lures to the natural ones, the same may be generally said and prove true, whether I li M ! •32 Fishing m American Waters. tor salmon, trout, maskinongo, pickerel, black bass, blucfish Spanish mackerel, and all other surface feeders. Besides t J pretended imitations are used several months earlier in' the year than nature produces their originals; thus, while the hues almon-fishmg m Europe is during the spring months, the diagon-fly is a summer insect, and rarely makes its ap pearance until Juno. ^ ^ If artificial flies have no resemblance to natural ones « how much more unlike must they be when, instead of being swept down by the current, as a real one would be, the artificial fly •s seen crossmg and recrossing every stream and torrent with ^e agihty of an otter and the strength of an alligator^ ^^ow as It ,s demonstrable that the artificial fly ge,rerallv used for salmon bears no resemblance, except in Le, to any Iivmg one; that the only tribe which it may be supposed to represent does not exist in the winged state durin/I pe nod when the imitation is most generally and most success- u ly used; and if they did, their habits and natural powers totally prevent them from being at any time seen under such circumstances- as would give a color to the supposition of the one being even mistaken for the other, may we not fairlv conclude that, in this instance at least, the fish proceed upon other grounds, and are deceived by an appearance of life Ld motion rather than by a specific resemblance to any thino- which they had previously been in the habit of capturino- v ^^ hat natural insect do the large flies and spoons It which sea trout, lake trout, black bass, etc., bite, resemble ? These us well as salmon, frequently take the lure far within thJ bounds of salt-water mark, and yet materialists know that no inhabits the sea What species are represented by the palm- . cr, or by three fourths of the dressed flies in use ? An arti- ftcial fly can, at the best, be considered only as the represent- ative of a natural one which has been drowned, as it is im- possible to imitate the dancing or hovering flight of the in sect over the surflice of the stream, and, even with that re- Most Fishes ake Short-sighted. 38 atricted idea of its resemblance to nature, the likeness must be scarcely perceptible, owing to the difference of motion and the great variety of directions in which the angler draws his flies, according to the nature and locality of the current and the prevailing direction of the wind." The sight of fishes is like laat of all animals with round and convex eyes. . If the angler will stand quite still in the water, fish will not fear to congregate about him, or to flap his legs with their fins ; but with his slightest motion they dart to their hiding-places. The convexity of the eye pro- duces short-sightedness in man as well as in quadrupeds, birds, and fishes. The round eye is inferior to the almond- shaped for distinguishing form : thus round-eyed animals and fishes mistake a man for an inanimate object, and, from their shortness of vision, approach him without fear. These gen- eral and specific reasons convince me that fishes are short- sighted, and that, while quick to detect action, they are slow to distinguish form. SECTION FIFTH. ON TASTE IN FISHES. The sense of taste in both birds and fishes, which subsist on similar food, is less acute than in other animals, a circum- stance strongly indicated by the hard, gristly texture of the tongue when it exists, which it may scarcely be said to do m all fishes, though it is very distinct in the CypHnidce, and rather less so in the genus Salmo. Dr. Rennie states that numerous experiments made by him on birds T 'lose food consists of small fruit and insects, which they swallow without breaking, leads him to conclude that they choose some and reject others, not by taste, but by touch, probably aided by smell; and he adds, "I have no doubt It is the same with fishes; at least it is obvious, from their so generally swallowing their food without chewing or bruising it, that, even if they possessed acute taste, it could not aid them in the discrimination." C . 34 FiSinNG IN Amekicjuj Wateks. furnished to g.ve U a more acute taste for preventing it from being p„,soned by eating water hemlock, or other deleterious plants as it .s known to.feed on water-plants. That all fish are not thus provided with taste sufliciently acute to !nab e fToal"'"* "'"* " P™""""^' ""P"^™ ^™- '"« 1-ct e Irof r^ '" r'°"'"« *"" '^ p^^^^^^g a„d miki„g » fnt\ 1, f f ' '"' ^'""^"" '■*«. - 'i-^b tl'ey form mto balls about the size of peas and east into the water , Z I T"""' ''"''' »""• ^<"""^"'S iutoxicated o palsied thereby, float to the surface of the w^ter and are ea" ly canght, or soon die. Chub and dace are ready victims to this device, as are also the black bass, Osweso yellow white, rock and all the varieties of lake aM river te I^ IS always dangerous to purchase fish out of season any where; but residents of cities should be especially careful who hey purchase from, and the safest houses ai-e those which deal 'argely with fishing firms of established reputation. Teeth of fishes appear destined more especially for layin.. hold and detaining their prey than for chewing. With tM, view they ai-e bent inward, like tenter-hooks, lo that fish howsoever small and slippeiy, are forced backinto the gu -' le , and their escape or return prevented. It is no doubt with the same design that the throats of many fish Istd tteth'" Sul rn''- ^7 ''•^'™^"' '^™^ a'pavemLt :■ teeth. Such fishes as have teeth thus placed far back on the palate and upper part of the throat, while in their jaws they have none, are termed by anglers " leather-moutLd," b.I technically malaeoslomata. Anglers of the British Isles reckon among tt. princinal of eather-mouthed fishes the minnow, gudgL, rL". To c , bleak, chub, daces, barbel, bream, rud, tench, cL-p, ani other minor fishes. The salmon and the pike have tU in tl jaws and in all parts of the mouth, and the perch in all parts of the mouth except the tongue. The sturgeon and sucker agam, have no teeth whatever. ' Bony and Leather Mouths. 35 The division of anglers' fishes into such as are and such as are not leather-mouthed may be important to the young an- gler, as diflferent management is required in playing each. Old anglers considered such fishes leather-mouthed as have their teeth in the throat. Hooks seldom part their hold from the mouths of such fishes, which are not generally regarded as gamy, though good sport for ladies and youth. But the contrary is the case with the striped bass, squeteague, pick- erel, maskinonge, perch, and most game fishes which are white-meated. These have a bony mouth, and not much flesh or skin to hold a hook; therefore you are never sure of landing these fish unless you play them so lightly as not to permit them a foot of slack line, except, perchance, they have gorged the hook. That water-grasses and some other plants are partly the food of leather-mouthed fishes, especially of the carp c/enus, is unquestionable ; and in the Orient herbivorous fishes are' considered the most delicate and highly prized. But when they feed on liver, brewers' grains, boiled barley, split peas, and the like, they probably mistake these for the eggs or co- coons of water animals, inasmuch as they could not procure a supply of these except by rare accident. That some fish may feed on the seeds of such plants as are scattered about the water is not improbable, and it may have been from observ- ing this that it is recommended by Lebault and Debraw, aft- er removing the fish to let fish-ponds dry, to sow them with oats or other grain, and, when it is ripe, to let the water again into the pond, and bring back the fish to feed. Bowlker remarks that carp will eat barley, wheat, or oaten bread, while tench and perch will not touch it. Of course perch prefer meats to vegetable diet; but as the tench differs with the carp upon vegetable diet, both being vegetarians, it proves that fishes have discriminative tastes. Most leather-mouthed fishes like both vegetable and ani- mal diet, and the carp is said to devour young eels, frog- spawn, fish-roe, and young fishes, including its own specie's, 36 Fishing in American Waters. kind of fish from tl^e mnmo w to the Halmon ; every thin., that hves and moves bein, swallowed without-;o far'as ha:been lectionT ^^ discrimination of species or much nicety of se- 8ECTI0N SIXTH. ON SMELL IN FISHES. bi'L"^ ':, '"' ""'"""'' '" ™'"^-' »"» ™ moved. These fish, it is stated, will not ittnm^t ♦ ■•vhile the bells continue to rin-^ OnTi r 7 *'"'"'"' -PC people are in the hab': ellli,,? " ^:;' 1;:?.:' ""l as o^er iishes i„ pouds, to bo fed at the si d otuu ^"" Professor Bradley states that in Rotterdam at t oreserv^ of carps owned by Mr. Eden, he saw then, fed. " -fi "c , .^..e.tt ^::^r;, - ™e.iat:^ttiS^i-i-tr:i--- Fishes have sensitive Eaes. 39 pond in duch numbers that there was scarcely room for them to lie by one another, and then he threw some spinach-seed among them, which they devoured very greedily. This sat- isfied me that fishes have the sense of hearing." Sir Walter Rogers, an English gentleman, had a pond of pikes which members of his household called together at pleasure; and as carnivorous fishes are more wild and untamable than are those which feed on herbs, it offers the most palpable proof that fishes hear. M. Lebault advises fish culturists not to permit shooting about the ponds for wild-fowl, etc., as it frightens, injures, and destroys the fish. This opinion is also entertained by celebrated physiologists ; and John Hunter, who describes the ear of fishes— always, he says, important— as consisting of a gristly substance, very hard and firm in parts, and in some species crusted over Avith a thin plate of bone, so as not to permit it to collapse. The ear of fishes he also remarked to possess the singular peculiarity of increasing with the size of the individual, whereas in quadrupeds it is nearly as large m the young as in the full-grown animal. " When in Portugal," said Dr. Hunter, " in 1762,1 observed in a nobleman's garden near Lisbon a small fish-pond full of difterent kinds of fishes. Its bottom was level with the ground, and was made by forming a bank all round, with a shrul>bery close to it. Wliile lying on the bank seeing the fish, I desired a gentleman vt^ho was my comparion to go be- hind the shrubs (that there be no reflection from the flash) and fire his gun. The moment the report was made the fish seemed universally affected, for they vanished immediately, raising, as it wore, a cloud of mud from the bottom. In about five minutes afterward they began to appear and swim about as before." The discussions of Dr. Munro, Geoffroi, Comparctti, Scarpa, Weber, aiul De Blainville, may be referred to, as their works fullv settle tl le (jiicstion in favor of hearing in fishes. Web discovered a communication between the cr ear in 11 dies and 40 Fishing in American Watises. ment at the magnitude of their nerve, of hearing It IS snperfluous to multiply examoles of ti5L. „ • when cane., by a .histle or a'b'ell. So t^ZZ^^ pol tTrau'ee"":"'""" f """^ '' "™- 'o™'-" Tn M cfr ' Tf? **' d,ief of the Fisheries Commis- heai, but that some of them talk ! From all the evidence Large and anxious Families. 41 CHAPTER II. FECUNDITY OF FISHES. First. Mammalia, including whales, porpoises, and all fish- es which bring forth alive and suckle their young, whethei^v herbivorous or carnivorous, seldom have mors than one or two young at a birth, which sailors term calves. Second. The families of which the salmon and trout are the heads are called by naturalists the genus Salmo. These fishes have the palpable mark of an adipose second dorsal fin ; their meat is of a tint between mallow and pink, and they are regarded by anglers and epicures as the highest game and most luxurious fishes of the oviparous class, or those fishes which replenish their species by laying ego-s which are vivified by the milt of the male, and then, after a time, the eggs hatch hi the water. This process is common to all egg-laying fishes; but, while eggs of the salmo genus require from three to four months to hatch, those of the du- pea genus hatch in as many days. Seth Green hatched shad artificially on the Connecticut River within forty hours from the time the ova and milt fell into the hatdiing-boxes in the stream-being the main current of the river-and not in boxes so placed as that a stream should run through or over them, but anchored so as to float in the current of the river submerging a sufficient portion of them for keeping the eo-.s covered with water to a sufficient depth. A salmon is sm,- posed to ay a thousand eggs for every pound the mother fish weighs, consequently they average from ten to thirtv thousand for eacli ])air. ^ Third. Included in this class are all the oviparous tribes but those of the genus ^almo. The number of eggs in the 42 Fishing in American Waters. lit m ha?f -11 . *^^f^^^P.-nd the sturgeon produce from ha fa million to a million and a half, the celebrated Dutch naturahst Leuwenhoeck reckoned that the codfish contains over mne millions of eggs. This estimate was ba^ed upon weighing accurately a small part of the roe and counting th. eggs, then weighing the remainder, and estimating the whole from the part counted. Without doubt the fecundity of all ^le food-fishes of the sea is beyond human estimate; so that, a^t bo'l' Vr^ "'^ ""' '™^*^'^^ ^^ '''' ^^'^ fi«h^«> the Ire t f "^.1. '' '''"''^' ''''^^ ^ ^^^ y^^^-«' become too great for the waters to contain. SECTION SECOND. voracity of fishes. pa,t of the food for larger ones, md even those full grown oft n meet m fierce combat, when the one whieh hfstLe widest ti„..t come, off victorious by swallowing his oppo to an ^^^f •I'-S ->"looded animals, are not "susceptible to an acute sense of pam ; thus it does not hurt an eel ueh to be skmned and a shark has been observed to seek pr y for ^JLT "f T' P'"^"" °^''^'"''' "■""'»« domesticated m p nvate ponds, do not fail occasionally to devour such members of their own family as venture near enough, st Wilham Jardu.e states that "the lake trout are vet rapa- cious, and, after attaining the weight of three or four pound, fwn yZtr'"''"''' °" ^™^" '^^''•"O' «P-'"'g -en thei.: This bei°„g t.™ of the finny tribes generally, how malapro- pos IS the sympathy extended for them by good souls who do not understand the savage character of the^ cronLir sohctnde. Such was the poet Dr. Walcott, author of 1 fo. lowing verses: Ceuelty of Fishes. 43 " Why flyest thou away with fear? * Trust me, there's naught of danger near : I have no wicked hook, All covered with a smarting bait, Alas ! to tempt thee to thy fate, And drag thee from the brook. Oh harmless tenant of the flood, I do not wish to spill thy blood ; For nature unto thee Perchance ha? given a tender wife. And children dear, to charm thy life, As she hath done to me. Enjoy thy stream, oh harmless fish, And when an angler, for his dish. Through gluttony's vile sin Attemi)ts — a wretch — to pull thee out, God give thee strength, oh gentle trout. To pull the rascal in !" Instances are common of fishes following a hooked one, and, while it is being played by the angler, biting pieces out of it, and sometimes swallowing it, so that both are landed. It may be readily inferred from this that small fish form at- tractive bait. Fish evince no mercy for any living thini>- which inhabits the waters, and most of the angler's fishes feed readily on their own broods. As fish are generally at- tracted by the sight or smell of blood, ro>l feathers, burnt wool, and scarlet braid, etc., are found to fascinate them when attached to trolls; especially is this proven to be the case in trolling for bluefish, black bass, and maskinonge. I therefore conclude that, as the principal food of all fishes consists of animals and animalculse, with water-insects, and the spawn deposited in the waters, these last seeming to form the dainties most eagerly sought by them, so the unlimited voracity of fishes, which has no counterpart in any other branch of animal creation, may be one of the means wiseiy ordered to check an excessive multiplication ; and that their extraordinary fecundity is probably a provision of nature for supplying an adequate amount of food, upon the same prin- ciple that land insects are so crreatlv multinlipd nrnhahlxr fny supplying food to birds. 44 Fishing in Aaiekica^j Waters. i SECTION THIRD. TIMES OP FEEDING AND HAUNTS OP PISHES Most fish are said to be night-feeders, yet all of them feed the night, and are tempted to come abroad when the weathp! IS so cloudy as to resemble twili^^ht so auTZ^l +},;„ f„„-i ,. . *^^"o"^j »o aiso tne nshe?. With this farther peonharUy, that a turbid sta ,„ ,™te,' from recent ra.Bs may so dim the light that t. ,. wUl bUe wZ the sun shines brightly. When the weather is bright and the water dear most fishes Iceep their places of retirement, some amongtedsTnd other w^ter-plants, some nnder banks or ledges of rock Inrt ■ng m deeper and deeper water as the weather becomt warmer, so that the feeding-level for lake tront. whTeh is oftet I "^ ; :f1 '"\ '" ""'' ^P™S. i^ found from flf; a hundred feet below the surface in July and Auo-ust rL,. fishes «ek the shade of overhanging t.es; C u^* stones; some squattnig close to the ground over SBrins-t sand, or „. the sludge at the bottom off he wateT I™! ent waters, however, there are peculiarities of cu,-re„ts od d.es, and pools that fish are fond of haunting eonee™i„t «*.ch no practical rule of general utility can II ^ZZ^ ^^uVh^^Lg^r™ ^^^'""^ «'^"'' -- "^ «-^' "*■ STRENGTH AND PEOPCLSIVE POWEE. The true indication of a fish's strength is found in fh. shape of its head and shoulders back to'the fl^t d rsal fin while .ts speed or propulsive power is shown by its shanj from the front of the second dorsal and anal fins tott et of the ta. 1, and the shape of this caudal continuation. Of the o,fed.ta,|,.t has already been remarked that the swordflsl while of the square-tails the brook trout and squetea<.ue an supposed to propel with th,. greatest velocity. \n,::g I": Peofessok Bokelli's Experiments. 46 which unite the greatest velocity with the greatest degree of strength must be reckoned the whale ; for, struck with a har- poon or spear with a line attached, the leviathan of the watery darts down into the deep with such velocity that if the line were to entangle it would either bo broken or the boat would be capsized. Upon the act of striking a whale, therefore, one man is stationed to give his whole attention to the line run- ning off clear, while another is employed to pour water con- tinually on the wood over which the line runs, to prevent ig- nition by friction. The angler knows that the sheepshead has this power of diving with the velocity of lightning ; so have all fishes which are swift and wide compared to their length. In diving or darting upward, the swim-bladder is a great assistance, as it is found to be compressed while the fish is at the bottom, and expanded when the fish is on the surface of the water. Probably the salmon and the bluefish unite the greatest amount of muscular strength to the great- est power of propulsion. Other fishes of our coast, such as the Spanish mackerel, bonetta, cerus, and the horse mackerel, add to the muscularity of the salmon and bluefish the propul- sive power of the swordfish and the dolphin. The pectorals, ventrals, and anal fins assist the fish in maintaining its bal- ance or level position of body. In experimenting upon the use of fins. Professor Borelli, of Naples, ascertained that after clipping off the pectoral, ventral, and anal fins of fishes, all their motions became unsteady, and they reeled from right to left, and up and down, in such irregular manner as to prove that they were left at the mercy of their voracious neighbors of the deep. 46 Fishing in Ameeican Watebs. CHAPTER in. COAST AND ESTUARY FISHES. As the fishes of the Atlantic coast of North America in- cud,„g those ofthe estuaries and tidal waters which debouch along our coast, are more numerous, and include a greater va- do the fi^ '' -l' n^^" ^"' ^^^ ^—-1 iisheLa tVan neaily every American angler of a tidal river regards the ^nped bass as the fish of fishes, .a. excellence to be angled hist on the list, and showing some ofthe artistic ways for taking him. j ^^^ The Stkiped Bass. This fish, so beautiful and gamesome, is peculiar to the tidal waters and estuaries ofthe rivers which empty on the coast of the Atlantic from Portland to Norfolk. The striped bass IS known farther north and south, but it exists in the most perfect state in the rivers and along the coast between the points named. It affords good sport with light tackle when Its weight is but half a pound; and it trie^ both the metal and skill of an angler after it rises to the ponderou importance often pounds, though it is said to attain to the Api ^abance aot) Habits of Stkiped Bass. 47 weight of nearly a hundred. I have captured but one which weighed over forty pounds, although I have angled for them every season for the past thirty years. It. is great game when weighing any where from ten to thirty pounds. In muscular power the striped bass equals the salmon, but it lacks the caudal power for leaping, which is so palpable in the form of a salmon, back of its adipose fin, including its crescent-shaped tail. This fish is known south of New Jersey as the rockfish ; but as no two ichthyologists agree upon a classical name for the fish, it had probably best be called the name by which it is known where the greatest numbers are taken, and there it is known only as the striped bass ; and as there is no other fish which at all resembles it, there is no chance of mistake. It approximates the Perca genus, the front dorsal fin being composed of seven spinous or spiked rays, and having two nearly concealed spines. Its scales are rather large, and of. metallic lustre; gill-covers serrated and edges sharp. The color of the back is a blending of black, blue, and green, light- mg to bluish-gray at the sides, and to a satin white belly. The longitudinal stripes are usually seven or eight in number, and are like narrow black braids, sparkling with silver or diamonds and emerald. Its symmetry, marks, and satin sheen render it one of the most picturesque and interesting fishes in the world, independent of its great game, generous play, and luxury as a dinner fish. The striped bass is eminently domestic in his habits He IS not given to wandering or vagrancy. He is generally to be found at home and in good condition. The female de- posits her eggs in fresh and brackish waters, but never in the sea. In November the bass shoal and congregate in brackish water-ponds, or back waters of tidal rivers, or in the bays and bayous of rivers which have an outlet to the sea, after which time It will not take bait until the following spring, after having spawned and returned to active waters. The pond<^ formed by the back water of the Seconnet River were a few M FiSHINO IH Ameeicin VVatees. ^.nters smce so full „f rtriped bass that tl.o flsl, were di, covered by the r dorsal fins in the ice, whore they had be „ frozen by too .Jose packin.. The ice was cut, aul hundred" of cart-loads were pi, .ed out with forks 'and taken t Striped bass will live and increase when confined to fresh water, but .ts shape then becomes changed, and instead oft symmetry and lustre when having access to both fresh and tUlant. Th,s I discorvered in those I took in the upper part of Lake Ontano, audit corroborates the opinion whichlhave hea.-d expressed by other angle,, and fish' ulturists These fish dehght in rocky shoals, among which they flan then- tads and rub their scales as they pros;ect for S'a .cac.es Their great power and swiftness enable them to for- ■age with impunity for disabled menhaden, spearing shrimD c^bs she der lobsters etc., among the bre'akls, rfiihey Zh .mes, when the sea ,s agitated, that casting for them from hatangln" r ""7/'''^''"»"'^ ■'^"'^'"S -^ -"active man angling tor any other game fish tvlfir^'r ■""■'""' "^"y ^^"''^ «»• <"'Pt«rins this beau- ^ of the estuary, the chief of which are still-baitto. from a" ^mchored boat along the edge of the tide, trolling w^Zive .^..o.-es and islands «rYol I M^^n:^;!' ^« SECTION SECOND. AXGLING FOR STRIPED BASS, In order that the reader may proximately realize the ',ar- w tr 1 ''"''' ^" " ' ^^"^ fish, I propose taking Z with me on several excursions after the lustrous beauty ..nd, first, we will try him in the vicinity of Is^cw York Tjfe Effects of an easterly Wind. 49 weather and tide are favorable, and the moon is right for giv- ing hsh an excellent appetite and great activity. Fishes in waters near the ocean bite best in the first quarter of the .noon, while those which are up rivers and creeks, near fresh water, bite best at full tides, and immediately after a « nor'- easter," when the wind, having backed round by the south has settled m the northwest. You may prove these facts' without going a dozen miles from the metropolis ; and I have always noticed that it is better fishing in « the Kills" and at the hedges of Newark Bay, as well as at those in the lower pm-t of the Bay of New York, when the tide is low, whileihe hslnng at King's Bridge and Spuyten Duyvel is best at verv' high t.des The only exception to this rule is applicable to h5 Ms. "^ ^ ' ^""''^ ^'^^ ''''^' ^''' ^""»8- .utl7'%'''\^''uV^^ ^''' to-morrow, suppose we make a lay of It ? \\ ell, that being agreed to, we will first try Har- lem River, or the creek at King's Bridge. Being an angler you of course know that the baits here are confined to shrimp c^1rly m spring and late in autumn; to soft-shell and shedder crab m the summer and until the middle of October; after which soft-shell clam for the English Neighborhood Bridge and shnmp, with an occasional shedder lobster, serve as baits in the vicinity of New York, except for trolling in Hell Gate where we use squid; and for fishing in the surf at Newport' and along the coast generally, the menhaden is preferred' ^had roe is frequently recommended for bass bait. I once tried It at Saybrook, near the mouth of the Connecticut Riv- er, where the bass were said to bite it unconditionally but though I stood on the platform and fished from it, I did not capture a single fish. It was not because the bass did not like the bait, but rather that the great depth of wa.er and strength of tide obliged me to fish with a heavy tracing smker, and the fish stole my bait before it settled c^ the bot- tom because I was not prepared with the means of nomas niusim wherein to tie the bait over the hook. I have' never D I 50 Fishing in American Waters. I tried the bait since, and though it is very attractive, it is un- pleasant to use. The thousands of barrels of shad cured there every shad season, when the roe is thrown into the river, attracts myriads of strijied bass every May and June, causing a regret that Seth Green could not use the roe of this delicious esculent for restocking the river as he does at Holyoke. Of course tackle is of the utmost importance. As we are to angle for small bass, with crab and shrimp bait, we will rig light, and as represented by the following engraving : Tackle for taking Small Bass A. Solid Cork-float. B. Swivel Siuker. C. Piece of the top of Rod, showing the double guides ; on one side bell-metal, and the other agate. D. Agate or Caraeli- an tip to screw into the top of the rod. E. Upper Hook, rigged a foot above the oth- er hook for shrimp. P. Lower Hook, for baiting with shedder crab. G, H. Single- gut Leader. 1. Line ; of either linen twisted or silk braided ; very small, uo larirer than for trout, but from 300 to 400 feet in length. The reel should be a multiplier, Avithout any stop, check, or drag ; it should be of brass, German silver, or bell-metal, run on steel or agate pivots, and Avith a balance crank. The rod for this style of fishing should be from 9 to 1 1 Angling at King's Bridge. 51 feet long, bearing in mind that a short, stiff rod is the best to cast with, but not so good to pUiy a fish with light run- ning-tackle. Of course the size of float and weight of sinker will be changed to suit the waters and the tides. ".See that all things be right, For 'twould be a spite To want tools when a man goes a-fishing." — Cotton, You perceive that I have selected one hook with an O'Shaughnessy bend (E), and the other (F) an Aberdeen. Well, brother angler, a night of sound sleep, and our in- comparable breakfast at the Astor, with our drive over the Bloomingdale Road this beautiful morning, has so enlivened me to a sense of the beautiful that I feel assured we shall have good sport to-day, and enjoy it. This is King's Bridge, the name of the most spicy and succulent oyster that ever graced the cuisine of a Dorlon. Our horse will be well cared for at this hotel, for the host— an admirable caterer— appre- ciates anglers. We will first see what sport there is to be had at the east bridge, where we will joint our rods, and rig sinkers and floats according to the movement of the tide. I perceive that the tide is just on the turn to flood. Rig light for half an hour, and then change to heavier sinker and larger float. I. like bridge fishing, for, after making a cast, you may humor your line so as to lead the bait in the most angling manner from current to current ; and then, in striking at a bite forty yards off, there is so much sport in playing your fish until you get him into the slack water formed by the piers of the bridge ; and, being from 8 to 10 feet above the water, you generally fasten the fish at the first bite. Strike ! You've hooked him ! There ! give hijn play, but feel his weight, and make him con- tend for every foot of line you give him, or he will tak- the whole without exhausting himself, and you will lose him. Do not permit him to run back on you, for that is a favorite racticed and greatly relished by ladies. Many ladies of Angling suited to Ladies. 63 New York and its suburbs are experts at casting a fly for trout or a bait for bass ; and, in my opinion, they lend one of the principal charms to ruralizing. I do not like the pent- up, hide-bound, cynical geniuses of the Diogenes quality, nor yet of those bachelors whose rectangular apartments each side of a hall in our hotels are not inappropriately consider- ed by some as stalls for the stray oxen of society. I agree with Brother Lathv that "No scenes more suited are to themes of love, Than whilst on rivers' banks you fish and rove ; T' instruct the fair tlie happy lover tries, And, grateful, she rewards him with her eyes. No longer, then, our angling sports disdain, Since Venus sprung from Ocean poets feign, Rising all beauteous from the briny main : As, of our grief, do thou partake our pleasure— Our life, our heart, our soul, our earthly treasure!" When you decide to tvdll for a day over the tumultuously- seethmg and hissing waters of Hell Gate, where an oarsman must know the tides and shoals to keep his boat right side up, you will require heavier tackle, and will therefore select them from the plate of " implements for angling in lakes bays, rivers," etc., on the following page. Select a rod from 8 to 9 feet long, like A,B,C,in the *en- , ^" ^«"?ee, to fasten trolling sinker E for the different lengths of squid. L. u^.lf'^r ,11"''^'* ^' tl.'. ^^•'*'=*> the line is attached; length optional. M. Heavy O Srnfl'nprfi'r'iT.M^- ^^^^^'^ ^*°"'? I ?'"''-"' strong/well tempered, SmmtV bend*. ?;.,,i ? V",^*^ f"*^ c Itch ng shrimp, or, with larger meshes, a landing-net l^ro.l. Shank- bended Hook, with line fastened bv three Imlf hiK-h^s fo nuL'l" f(<- -r r'i=^ int'-Mu. "?•» l"r,l'"ge striped bass, a and y. Smaller jsizes, for casting menhaden bait or still-bnitlng witli heavy tracing sinker. 4. Kinsey bend, or I'ennsylvan rilook ' 6 OShaughuessybend. 6. Sproafs bead. 7 and 8. 'Kendal Hooks. ""'"""""• "' How TO Squid a Hook. 55 adise of the bass angler— when one morning I was awakened from my early slumbers by the loud calls of Hosier, my gaff- er, who had tried a cast with one of my rods from the Table Rock, and, in casting, had thrown a knot in the line about thirty feet from the reel ; and, as the guides were too small to pass the knot. Hosier, to prevent the fish from getting • slack line, ran back as the fish came toward shore, and ran forward when the fish carried off too much line, calling lusti- ly for me as he ran backward and forward in great excite- ment. . I finally relieved him of the rod in due time, and he gaffed the bass, which Aveighed twenty-two pounds. Smce then I have all guides made large enough to pass a small pea. Double guides are best, unless you have Pritchard's patent guides, which turn on a fixed metallic band. It is al- ways best to disjoint a rod when done fishing for the day, and then change the sides of the two upper joints every day| as it prevents the rod from warping or setting. The reel, like I, should carry 600 feet of hawser-laid Imen line, of from twelve to fifteen threads, thus rendering it about the size of a fine salmon line; but the line should be free from any oily composition, and a dip in dye to give it a greenish shade is beneficial. Never, by any chance, use a check reel for coast or estuary fishing. Depend on the pressure of your thumb for checking the fish, and wear knitted thumb-stalls. Hooks like H, with taper shank and loop of linen line, the same size as that on the reel, extending six inches beyond the end of the shank. Place your squid along the hook so that the extreme bend of the hook will be opposite its eyes, when slide up sinker on loop E toward L until the sinker is' even with the other end of the squid. By this process your tackle will fit your squid. Then fasten E to its place by K ; hook the squid back of its mouth, running tlio point forward,' and turning it down so as to bring the point out between the eyes ; attach loop L to the baiting-needle ; draw the sinker up thi-ough the ink-snok. or body, and attach the loop to the end of the reel-line, and you will be ready to commence trolling. I In' Ini ;;'! 56 Fishing in American Wa' TEKS. Those who employ a man to row and gaff the fish would do well to direct him to squid half a dozen hooks before start- ing, and lay them aside in the boat under some wet rock-weed before leaving shore. If you have ever been trolling-as I have-when large bass were biting generously, you will real- ize the force of this advice. It is unpleasant to be trolling in rough waters, and, when a bass strikes the back of your hook and takes your bait without fastening, to be obliged to ' stop and squid a hook before proceeding. Now for the fray ! Our boats are made by Hughes, fellow- apprentice of George Steers; and with Sile Wright and Sandv Gibson as guides and gaffers, we shall be sculled over all the favorite trolhng grounus from the ferry below to the Drowned Marsh above Ward's Island. Our first move will be toward lide Rock, swinging Big and Little Mill Rocks on the way • then we shall glide over the Hen and Chickens, swinr. Holt's' Rock on the Hog's Back, round Nigger Point, and, stopping at .John Hilhker's to rest, enjoy a piece of incomparable apple- pie and a glass of milk served by two charming ladies. While indulging these ruminations one day, as my friend was swina. mg* Holt's Rock, he hooked a large bass and played it all th^e way roui 1 the east end of Ward's Island to Chowder Eddy, where, on landing, it weighed twenty pounds. The sketch on the opposite page represents my friend as the bass first rose and laid its course. I was not so fortunate as my friend ; for, as my squid was struck by a large bass, Sile said he heard the rod crack; but the fish made such a long, vigorous run, that I scarcely 'real- ized what he said, and, alier turning the fish and reelin- hiu) in gradually, he broke water with a leap, clearing the sinface and revealing a forty-pounder. While turning and bringin..' hira toward the boat for the third time, he darted down an.^i * Swinging a ro,ck is done by the oarsman holding the boat sixty feet from the rock and swinging it so that the troll will move about the rock on all sides and play as if alive. This art is possessed in great perfection by Hell (iat« oarsmen. j "tm A "Word on Gaffing. 57 Fish and Tide Ikresistible snapped the middle joint of my rod in two, when I threw the broken rod down at my feet and took hold of the line; the iish made but feeble resistance, and I towed him alongside the boat and shouted to Sile for the gaff, but he had thought- lessly placed it in tlie other boat. I then endeavored to put my hand m his mouth, and, while in the act, the fish turned over, breaking the hook and bleeding profusely as he settled ott mto the tide, leaving us astonished and almost desperate On exammation, I learned that a flaw in the hook had been the cause of our loss of the Iish; but had we rowed ashore and towed the fish after the rod broke, we should probably have landed him. I have never since been caught trollino- or anglmg for large bass without a gaff and tried hooks ; and as the gaff IS an implement of such high importance, I have given the shape and description in another part of this book • but the one shaped like F among the "implements," and from 3 to 4i mches across the bend from point to shank, made with a screw to fit into the gaff handle, leaves little to be desired In usmg it, drop it below the fish, point upward, and as it is raised to the fi.h, the fish settles against it, and a simple jerk impales it. Do not strike a fish with the gaff; insert the 58 Fishing in Amekican Watees. gaff gently beneath, and it will be hooked with the utmost ease. Well, with broken rod and tangled line, I ordered Sile to row away froih the scene of our misfortune. I found my friend at Hammock Rocks, his fish laid out in state on rock-grass, and he mutely bending over it with a face radiant with pleas- urable satisfaction at his achievement. . Trolling, to him, was a new-born pleasure, and his first capture a trophy of which a slayer of lionP might be justly proud. It would be super- fluous to add, we drank to the study for a Stearns or a Bracket as it lay shining on the pallet of sea-grass. Sandy commiserated Sile's misfortune at losing the large bass. In the centre of a radius containing the most picturesque land- scape near the metropolis, we rested, wondered, and admired. " The skies tlieir fairest canvas spread When the angler goes a-troHing ; Eelenting clouds float overhead, And tears and smiles alternate shed, When the angler goes a-trolling. "— Stoddart, Having toasted the health and appetite of bass in that neighborhood in a glass of sherry, and replaced the broken joint of my rod with a sound one, we again seated ourselves in our boats, and commenced trolling the Little Gate, the Kills, and all about Randall's and Ward's Islands, and, after the usual alternatives of hopes, fears, and moments of ecstasy we finished up a mess of seven bass between us, the largest nearly thirty, and the smallest four pounds in weight. Well, having given you a taste of the sport on the waters bounding Manhattan Island on tlie north and east, let us an- chor our boat near the lower hedges of New York Bay and learn how different bottom fishing with a tracing sinker is from both trolling and angling with a float. SECTION FOURTH. ~ STILL-BAITING FOR BASS. Use a stifiish rod, like A,B,C on the page of implements. It should be from eight to nine feet in length. The Japan Rig fok Bottom Fishing. 59 bamboo pole, being a rod without joints, of the same lengtli, and mounted the same, with top and guides of agate or car- nelian ; multiplying reel like I, which shall carry from four to six hundred feet of fine linen or silk dine. Linen is the best for bottom fishing, but it should be made of the finest and strongest flax or hemp. You may use a double-gut leader, three fourths of a yard long, or make a leader frc >ur line, which I prefer when bottom fishing for bass ranging from three pounds upward ; then one hook only is used. Use a tracing sinker in the form of a long roll or cylinder of lead, three fourths of an inch in diameter, with a hole for the line longitudinal, cutting oif the weight required for a sinker ; or let it be an oval form, as represented by G, with a swivel to stop it at the top end of the leader, like J. The swivel should be brass; all swivels for use in salt water should be brass, for steel is soon corroded. Thrust your line through the sinker, and attach the end of your line to a swivel, and your leader to. the other end of tlie swivel. This leader may be either linen or double gut of the silk-worm. If the latter, the hook wil] require tying or Avinding on with waxed thread ; if the former, the hook should be headed like a pin, and the line fastened to it by three half hitches, as if for fishing with menhaden bait. Shedder or soft-shell crab is preferred for bait ; but, if it can not be pi ared, use shedder lobster. 60 Fishing rs American Waters. I I ab!!.::' I:::!,".:' £J1::: t ^^"" ^^^^ ""■■ »=- "-e. til tho ,i,l„ 7 t '"' '""'so. and fish toward it un into eia„::,::f^, ^:^:z:zzt " "-' ^^^^ by the space, left in the mer^nTZZM^rHr' eti:.Zo^rtLitrr;i-"-^^^^^^^^^^^ and, if thev feel ,l,„ I , ? " *""' '>"<' 'lash away, "b.a.i„,'wa::;t z rett;::r,:':;;::?e: '-'-' thumbstalirorCts on the^h f """"''''" "'""J'' *-'■ will reel up, or he tvill ores lyHn; and bvtec ''^'' ' tangled, you may lose your fish After .n'^-"^^ '"■ - to require a /aff. if is best io ifave bo L ,' ^T 7 ""^' •scap-net in the boat for such fishint ^''''"' ^'^'^^^ Our sport bids fair to-dav Wo hn^rn i ^ clozen bass.besido« a fev^ l^o ^'7,^^^'^^^^ t^^en a - a Ie^. .^uetcague and biackfish, and the The Luxury of a Lunch. ' Qi tide is not yet full ; but perhaps we had better use the last of the flood tide to help us up to the light-house on Ber- gen Point Reef, for the best time there is just after the tide has turned ebb, when I never failed of an hour's brisk sport. Let's, therefore, up with our killick and man the sculls, which, with the tide, will carry us there in twenty minutes. Well, brother angler, our good arms, assisted by the tide, have enabled us to arrive in time for me to cast anchor on' this, my favorite ground. The tide is just high-water slack. Our landmarks are right. Let go the anchor. Be seated and ready, but do not cast until the boat toles by a decided ebb of the tide. In the mean time suppose we lunch ? Now, as we enjoy these broiled squab, buttered biscuit, and a mod- icum of claret to moisten them, we will feast our eyes upon the captivating scenery. Comparatively few understand the pleasures of boat fishing. It is removed from the dust and hurry-scurry of terra Jirma. Our position enables us to sur- vey several shores and the employments of busy life. What can be more lovely on a mild autumn day than scenes like these from a boat ? We are near enough to the metropolis to hear its noises subdued into a musical monotone. That raountam which you perceive at the head of Newark Bay— of which we are at the foot-is Snake Hill, at the confluence of the waters of the Passaic and the Hackensack, which emp- ty at each prong of the fork formed by the head of this bay. To the south a few miles you perceive a large city whic 1 IS Newark. The spires of a town still farther south' are over Elizabethtown, while two miles south from us is Ehzabethport. On the Staten Island shore, at the east of us are New Brighton, Factoryville, Port Richmond, and a serieJ of buildmgs and gardens, as a part of the periphery of Staten Island Dn-ectly in front of us is Bergen Point, being a gar- den charniingly dotted with dwellings of picturesque archi- ecture^ Do not these scenes present subjects for contempla- tion sufiiciently enchanting to pay the artist for a vi«:,. Jth- out any sportmg accessory ? Many innocent persons wonder 62 Fishing m AaiEKicAN Waters. how a man can "waste" an occasional dav "of .1, ... sport of anfrlinfr" Ti, '*»i"nai aay at the stun d or portrayed by g„„a om'izJw^™ t: Z'T"''"'- caps a«, ocomotives fro™ <,,„,,„„,, ^» ;:;. ^ r"""" liic tide here appears to t^h^ 1 =» i^odcnes. turn than at any 'CVoVX^T^l '""f," f^'^^" crabs, as the boat tolos nearlyrilt \ J T ,""" * '^=''' the aock at Bergen Point k^ 1? f f *''° '""'l""*" : Brighton ; the sl^ifZe of the Su ^^ ''""'"' "' ^<"^ high chimney on Staten Island ho f 1-7"' ™*'' ^""^ ""•" angle where onr boat rits a h .', "'°^'";»Scs form the Light-honse. and within r^in^ 'k^t f/ ^7' "^ '»e ;::t'or " ''- '^^ -" ^™ - th::ig:[;.:r^r-:;' .o^:;t::^nx?h::r:^ » rtXof:-";"' ^'™' ~ - -rir you have a bite We , tS""'" "1 ''"'' ^""^ "* '"''"'"•^ playing a bass Indlg , m ^ rtl^ IT", "' 7 '^ ^""^ tions, it will depend o^ the 'c ivTv bf i ^ ''r" ™"'^'- in playing and landing o 'fish ' f™ ! °' ?"'' '''^"^"'^ thegreatestnumber.^IU:ttt':;u ;t«^^ a pound to two pounds generally wi,I. L7 '"'f-fro™ times, and a semi.ooasi™a;vSo™der W r™'" """ for all that The tid» I,„ pounaer, but it is rare sport, harder top ay D ftlvt!?"'' T' '^"''' ""'' ""■- "*»■■<•' You know George Wilkes, of the SpikitV Well ho o IT were one;- still-baiting here and n« ., ! ' "^"^ ^ after taki'nn. i..f , ' ' ^ ^^^ ^^''^ ^bout to leave aiiex takmg between thrty and fort vhncci . i- "-'^^^j the fish were strung, ami i.J::^z;:;i:z:i:x ihe stupid vv that the Jnt dream- percussion 3hes. a decided led a few ndmarks : e at New with the form the it of the bmerged stern of , and let ^ill cast 3 rocks, t before s either e condi- 3xterity ^ill take ! — from r some- ? sport, ish are iile not ^n bass tweu- ist the and I leave, «hich e])ing A MORTIFYING LoSS. 6fe the hsh alive in the water, parted as we were in the act of hftmg the fish into the boat, and we lost nearly all of them The same circumstance happened here while anglino- with George Austin, Esq. Such luck is aggravating to a common man, but an angler soon learns that effects follow causes. If you prefer to keep your mess alive, either tow a fish-car at the stern of your row-boat for placing them in, or deposit them m a net fastened lo a thole-pin, or purchase the new in- vention of a string made of raw-hide by Andrew Clerk & Co. It 18 time for us to reel up and count our mess, for we have tide enough loft, to float us to New Brighton, where we hired the boat in the morning. Your count says twenty-seven ftsh. VV ell, that is an average take. We will unjoint our rods, place them in their cases, take up anchor, and you may light a regalia, while we enjoy the enlivening scenes along Kill Van Kull on our row to the landing. This is the be witching time for driving along the cornice road of Staten Island ; and that couple which you now see in a buggy oppo- site us think that driving a fast horse on a dusty road is fa- mous sport. See the cavalcade of roadsters stirrino- up the aust ! Coaches with liverie.l drivers and footmen^re not rare, and the outriders will come next. But we are at New Brighton, our fish are basketed, and our boat returned We will now step on board the steam ferry-boat for New York which stops here every fifteen minutes. Our sail across the Bay of New York to the Battery you perc^ive,s a continuation of the enlivening local and aq latie views which have blessed our eyes throughout the day We must part now with a shake of the hand. Your steam- ship is to leave at noon to-morrow, and the engagements of which I spoke to you may prevent me from bidlling you L oo,age on the deck of the vessel which is to convey you to home and happiness in one of the British Isles. mL the blessmgs which usually accompany true sportsmen be with you ; and when thinking of this land of long rivers and b oa lands, I trust that you will not forget the sHght tas'of^^ 04 Fisiimo IN American Watees. which yoa have experienced in the immediate vicinity of Tmrfishes r^" '"^'^^' '"^ ^"^^^"^ -^ trolling for the game fishes of our coast and estuaries. SECTION FIFTH. CASTING BAIT FOB STRIPED BASS. Casting menhaden bait for striped bass fmm *i. shores of the bays, estuaries, and iSands^io'^^^^ " iHslrf "*^^^''^ highest branch of ZZl^ f^C M 18 mdeed questionable— when considorm^ oii .1 ' "^""g- Which contribute toward the sum totlfof ^ '^'' '^'"^"^ whether this method of strined h! i v'^''' '" ""^""^- actensno of the modem angler by its energy of style and the exercise and activity necessary to success ^ ' the r? TJ ^'"'' '"'*"""S h-ve taxed the ingenuity of not,like the salmon, stop to sfndv ft ' f ^'' ^"'^^ >w,h„t straightwa'y i.! Trt t t^oT hr^L^ 'T be so covered wUh aJi ' ''""''"* ™" °» Jewels, and saltwater Th!', V ?f """ "' *« P"°*<''" ">«"• from Z!l:rC° '""' '""" '-" '" ""- '■™^ed yX? Ws should either be of linen or hemp, hawser-laid, or of Keady for the Gaff. 1 1 65 braided silk. The latter is the easiest to cast, but not so good to fasten a fish by a strike, because of its elasticity, while a hnen one will respond at a hundred yards to the shghtest strike. A linen line, formed of from twelve to eighteen strands, and strong enonah tn «„ofoi„ „ ^.„ ^ a vtCilU \W l-.X. E igut 06 Fishing in AMiiRicAN Waters. ^it' llfli "f thirty ponnds, should be stained to the color of the water when It forms the best line possible for this Icind of fishing' und .t shouW not be larger than a salmon line. The buoyaney of the water, strength of tide, and dash of the surf, render a very strong line indispensable for large bass. Still, as the tish IS as gamy us a salmon, and full as cunning, the line must be hne and the rig very clean, or he will sd^et every ,. ece of ehum thrown to him, and refuse the one with a hook >i It; or if by chance-wheu feeding on chum-hc taltes •, l-eee wnh a hook in it, he rejects it h.stantly, and befo t h ^ngle has tm,o to strike, probably disth.guishing tlie differ- «eo by the weight of the hook. The m'ost successful wlv angle fpr them is to rig so clean that they will grab the ba.t hke hungry dogs, and dash away for more, or to keep i, awixy from other fishes. ^ le„'!r~Tl'°",''' ^", '"'■°" "=™" '" "•'■S'^* *■«' «!-^ i'"=l'«« i" ength. The two lower joints of .n.h, and the upper one of tancewood, mounted as indicated by A, B, C, with silver, bell- metal, or brass. Some prefer a Japan bamboo pole, because of .ts strength and lightness ; several gentlemen o'fth Pas,,^ Island, Cuttyhunk, and West Island elubs are among tho^ and a, these cubs include many of our amateur expe s T,' «ns elegant k.„d of fishing, their opinions claim atCt on Myownopm,on,sthatahighly-fl„ishcd, well-balanced, the: jomted rod ,s the best for use, and of course most convenion, tor carrying o„ fishing excursions. Some angle,, havl job ed bassn,g-rods made exclusively from split bamboo weirf .«g less than a pound, including their silvL and jewd mo^t- ugs; the objects attained being lightness, strcgth, bll and just elasfcty enough for casting and playing a fi h S sockets and shoulders of the joints of all rods for co t am estuary fishing should be lined and covered wit, t^sam metal used for the bands and guide-frames. Double gudes one s,de lined w,th jewels and the other made of bell-nict *l, anu a jeweled top, io,-m a good mounting, the shoulde,-, be,ng covered wth tlie —mp T-,! i . - """""e"- tni „„mfc mcial as the bauds. It is nei- Peeparino to Captivate. 67 ther artistic nor in good taste to cover the rod several inches with bright metal for attaching the reel. Whether double guides or patent ones are preferred, carnelian or agate make good lining and tip. The tip should be formed with a screw to fit several top joints. German silver, brass, bell-metal, oi- any other metal, hard and still malleable enough, and which will not oxydize in a saline atmosphere, form good mount- ings, A solid butt, without elaborate and heavy mountings to hold a reel, is preferable. If the line does not run on jew- els, bell-metal is the next best material, except it be the alu- minum—a light metal of new invention in combination and manner of manufacture— which is lighter than any other metal, and is said never to oxydize. Our fisli ig-tackle maii- ufiacturers are making trout-reels of it, and; to judge from ap- pearance and recommendation, I should decide that it is the best metal ever employed for reels and mountings of fishing- rods. As no sinker is used for assistance in casting menhaden bait, and as the striped bass are extremely knowing, the ne- cessity for a clean rig, and nothing to check the impetus of the bait, make up desiderata never to be lightly regarded by the bass anjjler. Baixs, Chum-spoon, and Thumb-stall. No. 1. The menhaden— ^?os«5 metihadenr-a species of her- ring used for bait, and showing the mark, back of which a bait is taken on each side. No. 2. Bait cut from No. l,the knife being drawn through the flesh p4do at dotted line, but not so deep as to part tlie skin, but to facilitate folding like 3. I 68 Fishing in Amekican Waters. No. 3. Bait folded at dotted line and baited on shank-headed , hook, with a half hitch of the line cast round the end of bait to prevent it from slipping down and filling the bend of the hook. Some anglers cast one half hitch around the bait just below the head of the hook, and another round the top of the bait; it forms a more compact bait, and bet- ter shape to cast; but bluefishes are more likely to cut the line off than when the bait is secured by one half hitch above the hook, as represented. No. 4. A thumb-stall, knitted from heavy double and twisted woolen yarn, to be worn on each thumb, to prevent the friction of the line in checking the too swift revolviuo- of the reel. "= No. 5. Chum-spoon for throwing minced fish with. After taking a bait from each side of the menhaden between the first dorsal and the tail, which is done by first scalino- the part from which the bait is taken, then chop fine th'e re- mainder of the fish, head and all, with a hatchet or bait- knife, and use the spoon to cast it out on the pool to be ftshed. The spoon is about a foot long. This chopped-up fish IS called "churn," and casting it out is called "chum- ming, which is continued until the debris of half a dozen menhaden so scattered on the water produces an oily sur- face, or « slick," as thg gaffers call it, extending sometimes halt a mile from shore. When bass smell it they approach It and follow the oily surface toward the point where the chum was thrown in, occasionally findhig small bits of men- haden, which the angler on the rocks may see them break water to obtain. Nearer and nearer the bass approach in the path of chum until they arrive within casting distance. Ihe chum should be chopped very fine; some persons cast m the head of a menhaden whole; this is bad practice for It not only invites sharks and bluefish, but bass'fecd on it when they might otherwise take the baited hook. Recupeeating Health. 69 SECTION SIXTH. A DAY WITH THE DOCTOR. — ANGLING AT THE BASSING CLUBS. Well, doctor, having arrived at West Island, which is owned by an association of gentlemen who have formed themselves into a club for the incomparable enjoyment of angling for striped bass, they will of course assign us stands to fish from to-morrow. It is the practice here for all mem- bers to draw at night for the choice of stands to fish from the next day. Doctor. A gentleman just handed me a card containing u " number," and " outside the Hopper," marked on it. ^. I perceive by the card that the outside of the Hop- per is assigned to us. Well, of course that is owing to the composition of the club ; the members have given us their best stands. That is a feature of all the bassing clubs ; and besides, William C. Barrett, Esq., is president of this institu- tion, and he is a sportsman possessed of the most discrimin- ative sense of true hospitality. On the morrow we will try to do honor to their estimate of us. D. Gentlemen, as Mr. S. and myself are somewhat fa- tigued, and would prefer to retire early, will you have the goodness to join us in a parting glass for the night ? All join ; and we retire with a sense of good-will toward all mankind, and indulge school-boy hopes of the morrow. " While others are brawlyig, let anglers agree, And in concord the goblet replenish ; 'Twill cost not a care so long as we share The cups of content and of concord." Our dreams were rose-tinted ; but the pleasurable antici- pations of the morrow's exploits caused us to awake early, and I sounded the doctor before daylight. 8. Hallo, doctor ! Hosier, who is to be our gaffer, rapi)C(l at my door .and ^aid it was four o'clock. ■ />. Well, sir, I have been up an hour, and down on the ]> 70 FisHiNo IN Amekfcan Wate TER8. II azza trying to joint my rod, but I can not get a light, and ' daylight don't appear," A*?. Bravo ! I'll be with you in a minute. 2>. The sea fog sets in chilly; what say you to a cocktail and a cracker ? aS. Oh! Do you know where we are? B. Certainly; we are near Plymouth Rock, the blarney- stone of America. ^ S. Tush! I will accompany you, and we will take a sto^ machic and a cracker; but do not-for appearance sake- call drinks by their ordinary names in this " land of steady habits where it is unlawful to taste diffusible stimulants. ^. l" or medicine ? S. Of course not, if prescribed by a physician ! D. It was upon that hypothesis I ventured the invitation 1 brought my diploma with me, and, aso doctor, I prescribe the potion. r S. Ahem I you are right ; I feel that your prescription is a good antarthritic. And now we will hie to the Hopper Kocks. take our stands, joint our rods, and be ready by the time Hosier gets the fish chummed ia Hosier calls up the bass here just as a farmer brings his chickens to feed. Let us prepare ; but there is no use to make a cast before sunrise Moei^. I've throwed in the chum of six fish, an them scups an cachockset comes up an takes it just for all the vvorld as if they was game ! an I hain't seen nothin of no bass yet. . ^ S. That is right, doctor ! you have jointed your rod per- fectly ; every ioint should be driven home. Now, in fasten- •ng the hook to your line, cast two half hitches with the end of your line over the shank, just below the head ; then turn ' up the end of the line, and cast a half hitch over it and the shank, and turn the hook round in the tie thus formed to see that it revolves easily-cut off any superfluous end of line .^ee how Hosier chops up the chum, and where he throws it; HMd j!ist where he throws the chum, cast your baited hook.' Caitain Mosier in Command. 71 Mosier, bait the doctor's hook. I see luminous rays from the God of Day, and he will make a splendid appearance in ten minutes. Now, doctor, reel up your line, so that the bait will be within a yard of the top of your rod, and make a cast to the whirl which you see was made by a bass. Your reel <>verruns? That is unfortunate. You should keep your thumb on the reel, and check it as the bait drops on the water. Mosier, bait my hook ; I have put on a medium- sized hook with a headed shank, and I am going in for the Hsh refused by the doctor. Mosier. Mr.S.,jist cast along there in Snecker's Gap, for they are roether sassy there on the young flood. S. Well, Mosier, here goes for a forty-pounder ! Mosier. There ! I told you so ; I knew that feller wanted breakfast, an I guess he's got enough to last him. D. Mr. Mosier, as I have succeeded in getting my line out of snarl, shall I cast now ? Mosier. Not quite yet, I guess, for there's no knowin where that critter will yet lead Mr. S. D. Well, I will take a seat on the rock here, and look at the play. Ugh ! that wave wet me all over. Is it not dan- gerous to remain here? Mosier. No, sir ; ony keep a look-out for them ninth waves ; don't git down toward a gulch, but watch where the waves 'throw the most water when they break, for it allers depends on the course of wind. D. I see your philosophy is correct, Mr. Mosier, and I have now got a dry seat. Mr. Mosier, do you think that fish will ever be landed? He has run nearly all the line off the reel already. Mosier. I can't say; there's no counting on them chaps till they are landed, if so be you fish with a pole; but if I had him on my hand-line, I'd make him come humming, and sho^i^ no quarters. aS'. Mosier, keep my line away from the rocks with your gaff, for he seems bent on rounding the Hopper Rock, and 72 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. its corn!.™ may cut or chafe and part my lino. " There! he has tacked again; be ready to gaff him, if I get hhn near enough, beiore he maltes another run ,i jf^'r. ^r '"' T' " ''"'P'"*' '"™S^'<''^ "f"™ a» tbe .me ; she s 'bout as b,g as the hooked one. I mean to gaff that one first How like tarnation the feller fights, an tries I t'^Z'u ! ^'"'^ '^'^ '"^ '•■'"= ">"* ^'"'^^ he-; sitting tired. When they curl themselves up on the top of the w^- not to hold so hard as to let 'em break the line with their tail nor out It off with their back fin; nor so loose as to lei Wm git slack hue to unhook, or knock the hook out of his .jaw hTsts^VT ^"' ^-'"-^t-ightenout! Hehasmik his last fight, and got whipped - His mate has gone. 'Twas no use for her to stay an try to help him any longer, for she knows he's dead. Now, with the heave and liaul of the tide there is more danger of breaking the line an losing him than .f he was ahve; but here he comes, an here goes the gaff-a forty-pounder at least ! b"" J has^r**" ^'""'' ^'°™'' ' ^'™"'' J"" '" ''""'' '■'"■ th" ''«<>"' Mosier. Ji«t so; I hain't no confidence m them hooks with the barb curling out so that you can not git it into the flesh The Kmsey point an Sproat bend, or the O'Shaughncssy with the Kmsey pomt, are the best. J "i Z>. Well, my preconceived notions of bass-fishing have all been cast wide. When you first hooked the'bass, I thoughr could take a seat and be a quiet looker-on at the play but I have been so excited by alternate hopes, fears, doubls and surprises, that I want you to pardon me for getting into your way several times. The truth is, it astonishes me to see the flsh on terra Jirnu,. I thought him lost a dozen times • and I can not now fully realize how it is possible to play success- fully so large a fish, and one so game, in such bo sterous water, with such slender tackle. I am really afraid to "L make a cast, for r expect if I get a strike that I shall ei her break my rod, or the fish will part my lino. TllE DOCTOK DOING BeTTEK. 73 S. Hoot ! doctor, don't be too modest ; a man who has shot wolves in the Black Forest, and killed salmon in the Dee and Moisie, is not easily demoralized by a striped bass. Mosier. Yes, doctor, you jist make a cast out into the Rifle Pit, and do it right away, for I see by their whirls that they are hungry. S. See that your thumb-stalls are well on, and that your line is clear. Now reel up so that your bait is within two feet of the tip of your rod, and when you cast, hold your thumb gently on the reel-line, and as the bait touches the water, press your thumb on the line to check the reel at once, and prevent the reel from overrunning. B. Well, here goes for a second trial. ' S. Very fair cast ; far enough for bass at this stage of tide. D. Ye— ye— es, I see it is, but then I shall not be able to save him— I know I can not, for he runs and pulls so like a reindeer that I can not check him. There ! my thumb-stall is loose, and I feel that my reel is not tight. He's gone ! 1 knew 1 couldn't save him. S. Don't be so excited, doctor; keep cool, and reel in your slack line; he is only studying a new dodge or making a new tack. Mosier. He breaks water; I seen him; he's a scrouger! S. There, doctor, you perceive he has hove to for a lunar, and to discover how to tack; there! he is now laying his course^for Newport ; reel as fast as you can, and, if necessary, i-un back to prevent him from getting slack line. I). This last turn and the dash of spray nearly capsized me. Why, he plays as strong as he did when he was first hooked. S. How long do you suppose you have played him ? 2>.' Nearly an hour, and he seems to grow stronger and stronger. 8. It is not yet fifteen minutes since you hooked him ; bear up, keep cool, and keep your line clear on the reel, and be prepared for his fight. They do not appear to be in a mood T4 Fishing in American Waters, I for sulking this morning ; sometimes they settle behind rocks and butt the hook against them to spring it out. Mosier. Don't you hold him a leetle too taut ? B. I don't know; but I can not play him easier, for when 1 give him an inch, he takes a rod ! S. He will soon stop for his final fight. See ! he is prepar- ing Now ease the line a trifle, and trust to the chance of his being well hooked. , . ^' ,?"'; ^T' ^ ^"^"^ ^' ^' • -^"^^ ^^^ the fellow throw himself like Pat McAroon in a street-fight. There, he's off' iNo, he IS not ; what's to be done ? S Reel up gently ; he is dead ; that is, he has fought until he has fainted. Gingerly, doctor; reel with the incoming surt, and slacken with the ebb— there I JfW. He is a game one, and will weigh over twenty pounds. They're allays hifalorum in them liifle Pits » Gen- tlemen, the, breakfast horns has been bio win a good while ^. I am Jilted. These rocks are rough to run about' on and play a fish, when every now and then Neptune drenches one with spray. I had long heard that striped bass were game, but all that I evei- heard or read did not prepare me for such encounters as I have seen and realized this morning 1 am not now surprised that Americans consider this the head of game fishes. The u.cessories of fishing for it, the scenes where it is taken, together with the modus operandi of its capture by artistic means, render the sport the most exciting that I know of under the head of angling. I shall certaini; prescribe something to steady my nerves. Eh Hen! To breakfast is the order; and as we have taken tv.o grand bass ne quid nimis, we will even leave off fishing while they are feeding, which, for the vulgar object of ourselves feeding is with a real angler, an unpardonable offense against the *s- hetics of sport. But, though belonging to the refined con- fraternity of anglers, our excuse is that we are rigged with human necessities. As the breakfagt-table is \ho mr»vni«~'- ■^- , i- t •♦PI lauit. IS u\c moiniiig a LiyHting-piace for Breakfast and Departuke. 75 the members of the chxb, where they recount their exploits over their tea and coffee, with broiled bluefish, striped bass, and scopogue, or with broiled chicken and beefsteak, the ten- der of congratulations to my friend for his success, and the stories of successful takes by some, and of parting tackle with others, acted as charming opiates to witch away the time ; and when we rose from table we saw our yacht hove-to, and the sails flapping an invitation for us to step on board. With great reluctance and regret we parted from the members of the West Island Club, and the most attractive five-acre island in America. The sail to Cuttyhunk was remarkably interesting, present- ing views of the picturesque landscape, alternating with vil- las and foliage on Massachusetts shore, and the group of Eliz- abeth Islands and Martha's Vineyard, with No Man's Land peering above the waves far out in the ocean. We arrived be- fore lunch-time, and, having examined the trout preserve, the black bass and white perch ponds, and taken each a couple of striped bass from that incomparable stand, " Bass Rock," we adjourned to dinner, where we were regaled with choice vi- ands, wines, and the recital of angling exploits by the mem-, bers of the club, who are justly celebrated as amateur experts with rod and reel. After dinner we shook hands as an au revoir, mais pas adieu, and ran over to Pugne Island, to drop in upon John Anderson, Esq., and learn from him what charms he could see in his little island home of a hundred acres to induce a millionaire of his industrious proclivities and habits— with- out a knowledge or taste for field-sports or yachting— to shut himself out thus from the enjoyments of the greatest and most social city in the Union— his birth-place, where he has, by enterprise, accumulated a fortune, and possesses one of the finest residences in the metropolis. He infonned us that the charming climate, with the constant feast to his eyes in scenery, made up of the main land and the islands, witli the ever-changing aspect of the sea, filled his soul with rap- 76 Fishing in Americvn WArEEs. tui-e and made his cup of happiness full to overflowing. With a promise to visit him before taking final leave of Vineyard Sound, we steered for :•..,,,.■. Island, only six miles distant. Here we found a club-house with appointments calculated to render not only the members of the club and their families' comfortable, but all such guests as members of the associa- ■ tion thmk proper to extend invitations to. The island in- cludes more than a thousand acres, whicl. uie club has divid- ed into two farms, erected commodious buildings, including club-house, ice-house, stabling, etc: The club has also vege- table and flower gardens, sail-boats and row-boats, and the river, which sets back, a mile into the island, is stocked with a hundred thousand menhaden as bait for the use of the club Ih.s IS the neplus ultra of a place for angling, beinc sep- arate by a strait half a mile wide from Norshon, which is nine miles m length by two miles wide, fifteen miles from the main land, and stocked with all the English and Scotch teague is i)recisely like that of a brook trout, but its play is of shorter duration, and it sooner yiehis to fatigue. The shape of the S(pu'teague is represented bv the engrav- SpoKTIVE EsTUAKY F18IIING. I! 81 ing, and its colors arc gray, masculated on the bacK and down to the middle of tlie sides with clouded spots of dark- er shade, and all terminating in a gold-colored belly, pecto- ral, ventral, and anal fins. The dorsals and tail are clouded like tlie l)ack. The first dorsal is composed of spiked rays, and the second soft. In angling for lai-ge squetcague about the ^Jizabetli Isl- ands and in the Vineyard Sound, heavy combination tracing sinkers are used, and the shank-headed bass-hook, baited with menhaden, is preferred. There they are taken by still-bait:. ig from a boat anchored from thirty to fifty rods from shore, in from fifteen to twenty feet water. The squeteague is one of the swiftest fishes of the square-tails, and its ready and dashing bite, and short fight, render angling for it with light bass-tackle as exciting as for almost any other fish of our es- tuaries. For the very small fish shrimp is the best bait ; for the yellow-fins shedder crab is the best ; but for those of the largo and rounded form of the salmon, the menhaden bait is generally preferred. It is almost supei-fluous to state that angling in the tide- ways witli success requires that attention be paid to the stages of the tide. In general, squeteague bite best on the second half of the flood tide, but there are places where they bite best on the ebb. If outside the mouth of a river, the first of the flood is best, while well up the estuary they begin biting when the tide is half up, and continue until half ebb. Though feeding-ground for squeteague is in deeper water than is cliosen by striped bass, yet they generally forage along the bank of the channel. I have frequently anchored my boat so that, angling with the tide, I was sure to take nothing but strijHHl bass, but by casting to the right or left, outside the bank, within tlu'oe rods of the boat, I would t^ke nothing but squeteague, and an occasional blackfisli or tautog. In a commercial ])oint of view the squetcague is important. The runs of shad up our rivers cease about the first week in Tune, Avhen the squeteague become numerous in our bays and F 82 FiSilING IN AmEKICAN WaTEKS. I i I the estuaries of the larger rivers. Great quantities are tlien taken in seines, pounds, and set-nets, which supply the marble stands of the markets lately vacated b^ the shad. The sque- teague at this time divides interest with the earlv run of blue- fish, and about the middle of June the sheepshead visit us, when the variety includes also tauiog and black bass, with the bonetta, cero, and the incomparable Spanish mackerel. These do not include any of the fresh-water fishes, of which the black bass is very numerous in June. SECTION SECOND. SOUTHERN SEA TKOUT. From Delaware Bay all along the Southern coast, and in the estuaries of rivers which debouch into a bay or arm of the Atlantic, this fish is taken in great numbers with nets and angling tackle, and is known as the " sea trout." Both its habits ar>d play are so much like those of the squcteague, or weakfish, that anglers along the coast of New Jersey term it the spotted weakfish, to distinguish it from the oth- er, Avhich they call the mottled weakfish ; but the inhabit- ants of the coast from Delaware to Florida know it only as the " sea trout," or " spotted silversides." Southern Sea Trout. — " Otolithus rcyalis." The body of the sea trout is more round, and it is smaller from the tail to the second dorsal and anal fins than the weak- fish or squeteague. Its meat is also firmer, and the flakes closer and more compact, while its silver-gray back and sides are of a bluish tint, which shines like burnished steel, and its belly and the lower fins are white, without a yellow tinge. Eesorts of Sea Teout. 83 It is also sprinkled all over, including its dorsal fins and tail, with jet black dots about the size of a pea. ^^ Professor Mitchill, in writing of the squeteague, states : "A beautiful variety of this fish is sometimes seen with the following characters, to wit : Spotted squeteague— [Lab. Sq. mamlatus]. There are black, well-defined spots among the specks over the back and sides, and checkering the caudal and second dorsal fins. The pectoral fins are rather small ; ventral and anal fins not yellow, birt brownish. The parts' thus variegated with spots have a pretty appearance." With- out doubt, the professor alluded to the Southern sea trout; and as it shoals with the squeteague, and only visits the shores of New Jersey occasionally and in small numbers, he . — Sftonis ovis. — DeKay. Its scales are lav; •, and surpass in brilliancy the highest metallic polish ; they are about half an inch in diameter, haid. and radiate from concentric; lines, lapping so as to form a de- fense on the back and sides agahisl ii blunt-pointed gaff. 86 Fishing in American Waters. Hi rif The crescent-shaped bands on each side are sometimes quite black on the back, and lighten gradually to a dark gray tint near the belly. The color of the fish is neutral-tinted on the back, which lightens gradually to the lateral line, below which it is like white chetie silk. The spiked dorsal fin is followed by a second of soft rays. The upper ray of the pectoral fin IS spiked. Its eyes are large, and almost beam with intelli- gence. The cheeks are often tinged with a pinky glow ; and when first raised from the water, and lying exhausted and mo- tionless in the landing-net, it is one of the most beautiful and. happy-looking objects ever raised above the sparkling wave. Hooks and Sinkers for Sheepshead Examine youe Tackle. 87 As the play of the sheepshead yields a new sensation to the amateur who for the first time indulges the penchant of angling for this dinner luxury, and as the modus operandi of its capture is somewhat peculiar, the opposite sketch is giv- en to indicate the forms and sizes of the hooks and sinkers used by anglers with rod and reel, and by members of the hand-line committee. No, 1. Hook of the Sproat bend, small but strong, of finest ^ tempered steel, and the short point and barb sharpened like a fine knife-blade, not round and needle-pointed like those for striped bass and squeteague. There is a fine ginip-wire • loop wound to the shank with fine waxed sewing silk or fine linen thread. I recommend waxed linen thread when snells are wound to hooks for any of the respectable sized game fishes of our estuaries ; for fresh water, silk is pref- erable. No. 2. Shank-headed hook, with the line fastened below the head by two or three half hitches, the same as for use in fishing for large striped bass. In fastening the line to the hook, cast the two half hitches around below the head, then turn up the end of the line and cast another half hitch over the shank and the end of line, filling the space to the head. Then ctra\rthe hitch tight, cut off the end of line even with the head of hook, and turn the hook in the tie until it turns easily, and you have the best possible hook-rigging. The hook should be made of finest tempered steel, and the point very sharp, or it will be either turned or broken in the mo- saic pavement of the mouth before it slides to the rim of the jaw, and by the turn of the fish fastens the hook in the lip or corner of the mouth. No. 3. This is the size of hook for hand-line fishing, at which a large business is done during July and August, and some- times throughout September. There is a greater number caught by the hand-line than by sweep-nets or seines, the only other methods of taking them for market. The Vir- ginia bend, like 3, with knife-blade edges of barb and point, 88 Fishing in Amekican Wa TEK8. IS preferred; and the fine but strong linen leader, or twist- ed or braided hair leader a yard long, is armed with a h >ok at each end, one to be baited with a whole soft-shell clam by inserting the hook between the shells, and the other with the clam taken out of the shell. Xo. 4. Tracing sinker of lead, with a hole through the centre longitudinally. All sinkers should be of lead, as one of the most ponderous metals. At the upper end of the leader- which IS the same material as the line-three fourths of a ^ yard above hook No. ] , the leader should be tied to a brass swivel, and, after running the end of the line through the sinker, the end of the line should be tied to the upper end of the swivel, to prevent the sinker from falling too near the hook, and still to permit the line to play freely through it when It rests on a mussel-bed at the bottom, so that the angler may feel the slightest nibble. This is also a mark- ed point in still-baiting on the bottom for striped bass and squeteague. No. 5 Sinker for hand-line fishing. Tie the end of line to the sinker though the hole in the end. About ten or twelve inches above the sinker, tie to the main line a leader with a hook like No. 3 at each end. The leader should be near- ly a yard long, and if made of hair it will be lighter and " play easier than if of linen; and when the sinker lies on the bed of mussels where sheepshead feed, it is well to have the eader so liglit that the hooks will be moved about by the tide One hook should be abput a foot from the main line, and Che other two feet. When thus rigged, and you have cast as far as you can astern of your anchored boat, take up all your slack line and your heavy sinker, which will pemit you to draw the line straight without moving It, and this will enable even a member of the hand-line- committee to feel the slightest bite. I am thus particular in describing the rig for hand-line fish- ing because many good anglers consider the electric dips and dives of a "head" too quick for a line to render before bi^k I ' Starting for a Day's Fishing. 89 insf a rod. I do not appreciate a repugnance to a rod because a fish plays rapidly and with powerful demonstratioii. The angler should use a heavy rod, about nine feet in length, and, like the ordinary bass rod, the two low-^r joints should be of ash, and the top of lancewood, or the whole rod should be of Japan bamboo. I rather favor a bamboo rod for sheepshead fishing.- The angler should use the heaviest make of a steel pivot bass reel, large enough to carry six hundred feet of line, though there will probably never be more than half that length carried off the reel; but the fish doubles and turns so rapidly that a large drum, or much line on a reel, is necessary to wind the line in quickly and prevent the fish from gettino- slack line, and to give him time to disgorge or break the hook. To the angler who has never fished for sheepshead I would say," You have a rare treat in store, so enjoy it the first op- portunity." If a resident of New York, you will find Canar- sie, or the " Old Mill," near East New York, the most conve- nient places to take sail-boat from, and bait is generally plen- ty at either place. Sail down the channel above the inlet toward Near Rockaway ; about a mile below Remsen's Hotel, feel by sounding for a mussel-bed: they are numerous for a mile along shore, about 200 yards from it. When found, cast anchor far enough away, so that when the boat toles round by the tide toward the feeding-ground, the cast required for dropping your sinker on it will be about fifty feet. The wa- ter should be about seven feet deep at low tide, and it rises there from four to six feet. The best tide to fish is during high and low tides, when the water is slack, Jlnd until it runs at the rate of five miles the hour, or one hour after it begins to run; for when the tide runs at its full strength, sheeps- head seek some still-water ground, and wait for a moderate motbn of the waters. During the intermission I am in the habit of taking up anchor and trolling for bluefish, or of seeking some feeding-ground up a bayou, or some sunken vessel, where I angle for sea bas s, st of from twenty to fifty small sail-boats of hand-line fishermen. Many of them are fanners who reside near the whore of Jamaica Hay, and employ th(! interregnum between Jiay and grass to unite j)leasure and profit by eaining from three to ten dollars a day at fishing for sheepsluad. There is always ready sale for the fish at a price nearly etpial to that obtained for salmon. Having grouped tlu^ implements— except the necessary one of a largo landing-net, of heavy brass rim and large meshes of strong twine— suppose we drive down seven miles to C^i- narsie, and go out from there to try the " head" for one turn of tide ? Crossing the ferry from New York, our drive from Brook- lyn lies through a labyrinth of flower and vegetable gardens, forming a landscape dotted here and there with eh((te(m;i' whoso surroundings prove the menage to have been designed with a view to uniting comfort Avith elegance. Those old oaks, cherry-trees, and black walnuts, together Avith the ser- pentine windings of a cou])le of trout brooks, are the only marks left of that antiquity which antedates our Revolution- ary War for Independence ; but the gardens, lawns, fruit- trees, and margins of flowers, forming the landscajjc into a picture of beauty, and loading the air with perfume, demand that the senses of smell and sight shall do their duty. * * • * * * ^ ^ Yes, judge, we are already at Canarsie, and I do not won- der at your surprise that in less than one hour we should have left urban blocks of brick and marble, and been wafted, as it were, through seven miles of flower'^, to be set down on the margin of the sea, with all its aquatic views breaking upon us like a startling pun or paradox. Be pleased to step upon the piazza of the hotel and take a look seaward, while Quaint Salts at Canarsie. 91 ay as they saunter about baretboted and clad in a red shirt and rolled-up trowsers, also believed that anglers for 8hee})shead w ith rod and reel were monomaniai s ; and though they freely took my money for bait, they frankly advised ne to use a hand-line for "head." This Avant of faith, however, lasted no longer than did the gibes and siu-ers of the shad-fishermen at IL ' ke when Seth (Treen stated that he could hatch a milh 'U ot Miad a day,nnd within a week he hatched si.v times that inmiber daily. So the members of the hand-line-con Jttee and bait-catchers soon became not only civil, but vied with eacli other in sec- onding my wishes by taking pains to procure me peculiar baits, et . ., concluding finally that angling with a rod and reel may be as respectable iis fishhig with a hand-line. SECTION FOURTH. ANGLING F( . SIIEEPSIIEAD. The saline nir is invigorating, and a slight haze protects us from an unwelcome glare of the sun. The gulls scream as they dip and sweep over shoals of young herring and men- haden. Members of *he hand-line-committee are out in full force, and sixty clinker-built and copper-fastened tiny sail- boats. With poles lowered and sails wrapped round them, are anchored along the banks of mussel-beds, intent on baiting with clams, and casting their heavy sinkers — catchung ! ca- lung ! Our captain rounds our craft to as if he intended to swamp half a dozen tiny craft ; but all is serene and the an- chor cast, when the captain falls to opening shedder crab and soft-shell clams, and throwing the shells overboard at the bow IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ / 10 i.i 2.2 2.0 11:25 1 1.4 m 1.6 PnotogBphic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 87^-4503 .•\ iV V ?^ ^ !. ^^^ 92 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. of the boat, so that the tide will carry them astern and at- tract the fish. With the sail lowered over the centre of the stern and lashed, the judge takes his stand on one side of it and my- self on the other, when each with a single-rigged hook, as be- fore stated, and well baited with shedder crab, make our first cast. " Judge, permit me to advise that when your sinker toucli- es the water you do n(jt slack your line or permit any to run from the reel, but let it sink naturally, and the tide will keep your line straight, so that you will be able to distinguish the faintest nibble after it settles on the bottom. If you do not get a bite in a minute, jerk— as if you intend to hook a fish— and reel in a yard or two of the slack caused by tiie jerk, and then let the sinker settle as at first. Keep striking and reel- ing a few feet every minute until you have effectually fished over all the ground from where you cast to the boat. Then reel all the way up and repair damage to bait, and cast again. I have cast and reeled in for hours, sometimes without get- ting a single bite from a ' head,' and in such cases my friends resorted to segars and other expedients to prevent them from becoming discouraged; and if they saw the hand-line men catch a few and string them to a cord fastened to the thole- pins, leaving the fish in the water to keep them alive, they would forthwith order our captain to bargain for a few at a dollar each. But, before we or they discontinued fishing, we would take the greatest number of any craft in the bayfand frequently more than we knew how to' dispose of. But the tide slackens, and ' head' will begin to bite Very soon.* Keep your line clear on the reel, and straight from the tip of your rod to the sinker." "There! I've hooked one !" "His shoot- ing up to the top of the water is no sign of weakness, for you perceive that I can not prevent him from diving to the bot- tom quicker than he came up. Captain, man \he landing- net, and be ready and careful, for he is a fifteen-pounder ! There, he is offag.iin; you perceive that I can turn him and Contest with a SheepsiiexVd. 93 bring him to the surface, but as soon as he smells the upper air he turns quicker than thought, and, unless I yield him line, he will either part it or break my rod. The sheepshead is what Lord Dundreary said of a certain bird, ' werry wobust.' You are right, judge, he is beautiful ; but do not count him until he is in the landing-net. There ! stand out of the way of his dorsal and pectoral spikes ; I always wear boots when angling for sheepshead or trolling for bluefish." " Ho ! judge, you have hooked a good one. Good ! Play him gently ,.nd gingerly." " He'll not let me ! I expect to lose him. There, that's the third time I have brought him to the suvface, only to see him take more line and get farther from the boat at every turn. By the powers, there ! Captain, how much will he weigh ?" "I guess summut near on to ten pound." " What ! You don't mean to say he'll not scale more than ten pounds ?" " Yes, 811* ; maybe et's summut bigger." I check the interesting )lloquy b^ stating that I think our fishes are about the same size, but that the one I have just iiooked is larger than either. The judge then sees that it is best to employ all his time at fishing while the biting con- tinues. As I land the second one, I remark : "Judge, you perceive there is no mistaking the bite of a sheepshead ; his bite informs you that he is in earnest." " Piecisely so. His bite is like that of no other fisb. It . is as spasmodic as a bluefish and as powerful as an alligator, and he gives, also, an indescribable premonition, info- ming you that a poAverful fish is examining your bait. There ! he's gone !" " Well, judge, please examine your hook. The point is bro- ken off. The only safe place to hook a ' head' is in the lip, or at the angle covering the mandibles. I took thirteen here one day, and played a greater number which I lost. Our fishing-tackle kings should inspire greater confidence and better temper by giving us finer tempered hooks." 94 Fi8iim'> IN American Waters. The captain counts eleven as our take. Moderate, but enough. Suppose Ave reel up ? Captain, head the craft home- ward. Let's unjoint our rods, put them in their cases, and enjoy the sail. To our left is. the lower bay of New York, the fortifications and shore of New Jersey. To our right is Rockaway, and the great South Bay. Those birds in the weeds are yellow-leg snipe, and those on the sand-bars are summer snipe, of numerous varieties. The gulls seem to be at war, for they sally from the islets and descend on spearing and shoals of small fry as if they were storming a fortification. Our horse is ready, and our fish are stowed under the car- riage seat. We will try to drive home before sundown. There are many places along our shores better than Jamai- ca Bay, where we fished to-day, for sheepshead. The hand- line-coramittee make it pay at Fire Island, and there are many superior feeding-places in the South Bay. About the wreck of ihe Black Warrior, near the Narrows, is celebrated for great numbers of them. In truth, our whole coast south of Long Island is rendered inviting by this delicious fish. Late in autumn the sheepshead are numerous along the shores of Virginia and the Carolinas, but they are not so good any where else as within the latitude of the State of New York. The sheepshead of our northern chain of lakes IS an inferior fish, and should not be confounded with oui- coast and estuary delicacy. Along the shores of New Jersey sheepshead arc numerous from May until October : Where inle'; of the Barnegat Opes to the boiling surf its gate, When the young flood-tide washes iu Limpet and ':rab, a luring bait, Then, where the affluent current pours The deepest o'er its mussel floors, Tlie greedy sheepshead hidden lie To seize whatever may float by. And there, in dancing boat tliat swings At anchor hi the floating tides, The angler line and plummet flings, And takes tlie robber where lie hides. A GAMY AND DELICIOUS FlSII. 95 SECTION FIFTH. THE KINGFISH. By many anglers this fish js regarded as the best water- game of the estuaries. It is justly entitled to be considered one of tlif best food and anglers' fishes of the waves which wash the shores from Sandy Hook to New York City. Its small and hard mouth is bordered with a gristly rim, j^eculi- arly adapted to holding a small hook. In the waters about the city this fish is not numerous, nor are the members of the limited shoals of large size, running only from a half to two pounds each off Communipaw, Kill Von Kull, and Newark Bay; but at the south end of Staten Island, in Amboy Bay, and where it merges into the lower Bay of New York, near Freeport, and in Jamaica Bay, near Barren Island, they some- times run as heavy as five pouvds. All along the South Bay and the New Jersey shore aiid inlets this delectable fish is tak€n in greater or less numbers in fykes, seines, pounds, and W+.h the hand-line, while they yield tithe to sportsmen witli rod and reel. The Kingfi«h. —^cetcnre iVe/>«fosa.— Mitcliill. The meat of the kingfish laminates in flakes of very close texture. It is a very heavy fish for its size. Though emi- nently a breakfast fish, yet f-v a chowder the epicure prefers it to sea bass or cod, the acknowledged chowder fishes. The 96 color Fishing in American Waters. of the fish is gray, with irregular marks nearly black. It is covered with fine, rigid scales, which extend over the . head. The first dorsal is spinous, and all the other fins are soft-rayed. The fish possessesj great propulsive power, as in- dicated by its fins, so that a three-pounder at the remote end of a line, with delicate bass rod, generally induces the novice to believe the strength, speed, and endurance of the fish un- der-estimated. « Gently, but firmly," are the words in play- ing a kingfish, which some denominate "barb," because a .short adipose barb shoots out beneath its lower jaw; but it bears no resemblance to the barbel family. It spawns in .spring-time, as most white-meated fishes do; and, though rather solitary iu its habits, it remains in our estuaries and small bays along the coast from May until November. Au- gust and September are the best months to angle for it; and as the tackle required should be adapted to its size of mouth and great propulsive power, the following cut may assist the angler who would enjoy the spore of taking the fish, which— for his inches— is eminently the king of game fishes. The rod is the common three-jointed bass-rod, from eight to ten feet in length. Pivot, multiplying reel of German sil- ver or brass, large enough to carry from four to six hundred feet of fine linen line. The play of a kingfish is peculiar, though like the striped bass he takes the bait without hesitation and starts away, and when he feels the prick of the hook, accelerates In peed,' swimming low, and making a very long and strong run. If you have never taken one you will be puzzled with his invet- erate persistence in keeping down and running deep, and your surprise will not be diminished when he finally breaks water a hundred yards from the boat ; and you will wonder, after landing a fish which has taken you nearly half an hour to kill, that it weighs scarcely three pounds. The vital spark of the kingfish is very brilliant, and he is very tenacious of it ; but, once landed, he exhibits a vanquished look, and his or- ange-colored eyes and scaly head turn downward, as if both IIang-dog Look when Vanquished. 97 — ^^I^C»^'©-==-^ KiNGFISH TaCKI*. to .crew Ipt'o a^KW"' KiZ'^SiS?"" ? VVS^S »' '""i worm gut. leaaer . both leader and enell (or snood) are double silk- fatigued and ashamed; not like the striped bass and sheeps- head, who look happy, and seem to say, "Mr. Angler, I guess you had your metal tried in playing me;" or like a traveler just arrived from Europe, assuming an air of importance, as If condescending to visit America just to see for himself what the lankees are like. But, though the kingfish looks like a deck-passenger after a long voyage, the angler is sure of one point m his favor, and the cook, as well as the epicure, will be fully assured of another. The kingfish shoals on a clean sandy bottom, feeds on Crus- tacea, and prefers shrimp, shedder, and sofl-shell crabs and lobsters. Anchor off Barren Island to the north of the edge of the channel, and expect sport. Anchor east of Obesnequack i^reek, on the border of the channel between there and Free- port, and in August and September you can not fail of ob- G 98 Fishing in American AVateks. taming rapturous sport. Take your bait with you from a New York market, for fear of delay. Caving Channel a sandy bottom tideway from Communipaw to Jersey City' is said to be a favorite run for small kingfish, where good sport 18 often realized on the lirst of the flood. Kingfish feed also at numerous places in the South Bay, and all along the coast of New Jersey. To anglers who dwell near the coast, The kingfish is a peculiar joy ; And among all the scaly host, This they choose as theif favorite toy. . SECTION SIXTH. « , THE HOGFISH. This fish is very numerous on the Bahama banks and alon«- the coast of the Southern States, visiting in the spring, which is its spawning season, as far north as the mouth of the Ches- apeake Bay. It is white-meated and very juicy, requiring no butter or lard in cooking, and its peculiar flavor is very rich and creamy, being the best table-fish among anglers' fishes of the South. It ranges in weight from five to fifteen pounds. Its scales are rather large, except on the head, where they arc The Hcgfish. very small. The first dorsal is spinous-rayed, and all the rays of the other fins are soft. It is marked similar to the perch, with rays or bars of a darker shade than the rest of the fish, which is a reddish-brown. This fish is angled for by still-baiting with shedder or soft-shell crab, and with shank- \1 Delicacies without Olive Oil. 99 headed hooks, like those for taking large bass. As its scales are very tenacious, some cooks recommend skinning it as the New Englanders do tautog and yellow perch. It is an excel- lent fish when stuffed and baked, but it is rather adipose for boilhior. Apropos of scaling fish : First, lave them in vinegar, and the most tenacious scales will be easily removed. THE GRUNTEB. This is a silver-sided fisb with gray back and white belly. The fish is very plump, round, and fat, without any foreign taste. It usually weighs from two to five pounds, and is juicy enough to fry without butter. It is one of the best breakfast fishes of the shores and estuaries, and usually shoals with the squeteague, and utters several grunts after being landed. It is angled for the same as the squeteague. Its fins are all soft-rayed, and it is leather-mouthed; medium sized scales cover the body. In speaking of a frying fish, I believe in the epicurean theory of never frying a fish which weighs over half a pound ; and that boiling, broiling, baking, and chowdering are the only true ways to cook fish, except the primitive ones of rolling them in buttered paper and roast- ing them in hot embers, or threading them on a birch toast- ing-fork, with a slice of pork, and roasting them before a camp-fire. The grunter is a great delicacy, and very good game for the sportsman with rod and reel. > The Guunt£<{. mm 100 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. hi ( THE GOLDEN MULLET. This is eminently a fish of the coast and inlets of the Caro- linas, though in summer it is taken in considerable numbers as far north as the coast and estuaries of New Jersey. Its mouth is very small and toothless, so that a person might be led to suppose that it lived on animalcula did it not bite so ravenously. In size, the golden mullet range from half a pound to a pound, and they are so fat tho . cooks say " they fry themselves." I know of no fish possessing in an equal de- gree the rich, sweet juiciness of the golden mullet. It is al- ways distinguishable by from two to four jet spots above the tail. The color of the back is brown, sides golden, belly white, meat a cream color. Its scales are small and soft, fins soft-rayed. The body is masculated in dark sliades like the squeteague, and the tail is straight across the end. Trk Golden Mullet. The golden mullet affords exciting sport to the young an- gler with very light bass and perch tackle. The rod should » either be four-jointed and ten feet long, or a plain bamboo pole, mounted with guides and reel-rilgs. The reel may be small, but large enough to carry a hundred yards of fine linen Ime, because the angler sometimes hooks squeteague, grunt- ers, striped bass, and kingfish while angling for the smaller delicacy. The golden mullet affects shrimp bait, but will sometimes take mussels and soft clams. The hook must be small-single leaders are preferred-and a swivel and float afford the prettiest sport, with two hooks, as rigged for small striped bass. The golden mullet seldom ventures far above the estuaries of rivers, and it should not be disgraced by con- I Sport kok Ladies and Ciuldeen. 101 founding it with the numerous family of mullets of the Muyil genua. THE WHITE PEKCH. This fish is found at the meeting of salt and fresh waters all along the coast from Cape Cod to the Carolinas, and, though siinilar in essential marks, it differs in shade and symmetry either according to its food or the waters it inhabits. It is a little fish at best, ranging all the way from three ounces to three pounds. Of course you throw the small ones back if you do not hook them in the gills. The back is neutral-tint- ed, sides a silvery, lustre, and belly Avhite. The first dorsal is spinous, and the others soft-rayed, except the first anal. The head is small, and, with its silver-plated gill-covers, small mouth, and little teeth, looks pretty, bites freely, and resists the angler merrily. This fish is peculiarly adapted for the sport of juveniles. It is a pan-fish, white-meated, flat, easily scaled, and quite a delicacy in November, for it is one of our latest biting fishes. Angle for it with light bass-tackle, and it is generally to be found near where a creek of fresh water empties into salt water, or in brackish waters over springs which bubble up from the bottom of a pond or river. A white perch which weighs but a pound affords sport with light tackle, and, when weighing three pounds, it plays very vigorously. The White Perch. I tl I'.' 1 ! t 102 FisiiiNo IN Amekican Waters. THE SMELT. This i,s a small delicate fish, supposed by some to belon.. to the sa mon tr,be, though it is not nearly so mueh like"^ as .a sinner like a shad. It is almost tranLcent, and from five to eight inches in length; its meat is soft, ;hite and sweet, with no bones but the spine and ribs, which a^so smal and tender that they are eaten with the' preciourmoi ^od i buuir " 1 Y " ^'^^ '^^ ''• ^-^"^^ - «-r - ble, but the skin, traced in small diamond lines, is like the canvas skin of tlie trout of Long Lake. It is ash-col red o. ^r tr::t':;?r '^ ''t "^' '^'"^- ^'-^ ^^ ^ ^-"" bait. As affording sport, the smelt is no mean game Late The Smelt.— Osmerus Eptrlanus.—YimMW m the autumn when ice begins -to border the streams the angler rigs a long perch-rod with a small multiplying re«l and a fine line rigged with half a dozen small trout or min-' now hooks on short snells fastened to the main line, six inch- es apart, and baited with pieces of shrimp or bits of clam and resorts in boat up small tidal streams, anchors and anc^les or them during the flood tide, when it is not uncommon to take from a fourth to half a dozen of these pearly beauties at a time, as fast as he can bait his hooks and cast them near he boat. There is nothing prettier than these gems danglin.. and shining at the end of the line, when they emit the odor of fresh cucumbers. On the approach of winter, anglers of all ages are seen on the bridges and along the saline streams of the coast, from Delaware Bay to the eastern boundary of Maine; and as an article of commerce, thousands are sold in A Bait fob Striped Bass. 103 the New York markets, the average retail price being twenty cents a pound. The smelt is eminently the winter sport for the angler, succeeding the white perch in small tidal creeks. This fish will alsd take the fly when sunk to their feeding level near the bottom. When twinkling icicles depend From woods that with the bright freight bend, When siilty stream anu open sound With adamantine ice are bound, Then o'er the solid frozen stream The tents of the smelt-fishers gleam ; Each opes with axe the crystal floor, Then patient watches at the door. TUB SPEARING, OR SILVERSIDES. •This is the same order of abdominales ,as the smeiu and caplin, shoals with them, and is eminently a bait for the sal- mon and striped bass. I,ate in October, in a tideway, bait with this fish for striped bass. On Pelham Bridge, anglers are seen letting the line carry out with the strong tide this shiny bait, or casting with float, light swivel sinker, and this bait, which— where the most rapid current slackens toward :in eddy— attracts the leap of a striped, satin-sided beauty, forcing the blood to the ends of the digits of the angler. The upper part of the head i§ rather flat, and the tiny gill rays ar& six in number, and the side-belt shines like silver. " ^olor.— Pale olive-green above the lateral line ; opercles and sides silvery ; obscure traces just below the lateral line ! 104 Fishing in Amekican Wa.^eks II The Spearing, or Sihy eusidks.— Genus Atherim. of a broad satin-like band, extending the whole length of the body; the place of the ribs indicates lustrous stripes, which disappear shortly after death; upper part of the opercles near the nape, dark green ; caudal dark at the base, and with an obscure marginal band; dorsal caudal fius light green- p-ctorals, ventrals, and anal light colored, tinged faintly with bluish; iridos silvery; bones of the head sub-diaphanous." The foregoing quotation is from De Kay's description of the smelc ; but he inadvertently described a spearing. I am not surprised at that, for they shoal together, and even Dr Clerk^an angler and a scholar, did not know the difference until ^ casually pointed it out to him. When in the autumn's latest time. And first the streams run icy cold In Indian surnmer'a crimjon prime, When forest trees are touched with gold, Then take t: 3 silvery fish that gleam Along the eddies of the stream. THE CAPLIlf. This is the tiny, translucent fish, of from three to six inches m length, ^7hich shoals in great abundance on the shores of Ne«rfoundland and Labrador, and is chiefly used as bait for cod It will be seen that this fish belongs to the same order as the smelt and spearing, the chief diflference consisting in Its double anal fin. All codfish fleets employ a sloop, two i-ow-boats, and a set of hands with caplin nets, to keep them supplied with bait. It is an interesting sight to witness a city of boats dj-.ributed over many miles of water in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or about Newfoundland, and the bait- tenders hauling seines over shoals and about islands where the tiny caplm resort for protection from the ood So it -ip be 3h !S, th n r. e Cod Bait in the Gulf of S-t. Lawrence. 105 pears, Great Nature has wisely ordained that big fishes shall eat the little ones, and, to compensate for this consumption hshes naturally increase many hundred fold faster than land animals, as before observed. I have presented these three great baits-the smelt, spear- mg, and caplin-for thn angler's information, for I have been acquainted with many anglers who could not name the dif- ferent fishes when taken together in great masses. Shoals o. these fishes are followed by salmon, codfish, and by the larger fishes of prey, such as the horse mackerel, cero, and bonetta, over which hover flocks of gulls, and ever and anon the latter swoop and shriek as they pick up the debris float- ing on the surface left by the monsters as thev follow and teed on the shoals of these tender delicacies. The CAPLin.—AIallotus villosus. All the estuaries of rivers and shores of the St. Lawrence teem with the caplin, and sometimes with the smelt also, and occasionally with all these three shoaling together. They form the staple food of the silver trout of the estuaries. All these fishes spawn in the spring, and, therefore, I am sur- prised that they should be suppoijed to belong to any branch of the Salmo genus. SECTION SEVENTH. THE SEA BASS. Where low the level Jersey shore Spreads out its ribb'd and sandy floor, At break of day the fishers launch The little skiff, so swift and stanch, Spread the white sail, forsake the strand, To dure the ocean miles from land. Full well by shorem^vks they may know Where reefs of weeds lue hidden low ; G2 TER8. il 106 Fishing in Ameeican Wa There, anchor'd at the dawn of dnv, They rob the marine banks of prey,' The sea bass is not strictly a vegetarian, though it visits vegetable banks to spawn and feast upon the numerous small Crustacea which hide amongst sea-weed. It occupies a re- spectable place in the culinary calendar, and is preferred to cod for a chowder. It is eminently a coast fish, and seldom ventures far above the estuaries, bays, and back-waters, or bayous The sea bass, porgee, and tautog banks along the coast of New Jersey form one of the attractions of Lono- Branch, and they are a real blessing to the members of the hand-lme-committee, who realize in them a cheap relaxation trom business and the lassitude caused by too constant work m a city during the heat of summer. The Sea Bass, Several excursion steamers run every alternate day to the ^ Fishing Banks, where they make a day's excursion for half a dollar, and whence often on the evening of the same day each passenger returns with three dollars worth of sea bass. A large business is done throughout the summer and autumn in the capture and sale of sea bass. The meat of the sea bass laminates in compact ilakes, not so soft and watery as .the cod, but more succulent and deli- cate in taste. This fish usually runs from three to iwelve pounds, and is what angler's term a bottom-feeding fish con- sequently not an especial favorite with the discinlen of rod *?-: Its lli 'e- to m )r ic g e k To JVJ A SIMPLE Chowder. 107 and reel. Its feedin^^ grounds extend along the coast from Delaware to Alaine, wherever the sea-weed grows from beds of mussels. This fish, like many herbivorous fishes of the Urient, lays its eggs, and they are vivified on the weeds and among the shells of the bottom. This process continues from May until August, and the shoals remain on the banks until most of their annual progeny leave the shell, when they all resort to deeper waters to winter. Jll'r 'Z"T\^-'^ '"^ ^'"'^ ^"^^ seldombreaks water until eady for the landmg-net. Unlike the tautog, its mouth is large and leathery, easy to hook, and tenaciourto hold. It color is a bluish, and sometimes a greenish black, lightened a rifle at the lower parts of the sides and belly. Is ^1^" a- about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and its dorsal fins- while spmous-are not very hardj the other fins are soft- rayed, except the front ray of the anal. The sea bass is a boiler, but epicures regard it as superior ma chowder. Chowder clubs use no fish !ut sea bass Tt. tie Neck clams improve the chowder, and, as I was for some ime secretary of the Latourette Chowder Club, andsup^i^! tended a combmation of the gustatory elemenL, I will here describe a simple chowder for anglers. A comm;n iron pot of globular shape, is best to make a chowder in. Slice as sides of the pot, to prevent the chowder from burning. Then cover the pork with a layer of quartered onions, wlfch have been previously parboiled fifteen minutes; the^ cover the omons with a layer offish cut in two-ink-square pi ces then cover the fish with a layer of tomatoes ; then a layei ot' «ea-biscuu ; then a layer of clams ; then a la/er of onions and con mue the layers in the rotation described until the pot" s ed. Season each layer with salt, and a mixture of reS and bl^k peppers together with such other condiments as de r'uponTf ''''•"' '^' '' ''''' ^^' ^«^^ - ^-"-^ then poui upon It from a pmt to a quart of Chateau TVTov.;,. ^r good L<.rdeaux claret, and let it simmer half an ho^iti^;;: I 108 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. Chowder should remain over the fire nearly two hours. This chowder has the merit of being simple, and-to a hungry sportsman-it is palatable, though not so epicurean as the chowder made by the late Daniel Webster, the receipt for which is given on another page. Chowder -parties and clam -bakes are American institu- tions, and they are indulged in annually in July and August throughout the whole length of the coasts of New York and New England. In a commercial point of view, the sea bass ranks with the tautog, and next to the cod, being consumed annually to the number of millions. For capture with rod and reel the common striped bass- tackle is used. I have taken hundreds of small ones in a day while angling for sheepshead. They take with equal voraci- ty shrunp, clam, and shedder crab. A shoal of a single pair offish number probably five thousand which attain to the weight of half a pound and over; not more, because ground- sharks and other marine carnivora thin their ranks when fin- gerlings. Their feeding-time is during the lull of the waters between the turn of the tides, when they yield themselves wilhng victims to the angler's captivating art. They weigh from half a pound to five pounds, and some shoals run from eight to fifteen pounds. As one of our common food fishes, it is a shade more respectable than most of those which have by quality and status been consigned to tlie hand-line multi- tude. THE PORGEE. This fish runs from a quarter to three pounds in weight, and unites with the blackfish (tautog) and bergall (cachogset) to form the guerrilla army of thieves for robbing bait when the angler, with hooks too large for its mouth, is fishing for larger game. Its mouth is armed with pin-point teeth like those of the perch, and while it can not bite in two a single gut snell or thin linen line, is most dexterous in robbing bass A SLY Bait Thief. io9 hooks, or mauling and mutilating the bait. It is a greedy little sniny sinner, which is both herbivorous and carnivor- ous, foraging on both fish and vegetable diets, and shoaling with the omnium gatherum of bottom fish, which make their summer habitations among the weedy banks called by their name all along the coast from Maine to Georgia, from three to SIX miles from shore, purveying every where from their homes, mto all the estuaries and tidal back-sets, for proven- der. The porgee is one of the most numerous of coast fishes and as greedy as it is plenty. Dr. Brown, in his Anglers' t^uide, states that the steam-boat which runs daily to the porgee banks in summer returns with many thousand por- Thb VoiidE.^.—Pogrus Argyrops. gees, besides the sea bass and tautog, averaging from six to ten thousand as their daily catch with the hand-line. To the mechanics and clerks of the metropolis these daily excursions m midsummer to the fishing-banks are great blessings; for, besides the inflation of the lungs with bracing sea-aii the change of scene, and the exercise out of doors, they bring back more than an adequate compensation for the pittance expended for the a To CATCH AND COOK TaUTOG. 115 " Now tail and fins are nicely shortened in their termina- tion, not hacked off. A little salt is thrown over the fish, merely to hcmleyi and not salt it, and it lies two hours for this' purpose. It is then scored, that it may not break when it swells, and browned well upon the gridiron, from which it is carefully taken up, and laid to repose upon a bed of nicely- peeled and very fresh mushrooms, daintily spread over the strainer. "While the fish was hardening, Mary has had a communi- cation from up stairs. Ah extra bottle of the Chateau of twenty-five had been unavailingly opened the day before to tempt a total abstinence friend who had arrived from the country. Good part oi^it remains, and at this moment it is* decanted into the stew-pan; the freighted strainer descends mto the wine, and the fish, entirely immersed in the amethys- tme element, regrets no more its loss of life, of liberty, and youth. A white onion or two is sliced into rings, that foil as decorations over him ; a few berries of pepper thrown in ; six cloves; two blades of mace ; an eschalot, if you think proper • and Cayenne or not, according to your taste. The stew-pan IS then covered, and a careful, slow, epicurean simmer com- pletes the work." During winter the blackfish hibernates under rocks in the bays and estuaries, as proven by the vent entirely closino- and a thm film growing over the mouth. In the spring they appear with the dogwood blossom and the chestnut leaves. " When chestnut leaves are as big as thumb-nail Then bite blackfi h without fail ; But when oliestnut leaves are as long as a span Then catch blackfish if you can." In angling for the tautog, use a heavy bass rod, heavy trac- ing smker like that for sheepshead, but hooks of the Virginia bend and short ni^. Swivel sinkers are preferred by some Let the point of hook be very sharp. Sometimes striped bass, sea bass, squeteague, grunters, and sheepshead feed with the tautog. It IS necessary, therefore, to rig with as laro-e a 116 Fishing in American "Waters. i 'J hook as will answer for small striped bass and squeteague and one strong enough for tautog, or one rather larger than' the common blackfish hook. Let your leader be part of your Ime, say three fourths of a yard long, and attached to a brass swivel ; run the line through the tracing sinker, and attach It to the upper end of the sw; vel. Bait with shrimp, shedder crab or shedder lobster, fiddler, soft or hard shell clam, or the sand-worm dug along the sandy shore at low tide. The tautog bites like the sheepshead, but with less power You feel the premonition, but when he dashes aside the pull IS weaker than that of a sheepshead. I mean now a tide-run- ,ning tautog of from three to eight pounds, which feeds on the edge of swift water, has a white nose, and is fair game The tautog which feeds close to the base of the rocks is an adept at getting hooks or sinkers fastened in the clefts, for so soon as he bites he darts under or between the rocks, leaving the angler thankful if the fish will liberate the hook or sinker as the price of his freedom. The bite of a small blackfish of from one fourth of a pound to a pound is like that of a roach or sunfish, but large ones bite with energy, and play so as to afford sport All the fishe. angled for along the coast, except the striped bass and bluefish, are usually landed with a net The color of the tautog is bluish-black, with a lighter shade under che belly and lower mandible. The mouth is furnish- ed with very small teeth. The engraving is a perfect coun- terpart of the fish in appearance. The FLov^j)ER.~Pleuronectes Flesus. The flounder is an important estuary fish for boys a^H h. d line fishers, though it is not appreciated very h;. biy by ^od fishermen. It is one of the latest fishes angled for in autumn when the icicles begin to form, and it, is the first fish that bites m the spring. It is to be found in the estuaries and up the tjvsrs as far as salt water runs; also in our bays. It is a fisn ,*' ^^ tetr'perate zone, and, from its great nrmbers in spnn^t HI ^^W tLe inlets from the Atlantic, is a profitable fi«h I A Biter and Broiler. h^ and a great blessing to the poor. Though generally caught with a hand-hne, many are taken m set-nets and fykes. With light perch tackle, small hooks, and clam bait, it furnishes sport to the disciple of rod and reel Avho does not fish for trout, and has no fishing in the vicinity of Ncv York until the striped bass awaken to a feeding sense, which is usually from the first to the twentieth of May, toward the head of tide water. SECTION NINTH. THE BLUEFISH. Professor Mitchill has given to this fish, which affords more sport witii the troll than any other, the classical name' of Temnodon Saltator, the first from temno, to cut in pieces probably nidicating its sharp teeth; and the last signifying a pantomnne dancer, doubtless with reference to its leaping or skippmg; but, as if these names were not sufficiently de- scriptive, he adds those of Scomber Plumbeus, or leaden mack- erel. The Bluefish.— 7e/««o(/oH *Sa/to^on— Mitchill. The bluefish is known along the coast of New England as the horse mackerel, but that is a different fish, and grows to the weight of a thousand pounds, and Gometimes more, while the bluefish seldom attains to twenty, though I have' heard of thirty-pounders. The color from the back to the almost imperceptible lateral line is a leaden blue, whence it o-radu- ally lightens to a white belly. The first dorsal fin is spinous —very sharp and strong, while the second and anal are ap- 118 Fishing in Ameeicajst Watpj ES. proximately rigid, being fixed and translucent; the rays though noc spinous, remain standing even after life is extinct' These fins are like sails always set, or like a centre-board above as well as in the keel. The body, head, and fins for half an inch are covered with infinitesimal scales. The jaws are very strong, and the gill-covers like three plates of steel. The jaws are armed with a row of strong, closely-set, sharp teeth, which will cut a cord of one fourth of an Inch in diam- eter m two as smoothly as it could bo done witli a knife for they are sharp-edged, and those of each jaw are like saw- teeth which match perfectly; therefore beware of fin-ers in disIodg'Mg a hook from its powerful jaws. The young bluefish, which are hatched in quiet nooks of bays along the beaches, wag their way like other estuary younglings, without being provided with a bag of provision suspended by the umbilical cord, like the young of the Salmo genus, but by ii stinct they propel their tiny selves to the sa- ine creeks and inlets from the sea, to prevent being devoured by the parents which visit the spawning beds early in June to subsist on such of their young as have not yet emio-rated' The young fish are vulgarly called « snapper" or " snappino- mackerel," and are the bright little 'predacious thieves which steal by small particles the angler's bait before striped bass or squeteague can get a taste of it. In October, havino- grown to the weight of half a pound each, the shoal reunites preparatory to going into winter quarters, where the Gulf bti-eam keeps the Avater at an even temperature; and if per- chance they meet gut snells on their way, they bite them in two without effort. During the last fortnight of their sojourn near the shore they purvey for young menhaden and spear- ing, but keep at a respectful distance from shoals of older fish. This is supposed to be the case with nearly all shoals of coast and estuary fishes, and a shoal is merely the proo-cnv of one pair of fishes, and tJie hatch of one laying o/'ova Tiiough in summer they may wander apart for food, yet warned by an unerring instinct, tliey reunite in autumn t(! form an army. Best fob Table in October, 119 The blucfish returns to our shores after its first voyage a two-i)ounder, being then one year old ; and by autumn these eighteen-months' old fisli weigh from three to five pounds each ; but only those which weigh from five to fifteen pounds, with a semi-occasional twenty-pounder, are regarded as good sport for the troll. These large ones are seldom taken in pounds or nets, for they can liberate themselves with their teeth from almost any net or pen not made of steel ; but the younger shoals evince more prying curiosity, which leads many of them into nets fastened to ground fixtures in suffi- cient numbers to keep our markets supplied with them from June until November. But the midsummer bluefish, having recently spawned in our bays, are lean and dry food unless cooked within the same hour they are caught, when they are juicy and tender, but . lack the rich succulency of the October shoals. The bluefish taken in autumn is equally good as a broiler, or to bake or souse, so long as it can be kept sweet by the use of ice. This is the case with every branch of the mackerel family ; and the bluefish of October, when canned in salt, is preferred by many to the common mackerel. Both the bluefish and mack- erel are in best condition from tlie middle of October until the tenth of November, ulien they begin to deteriorate and fall away to thinness, probably because the butter-fisli and bay-shiners liave settled away to hibernate, and the smelt and spearing have moved into brackish waters, leaving the blue- fish no alternative but to starve or move farther south, and within the influence of the Gulf Stream. It is well understood by anuiteurs and fishermen that the bluefish, like the ])rawn, visit our bays and estuaries period- ically, remahiing sometimes only a season, and at other times several years. The present visit of the bluefisli has been the longest one known to the oldest inluibitant of Long Island, having lasted twenty jears. Every year since its present advent it has hocomo more numerous and lar-gor. In 1850, a ten-pound bluefish was a greater curiosity than is a twenty- 120 Fishing in American Waters. pound one now. Then, shoals of bluefish were rare; now they are to be met with every where that the angler pi es hi. gentle art along the Atlantic coast best though bone, ivory, and pearl are frequently used in -i hght b..eze ^. small fish. Large, heavy baits a're best fo arge bluefish. The following engraving illustrates Z hapes, and they should be made from five to six inches t length, or they can be purchased of the right weights Ld patterns at our best fishing-tackle stores Bluefish Squids. No. 1 Matenal German silver, with a pearl plate inlaid on each side. The shank of the hook extends through the squids, and the trolling-lino attaches to the rin" bv 'i double hitch, or to a strip of raw hide-whicli is better- that plays freely in the ring. The points of the hooks are at right angles with tlie width of the squid Xo. 2 Block tin or Britannia metal, flat on the under side and forming three edges, as represented. The loop at the' end of the trolling-line closes at the hole in the end of the squid by tJirusting the loop through and over the end of the squid. On eacli side of the middle tliere is a hole drilled, m which red webbing or burnt wool l,raid is in- serted, and a knot formed witl, it n. represented, ibr eitlier red cloth or blood attract nearly all species of game fisli SiiAKP Hooks and Strong Lines. 121 The hooks should be very strong, and the points should be hied very sharp : this last piece of advice applies to all hooks tor all kinds of fishing, and its importance is not generally appreciated by amateur fishermen. Trolling-lines of cotton are better than linen lines. They should be hawser-laid, so as not to kink, and be from three eighths to a quarter of an inch in diameter. Although it is well to have then, fifty yards in length, yet when the fish are feeding in earnest fifty feet is line enough to let oflf. Always fasten the end of your line to the boat, and in case you put outriggers, a check line should be attached to each to draw them to the boat or yacht, so as to take hold of them without disturbmg the rigger. Lines to outriggers should be so short as to skitter on the surface of the water. Gloves of heavy woolen yarn should be worn; the line will wear through leather much quicker than throucrh wool and woolen gloves do not slip, and they are more comforta- ble to the hands. It is common to double the gloves over the forefinger and on the under side of the little fingers Buckskin or dogskin, the two best kinds of leather to use when wet, are only a momentary protection, good for noth- ing as trolling-gloves or thumb-stalls. 'V- V- Thk Flying Fish. 122 Fishing in American Waters. Trim the white sail ; the rising breeze Blows fleshly from the open seas ; It ripjjles over ocean's breast, Tips with the foam each billow's crest. Now cast astern the drijiping line, That cuts and whistles through the brine. TROLLING FOR BLUEFISIL EOLLiNG for bliiefish by New York sportsmen is generally done in sail- boats, and the flood tide is best. Therefore, whether we start Avith sail-boat or yacht from the city, or go to Islip or South Oyster Bay, or to Rockaway or Canarsie to sail from, it is best to sail out to the feed- ing-grounds during the ebb tide, so as to be sure of no delay after the fish begin to bite ; and as the fish ap- How TO Sail and Tkoll. 123 proacli nearer shore with the rising tide, tlie sail-boats may be working nearer home, so as not to be obliged to stem a strong ebb tide in returning to port. The best grounds fgr large blueiish are outside and near the inlets of Fire Island. These inlets are formed by the tides of the Atlantic passing through Fire Island into the South Bay ; the principal ones are opposite Islip and South Oyster Bay. But late in the fall the best trolling is off Rockaway and Jamaica Bay, the grounds extending from the Highlands, off the Jersey shore, to some ten miles below the light-ship. As a sample of the sport, I will recount my last day's ex- perience. My respected friend Gilsten having retired nearly twenty years ago to the charming village of Fort Hamilton, of which he owns the greater part, residing on the border of the trolling-grounds, and in close proximity to the favor- ite resorts of sheepshead, squeteague, and kingfish, has given his exclusive attention to field-sports for many years, anglino- and trolling in the waters between New York City and the Narrows until November, when he repairs to his island near the coast of Virginia, and shoots duck and wild geese until the first of January. Being a gentleman of good taste and large experience, as he could not angle in the winter, he hab kindly employed his time in designing trolls and stools for fishing and shooting. Well, my friend Gilsten called at my office one evening late last October, and left me two squids, with notice that the bluefish were biting generously in the Lower Bay, and that he would be obliged if I would try his newly-designed models, of which the foregoing samples were copies. I th refore acted promptly upon his generous adv4ce, and called on my angling friend Charles Gaylor and several others, all of whom agreed to meet me promptly next morn- ing at seven o'clock at the yacht moored in Jamaica Bay. Of course none of them came to time ; and as Captain Morri- son brought the yacht alongside the dock, a haze, perceptible on the waters, was just lifting at the rise of the sun. A "'en- erous breeze flapped the sails of the trolling crafts lyinf-to I 124 Fishing in Ami-kicas Watees. awaiting company, but nearly all the trolling fleet had «ail,vl ho„..s betbi^unc. the lowne»s of the ebb tid! I™^r tt Island and Rockaway Beach, amid shrieks of gulls and fli.,hts of duek, the sun lighting up the beach and the breake." a.,d th clouds of fog which at fitful turns enveloped us. Pre" outly a gentle, fog-subduing warmth, with wind freshening "gtso^""^ '"''' '"""^ '"°"'"' -'' ="' «- «"i°- "On the surface ranging, boys, We'll beat from bay to bay', Sea and water changing, boys,' It's the angler's way : So we troll, One and all, And cheerily, cheerily pass the day. "-Stoddaht We passed on near the Black Warrior, whose battered ™ck was lifted silently above the waves as' a warl " • ^ITV^Z'T'"' ''''"'^^- '^""''^''^ '''' ^^-™-« and the n! eat' ..' "' f '"""'^ "^^^ ^'^'^ ^-^"^^^ -^^ eross- " Why snre, thought they, The devil's to pay, 'Mongst folks above the water." Soon we joined the merry fleet. Our trolls had been put out. as we entered the bay, and our outriggers from each Id of the craft, a httle aft of midships, consisting of stiff poles with a hne attached to the end of each, and a troll at the oth- er end, but the line so short that the troll skittered on the top of he waves. A check line was fastened to the main one with Its end in the boat, so as to draw the main line in with^ out moving the hoop-pole rod to which it was attached. I„ addition to the two outriggers we had four trolling-lines out, th ends of which were fastened to the taffrail of the boat. Captain Morrison took the first fish, a ten-pounder. « Small " said the. captain. Presently a whirl was made at one of m'y Gay Parties all Engaged. ' 125 squids ; another dash, and he hooked himself. I took hold to pull him in hand over hand, but the pull was quite enough for me. Before I landed him another was on my other squid, which my helper landed. Now a whopper fastened to my first hook, and I found him difficult to draw in; he weighed nearly twenty pounds, and was as much as I could manage. The prospect was most gay and enlivening, as the fleet con- sisted of small sail-boats, cat-boats, sloops, schooners, and yachts, over sixty in all, crossing and jibing. Mobile the troll- ers were tugging and hauling at fish, and all seemed to vie witli the jollity of the gulls and the fun of the loons, which kept jabbering, with now and then a scream and hurrah, as if they joined in our sport. We continued trolling until noon, when the wind died away, and we turned our craft homeward. We counted our take, whicU numbered thirty-six fish, and weighed four hundred and eighty pounds, avei-aging over thirteen pounds each. Thus ended one of the most interesting, health-giving, and delight- ful days of the season. Trolling with sail and row boats in September and October is extensively indulged in by amateurs and professional fish- ermen who fish for a livelihood along the shores from the east end of Massachusetts to Chesapeake Bay; and as the shoals begin to turn southward in September, the best troll- ing is in October along Long Island and the Jersey shores, after which the angling is good along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia up to December. Although the bluefish is sufficiently plucky to take a coarse troll, and few venture to angle for him with ordinary tackle even with gimp snells, yet, with good bass-tackle and strong hooks, cither wound with copper wire on a heavy gimp lead"- er or snell, or with a hook fastened with wire to a piano strmg, capital sport is found at still-baiting for them from a boat anchored along the edge of tideways in the estuaries and near the shores of bays. The coast of Rhode Island, and 126 Fishing in American Waters. the islands which form the Elizabeth group, are filled with shoals of them all summer and fall, whqre they forage foi- menhaden and young mackerel ; and, anchoring in either of the straits which separate those islands, we find that the cast of a menhaden bait is usually met by the generous offers of half a dozen fish, whose whirls make the tide boil. Were it not that the electrical jerk of the bite of a large itluefish has such great power in it as to make the angler sometimes feel that he too is being fished for, and that its teeth are so sharp as to make strong and heavy tackle necessary, it would be considered incomparably the highest game-fish of the Ameri- can coast. When estimating the value of anglers' fishes by the play they give, and the sceney into Avhich the angler is led in search of each kind, the bluefish must occupy a foremost rank ; and the man who has neither trolled nor still-baited for this peculiar fish— the best breakfast fish on our coast e'xcept the Spanish mackerel — has two treats in store, which, the sooner he improves, the earlier he will regi-et that he had not tasted before. SECTION TENTH, THE SPANISH MACKEREL. LoA-ely with all their spangled dyes, Fairer than flush 'd autumnal skies, With gold-drops all their sides a-glow, Tinct like the rainbow's prismy bow, The Spanish mackerel gorgeous roam The rolling, yeasty world of foam ; Now glittering o'er the waves they skim, Now lost in deep abysses swim. Tills incomparable breakfast luxury is a comparative stran- ger to us, and, though never known to venture as far north as the fortieth degree of latitude until about ten years since, yet his families are now as numerous on our coast as are those of most other estuary fishes. He is coy and careful, slow to make acquaintance, and donbtfiil of a squid or baited hook. Beauty Unadorned. 12: A select family of the mackerel tribes, he is not yet fully un- •lerstoocl by either amateurs or fishermen, and commands a higher price than salmon in the markets. Apart from being the greatest beauty that swims, he is undoubtedly the best fish for the gridiron to be found in the waters of either hem- isphere. The Spanish Mackeiiel. My experience in trolling for the Spanish mackerel off the inlets of Fire Island has convinced me that the fish is as nu- merous as the bluefish, more so than the sti-iped bass at cer- tain seasons, and a little farther seaward than either of those fishes. The striped bass is the fish which ventures nearest shore ; the bluefish feeds in a range farther from shore, and the Spanish mackerel feeds farther from shore than either, except the large bluefish at the last of the season. Every year the shoals of Spanish mackerel become more numerous, and more are taken, but never in sufficient numbers to reduce the average price below sixty cents per pound. The shor.ls which I saw, when last trolling for them, would have formed an area of nearly five miles square, and still tlie most successful boat did not take more than a dozen in three days. He Avill not bite freely at any artificial lure, and though numbers came near leaping on the deck of our yacht, they treated our lures with an indiflference which savored of perverseness. " Oh !" thought I, " how I would like to be an- chored in a small boat, and still-bait for you with a pearl squid, a shiner, or a gar-eel !" But the difficulty was that their favorite feedihg-grounds seemed to be just beyond the verge of anchorage for a row-boat. This fish is eminently shy of all kinds of nets, and, when a shoal is surrounded by a 128 FisuiNG IN Amekican Wateks. I »( IP shir-net or seine, will point their heads down in the bottom of sand or weeds, and the nets glide over their backs without capturing one. Two intelligent fishermen of the south side of Long Island, men well learned in their trade, and who have for many years followed fishing successfully, concluded that they would turn their exclusive attention to the Spanish macke)-el, and, by studying their habits and watcliing their movements, invent some plan for their capture, and thus en- rich themselves. They persevered for three years, try:>3g all sorts of artificial lures, difierently constructed nets and fykes, set in different ways, besides employing the Spanish casting- net ; but their patience became so exhausted that they re- linquished the enterprise, and had learned to look at a shoal leaping so that thousands were above the wave at a time without causing the slightest emotion or sensation of either hope or fear. A few silly fish occasionally stray away from their shoal, and are found in a fyke or pound, and an occasion- al one hooks himself by indulging a dangerous curiosity; but the genius who will invent a successful method for taking the Spanish mackerel may be as sure of a fortune as the person who owns a goose which lays a large egg of gold every day. The Spanish mackerel is much more beautiful than the dolphin, even when the latter is dying. Its back and sides, down to the corrugated lateral line, are dark blue, shot with purple and gold ; below the line it is pink and gold for a short way, terminating in a white belly. The shaded parts of the body are orn.miented with spots of gold, like new gold dollars, to the number of between twenty and thirty. Its scales are imperceptible to the nakxl eye, but they extend a short way up the fins also. The first dorsal is spinous-rayed, -^ and the first rays of the second dorsal and pectoral are spin- ous; all the rest are soft, though the tail and anal fins are nearly rigid or set, and do not fall together or close like those of the common mackerel. There is a suiall adipose fin on each side extending from the tail three inches upward. Its head is a perfect cut-water, carved most artistically, and small TiiE Breakfast Luxury of the Age. 12U i.i proportion. Its jaw8 are armed with small, fine teeth, that laugh at S.Ik or linen reel-lines; gills of two rigidly resisting plies; meat white, but neither mealy nor flaky, thouc^h of close texture, creamy and peculiarly delicate, of most" deli- eious flavor. The Spanish mackerel is seldom taken with rod and reel though small ones of from three to six pounds sometimes venture to taste a baited hook. I i,ave taken two while angling for striped bass with shedder crab bait ; but it is em- inentb^ a fish for the troll, if captivating trolls can be invent- ed. These fish surround a shoal of gar-eels, butter-fish, shin- ers, spearmg, or young menhaden, when the tiny baits-anx- .0U8 to eseape-rise to the surface, followed by the Spanish mackere , which may be seen two miles distant, leaping a housand at a time, their forked tails conspicuous, and their bodies gleaming like miniature rainbows. The bite of a Span- ish mackerel is very different from that of a bluefish It is not so dashing or strong ; and when hooked, it swims deeper and does not resist so pertinaciously. In size it ranges from' hree to fifteen pounds. It is often reported as having been taken of thirty pounds* weight, but this, I think, is an error 1 he bonetta is very like it in outline, and it is also a compar- ative stranger along our coast ; one of these fish was recently taken m Jamaica Bay which weighed about thirty pounds and tlie daily papers noticed it as a large Spanish mackerel- but the bonetta-as a food fish-is vastly inferior Both Che Spanish mackerel and cero are spring-spawning fishes and no doubt spawn in our bays, for there are occa sionally small ones taken by the angler in June, before the large ones visit our shores, and I argue, therefore, that the small half-pounders are of last year's hatch Spanish mackerel and large bluefish shoal together while ceding, and woe be it to any soft-rayed herbivorous beauty that crosses their path. Bluefish and striped bass feed to- gether also, but the bass swims deeper than the bluefi-h and generally nearer shore. This is frequently proven while 'cast^ 130 Fishing in Amkkican Waters. iiig for striped bass; lor if tlie cast be made beyond a certain range, the angler is sure of a bhietisli, if any thing. 1 have here rouglily skctdied a part ot a shoal of Spanish mackerel feeding. To troll \\ ith hope of success for these r S /" ^^^^■t^yS-^J' '' Spanish Mackeuel Fkluing. delicacies, employ a light, swift-sailing craft, and ri^: it with a long outrigger on each side ; for a heavy vessel cleaving a shoal disperses the live bait on Avhich they arc feeding, and the fright causes the shoal to settle ^^ iLiiout biting. Fre- quently have I trolled through a shoal of thousands, with hundreds in sight all the time, and as the craft passed through and got far enough from the shoal to tell, I have felt the bite, and, Avhile drawing the fish in, have commented upon the ease of detecting the diftei-ence between the Spanish mackerel on my troll from the hard-mouthed bluefish, only to be laughed at a moment afterward as I landed a bluefish in the boat. Said I, "This is, of course, a Spanish mackerel; any novice might distinguish him by his bite ; and then he comes in so gently, but swims low." I can detect by the bite, when still- baiting, almost any kind of estuary fish; but in trolling any angler is liable to be deceived. From the limited exiierience thus far ixaiued bv usinsr CUEIOUS FANCk OF F18IIE8. 131 brigljt inctiil trolls, not one Spanish mackcrol in ton thousand will j)ay the least regard to them. Having ascertained that they feed on several kinds of fishes, the squid-makers have recently obtained some data to work from, and the following are the latest and most captivating sam|)les. yi'ANisu Mackeuel Syuios. A. Artificial squid or bait, made of Britannia metal, block tin, or German silver. The hooks of all trolls should be tinned or silver-plated. The shank of the hook extends through the squid, and forms an eye to attach a trolling-Iine. Feadi- ers extend beyond the bend of the hook to form the tail of the gar-eel. The form of the H(iuid is tapering, cylin- drical, and about five inches long exclusive of the hook. It should be kept polished as bright as possible, and is a very taking lure. A tail of red ibis feathers would probably be the most attractive. B. Squid as bright as polished silver, inlaid with pieces of peari, and intended to represent a sea -shiner, about five niches long besides the hook. The line is attached by a hole in the end, and at the other there are several small feathers from the red ibis. The shape of the body is lialf as thick as it is wide, and in order to render it as i^ondei-- ous as possible for its size, it is best to cast it of lead over the hook, then plate it with copper, and plate or wash it with silver. Spanish mackerel do not generally feed on fish as large as the bluefish bait, and it is therefore impor- t. Hi I!' i i M ! ■ t iiJi i;{-i Fishing in Americaj^ Waters. taut to liavo u small but pon.lorous bait attaclicd to a fifty- yard hnv of the smallest si/o for trollin- The jaw of tl.c Spanisl. inack(>rol is toiwlor, tliercforo lio plays more -iu- ^or\y, and does not resist so hard in landing as does Ihc Nueiisli; but he should be handled earefully, and prevent- ed from taking slack lim^ as he unhooks easily My opinion is that this fish will yet be taken in great num- l.ors with ro,l and reel. As they annually beeome n.ore nu- ••U'rous, they eome farther into the estuaries an„i,s j,el,,w>/s.-.Cxixiev. LovKs Flying-fisii, laughs at Tuollk. 13;^ •'ithcr. The miml.crs (>f tliis fish animully taken about tlu- approaches to our liarbors witli the troll and in nets increase, so that it bids fair to bcconu; nearly as numerous as the l)lne- tish. Of the shoals which venture along the shores of beaches or breakwaters, the iisli i-ange in weight Ironi five to fifteen pounds, whik^ farther south they are said to attain to the weight of nearly a hundred. The menhaden of our shores form the leading attraction to the food-fishes of the troll, and they are so pr..lific that, if they can be protected against oily speculators, there will be no danger of our losing entirely any of the large food-fishes of the coast. The bonetta is veiy beautiful, having a dark greenish-blue back, which lightens to midsidcs, and terminates in a satiny white belly. The diagonal rays are nearly black, and extend a little below the sinuous lateral line. The first dorsal is s])inous, as are the first rays of the second dorsal and pecto- ral. Tlie tail is framed by two spinous rays, and never closes. The anal fin is also rigid. There is an adipose fin about three inches long from the tail up the lateral line, as on the Spanish mackerel and cero. The mouth is armed with teeth both strong and sharp. The tufts of fins from the second dorsal and anal to the tail add to its superior means of propulsion, and its shape, being i)erfectly adapted to cleaving the waters,' prove it to be one of the swiftest fishes of the soundings and harbor approaches. Its scales are so small as not to be seen without the aid of glasses. It is usually taken on a large metal scpiid in trolling for bluefish, and very few have been cauglit in fykes and pounds. It is a very voracious fish, and generally in good condition and very ganfj-. It spawns about June in our bays, but probably earlier in the season farther south. While angling in company with Alderman Dodge, last year, in Jamaica Bay, he took one which weighed less than a pound, on shedder-crab bait; it was one of a shoal hatched the year previous. Some fif^hing naturalists state that it spawns about the islaiuls of tlu Western Archipelago, 134 FisnmG IN AaiEKicAN Waters, Iff where it is known as the "albicore," and comes to Northern waters for recnperation. Others suppose it to be the " tunny," which follows ships for the crumbs from the table, and at- tains, off the coast of Spain and in the Mediterranean, the weight of a thousand pounds. I do not believe the bonctta to be similar to the tunny, but I know that it is called albi- core by sonie Southern fishermen. The fishes of our coast and estuaries which I name as belonging to the troll are sup- posed to be of this hemispliere, and are spine-rayed families of the mackerel tribes. I am often surprised at the innocence of intelligent anglers*, who do not know a cero from a Spanish mackerel, nor the latter from a bonetta, or a spearing from a smelt, and can not distinguish the great Northern pike from the maskinonge SECTION TWELFTH. THE CERO, CERUS, OR SIERRA. It is rather a cereus matter to ascertain the names of such fishes as ichthyologists have left out of their catalogues; and as I make no pretensions of claiming this to be a school-book, the angler will please scan the illustrations which I made per- sonally from the fishes of which these are intended to be true copies. The Ceko, Cerus, Oh Sierra. The cero is evidently a member of one of the mackerel tribes, and in esculent quality ranks between the Spanish mackerel and bonetta. It is a now visitant along the shores from Virginia to Rhode Island, but it is quite numerous in the West Indies. It evidently spawns in spring-time; is white-meated; ranges in weight from four to twelve pounds ; is longer in proportion to its vvcight than any other of his Tup: Estuary Sentinel. 13^ mackerol kindred ; an individual specimen a yard in lengtli weighs from six to eight pounds only. The cero is of a lead- en color on the back and sides ; belly and belly-fins white ; back and sides sprinkled thickly with black dots nearly the size of peas. The first dorsal is spinous, as are also the first rays of the pectorals and second dorsal ; all the others are rigid, but not spinous. The frame of the tail is spinous, blit tfie tail is translucent ; it has an adipose fin each side on the lateral line at the tail. Its jaws are armed with serrulated teeth which laugh at any cords softer than coi)per wire. I believe that none have yet been taken with rod and reel, though they are said to be very ravenous biters and ambi- tious vaulters, which can leap much higher than a salmon. They are taken in increased numbers annually by persons'' while trolling with common Britannia metal squids for blue- fish. This fish has no apparent scales. THE HORSE MACKEREL. ( HIS monster mackerel is sup- posed to be a " thynnus^'' as some members of its family weigh nearly a ton ; but I may be in error, and the fish may be the head of the mackerel tribes, whose fam- ily commands the coast from Nantucket to the Straits of Belle Isle. At Quebec and Gaspe it is called "Bluefish." The name may have been de- rived from its leaden color, and having a head like the New York bluefish, though its body discloses a few mackerel marks, and'its tail is like that of the honito. While in Gaspe I sketched the head and tail of a horse mackerel which had just been harpooned in the Bay of Gaspe by Thomas Morland, Esq. The fish weighed 1^6 Fishing in American Wat: EKS. seven hundred and fifty pounds, was nine feet in length, and SIX feet in circumference. The ilhistration here given is a The Horse Mackerel.— Genus T/ii/nnus. copy of my sketch of the fish made from still life. As Gaspe .s a great fishing port, the " old salts" would have det cted this fish as a tunny, had it been one. That it is a great deli- cacy for the table is proven by its marketable value, which nearly equals, per pound, that of the salmon hi the vicinity where both fishes are i.iken. It is stated that this fish attains to the weight of two thousand pounds, but it is very rare to take one of more than a thousand. This eight-hundred- pounder towed the boat to which the line of the harpoon- was fastened nearly five miles. They an taken, like the swordfish, by sailing for them ; and when coming on a shoal or even a single one, a well-aimed harpoon is sent into the hsh where its head unites to the body, and then the towing- line IS manned carefully, and the fish tows the boat until he gets fatigued, and, when in a fainting condition, the lance bleeds him in the gills, and he is towed alongside until his powerful rigid tail has made its last flap; then he is raised into the boat, a subject of wonder to the amateur. I think the horse mackerel one of the links in the chain of fishe. whose head is the tunny, and which rank as follows : Tunny horse mackerel, bonetta, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, cero wmding up with the common mackerel, which— as the bar- ber said of the baker when asked to shave a coal-heaver- "is as low as we go." It will be seen by the conformation, of the horse mackerel Habits of Fishes Illustbated. 137 that his propulsive power is equal in proportion to that of the bluefish, and so are his teeth. The foot or hand of a man would stand no chance in the jaws of this monster delicacy, lalk of the bad reputation of the Sllurus glanis of the Pan- ube because portions of human bodies have been found in their stomachs! the horse mack .-el would make nothino- of choppmg up both man and fish. This is not a fish for the troll, or the rod and reel; for it is as strong in proportion to Its weight as the bluefish, and it would trouble an angler to kill a thirty-pound bluefish, or even take him in by trollinc. But sailing for horse mackerel is rare sport ; and I would ad-' vise those about New Bedford and Martha's Vineyard, who dehght so inuch in sailing for and harpooning swordfish, t<. sail down about Nantucket for horse mackerel, where thev are comparatively numerous. To conclude : Having presented the best samples of the coast and estuaries for affording sport by the recreative art of anghng,! will postpone for the present the description of those commercial fishes which belong of right to the liarpoon the net, and the hand-line. ' Pale student, who consumes the night Witli learned vigils till ihe light ; Merchant, who toils in city street Through all the summer's fervid heat ; Ail ye tired sons of gold and gain, Turn from your weary tasks of j)ain, And haste to wood, and bay, and stream, Where health, and joy, and sunshine beam IPart Scconb. FRESH-WATER FISHING WITH FLY AND BAIT. I ! % CHAPTEII I. THE POETRY OF ANGLING. SECTION FIRST. "The patient angler threads the wind- ing brooiv, Tempting the dainty trout with gilded bait ; And ever and anon, as fleecy clouds Pass o'er the sun, the fish voracious darts From the cool shadows of some mossy bank. Swallows the bait with one convulsive acti And learns too late that death was at the feast ; AVhile the glad sportsman feels the sudden jerk. And plays his victim with extended line, Swiftly he darts, and tlirougii the glit- tering rings The silken line is drawn with ringing sound, Till, wearied out with struggling that but serves To drive the barbed weapon deeper still, lie seeks his quiet shelter 'neath the bank. And thence in triumph to tlie shore is borne, A prize that well rewards a day of toil." The question lias been discussed by hundreds of enlight- ened minds, from King Leopold to Bill Kromer— from men highest in the sciences and most exalted in the state, to the lowest in worldly means and position, as to who can ade I 1 1 142 Fishing in American Watkrs. quately describe the pleasures that surround the ano-lerV The most compendious, truthful, and summary is contained in the poetical exclamation of O. W. Holmes in the followim; couplet : ■ *^ "Oh ! what are the treasures we perisli to win, To the first little niimiow we caught with a pin!" But who can catalogue the pleasures Avhich cluster around the angler's pursuit ? lie pursues his avocations amid scenc^s «>f beauty. "It is he who follows the windings of the silver river, and becomes acquahited with its course. He Knows the joyous leaps it takes down the bold cascade, and how it bubbles rejoicingly in its career over the rapids. He knows the solitude of its silent depths, and the brilliancy of its shal- lows. He IS confined to no season. He can salute Nature when she laughs with the budding flowers, and when her bi-eatluis the glorious breath of spring. The rustling sedges make music in his ear when the mist has rolled off the sJu- tace of the water, or the dew been kissed from the grass bv the sun's rays." The lark sings for him, and robin red-breast; with the brown thrush and jolly bobolink, pipe and chirp their mellifluous notes along his path. The gorgeou.' king- iisher heeds him not, and the meadow-hen seldom moves from her nest as he passes. The storm and the tempest scarcely Innder his sport. He throws the line when ruddy Autumn gilds the western heavens, and the fruit of the year hangs heavy on the bough, or waves in golden abundance on the uplands Even stern Winter does not forbid him his enjov- inent. If he cares to pursue his favorite pastime, he may do so equally when the tall bulrushes, wavy reeds, and chestnuts ••attle with December's winds, as when the marsh mario-old opens its big yellow eyes on an April day, or the birds of all song size, and feather congregate along the streams, and teter on the sprays that kiss the ripples, while they chirp and ca- vort with their mates on yonder side the stream. The au- tumn trolling season over, the angler begins to think of the sprmgmg into life of all nature, when again the fro-s hotxm An'jk^lity of I'liE Gentle Akt. 14a to croak, the trout to louj), the Avild geese to honk, the kine to low, {Uicl muLorial nature gusJiingly bursts forth into new hfe luid loveliness. If he is an ardent sportsman, the whole year is before him. When the trout in spring, the salmon in summer, the .,trij)ed 1)ass in early autumn, and the trolling for blucfish, Spanish mackerel, cero, and bonetta wind up the falling season, he may hie to the Carolinas and Florida, where the oranges, amid labyrinths of flcnvers, greet his senses, and there troll for black bass and angle for bream to his heart's content. "It was always so in the infancy of mankind; the finny tribes were pursued by a primitive i)eople with as much ar- dor as they are by civilized men at the present time. Sav- age and cultivated nations equally followed, either as a busi- ness or as a pastime, the occupation of capturing fish with a line and hook, with or without a rod. We find its praises celebrated in ancient poetry, and its memory embalmed in holy writ." The rudest appliances of a savage life have been used to aid the angler at his delightful task, and science has not disdained to aid the modern fisherman in his sport. There are tribes who yet fashion fish-hooks out of human jaw- bones, and the Saxons managed to snare fish Avith hooks ibrmed of flint. Indeed, the Anglo-Saxon race have followed angling with an energy and a zest far beyond any other na- tion, not excepting the Chinese, whose great perseverance is ilevoted rather to cultivate fishes than insnare them. ' We know the iidiabitants of tlie British Isles pursued it as a prof- itable occupation in remote times, and we have it on the au- thority of the venerable Bede that the people of Sussex wen^ at one time preserved fi-om fiimine by being taught by Wil- fred to catch fish. Among the earliest printed books is on<' on fishing, by Dame Juliana Berners or Barnes, prioress of the nunnery of Sojiwoll, near St. Alban's. This book wa- printed in 1496. The old lady shows that if ^port fails the ambitious angler, his time is not spent in vain, for has he not, "atte the leest, his holsom walke, and merry at his ease a' 144 Fishing in Amekican Watp:r8. sweto ayre of the swoto sauvouic of the meede flowres, that makyth liim hungry; he hereth the melodyous armony of fowlos ; lie sceth tlic young swannes, hcerons, ducks, cotes, and many other fowles with theyr brodes ; whychc me sem- yth better than all the noyse of houndys, the blastes of hornys, and the scrye of fowlis, that hunters, frunkeners, and fowlers do make. And," says the good old lady, "if the an- gler take fysshe, surely their is no man merier than he is in his spyryte." Angling, in modern times, is the most I'efined of all field- sports. If the angler take a fish, he knows that it is only one of a spawn of from a thousand to many hundred thousands, and that all shoals which can, prey on one another. Not only so, but the old prey on their own offspring ; and from the time when the mother fish appears in the spawning-pools, there are several milt fish waiting to gorge themselves with the ova/ and so, during all stages of fishhood, the larger eat the lesser ones, and — as cold-blooded animals — they can not be susceptible to an acute sense of pain. These truths can not be said in favor of killing a land animal, whose annual j)rocreative increase never amounts to a tithe of any individ- ual of the oviimrous fishes. The innocence of angling is therefore a feature which has commended it to the good of all ages. " When bank and meadow lie starred and enameled with flowers; when the trill of the song-bird issues from every thorn ; when all sounds and all prospects are joyous and exhilarating, and the cloud itself, sleeping high in the arch of heaven, is as the honored presence of some benevolent watcher ;" with the soul toned by the sights, sounds, and exercise into a state of harmony with all nature, then the angler realizes that the precious gift he enjoys is " One of the spirits unwithdrawn, That, erst the fall, were charged to minister To the earth's gladness, and continually, Out of their ample and unfailing liorns, To pre-endow the advancing tracks of men. " TiiK C11ABM8 OF Angling. * 145 Modem improvements in anglers' irpplements, and recent inventions m lures to captivate by trolling, have rendered the angler of to-day very different from the ancient dreamy hshing philosopher. Especially is the difference from the ancient angler-as portrayed by good Izaak Walton-ob- servable in the United States of America, where an angler i« expected to scull a boat with alacrity and pull an oar grace- fully, to sail a boat and man a pair of trolling-lines, to brave the ocean's dashing surf and spray, and, clad in sailor's garb of water-proof material, stand on the rocks of the shore and cast menhaden bait for striped bass, and play large fish from a stand where the dashing waves threaten continually to wash him off. ^ The art of angling has become so rich in variety of imple- ments, so varied in scenes, so replete with all the elements for exercise-as well for the student as for the man of action —as to render it a recreation entirely satisfactory to its dis- ciples, who believe that "All pleasures but the angler's bring I' th' tail repentance like a sting." Men of cultivation and natural gentleness of disposition have frequently l,een known to indulge in the chase, and fol- ow a well-trained dog with pleasure, though they are often known to forego these for angling; but there was never a true angler known to exchange his gentle wand, his quiet, rambles among the most charming haunts of nature, for any other means of recreation. " Bear lightly on th«ir foreheads, Time! Strew roses on their way ; The young in heart, however old, That prize the present day. " I love to see a man forget His blood is growing cold. And leap, or swim, or gather flowers, Oblivious of his gold, And mix with children in their sport. Nor think that he is old. K 146 Fishing in American Waters. " I love to see the man .of care Taka pleasure in a toy ; I love to see him row or ride, And tread the grass with joy, Or throw the circling salmon fly As lusty as a boy. "The road of life is hard enough, Bestrewn with slag and thorn ; I would not mock the simplest joy That made it less forlorn, But fill its evening path with flowers As fresh as those of morn." h SECTION SECOND. THE BROOK TROUT. Where the tangled willowy thickets lave Their drooping tassels within the wave. There lies a deep and darkened pool. Whose waters are crystal clear and cool. It is fed by many a gurgling fount. That trickles from upland pasture and mount, And when the deep shadows fall dense and dim, The speckled trout delight to swim. The illustration on the opjiositc page is a copy of a trout drawn by Walter M. Brackett, Esq., of Boston, as a contribu- tion to this work. Of his gifts and inspirations, it is difficult to decide whether he draws trout best with a fly-rod or a pen- cil. He is authority for either, and in painting fishes has no superior. This book — not being especially devoted to ichthyology — could scarcely be improved by giving the genus and family of each separate fish of which it treats ; but as the heading indicates that the brook trout belongs to the gemis Salmo, I will add that it is still questionable with some ichthyologists whether the trout is not the head of the genus, and the sal- mon belongs to the genus Trutta, or the trout is distinct from the genus Salmo. Pliny confounded them, and the different members of the genus Salmo were never assigned their posi- tion by the aid of science until within the present century. The scales of the trout are imperceptible to tiie naked eye; i A Thing of jJii^vuTv wiTiioi-T Alloy. 147 The JJi,„„„ 'Ji,uuT.-i„/,„„}i„„„„;,.^. allits fin, are soft-rayea except the second dorsal which is adjose; ats caudal fin, or tail, is nearly strai.i:t I'crosslhe nd, contradistinguished from the otherLihe's oHl 7„t olo.ed, and of all the shades between pinic and white the al low-colored trout is preferred for perfection of ^«„ The ".oat laminates u> flakes, and, when i,i best condition hei^is Tiou taken in streams which empty into tidewaters ai^ usually in best condition, because their food consists of mcT spearing shrimp, herring roe, rocs of other fishes and S' alev,ns,,„ addition to their o..d trout. Writers upon angling mention many fli^fe^ . the brook trout ; there are doubtless very many Lt ZZ I ...ted States I know of but few. A marked pLdiarkvi! obspival.le m tho tmnt nf ti, t- ^ Peculiarity is - a.-e the tiout of the Lmbagog range of lakes and :; 1.1 148 Fisiimo IN American Waters. i rivers, in the State of Maine, whose fins are bordered on one side with a ray of pure white; but I know of none which are not definable as Salmo fontinalis, differing only in quali- ty and unimportant superficial marks, generally caused by the distinctive properties of the waters which each family in- habits. Thus the black-mouthed trout of the swampy forest would soon become assimilated to the trout of the saline es- tuaries were they transported thither. Upon this subject permit me to quote from Thomas Tod Stoddart, a very high authority : " Of the food and habits of trout I have said comparative- ly little ; nor have I called direct attention to what may be termed the cross-breeds, in coi-tradistinction to the true or original breed peculiar to each stream or lake. * * * * I may notice that the cross-breeds to which I refer are simply those which have their origin in the difierent varieties of the common trout brought into contact with each other at the breeding season, and do not implicate the questionable prod- uce, or mule breed, arising from any haphazard connection be- tween the /areo and bull trout, or whitling, a connection al- together discountenanced by nature, and not likely to take place. I may also remark that, although cross varieties may for a season, or term of seasons,, rival in number the true breed belonging to this or that stream, and threaten to ex- tinguish it altogether, yet there is no fear or likelihood of such a result, the peculiar nature and qualities of the water, aided by the remaining original stock, always tending to re- instate the breed." This is merely reasserting that the qual- ities of the loater and/eec? will govern and regulate the color and quality of all trout of the same breed, whether /on^ma^/s ox'fario. The speckled beauty known as the brook trout has been an exhaustless theme for pastoral poets of all ages. It has afforded recreation for thousands of years to most of the lov- ers of nature throughout the temperate zone of the northern hemispheres. The old and young, the learned and ignorant. Tbout-fishino a Fine Akt. 149 the poor and nch-all classes, ages, and conditions, have en- Zc .a': '^T/^'f"' '"' "■■""• '' P°-""y -"^ '"■■'" Mlvinv ""^'^■''"l*™ of both mind and body to success- fully .nvent and present the lures most captivating to it than ISi: f ™t™'" ^'''- ^""""S" ">e bro'k troutt p.obably the most numerous of all the game fishes, and sought to. by the greatest number of conten.plative philosophers yet may be angled for with the commonest tackle, and wit fisW 7 '™"'' '=■" ^y ">« ^'''» "'""y "feam, or it may be fished for w,th a very elaborate apparatus, and in either case afford genuine sport. Tl^ common trout is the standard sport of the enthusiastic ..ngler. In many countries the trout and salmon are the only varieties of game fishes which interest the angler; and while salmon-flshmg may be justly regarded as the highest branch of fresh-water sport, yet it has been justly said by Francis Francis that "a good trout-flsher will easily become an ex- pert at salmon-fishing; but a very respectable practitioner with the salmon-rod w.ll often have all his schooling to do afresh, should he descend to trout-flshing, before he can take rank as a master of the art." But it is left to the American angler to enjoy those numer- ous and various resources of sport unknown to the European. Our black bass are nearly as high game as the salmon, while some thmk the striped bass higher, not to name the other va- neties ot game for the rod and the troll, which shoal in myr- iads a ong our coasts, and in the estuaries o£ innumerable riv- ers debouching in salt waters. After enumerating the fascinations of all other fishes the mind settles in pleasurable contemplation of the brook trout Ills capture is so delicate, and yet so artistic. Even the rus^ tic IS taught refinement of address by following a trout stream with his ash wand. Trouting is an abiding and universal source of pleasure to all classes and conditions of men and boys-ay, and of ladies also. It must therefore be invested with a great variety of elements intended to create refined 150 Fishing m American Waters. I emotions of pleasure to the best minds ; and while much of it is due to the incomparable beauty and superior qualities of the fish, yet his habits and attributes command unmixed ad- miration. " He is an intellectual kind of creature, and has evidently a will of his own. He looks sagacious and intelli- gent — sedulously avoids thick, troubled, and muddy waters — prefers the clear spring stream — displays an ardent ambi- tion to explore streams to their source — is quick, vigorous, and elegant in his movements — likes to have the exclusive command of the stream — keeps up a rigid system of order and discipline in the little community of which he is a mem- ber — exhibits a remarkable degree of nicety and fastidious- ness about his food — is comparatively free from vulgar, low, and groveling habits — entices his pursuer into the loveliest scenes of Nature's domains — calls forth from man his utmost ingenuity and skill — and, in a word, in every stage of his ex- istence preserves a dignified demeanor, unattainable by any other living occupant of the streams. "While these may be styled his social and intellectual qualities, his physical constitution is equally entitled to our respectful consideration. He discloses a prepossessing and fascinating figure, moulded in strict conformity with most refined principles of symmetrical proportion, sparkles in all the gorgeous colors of the rainbow, and occupies a distin- guished position in the important science of gastronomy." Reasons which combine to establish so high an estimate in the regard of anglers are connected with the idea that the amber beauty is gifted with tnind^ for in every thmg which claims human attention, mind, real or imaginary, in the object is necessary to attract our serious notice and to secure our lasting esteem. Once nearly every stream in the Middle, Northern, and Eastern States teemed with both trout and salmon. The salmon have been driven away, and, had not anglers inter- fered to save the trout, the luxury would now only be known from bookp and the stories of th.i^ oldest inhabitants. A« it Make effective Game-laws. 151 is, the trout streams have been so depleted and thinned of their most attractive beauty that restocking by artificial means has been found necessary as a last resort. Before addressing myself to the task of describing the ar- tistic means for capturing this beauty of the brook, it should be known that it is not lawful to take trout in the State of New York by any other means than with the angle in fly and bait fishings. Considering the diminished numbers in our best streams, and the swift-growing density of the population throughout the North, it is a question of importance whether this h^ should not be adopted by all the states north and east. Ihe inhabitants of the United States are a peculiar people in some things, and in no one element is this more patent than in their running on the last idea, to the disregard of all others. This is eminontly so in artificial fish-culture There are many waters which require protection only to ren- der the increase of trout abundant ; but instead of protecting the waters by proper legal enactments, and faithfully carry- ing them out, some states leave the waters to the mercy of nets and spears. They appropriate sums of money for prop- agating trout, and while the fish-culturist is hatching trout on the middle of a stream, the mouth is being netted, and the spawning-grounds thinned with the spear. This is "feeding at the spigot and leaking at the bung." . Game-laws should be enacted in each state establishino- the fence or close seasons for game fish and game animals,'thus protecting them while with young, while hatching, and until they have recovered and fattened sufiiciently for the table The legal season for taking trout in the State of New York ^8 from March until October, leaving six months of the year wherein it is unlawful to take trout by any means. It would be well if the Northern and Eastern States could unite upon a close season, as it would assist to prevent poaching. Al- though I have no key to fit the humor of the selfish proprie- tor who would begrudge the laboring man his snatch of pleas- ure at this universal and fiivorite pastime, or limit him to .r .a 152 Fishing in American Waters. xl I'OACUEK, hours in a day's fishing, where- by lie might add a real zest in the way of luxurious variety to his eveiy-day fare, yet I would second all efforts to thwart the poacher, who robs the streams of their life and beauty to sell, when these waters are be- queathed to the poor as well as to the rich as a health-giv- ing blessing. " Bill Blossom was a nice young man, And drove the Bury eoacli ; But bad companions were his bane, And egged him on to poach. " Once, going to his usual haunts, Old Cheshire laid his plots ; » He got entrapped by legal Berks, And lost his life in Notts." — Hood, The poacher is an unmitigated scamp wherever found. On Long Island, he robs the streams by night with fine silken nets, which he conceals in a pocket or in the crown of his hat (if he have one), and, knowing all the by paths of the island as they meander among the net-work formed of dwarf pine and scrub oak, he approaches a trout stream after midnight. There are usually two poachers in company. They set the net across a narrow place in the stream, and while one at- tends to it, the other drives in the trout. The meshes of the net are so small that a two-ounce trout can not escape. Before daylight the poachers are back at their wretched homes, and those who wink at the crime purchase the fish, and send them to the New York markets. The fish being in season, no ques- tions are asked. It is difficult to detect poachers on the isl- and, because proprietors of real estate and hotel-keepers are afraid to inform against these desperadoes, lest they should, in revenge, add arson to poaching. There is not withhi any settled portion of the United States PoAcriERs Rob all Classes. 153 ,>a atively so numerous and productive as they are through- ^ny d„-eet,oa without crossing a trout stream, whether from nXTo, :'TV" '™*-P'^»- "-e south' side, Jr fZ «cwto»n to Greenport on the north side; and when taliin.. mto account the necessity for a kind of rec eatior^which si ",1 who are pent up m squares of brick and mortar, and engaged arslr 2 "7"^"°"^' " '^ ""P°-^'« "> -«-te if lol fee airv^n, :»" T'''""" ^'''^''' "^il" it is sufficiently tree, airy, and attractive to inflate the lungs, jog the biliarv organs, and unbend the mind, is not so dilc'u tl plsu Z to prevent the most delicate in p^j^eyue from cnLin„ iT The va ue of the Long Island trout streams to New iork Ci t 'ZtT'f "1 ™^ "''"'"^ '' approaehabilt ?2 above price How deep must therefore be the turpitude of the c ime of that vagrant class of valc. and the tron r hT , -'''"^ ^ "'° ""''S'" "^ *^ oast miniature rainhor^: r'l^f^m'rif ^ " •"" '"^^ e appr„aohc.„,thi„ easti,,, dis^^ 7/, Ir" 17 ?" •*i cast, and a aro-e tronf mnm. i • ^ \ ^ ^^^ "^^^^'^s -turns with the now spri 1' and asl^. '"" 7 •''"^'^""^ '>lood quickens ho .nnnf "" , "^ circulation of his luiLKcns, no ^spontaneous y ciacul'ito^ « w n i- . u'orth living for !" J' U^icuuies, \VeI], this is 162 Fishing m Ateeican Waters. CHAPTER II. FLY-FISHING ON MASSAPIQUA LAKE. Fly-fishing from boats or punts on ponds and lakes forms a most interesting branch of the art of angling. The tackle is fine, and the boat comfortable. When tlie pond covers not more than fifty acres, the oarsman rows across from side to side without turning the boat, but merely changing his seat and sculls ; thus the angler, at the bow when crossing first, is at the stern while returning, and the oarsman continues to cross and recross the water back and forth, with sufficient lee- way to prevent the water being twice fished over. The an- gler must needs be ambidexterous, for he must change hands every time the water is crossed. On the trout lakes border- ing the Adirondacks the boats are very light, and finely con- sti'ucted of narrow and thin cedar boards, very closely braced Fly-fishing FKOM A Boat. ^j^ cet long and four feet wide, and are intended for one anMe, and h,s gu,de. The gnide has a seat toward the boC!., e angkr takes a seat near the stern, either tf.oZl vviiicn laiib Horn the mountain into the lako tn,.„rfi * rni:!::^e';.tra ?:: .r t -S"e:rd "a"-i iiuoKh a tiout the ffuide rows nut m.ro,r r 2- -.no the';r::i-t or;nf;^it r: r:^ cuHoSy. ' """ ^■"" """• ""- - 1-y «"■ 'heir cruel ' Lalcc Massapitjua, at South Oyster Bav on T n„„ T.i , • probably the best trout preserve in the U^Ud Z rt' " tk.„a„ maintains the preserve for his exe us v„ use »d Z. .- « -nvued guests, who are the ardent discipLs Ihe W :i"S:;;: -::c:,=r;; : :r:: I I lt)4 Fishing in American Waters. so dispose of the bounties with which Providence lias favored them as that they shall confer blessings on all classes. There are several reasons in favor of fly-fishing from a boat over that of wading a stream, or catching casts from streams bordered with foliage. It is out on the water, away from shore, and free from the danger of getting flies fast on the limbs of trees while casting or playing a fish. There is room to play your fish. Your shore views are fess restricted. Two anglers, in such case, form the best company possible. The business of the world may be canvassed while excellent sport is enjoyed amid the gushing music and harmony of nature. SECTION SECOND. now TO FISH A STREAM. * ' Wliere the robin carols loudly — Gayly and untroubled sings, And the lark is poised most proudly On his strong, untiring wings. There may I be found each morning, With my rod and reel complete, Not a speckled beauty scorning In the pearly streams I meet. " Oft I pause to hear the thrushes Trilling out their morning song In those wild and rapturous gushes Which to melody belong." Then mingled is with song of bird. The monotone of barn-yard herd ; Anon, a flock of geese appears, Honking to calm each other's fears ; And as I angle the streams along, All the world seems made of song. I Don't see it in that Light. " 1^5 Hus we deftly cast the artifi- cial lure on the margin of the streams, or on the bosom of lake or pond, whipping, whip- ping, whijDping all the day, gjid playing trout till twilight. Questions in relation to fish- - ing up or doxon a stream should be decided by the con- dition of the stream and its borders. While casting from -■ the shore, it makes very lit- " tie difference which way the ill- it is best to fi 1. . '*'^^''' '' ^'^^^5 ^"t i" ^-^d- w wo, cast to the farther shore, drawhig your flie« across the ream, but not too fast, lest the trout beeome suspic » L Cast first near shore; then a yard or two far^he off n!^^' across the stream. If vou wt not , ,.i . , ' ' up the stream and repeat "cll t T' " ''"" °'' '^™ arises as to whether tCont aWyZl:." h e' " ^T oue fly by another of diffe..nt colo^fC ny'o ' ,:':^" Hy that the trout adm.re, change your other fliea (if you fi,h on :r-* •" T" '"'"""'■' '" ^"S"' -l-f to he'tX tto-l t of, . ti , "■' "? "'"^ ^^ ''■•?''■» ■■™°ve above .est ot manknul as not to be susceptible to a slight influ- 166 Fishing in American Waters. ence from the baser sentiments of humanity ; but I have actu- ally seen a man so self-willed as to fish all day without a rise, " because," as he said, " he was determined to bring the trout to his terms." All kinds of angling call for the exercise of patience ; but fly-fishing requires the gift of genius. Do not fish with too long a cast. In fishing a creek up stream, thirty to forty-five feet are quite sufllicient. In striking, let it be with suflicient force to fasten the hook in his jaw; but play your fish most gingerly and even tenderly, but not so as to give him slack line, or he will disgorge the hook. One of the principal causes of losing large fish is the being in too great a hurry to land thMm. If the hook is well fastened, the more deli- cately your fish is played the better; for snubbing a fish ^lard at all points wears an orifice in its jaw from which the hook falls by the mere turning of the fish. It is true that the trout has a good mouth to hold a hook, but the hook must first be Avell fastened to hold, and then the orifice made in hooking should not be worn larger in playing, if possible to , avoid it. SECTION THIRD. KNOTS, LOOPS, AND DROPS. While anglers should let every trade live, and buy their tackle in preference to making it, yet with the make of cer- tain parts of tackle every amateur should be familiar. Of course he should know how to tie on a hook, and how to make a loop whose equal bearings would prevent it from chafing or breaking at the loop-knot. No. 1. Bending on, or tying on a hgok. The hook should be tied on stained silk-worm gut, round, clear, and strong ; for in playing a fish the tackle generally parts near the hook. Use scarlet silk, well waxed with a drab wax made from tar, like shoemaker's wax, only light-colored. From about half an inch below the end of the shank, make lialf a dozen turns with the silk to t1ie end of the shank, and place an Soak Gut befoke Tying. 167 ™ h/ . . ' ™"^'"S "'''^''' *'sht, and neat, until you have wound down to near the end of the gut, Or Nearly half the length of the shank, when hold the end of your silk here and form a loop of the remainder, and cast it three or our fmes over the shank as represented ; then draw up the loop by the end of the silk thread, which will leave the end fas ened under those three or four loops cast over the bend of the hook, thus forming a good finish, so that you may cut the end of the silk thread close to the tic without dan ger of its drawino-. 168 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. I 'I! No. 2. Snell loop. Soak the gut, and tie the loop as repre- sented. It is the very best tie for a loop, and I have en- deavored so to represent it as to enable an amateur to im- itate it. No. 3. A helm-knot, or tiller hitch, useful in sailing a boat or yacht, because the hitch-though secure-is loosened' in- stantly by a jerk at the end. No. 4. The cor^mon knot for forming a loop at the end of a silk-worm gut or line. No. 5, 5. Two half hitches, forming a slide-knot in a casting- line, to slide for holding a drop, and for changin' drops at will. Some anglers cast the end twice round Tnstead of once, as shown. The drop hangs well from it, being at a right angle from the casting-line ; but with only one hitch of each end, as represented, the gut is apt to slip and part the casting -line, especially if the drops are frequently changed, because, when the knots become drawn very tight they are hard to slide, and sliding them to change drops' weakens them; but I have taken many hundreds of trout on drops so arranged. No. 6. The first drop, of the correct length. It is the red ibis fly, all formed of the ibis feather but the red silk body wound with very small gold or silver cord. This is one of the most attractive lures for trout, but it is not so good as the coachman, or several of the protessors, for larg3 fish. The tail and hackle at the neck are brown. No. 7. A knot recommended by many accomplished anglers for connecting lengths of gut to form a casting-line. Some bend the end twice round inst-^d of once, as shown. If only once, the ends should be lashed with waxed silk. No. 8. Drop, fastened by a half hitch round the castino--line and the end of the gut near the knot. After tying the\not of the casting-line, draw it tight, and cut off one and close leavmg the upper end half an inch long. Lash this end to' the hne, and cover it with varnish, and loop the end of the drop over it. By this plan the drop will not chafe or ToBN OFP Knbs wrr„ Var«is„ ok S„.ll«." 169 • tto lasheS " "■«'" '°™ * Sood covering f„,. ""fow^r: "•"'"'^"''^- ^^^^"''"'^ ™'S "o-Jy »d Guinea. silk, and vatS.uIr ""' '""«' ""' '"^'^ ""^ -'" «» No. 12. Alcler-fly-^,y%^y^,,^g^_^^^, peacock's horl . i • ped w.th red silk ; ™,s of g.yLkl ^K ' ^'''' ^o. 13. Attaching the casting-line to the reel-line Th;« i ml*s T!;,V":,*;'"S-""^' "gg^d with rtretcher and two drop fl'es. The object .s to show the stndent how thev shouM be ..gged, so that all may fall at the same til ™ tit wa Vo '/:r f S^ ""^ "^'"™' ^"S'-^ "^"^ -ting-C drop; 17, the second drop, or hand-flv h,.i„„fi "'""''">'• est to the angler's hand. V t^X^X::^^ two"::, It,; ":£:^i\^-^^^^ ^ %t™'^ ^ '^" luiee mclieb ni icngth. The knots in the 170 Fishing in American "Waters. casting-line show where the lengths of gut are tied— thus, fron. the stretcher-fly to the first drop are four lengths of gut, and three or four longths from the first drop to the hand-fly. Thesi- diilances will be changed to suit taste and tho distance of cast. For long casts, the drops should ^e a yard apnrt. No. 18. A tie for uniting lengths of gut, so that they will break at any other part as easily as at the tie. Tie a knot in the end of each length of c y , Jap them an inch, and wmd them closely between the knots with white waxed silk. This is the best tie for a salmon leader or a trout casting-line. Casting-lines sho.uld be made of stained gut the gut selected so as to taper regularly from the reel-tine' to the stretcher-fly; and the drops should be cf fine, clear round gut, stained to the shade of the casting-line It is' an mdication of very bad taste in a fishing-tackle maker to otter finely-tapered and stained casting-lines and flies tied to coarse gut, and not dyed or shaded to the tint of the castmg-line. All should be in harmonious keeping, l\om the reel-line to the casting-line and drops. For casting from a boat or from the clear margin of a stream, the cast- ing-hne should be nine feet in length, or even a foot or two more, only have a care not to make it so long that, with the bend of a twelve-foot rod, you can not reel np sufiiciently close to bring your fish within reach of your landing-net. For rough fishing on a stream of bramble marsjins a cast- ing-line of from six to seven feet in length, and one drop besides the stretcher, may be sufiicient. Many anglers dis- pense with drops, and fish with one fly only ou some streams m the interior of Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, and throughout the region in New Y<,rk known as the Adiron- (lacks, which is about forty miles square, and one of the greatest fish and game regions in America. HOW TO stain SILK-WORSI GUT. > Gut may be stained by leaving it in a strong decoction of To STAIN Silk-worm Gut. ' i^^ i^TL '""""'•"o'"'' without iDJuring the gut Hals as stair fh^ \ ^ "^^''''^ ^"^ such mate- dye .s obtained by boiling a handful of the Z^o,- slv -:ro?arur::r;;:::Lt^^^^^^^ -..r::,r-irt,rif"^^ Gut .hould bo emirelv did « ""^"""^ " "''*^'"«'- .bouldbe thoroug"; Lw .rf"'/'""'"^ ''' """ '"- " in« it perfect,,, it' hL^t ™ ^ Col ^I^'"' *^ <'^>- ed on a boa.-d with the ends fasten ^ t0^2ZTt e.vcellout p an for kepnino- ti,o * . /^t^<^P it straight. An are tied is Hutchinson W,! ^ "«'" "P™ -"eh Ai-s ^o ^xuLcuiiison s, before mentionpH tk^ t ^ between the loops or rings and th hook" luM be ' uated as to aecomnjodat.. different „g, ,,s of " f % ^''"" tedonthe pao-e of trontin„ t„„i,i ., ^ ' "' """stra- to change L:ffl:ir:;^rot''.^r„r''^ ee".,t for drop,but stre'tchers wo^ret J 5 ^ ^ ^ 00. l(,r convenience. On ffoii.o- n f..«„4- t "^ ^" a couple , casts, -such as fmay Think "n "'""'""' "P -hich I contomplate fishing. For most wl i "l" """^ the stre ; fW I ""J ^"P'o^ '»» -— as or, and a mallar. 1" ..It ' "'': "' '' ="•"'"''- f" anoth- mg, wit<; claret body, for the tliird. The 'ill II m 172 Fisiirao IN Amebican 'Watebs. above the ib.s .s a cm„amo„, a,„l tl,e *i™t ,lr„,, above the ma ur.l w.„g » a cmnamon. The hand-Hk. are ihe blue dun or he cow.d„„g. The blue professo,- fa aUo an excellent flv •7 My advice to the angler i, to purchase his flics of the best fly-tyers m New Yorlc and Boston, where competition has pro- duced the necessity for employing first-rate materials in all the departments of flsliing-taclile, whether of g,it, flies hoolcs hues, reels rods, and the coarser paraphernalia of the Cle ' Tboux R..ts._The click reel is incomparably the Ls*; hongh ,t ,s not so good to dry a line on as is the Billinghas reel, wh.ch is formed of brass or German silver wire, and the me open on all sides to the air. The click reel checks the Hue to a certam weight of resistance, to which the an^er soon becomes accustomed, and in giving the flsh the bntt'he does .t wHh confldenee, because he has ascertained frou, ev penenee bow great a check he puts upon the flsh, and the pre- cise s ram caused to his casting-line, which he has rcrulated accordingly This is not the case with a reel whose tens o of drag may be changed several times during one day's sport But the best reel for my use is a click reel, with a targe'pe' forated barrel or cylinder to reel the line on, and it fh.Mild also be perforated at the ends over the cylinder, for dryino- the line. The advantage of a large cylinder to .«! the lim- on when the reel does not multiply is important, because i, shortens the time of reeling. Besides, with a Large cylinder thirty yards is a sufficient length of line. I once killed a flve- and-.a-half-pouiid trout in a very rapid stream with a nine- onnee rod and only thirty y.ards of line. It took me two houi-s and twelve minutes to kill the flsh, timed by Dr Be- thiiiie, of Boston. .X '-"e A click multiplier is better for anglmg with the worm or minnow, but many bait anglers of the country prefer a small multiplier without a click or drag. BelLmeUl is su;;™" M AGIO IN A OOOI) FlY-KOD. 173 millet r y f "™'" '''''' ^^ ^^'^«^' ^"^ -1---^ or al«. milium, IS better than either. Fly RoDs._Rods made from split bamboo are unquestioii ab y the best in use ; but a Robert Weleh rod, of ash for tl l>oo for the foiirtl, or top joint, is the best rod that I liave mulT W *■""■ Tr' ''■''''''"-■ '""' «I"" bamboo rod "lu twelve feet m length, and I had rather have it six mehes over, or so made with duplicate top and third id, ts « to make it either twelve or twelve feet siv thnnJ " longest fly rod is only twelve feet and two Z^^' 1' peter a singje action rod to the one of doubl a t ion t a kiek m the handle," though the latter may send a fly ft " tier, and deliver it more gleefully, but it lacks the si of shonid weigh from seven to ten ounces when mounted- and . .Hrom ash, lancewood, and split bamboo, if strictly fo sh, gle hand, their weights should range from nine f„ flft a d a lia^tt ^ '""'^'^'IS'"' '^'J ^ouW^ about twelve and a half feet long, ^'either rod should be too withy but la e snap or elasticity enough in the top to hook a fish with out ytelding enough to permit the sinner to dis-^orge One of the pleasures of fly-fishing is to nse a rod wh.eh will ," .pensively hook a tront without an eff-„rt of the .angler T,e » port consists ,n delivering a fly ne.atly on a strai^h linll eeing the trout rise gushingly to the surface and Lent the ' the manie. of takmg the trout, and the suiTonndings of a pleasing landscape-the music of birds, the sprin.-tfmc o^ general rejuvenation, and the running h.;r,non/of fnt llcctu al conversation. Tnere is society in trouting, but it Z o" p.-event the soul from basking in all the lift and bettl of sound and gayety around. ^ WD,NoNETs.-Iffor landing in a boat or on shore a two jomted handle is the best. If for wading, a short hancLlt I 174 Fisiima IN AsiERicAN Watkks. 11 tached to an elastic cord and suspended from the slioulder, ,tOr a double-jointer, in which the second one slides into the first, and is attached by a loop to a button on the breast, is the least cumbersome. I have found the hollow wire rims the best, and brass is the best metal for them. ' The hollow rim is light, and it does not rust. As to the round and oval shapes, they are matters of caprice, and as to the wicker frames of wood, they are no lighter than hollow brass wire, while they offer fourfold resistance to the water. The rim should be large, the meshes large, the twine not too fine, and the net itself large. A landin§--net, large, strong, and light, is one of the angler's sources of delight. Trout Basket. — Let it be plaited or woven from the thin outer grain of the willow or osier, very light and large; to contain ten, fifteen, and twenty pounds of fish are the sizes. They should be stained inside and painted outside, or by painting the inside also they are more easily cleaned. Green is the color preferred. The shape not very deep, with a hole in the lid, brass hinges, a staple extending up through the lid, fastened with a padlock. Tlie strap should be of worsted webbing instead of russet leather, or if of russet leather there should be a pad attached, with straps to slide on the shoul- der-strap to the r:ght place. The New York fishing-tackle dealers have introduced a new gear, by which the weight rests on both shoulders, and the basket is held more securely, and is less cumbersome in forest-fishing. The angler's coat should be made with a stvap and button on the shoulder, un- der which to hold the stra]i of the trout-basket ; and there should be another strap on the coat at the left side, to pre- vent tlie basket -strap from moving, and the basket from swinging about Avhile climbing over logs and fences. But the great desideratum consists in getting a light and snuill basket, whicli will contain a great many large trout of your own taking. Bait Box. — Of course bait-boxes and fly-books are articles to purchase at the fishing-tackle stores ; and while there are Finishing vr the Trouting Rig. 175 numerous theories about fly-books, there can be but few ab«ut bait-boxes I will therefore state, beware of those thre ! story complications. Procure a box as simple as possible in belt which holds up the wading water-proofs, or the common leather waist-belt. It should consist of two compartmeat ^ Carkyi^g Casts of FLiEs.-Instead of winding a castin<.- hne ound the hat, a double band is made to fit the hat an^'d buckle round over the hat-band, and the casting-line or snell- ed fl.es are attached to it and folded in, so aslot to ex^ hem or render them liable to get loose and dangle about to the danger of the face and eyes. The Calcutta ^r Gib UUr spornig-hat, Illustrated on the plate with the salmon-rc:^^ i 'Wlf f/ " ""'f' '"' ""'^'^"^^ '^"^'"^'^^ «-^ -• -«ts. A snelled fly" is a length of silk-worm gut, ^Vith a fly at one end and a loop at the other. ^ STRAiGHTExixa CASTiNG-LiNEs.-IIitch the line at one end either by the hook or a loop, and rub the line with brown paper between your thumb and finger, and it will take the turns out of it; or, rub it between India-rubber; but both these methods tend to chafe the gut more or l,ss, and neither should be resorted to if you can have time to soak the <.ut in tepid water half an hour. I am in the habit of soakhr. my casting-lme over night in cold ^vater if I intend to fish early the next morning; and lam accustomed also to selecting the flies which I thmk may be necessary, and on the rim of a kass nearly filled with water I hang the hooks, letting tin -nU fid! Ml the glass and soak all night. I do not approve of stmight- ening gut by iriction when soaking it is possible Thus, with a finely-balanced and finished fly-rod a click reel attached to the rod below the hand, a silk Ld hair braided line, protected from the eftect of water by bei„. o.led varmshed, or saturated with some oleaginous substance" braided hke a whip-lash to taper each xv.ay from the middies 176 Fishing in American Waters. a stained gut casting-line tapering from tlie reel-lino to the stretcher, a well-selected cast of flies, with drops artistically fastened to the casting-line, and of proper length, a good landing-net and light basket, and I am ready for tlie fray and to angle all day ; for I never yet experienced a day long enough Avhile Ashing. Oh ! the varied and mixed emotions of the fly-fisher. How often he is tantalized by false rises, which suddenly inflate him with hope, to collai^se as soon by disappointment. Some- times he misses a well-intended rise of so bold an eflbrt as to render the fish too much alarmed by the sights and sense of the upper air to trust a repetition. Anon he liooks a fine trout, and in playing it the hook parts from the j:^\v of the fish, leaving to conjecture whether it was really a disgorge or a too tender hold. Thus he continues whipi)ing the water, exercised by various emotions when a large feeding trout springs above the water, rev* aling all his beauties of color and proportions, and, takhig the fly, he dar^s away Avith the power and celerity which prove that he is going to try the strenorth of the tackle. What intercstiuGr moments to the angler ! The numerous runs of the fish, his wiles and strat- egy to escape, are all tried in vain, and he is finally helped out of the wet .by means of the landing-net. The man or boy who lias never taken a trout has not really seen one — with angler's eyes. To the angler, a large, healthy trout in fnll season, just taken, when fish are scarce and bite shy, is the prettiest object in the whole world of beauty. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL TROrT FLIES. Letter A, the artificial, and B, the natural dun-cut fly {phry- (/anca), is a good lure for the month of IVlay. IJody of brown bear's hair, mixed with blue and yellow worsted, whip[)ed with green and yellow ; brown feather wings, and squirrel's-tail hair for antennie. Letter C, the artificial, and 1), the natural of the green-tail fly Deceptions of Akt. 177 Lotto,- E,tl,c natumi, a„,l F, the artificial of tl,o prime d„„ ■^ fly for March (ep/.e,nc,-a), auA for which mon ,, X til Lottcr I, the artificial, a„f a starling's wing, whip- ped with pale yellow silk. The black gnat, early and late bright browns or cinnamons, palm fly, an! whirling dun, with the blue dun, dun drake, with palmers, hackles, and the stone fly, are intended for both March and April. Letter M, the natural, and N, tlie artificial hawthorn fly. Body of black ostrich herl or black seal's fuv, mixed with buft* mohair ; wings of horn shavings, or of the palest snipe's feather or mallard's wins'. Letter O, the natural, and P, the artificial oak fly. This is a May insect, famous under the names of oi\k fly, camlet fly, down-hill fly, and canon fly. The body is dubbed with dark brown shining camlet, Avhippcd witl^ very fine green silk, or is made with a bittern's feather, and the wings from the double gray feather of a mallard ot of a woodcock. Letter Q, the natural, and R, the artificial green drake or green May-fly the common fresh--water fly for May. The body is dubbed with hog's down or liglit bear's hair, mix- ed with yellow mohair, whipped with pale floss silk, and a small strip of peacock's herl for the head; the wings from the rayed feathers of the mallard, dyed yellow ; the hockle from the bittern's neck, and the tail from the long hairs of the sable or ferret. The gray drake is similar in form, but difl'erent in colors, having the body dubbed with Avhitish hog's down, mixed with black spaniel's fur or white ostrich hei-1, whipped wi(U black silk; the wings dark gray mallard; black hackle, with silver twist; whisks of tail from a black cat's whiskers. Fine Tackle always Alluking. 179 -adilv attfl d bv th " '"'"'' ''" S™''--''"^ ""»« by its'fo™ A , .'"'' ™'°'' ""'^ '«='»'' "fa '--e than one thfr » "' " ■'""""S '"■■'= '« '*«"•• ">an a sinking ■.Imost perfect .tate" to w^ cT ft Irorr™""^ T" '"^ attained. I prefer a hnrl^ !<• ,, o*^ "y^y"? "i^s '»l™cly «-«-»o.,t^ bt,,: S^': nlT\"' T'"* ''"■ *"" Joes common w„„l „',"."'"«''■»'■•<' when wet than which shonid be wonnd with iZ^H^T"'-^' "' c'St copies of natin-P thnt T . " ^^^^ "^'ii'" t:r;„:7,;;rrtr r; "h- ^^^:: ^ America, if not in tl," tvlrif "^ "'""' '""' "^ ""^ "»- » -vf? mol^ifd::;::':;;: r^ .'• "''^'"•™» «y - -y experience with tront, „;.. of .bj b'Tt T, e tVu ,! and chanc . i,T;,l .'' ''l '" "' ""l'™''""^ """"'t A^™, J^-'t»ker, an aiitlioritvon onrrj;.,^ .„.„, 1^ i -,i 180 Fishing in American Waters. "A brother of the angle must always he sped With three black palmers, and also tliree red ; And all made with hackles. In a cloudy day Or in windy weather, angle you may." lie then recommends the May-fly, and states that the haw- thorn fly should be small, while the oak fly with brown wings and the grasshopper should be carefully imitated, concluding .»dth the following advice : •' Once more, my good brother, I'll speak in thy ear • Ilog's, red cow's, and bear's wool to float best ai)pear ; And so doth your fur, if it rightly iall ; I3ut always remember, make two, and make all.' Wise Trout below the Daai. CHAPTER in. MIDDLE DAM CAMP. of the Linbao-oo. ,„ ^ chain of a do.on lakes, in the State of ^t^rol 'l t" "w^V'" "^'^""^^^"^'^ «^'P---'^ting that state om Canada. Kapul River f.ls i„to Umbagog Lake, and as this IS a famous troutmg region, I give a view of the camp vhei-e the angler hixnriates on brook tront and spruce par^ tridges, and rests from his day's labor on a spring-bed. Trout of nine pounds' weight each have been taken there, thouc^h I never ux,k one which scaled much over six pounds. It was hei-e that I met a new experience in the character of trout and think it worth relating for the benefit of anglers. Wlnle I believe tliat trout are not generallv ^o discrimin- ating m the se ection of artificial flies as to evhice acuteness of vision, yet I have experienced that at certain waters, when the streams are low and clear, a copy of the living fly ^ more ^\'M J'! I iM 182 Fishing in American "Waters. or less necessary to success. This is the case at the pool and rapids below the micldle dam at the head of Rapid River, and half a mile below Middle Dam Camp, wher. a large shoal of —apparently educated— trout keep leaping and tumbling so that from fifty to a hundred speckled beauties of from two to five pounds' weight are always in sight. But it used to be said that they would not take an artificial fly ; so, school-boy like, the guests at the camp sent every angler, on his arrival, to " try below the dam," as a sell. It pleased them to see a fresh man's face glow at the first sight of. those sportive beau- ties, which acted as if half in coquetry and half in defiance of anglers. I felt thankful when Avitncssing the self-denyine hospitality which prompted several anglers, who were entii-e strangers to me, to cease angling opposite the camp for the sole purpose of shoAving me a pool full of very anxious trout. They left after I had tried in vain to coax a favorable notice at one cast of flies. I changed my cast several times, and then rested the pool to allow them to change their minds or whet their appetites, until I devoted in that way about two days, to the amusement of the anglers at the camp, and final- • ly began to think that the stories I had heard about the sa- gacity of those trout were true. On my return to camp aft- er each trial below the dam, I saw that my brethrex^ of the angle were interested in my eff"orts by their furtive glances and sly winks at each other as they anxiously inquired what «port I had enjoyed. But all their jokes fell short, for my mind was with the sparkling beauties below the dam. Aftei- having exhausted my fly-books of their attractive lures, I concluded to repair to the dam and study the trout. There they were, apparently as jolly as ever, rolling, tumbling, and leapmg about the surface of the clear, curling pool. 1 had not sat long on the dam, and peered into the sparkling eddies below, before I saw a trout rise gracefully and swallow an ash-colored midge which had floated down from the dam. On looking around me, I saw a cloitd of drab ephemera, rath- er larger than musquitoes, swarming over the dry timber Fish PiiiLosoniY evolved. * ig'S dam, and ever and anon, as one fell on the water, a trout rose very gracefully and swallowed it, turning quickly down and causing a whirl made by his caudal train, which had so excited me when I first looked upon the pool. With assidu- ity 1 commenced examining my flies in search of an ash midge. I soon found a pair, and, placing one on as my stretch- er, the first cast I made with it fastened a three-pound trout played and landed it. The next cast I fastened another, but «o slightly that the hook parted from his mouth. Two or three more casts assured me that the shoal » smelt a rat •» and as minks, muskrats, and fiics with hooked tails are their terror,! adjourned to another pool, and did not return to the dam until nearly night, when I took the conceit out of four more beauties ; but, after playing the fifth nearly half an hour he made a rush for the rapids, and went over the c/«^^. cai' lymg away my casting -line. Having captured five, and played two more trout that day, I felt satisfied. T had for years contended that trout might be taken with artificial fly when in feeding humor, but I had never before found them so fastidious 01 discriminative. Since then, Mr. James Stephens, of Hoboken, and myself, hired a trout-pond in Connecticut, and though I fished it three days, and Mr. Stephens three weeks yet neither of us succeeded in capturing one with the fly. Neither w'ould tlicy take a minnow, while they rose .ireely to angle and grub worms, cast, without sinker, as a fly On tJie last day of my visit to the pond I saw the trout rush- mg furiously after tadpoles; but, as I had not time to re- main and try that bait, I probably lost a treat, for I have since heard that it is the favorite lure for trout in some parts of the state. Indeed, the fish-culturists of Fn.uce p. .palate irogs, that the trout may feed on tadpoles. The angler, on making a lengthy tour for sport, can not have too great a number or variety of artificial flies He can procure them at the principal fishing-tackle establishments m Now lork, where competition has so sharpened invention and enterprise that the best flies and fly-tiers are imported I! 184 FisiiiNo IN American Wateks. li together with the best materials, from wlicrever on oartli they are to bo obtained. Or he may be supplied in Bo>ton, Montreal, Quebec, or at Rome, Rochester, or Mumlurd, New York. In addition to an extensive assortment of flies, the angler should carry silks, wools, mohair, duiliiigs, and featiiers of va- rious colors, gold and silver tlireads and thiscls, tine houks, and selected gut, so that he may occasionally extemporize a cast of flies, which, though not so finely tied, mn v combine size and colors attractive for the finny epicures which show themselves fastidious about putting in an appearance. This course is pursued by many experienced anglers, whom, I may justly add, arc groat bunglers at tying a fly or [>ropcrly mounting a hook. Half a dozen lessons from Pritchai ^* °a *;. /^^ -^# .v W^''W Photographic Sciences Corporation ^ ^^ ,\ # :\ \ C-t^ 23 WEST MA4N STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 87!2-4503 10 186 Fishing in American Watees. of the O'Shaiighnessy pattern, or the regulation hook for ex- portation. The Virginia hook, and the Sproat and round bends of Redditch, are the best that I have seen. The foregoing cut, representing the samples of two hooks, was clipped from a recent number of the Field, and as it embodies philosophy founded on experience, I give it, refer- ring to the cut, as follows : " Now I have this autumn devoted particular attention to this subject, i. e., hcoks. I have been fishing with Hutchin- son's Limerick and Sproat bends (I may remark that I can not speak too highly of the latter for its prehensile capabili- ties), and the following is the result. In seven consecutive days' fishing I hooked thirty-six fish, and of them landed twenty-seven. I was broken four times. Once my single gut, with which I always fish, was frayed by a heavy fish against sharp boulders, and tliree times the hooks were the traitors— two were Limericks, and one was a Sproat. Three out of thirty-six is too large a proportion, and it is very de- sirable to reduce it. Even in fishing with single gut, the heaviest fish, if properly handled, barring the circumstances of snags or boulders, seldom succeed in breaking the line. But what handling will save a hook ? One toill go some- times, and most unaccountably, probably from being fixed so as to allow the fish to wrench, jerk, or squeeze it. The first step to a cure is to find the weak point. "The only Sproat hook which has broken with me went at the point a. I think it is an admirable form of hook, al- though I tried it first as an experiment this year, with much prejudice against the looks of it. It is less apt to break than the Limerick, both from its form, and because the pull, b, c,is nearly in the direction of the point, whereas in the other thv line of puU, d, e, forms an obtuse angle at the point e. Of the thousand and one Limerick hooks which I have seen bro- ken, either against stones or in fish, by far the greater propor- , tion have failed at the point /, where— in good hooks to a less, and in bad to a greater measure — the wire is reduced in IivrpoRTANT Elucidations. 187 forming the barb. Having determined the weak point, I think it can be merely a mechanical difficulty which prevents that part of the hook being made as strong as the rest, and anglers should insist on manufacturers overcoming it. I ob- tained some hooks from Messrs. Bernard, of St. James's Pas- sage, which were flat-sided— that is, they were filed to angles, and the section of the wire would be nearly an oblong. They appeared exceptionally strong, but were otherwise objection- able, being over-ironed and over-barbed. I think something might be done b> xlattening the wire from the beginning of the bend, the shank being left circular for fly-dressing facili- ties. A section of the wire at the bend would then be ellip- , tical. However, ignorance as to the manufacture, unfortu- nately, is in the way of my suggesting any thing practical ; but if I succeed in drawmg attention from anglers and man ufacturers to this subject, my object in occupying so much of your space will be fulfilled. Salmoniceps. " [The hooks which ' Salmoniceps' describes as flat and filed at the sides are, we fancy, not Mod, but hammered, as they are usually described in the trade .is ' forged Limerick tapers.' We have previously expressed a very high opinion of the Sproat bend, which is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, salmon hook mf*de. — Ed.]" Having a greater variety of fishes to angle for in America than there ai 3 of angler's fishes in Europe, it will be necessary to recur to this subject, for the fish-hook is the foundation of all fishing-tackle; and if it gives way, all the expense of mounting or baiting it, with expense of other tackle and loss of time, besides the chagrin, amounting to mortification and sometimes almost desperation at losing a very large fish, o-o for worse than nothing. The centre-draft hoolc* of the an- cients is quite similar to the hook a, ft, c, minus the barb, and it is probably the best form for all large fish. i : it i I i I if I mm i Plate of Trout-flies. ^ ■ A Clergyman's Conteibution. 189 wl.u^*^i ^^^^' ^""""^ ^'*^ g°"* cord ; streamers red, blue legs, 2, Coachman _ White w ngs, green peacock herl body, brown legs. 3. Drab upper win^s and b?mj;; under ditto ; cmnamon body and legs. 4. Red body and leg^brown mailed wines 5 Peacoclc herl body, Guinea-hen wfngs, brown hackle. 6. Sold body o?anee w nf s' sandy legs, and gray tail. T. Silver-drub wings, yellow body; and black le^s 8 nfrt' dish-brown wings and legs, with peacock herfbody. 9. SrXwinKs bromi bodv' legs^nd tail. 10. Brown lody, reef legs, gray mottle wings and anSa, 1? Jun^l fly.-Orange wings, brown body and hacBe. 12. Red body, brown wines Prav Zt • ard wings. 13. Brown hackle and two hooks. 14. Purple bXwiuf|'fe/!°rav tail and gr. a herl at root of tail. 15. Gold body, yellow an/bkck I'els^ wfn- ^Ti'nL.?^''"^ ?'"f^ ^'"■''• !«• S'^'*"' ''"•Jy. speckled wings, brown legs !?' B ac k hackle over body of oiange wound with gold;gray wings, and yellow tall 18 Brown ^^»V'7l^ with gold cord, grav wingsT red an Alack" hackle! 19 Green bo?^^^^^^ tail, gray legs, and hackle round the neck. 20. Yellow Professor -Yellowish-^rn v wings, red tail golden body, gray antenna. 21. Gray PrSor -Brown maO m«^'u'f ^^^''^i^ sray body^ wound with gold, yellow legs 22. Black Gnat - W« hh,»^^' ^a^a' l"''^'^ ' ^^ "''SS"- 23. Blue^'Pro'fessor.-Bo^dy dark Wue and golT S^l?'d"»ro1^fwrgf;nK'^^''" SECTION THIRD. BAIT-riSHING FOR TROUT. " Hail to the spring-time and the hills ! Hail to the meadows and the fog ! Hail to the gorges and the rills ! All hail the trout 'neath yonder log ! Have good care, That's his lair : Heigh-ho, hop, Flip, flap, flop. Hail to the shocking old straw hat. Second-hand trowsersj coat, and boots, Box of worms, lively and fat, All hail your hook in those old roots ! Careless man, Mad as bran. Neither snap, Nor flip, flap. Blessed and calm the smiling mom ; Birds sing wheresoe'er we roam. Flowers the fields and woods adorn ; All hail my line 'midst dancing foam ! Now look out — Silent stand — And a trout Will kiss my hand. Hail the graceful silver gleam ! Lo ! a trout, with sudden spring, Forms a spray-bow o'er the stream, And is added to my string. Verhum sap, Flip, flop, flap." 190 Fishing, in American Waters. l! The above pastoral was contributed by a clergyman who is as eloquent in the pulpit as he is persuasive along the streams. The disciples v/ere fishermen, The bait-rod should be a little heavier and longer than the fly-rod. I prefer one not less than fifteen feet in length, formed of four joints, the top one lancewood; and in place of rings, I prefer guides of aluminum. A click multiplier is the best reel. In angling a stream of tangled brush margin, it may be fished without the bottom joint by tying on the reel ; and in carrying the rod through brambles, it is best to unjoint, leaving the line and reel on when the distance is only from one trout pool to another, or not more than a mile. The bait-fisher is much more eager in pursuit of his game than is the fly-fisher. He threads his way through thorns and bram- bles that appear impenetrable to any one but a bait-fisher. He prefers to wade the stream if it be not too deep, but he permits nothing to prevent him fi-om fishing all the pools. He generally prefers to fish down stream, and if he discovers fresh tracks of an angler gone before, he will either endeavor most adroitly to get before him, or he will fish so slow as to let the trout recover from the fright caused from the disturb- ance of the waters by the angler ahead of him. In the mean time the foremost angler is continually on the alert to see that no one gets before him on the stream ; but if he suspects an attempt to outflank him, he pretends to reel up and p)-e- pare for home, when in reality he is only putting up his tao^ to make a long detour and arrive at the stream at a greater distance below his adversary. The bait-fisher does not — like the fly-fisher — fish all the stream, but knows how to judge where the trout lie in wait for bait. The fly-fisher often takes them from the shallow reefs before they seek their hid- ing-places, where the bait-fisher finds them. Bait-fishing is, of all field-sports, the parent of more patience and eager per- severance than any other. U mmi Glokious intellectual Musings. 191 CHAPTER IV. LESSON BY "JOSH BILLINGS." Anglers with bait are a more queer, quaint, peculiar class of sportsmen than are the devotees of the fly, and they include in their class students deeply read in nature and books. If you de- sire to find an original genius, you will most readily succeed among anglers with bait, who use primitive rods and tackle, and follow the streams solitary and silent, in a meditative mood, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature unmolested by the presence of the less contemplative fly-fisher, or the worshiper of dog and gun. Such a one Josh Billings appears to be, with his coat buttoned on the wrong side, if his writings are any index to the man. His lesson is included in the following original verse : " Whare the dul stream Ilaz fatted tew .a pulp The sooty arth, Oo seek the dark-skinned alder (A tiny forest), And from the crowded growth Selekt a slender wand, I ' ii m 192 Fishing in American Waters. Trii tapering from base to pinnakel, F'our yards in length. Bee it thy care Smoothly the bark tew cleave from awl the pole Save near the springy top. Thare leave the nat-tf kivver two feet or more ; Haply thus the game no fear will Lav When thwart the brook yu stretch the reed." Anglers will agree that "Josh" has studied both the rod and the habits of trout, for he describes what a fishing-rod should be for general use in angling along a stream where reels and jointed rods are scarcely ever seen. The favorite baits for such anglers are, 1st, angle-worms, or common earth- worms, kept in moss a day to scour, and then sometimes sprinkled with milk to feed them, and still not to darken their color ; 2d, the white grub-worm, found in great numbers by splitting decayed logs of soft maple or cherry; 3d, the shiner of the brook ; 4th, the grasshopper. The two latter baits are preferred by members of highest rank in the profession; and in lieu of the shiner, when near the coast, they use smelt and spearing with nearly equal success. THE AKDENT angler. Our wide acres and free streams are favorable to the cul- tivation of liberal, poetical, and artistic ideas, and I select the following verse from a poem by a gifted student at painting and the fine art of angling : "We break from the tree-groups, a glade deep with grass ; The white clover's breath loads the sense as we pass. A sparkle— a streak— a broad glitter is seen, The bright Callikoon through its thickets of green ! We rush to the banks— its sweet music we hear : Its gush, dash, and gurgle all blent to the ear. No shadows are drawn by the cloud^covered sun. We plunge in the crystal, our sport is begun. Our line, where that ripple shoots onward, Ave throw ; It sweeps to the foam-spangled eddy below ; A tremor— a pull— the trout upward is thrown, He swings to our basket— tJie prize is our own !" Alfred li. Strket. ^-A„ The Harmony of Nature. 193 The akdent Anolkk. I have also seen excellent fly-fishers with such an extem- porized rod as Josh Billings recommends. On Pine Creek, in Pennsylvania, anglers who fish for a livelihood use such a rod, and fish with only one clumsily-tied fly. They wade the stream— which is a good plan to avoid meeting rattlesnakes —and to a string tied over the left shoulder and under the left arm they attach their fish, and tow them along as they angle down the stream. On some days they take from thirty to fifty pounds of trout. On Trout Run, a tributary to Ly- coming Creek, the best native anglers use a rod formed of two hickory joints lashed together, and a top joint of whale- bone lashed on— whole length about nine feet. They fish down stream, wading the middle of the creek where not too deep, and casting right and left some forty feet, under boughs which barely clear the water, bringing out large prismatic beauties at nearly every cast with a single fly of domestic make. They do this where gentlemen amateurs, from all parts of the country, find it extremely difl^icult to get a rise to their superior flics, though presented with the best make N .i r I II 194 Fishing in American Waters. of split bamboo rod, handled by expert anglers. The natives tie on their click reel ; and for guides and top, use loops of leather or raw-hide. Reprenons notre Discours. — Of bait-fishing nothing seems more simple to the uninitiated than to be able successfully to angle with a worm. Mere urchins have succeeded with a rough stick, linen line, and clumsy hook, more clumsily tied on, and covered with a worm, in landing a goodly-sized fish. But this is a mere matter of luck, and it would V j absurd to classify the performance among the efforts of scientific bait- anglers. Entertaining, as I really do, great respect for many bait- fishers of trout, I the more cheerfully present the following opinion from the genial angler and man of genius, Thomas Tod Stoddart, whose " Companion" and '" Anglers' Rambles and Songs" have afforded me so much pleasure and instruc- tion : " It may perhaps startle some, and those no novices in the art, when I declare, and offer moreover to prove, that worm- fishing for trout requires essentially more address and expe- rience, as well as better knowledge of the habits and instincts of the fish, than fly-fishing." He does not refer to the prac- tice followed in brooks and petty streams, nor as pursued after heavy rains in discolored waters, and goes on to say : "My aflirmation bears solely on its practice as carried on during the summer months in Scotland, when the waters are clear and low, the skies bright and warm. Then it is, and then only, that it ought to be dignified as sport ; and sport it assuredly is, fully as exciting, perhaps more so than angling with the fly or minnow." As I agree in the method recommended by this teacher, I will give its principal features, and leave with the angler to decide in his course of practice between us. " The rod should approach seventeen feet in length, but light, top pieces some- what stiff, of lance or hickory." The common trouting-line of stained silk and hair, tapering RiQ FOB Bait-fishing. 195 from the middle to each end, as sold by our fishing-tackle men, ,s the best. The same may be said of the ordinary click reel, though it were better did it multiply. "The casting- me of silk- worm gut should be well tapered, and seven lengths of long single gut, tinged rather than dyed with the ordmary decoction of logwood and alum. The knots should be tied with care, but not whipped with thread-an operation which should be confined solely to the upper joints of the line. They ought to be of picked material, sound, clear, and fine, without flaw or fretting." • Hooks should be of finest steel, needle-pointed, and either the common Aberdeen round bend, Hutchinson's round bend Sproat's bend, or the Kinsey bend, known as the Pennsylva- nia trout-hook. " Before attaching the snell or gut, file and break oflTfrom a quarter to half an inch of the shank which 18 usually too long." This I have found best with hooks for small striped bass, which weigh each from half a pound to three pounds. Tie on the hooks with red silk, well waxed "Some worm-fishers of celebrity adopt a small projection of gut or bristle, as in the tackle used for the stone fly," etc. Sinkers should be made of split shot, from all sizes' between pigeon and buck shot, according to the tide or current or by winding sheet-lead round the line a foot or more above the hook. The bait should play under water, be kept mov- ing, and never allowed to sink to the bottom or float on the surface; and when the current is swift, shot should be dis- tributed above the regular sinker on the casting-line. The best bait-anglers seldom use a float ; when they do it is very small, only large enough to float the lightest sinker that will answer for the water. Casts should be regularly made, and the bait kept moving as if it were a fly under wa- ter ; or if in the current of a stream, should be made to move with the current, as if there were no hook in it. The head of the worm should be broken off", and the hook so baited with the remainder as to leave an inch of the tail free to plav naturally. ^ ^ 196 Fishing in American Waters. Of the varieties of angle-worm, that with rings, from five to six inches long, and about the size of a wheat-straw, is jJic best. Place the lot dug for fishing in cold water a little salt- ed, and leave them in five minutes ; then take them out, and place them on a dry board for ten minutes. To farther scour them, place them in swamp-moss which is damp, but not wringing wet ; let them remain over night, and next morning go a-fishing. The grub-worm is best in streams after a shower, because, beincr white, it shows best in discolored water. But the best bait of all for trout, to my notion, is a live shiner. Large trout will take it in preference to any other bait. As trout do not usually bite freely previous to a shower, it is best to bait-fish in the rain, or just after it has ceased. Fish know by instinct when it is going to rain, and they fast until it be- gins, because they expect the rain to swell the stream and bring down to them all sorts of delicacies; therefore, as soon as it commences to rain, they take any thing offered which they can swallow. It is the angler's duty and pleasure to study all the pecu- liarities of weather, with the habits and haunts of trout, and to practice upon them; for as the bait-fisher does not usu- ally whip all the surface of the water, but selects his places to drop his bait, it is necessary to know on which side of a rock or los it is natural for the trout to lie in wait for bait. The successful bait-angler studies also the condition of the water, and selects his favorite pools, while the fly-fisher looks for a gentle wind that will carry his flies off", and trusts to his skill and good fortune for attracting sport. Fly-fishing possesses its peculiar advantages. As a means of exercise, it reaches just the degree to brace the muscles, ex- ercise the temper, enliven the spirits, and produce the alter- nations between hope and despair characterized as sport. It encourages fine address and graceful attitudes, produces ear- nestness and even enthusiasm, and while the practice in minu- tiae is not so close as to pin the mind to earth, every sound of Alone with Nature. 197 so- bird or sight ot rioM-er is enjoyed by the devotee, and as he casts his eyes aloft and around, the eartli appears a paradise, and anglers the only appreciative recipients of its blessings! Hence, from tlie variety of emotions which entrance the mind of the angler, men of genius and learnmg, especially those of ideal temperament, such as poets, painters, sculptors, philoso phers, and worshipers of nature, become so penetrated witi the beauties which surround its pursuit, that the cold, calcu lating outer world deems them mad upon a trivial subject. But it was owing solely to the pleasures which angling con- fers that Thomson, Burns, Scott, Hogg, and a host of other acknowledged worthies, succeded by Prof. Wilson, Words- worth, King Leopold, Dr. Bethune, and Daniel Webster, ea- gerly exchanged the gray goose-quill and the fellowship o*" books for the gently-tapering trout-rod and the music of the rills and cascades, older than the rhythm of Homer, and as at- tractive as the propositions of Socrates. "Therefore it was that Paley left his meditative home, and Davy his tests and crucibles, Chantrey his moulds, models, and chisel-work-eacli and all to rejoice and renovate themselves," and to fish up new ideas as with the gentle wand they cast their lines in pleasant places, playing trout in sparkling waters, and enjoy- ing a sportive recreation which ever fills the mind with pure and joyous emotions, tempered by serene philosophy. 198 Fishing in American Watkrs. I I SECTION SECOND. angling for children. " Come when the leaf comes, angle with me, Come when the bee comes crossing the lea ; Come with the wild flowers, Come with the mild showers. Come when the singing bird calletli for thee !" Stoddart. TRANGE ! I sometimes involun- tarily ejaculate when I see people economize the necessa- ries of life in order to be able to support a carriage and dress the family fancifully, to take them on a drive hi the country over dusty roads as an airing and exercise for the promotion of health. Of course, exercise in the open air is necessary for the ^reservation of good health; and a residence in a city where the only breathing-places are its parks, or in the few country places which are remote from waters that ofter the recreation of angling, there is an excuse for the next means in the sim- ple catalogue for promoting and preserving health, which is driving or ridhig on horseback. But in our country of broad acres and free fishings, every parent should teach his children to angle. The sport, which is not laborious, soon renders the young student so ardent in its pursuit that he will get sufficient exercise, while his mind I Tempering youthful Ambition. 199 will be rendered logical by the realization of cause and effect and his whole being will soon become attuned to the harmo- nies of nature. The pleasurable exercise and anxieties in the practice of angling rest and recuperate the mind, so that children are thereby enabled to commit their school lessons to memory with greater ease, and to understand them more fully. A small stream to angle in from the shore, or a pond to row out on and anchor the boat to fish from, is a- great lux- ury which a family should not omit the enjoyment of. I have noticed with pleasure that the taste for angling has been in- creasing annually for the past ten years with our ladies. They begin to delight in fishing excursions and in the harmony of angling. There is, therefore, hope of a large crop of anglers from the rising generation. Twenty years ago there were scarcely a dozen ladies in the metropolis who could scull a boat, but now many ladies ply a pair of sculls very grace- fully. With those families settled near the shores of the numerous water approaches to New York, and along Har- lem River, the taste is setting in favor of light, buoyant, com- fortable, and elegant row-boats; and morning and evening these boats, laden with joyous families of children, lend an enlivening charm to the scene. Sometimes papa and mamma take the children a-fishing Whenever they do, they should supply them with a light bamboo rod, and attach at a joint one tliird from the top end a very fine silk or linen line; wind it a few times round the rod, and cast two half hitches over the top end ; then affix a float according to the depth of the water, so that the bait will sink within six inches of the bottom, and a foot above the hook fasten to the line from one to three split shot. Let the hook be the minnow size, and the bait— a piece of angle-worm' dug the day previous, and laid in moss or green grass over night to scour, if for small fresh-water fishes— should merely cover the point of the hook. Never bait with the head of the worm; always break that off and throw it in the water. iwwirft* ^pp 200 Fishing in American Waters. Sometimes it is best to take an extra supply of m orms, and cut some of them into small pieces and throw them into the fishing-pool to attract the fishes to the place where you in- tend angling. The liver of any animal is good bait for sun- fish, shiners, chubs, dace, etc. If angling in salt-water for white perch, smelt, spearing, porgees, and tomcods, use shrimp for bait; or, if they can not be procured, use either soft or hard shell clam. Rig the line with only one hook, and let papa regulate the whole tackle according to the size of the fishes to be angled for. Oh ! well do I remember the time when I first essayed to capture the finny beauties of the brook. I was about seven years old, and as my father, who was devoted to educational pursuits, had found both recreation and consolation in an- gling, he used sometimes to permit me to accompany him and carry his strings of trout, and finally rigged me out with a wand, line, and hook. The first fish that I caught was a shiner. The sensation caused by the bite of the fish, and the sight of the trembling and shining beauty as I cast it over my head, and when realizing, by running to my hook and learning that I had actually caught it, were moments as in- describable as they were ecstatic. I was anxious to return home at once and show the trophy to the family, and was not dissuaded until my larger comrades pointed out the pos- sibility of my taking a long string of such jewels. After practicing a season with this light tackle, it will be best to procure regular perch-tackle, and the next season a reel and trout-rod may be added to the outfit. Then grass- hoppers will be found the favorite bait for trout and young black bass, and small shiners and white grub- worms will be found most attractive after a shower for large trout, black bass, perch, and now and then a sand pickerel, which some of the fishermen call dork. The lad will soon learn that the most rapturous sport is realized along a stream and amony the birds as they chirp and sing while flitting from spray to spray, for they rightly regard the young angler as a friend. vna First Sense of < se and Effect. 201 meldvr'i' ' T'""" '' ^'^^ ^^^ ^^^^ -«'^ o^he. i„ melody to charm hini on. , <1 en m the punt, when papa rows out on the pond and an- ors the punt, and then baits the hooks and takes off t" 'sh. This IS the contemplative philosopher's recreation. It iJ' f^imple, mnocent, and charmino-. "Delicious musings fill the heart, and images of bliss; Ah I that all pictures of the past were innocent as this!" "Like distant music— heard at even, When the gold light has left the dj^ing day- Which, like some spirit song from heaven, Swells softly, then as softly dies away; Yet dieth not away within the soul, But leaves a soothing influence behind That oft will in our thoughtful hours control The grosser, worldly cares that crowd the mind- Just so the thoughts of dearest friends will steal Over the pensive soul with fond reflections And, waking slumbering chords of love, reveal Those hidden ties that bind our best affections ; And-goodness gracious, bless me I-what a deal Ut good It does to have such recollections ! "—C Bede 202 Fishing in American Waters. The Salmon. — Salmo salar. CHAPTER V. THE SALMON. This is the head of a numerous species, or rather of many families. The body is covered with fine scales ; the fins are all soft-rayed except the second dorsal, which is composed of a soft adipose film. It has an air-bladder which extends the whole length of the abdomen. The genus Salmo contains those species, sixch as the salmon and trout, in which the upper jaw is formed by the superior maxillary bones — the intermaxillaries being small — situated between the maxillaries. Usually these bones descend into the front of the superior maxillaries, and form the upp'er boundary of the mouth. The maxillaries, palatines, vomer, and even the tongue, are furnished with teeth. The bran- chiostegous, or gill rays, are about ten in number. Numerous species of this genus are found in the seas of the northern hemisphere, one of the largest of which is the com- mon salmon {Salmo salar. — Lin.), a fish too well known, both as to flavor and appearance, to require particular desci'iption. Cuvier states that it is found in all the arctic seas, whence it enters the rivers in the spring. The Salmo salar, which the inhabitants of the British Isles appropriately distinguish as both " noble" and " royal," be- '^ause it is the fish which affords them their highest degree of sport in angling, according to their estimate of the value of field-sports, has been differently esteemed for its esculent qualities at several periods in modern history, though at no Anglers THE TRUE FRIENDS o the Salmon. 203 time have its gamy qualities been questioned. In the eight- eenth century its shoals became so numerous as to make it necessary to guard, by a clause in indentures, against feed- mg apprentices with it more than two days in each week This was the case in England and in some of its colonies But from many of our rivers, which teemed with salmon at the beginning of the present century, this delicious and grace- tul fish has been driven away ; and were it not that-through the efforts of a few angling philosophers-the public has be- come sufficiently enlightened to see the necessity for the em- ployment of means to restock our salmon rivers, it would be scarcely worth the time and ink necessary to describe the salmon m its varied aspects for the table, for commerce, and as an mterestmg feature in the -ecreative sports of the coun- try. But, thanks to a few public-spirited gentlemen, whose sci- entific discoveries were derived from experiments instituted at their own expense, the recent reports of the Fisheries Com- missioners of New England show that the waters are being restocked with such zeal and alacrity that it will not be more than five years before most of the rivers north of Pennsylva- nia will be literally repeopled with salmon. The favorable prospects thus extended, when coupled with the generosity of our Northern neighbors, whereby the Dominion permits us to compete equally with its own people in the leasing of Ca- nadian salmon-waters, gives hopeful promise that salmon-fish- ing with the fly will soon engage the atteniion of our anglers for striped bass during June and July, and thus add an inter- esting feature to the sports of the year, without trenching upon the best season for striped-bass angling. The Highlander who stated that " no man has any right to a hunter's badge who has not killed a red deer, an eagle, a salmon, and a seal," had nevor been in America, or he would have made some additions t , his prerequisites. If it exhilar- ates and even astonishes to ti.Ke a salmon in the modest riv- ers of the British Isles, with gaffers as helpers, who know 204 Fishing in American Waters. every cast in a pogl, what must the sport be on the large, wild, and rapid rivers of Canada, with no adequate help ? Since we have no other choice, if we would go a salmon- fishing, but to repair either to Scotland, Ireland, or to the Do- minion of Canadji, and as several rivers in Canada are leased by American anglers, and all sportsmen from the States are liberally and even courteously treated there, I should 'give a preference to Canadian salmon-waters over those across the Atlantic, even were the fishings offered at the same price ; but in the matter of expense, Canada is much the most eco- nomical for our anglers. The fish are also much larger on this side on an average, the scenery is more majestic, and the riv- ers more graTid. To spend a summer month on one of the riv- ers which empty on the north shore of tKe Gulf of the St. Law- rence is to rest the mind by the most absolute exclusion from the world. When I essayed the ascent of one of the great rivers which empty into the Gulf of St. Lawrence north of the island of Anticosti, the world was tranquil. I rested there free from the news of civilization. For a month I admired the grandeur of the mountains, the majesty of the broad and rapid river, the elegant play of salmon, and the dexterity of the seals ; and at night the brilliancy of the northern horizon and gcu-geousness of the lunar bow enraptured me. On my return down the river, I was astonished to hear that a great war was in progress between Prussia and Austria, and that the cholera was raging in many places; but I was delight- fully surprised to learn that the Atlantic telegraph was in successful operation, though shocked at hearing of the dead- lock in Washington and the intention to impeach the Presi- dent. Neither of these important topics were spoken of when I left New York to visit the wilderness on the north side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. I therefore advise those who de- sire to unbend the mind and become perfectly Rip Van Win- klefied, to try the rejuvenating effect of salmon-fishing in Canada. Anglers of the United States who desire to fish a salmon- Pbepaking to Staut for Salmon. 205 river in the dominion of Canada should club together and apply for the fluvial parts of rivers. The estuary is usually devoted to net-tishing, but it would be a better plan to apply for a whole river, and then have the estuary netted if prefer- red, or devote the whole river to fly-fishing. As salmon do not rise to the fly in the tidal parts of rivers, if the river is well stocked, the company might have the tidal part netted with sweep-nets to a certain extent, but gill-nets and other nets fastened to ground fixtures should be avoided. A party of four gentlemen own the lease of the Godbout, and permit no netting. It is contrary to law to fish on Sunday in any part of Canada. The government leases the rivers for a term of nine years, and the rivers unlet on the first day of each year are advertised by the government to be let to the high- est bidders. The places of residence of those tendering for fishings are not considered in letting a river, and if a gentle- man of the States overbids a Canadian, the river will be de- clared as his. Rivers are therefore hired by Europeans as well as by Canadians and citizens of the States. Prior to the formation of the Dominion of Canada out of the provinces, the salmon-rivers were under the control of the Minister of Crown Lands ; but now they are managed by the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, at present the Hon. Peter Mitchell, to whom all applications should be made for leases of rivers. Rivers are either let in whole or in parts, each part permit- ting the use of a given number of rods, generally four. The fluvial part of the Moisie, for example, is divided into three fishings, the estuary being hired for fishing with nets. The other two parts accommodate eight rods. Parties, on making application to the Hon. P. Mitchell, at Ottawa, should state what number of rods they desire to accommodate, and on v'hich side of the St. Lawrence they prefer a river. He will then forward the applicants a list of the rivers to be let, wath such other information as he may deem necessary for their guidance. After receiving the list of rivers and a note of in- formation, they should apply to some gentleman of the Do- 206 Fishing in American Waters. minion to make the tender for them. If necessary, on appli- cation, I will name a suitable person at the seat of govern- ment to whom they may apply with confidence. The course which I recommend to gentlemen of the States is pursued by sportsmen of Canada. The prices for the flu- vial parts of rivers are very modest. I belonged to a party of four anglers who hired the whole of the fluvial part of a first-class river for three hundred dollars for a single season. The leases of fluvial parts of rivers vary from two to six hun- dred dollars a year for from three to eight rods; and the price for guides or gaffers is a dollar a day. Canoes and pro- visions are cheap there ; a first-rate canoe may be purchased for from twelve to fifteen dollars ; and as for desiccated meats and canned vegetables, with potatoes and eggs, also wines and diffusible stimulants, they do not cost more than half the sum demanded for them in the States. Then, as an econom- ical summer trip of a month or six weeks, the cost is less than the expense of staying at a watering-place hotel, which is similar to a city hotel minus its comforts. If the lovers of field-sports in the United States can but be induced to try salmon-fishing, it will not be long before the rivers in the States will teem with the silver beauties. I have before me a score of five weeks' fishing in the Godbout for four rods. The total count was 279 salni* a, weighing 3116 pounds, or the average weight of each fish 1 U pounds. They did not aver- age the use of more than three rods daily, or more than five days each week. I have seen larger takes, but this is a high score for salmon-fishing in any part of the world. As I have stated, an application to hire the fluvial or an- gling part of a salmon-river from the government of the Do- minion is to be for the term of nine years, and the prices of the rivers must necessarily advance as anglers multiply in numbers and America increases 'n wealth ; for salmon-fish- ing, on the list of recreations which most deeply interest cul- tivated men, is esteemed a high art. To Kenew our Youth. LOT SECTION SECOND. OUTFIT FOR SALMON-FISHING. 1 tent, either a marquee, wall-tent, or a common circular tent. 2 rubber blankets. 2 head-nets. 1 musquito-bar. 1 pair wading trowsers, water-jiroof and large. 1 water-proof overcoat, large and light. 1 oil-cloth coat and pants, to wear when fishing in the rain. 2 pairs of pegged army shoes for wading. 6 " heavy woolen half hose. 1 pair of heavy woolen blankets. 1 rubber bag, large size. 1 rubber pillow. 1 pint aqua ammonia, for applying to bites of black flies, for preventing the secondary effect of swelling. 1 small case of medicines. • To guard against being bitten by black flies and musqui- toes, carry a bottle of castor-oil mixed with a strong tincture of camphor. Some salmon-angle'-s employ a composition of tar and camphor, which gives them the tawny tint of the In- dian, though it is one of the best protections against flies. The black fly is the worst during daytime, while the musqui- toes and gnats begin their depredations at sundown and con- tinue until sunrise. Your gaffer should fumigate your tent every night before you retire with a smudge smoke. Both the head-net and musquito-bar should be used every night. For constant wear, day and night, supply yourself with a pair of woolen gloves extending near to the elbows, worn over the coat sleeve and held up by an elastic strap ; or sew a pair of cotton stocking-legs to the wrists of a pair of gloves, either dogskin, buckskin, or close and thick woolen gloves. A trip to Canada for salmon-fishing would be the gem of the year for all anglers, and even summer excursionists, Avere 208 Fishing in American Waters. It not for the flies ; yet they are no worse there thun they are in the Adirondacks, nor so bad as they are in the wilds of Maine and New Hampshire. A fishing-hat like No. 1 is formed of two parts, like 2 and 3, the latter setting on the band of 2 so that the vents will not meet, but the outer ones alternate with the under ones just above the brim. The edge of 3 is tacked down on the brim, which leaves a space between that and the upright part of 2 of half an inch or more, and cover the sewing to the brim with a band. The ventilation of thishat is excellent. The hat is known by name as the Gibraltar hat, while others call it the Calcutta hat. It is usually made of drab felt, and worn as an undress hat by European military officers when doing duty in warm climates. It is unquestionably the best ventilated hat made, except those from India, woven from grass or platted from bamboo ; but the felt ones are the best in shape, and lighter than the real Indian hat. ■0- Fishing-hat ani> Salmon-uod. 2 Salmon Rods, — The salmon-rod of four joints is indica- ted by Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7. The two upper joints are spliced with a small ring covering the end of each, as directed for the modern splice illustrated on another page. The following explanation I think worthy the attention of fly-fishers : An excellent Rod. ' 209 " «i«»-^^ot the least pleasure of the angler consists in looking back upon the summer-time when he 'wandered dreamily away up among the hills by the side of a tiny beck new to the angler, with no sound but the plover or the cur- lew, or the distant tinkle of the bell-wether; no incumbrance but a light rod; no bother about what flies will or will not HUit ; no tackle beyond a yard of gut and two or three hooks m a piece of brown paper; a small bag of moss with well- scoured worms within ; a sandwich or cold mutton Chop- in ^^""•/^^•.Pr^f'f^'^^^^e-in one pocket, and a flask of the dew tha shines m the starlight when kings dinna ken in the other " etc., etc. ; and when autumn, with its bracing air succeeded summer, to the wild, excited, yet concentrated thril that shot through his frame when he hooked the « lord- ly salmon," and which lasted till he could say to h mself "Tt IS my turn now; you shall not have all your own way ^ith "^'^"<^h have been my feelings this cold, Stormy winter even- mg, as I sat over a cosy fire in my easy-chair. I felt inclined to good fellowship with all anglers, especially such of them as have arrived at my time of life, when they naturally look back to what they have been in preference to what they are now, but are still fond of the sport when stength and oppor- tumty allow of following it. For the especial benefit of the latter, if you and they think it worth accepting, I have turned to my writing-case to give you the particulars of a light sal- raon-rod, equally good for worm or salmon fishing, which I got made at home last year. "Its weight is n lb. ; length, 15* feet; first fish killed with It, 18 lbs. weight. "The first week in September this season I hooked and killed a male fish, 17 lbs., and hooked and killed on successive days seven fish, aggregate weight nearly 90 lbs., without los- ing any thing once hooked. Two or three had the sea-lice on them-one especially, a ISj-pounder, which for running jumping, wheeling round and round in circles, shaking iu aio Fishing in American Waters. head, and lashing the water with its tail, exceeded any thing I ever had on. An old angler who was on the opposite side of the river, and has himself killed above fifty salmon this season, said it was the wildest fish he ever saw. " Well, not to be prolix, I give you the result of many hours' study in few words, prefacing thi.'n with the observa- tion that the rod is as straight and serviceable now as when first made, and has never failed or needed repair. "For the butt, 5f feet of well-seasoned, selected memel, with the fibre of the wood running straight in the direction of the rod ; if these conditions are not observed the wood is useless. For the middle piece, 4} feet of selected ash. For top, 4i feet of lancewood. The memel butt is brass-hooped, has good strong brass hoops for the wheel, and is joined to the ash middle-piece with the usual brass ferrule. The lance- wood top and ash middle-piece are joined with a new splice, which is superior to the ferrule joining for its lightness, im- possibility of any shifting, and the quickness with which it is put together. This is the 'modern splice for fly-rods,' which is illustrated and described on page 160, under the head of'Trouting Tackle.' " There are twenty rings, giyiduatmg in size from the butt to the top, including the top ring, which is just large enough to allow the line to run freely. Proper ringing of a rod dis- tributes the weight of a fish equally over it until it comes to the ring on the butt end. The rod graduates from the butt end to the top, is neither stiff" nor supple, and throws a long line. The weight of the whole rod will give an idea of the thickness of each piece. " I wish to draw especial attention to the material of lie butt, the ringing, and the new splice. This new form oi splice obviates the only objections (loss of time in tying, loosening of splice during use, and the wearing of the ends of the splice) against a spliced rod, and renders it incompar- ably superior to a 'i. I'uled rod." Francis Fi^avh ;ut- '■ that "the best wood is unquestion- IVluTUAL Congratulations. 223 I just touch the bite with ammonia, and it gives me no pain, and never swells. The black flies do not trouble you after dark, and that's a great comfort." I saw a few signs of defaced beauty, but kept mum. In fact, on looking upon those two ladies, I felt proud of such specimens. One of them had visited most of the courts of Europe, and the other had accompanied her triumphant hus- band throughout our recent great war. We therefore num- bered six in the party, two ladies and four gentlemen; and I am bound to acknowledge that, throughout our month of camp life, hundreds of miles from a post-oflice, the ladies ex- emplified the highest degree of spirit and pleasure, ^ith the least appearance of annoyance at any discomfort; and these were the two first white ladies. that ever ascended the great St. John River. Having examined the surroundings, and admired the great contrasts of the heavens with the mountains, and the wide, -4 ^ 2M Fishing in American Waters. rapid, roaring river with its tributary of Rattling R;;n, and while I was beginning to scan the lay of the grounds for de- ciding where to pitch tents, behold our comrades ! They came fishing along, towing four salmon on the gaff, while the general played a fifteen-pounder all the way down from the falls, a mile up the river. It having become midday, we compared notes and took dinner. At dinner we discussed the almighty salmon in all his aspects — from his seclusion in corners of the earth, where he is protected by flics and an almost impenetrable wilder- ness, to his high game, and, finally, the epicurean appearance he lends to the ainner-tablo. Our dinner consisted of Saumon il la maitre cVhotel. Saunion frit. Saumon au gratin. tTaniOo^i briilee. Les 07'^nons de Bermnde. Biscuit de mer. Le X>ain et du beurre. Du the et du sucre. Having twenty -seven miles of rapids against which to transport our stores, our potatoes and our claret were left at the mouth of the river, besides our desiccated meats, soups, vegetables, and fruits preserved in cans. Even our old Ja- maica rum was left, and the only diifusible stimulant was gin —Holland gin ! But, in order that our coffee, milk, and the numerous luxuries laid in for the campaign should be on hand for the glorious Fourth of July, we divided our men and canoes, half to transport our provisions from the mouth to the camps, and the other half to serve in the way of pad- dling us to our places for angling, gafling our salmon, and pitching our tents, waiting on us, cooking, etc. The general and the doctor had so excited my friend the banker and myself with stories of captivating sports, that, immediately after dinniir, we hardly thought of a cigar, but Peepaeiho fob the Encounter. 226 forth«^th commenced .plicing oar rods. To save mo that -. .*rM,r :r:xtt^t\:t.tdt .-de me sit down i„ the river to ooo. 0^:1: UH:' tilt -•endor it captivating in tl,at wide anr/apiZivor T 7 m,rcd the rivor; the breaks of salmon of from to to twonf ' -.e^niLrrSr];:!--:!-^^^^^^^^^^ pectcd the salmon were waiting for Cml ' *" '" can had retnrnod to the m„„ h o I • "'"'f "' "' """" again examined mv teckr I, , f "iV"'' i'™"™''s,I fish average from ei!ht ' .hi, T" """'«'" ^'"""'^ Lave take? a fo^lnd ,t ITl T'' ""'y' »"" ' striped bass was /sCg 1 L7; Lc TeL':' • '"^'""""^ ''"^ silk-worm gut " ' '""" '' '" ™'y ^ single ». .0 examined t..aarn;raS:sC:^rht'r 7' cast, abont half a, ll; the?, 7 '"'""' ' ''"" "' -"h Tl-e fish did not tl t J y auZ" T"''', "^ '""• tVom beneath, but ro.so over th, I 1 f '^ ""'""S "' " H,. «n„„„ • : '"""y .'"'J 'ook it ongoing back Ho soon convinced mo th»t he was thor,. 1. • • ? ••...ove water, and ont fanhonntor :::er;;rt,:::r::: 226 Fishing in American Waters. was stronger. When he leaijed, as he did numerous times, I lowered the top of my rod as if bowing to his mandate. By- and-by he suffered himself to be reeled up quite near me, no doubt because his curiosity prompted liim to study the cause of his difficulty, and to try, if possible, to reach its source. In the mean time I was snouting for some man to come and gaff my salmon. After having scanned " tho head and front of the offend- ing," he turned and ran off moderately until he arrived in the swiftest part of tlie current, and then all I could do would not stop him. I Avas therefore obliged to follow, and down 1 started along the stony shore for a quarter of a mile, when I became fatigued ; and, as if to spell me, the fish halted and remained until he rested long enough, and then he rose and made a quadrilateral leap, or four leaps in as many directions at the same time. Said I, " My chap, you are some !" " How many lives have you got, anyhow ?" thought I. But there was no use of thinking or speculating, for he had mounted his high horse again, and down the river I had to follow. My extemporized gaffer advised me to snub him. I replied that I had, but it was of no use. Presently he halted again, and, drenched with perspiration, I doffed my head fly-net and pre- pared to do battle in open air. It was not long before he gathered strength again, and started for the middle of the river ; but a little harder play coaxed him to change his mind. He then began leaping and cavorting, as if he wtus only in fun all the time, and had as lief as not come in out of the wet. In a few more turns, the gaffer made a pass at the fish and missed him. The fish then showed great vigor, and acted as if he would never say die; but after several efforts the gaffer brought him up, and he weighed only twelve pounds. With perspiration rolling down me and not a little fii- tigued, I started back to where I hooked the salmon and com- menced casting for another. It was not long before I liookcd him, and without much make-believe he started down the river and I after liim. Presently he waited to rest, and then Goma THROUGH A Course of Sprouts. 227 eat fpt "do^" h' '"^ "'"*' *''^ "'^'"'^'' "» «'"^<^ >^ He weighed within a mile below wliere I had hooJed him pound of as much as the first one ' Again I retraced my steps to the head of the pool to when- ontly he slackened speed, and even ston,W f^ i ^ against a .ook, a,u, U,. t^I^^ el'I^o .Ir; the wove merely casual experiment. ,o wl.ot Im i,,. ', " ith his other hand hnhl: leg, the pig too 1 lar<> "g a rope fastened to a pig's for Pat to control. About that time 1 1 ! I I i 228 Fishing in Ami<;rican Waters. did not think of black flies, nor rocks and sore shins. My friend sometimes generously came near shore, and once I thought I saw him throw his tail up, as a sure sign of grow- ing weakness, but it was all sham. He was only studying my tackle, and his means of escape by parting it. He was up near the gaff several times, and eyed the instrument crit- ically, but with a whirl of astonishment akin to anger and disdain, as if in this age of negro suft'rage a man so cruel could be found as to fight salmon with so unequal and hide- ous a weapon. But he curled on the water, and while he touched his nose with the end of his tail, ho looked askance for an instant ; then he made a prodigious leap down stream, :?nd planged some ten feet under water and came up five rods above, thus forming a bight in the line, by which he ex- pected to gain slack and extricate himself But it Avas all no go. I thought he was mine, and preserved great care lest he should unhook while bringing him to the gaff. He came for- ward as willing as a pet lamb until within three rods of shore ; he then made a turn, and with dips, dives, leaps, and other 'devices, liberated himself, and took my fly-hook with him. I felt wilted ; worse, I was outgeneraled ; worse still, I was vanquished. I once more mechanically walked nearly a mile to the foot of the rapid, but I could not cast with hope and confidence, and, as the sun was about setting and the musqui- toes began their carnival, I repaired to the tent and to sup- per, used up, though partially successful. Thus ended my first afternoon's angling for salmon in Lower Canada. SECTION FIFTH. tenting in the wilderness. Our guides had pitched our tents, and carpeted them witli fir -boughs which they clipped from the shrubbery back- ground of the plateau. My bed consisted of two breadths six and a half feet long of canvas, closed by a seam length- p tlie centre, and hemmed six inches wide at each side «r-.' Well, then, I replied, we Yankees will teach you a new lesson But, upon aseertaining that my friends were opposed to ri"' S^^Tc :k"s'^'°. 1 "■•^■"""•"^''^ y^oidedfand ti,:;:. toi ward the cook and gmdcs suited their own comfort about toes. "' '" ''™'' ""= '''"'''"' "f"'" "'"^q'"- But it seemed that the noise caused from mustering the men had aw.akcned the doctor, who crawled out of his t with modest eare for fear of arousing the other two inmate when he mildly saluted me with " G^od mornh,gn,reame your eye out?" I replied that my eyes were ^^od nZh to perceive that three or four bites from black flies had . .anged his phi. into a picture of a Chinese monstl ity ^ ou don't say so !" he ejaculated " Where ?" I pointed g them he forthwith applied ammonia to the bites, and bathed mine also with it. Smudge fires were at once made before our tents and ex- temporized breakfast-plaee. Our euisinier was soon cn^tTd .'l fr.v.ng pork and Bermuda onions, broiling salmon, mlwng 232 Fishing in American Watees. tea, etc., etc. As we had not tasted potatoes in a week, we began to long for them. Our table was set, and breakfast about ready, when the general and the banker made their appearance with their ladies, and, after mutual salutations, we all seated ourselves for breakfast. Our plates and dishes were composed of cast-iron outside and porcelain inside; and, though nearly as beautiful as sets and dishes of figured china, they were as durable as iron, and just the kind that should be adopted for kitchen use in the metropolis. By each plate a stone about the size of a goose-egg was placed, to use in cracking our sea-biscuit. Good sea-biscuit is much better than common bread in the wilderness, and when cracked uj) and crumbled into a bowl of tea, or, by being first dipped into cold water to soften it, is afterward fried in the fat of the pan after pork and eggs, is excellent, especially in the absence of potatoes. I was almost shocked on perceiving that the right eye of the banker's lady was closed, and a large lump on her left temple, almost spoiling her beauty ; but I did not allude to it until she mentioned that the flies had somewhat disfig- ured me, when I asked her how she had rested. She replied, " Very well ; but this morning, while bathing my face, I found that I had a large lump on the left side of it, and my right eye felt fatty. I called to ray husband, and asked him what it was. He replied by asking me to shut my left eye and look at him with my right one, and when I obeyed he said he was surprised, for my right eye appeared to be enthely closed. Neither my eye nor my face pain me at all, but the general's lady has applied ammonia to the bites, and I expect nothing more serious from them. Hereafter I shall wear my head-net night and day, and my Esquimaux boots." I com- plimented her philosophy, and imitated her example by wear- ing boots every night for a month, though fishing in shoes and wet trowsers, and, on returning to the tent twice a day, doffing my wet clothes, and rubbing down with a crash tow- el, and substituting dry clothes and boots until ready to start New Course of Tkaining. 23a for the nver again, when I would doff the dry clothes and re- place them by wet wading ones and shoes, with thick woolen half hose— sometimes two pairs— in a very large pair of shoes. Wide-soled pegged bottoms are the best. This changing of dresses was our daily mochts operandi; and I waded, bathed, changed dress, whipped, played salmon, and was bitten by tiies until I reduced my weight more than twenty pounds. I therefore suggest salmon-angling as the best training that a person can indulge in whose adiposity preponderates. This system has the advantage of " Banting on Corpulence," be- cause, while it reduces the amount of fat or adipose matter, it hardens the muscles, and thus improves the wind and phys- ical power of a man. If a person desires training so as to endure great flitigue, and render him more active and supple, I advise him to forthwith apply for a salmon-river; and, aft- er having secured a lease of it for the usual term of nine years, to send a good, trusty man there next April, and let him employ a couple of Canadian half-breeds, buy a couple of bark canoes, to be had for fifteen dollars each, and let your man build a couple of log huts at the foot of each of the prin- cipal rapids or falls, and let him cover them well with birch bark, and line them throughout with the bark, so as to keep out the flies. A chimney is quite unnecessary, as a smudge fire in the middle of the cabin will keep the flies away, if musquito-netting covers each window or aperture loft to ad- rait light. Then I should advise visiting the river as early as the 15th of June, and angling until the end of July. This plan will insure a month of good fishing, and no trouble fr n the effects of flies worth naming. In fact, it will un- bend the mind, invigorate the body, and renew your lease of life. Of biting flies, the following, written by the Bishop of Quebec while on a journey up the Red River, in his "Songs of the Wilderness," is truthfully expressive : / if I 4 II ' '2M Fishing in American Waters. ' ' Among the plagues on earth which God has sent. Of lighter torment is the plague of Hies : Not as of Egypt once the punishment, Yet such sometimes as feeble i)atience tries. Where wild America in vastness lies, There diverse hordes the swamps and woods infest. Banded or singly, these make man their prize ; Quick by their subtle dart is blood expressed Or tumor raised. By tiny foe distressed, Travelers in forest rude with veil arc fain To arm the face ; men there whose dwellings rest Crouch in thick smoke; like help their cattle gain.* Oh wise in trials great, in troubles small, Who know to find mementoes of the Full." A morning's experience. Our two solitary " birdies" were piping the peculiar notes of the Northern wilderness, the salmon were leaping and splashing, and I longed to tackle the mate of the silver beau- ty lost the evening previous. Having already soaked ray casting-line, I shouldered my heavy and lengthy friend, the Castle Council rod, and march- ed up the river about a hundred rods to where a bend in the shore threw the current out around the eddy rock. I select- ed a medium -sized fly with purple body, blue legs, brown mallard wings, and golden pheasant top -knot for the tail. Then I commenced casting out toward the middle of the riv- er, and letting the fly float down and around to near the shore. About my third cast brought a bite and a leap that made my heart palpitate with anxiety. I played him about half an hour, he once and a while running off" about two hun- dred feet of line, and then coming back as ta'ne and cosy as possible, until by-and-by his patience became exhausted, and he thought he would start up the river a hundred miles or so to the spawning-beds. He navigated the rapid about twen- * It is asserted as a truth by border settlers that, when burning off a sum- mer fallow, and the smoke no longer protects cattle in contiguous' pastures, that they run lowing to the house to have the fire renewed ; and it is some- rimes necessary that they shall stand in dense smoke to enable them to re- main still long enough to be milked. / Get fairly Vanquished. 255 ty rods above, but I turned him, when he went down stream nmch faster than it was convenient for me to follow ; but he ■stopped to rest where I hooked him, and glad enough was I tor the morning was oppressively warm, and my rest had not been of the most refreshing kind during the previous night Here I began to call loudly for a gaifer, and presently I saw the doctor's demijohn form approaching with a gaff, and closely following was the general. By the time they arrived my friend had concluded to return to sea, and started- but he soon found a resting-place, and, while playing nim here the general msisted so strongly against playing him too gen- tly that I put a little more stress on the line. The fish rol- licked around the pool, and showed his whole size and beau- ty, when my friends judged that he would weigh over thirty pounds. I thought so too, and played with great care. But the salmon became impatient of restraint, and started. He had not darted more than a hundred feet before the hook sprang back to me, and he went on his way rejoicing, while my friends returaed to the tents. I felt as if I needed a strong glass of lemonade with a stick m It to sustain me ; but, being strictly temperate-that morn- ing— I sauntered back to the point above the eddy where I had hooked my recently-departed friend. There I examined the fly and hook with care, and found it seeimdum artem After becoming sufficiently rested, I made a cast, and at once hooked another salmon about the same size as the one which had just unbooked. On realizing that my fish was on, with a slight jerk I fastened the hook, in order to play him ginoer- ly if he wanted to « gallivant and cavort" some. Two or thr^^e times he revealed his enormous size and great symmetry, so tliat I felt quite sure I had hooked the mate of the first one This also remained half an hour trying small tricks about the pool, when all at once he dashed away across the current and, on rismg to the surface, I distinctly saw the line wound three times round him. After this he plunged and leaped up, down, and across tJie river, until he liberated himself and 236 Fishing in American Wateks. took my fly. Well, thouj^ht I, salmon of st.ch ^reat size i„ -^o large and rapid a river, should be fished for with leader. ov casting-lines of double gut all tho way. I will return to tent, and try to rig gut leaders to hold them. The situation of our menaffe began to look invitincr- and with the birch bark gathered by our gaffers, and the 'illus- trated papers and magazines, our log cabin and dining-room were cheerfully ornamented by the ladies, and the menu of our dinner would nrt have dishonored a metropolitan hotel. Ihe gaffers' shanty was finished, and the cuisine attractively arranged in order. After dinner, numerous sentiments wor- thy of the day wo were commemorating-it being the glori- ous Jourth of July -were given, and we made the welkin rmg with shouts and music. The evening was spent in tying flies, and concluded by ex- a^nining the lunar bow through the smoke of a camp-fire and the bottoms of our punch-glasses until the near approach of midmght, when we retired to fight again the battles of the day m our dreams, and to mingle in them the faces of be- loved ones far awa. SECTION SIXTH. HISTORY AND RUMINATION. Neither the Greeks nor Romans knew anything about an- gling for salmon. The Saxons knew not the real luxury oi' angling. A thorough appreciation of angling can only be known by man civilized. "Catch who catch can" is the niotto by which savages are guided, and the surest means of killing game is to them the best. Savages kill solely to eat rhey know no better, and lack the genius of the civilized poacher to mvent stake and concealed nets. Civilization en- ables the true sportsman to adopt suitable means to secure sport, and as civilized men enjoy a more prosperous condition than savages, they are not so dependent on the fish or game they take or kill. Hence the sportsmen of the civilized world can afford to give the animal pursued some fair-play " law," Saw the North Polio. 237 supposing the nature of the prey entitled to it. But, in the opnnon of an uncivilized people, to allo>v a quarry or a shoal he smallest chance of escape would be considered great folly o the ,g„oranc.e and cruelty of the poacher nmy be attribu: ted the reason for the robbing of salmon-rivers of their life |md beauty. Existence could not have been so enjoyable to the angler m either the palmy days of Greece or Rome or dunng any era since, while robbing the rivers of salmon ;as pursued, as it is m our day, when science revives sport and invents generous means for its perpetuity Le, travaux sur ler, Poissons se sent singulierrnent multi- plies clurant la periode qrd s^etend cle repoque de la mart de Luvier au moment actuel. Having flown in my cogitations from Greece to Rome, and •trom thence to the British Isles and part way back to France where I endeavored to think in French, and as if in dan^ei' of being overcome by a fresh swarm of musquitoes, I supposed myself aroused by their singing, when, to my surprise, on lookmg up, It was the doctor at the door of my tent, insist- ing m stentorian tones that I should get up. I asked him the time of night, and he replied that it was beautiful There is no use to contend with a doctor, and so I arose when, before my tent door, he was complacently seated on a bench, with a smudge fire and the boiling tea-kettle on one Hide, a bowl of loaf-sugar on the other, and a bottle of old Jamaica before him. Being already dressed, for I slept with my overcoat, body-coat, and boots on, between army blank- ets on an India-rubber one, and yet was generally cold to- ward mornmg, I concluded to join the doctor and learn what new system of philosophy or astronomy he was prepared to propound. With looks of amazement, he pointed to the bril- liant a^ivora borealis in darts shooting up throuo-h the lu- nar bow like streams of gold and fire through a^-ainbow ! - We viewed it with unstinted admiration until he composed a hot rum punch. We then examined the aurora borealis .md lunar bow through the bottoms of our glasses, and the 238 J ' Fishing in American Waters. s>ght was really gorg^eous ! After three or four similar ren- etitu)„s, we agreed that we saw the North Pole distinetlt heading Su- John F.ankhn's grave, and the bow, spearH^^l' hn'toir """ '""'" """ """^^^ '''' ^'^ ---^rank- While the doctor was evolving a new theory.of mundan. .matters, only to be understood by draining a dose of diff^s ess. ho soon as he recovered power of utterance he said ^ ^Gintlemen, bedad there's a bear just foment yees ! I seeVl '' Well, John," we replied, " J,ow did he look ^" J3edad he was as big as an elephant, and had a fiil -is long as meself, and as big around, be gorr^h -" How long was he ?" we inquired ;; Bedad he was as long as I can reach with n.y two arms." What color was he?" " Was he green ?" " Wo supposed so, John ; it is a fox." "No no, yer honors! Dr. Bluff, of the First Fusileers sii.l he'd ;,iten see'd bears here, an' I thiuk the beast I l^dt ^ "This was .at the shoot, twonty-scven miles farther up the nver, we rephed; and just then the halo of the rising s„„ began to .Itamnate the eastern horizon, and teach „s to° , " pa..e for the fresh-ruu salmon whiei, had arrived that mornin,, rom then- v,s,t to the sea. Havi,,g consulted our wat s' and learned, to our surprise, that it was only three o'ctock' and as onr gaffers were still asleep, we reluctantly retired to our tents .and to sleep until called to breakfast As ,t was our custom to rest the salmon-pools durin.,- the ' best part of the day for angling, in order to protect the ri™. . . .. „ Kacing along the River. 231 » fi-om too great a depletion by our captivating flies, we start- ed to fish our several pools at the time of the forenoon when the salmon seeks the shady side of a rock in the river, and which had perceptibly fallen during the previous night, so that, from its clearness, we could distinctly see numerous sal- mon lymg m pairs beside the rocks. They were very inter- estmg to look at, but it was hard to induce a rise. Presently the general, who had been angling at the flills a mile above was seen approaching, and doing some pretty tall walking' now m the river and then on the shore, following a salmon' as best he could, for the fish seemed determined to return to sea. Down they came, passing us, while the perspiration streamed from the general's face, and he was too busy to re- turn our salutations, but he finally brought th*e fish to -afi*. In a short time thereafter the doctor was seen comino- at the speed- of two-forty on his rejoicing way down the idver from the falls, led by a large salmon. We soon saw that the salmon was playing the doctor, who, finding that he was los- ing strength, called lustily for help, which was instantly ren- dered, and a twenty-four pound salmon was soon played out and landed. The doctor retired to his tent and was not seen agam until the next morning, when he said, « It's heavenly to p ay a generous salmon, but when he turns the tables and plays you, lie's worse than the cholera !" It was the banker's turn next, and, thoroughly aroused and divested ot his dignity, down he came, skipping over rocks ana through brush at a very rapid rate. Down he came to Rattling Run, and brought his fifth salmon to gaff that day the largest twenty, and the smallest eleven pounds The doctor's serious intent at evoking a reliable theory for the brilliant coruscations near the northern horizon pre- vented him from risking the play of another salmon until he should quite recover from his last encounter. In the mean time, every fresh contest with a salmon increased my respect for the fish; and I lost so many in pronortiou to the -re'^t number hooked, that I began, when my n- was first taken 240 Fishing in Amekican Waters. 1 • * to realize an indescribable sensation of nervous hesitancy ; and the mm-Q gentle he appeared when fii-st hooked, the more r dreaded the fight that I knew must come, sooner or later ; for a salmon never surrenders until he faints. As the waters settled until as transparent as ether, the fish became not only more shy, but they gave better play and were harder to ex- haust. They bit gingerly and short. I had ample opportu- nity for testing some theories which had been told me by an- glers with great seriousness. One of them is, that " if a sal- mon rises to your fly and misses it, you should not cast again immediately, because he is sure to settle back before rising. Vou had better, therefore, light a segar and smoke half of it, or take a glass of sherry, and rest the pool at least fifteen minutes before repeating the cast." This I ascertained to be all bosh. Once, in particular, a salmon took my fly at the fourth cast, though having rose to it at every previ: us one and missed it, while I repeated my casts with as little sus- I)ense as, if angling for brook trout. A salmon will return to the fly, if he rose to it in earnest at first, as often as will a trout; but either fish, when pricked by a fly-hook, will refuse to come again until he forgets it. Again it is said that " if you hook a salmon and he parts your tackle, taking your hook and a piece of the gut snell to wliich it was attached, )»e will not rise to an artificial fly again that season." This is also a mistake; for the gentleman who awns the "York River," Gaspe, fished with a friend who. lost a hook and part of a leader by a salmon one morning last July, and on the evening of that day took the salmonVith the hook and gut still in his mouth ; and what appears most singular is that he hooked the salmon with the same kind of^fly that was then fastened to the jaw of the fish. .. . Hot Days and Cold Nights. 241 . i SECTION SEVENTH. .TOLLY SPORT ON KATTLINO RUN. "Oh ! not in camp or court Our best delights we find, 13ut in some loved resort With water, wood, and wind ; Where nature works, And beauty lurks. In all her craft enshrined." The clays were divided into four hours of night, made scin- tillant by tlie aurora borealis, and the hinar bow more bril- liant tlian daylight, but cool and huslicd so that no sounds remained but the rushing waters, the splashing of the royal salmon, and the piteous cries of seals ; three hours of morn- ing, mild and serene, enlivened by the wild music of the birds of the wilderness and the occasional sounds of animals forag- ing for breakfast hi the mountain forests by which we were surrounded ; fourteen hours of a day, when clear, ranging in the sun from eighty to ninety degrees Fahrenheit ; and three hours of mild twilight, with light enough to read. The morning was clear and still; not a zephyr swept through the gorge by the falls, or came up laden with the fragrance of codfish from the Gulf The shrill music of our two charming birds and an occasional splash of feeding sal- mon Avere the only sounds which relieved the moiiotone of the clear and rapid river. Our plateau, surrounded by majestic mountains, steep and rocky, formed a vast amphitheatre. The river was still falling, and as tliin and clear as possible. Our assembling at breakfast proved that the black flies had partially desisted from scoring us, and each member of the party felt relieved of farther danger from that scourge. It is w^ortliy of remark, that from the almost unbearable annoy- ance caused by the punishment from black flies on our ar- rival, we had in one short week become so accustomed to them that they ceased to elicit our fear or attention. The morning time to angle for salmon having expired, we Q • ■t em af ' cf iw rm i 242 Fishing in American "Waters. regarded the river as having been protected, and the pools rested long enough, and so mounted our toggery and ar- ranged our flies for the fray. It was the doctor's turn for the upper pool, at the foot of the falls ; the general's for the bend to Rattling Run ; the btmker's included all tho opposite of the river, while my sporting-water was Rattling Run, and I had never fished it. My gafter was wanted elsewhere, and the doctor most generously consented to supply his place. He led the way with gaif on shoulder, marching up to the first pool with an elan and energy which meant that he was determined to show me where salmon disported. After walk- ing half a mile through the brush, we emerged opposite a sal- mon-pool on Rattling Run. The run was about twenty rods wide, with shallow water three quarters of the distance to the opposite bank. The doctor pointed to the pool on the opposite shore, and told me that a salmon made a feint at his fly there two days previously. The water ran swift over a pebbly bed, but it was not much above knee-deep on our side of the pool, I waded to within casting distance of the head of the pool, and commenced casting while moving slowly down the stream, until, having made half a dozen cast -, and swept the surface with great care, I delivered my fly just above a rock near the foot of the pool, where a salmon made its appearance and rose to take the fly, but missed it. The next cast delivered the fly beyond and below the rock, in the white-water foam, when the salmon accepted the fly, and fast- ened good and strong. Instead of turning to tlie falls just below, he shot up to within a few paces of me. The doctor, seeing his move, ran below the salmon to pre\ ent it from dashing down the chute. For a full half hour while the play lasted, it was so amusing to see the doctor run and flourish the gaff in his endeavor to drive the salmon to the pool above that I could hardly restrain my laughter enough to stand and steady the fish's head occasionally against the cur- rent. But the doctor finally conquered, and the fish became so fatigued that the doctor took him out of the wet with his .. mymmmsrmm "■ Shaep Contest with a Salmok. 243 gaff, when it scaled twelve pounds; and, though not large, it IS something to play and save a twelve-pound salmon with a smgle gut in a swift and shallow rapid just above a chute. We now proceeded to the second pool above, where the doctor seated himself to rest on shore and watch my move- ments. Here also the run was about twenty rods wide, with the channel along the bank opposite. I therefore waded out so as to cast across the main current, and let my fly sweep round to the eddy, some eighty feet below. I had not made many casts before a salmon deliberately swam up to my fly and examined it, and then, as if suspicious, turned from it like electricity, his turn forming a most exciting whirl. In vam I cast several times more, but the run was too wide to deliver my fly at the farther shore, where was a deep pool from which I might have enticed him. But we gave up the chase and commenced a return, the doctor walking along the shore, and I wading and casting as I went. We had not gone far when I hooked a very elegant salmon. There was a pool on each side of the run, and the salmon took the fly on the farther side. As soon as the fish realized that he was hrmly hooked, he came across the run for the pool near us. I stood in the water nearly between the two pools, but rath- er above them. As the run was very rapid all the way be- low until t entered the St. John, I requested the doctor to tall below the salmon, and thus prevent the fish from run- ning the chute. The doctor waded below the pool on the eft, and as he saw the salmon darting for that pool, he ran below, to prevent the fish from turning down stream after it should learn that it was mistaken in finding protection where It was gomg to seek it. The salmon came to the near pool, and, finding no assistance, it endeavored to sulk a little, but finally resolved to run the chute, or return to the pool at the larther shore. After a close contest of an hour's duration, in which the -salmon passed twice between the doctor's legs, the fish was brought to gaff; and weighed fifteen pounds. On returning >i 244 FiBIIING IN AmEKICAN WatEKS. I to dinner, we learned tliat onr friends had fished hard for modest results. By the supervisory care of the ladies, the dinner was served in the following order or menu : Vegetable soup. Boiled salmon and fried trout. Roast mutton, green peas, and other vegetables. Claret wine, tea, bread and butter, etc., concluding with r. dessert of marmalade and dried fruits. After dinner we concluded to rest the ^ ' (urn some to- bacco, and tie some flies. When we first n^ogan angling, the preference by the salmon seemed to be given to the Montreal tly, or a purple body, brown mallard wings, and tail from the top-knot of the golden pheasant ; but within the last two days they would not touch it. Their next favorite was a good imitation of the real salmon fly, body and wings light gray ; but after a couple of days more they refused all flies but those with a preponderance of bright yellow and orange, tied on a very small hook. The double-hook flies were the most successful in bringing salmon to gaff", but I never tried them ; and it is contended by some that two small hooks fall better, and are more attractive than a single one, Forrest, of Kelso, is the favorite fly-maker with Canadian anglers, and he generally ties on a double hook. SECTION EIGHTH. FLY-FISHING BELOW THE FALLS. "Below the Falls of St. John, from deep crevice stealing, , The bright salmon watches his prey, And when 'mid the white foam some stray fly lies wheeling, Slyly bears — slyly bears it away. " 'Tis thus in this bright world, at joys without measure, Unheeding, we ardently spring, And forget that oft hid by the plumage of pleasure Lies a hook — lies a hook in the wing." — Stood art. To a man unaccustomed to the broad, rushing, tumbling torrents which debouch in the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the north, there are many subjects to inspire wonder, and some ^ ,. The Angler and his Gaffer. 245 few to challenge admiration. The bold mountains of gray rock, from which a few stinted fir-trees struggle into the light of day above the fissures and dark gorges are sombre to see and sublime to contemplate ; and the rivers, tumbling down frantically in their narrow passage between high walls of solid masonry, would appear frightful did they not contain thousands of beautiful salmon and trout, which make their way with great assiduity to clear themselves of sea-lice by the action of fresh water, deposit their eggs, and, when warn- I' V ! 246 Fishing m American Wateks. ed by, fresh-water parasites, return to sea to recuperate and fatten preparatory to another visit up the river to their spawning-grounds. One day, while fishing the pool below the falls, I felt a tug, and as my reel spun round whir ! whir ! ! whir ! ! ! I raised my rod to a perpendicular, when — the reel still con- tinuing — I saw three leaps at once, each fish leaping fasten- ed to my fly. Thought I, " If you make three leaps at once there is small chance of saving you," and so it resulted. By the mana3uvre, it formed a bight in my line and unhooked. My captures were very fair that day, and it is a remarka- bly interesting pool to fish ; but the river was so Ioav, and its waters so transparent, that I could count scores of salmon lying in pairs by the rocks, awditing a rise in the river to help them surmount the chute. The next morning I fished the same pool from the opposite side of the river, and in response to my second or third cast I hooked a large salmon, which ran out to the middle of the river and took nearly all the line off my reel, when it made a leap about twenty feet up the river, and several feet above the water, and the swiftness of the current made such a bight in my line that its weight parted the single leader, though I dipped the point of the rod as I saw the leap coming. As my line came back I felt despondent at losing such a beauti- ful fish ; but I venture to state that no angler, under the cir- cumstances, could have %aved it. Such is salmon-angling. You must use a single gut for the half of your casting-line toward the end, and tie your fly on a single gut, or you will be regarded as a coarse angler, and all your large scores will count you naught as an artist at angling. Here are salmon in a broad, rapid river, large enough to try the strongest striped-bass tackle ; and yet they are to be taken on a single gut, and played from half an hour to three hours to bring to gaff. Add to the delicacy of play necessitated from the light- ness of tackle the fact, also, that the mouth of a salmon is very tender. These are points to be noted if you would angle for ■ " '" Salmon Leaps and Spray-bows. 247 . sal mon. No one ever hears of a string of salmon, for the very good reason that their bodies are so heavy and gills so ten- der that they will not sustain their weight. I put on another fly and cast again. For some time my eyes were not blest with the sight of a rise; but by-and-by a salmon accepted the fly in earnest and fastened. The prick of the hook gave it such a shock that it bounded and leaped three or four times, as quick as thought, several feet above the water. Finding itself still hook.d, it came toward me, and I retreated, for fear that too acute an angle of the line and rod might enable it, by a salmon dash, to break the top of my rod. I therefore walked backward, and the salmon fol- lowed me until within five feet of the shore. It then turned as quick as lightning, and whir ! whir ! whir ! ! went my reel. Another leap showed it to be in the middle of the current, with but little line remaining on my reel, and a reef of rocks rising above the water between me and the salmon. I at once saw that it might extricate itself and take my fly and some of the line; but it misjudged its own situation, and started to leap the falls. By its failure I turned its head shoreward, and brought it within a rod of me, Avhen it took fright again and started down the river. After checking and turning it, back it came to me, gentle as possible, leaping oc- casionally, as if it v/as its nature, for I should have thought a fish so circumstanced would have swam low; but no — all game fish are alike in that respect. Although the salmon had become used to my aj^pearance, it still distrusted me, and started out into the current again. There he leaped a few times, and finally consented to be led back ; but when it gain- ed sight of the gaff" it shot off" again, though I could both see and feel that it was losing strength. After two or three more visits to the shore it became weakened, and Duncan gaffed it.^ The fish weighed only sixteen pounds, but it was the prettiest salmon that I had ever seen. Above the line from gill to tail, it was a light and brilliant salmon color, and below it was like polished silver. I could not help exclaim- 11 i ftpf 248 FisiiiNcj IN American Watkus. If iiig liow boautifiil! Tliorc is nothini? more hcfiutiful than a trosli-nin salmon when Hrst taken, ncitluT is tlioro any |)on- cil capable of crcatiiit^ its apparent^ counterpart. To feel a salmon fast to your lly aL see its leap is alone worth a voy- age to Canada to exi)erience. Again I swept the pool with care and got a rise. As I oould not allure the beauty to a second attempt, I concluded to rest the pool and go to the foot of the plain water, where I saw the salmon disporting like dolphins just above the rapid. The bed of the river was about a ut the bear was no longer in sight. After several runs, tacks, shifts, sweeps, and leai)-!, I brought the salmon home as gentle as a kitten, so that it seemed a pity to gall it. My friends had been fully as lucky as I had, and, as the flies were disappearing, and we had examined our plateau, walled by mountains and watered by beautiful rivers, we concluded to digest a good dinner by admiring the works of nature and enjoying the cmrora borealis and lunar bow. Itosy were our dreams ; but, be it remembered, one of the party began to sigh for Husan Jane. The following day, and for several days thereafter, the sport was about the same. The river soon began to shrink and clarify, and as the salmon became more scarce, the num- bers of sea trout increased. Sea trout are precisely like those of Long Island. Their voyage to sea renders them as white and plump as are those of the Willows, below Oba. Snedicor's, and perhaps cleaner and Avhiter; but tliey are the same fish hi ichthyological peculiarity. The next day that I fished Rattling Run I took two salmon at its mouth, Avhere the eddy was formed by the confluence with the St. John; and I cast again to the foot of the rapid, where my fly was usually drawn into the eddy, and before it fliirly touched the water a salmon took it, and leaped some ten feet up stream, dropping it while thus leaping. As I saw the fly fall, I was in the act of retrieving my line, when an- other salmon was fast to the fly, and I broke the top of my rod. This proved to mo that the movement of a salmon is too swift to be followed by the eye. I played and killed the salmon after the rod was broken, and niy gaffer landed him. Before I could splice another top to my Martin Kelly (a 250 Fishing in A>iekican W/tees. great improvement on the Caatle Connell rod) the shoal had either passed by, or otherwise had concluded to decline ray flies, and I was obliged to ibrcgo the amusement of ao-yin playing a salmon that day. * As there ai)peared no prospect for the river rising soon, we began to think seriously of dividing the party, and two of us taking gaffers and canoes, and going to the upper falls, twen- ty-seven miles above. The next morning, however, was show- ery, and the river had risen more than a foot during the night; we therefore concluded to defer going up the river until the prospective rain should have subsided. The fitful showers of the morning increased to a steady and lieavy rain in the afternoon, and both the general and banker met with fine sport, taking several salmon of fine size. This day the gen- eral evinced a commendable perseverance, for, in the heaviest shower, if a salmon part ed his line and carried away his fly, he would forthwith stop where he Avas, and tie a fly in a drenching rain, attach it to his leader, and proceed to casting. He lost several large fish that day, and saved only three; one of these he hooked in the pectoral fin of the left side of tlie fish, on the opposite side from the general, as the fish started down stream, leading the general at double-quick time. I Avas sweeping the pool at the mouth of Rattling Run when I saw the general hastening doAvn the St. Johir, along the shore. The rain was drenching. Pie wore rubber overalls, overcoat, and hat; the brim of his hat turned under across the forehead, giving him the air of enthusiasm so fine- ly represented in the picture of Napoleon when he commenced crossing the Alps. Of course there was the slight difl^'erence of our general being on foot; but, with his rod stretching high in air, the storm catching liis loose garment, the ha't with brim turned under and giving it the military chapcau shape, the toia ensemble was all energy and action. Down swept the general. Rattling Run had swollen considerably, and was three feet deep and very rapid just above the mouth' mto which the general dashed and w^aded across, holdino- on Veuy Tall Walking. 251 to his fish, which he thought a forty-pounder at least I Hi^ gaffer followed close behind, and was about to embark the general in a canoe to foUow the salmon down the river; but the fish stopped in the pool where I was angling, and after a play of less than half an hour the general brought it to gaff, when it weighed IVi lbs. This feat was the greatest of thJ season ; and, had not the fish been hooked on the far side from the general, so that it was hard to maintain an equipoise, it would probably have torn away. I shall never forget t'he picture of ardor and energy which rushed down along the shore and dashed across Rattling Run, speechless with won- der and excitement. At dinner we canvassed the morning's sport, and, though the rain dripped slightly through the ba'^-k roof of our dining arboi-, we began to realize that a home in the wilderness possesses an indescribable attraction, and the apparently settled rain seemed an omen for better fishino- than we had yet enjoyed, and we parted that night to our several camps with a renewed stock of hope and pleasing an- ticipation. • ■ SECTION NINTH, THOUGHTS OF RETURNING HOMEWARD. " 'Tis a midnight fair to see, Wotulrous in slll)limit'^ Lingering at our cabin door, Fast beside the river shore. Dazzled is my gazing eye With the grandeur of the sky. Clouds are flying in mad chase O'er the moon's benignant face ; In the blue concave of air Stars like diamonds gleam and glare, While with weird, celestial glow Springs aloft the lunar bow. See ! like arch triumphal, high How it soareth to the sky ; See ! like heavenly rainbow, bent O'er a showery firmament, How its gorgeous columns climb With a majesty sublime. "—Isaac M'Lellan. 252 Fishing in American Waters. 1 11 Our dreams of home were rosy. Though unlooked-for, modest flushes of the great St. John, produced by summer showers at its tributaries, caused temporary hope, yet the stream kept gradually narrowing and falling so fast that sal- mon refused to ascend to the fluvial part of the river. About the 20th of July the grilse began to make their appearance, and the parr rose to the fly in the most plucky manner, evincing more courage than their grandparents. "At length the morning for our departure has arrived," said one of our party while returning from enjoying his last bath of the season in Rattling Run. Instead of learning from the "Tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones," we were about to exchange the scenes of nature, nnadorned by art, for the crowded mart, and the hurry-scurry of aggre- gated humanity. The thoughts which made bearable the re- flections called forth by preparing to leave our home of free- dom, and felicity of angling for salmon, were the dearest of earth — home, family, and friends. For these we could en- dure the sights of striking tents, and loading the bark ca- noes for our departure to the mouth of the river. Our tents were struck, tents, trunks, and rubber bags packed before breakfast. None but the experienced can re- alize how lonely appears the little spot of ground over which his tent has been stretched for several weeks, but of which nothing remains except the boughs of the fir-tree which rest- ed him, and gave him pleasant dreams for many nights. We still heard tiie salmon leaping and splashing in the river, and the two lone birds piping their merry notes, though our tents were removed and packed in the canoes. But, shaking oflT the sense of melancholy Avhicli I felt to be gaining on me, I rememberecj that the lines of true anglers always fall in pleasant places, and so adjourned to breakfast. As the general had decided to remain and see the salmon season out, 'twere wrong to deny the fact that leaving him A Farewell View. 253 and his lady greatly deepened the shade of our feelings at parting from the peaceful plateau. But we all put on cheer- ful faces and mixed our coffee with anecdotes. Our break- fast consisted of fried or broiled trout, broiled grilse, termed in Canada ''dejeuner^' signifying "breakfast." By others it is called the " white salmon." Then we had ham and eggs, hot biscuit, etc. We enjoyed our last meal as well as "cir- cumstances would admit under the conflicting feelings of a hope to soon see our flimilies, and a regret that the luntr bow and aurora borealis, with the singing birds, would have to sing and shine without us. As to the salmon which had played us, and at numerous times sold us, we felt as if we would have liked another con- test with them ; but as that was impossible then and there, as we had not the time to spare, we promised those of them which parted from us with our hooks as nose-jewels, and oth- ers that— having played us long enough— sprang the hook out of their beautiful mouths, that if we hook them again they will not get off so easily. After breakfast, and all being ready for our departure, the stars and stripes were raised, and while the general Avavcd his salmon-rod, we started, and a salute to our honor was fired from our only cannon as we parted from view of the pla- teau and disappeared from its remaining inhabitants around the foot of the mountain, at the bend of the St. John, just be- low the entrance of Kattlino; Run. Our hearts were full as we responsively shouted hurra ! Ye rivers, so haunted with myriads of flies, Whose flashes of salmon-hreaks gladden the eyes ; Scenes wliere the brown bear roams the thick brake ; Scenes where the seals their gambolings make ; When slmll I tread your fair precincts again ? When kindle my camp-fires over your plain ? When again cast my line and my flies, Charming my senses— feasting my eyes ? The river was low and the reefs nearly bare, so that navi- gation was not so safe as when we ascended j but our guides II i 254: Fishing m American Waters. knew how to manage bark canoes better than to speak any language, their jmtois being a medley of French, Indian, and English. But they were all trusty and industrious, as all Canadian guides are. It is best that each angler have two guides and one canoe ; for, though one man only is needed to .attend an angler for gaffing and rowing in the neighborhood of the encampment, yet for loAg journeys up rapid rivers two men are indispensable. Cabins for cooking and for lodg- ing may also be soon erected, and they arc preferable to port- able tents. • The River St. John winds like a serpent between the moun- tains, and as the fall from our plateau to the mouth— 27 miles -^is more than 150 feet, the rapids ar- very swift; so that many times in rounding a bend we surprised a family of seals teaching their young to catch salmon, wild geese with their goslings, ducks with their broods, and expected to see Bruin but didn't, ' The row down the river was most pleasurable. The thin • bark canoe responded to the lashings of the tide, and we felt as tae lobster-peddler said, "All alive ! all alive !'' The doc- tor, who had taken a front seat in the canoe, with his coat on and broad-brimmed hat, had found the passage so jolly that -like Obadiah Oldbuck-he had turned over a new leaf by takuig off both his hat and coat, and remarked, as we shot a rapid, " Let her went !" The Indians were returning up the St. John to their homes m the icy regions, having disposed of their furs at the Mhi- gan tair, and laid in a winter sui)ply of flour and salt. It was all vain to look kindly to these Esquimaux squaws who are really beautiful, with their olive complexions, raven locks, and lustrous eyes. They are wedded to the forest We met some twenty odd Indian canoes ascending the river to their homes, who knew enough of English to ask "Salmon plenty V" But very few would make so bold as to ask " Has you nothing good for me?" Of course they do not supi.ose It degrading to beg from civilizvd men, for they consider ■ I Welcomed by the Dogs. 266 them as appertaining to the outer world. I was greatly amused by their appearances. There were many young men among ,, „,„ ^,5^^,^^^^, ^^^^^ ^^^^ ,^ ^^^ arrangfment then- han-; and some of the squaws had heads of loclcs worth diamonds, and for whieh many of our belles would swap then- eye-teeth, of best manufacture, for similar heads of natural growth. On our arrival at the mouth of the river, the dogs eame ftom some thn-ty cabins to welcon.e us. They were of all come. The sight and hospitable bark of our own kind of clogs g addened our eyes and ears, producing a ch.arming ef- quarte.s of the government agent, while our guides attended to landing our luggage and cutting fir-boughs for our bed, we join ed our trout-rods, and walked a short distance f^m he eabm to the sandy shore of the river, where, within tZ y mmutes,we took over fifty sea trout 'aveiWing a ^o, d each. I fi-equently fastened two at a time on the same cast ■ of files with which I had last fished on Long Island. SECTION TENTH. THE SH,VEB OK SEJ TKOUT. Tins fish mhabits for nearly half the year the tidal water, of the streams m Canada, Nova Seotia, and Newfounlland -:tc:e^t™L":tadS^^^^^^^ I -t beg humbly to dissent; anTlfttf Xl: oiiption I myite anglers to decide for themselves wht-tllr the sea trout ,s not the Sal^nofonHnall., or brook trc^^ com mon to the streams of the northern part of North Imeri" nrs":n t' : rr: ■ ;:':r' ''-"n-' "~'™'-^ X. *, , , a(Jo\e thu lateral lijiu arc like tlioso of the brook treat, its vermilion, white, and amber dots "re • II 1 256 Fishing in American Watees. ■' 1 like the brook trout's ; its fins are like those of the brook trout, even to the square or slightly lunate end of tail. It has the amber back and silver sides of such brook trout as have access to the estuary food of the eggs of different fishes, the young of herring, mackerel, smelt, spearing, shrimp, and even the young of its own family and those of the salmon. Ow- ing to this food, it becomes whitei- and brighter than those The SiLviiK ok Hex THovr.—lrtitta Argenfina or Trutta marina. trout which inhabit swampy winters impregnated and discol- ored by decayed vegetable matter, where the trout are con- fined without the power of visiting salt water. All the au- thorities agree that the sea trout spawns at the heads of fresh-w.iter streams, ascending from the estuary in August, and not returning until the following winter and sprino-. All brook trout visit the heads of streams in autumn, and return to the lower waters at the close of winter. Brook trout of mountainous regions, Avhere the streams run through rocky defiles and mountain gorges, or through a sandy soil, are always brighter thar. the black-mouthed trout of hemlock and tamarack swamps. I am informed that, of fifteen trout- lakes in a certain part of Scotland, there are not two lakes which contain trout entirely similar. Even the famous Gil- laroo trout, which some anglers suppose to have a gizzard, has merely a lump in its stomach formed by the peculiarity of the clay and other substances on which it feeds. In the United States and the Caimdus we have the salmon, the sal- ■■ Choice Heshsek of a Fiest Familv, 257 mon-t.-„ut of the lakes, the brook trout, the silver or sea trout, w h,eh I believe to be the brook tro, t, the who trout *-«.), the Maekuaw trout, the wi„„i„i.,h, and the red trout of Long Lake. All these fishes have the adipose seeond do .al, a e ,.n,kj..„eatod,and the laminary tiakes are separated by a thin curd or creamy substance The real salmon of different waters do not differ so much in hape and surface-marks as do either the brook trout or the Wc trout, though old fishermen in Canada can distin..u sh by the app..aranee of a salmon to what river it belong: o they say, ■ least. Twenty-five salmon of some rivers Im m a barrel, while of those from other rivers from forty o ^fdllr.™'^''"'''"™-'^''^'"^'--^^^^^^^^ of ae St'^'T ™"*'r'' *" '"'^ "•""' '^""y »* the mouth 1*1 tt\tt;":s"ri;r^"Ti;rv '°"^"'' ^™' "- beautifid, being^,h™; t^tun Vuri'ts'LUtd'" s'T' gtaening brightly with a satin sheen ^lieh'sp S,!: glowmg lustre in the light. Its superior condition Ld I ''f""f' '"^ 'rl ™'-y ''"*y' ">"1 the play very vigorous and leapiiiiv at them for a tisfo Tt « „ • • ^ ' 41 •' lasto. Jt was surpris no- to nnfp he exeuement wineh fiy-fishing fortrout prodtleed a«e eod.flsh„,g femibes. Men, women, and children followed us incie was a fieet of some sixty sail of cod fishermen in the place, and their hired hands " shammed Abram to be"dk" t ;*; l7 '" '"'" '""' ™ "'"■ "'^ ''- "- -"-fto tf t wate,. It ,,,, ^,,y ^_^^,^_. ^^ ^^^^ ._^ ^^^ of trout running from half a pound to fourpounds. The wa terwas so perfectly clear that we could occasionally perceive II 258 FisiiiNG IN Amekican Watees. ;i lordly salmon move majestically amon^ the speckled beau- ties, no doubt waiting for a sliower to swell the waters, and enable hiiu to start on his j^erilous voyage to the spawning- grounds near tlie head of the river. As we were fisiiing from the beach which forms the breakwater at the mouth of the 8t. John, my attention was arrested by a thirty-pound sal- mon swimming along slowly toward the mouth, and within easy casting distance for my single-banded trout-rod. As I was admiring him, he chanced to see my motion in casting, and dashed away into tlio sparkling surf at the mouth of the river. Taking trout with the fly is always more or less interest- ing, but, as a branch of sport, it dwindles greatly on return- ing from a successful trip of angling for salmon. Uroadway is beautiful to those Avho have never visited Paris ; but on returning from the BoHlevards, the Champs Ely sees, and the Bois de Boidogne, the beauties which he contemplated with admiration before he loft New York lack the charm of artist- ic finish and the picturesque variety which youth always per- ceives, but Avhich age or experience can not discover even with the aid of alasses. 1? THE "VVIIITE TROUT. While the fog is lifting from Schoodic Lake, And the white trout are leaping for flies, It's exciting sport these beauties to take. Jogging the nerves and feasting the eyes. This trout inhabits Schoodic and Grand Lakes in the State of Maine. Although it is eminently a lake fish, yet it is found in the tributaries and outlets near the lakes named. It is similar to the hirling in Scotland in the peculiarity of its mea^ arying from cream to mallow color. The average size of the white trout is from three to five pounds' Aveight, and in outline it is between the salmon and the brook trout, with the top of head and color of dorsal and caudal fins black and lustrous as velvet, the latter crescent-shaped, with jet spots "(f Gamy asd Beautifcl. 2S9 with tooth on tl,o palato, tongue, vomorino, palatine, and max- 'llary, l,ko those of the brook trout, or as are nearly air^he you„« of the Salmomace; but ,ts head i. long; tL ' , a salmon .. Its s. ale, arc small, and the body is entirely white mg »"!■ netalhc Instre. It is better game than any other lak ianuly of the ycu.cs tialmo, and will readily take the fly on the surface of the water Win, „ , i , , ^ fifteen f,.„, l„ " two-handed trout-rod, leTn f '=','"' "' »"'«•««" ""Skilled in fly-ii.l,i„„ ,,a, taken over a hundred n, three hours of these transeend™t beauties The Whitk ntom.—Salmo alius. Some persons have supposed this 1 ' e beauty "a land- locLod sahuon," than which nothing c.u be mucl, more ab- suM lor It has the common egress of a commodious river wnch debouches in Passamaquoddy Bay, while those of the lakes m the provinces have equally favorable avenues of es- cape. JS^o, It IS a comparatively new luxury to the American angler, and well worthy his attention. Though many anglers use a two-handed fly-rod for takin . , clotted with orange specks about the size of pigeon-shot. Li 2 the trout of all I ■ i I ' f I I! 262 Fishing iw American Watkrs„ the lakes, its scales are so small as to be scarcely perceptible, but its body is marked with fine, transverse diagonal lines' forming diamonds or canvas like the surface of fine drilling or marsoilles. This is an unfailing mark of peculiarity. Its meat is pink-colored, with rich layers of cream between its Hakes. Red Trout of Long Lake. The red trout will rise to the artificial fly, take a feathered spoon or well-dissembled minnow. Trolling is the favorite mode of fishing for this beauty, whose average weight is from five to fifteen pounds. It is very gamy, displaying much muscular force and propulsive power in its runs and leaps. To angle for the red trout is worth a voyage to the Adiron-