UC-NRLF $B ES 75M 5: 5 5-. est CjCtc^cc .^^^.m^^^vrr^^, '' ^M^o^ AA^/^^,^^,r\., ^r^^^fy^f^nrrrmmz ,^^^«^^H^8«S(j^^^^ W^lA^n^r^^^ .^^/^^tr^^ fsfyr\f\r' \^m^f^^ m^mm':^^ A - . A A- A ,* " : ■ '^'Aw^' AA«n^5 ;^A^.^5^I mm^ hOA:^^A.^'^AAn^.AAAi ^^aP^^««' :.^>^'a2. A ^AA^OA aC^^AaAv '^AAAaa :re»!!5?nrK^"'^" /^r\A^ '.r>nA '^fN.AAA ^.A'AAa/^'' JTAoJ« AAOAa, ^-.A.^Aft^AAftftfi^AAA^^^^ ( Y Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/fishinginamericaOOscotrich ^fiiiiifiiiiw iiiiiiiii liirili;i;?!i^:i[;)|f^:;iiiiiili FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS. By GENIO C. SCOTT. ^VITH ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ILLUSTRATIONS. 'Give me, Great Father, give me strength and heahh, A hberal heart, afifections kind and free ; My rod— my line— be these my pride, my weaUh ! They yield me present joys — they draw ray soul to Thee." NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANK T. IN SQUARE. 1869. |; Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by Genio C.« Scott, In the Clerk's OflBce of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. 5 3^ TO THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF FISH, GAME, AND BIRDS OF SONG, THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. )gc-^>4v M842776 PREFACE. As it might not be deemed kind in me to inflict upon the reader mj thousand reasons for writing and ilhistrating this book with pencil sketches copied from life, 1 will therefore merely state that my experience of many years in the prac- tice of the gentle art, which has led me through so many scenes of beauty and loveliness, has made me wish that all the world might learn the enjoyment conferred by the practice of angling. I have endeavored to portray the recreations of the an- gler in America, with his implements and his game ; add- ing a small tribute to the temperate and industrious class of men who follow for a livelihood the hazardous business of fishing on the broad seas. An outline of the progress of fish-culture in Europe and America is also given, with pencil sketches illustrative of the art of hatching and rearing fishes, including stairs and fish-passes for enabling fishes to surmount mill-dams and falls. The fishes of our coast and estuaries, and the peculiar methods adopted for their capture, form not (fnly a sealed book to Europeans, but to those anglers in America also who confine their recreations to fresh-water attractions. Each game fish affords a distinct interest, with peculiarities worth studying. My sketches may lack artistic finish, but possess the merit of correct outline; and in the words of Raphael, " The outline is the picture." The reader may be assured that fishing, whether for recreation or gain, entices its vo- taries to unexplored sources of revenue and pleasure. viii Preface. I am under compliment to the following gentlemen : Francis Fran<3is, of "The Field," author of "Fish-cul- ture," and " A Book on Angling," has contributed valuable suggestions, which I am pleased to acknowledge. Isaac M'Lellan. To this accomplished poet I am in- debted for contributing original verses to head my descrip- tions of several among our most important fishes. Thomas Tod Stoddart, whose "Angler's Companion" has afforded me both information and pleasure. Emile Blan chard. Member of the Institute and Professor of Natural History, Paris. James Pennie, M.A., Professor of Zoology, King's Col- lege, London. Walter Brackett, Artist, Boston, contributed the Brook Trout and Whitefish. J. B. Stearns, Brookl}Ti, E. D. Frontispiece of a Striped Basfc, photographed from a picture painted by him. Seth Green, Mumf ord, N. Y. Fish-culture. Stephen H. Ainsworth, West Bloomfield, JS". Y. ^^atural Spawning Race. Middleton, Carman, & Co., Fulton Market. Statistics of Fishes. Gilbei-t Comstock, Fulton Market — wholesale depart- ment. Fisheries Statistics. Andrew Olerk & Co., Maiden Lane. Samples of supe- rior Flies and Split Bamboo Rods. Pritchard Brothers, Fulton Street. Artificial Flies and . fine Bass-reel. Mr. M'Bride, Mumford, N. Y. Fine Tro.ut-flies and Stained Gut Lines. John Shields, Brookline, Mass. Specimens of excellent Trout-flies. CONTENTS. PART L COAST AND ESTUAKY FISHING WITH ROD AND LINE. s«..» CHAPTEK I. ^ I. General Characterization of Fishes 17 II. Prerequisites for Fishing 22 III. General Habits and Senses of Fishes 24 IV. On Vision in Fishes 26 V. On Taste in Fishes 33 VI. On Smell in Fishes 36 VII. On Hearing in Fishes 38 CHAPTER II. I. Fecundity of Fishes 41 II. Voracity of Fishes 42 III. Times of Feeding and Haunts of Fishes -. 44. CHAPTER III. I. Coast and Estuary Fishes 46 II. Angling for Striped Bass 48 III. Trolling in HeU Gate 52 IV. Still-baiting for Bass 58 V. Casting-bait for Striped Bass .* 64 VI. Angling at the Bassing Clubs 69 CHAPTER IV. I. Weakfish or Squeteague 79 II. Southern Sea Trout ~ 82 III. Sheepshead 84 IV. Angling for Sheepshead 92 V. The Kingfish 95 VI. The Hogfish, 98 ; the Grunter, 99 ; the Golden Mullet, 100 ; the White Perch, 101 ; the Smelt, 102 ; the Spearing, 103.; the Caplin... 105 Vn. The Sea Bass, 106 ; the Porgee 108 VIII. The Family of the Wrasses or Rockfish, 111 ; the Tautog or Blackfish, 113; the Flounder 110 IX. The Bluefish 117 X Contents. Section Page X. The Spanish Mackerel 126 XL TheBonetta or Bonita 132 XII, The Cero, Cerus, or Sierra, 134 ; the Horse Mackerel 135 PART II. FEESH-WATEK FISHING WITH FLY AND BAIT. CHAPTER J. I. The Poetry of Angling 141 II. The Brook Trout 146 III. Fly-fishing for Trout, 154; Modem Spliqe for Fly-rods 159 CHAPTER II. I. Fly-fishing on Massapiqua Lake 162 II. How to Fish a Stream 165 HI. Knots, Loops, and Drops, 166 ; how to Stain Silk-worm Gut, 170 ; Trout-reels, 172 ; Fly-rods, 173 ; Landing-nets, 173 ; Trout- basket, 174 ; Bait-box, 174 ; Straightening Casting-lines, 175 ; Natural and Artificial Trout-flies 176 CHAPTER II L L Middle Dam Camp 181 11. Select Artificial Trout-flies, 184 ; Round Bend Fly-hooks, 185 ; Fish-hook Philosophy 185 IIL Bait-fishing for Trout 189 CHAPTER IV. I. Lesson by Josh Billings, 191 ; the Ardent Angler 1 92 IL Angling for Children 198 CHAPTER V. L The Salmon 202 II. Outfit for Salmon-fishing 215 IIL Departure for Salmon-fishing, 215 ; our Start up the St. John.... 218 IV. The Encampment 222 V. Camping in the Wilderness, 228; a Morning's Experience 234 VL History and Rumination 236 VIL Jolly Sport on Rattling Run 241 VIIL Fly-fishing below the Falls 244 IX. Thoughts of returning Homeward 251 X. The Silver or Sea Trout, 255 ; the White Trout, 258 ; the Win- ninish, 260 ; Red Trout of Long Lake, 262 ; Trout of Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, 263 ; the Mackinaw Trout 264 XI. American Pickerel or Pike, 2G6 ; Skittering for Pickerel among the Lily-pads, 270 ; Still-baiting for Pickerel 271 Contents. xi ^ . CHAPTER VI. Section Page I. Trolling among the Thousand Islands 274 II. The Maskinonge 277 III. The Black Bass, 280 ; the Oswego Bass, 282 ; the Black Bass of the South, 284 ; the Spotted Bass or Speckled Hen, 285 ; Rock Bass of the Lakes 285 IV. The Sunfish, 286 ; the Perch, 287 ; the Glass-eyed or Wall-eyed Pike, 288; the Whiteftsh, 290 ; the Lake Herring, 291 ; the Cis- co or Ciscoquette, 292 ; the Shiner 294 V. Bait-can and Baits," 294 ; Spinning-baits, 295 ; Hackett's Spinning- tackle, 296 ; Haskell's Trolling-bait, 297 ; the Propelling Min- now, 298 ; Buel's Patent Feather Troll, 299 ; Spinning Tackle for Live Baits, 299 ; Spoon Victuals for Long-snouts, 302 ; Troll- ing Weather and Baits, 303 ; Fish - hooks, 304 ; Salmon - flies, 306 ; Fly-dressing, 308 ; Mounting Salmon-hooks, 310 ; the Pon- derating Sinker 310 PART III COMMERCIAL FISHERIES. CHAPTER L Lake Fisheries 315 CHAPTER IL COAST PISHES AND FISHERIES OP THE UNITED STATES. L The Mackerel 319 IL The Shad 324 III. The Mossbunker or Menhaden, 326 ; Menhaden for Bait — Frozen Herrings 328 IV. The Codfish— Catching and Curing it » 328 CHAPTER IIL Whale Fishing, 332 ; the Striped Red Mullet 338 CHAPTER IV. Salt-water Fisheries, 339 ; the Chesapeake Bay Fishery, 342 ; Findon Haddocks, 342 ; Preserving Food-fishes Fresh 343 PART IV. ANCIENT AND MODERN FISH-CULTURE. CHAPTER L The Art among the Ancients 34' xii Contents. CHAPTER 11. Section Page Fish-culture in Europe in Early Times 350 CHAPTER III. Fish-culture of this Centuiy 355 CHAPTER IV. Natural History of the Salmon, 367 ; Developij^ent of the Salmon 371 CHAPTER V. I. Fish Propagation assisted by Art, 378 ; best Water for hatching Salmon, 382 ; special Directions about preparing Spawning-boxes, 386 ; securing the Ova of a Salmon, 387 ; Mr. Gillone's Process of propagating Trout and Salmon, 388 ; Care in obtaining Fecun- dated Spawn, 390 ; a simple Process for preparing a Spawning- bed, 392 ; feeding young Trout or Salmon, 392 ; stocking old Ponds with Trout 393 II. Ainsworth's Race and Screens, 397 ; Furman's natural Hatching Race, 401 ; " General Directions" by Seth Green, 403 ; every Farmer should have a Trout Preserve, 405 ; General Observa- tions 406 CHAPTER VI. Salmon Passes, Ladders, etc 407 PART y. A GLIMPSE OF ICHTHYOLOGY. CHAPTER I. I. First Class of Fishes — Spine-rayed bony Fishes, 424 ; Second Class of Fishes— Soft-rayed bony Fishes, 428 ; Third Class of Fishes — Cartilaginous Fishes 432 II. The common Eel, 436 ; the Lamprey, 437 ; queer Fishes 439 III. Fishes for acclimatizing in American Rivers 440 APPENDIX. Cookery adapted to the Resources of Sportsmen in the Wilderness or on the Wave, 445 ; General Rules for Cooking, 458 ; Compounding ' Fancy Drinks, 460 ; General Remarks, 462 ; Noteworthy Items, 463; American Game-laws, 467 ; a Word in Conclusion 478 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 1. Frontispiece.— The Striped Bass. 2. Title-page.— An Angler's Outfit 3. First Families 17 PAGB 44. Cero or Sierra 134 45. Harpooning 135 46. Horse Mackerel 136 4. Egyptian Gentleman Fishing 20|47. Habits of Fishes 137 5. Names of Fins 24;48. Poetry of Angling 141 6. Brain and Nerves of Fishes 26j49. Brook Trout 147 7. Artificial Dragon-fly ^ 30|50. A Poacher 162 8. Angler's Natural Flies 31 j 51. Fly-fishing 155 9. Hooks for Estuary Fishes 40 52. Trouting Tackle 159 10. The Striped Bass 46 53. Splice for Fly-rods 160 11. Tackle for Small Bass 50 1 54. A pair of Flies 101 12. General Bassing Tackle 54j55. Angling on Massapiqua 162 13. Trolling in Hell Gate 57|56. Fly and Minnow Hooks 164 14 Still-baiting for Bass 69|57. How to Fish a Stream 165 15. Playing a Bass in the Surf 65^58. Knots, Loops, and Drops 167 16. Baits, Thumb-stall, Bait-spoon 67j59. Trout-flies 177 17. Shrimp and Prawn 78 00. An Aquarium 180 18. Weakfish or Squeteagiae 79|61. Middle Dam Camp 181 19. Southern Sea Trout 82 62. Select Trout-flies 184 20. The Sheepshead 85'63, Fly Hooks 185 21. Hooks and Sinkers for Sheepshead 86.64. Difierent Bends 186 22. TheKingfish 95 66. Plate ofTrout-flies 188 23. Tackle for Kingfish 97|66. Josh Billings 191 24. TheHogflsh 98 67. The Ardent Angler 193 25. The Grunter 99:68. Green or Gray Drake Fly 197 26. The Golden Mullet loo'oo. Going a Fishing 198 27. The White Perch 101 70. Evening 201 28. The Smelt 102 71. The Salmon 202 29. Cast for small Fishes 103 ^2. Hat and Salmon-rod 208 no. Spearing or Silverside 10473. Gaff"-hooks 214 31. The Caplin 10574, Fishing Equipment 215 32. Sea Bass 106 75, Getting a Bite 215 33. Porgee 109 76, Encampment 223 34. Wrasses or Eockfish Ill 77, Camp Bed 229 35. TheBluefish 117 78. Pool below the Chute 245 36. Bluefish Squids 120 79, Silver or Sea Trout 256 37. The Flying Fish 121 SO, The White Trout 259 38. Trolling for Bluefish 122 SI, The Winninish 260 39. The Troller made Bait of 122 82. Red Trout of Long Lake 202 40. The Spanish Mackerel 127 S3. Trout of Seneca Lake 264 41. Spanish Mackerel Feeding 130 84, The Mackinaw Trout 265 42. Spanish Mackerel Squids 131.85, Pickerel or Pike 269 43. Bonetta or Bonito 132,86. Open Countenances 267 XIV List of Illusteations. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 106. 106. lOT. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 12T: 128. 129. 130. PAGE Skittering for Pickerel . *. 270 Still-baiting for Pickerel 272 Dragon Flies 273 Trolling— The Thousand Islands . 274 The Maskinonge 278 The Black Bass 281 The Oswego Bass 284 Black Bass of the South 284 Spotted Bass or Speckled Hen ... 285 Rock Bass of the Lakes 286 Sunflsh 287 The Perch i 287 Glass-eyed Pike 289 Whitefish 290 Lake Herring 292 Cisco or Ciscoquette 293 Shiner— natural Size 294 Bait-can 295 Spinning Tackle 297 Spinning Baits 298 Spinning Tackle for Live Baits ... 300 Feathered Spoons 303 Fish-hooks 305 Salmon Flies 307 Mounting Flies 309 Ponderating Sinkers 311 Indian Summer 311 Hammer-headed Shark 318 The Mackerel 320 Shad, Menhaden, Herring 324 The Codfish 329 The John Dory 331 Whale Fishing 332 Harpooned 333 Striped Red Mullet 338 A surprised Codfish. 339 Morning 344 Ancient Fish-culture 347 Modem Fish-culture 355 Cuttle-fish 366 History of the Salmon 367 Salmon Ova and Alevin 372 Salmon Fry 373 Parr Eight Months Old 373 131. 132. 133. 134 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151. PAGE Parr Fifteen Months Old 374 Smolt Fifteen Months Old 375 The Grilse 376 Adult Salmon 377 The Swordfish 377 Hatching-boxes 383 Hatching-race, Tray, and Grille . . 384 Siphon and Pincers 385 Gathering Salmon Eggs 387 Stripping a Trout 391 Feeding Young Trout 393 Ainsworth's Hatching-race 397 A Hard Leap 407 Salmon Leaps 411 Ballysadare Salmon-pass 413 Sligo Salmon-stairs 415 Canadian Salmon-stairs 416 Horizontal Screen 419 Current M^heel 419 Ichthyology 423 Pike-perch 423 Spine-rayed Fishes 424 " " 425 " " 426 The Pilot-fish 426 Roach and Dace 427 The Carp Family 428 The Pike Family 429 Salmon and Trout Family 429 The Cod Family 430 Flatfish Family 431 Sharks 432 Sturgeon and Chimaera 432 Ray Family 433 Catfish Family 433 Grenouille 434 The common Eel 430 The Lamprey 437 Estuary Catfish and Silure 440 The short Sunfish 442 Cookery 445 Reel to Dry Lines , . 463 Feet Dress for Field-sports 466 Invitation to the Streams 477 Part Jir0t. ON COAST AND ESTUAEY FISHING EOD AND LINE. FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS, CHAPTER 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 all commensurate with the proper division of labor between land and water for the purposes of health, wealth, and recreation. Not only has a larger portion of this terraqueous ball been bequeathed to fish-kind than to mankind, but " its first fam- ilies" were also more richly endowed by Providence in beauty of form and of coloring. There was a period when all the in- habitants of this planet were fishes, previously to the sublime moment when " God said ' Let the dry land appear.' " The ancients thought that the illimitable beauties of the waters were reflected in the heavens; hence they gave to the con- stellations the names of fishes. Thus, prior to the time of B 18 Fishing in American Waters. Galileo, when the earth was believed to be a great flat plain, the celestial expanse was divided by them into the northern and southern constellations, the most important of which were named after their favorite fishes. Out of the legends connecting these fishes with heathen divinities there have been evolved and handed down to us, revised and improved, the signs of the zodiac, indicated in almanacs by the figuiv of a man, which signs are still reverently consulted by both sailor and angler ; and the latter is never confident or hope- ful of great success unless the sign be above the loins. Whether or no this l?e a superstition bequeathed by the an- cients I have not bestowed much time in examining, but plead guilty to the weakness of individual faith, and feel con- fident of good sport only when the sign is in the head, stom- ach, or bowels, but never when it is in the legs or feet. Man, from his inferior share of the earth's surface, to which little space he appears confined without a fin to dive or a wing to soar,* contemplates with pleasure the scintillating heavens ; while the sublime roar of the ocean, its breakers beating the shores into fragments with its billowy battalions in close lines, and in storms booming like thunder, penetrate his soul with awe and reverence at the power manifested, to which, in comparison, his own is nothing. But it is not my intention to estimate the power of the waters, or their value for bathing or manufacturing purposes. My object is to show the reader the attractions of angling, and to convince him that, wherever commensurate efforts have been made, the waters have yielded greater profits to his toil or skill than the land. I strongly advocate the main- tenance of a large maritime power. As a means of wealth, the experience of the British Isles — isolated, and compara- tively insignificant on the map of the world as they are — proves that nothing is too exalted to be hoped for by a lib- eral maritime power. But it is the wealth of the watei-s in the riches of their inhabitants to which I would chiefly invite attention. As to the intelligence of fishes, comparatively lit- Fishing includes Angling. lif tie is known ; 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 and 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 origin or antiquity of the term is comparatively unim- portant now. It is sufficient to know that the art of angling " requires 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 success and love of the sport is evident from the Hali- eutics of Oppian, the only Greek poem now extant on this subject;" but we learn from Athenaeus that several other writers had written treatises or poems upon fishing some centuries before the Christian era. " Fishing was a favorite pastime of the Egyptian gentle- man, both in the Nile and in the spacious ' sluices, or ponds for fish,'* constructed within his grounds, where they were fed for the table, and where he amused himself by angling,t 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 sculptures catching fish in a canal or lake, with the line, or spearing them as they glided past the bank. Sometimes the angler posted himself in 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 line ; and some, with higher notions of comfort, used a chair, as ' stout gentlemen' now do in punts. The rod * Isaiah xix., 10. t Isaiah xix., 8. ^0 Fishing in American Waters. An Egyptian gentleman Ashing. was short, and apparently of one piece ; the line usually sin- gle, though instances occur of a double line, each with its own hook, which was of bronze. In all cases they adopted a ground bait, as is still the custom in Egypt, without any float ; and though several winged insects are represented in the paintings hovering over the water, it does not appear that they ever put them to the hook, and still less that they had devised any method similar to our artificial-fly fishing, which is still as unknown to the unsophisticated modern Egyptians as to their fish." Prime kinds of fishes are, and have for some years been, in the cities of this country, expensive articles of diet. It was so in Athens ; and the following poem, quoted by Athenaeus from " The Purple" of Xenarchus (Yonge's translation), is pre- sented for the benefit of those who retail.stale fish from stands along the streets : "Poets are nonsense ; for they never say A single thing that's new. But all they do Is to clothe old ideas in language new ; Turning the same things o'er and o'er again, And upside down. But as to fishmongers, They're an inventive race, and yield to none Beauty in Form and Coloring. ,21 In shameless 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 his partner Catches a pail, and throws it o'er his friend So as to sprinkle all his fish, and make The world beHeve them 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- ful theories for studying the habits of fishes at their aqueous homes, in 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 having — 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. See. 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 can vie with the prismatic colors of the living trout or the dying dolphin ? What gold so finely burnished as the spots on the Spanish mackerel ? or what shade of carmine so brilliant as the spots on a samlet? What so transcendently lustrous and beau- tiful as a fresh-run salmon ? The Spanish mackerel, salmon, and bonetta combine to form the models for the speed and beauty of our ships. Even as far back as the Revolutionary War, one of our ship8 was named " Bonetta." In symmetry of form and beautiful coloring, fishes stand at the head of animal creation. :i2 Fishing in American Waters. SECTION SECOND. prerequisites for fishing. In order to pursue with success any branch of fishing, a knowledge of both the senses and habits of fishes is essential. Angling is one of the most ancient methods of fishing, as proven by the centre-draught hook exhumed at Thebes and :it Pompeii. The hook used in China, when that realm was first discovered by the Christians, was quite similar in bend, and all of the ancient models left nothing to desire but a barb, which is the only improvement made in the shape of the com- mon fish-hook within three thousand years. And it is worthy of remark, that the bend of the ancient hook is so like the l>est hooks of the present day — eminently the O'Shaughnessy and the American Kinsey, the latter known as the Pennsyl- vania hook — that some suspect ours to be a copy of the an- cient bend, with the addition of an Aberdeen barb. Our age, however, has surpassed all others in artificial disguises' to lure the finny tribes, and take the conceit out of them a thousand-fold faster than ever could the ancients. The habits of fishes to be fished for, whether by angling or any other means^ should be carefully studied. So also should their food. "Fish have their various characters defined, Not more by color than by mind." They have their times to eat and their choice of food. Thus the trout will take ground bait or minnows as substantial ibbd, but for his dessert he prefers rising to the surface for ilies. That most fresh-water fishes fast previous to important j-ain-storms I think has become settled by the experience of old anglers. Their appetite appears to be imj^roved by a shower. Most fishes seem to scent the approach of a shower, and know by instinct that, with the debris carried down by a rise in the stream, they will find a variety of food from which to select. Pike generally bite eagerly when it rains ; and both trout and salmon will rise to the fly most readily Appetite and Locomotion. 23 during a fall of snow or rain. Indeed, a snow-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 east wind. A really windy day is not good for fly-fishing. The 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 is 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 retailers of fish- stories should know enough of a fish to name its fins, 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 being easily capsized. Of rapid swimmers in the American waters, 21 Fishing in American Waters. the sword-fish, Spanish mackerel, and the salmon are consid- ered the swiftest of the forked-tails ; but the salmon has not, strictly speaking, a forked lail ; it is more properly crescent- shaped. Of square -tails, the brook trout, squeteague, and Southern estuary trout are the swiftest swimmers. SECTION THIRD. GENERAL HABITS AND SENSES OF FISHES. Generally speaking, the principal habits and instincts of a majority of the finny armies consist in eating and j^rotecting themselves from being eaten. The fact that over two thirds of the surface of the globe is covered by the sea, and that large parts of continents are covered by lakes, traversed by rivers, and occupied by marshes, proves the impossibility for man to have scanned with perspicacious eye the principal marked peculiarities of a majority of the families which dwell deep down in the bosom of old ocean, however indus- trious he may have been in such research. Though the Chinese had understood fish culture many cen- turies, yet we date our practical knowledge of this art from A.D. 183 V, when Mr. Shaw, of Scotland, expounded the theory in Blackwood under the head oi^J^he transmutation of sal- mon^"* and M. Gehen, of the^YosgS| in France, began to culti- vate fish by artificial propagation. We now know that the difference in the species of fishes is no greater than is the di- versity of their habits. Some are solitary, and others grega- rious ; some great wanderers, others restricted within narrow limits ; some are surface-feeders, like the mackerel families, ' The Yalue of a Tear. • 25 others bottom fish, like the flounders and the flat-fish family ; some prefer a sandy bottom, as thekingfish, 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 salt 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 far from land. Bottom fishes are usually sluggish, while surface swimmers are generally active. Some lose their 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 anahas 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 ge7ius travel in pairs, suckle their young, of which they usually have but one at a birth, which 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 the same weapon. The dudong, one of the most intelli- gent of mammal fishes, is the Malays' emblem of constancy in aftiection ; 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 ajjplication of a single drop will render a wife constant for life. The black porpoise and the pufting porpus are great con- sumers of estuary fishes. Theyi^hould 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 principal cause of depopulating many of the Irish rivers of that royal fish. 26 Fishing in Amekican Waters. Either a reward should be offered by each state for every porpoise killed in its waters, or gentlemen who compose sporting clubs for taking the game fishes of our coast and estuaries should adopt a plan for capturing and driving them away. The porpoise is one of the most profitable fishes for capture, as its oil is the finest possible, and used exclusively l)y watchmakers. rh..^ CTION^FOURTH. ON VISION IN FISHES. m ^mi The brain and nerves proceeding therefrom, a, a, h, b. The lobes of the brain in Ave ranks, c, c. The nerves of the^eye, d, d. The nerves of gmell, branching off into di- vergent filaments upon the nostrils, e, e. That certain senses are bestowed on a*ll animals, intellect- ual as well as instinctive, is too self-evident to the man of science and the angler to require proof. These animals need both, more than do those which dwell on land, to ayoid being . I see your philosophy is correct, Hr. Hosier, and I have now got a dry seat. Hr. Hosier, 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 show no quarters. S. Hosier, keep my line away from the rocks with your gaff, for he seems bent on rounding the Hoj^per Rock, and 72 Fishing in American Waters. its corners may cut or chafe and part my line. There ! he ha;s tacked again ; be ready to gaff him, if I get him near enough, before he makes another run. Mosier. I see his mate a keeping alongside of him all the time ; she's 'bout as big as the hooked one. I mean to gaff that one first. How like tarnation the feller fights, an tries to whip out the hook with his tail ; that shows he's gitting tired. When they curl themselves up on the top of the wa- ter so that you can't budge 'em, you had better be careful not to hold so hard as to let 'em break the line with their tail, nor cut it off with their back fin ; nor so loose as to let him git slack line to unhook, or knock* the hook out of his jaw with his tail. There ! see him straighten out ! He has made 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 haul of the tide, there is more danger of breaking the line an losing him than if he was alive ; but here he comes, an here goes the gaff — a forty-pounder at least 1 S. Well done, Mosier ! Struck just in time, for the hook has let go. Mosier, Jist so ; I hain't no confidence in them hooks with the barb curling out so that you can not git it into the flesh. The Kinsey point an* Sproat bend, or the O'Shaughnessy with the Kinsey point, are the best. D. Well, rny preconceived notions of bass-fishing have all been cast wide. When you first hooked the bass, I thought I could take a seat and be a quiet looker-on at the play ; but I have been so excited by alternate hopes, fears, doubts, and surprises, that I want you t<> pardon me for getting into your way several times. The truth is, it astonishes me to see the fish on terra firnia. 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 boisterous water, with such slender tackle. I am really afraid to try to make a cast, for I expect if I get a strike that I shall either break my rod, or the fish will part my line. . The Doctor doeng Bettek. 73 ••'aS'. 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. JS. 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. D, 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 liim. 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, run back to prevent him from getting slack line. D. This last turn and the dash of spray nearly capsized me. Why, he plays as strong as he .did w^hen he was first hooked, S. How long do you suppose you have played him ? D. Nearly an hour, and he seems to grow stronger and stronger. S, 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 74 Fishing in American Waters. 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 ? D. I don't know ; but I can not play him easier, for when I give him an inch, he takes a rod ! aS'. 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. 2>. He's gone, I know he is ! Just see the fellow throw himself like Pat McAroon in a street-fight. There, he's off! No, 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- surf, and slacken with the ebb — there ! Mosier. He is a game one, and will weigh over twenty pounds. They're allays hifalorum in them Rifle Pits ! Gen- tlemen, the breakfast horns has been bio win a good while. D, I am wilted. 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 ever heard or read did not prepare me for such encounters as I have seen and realized this morning. I am not now surprised that Americans consider this the head of game fiphes. The accessories 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 certainly prescribe something to steady my nerves. Ek Men! To breakfast is the order ; and as we have taken two grand bass, ne quid nimis, we will even leave off fishing whilfe they are feeding, which, for the vulgar object of ourselves feedmg, is, with a real angler, an unpardonable offense against the aes- thetics of sport. But, though belonging to the refined con- fraternity of anglers, our excuse is that we are rigged with human necessities. As the breakfast-table is the morning's trysting-place for BeEAKFAST and DEi*AETUEE. 75 the members of the chib, 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^ mats pas adieu^ and ran over to Pugne Island, to drojj 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 oy yachting — to shut himself out thus from the enjoyments of the greatest and most social city in the Union — his birth-place, where he ha&, by enterprise, accumulated a fortune, and possesses one of the finest residences in the metropolis. He informed us that the charming climate, with the constant feast to his eyes in scenery, made up of the main land and the islands, with the ever-changing aspect of the sea, filled his soul with rap- 76 Fishing in American Waters. ture, and made his cup of happiness full to overflowing. With a ptomise to visit him before taking final leave of Vineyard Sound, we steered for Pasque 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 think proper to extend invitations to. The island in- cludes more than a thousand acres, which the 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. This is the ne plus ultra of a place for angling, being sep- arate by a strait half a mile wide from Norshon, which is nine miles in length by two miles wide, fifteen miles from the main land, and stocked with all the English and*Scotch game birds and most of their game animals, including also several hundred American deer, prairie-fowl, etc. It also contains a large pond well stocked with black bass, besides several perch ponds; the latter is not regarded as a very valuable acces- sory to any piece of real estate, for perch fishing is not con- sidered sport in America. I mean the common yellow perch with barred sides ; but the white perch, like those of Cutty- hunk, offer good sport to ladies and children, and are a very good pan-fish, ranging in size from three ounces to three pounds. We remained at Pasque Island several days, most of the time angling for striped bass, but occasionally, on a dark day, spending it in a cruise after swordfish, which, we took with the harpoon. Other days we rowed a little boat out a hundred rods from shore, when we put down killick and still- baited for squeteague. Weighing from five to fifteen pounds each. Then, again, if the bluefish came in such shoals as to turn our strait into a state of commotion resembling soap- Attractions of the Elizabeth Islands. 77 % suds, we rigged to the end of our bass-line about two feet of piano wire, on which we wound ft hook with 'copper wire. Then we anchored on the edge of the tide, and cast out a hook baited without much care, and the moment afterward we were saluted by a jerk and a Summersault a yard clear of the surface, and a short, vigorous fight to bring the blue- fish to gaff. An hour of energetic sport, and twenty bluefish of from eight to twelve pounds each, generally satisfied us ; and though the fish challenged us by menacing leaps to con- tinue the contest, we preferred to retire — however ignomini- ous it might appear to them — and recuperate for another time. • It was hard to part from those charming scenes and the healthful recreation. The doctor decided to return home to England, arrange his business, come back, and spend his life atPasque Island. But how to leave those captivating aquatic scenes, ranging from simple loveliness to grandeur, and some- times rising to sublimity ? What scene can be more refresh- ing and exalting than an expansive view of the mighty wayes, dotted here and there with such beautiful islands as those in the Vineyard Sound ? The Elizabeth Islands offer the condi- ments of existence to season the dry hurry-scurry and com- monplaceism of the business world on the main lands . of America ; and they will, before many years, be numbered with the watering-places of the world par excellence. While aquatic birds skim the waves, and the gulls are screaming, dipping, and darting over a shoal of bluefish or menhaden, vessels outward and homeward bound are always passing, for it includes in its range of view the packets and steamers for England, and the steam and sailnig crafts between New York and Boston. We have here the foreground and perspective worthy the pencil of Claude de Lorraine, while the back- ground is formed of the granite shores of Massachusetts, with its improvements so varied and important as to give surety of an intelligent and industrious population. Who would not delight to angle here ? 78 Fishing in American Waters. Eternal ocean ! old majestic sea ! Ever I love from shore to shore to look on thee, Ahd sometimes on thy billowy back to ride, And Sometimes o'er thy summer breast to glide ; But let me live on land, where rivers run ; Where shady trees may screen me from the sun ; Where I may feel, serene, the fragrant air ; Where, whatever toil" or wearying pains I bear, Those eyes which look away all human ill May shed on me their still, sweet, constant light. And the hearts I love may, day and night, Be found beside me, safe and clustering still." Tackle for Weakfish. 79 Weakfish, or Squeteague. — Labrus Squeteague. — Storer. CHAPTER IV. WEAKFISH, OR SQUETEAGUE. This fish is considered the second in interest by the angler of the coast and estuaries of our Eastern and Middle States. It never visits fresh water, and either spawns along the sea- shores, or on deep middle-grounds of estuaries or bayous, the latter being small bays and back-sets of tide waters. It is probably a family of the Clupea genus^ one of the marked characteristics of which is that it contains roe in difierent stages of approximate maturity, though this fish diffiers by continuing to spawn at diflTerent times from the last of March until the first of November. It is, therefore, quite probable that the squeteague visits our shores to spawn, and that it re- mains during the spawning season ; and if it be true that the time of their stay is regulated by the duration of their spawn- ing season, then we may reasonably suppose that they spawn along the term of time between March and November, though the best time to angle for the squeteague is from the first of June until October. From the middle of June until September the tidal parts of rivers from Chesapeake Bay to Vineyard Sound actually teem with them. I have taken with light bassing-tackle, comprised of a nine-foot jointed rod, a reel carrying a hundred yards of fine linen line, a swivel sinker, single-gut leader, 'hooks snelled on single gut, like those represented on the plate for taking small striped bass, medium-sized vOrk float, and shrimp bait, on many occasions, 80 Fishing in American Watees. M pair a minute for some time ; but the fish would not scale over half a pound each. Shoals of them rise to the surface like mackerel, at full tide, and take bait as fast as it can be cast to them ; but after they sink it is useless to angle longer for them. Then you will generally hear a croaking sound in the water all round your boat, which indicates their presence ; but while croaking they will seldom bite. They generally croak for half a minute after being landed. At full tide slack I once rowed out from the Bath Hotel, where I was passing the summer, nearly to the mouth of Co- ney Island Creek, where I took eighty-four squeteague within forty minutes. They averaged about three quarters of a pound. This was in July. At every cast I hooked a pair, and fished as expertly as possible until a shoal of porpoises approached, when the squeteague settled, or sank, and quit biting. This is a white-meated fish, the meat rather mealy when small ; but after it scales ten pounds it becomes as flaky as a salmon, and resembles one very much, except in its being a square-tail. It is an excellent pan-fish if cooked when first caught, being free from the flavor of any foreign substance ; but it soon deteriorates, and its juices become absorbed. In point of delicacy of flavor, many epicures prefer it to either the striped bass or bluefish. Its eyes being oval, it is sup- posed to possess the strongest sight of any estuary fish. Al- though it has no teeth on the tongue or in the throat, its jaws are armed with pretty strong and sharp ones, which are set so far apart as to prevent it from biting off a gut snell. Its mouth is very bony, and the meat being tender, it is there- fore liable to unhook easily by the hook tearing a large ori- fice, or not taking sufficient depth of hold. I therefore rec- ommend a hook of fine wire, well tempered, and of large bend. The rushing bite of a squeteague is precisely like that of a brook trout, but its play is of shorter duration, and it sooner yields to fatigue. The shape of the squeteague is represented-by the engrav- 1 Sportive EsTUAKY FigniNG. 81 ing, and its colors are gray, masculated on the back and down to the middle of the 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 the back. The first dorsal is composed of spiked rays, and the second soft. In angling for large squeteague about the Elizabeth 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-baiting 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 be^t bait ; for the yellow-fins shedder crab is the best ; but for those of the large and rounded form of the salmon, the menhaden bait is generally preferred. It is almost superfluous to state that angling in the tide- ways with 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 chosen 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 striped bass, but by casting to the right or left, outside the bank, within three rods of the boat, I would take nothing but squeteague, and an occasional blackfish or tautog. In a commercial point of view the squeteague is important. The runs of shad up our rivers cease about the first week in June, when the squeteague become numerous in our bays and F 82 FisHiNO IN American Watees. the estuaries of the larger rivers. Great quantities are then taken in seines, pounds, and set-nets, which supply the marble stands of the markets lately vacated by the shad. The sque- teague at this time divides interest with the early run of blue- fish, and about the middle of June the sheepshead visit us, when the variety includes also tautog 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 TROUT. 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 and play are so much like those of the squeteague, or weakfish, that anglers along the coast of NTew Jersey term it the spotted weakfish, to distinguish it from the oth- er, which 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 regalis" 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. Eesoets of Sea Trout. 83 It is also sprinkled aU 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. maculatus]. 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, but 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 did not see proper to distinguish it by other than a peculiarly f marked variety of the squeteague ; whereas it difiers more palpably from the squeteague than do some families of the mackerel tribes, eminently the Spanish mackerel and the cero, which differ only in the color of their spots, the first being gold color, and the latter black. The sea trout is superior to the squeteague as a table-fish ; its scales are about the same size, but fii-mer, brighter, and not so viscid. As a game fish, it is fully equal to the sque- teague, as free a biter, and as readily netted. Both fishes are summer spawners, laying from 175,000 to 700,000 eggs. The sea trout appears along the coast and estuaries of the Southern States nearly all the year round, but takes the hook most freely from June until December. It is taken of all sizes between a pound and fifteen pounds' weight, and if there is a difference in game between this fish and the squeteague, it is in favor of the sea trout, which is a heavier fish of its size, and rather more elaborately rigged with fins. It should be angled for in the same manner and with the same tackle used for taking squeteague ; and shedder crab is its weak- ness. But as all the shores and estuaries of the South are alive with crabs, as well as other Crustacea, baits are easily obtained for striped bass, trout, golden mullet, hogfish, grunt- 84: Fishing in American Waters. ers, sheepshead, and several other species of anglers' fishes, all of which are much more numerous than they are in the latitude of New York. Fishes for the troll are also very nu- merous along the coost of the Southern States ; such, for ex- ample, as the Spanisl\ mackerel, bonetta, or botiito, pompineau, redfish, cero, and bluefish ; and while gunners extend their sporting tours as far south as the Floridas, and west to the Rocky Mountains, anglers seem contented with trouting in spring, visiting Canada for salmon in summer, and casting the hook baited with menhaden for bass in the surf along the rocky shores of the Atlantic in the autumn. But it would be well worth while to make an angling tour southward in au- tumn; and such as may desire to extend the sporting season would do well to take a trip to Washington, and angle for striped bass below the falls of the Potomac ; thence to Nor- folk, for meeting the Spanish mackerel, striped bass, sea troutf and hogfish — a great delicacy — and other fishes of the coast. If the sportsman be a relative of Nimrod, he may close the season's sport along the coast of North Carolina by shooting wild geese, and the numerous varieties of duck which congr^ gate there in myriads. SECTION THIRD. SHEEPSHEAD. At mouth of river, or where deep O'er mussel-beds the bay tides sweep, The bulky sheepshead loves to hie When summer suns ride hot and dry ; And there, for hours, in anchor'd boat, Hopeful, the patient anglers float, Only too happy if a score Of dainty fish enrich their store. The sheepshead is one of the most interesting on the list of anglers' fishes. It is a dinner-fish, and by many termed the American turbot, because it frequently figures at alder- manic dinners. It is really a delicious fish when either boiled, or stuffed and baked. It usually makes its appearance in our bays and estuaries about the first of June, and remains until Que Aldermanic Fish. 85 the middle of September; but it does not visit streams above the estuary, and is found in greatest numbers along the mus- sel shoals or beds, and around old wrecks in the bays. When it first makes its appearance in our waters it is thin and lean, but it soon increases in plumpness and succulence, so that from an average weight of four pounds early in June, it increases to nine pounds by the middle of August. Its maximum weight is twenty pounds, but the runs along the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey, where they are confess- edly in best condition and flavor, seldom range higher than from ten to fifteen pounds. Its mouth is paved throughout the roof and lower jaw with square teeth of flat surface, like eight4nch square mosaic, but rather larger at the outer edge of the jaw, where its even teeth resemble those of a sheep, from which it is supposed its name is derived. But the teeth are not sharp, and there is space between them for a fish-line to play, so that it seldom parts a line, or even a single gut snell, while mussels and clams are instantly crushed to pow- der by its powerful jaws. Sheepshead. — Spams ovis. — DeKay. Its scales are large, and surpass in brilliancy the highest metallic polish ; they are about half an inch in diameter, hard, and radiate from concentric lines, lapping so as to form a de- fense on the back and sides against a blunt-pointed gafl". 86 Fishing in American Waters. 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 ehene 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 foe 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 oi 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 gimp-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. Ko. 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 drawthe hitch tight, cut ofi" 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 American Waters. is preferred ; and the fine but strong linen leader, or twist- ed or braided hair leader a yard long, is armed with a hook 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 No. 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. 1 , 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 leader so light that the hooks will be moved about by the tide. One hook should be about a foot from the main line, and the 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 permit 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 electrit? dips and dives of a " head" too quick for a line to render before break- Starting foe a Day's Fishing. 89 ing a rocL I do not appreciate a repugnance to a rod because a fish plays rapidly and with powerful demonstration. The angler should use a heavy rod, about nine feet in length, and, like the ordinary bass rod, the two lower 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 naore 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 getting 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, and until it runs at the rate of five miles the hour, or one hour after it begins to run ; for when the tide mns at its full strength, sheeps- head seek some still-water ground, and wait for a moderate motion 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 bass, squeteague, striped bass. 00 Fishing in Ameeican Watees. blackiish, and an occasional sheepshead, until the tide again serves on the mussel-beds, which generally border the main channel. At the right times of tide, the locations of the mussel-beds are plainly indicated by a fleet of from twenty to fifty small sail-boats of hand-line fishermen. Many of them are farmers who reside near the shore of Jamaica Bay, and employ the interregnum between hay and grass to unite pleasure and profit by earning from three to ten dollars a day at fishing for sheepshead. There is always ready sale for the fish at a price nearly equal to that obtained for salmon. Having grouped the implements — except the necessary one of a large landing-net, of heavy brass rim and large meshes of strong twine — suppose we drive down seven miles to Ca- 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 chateaux whose surroundings prove the menage to have been designed with a view to uniting comfort with elegance. Those old oaks, cherry-trees, and black walnuts, together with the ser- pentine windings of a couple 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, foi'ming the landscape 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,vWe are already at Canarsie, and I do not won- der at your surprise that in le^s than one hour we should have left urban blocks of brick and marble, and been wafted, as it were, through seven miles of flowers, 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 Canaesie. 91 our host orders Captain Abrams to bring his yacht along the dock. It was amusing, when I first inaugurated rod-fishing for sheepshead, to perceive the members of the hand-line-com- mittee cast furtive glances at me as they winked knowingly to one another, as much as to say, " All's fish as comes to our net, and a greenhorn is as good as any, if he pays." The clam- rakers and crab-catchers, whose small sail and row boats dot the shores and shoals of Jamaica Bay as they saunter about barefooted and clad in a red shirt and rolled-up trowsers, also believed that anglers for sheepshead with rod and reel were monomaniacs ; and though they freely took my money for bait, they frankly advised me to use a hand-line for " head." This want of faith, however, lasted no longer than did the gibes and sneers of the shad-fishermen at Holyoke when Seth Green stated that he could hatch a million of shad a day, and within a week he hatched six times that number daily. So the members of the hand-line-committee and bait-catchers soon became not only civil, but vied with each other in sec- onding my wishes by taking pains to 'procure me peculiar baits, etc., concluding finally that angling with a rod and reel may be as respectable as fishing with a hand-line. SECTION FOURTH. ANGLING FOE SHEEPSHEAD. The saline air 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 the 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 9^ Fishing in American 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 stem 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 touch- es the water you do not slack your line or permit any to run from the reel, but let it sink naturally, and the tide will keej) 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 the jerk, and then let the sinker settle as at first. Keep striking and reel- ing a few feet every minute until you have efiectually 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 bay, and 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 the landing- net, and be ready and careful, for he is a fifteen-pounder ! There, he is off again ; you perceive that I can turn him and Contest with a Sheepshead. 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 ;i5vhen angling for sheepshead or trolling for bluefish." " Ho ! judge, you have hooked a good one. Good ! Play him gently and gingerly." " He'll not let me ! I expect to lose him. There, that's the third time I have brought him to the surface, only to see him take more line and get farther from the boat at every turn. By the powere, there ! Captain, how much will he weigh ?" "I guess summut near on to ten pound." " What ! You don't rtiean to say he'll not scale more than ten pounds ?", " Yes, sir ; maybe et's summut bigger." I check the interesting colloquy by stating that I think our fishes are about the same size, but that the one I have just hooked 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." " Precisely so. His bite is like that of no other fish. It is as spasmodic as a bluefish and as powerful as an alligator, and he gives, also, an indescribable premonition, informing you that a powerful 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 Fishing in American Waters. The captain counts eleven as our take. Moderate, but enough. Suppose we 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 weed* 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-committee make it pay at Fire Island, and there are many superior feeding-places in the 'South Bay. About the wreck of the 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 our coast and estuary delicacy. Along the shores of New Jersey sheepshead are numerous from May until October : Where inlet of the Barnegat Opes to the boiling surf its gate, When the young flood-tide washes in Limpet and crab, a luring bait, Then, where the affluent current pours The deepest o'er its mussel floors, The greedy sheepshead hidden lie To seize whatever may float by. And there, in dancing boat that stvings At anchor in the floating tides. The angler line and plummet flings, And takes the robber where he hides. A GAMY AND DELICIOUS FlSH. 95 SECTION FIFTH. THE KINGFISH. By many anglers this fish is regarded as the best water- game of the estuaries. It is justly entitled to be considered one of the 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, peculi- 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, runnii^ 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 pounds. All along the South Bay and the New Jersey shore and inlets this delectable fish is taken in greater or less numbers in fykes, seines, pounds, and with the hand-line, while they yield tithe to sportsmen with rod and reel The Kingfish. — Scecena Nebulosa. — Mitchill. 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 for a chowder the epicure prefers it to sea bass or cod, the acknowledged chowder fishes. The 96 Fishing in American Watees. color 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 possesses 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 in 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 sport 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 ^way, and when he feels the prick of the hook, accelerates his speed, 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 JIang-dog Look when Vanquished. 97 KiNOFisH Tackle. A. Strong hook, but small ; either the Virginia or Sproat's bend, made of finely tem- pered cast-steel, and needle-pointed: a short bend and low point is required, be- cause the mouth is very small ; and a hook of large wire in proportion to the sizt- of the bend is necessary, because of the great strength of the fish. B. Tracinjr sinker : the size should be graduated to the strength of the tide, hence the combi- nation sinker is the best, because its jjouderosity may be increased or diminished without untying the line. C. German silver tip, mounted with carnelian or agate, to screw into duplicate tops of laucewood ; regular size. D. Part of a lancewood top, showing its size, double guide^ and line. E. Line, showing how it passes through a. jewel-mounted guide. F. Guide, of German silver, bell-metal, or alumi- num. 6. Bell-metal guide, attached by the same ring which fastens the carnelian. H. Brass swivel, to one end of which the line is attached, and to the other the lead- er, which is three fourths of a yard in length, and the snell to which the hook is wound is looped to the leader : both leader and snell (or snood) are doable Bilk- worm gut. 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 Yankees are like. But, though the kingfish looks like a deck-passenger after a long voyage, the angler is sure of one point in 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 soft-shell crabs and lobsters. Anchor off Barren Island to the north of the edge of the channel, and expect sport. Anchor east of Chesnequack Creek, on the border of the channel between there and Free- port, and in August and September you can not fail of ob- G "98 FiSHma in American Waters. , taining rapturous sport. Take your bait with you from a ^ew 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 is often realized on the first 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 their favorite toy. SECTION SIXTH. THE HOGFISH. This fish is very numerous on the Bahama banks and along 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, excej)t on the head, where they arc The Hogfish. 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- 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 iish Avhen stuffed and baked, but it is rather adipose for boiling. Apropos of scaling fish: Firsts lave them in vinegar, and the most tenacious scales will be easily removed. THE GRUNTEB. This is a silver-sided fish 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, 1 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 ^amp-fire. The grunter is a great delicacy, and very good game for the sportsman with rod and reel. The Gkcntek, 100 Fishing in American Waters. 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 that 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 tw^o 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 shades like the squeteague, and the tail is straight across the end. The 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-rings. The reel may be small, but large enough to carry a hundred yards of fine linen line, 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- Spokt for Ladies and Childben. 1,01 founding it with the numerous family of mullets of the Mugil geiius. THE WHITE PERCH. This fish is found at the meeting of salt and fresh waters all along the coast from Cape Cod to the Carolinas, and, though similar 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 ]bhree 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 white. The first dorsal is spinous, and the others soft-rayed, except the first anal. The Iiead 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 watei* 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 afibrds sport with light tackle, and, when weighing three pounds, it plays very vigorously. The White Perch. i02 Fishing in American Waters. THE SMELT. This is a small, delicate fish, supposed by some to belong to the salmon tribe, though it is not nearly so much like it as is a shiner like a shad. It is almost translucent, and from five to eight inches in length ; its meat is soft, white, and sweet, with no bones but the spine and ribs, which are so small and tender that they are eaten with the precious mor- sel of a fish when fried hard in olive oil, or rolled in flour and fried in butter so as to be crisp. Its scales are impercepti- ble, but the skin, traced in small diamond lines, is like the canvas skin of the trout of Long Lake. It is ash-colored on the back, with white sides and belly. This is a favorite bait for trout or salmon, and an excellent sample for a spinning bait. As affording sport, the smelt is no mean game. Late The Smelt. — Osmerus Eperlanus. — Yarrell. in- the autumn, when ice begins to border the streams, the angler rigs a long perch-rod with a small multiplying reel, and a fine line ri^sced 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 angles for 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 the boat. There is nothing prettier than these gems dangling 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 for 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 also 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 salty stream and 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 crj'stal floor, Then patient watches at the door. THE SPEARING, OR SILVERSIDES. This is the same order of abdominales .as the smelt and caplin, shoals with them, and is eminently a bait for the sal- mon and striped bass. Late 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 an 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 is rather flat, and the tiny gill rays are six in number, and the side-belt shines like silver. " Color. — Pale olive-green above the lateral line ; opercles and sides silvery ; obscure traces just below the lateral line 104 Fishing in American Waters. The Spearing, or Silversides. — Genus Atherina. 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 fins light green ; pectorals, ventrals, and anal light colored, tinged faintly with bluish; irides silvery; bones of the head sub-diaphanous." The foregoing quotation is from De Kay's description of the smelt ; 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 I casually pointed it out to him. When in the autumn's latest time, , And first the streams run icy cold, In Indian summer's crimson prime, When forest trees are touched with gold, Then take the silvery fish that gleam Along the eddies of the stream. THE CAPLIN. This is the tiny, translucent fish, of from three to six inches m length, which shoals in great abundance on the shores of Newfoundland 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 difference consisting in its double anal fin. All codfish fleets employ a sloop, two row-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 distributed 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 caplin resort for protection from the cod. So, it ap- Cod Bait in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 105 pears, Great Xature has wisely ordained that big fishes shall eat the little ones, and, to compensate for this consumption, fishes naturally increase many hundred fold faster than land animals, as before observed. I have presented these three great baits-i-the smelt, spear- ing, and caplin — for the 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 Ox 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 they follow and feed on the shoals of these tender delicacies. The Caplin. — Mallotus 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 supposed to belong to any brancli 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 skiiF, so swift and stanch, Spread the white sail, forsake the strand, To dare the ocean miles from land. Full well by shoremarks they may know Where reefs of weeds are hidden low ; G 2 i06 Fishing in American Waters. , There, anchor'd at the dawn of day, 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 ona of the attractions of Long Branch, and they are a real blessing to the members of the hand-line-committee, who realize in them a cheap relaxation from business and the lassitude caused by too constant work in 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 flakes, not so soft and watery as the cod, but more succulent and deli- cate in taste. This fish usually runs from three to twelve pounds, and is what angler's term a bottom-feeding fish, con- sequently not an especial favorite with the disciples of rod To Make a simple Chowdek. 107 and reel. Its feeding-grounds extend along the coast from Delaware to Maine, wherever the sea-weed grows from beds of mussels. This fish, like many herbivorous fishes of the Orient, 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. It is a ravenous fish to bite, and seldom breaks water until ready for the landing-net. Unlike the tautog, its mouth is large and leathery, easy to hook, and tenacious to hold. Its color is a bluish, and sometimes a greenish black, lightened a trifle at the lower jDarts of the sides and belly. Its scales are about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and its dorsal fins — while spinous — are not very hard ; 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 in a chowder. Chowder clubs use no fish but sea bass. Lit- tle. Neck clams imi3rove the chowder, and, as I was for some time, secretary of the Latourette Chowder Club, and. superin- tended a combination of the gustatory elements, I will here describe a simple chowder for anglers. A common iron pot, of globular shape, is best to make a chowder in. Slice, as thin as possible, enough salt pork to cover the bottom and sides of the pot, to prevent the chowder from burning. Then cover the pork with a layer of quartered onions, which have been previously parboiled fifteen minutes ; then cover the onions with a layer of fish cut in two-inch-square pieces ; then cover the fish with a layer of tomatoes ; then a layer of sea-biscuit ; then a layer of clams ; then a layer of onions, and continue the layers in the rotation described until the pot is filled. Season each layer with salt, and a mixture of red and black peppers, together with such other condiments as de- sired. Cover the pot, and let it stew or boil an hour ; then pour upon it from a pint to a quart of Chateau Margaux, or good Bordeaux claret, and let it simmer half an hour longer. 108 Fishing in American Waters. Ghowder 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 Xew England. In a commercial point of view, the sea bass ranks with the tautog, and next to the cod, being consumed anrtually 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 shrimj), clam, and shedder crab. A shoal of a single pair of fish 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 willing victims to the angler's captivating art. They weigl) 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 the hand-line multi- tude. THE POEGEE. : 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 basts A SLY Bait Thief. 109 hooks, or mauling and mutilating the bait. It is a greedy little shiny sinner, whieh is both herbivorous and carnivor- ous, foraging on both fish ^nd 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, into 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' Guide, states that the steam-boat which runs daily to the porgee banks in summer returns with many thousand pop- The Pokgbjs. —Po^tms 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 tliese daily excursions in midsummer to the fishing-banks are great blessings ; for, besides the inflation of the lungs with bracing sea-air, the change of scene, and the exercise out of doors, they bring back more than an adequate compensation for the pittance expended for the day's recreation. There can not be too many boats engaged in making fishing-bank excursions, pro- vided the boats are sound and well managed. In general, the captains of excursion steamers are well acquainted with the topography of the banks, and know where to order the 110 FisHmG IN American Wai-eks. heaving of the anchor for good fishmg. The charge for pas- sage includes hand-line tackle and bait, so that a man may start in the morning empty-handed, and be landed at home the same evening with a large mess of fish. The porgee is a pan-fish of sweet and delicate flavor when first caught, but its juices soon become absorbed, and, with the loss of its juiciness, becomes nearly tasteless. While casting along the coast for ' striped bass, anglers frequently hook these nimble shiners, and the guides always draw them at once and place them in moss between a cleft of rocks for their own eating, preferring them to the striped bass. The .porgee is supposed to spawn on the weedy banks with the sea bass and tautog early in sj^ring, when the last year's hatch leave for estuaries, purveying to the head of tide- waters. In angling for this fish perch tackle is used. The rod is from ten to eleven feet in length, multiplying reel car- rying a hundred yards of fine linen or silk line, cork float, and swivel sinker, single -gut leader and snells, with minnow hooks. Taking them is pretty sport for ladies and children. Use shrimp or clam bait, and let the bait nearly cover the point of the hook; and where they are numerous — as they are throughout summer in nearly all tidal waters in and above the estuaries — the angler will pair them nearly every time he baits his hooks. The fashion is becoming more and more prevalent along the tidal waters of the Atlantic coast, where they are shut in from the heaving and throbbing of the sea, for whole families to take a seat in a row-boat toward even- ing, and row out to some favorite ground not far from shore, but at a suflicient distance to enjoy difierent landscape views of both shores, and there to anchor the boat and angle for porgees, with an occasional sea bass, squeteague, and black- fish. Rocking in a boat over the running tide is great food to vitality, and the evening scenes from the water, with the pleasing exercise of angling, are blessings to be thankful for. Lies Low a^b Looks Cunnestg. Ill SECTION EIGHTH. 1. Blue-striped Wrasse, Lahrtis mixtus. 2. Trumpet-fish, Sea-snipe, or Bellows- Centriacua scolopax. 3. American Tautog, Tautoga Americana. The family of the wrasses, or rockfish, includes our com- mon bergalls, the New York tautog or common blackfish, and those fancy-colored species known as " old wives of the sea." Of the latter there are several varieties, such as the red old wife, the blue old wife, and the yelloio old wife, which are so named in accordance with their prevailing colors. The thick pouting lips of the fish of this family are their most striking characteristic. The wrasses were known to the poet Oppian, who describes the beds of sea-weed as their favorite places of resort : "And there thick beds of mossy verdure grew — Sea-grass, and spreading wrack are seen : below, Gay rainbow-fish, and sable ^vrasse resort." The foregoing is an extract from Willson's Fifth Reader, and forms a part of the " Glimpse of Ichthyology" which this work includes. 112 Fishing in American Waters. THE TAUTOG, This fish (Fig. 3) is termed tautog along the coast of New England, and is equally well known as hlackfish along the shores of Long Island and New, Jersey, south of which it is not numerous, nor is it north of the Vineyard Sound, though it has greatly increased along Cape Cod within the past fif- teen years. Wherever kelp and sea-weed cling To ramparts form'd of rugged rocks, The tautog finds a dwelling-place, Deep down in waters at their base ; Or where a passing boat hath met Its fate along the rocky shore. And, with its broken ribs and keel, Lies rotting on the ocean floor — There, where the clinging shell and weed Gather, and barnacles abound. The blackfish, seeking out their feed. In numbers by the hook are found. The tautog is one of the largest family of fishes which in- habit the waters along the coast from Vineyard Sound to Del- aware Bay. Urchins along shores begin fishing by taking cachogset, kunners, and bergalls — all of the diminutive car- nivora or bait-robbers — and if, in their efforts, they succeed in capturing a tautog, the lucky urchin who thus succeeds to the first step of fishing thereafter scrapes money together to purchase a regular hand-line and two tautog hooks, with a heavy sinker. He then rigs a hand-line en regie, and consid- ers himself a juvenile member of the "hand-line-committee," not to be entitled to full membership until he can earn by fishing a miniature scow large enough to float two young- sters of from seven to ten years of age. Then, with a stone for anchor, they scull from clump to reef of rocks near the shores of our tidal estuaries and small bays, and once in a while add to their catches of blackfish a weakfish, or even a striped bass ! This achievement affords the barefooted regi- ment a week's discussion, and forthwith the luckv urchin be- Members of the HAND-LmE-coMMiTTEE. 113 comes the arbiter in all piscatorial disputes, as w;ell as the counselor in all arrangements of fishing-tackle, until some other boy takes a larger fish. But the blackfish, or tautog^ is not to be disdained by the disciple of rod and reel. Though he is eminently a commer- cial fish, yet a tide-runner of his family which weighs from eight to twelve pounds makes such dips and runs as try both the angler and his tackle. A somewhat celebrated senator of Rhode Island (now the Chinese embassador) used annual- ly to spend several summer weeks in fishing for tautog with an artistically-rigged hand-line. He sculled his boat to the edge of the tide, on the bank between a rapid current and nearly slack water, and near an islet or reef of rocks in the Seconnet River, where the water is about fifteen feet deep ; anchored his punt firmly, standing up in the stern, and cast some seventy-five feet of line, armed with two hooks about two feet above the sinker, and baited with clam. In this way I have known him to take one hundred pounds of tau- tog in one hour. At the mouth of the Seconnet River there are numerous pounds, built of stone, or staked out with netting, for the purpose of catching tautog, porgee — or scapogue, as the • large ones are called — and numerous minor bottom fry. Re- cently a salmon was caught in one of these infamous traps, and, if it is seriously contemplated to restore salmon to our deserted rivers, the first step should be to take up all nets fastened to stakes in the rivers and along the coast. Tautog are eaten while fresh. Neither the tautog or any other fish of the estuaries which is angled for are cured hy salt or refrigeration. They are, as it were, hand-to-mouth fishes. Both the tautog and sea bass are kept alive many days, and sometimes weeks, in fish-cars anchored in water suited to their growth. The blackfish is next to the shad in affording the greatest amount of estuary fish to our markets. Its meat is watery, and the scales are so firmly set that some ])ersons invariably lave them in vinegar before scaling. In H 114 Fishing in Ameeican Wateks. New England they generally skin tlie tautog, as an easier process than scaling, and consider it a culinary delicacy when properly cooked, of which there are three methods, ^. e., broil- ing, frying, and stewing. Before frying the fish, score him across each side an inch apart, as you would any breakfast pan-fish. Fry some salt pork to a crisp ; .take out the pork, and, while the fat is so hot as to be next to blazing, roll your fish in a mixture of rye and corn meal, and place it in the sparkling hot fat, and let it brown. Turn it twice, and dredge it each time with flour, so that its crust will become an eighth of an inch thick. After broiling, and while piping hot, baist it with butter, salt it, and give it a simple dash of red pep- per, which stimulates without inflaming the stomach, and the slightest dash of black as a bouquet, though it does inflame the stomach without stimulating or assisting digestion. The following receipt by an editor oiquelque chose de goUt is worth remembering : " Now, fair ruler of the destinies of dinner (for if thou beest a man I have no sympathies toward thee), smoke-compelling Betty, or Mary, or whatever else may be the happy appella- tive in which not only thou, but all of us rejoice, thou hast before thee one of the most delicately absorbent substances in nature, imbibing flavor from every thing which surrounds it, whether of adverse or of propitious tendency ; subject, as Warren Hastings said of the tenure of the British possessions in India, alike ' to the touch of chance or the breath of opin- ion.' " Thou hast it, my choice Mary ! The small, deep stew- pan — with its thin cullender or strainer, on which the fish is to be lowered to the bottom, that it may, when stewed into soft delight, be gently raised again without injuring its integ- rity of form — glows with brightness in front of thee ! Thy vigorous arm of mottled red, thy round wrist, and small, com- pact fingers, grasp the sharp-pointed knife with which to sat- isfy thyself that not one scale remains around the head, the fins, the tail. To CA'J^H AND COOK TaUTOG. 115 " Now tail and fins are nicely shortened in their termina- tion, not hacked ofi*. A little salt is thrown over the fish, merely to harden and not scdt it, and it lies two hours iov 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. An 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 of it remains, and at this moment it is decanted into the stew-pan ; the freighted strainer descends into the wine, and the fish, entirely immersed in the amethysr tine element, regrets no more its loss of life, of liberty, and youth. A white onion or two is sliced into rings, that fall 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 closing and a thin 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 blackfish without fail ; But when chestnut 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 sinker like that for sheepshead, but hooks of the Virginia bend and short nib. 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 large a 116 Fishing in Amebic a]% Waters. 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 line, 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 swivel. 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 afibrd sport. All the fishes 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 the 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 Flounder. — Pleuronectes Flesiis. The flounder is an important estuary fish for boys and hand line fishers, though it is not appreciated very highly by rod 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 in the spring. It is to be found in the estuaries and up the rivers as far as salt water runs ; also in our bays. It is a fish of the temperate zone, and, from its great numbers in spring in all the inlets from the Atlantic, is a profitable fish, A Btter and Bboilek. 117 and a great blessing to the poor. Though generally caught with a hand-line, many are taken in set-nets and fykes. With light perch tackle, small hooks, and clam bait, it furnishes sport to the disciple of rod and reel who does not fish for trout, and has no fishing in the vicinity of New 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 with the troll than any other,, the classical name of Temnodon SaUator, the first from temno, to cut in pieces, probably indicating its sharp teeth ; and the last signifying a pantomime dancer, doubtless with reference to its leaping or skipping ; but, as if these names were not sufficiently de- scriptive, he adds those o^ Scomber Plumheus, or leaden mack- erel. ' mz^ The Bluefish. — Temnodon Saltator. — 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 sometimes 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 gradu- 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 Ameeican Wateks. proximately rigid, being fixed and translucent; the rays, though not 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 in two as smoothly as it could be done with a knife, for they are sharp-edged, and those of each jaw are like saw- teeth which match perfectly ; therefore beware of fingers in dislodging 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 instinct they propel their tiny selves to the sa- line 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 emigrated. The young fish are vulgarly called " snapper" or " snaj^ping 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, having grown to the weight of half a pound each, the shoal reunites preparatory to going into winter quarters, where the Gulf Stream keeps the water 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 progeny of one pair of fishes, and the hatch of one laying of ova. Though in summer they may wander apart for food, yet, warned by an unerring instinct, they reunite in autumn to form an army. Best for Table in October. 119 The bliiefish returns to our shores after its first voyage a two-pounder, being then one year old ; and by autumn these eighteen-months' old fish weigh from, three to five pounds each ; but only those which weigh from five to fifteen poimds, 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 sufii- 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 the middle of October until the tenth of November, when they begin to deteriorate and fall away to thinness, probably because the butter-fish and bay-shiners have 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 amateurs and fishermen that the bluefish, like the prawn, visit our bays and estuaries period- ically, remaining sometimes only a season, and at other times several years. The present visit of the bluefish has been the longest one known to the oldest inhabitant of Long Island, having lasted twenty years. Every year since its present advent it has become more numerous and larger. 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 plies his gentle art along the Atlantic coast. In trolling for bluefish, metal squid are supposed to be the best, though bone, ivory, and pearl are frequently used in a light breeze for small fish. Large, heavy baits are best for large bluefish. The following engraving illustrates the shapes, and they should be made from five to six inches in length, or they can be purchased of the right weights and patterns at our best fishing-tackle stores. Bluefish Squids. No. 1. Material German silver, with a pearl plate inlaid on each side. The shank of the hook extends through the squids, and the troUing-line attaches to the ring by a double hitch, or to a strip of raw hide — which is better — that plays freely in the ring. The points of the hooks are at right angles with the width of the squid. No. 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 thrusting the loop through and over the end of the squid. On each side of the middle there is a hole drilled, in which red webbing or burnt wool braid is in- serted, and a knot formed with it as represented, for either red cloth or blood attract nearly all species of game fish. Shaup Hooks axd Strong Lines. 121 The hooks should be very strong, and the points should be filed very sharp : this last piece of advice applies to all hooks for all kinds of fishing, and its importance is not generally appreciated by amateur fishermen. TroUing-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 them fifty yards in length, yet when the fish are feeding in earnest fifty feet is line enough to let ofi*. 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 disturbing 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 tlian through 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 troUing-gloves or thumb-stalls. "V- The Flying Fish. 122 Fishing in American Waters. Trim the white sail ; the rising breeze Blows freshly from the open seas ; It ripples over ocean's breast, Tips with the foam each billow's crest. Now cast astern the dripping line, That cuts and whistles through the brine. TROLLING FOR BLUEFISH. ROLLING for bluefish by New York sportsmen is generally done in sail- boats, and the flood tide is best. Therefore, whether we start with 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 a^d Troll. 123 proach nearer shore with the rising tide, the 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 for large bluefish 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 oj^posite 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 troUing-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, angling 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 has 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 therefore acted promptly upon his generous advice, 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 gen- erous breeze flapped the sails of the trolling crafts lying-to 124 ' Fishing in Amekican Waters. awaiting company, but nearly all the trolling fleet had sailed hours before, and the lowness of the ebb tide warned us not to delay. We therefore wore away, passing between Barren Island and Rockaway Beach, amid shrieks of gulls and flights of duck, the sun lighting up the beach and the breakers, and rendering them scintillant as they flashed upon us between the clouds of fog .which at fitful turns enveloped us. Pres- ently a gentle, fog-subduing warmth, with wind freshening, made our jolly craft dance along, and all nature appeared de- lightsome. " 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." — Stoddart. We passed on near the Black Warrior, whose battered wreck was lifted silently above the waves as a warning to im- potent man against rashness. Toward the Narrows and the light-ship the fleet of trollers were gayly tacking and cross- ing each other's wakes hither and thither over the bluefish shoals, so that, " Why sure, 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 side of the craft, a little aft of midships, consisting of stifi" poles with a line 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 the 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. In addition to the two outriggers we had four trolling-lines out, the ends of which were fastened to the tafi*rail of the boat. 'Captain Morrison took the first fish, a ten-pounder. " Small,'' said the captain. Presently a whirl was made at one of my Gay Pasties all Engaged. l^S 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, while the troU- ers were tugging and hauling at fish, and all seemed to vie with 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, which numbered thirty-six fish, and weighed four hundred and eighty pounds, averaging over thirteen pounds each. Thus ended one of the most interesting, health-givmg, 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, Mftcr 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, either wound with copper wire on a heavy gimp lead- er or snell, or with a hook fastened with wire to a piano string, 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, where 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 ofiers of half a dozen fish, whose whirls make the tide boil. Were it not that the electrical jerk of the bite of a large bluefish 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 scenes into which 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 except the Spanish mackerel — has two treats in store, which, the sooner he improves, the earlier he will regret that he had not tasted before. SECTION TENTH. THE SPANISH MACKEREL. Lovely 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. This incomparable breakfast luxury is a comparative stran- o-er 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 doubtful of a squid or baited hook. Beauty Unadoened. 127 A select family of the mackerel tribes, he is not yet fully un- derstood 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 Mackerel. 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 striped 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, excejit 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 suflicient numbers to reduce the average price below sixty cents per pound. The shoals which I saw, when last trolling for them, would have formed an area of nearly five miles square, and still the most successful boat did not take more than a dozen in three days. He will 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 indifference 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 feeding-groiJhds 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 Fishing in American Waters. 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 mackerel, and, by studying their habits and watching their movements, invent some plan for their capture, and thus en- rich themselves. They persevered for three years, trying all sorts of artificial lures, differently 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 th€ 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 ornamented with spots of gold, like new gold dollars, to the number of between* twenty and thirty. Its scales are imperceptible to the naked 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 small adipose fin on each side extending from the tail three inches upward.. Its head is a perfect cut-water, carved most artistically, and small The Breakfast Luxury of the Age. 129 in proportion. Its jaws are armed with small, fine teeth, that laugh at silk or linen reel-lines; gills of two rigidly resisting plies ; meat white, but neither mealy nor flaky, though of close texture, creamy and peculiarly delicate, of most deli- cious 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 have taken two while angling for striped bass with shedder crab bait ; but it is em- inently a fish for the troll, if captivating trolls can be invent- ed. These fish surround a shoal of gar-eels, butter-fish, shin- ers, spearing, or young menhaden, when the tiny baits — anx- ious to escape — rise to the surface, followed by the Spanish mackerel, which may be seen two miles distant, leaping, a thousand 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 three to fifteen pounds. It is often reported as having been taken of thirty pounds' weight, but this, I think, is an error. The 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 in Jamaica Bay which weighed about thirty pounds, and the daily papers noticed it as a large Spanish mackerel ; but the bonetta — as a food fish — is vastly inferior. Both the 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 feeding, 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 bluefish, and generally nearer shore. This is frequently proven while cast- I 130 Fishing in Aheeican Waters. ing for striped bass ; for if the cast be made beyond a certain range, the angler is sure of a bluefish, if any thing. I have here roughly sketched a part of a shoal of Spanish mackerel feeding. To troll with hope of success for these f Klf Spanish Mackerel Feeding. delicacies, employ a light, swift-sailing craft, and rig it with a long outrigger On each side ; for a heavy vessel cleaving a shoal disperses the live bait on which they are feeding, and the fright causes the shoal to settle without 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, while drawing the fish in, have commented upoi\ the ease of detecting the difference 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 experience thus far gained by using Curious Fancy of Fishes. 131 bright metal trolls, not one Spanish mackerel in ten thousand will pay 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 samples. ^*§^^^^^ Spanish Mackerel Squids. 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-line. Feath- ers extend beyond the bend of the hook to form the tail of the gar-eel. The form of the squid 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 pearl, and intended to represent a sea - shiner, about five inches 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 half as thick as it is wide, and in order to render if as ponder- 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- 132 Fishing in American Watees. tant to have a small but ponderous bait attached to a fifty- yard line of the smallest size for trolling. The jaw of the Spanish mackerel is tender, therefore he plays more gin- gerly, and does not resist so hard in landing as does the bluefish ; but he should be handled carefully, and prevent- ed from taking slack line, as he unhooks easily. My opinion is that this fish will yet be taken in great num- bers with rod and reel. As they annually become more nu- merous, they come farther into the estuaries and back-sets from the bays along the coast, and after they get a taste of shedder and soft-shell crab, with smelt in abundance, and a modicum of spearing and shrimp, they will soon make them- selves more familiar, and accept the dainties ofiered on the angler's hook ; and when-once fairly converted, he will afibrd the angler better sport than the salmon or the striped bass. SECTION ELEVENTH. THE BONETTA, OR BONITO. The bonetta is the beautiful and swift fish after which one of our war vessels of the Revolution was named. The Span- ish name is bonito. I prefer the other name because of its associations. This fish is found in great numbers about the West India Islands, where it preys on the flying-fish. His first arrival along our beaches and in our bays was about eight years ago, and his shoals have increased remarkably fast ever since his advent. As a table luxury it ranks with epicures below the striped bass and bluefish, but because of its comparative rarity it commands a price rather above The Bonetta, or Bonito. — Thynnus pelamys. — Cuvier. Loves Flying-fish, laughs at Tkolls. 133 either. The numbers of this fish annually taken about the approaches to our harbors with the troll and in nets increase, so that it bids fair to become nearly as numerous as the blue- fish. Of the shoals which venture along the shores of beaches or breakwaters, the fish range in weight from five to fifteen pounds, while 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 prolific 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 very beautiful, having a dark greenish-blue back, which lightens to midsides, 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 spinous, as are .the first rays of the second dorsal and pecto- ral. The tail is frajned 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 perfectly 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 squid in trolling for bluefish, and very few have been caught in fykes and pounds. It is a very voracious fish, and generally in good condition and very gamy. 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 fishing naturalists state that it spawns about the islands of the Western Archipelago, 134 Fishing in American Waters. where it is known as the " albicore," and comes to Northern waters for recuperation. 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 bonetta to be similar to the tunny, but I know that it is called albi- core by some Southern fishermen. The fishes of our coast and estuaries which I name as belonging to the troll are sup- posed to be of this hemisphere, 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. 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, or 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 new 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 weight than any other of his , The Estuaey Sentinel. 135 mackerel kindred ; an individual specimen a yard in length 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, but the tail is translucent ; it has an adipose fin each side on, the lateral line at the taU. Its jaws are armed with serrulated teeth which laugh at any cords softer than copper 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 HOESE MACKEREL. I 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. Wliile 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 136 Fishing in Ameeican Wate;rs. seven hundred and fifty pounds, was nine feet in length, and six feet in circumference. The illustration here given is a The Horse Mackerel, — Genus Thtjnnus. copy of my sketch of the fish made from still life. As Gaspe is a great fishing port, the " old salts" would have detected 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 in the vicinity where both fishes are taken. 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 are 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 fish 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 fishes whose head is the tunny, and which rank as follows: 'Tunny, horse mackerel, bonetta, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, cero, winding up with the common mackerel, which — as the bar- ber said of the baker when asked tp shave a coal-heaver — " is as low as we go." It will be seen by the conformation of the horse mackerel Habits of Fishes Illustkated. 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. Talk of the bad reputation of the Silurus glanis of the Dan- ube because portions of human .bodies have been found in their stomachs ! the horse mackerel would make nothing of chopping up both man and fish. This is not a fisji 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 trolling. But sailing for horse mackerel is rare sport ; and I would ad- vise those about New Bedford and Martha's Vineyard, who delight so much in sailing for and harpooning swordfish, t< > sail down about Nantucket for horse mackerel, where they are comparatively numerous. To conclude : Having presented the best samples of the coast and estuaries for affording sport by the recreative art of angling, I will postpone for the present the description of those commercial fishes which belong of right to the harpoon, the net, and the hand-line. Pale student, who consumes the night With learned vigils till the light ; Merchant, who toils in city street Through all the summer's fervid heat ; All ye tired sons of gold and gain, Turn from your weary tasks of i)ain, And haste to wood, and bay, and stream, Where health, and joy, and sunshine beam. art Seconb. FEESH-WATER FISHII^G FLY AISTD BAIT. CHAPTER I. THE POETRY OF ANGLING. SECTION FIRST. ' The patient angler threads the wind- ing brook, 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 convulsiA-e act, And learns too late that death was at the feast ; While the glad sportsman feels the sudden jerk. And plays his victim with extended line. Swiftly he darts, and through 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, He seeks his quiet shelter 'neath the bank, And thence in triumph to the shore is borne, A prize that well rewards a day of toil." The question has 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 142 Fishing in American Waters. quately describe the pleasures that surround the angler V The most compendious, truthful, and summary is contained in the poetical exclamation of O. W. Holmes in the following couplet : " Oh ! what are the treasures we perish to win, To the first little minnow we caught with a pin!" But who can catalogue the pleasures which cluster around the angler's pursuit ? He pursues his avocations amid scenes of beauty. " It is he who follows the windings of the silver river, and becomes acquainted 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 breath is the glorious breath of spring. The rustling sedges make music in his ear when the mist has rolled ofl* the sur- face of the water, or the dew been kissed from the grass by 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 gorgeous king- fisher heeds him not, and the meadow-hen seldom moves from her nest as he passes. The storm and the tempest scarcely hinder 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 enjoy- ment. If he cares to pursue his favorite pastime, he may do so equally when the tall bulrushes, wavy reeds, and chestnuts rattle with December's winds, as when the marsh marigold 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 springing into life of all nature, when again the frogs begin Antiquity of the Gentle Art. 143 to croak, the trout to leap, the wild geese to honk, the kine to low, and material nature gushingly bursts forth into new life and loveliness. If he is an ardent sportsman, the whole year is before him. When the trout in spring, the salmon in summer, the striped bass in early autumn, and the trolling for bluefish, Spanish mackerel, cero, and bonetta wind up the falling season, he may hie to the Carolinas and Florida, where the oranges, amid labyrinths of flowers, 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 people with as much ar- dor as they are by civilized men ajt 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 feshion fish-hooks out of human jaw- bones, and the Saxons managed to snare fish with hooks foi-med 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, w^hose great perseverance is devoted rather to cultivate fishes than insnare them. 'We know the inhabitants of the 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 .were at one time preserved from famine by being taught by Wil- fred to catch fish. Among the earliest printed books is one on fishing, by Dame Juliana Bemers or Barnes, prioress of the nunnery of Sop well, near St. Alban's. This book was printed in 1496. The old lady shows that if sport 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 American Waters. awete ayre of the swete sauvoure of the meede flowres, that makyth him hungry ; he hereth the melodyous armony of fowles ; he seeth the young swannes, heerons, ducks, cotes, and many other fowles with theyr brodes ; whyche me sem- yth better than all the noyse of houndys, the blastes of horny s, 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 refined 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 procreative increase never amounts to a tithe of any individ- ual of the oviparous fishes. The innocence of angling is therefore a feature wiiich 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 lie enjoys is " One of the spirits unwithdi-awn, That, erst the fall, were charged to minister To the earth's gladness, and continually, Out of their ample and unfailing horns, To pre-endow the advancing tracks of men. " The Charms of Angling. ^45 Modern improvements in anglers' implements, and recent inventions in lures to captivate by trolling, have rendered the angler of to-day very different from the ancient dreamy fishing 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 is expected to scull a boat with alacrity and pull an oar grace- fully, to sail a boat and man a pair of troUing-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 been known to indulge in the chase, and fol- low a well-trained dog with pleftsure, 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 their foreheads, Time I 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 lJ6 Fishing in American Waters. " I love to see the man of care Take 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." 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 opposite 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 draw^rout 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 geiius and family of each separate fish of which it treats ; but as the heading indicates that the brook trout belongs to the genus 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 trc^ut is distinct from the genus Salmo. Pliny confounded 'them, and the difierent 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 the naked eye; A Thing of Beauty without Alloy. At The Brook Trout. — Salmo fontinalis. all its fins are soft-rayed except the second dorsal, which is adipose ; its caudal fin, or tail, is nearly straight across the end, contradistinguished from the other families of the genus^ including lake trout. Its meat is generally pinky or salmon- colored, and of all the shades between pink and white, the mallow-colored trout is preferred for perfection ofgoUt. The meat laminates in flakes, and, when in best condition, there is a curd-like leaf of creamy succulency between* each flake. Trout taken in streams which empty into tide-waters are usually in best condition, because their food consists of smelt, spearing, shrimp, herring roe, roes of other fishes and their alevins, in addition to their desserts of flies to render them more delicate, to say nothing of ground bait driven down the stream by freshets, and from which our Beau Brummels of the estuary turji aside their beautiful noses. Streams backed by saline tides are not often impregnated by the debris car- ried down with the floods or by any foreign substance ; hence New Yorkers regard Long Island trout as the best, while Bos- tonians consider the Marshfield trout as the ne plus ultra. Though I accord a preference to trout which have access to tide- waters, those of mountain streams are better than any pond trout. Writers upon angling mention many families of the brook trout ; there are doubtless very many, but in the United States I know of but few. A marked peculiarity is observable in the trout of the Umbagog range of lakes: and its FiwiiNu in Amkuiuan Watkich. rivcrR, in the State of Maine?, wIiomo fins aro })r)nly the di»tin(!tiv(! properties of the waters which vmh family in habits. Thus the black-mouthed trout of the swampy forcsi would soon become assimilated to the trout of the sulino ch tuarios were they transported thither. Upon this subject permit mo to quote from Thomas Tod Stoddart, a very higli 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 contradistinction 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 \yhich have their origin in the different varieties of i Ik common trout brought into contact with each other at tin breeding season, and do not implicate the questionable prod uce, or mule breed, arising from any haphazard connection be- tween thofario and bull trout, or whitllng, 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 tru( 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 qualitit^s of the water, aided by the remaining original stock, always tending to re instate; the breed." This is merely reasserting that the (pial ities of* the water tknd/ced will govern and regulati; tlx; rill chnnun^ rti<«*«, ft>|i1 «orMljtJon«<, lj«v<« m )oy»Mi flit? >»pori orurjglifij^ for (rout, U |MmM)l>ly ifrtlU ihnU nunt* im^i and *JUd|>liw« ^pfhtfiU mUul nmi body to nntatem' fully iiivt'Mt ttml pr»*)»«»it U»« lur«M irio^f <'«f>ilvrtl)ti^ to H ihttii to uny ofhi'r i'rfmhwfUvr iUU, Alihouj^h Uii* brook tfotit in \irn\ffi\t\y tho »kM mmwroun tpfttW iJi« j^itrnii fUh«#, mftntntfi^Ui lor by iJm' ti[r«'«M'«*i monWr of con* ' 'ivm phllimopfmrw, y»'t it oiay b«' «n^l«'4 for with ih« <;* - ' t^M'kb*, aw\ with a willow wttwcl mii by tb« wlib* of my nirmttif or It max *M' f' I ' I Tor with rt \«*ry «lttbor^t« i*pfmmtM>*, Jtrul bi «lib«' tJiMW' '1("m| ififouioM »j/oH., Tb« cJor>»f«oii iroiii l» th« niAmixtfH uport of th« i*nthM«lA*»tli' itii/tcr, Im mniiy (^otintrit'M thf« trofii tnul ^ttlmon nrt* tho only MM'tit^ of^nfm^ HmIm'm whi^'h iot^'r^'Mt i\mtiu^U'r\ mu] whilf =»>ibiiori fl»»hlrij( rrwy b« JtJ<*tly r«*««rdif4 »« th« hljrt, yot it Unn Wri J««f'y »«i'J *'y l^rtt««l#» I'noM^i* thui, **tt Koo»*/Mrc'4'*i tttn\t*tn »o' '»«< tor t\w rob*«*fir»bb* mmUimphiUm (tfih(*. \frmk irmt lh#««p<' '\i*\U'fiU*^tiw\ ytd n4p tifiUiUt, Kvtm iUt* rttn^ iU', i» tfm • >rMmiofttwHt ttod ^'ooHltiorw ttfitmt atwl )fwb*?» ftl««y. It mtifii iU$mtf^nrti U* U^^ff*«^A with tt unmi v»Hitiy ne end and a worm at the oth- er," helped to fix in the minds of the ignorant the impression which the stolen aphorism was intended to convey. Such vulgar witticisms may please the splenetic ; they only dis- gust liberal-minded men. A word more about the costume of our model angler. The color of the dress should either be gree?i, to. blend with the foliage, or gray, to harmonize with the shade of the rocks. Wading boots, with rubbered silk extensions, are the lightest and best, except, perhaps, the Scotch wading stockings, of Trouting on Long Island. 157 quite recent invention, and imported by our principal fishing- tackle houses. A cape of water-proof silk may be carried in the pocket, and put on as a protection to the shoulders in case of a shower, as it is not too warm and does not impede casting. Trouting on Long Island is the most artistic angling that I have ever seen practiced, either in Europe or America. The trout there appear to have learned to detect many of the an- gler's artifices. Fly-fishing is there practiced near the estu- aries of streams, where they are influenced by the tides, so that in flood tide the fisher begins below and casts along as the tide makes, as far up the stream as the trout feed ; and when the tide turns, the angler fishes along down with the tide and the feeding fisli. There being little protection to veil the angler from the tenants of the stream, it is necessary that he keep far back from the bank, which necessitates long casts, and frequently the first intimation which the angler receives of a^ bite is the gushing and slapping rise of the fis]i, and the tremulously nervous resistance at the end of his line ; then approaches the play and the contest, when light — but finely-constructed — tackle tells. Deftly and gingerly arc the words, for Long Island trout are not to be trifled with. The rod should be permitted to do its duty, and the angler be neither impatient nor excited. Anglers who have never vis- ited Long Island are comparatively innocent of the real zest of trouting ; for, without being annoyed with stinging and biting flies, the trout are as large and as free from rust or the eflects of discolored waters as are those of the estuaries on the coast of Maine or along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On the island they run from a quarter to three pounds in weight, sometimes more, and are in the highest state of succulent ad- iposity. The climate is charming, surroundings most invit- ing, hotels where good cheer greets the sportsman through- out the year. I love Long Island, and venerate its trout streams. 158 Fishing in-Amekican Waters. " Nature hath endless aspects : to the angler She doth her beauties and her glories all unfold ; A magic light rests upon land and sea, And aU her brooks are silver, all her sunshine gold." What angler's heart does not beat more quickly at the joyous announcement of the opening day of. the t routing season ? He will find, upon asking himself seriously, be he rich or poor, learned or ignorant, that no announcement of any other recroation so thrills his heart. The emotion caused by. the schgol-master when he used to say "boys may go out," or "there will be a vacation until next Monday," is quadrupled and sublimated by the permission given from a highet sphere, as if Heaven said " boys may go out." Go forth from your counting-houses, your mephitic offices, your workshops^ for it is the opening day of the trouting season ! " With Winter's frown let sadness cease. And cankering care, And o'er the brow sweet smiles of peace Wreathe garlands fair ; From joyous Nature catch the smile, And every weary hour beguile From care and pain — Join, join with bird and flowing stream In shouting forth the rapturous theme, 'Tis Spring again, 'Tis Spring again!" Who can forget the angling of old at Oba. Snedicor's ? The late Daniel Webster used to be there on the opening day of the trouting season, and so did many of our truly great men. It was there that John Stephens was advised to sail his yacht in the regatta in England, which resulted in his winning the race. But the Snedicor Preserve is now in different hands. A close club of wealthy and intellectual sportsmen own it, and they have rendered it worthy of its name, the " South- side Club." The light, 'artistic character of the fly-fisher's tackle proves him a disciple of the fine arts, though translating their sjiirit •into graceful action. Always Use the best Tackle. 159 Trouting Tackle. Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4. Split bamboo tront-rod and click reel. The hand-hold above the reel is either velvet or plain wood. This trout-rod is eminently American ; joints and rings of German silver, the rings gradually diminishing in size from butt to top. A spliced top joint is to be preferred. 6. Wicker-basket with padlock, and plate for owner's name ; sliding shoulder-pad on the strap. 6. Tin bait-box, paint- ed, perforated lid, and waist-belt. The strap is sometimes so made as to connect with the basket-strap, when the box is worn or left off, at the option of the wearer. In case of connecting the bait-strap with the basket-strap, the basket is supported by the left shoulder, and the bait-strap attaches at the waist, so that the right arm is entirely free for casting. 7. Fly-book with leaves of Bristol-board, or other stiflF material, to which are attached short ends of elastic, with a hook to attach a loop, and a ring at the other end of the leaf for the hook. This plan of carrying flies without bending the gut was invented by Mr. Hutchinson, of Utica, New York, and the cards may either be attached to the book or laid in as leaves, so that the angler may merely take a single leaf of selected flies, and place it in his pocket-book for a day's Ashing. 8. Lanrfing-net. Rim of hollow brass wire. Meshes large and of not too tine twine. Handle formed of two joints which screw together, or made so that the joiut connected with the net will slide Into the butt. The oval shape of rim is better than the round one. MODERN SPLICE FOR FLY RODS. A correspondent of the Field (London), January 4, 1868, described the modern splice, and gave it his name of the " Robinson Splice," but since then several contributors claim to have used the same splice many years ; and the reason for giving it to my readers is that every angler, when writing upon it, commends it. It is generally used for splices of sal- mon-rods, but I can not see why it would not be equally use- ful for splicing the top joint of a trout-rod. The following is the description : " The splice is of the ordinary length, with a small, thin rim, or flat ring of brass at the thick end of each 160 Fishing in American Waters. splice ; the thin end of each splice fits so tightly into (under) the brass rim or ring at the thick end of the other one that it will not shift in the least degree ; a length of waxed glov- er's or tailor's thread, tied on at your leisure (for all is hard held to your hand by the brass rings), completes the splice." mf^mmMmfmmmmmk Numbers 1, 2, 3 present a side view of the splice, and 4, 5 a surface view. Of course the ferrules or rings are fastened firmly on the thick ende of each splice, and splice ends are requisite after unjointing the rod for protecting the thin ends of the splice when thrusting the joints into a case to carry the rod after a day's fishing, or when the angler desires to pack his rod. That is, " corresponding pieces of spliced wood, with brass rings (or ferrules) attached, are made, joined to- gether, carried in the pocket, and when the rod is untied and unjointed they are detached from each other, and attached to the spliced parts of the rod, to save the splices from any accident." This is a precaution necessary for protecting all kinds of splices of rods. In returning to the general subject, the spring opens earlier on the south.side of Long Island than in any other part of the state. This is owing to the island extending so far into the Atlantic that the Gulf Stream mellows the air by its warmth, lladishes, celery, lettuce, and sometimes eschalots, are not un- common on the 1st of March, while the martin and meadow- lark enliven the air, and the robin is not far behind in putting in an appearance to open the full court of Spring ; and as the angler casts from the bank or from a boat, all nature is alive. The island being in the direct route for the passage of wild- fowl, the honking of them high in air, and the gunners' in- tonations on the bay, give a touch of sublimity and grand- eur which, when mingling with the sounds of lowing herds and the music of birds, brings heaven and earth together, and Opening Day of the Troutlng Season. 161 ill a condition of harmony never dreamed of by the care-worn racer after the rusty dollar. Persons who have never practiced the angler's gentle art can scarcely appreciate the feelings which well up in the soul of an expert who has studied nature, the habits of trout, and the devices necessary to present lures gracefully for their acceptance. His fly-rod is twelve and a half feet in length, including a telling-top of split bamboo. His reel is a narrow click one, upon which is wound a braided line of silk and hair, which tapers from the middle to each end, and is thirty yards in length. A nine-feet-long casting-line is looped to the end, and with the attractions of a cinnamon fly as a stretch- er, a gray professor as the first drop, and a red ibis as the hand-fly, he feels sure that the trout in the first pool will leap for joy at his approach. As he walks over the meadows, sees the birds, hears all nature waking into new life, his Very step upon the mead when the grass is beginning to shoot confers a sense of velvety elasticity ; and as he nears the stream, sees the cat-tails of the willows dip and play on the margin of the ripple, and the trout rising and leaping after flies so that they cast miniature rainbows over the stream, with cautious step he approaches within casting distance of the pool. He makes a cast, and a large trout meets his fly and fastens. For an in- stant the angler is transfixed ! The old sensation of rapture returns with the new spring, and as the circulation of his blood quickens, he spontaneously ejaculates, " Well, this is worth livincr for !" 162 Fishing in America*) Waters. CHAPTER 11. FLY-FISHING ON MASSAPIQUA LAKE. Fly-pishing 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 the 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 stem 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- structed of narrow and thin cedar boards, very closely braced Fly-fishing fkom a .Boat. 163 with small ribs ; they are clinker built, and about fourteen feet long and four feet wide, and are intended for one angler and his guide. The guide has a seat toward the bow, and the angler takes a seat near the stern, either to troll or fly- fish. Between the angler and guide, is a basket of heavy splints and thick oaken cover, opening across the middle by brass hinges. On the bottom of the basket is placed a huge lump of ice wrapped in a woolen blanket, above which — or half wray up the basket — is a piece of canvas, attached by strings to the basket, and fitting all round. The guide rows along the margin of the lake, and when approaching a stream which falls from the mountain into the lake, turns the stern toward it and backs the boat to within casting distance, and when the angler hooks a trout the guide rows out away from shore, where the fish is played and landed without alarming the other fish of the pool. The guide draws the fish at once, throws it into the basket on the canvas above the ice, and then backs the boat toward the shore for the angler to take another. This is a deliberate way of angling, by which the pools at the mouth of every brook are tendered the choice of a cast of flies, and yield their tithe as 2)ay for their cruel curiosity. Lake Massapiqua, at South Oyster Bay, on Long Island, is probably the best trout preserve in the United States. It is owned by William Floyd Jones, Esq., who is one of the finest samples of an American gentleman. The preserve covers eighty acres, and is fed by a spring-brook which is seven miles in length, and all of it on Mr. Jones's estate. This gen- tleman maintains the preserve for his exclusive use and that of his invited guests, who are the ardent disciples of the angle and promoters of field-sports. Not only for his fish-preserve^ and his system of fish -culture is Mr. Jones pre-eminent, but as a farmer and horticulturist, a sportsman of first-class in all its ennobling features, from the winter joy of following the hounds to the refined and contemplative amusement of casting the fly, he is worthy of emulation by all who would 164: Fishing in American Watees. so dispose of the bounties with which Providence has 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 less 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. "Where 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. Don't see it in that Light. 165 HITS we deftly cast the artifi- cial lure on the margin of the streams, or on the bosom of lake or pond, whipping, whip- ping, whipping all the day, and playing trout till twilight. Questions in relation to fish- ing up or down a stream should be decided by the con- dition of the stream atid its borders. While casting from : the shore, it makes very lit- ^ tie difference which way the stream is fished ; but in wad- ing, it is best to fish up stream, because it does, not roil the water, and there is not so great liability to alarm the fish. In making a cast, it is always best to draw the flies across the current, for then the drop-flies will play clear of the cast- ing-line. This is the opinion of most good fly-fishers. First, cast up stream along the shore, and if the stream be not too wide, cast to the farther shore, drawing your flies across the stream, but not too fast, lest the trout become suspicious. In striking, you can not be too quick when fishing up a stream. Cast first near shore ; then a yard or two farther off"; next, across the stream. If you get not a rise, take a step or two up the stream and repeat. Continue doing so until a doubt arises as to whether the trout admire your cast ; then replace one fly by another of different color from any on your cast. If that does not take after presenting it several times, take it off and try another extreme in color. Keep changing until you hit the fancy of the trout. When you have found the fly that the trout admire, change your other flies (if you fish with three) to those of colors in slight relief to the taking one ; that is, put on one a trifle darker and the other a little lighter in shade. Anglers are not so high a remove above the rest of mankind 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 sufficient. In striking, let it be with sufficient 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 them. If the hook is well fastened, the more deli- cately your fish is played the better; for snubbing a fish hard 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 well 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 hook. 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 half a dozen turns with the silk to the end of the shank, and place an Soak Gut befoke Tying. 167 end of soaked gut on the shank, and begin to wind it on at the end of the shank, winding close, tight, 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 there and form a loop of the remainder, and cast it three or four times over the shank as represented ; then draw up the loop by the end of the silk thread, which will leave the end fastened 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 tie without dan- srer of its drawinar. 168 Fishing in American Waters. 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 common 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 changing drops* at will. Some anglers cast the end twice round instead 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 no.t so good as the coachman, or several of the professprs, for large 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 instead 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 casting-line and the end of the gut near the knot. After tying the knot of the casting-line, draw it tight, and cut off one end close, leaving the upper end half an inch long. Lash this end to the line, and cover it with varnish, and loop the end of the drop over it. By this plan the drop will not chafe or Turn off Ends wrni Varnish or Shellac. 169 weaken the casting-line. This fastening is recommended by Mr. Francis, and shellac might form a good covering for the lashed end. Xo. 9. Green trophy-fly. Peacock's wing body and Guinea- fowl wings. No. 10. Square tie in a casting-line. After drawing it close, cut the ends to half an inch long, and lash them with fine silk, and varnish them. Xo. 11. The gut of the drop, soaked, and a knot tied in the end ; it is attached to the casting-line close to the knot by a half hitch. This is a very secure method and clean rig for forming a casting-line and fastening a drop, especially when fishing for large trout of from two to five pounds' weight ; but for fish under two pounds I prefer the rig of line and drop 5 and 6. No. 12. Alder-fly — -phryganea — body of peacock's herl whip- ped with red silk ; wings of gray cock's hackle. No. 13. Attaching the casting-line to the reel-line. This loop is quite secure, scarcely any chafing, is small and neat, yet it may be easily loosened without cutting the knot from the end of the casting-line. This is recommended when the reel-line has a loop at the end ; but I prefer a loop in the end of the casting-line, as represented. The fastening is the same in either case, whether the loop forms the end of the casting-line or the reel-line. Sometimes a loop is made in each ; but if in one only, I prefer it in the casting- line, as I consider it the neatest finish. No. 14. The casting-line, rigged with stretcher and two drop flies. The object is to show the student how they should be rigged, so that all may fall at the same time on the wa- ter, calculating the natural angle of the casting-line. No. 15, 16,17. No. 15 is called the stretcher-fly; 16, the first drop ; 1 7, the second drop, or hand-fly, being the drop near- est to the angler's hand. The drop for the hand-fly should be four inches long, while the first drop should be from two and a half to three inches in lenojth. The knots in the 170 Fishing in American Watees. casting-line show where the lengths of gut are tied — thus, from the stretcher-fly to the first drop are four lengths of gut, and three or four lengths from the first drop to the hand-fly. These distances will be changed to suit taste and the distance of cast. For long casts, the drops should be a yard apart. No. 1 8. 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 gut ; lap them an inch, and wind 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 should be made of stained gut, the gut selected so as to taper regularly from the reel-line to the stretcher-fly; and the drops should be of fine, clear, round gut, stained to the shade of the casting-line. It is an indication of very bad taste in a fishing-tackle maker to ,ofier finely-tapered and stained casting-lines and flies tied to coarse gut, and not dyed or shaded to the tint of the casting-line. All should be in harmonious keeping, from 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-line 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 up sufficiently close to bring your fish within reach of your landing-net. For rough fishing on a stream of bramble margins a cast- ing-line of from six to seven feet in length, and one drop besides the stretcher, may be sufficient. Many anglers dis- pense with drops, and fish with one fly only on some streams in the interior of Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, and throughout the region in New York known as the Adiron- dacks, which is about forty miles square, and one of the greatest fish arid game regions in America. HOW TO STAIN SILK-WOEM GUT. Gut may be stained by leaving it in a strong decoction of To STAIN SlLK-^VOEM GuT. 171 cold coffee or tea twelve hours. Tinging the gut thus does not weaken it or render it less pliable. Logwood and alum form a decoction very commonly in use for staining gut. Lemon-juice and indigo produce a delicate tinge. The outer skins of onions, when steeped, produce a dye which stains a yellow or leather-color without injuring the gut. Stoddart states that walnut leaves produce a brown dye, which is a good general tinge for all waters ; and such mate- rials as stain the gut a neutral tinge, or bluish, are best for clear waters. Steep two handsful of walnut leaves in a quart of water, and when cool, soak the gut in the water two or three hours. The rind of the American black walnut forms as good a dye for general use as can be obtained. A bluish dye is obtained by boiling a handful of the dust or shavings of logwood a quarter of an hour in a quart of water, adding a lump of alum half the size of an almond. Dip the gut in the decoction while it is yet very warm, and allow it to re- main half an hour, or until the shade required is obtained. Gut should be entirely dried after staining it, and then it should be thoroughly washed in tepid water, when, after dry- ing it perfectly, it should be rolled in chamois skin, or stretch- ed on a board with the ends fastened to keep it straight. An excellent plan for keeping the gut straight upon which flies are tied is Hutchinson's, before mentioned. The distances between the loops or rings and the hooks should be so grad- uated as to accommodate different lengths of gut, as illustra- ted on the page of trouting-tackle, thus enabling the fly-fisher to change his flies or replace one quickly. This plan is ex- cellent for drops, but stretchers would require too long a fly- book for convenience. On going a-trouting, I usually put up a couple of casts, such as I may think will suit the waters which I contemplate fishing. For most waters I rig a stretch- er and two drops; and I seldom make a mistake in the selec- tion of flies. In the early spring I employ the cinnamon as the stretcher for one cast, a red ibis as a stretcher for anoth- er, and a mallard wing, with claret body, for the third. The 172 Fishing in American Watees. first drop above the cinnamon is an ibis, and the first drop above the ibis is a cinnamon, and the first drop above the mallard wing is a cinnamon. The hand-flies are the blue dun or the cow-dung. The blue professor is also an excellent fly early in the season, as is also the gray ; the yellow is better in May. My advice to the angler is to purchase his flies of the best fly-tyers in New York and Boston, where competition has pro- duced the necessity for employing first-rate materials in all the departments of fishing-tackle, whether of gut, flies, hooks, lines, reels, rods, and the coarser paraphernalia of the angler. Trout Reels. — The click reel is ijicomparably the best, though it is not so good to dry a line on as is the Billinghast reel, which is formed of brass or German silver wire, and the line open on all sides to the air. The click reel checks the line to a certain weight of resistance, to which the angler soon becomes accustomed, and in giving the fish the butt, he does it with confidence, because he has ascertained from ex- perience how great a check he puts upon the fish, and the pre- cise strain caused to his casting-line, which he has regulated accordingly. This is- not the case with a reel whose tension 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 large per- forated barrel or cylinder to reel the line on, and it should also be perforated at the ends over the cylinder, for drying the line. The advantage of a large cylinder to reel the line on when the reel does not multiply is important, because it shortens the time of reeling. Besides, with a large cylinder, thirty yards is a sufficient length of line. I once killed a five- and-a-half-pound trout in a very rapid stream with a nine- ounce rod and only thirty yards of line. It took me two hours and twelve minutes to kill the fish, timed by Dr. Be- thune, of Boston. A click multiplier is better for angling with the worm or minnow, but many bait anglers of the country prefer a small multiplier without a click or drag. Bell-metal is supposed Magic in a good Fly-rod. 173 to be better than German silver or brass, but alumine, or alu- minum, is better than either. Fly Rods. — Rods made from split bamboo are unquestion- ably the best in use ; but a Robert Welch rod, of ash for the butt and second joint, lance wood for the third, and split bam- boo for the fourth or top joint, is the best rod that I have ever owned for general fly-fishing. The split bamboo rod is much lighter, and full as desirable. A fly rod should not be under twelve feet in length, and I had rather have it six inches over, or so made with duplicate top and third joints as to make it either twelve or twelve feet six, though my longest fly rod is only twelve feet and two inches long. I prefer a single action rod to the one of double action or a " kick in the handle," though the latter may send a fly far- ther, and deliver it more gracefully, but it lacks the snap of the single action to strike. Fly -rods from split bamboo should weigh from seven to ten ounces when mounted ; and if from ash, lancewood, and split bamboo, if strictly for sin- gle hand, their weights should range from nine to fifteen ounces ; and if the latter weight, they should be about twelve and a half feet long. Neither rod should be too withy, but have snap or elasticity enough in the top to hook a fish with- out yielding enough to permit the sinner to disgorge. One of the pleasures of fly-fishing is to use a rod which will re- sponsively hook a trout without an eflbrt of the angler. The sport consists in delivering a fly neatly on a straight line — seeing the trout rise gushingly to the surface and accept the lure — and playing a trout gracefully. The charm consists in the manner of taking the trout, and the suiToundings of a pleasing landscape — the music of birds, the spring-time of general rejuvenation, and the running harmony of intellectu- al conversation. There is society in trouting, but it does not prevent the soul from basking in all the life and beauty of sound and gayety around. Landing Nets. — If for landing in a boat or on shore, a; two- jointed handle is the best. If for wading, a short handle, at- 174 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. tached to an elastic cord and suspended from the shoulder, or 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 oifer fourfold resistance to the :svater. The rim should be large, the meshes large, the twine not too fine, and the net itself large. A landing-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 offish 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. The 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 right 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 strap and button on the shoulder, un- der which to hold the strap of the trout-basket ; and there should be another strap on the coat at the left side, to pre- vent the basket -strap from moving, and the basket from swinging about while climbing over logs and fences. But the great desideratum consists in getting a light and small basket,^ which 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 up the Trouting Kig. 175 numerous theories about fly-]3ooks, there can be but few about bait-boxes. I will therefore state, beware of those three- story complications. Procure a box as simple as possible in construction, made to slide on and be supported by the waist- belt which holds up the wading water-proofs, or the common leather waist-belt. It should consist of two compartments, one for worm and the other for minnow, or for grub-worms and grasshoppers. Carrying Casts of Flies. — Instead of winding a casting- line round the hat, a double band is made to fit the hat arid buckle round over the hat-band, and the casting-line or snell- ed flies are attached to it and folded in, so as not to expose them, or render them liable to get loose and dangle about, to the danger of the face and eyes. The Calcutta or Gibraltar sporting-hat, illustrated on the plate with the salmon-rod, is excellently adapted for carrying snelled flies or casts. A "snelled fly" is a length of silk-worm gut, with a fly at one end and a loop at the other. Straightening Casting-lines. — Hitch 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 less, and neither shotild be resorted to if you can have time to soak the gut in tepid water half an hour. I am in the habit of soaking my casting-line over night in cold water if I intend to fish early the next morning ; and I am accustomed also to selecting the flies which I think may be necessary, and on the rim of a glass nearly filled with water I hang the hooks, letting the gut fall in the glass and soak all night. I do not approve of straight- ening gut by friction 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 and hair braided line, protected from the efiect of water by being oiled, varnished, or saturated with some oleaginous substance, braided like a whip-lash to taper each way from the middle, 176 Fishing in American Waters. a stained gut casting-line tapering from the reel-line 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 the fray and to angle all day; for I never yet experienced a day long enough while fishing. 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 collapse as soon by disappointment. Some- times he misses a well-intended rise of so bold an effort as to render the fish too much alarmed by the sights and sense of the upper air to trust a repetition. Anon he hooks a fine trout, and in playing it the hook parts from the jaw of the fish, leaving to conjecture whether it was really a disgorge or a too tender hold. Thus he continues whipping the water, exercised by various emotions, when a large feeding trout springs above the water, revealing all his beauties of color and proportions, and, taking the fly, he darts away with the power and celerity which prove that he is going to try the strength of the tackle. What interesting 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 has never taken a trout has not really seen one — with angler's eyes. To the angler, a large, healthy trout in full season, just taken, when fish are scarce and bite shy, is the prettiest object in the whole world of beauty. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL TROUT FLIES. Letter A, the artificial, and B, the natural dun-cut fly {phry- ganea)^ is a good lure for the month of May. Body of brown bear's hair, mixed with blue and yellow worsted, whipped with green and yellow ; brown feather wings, and squirrel's-tail hair for antennae. Letter C, the artificial, and D, the natural of the green-tail fly Deceptions of Aet. C B 177 (phrygmiea). This is regarded as a successful fly for April ; body dubbed with fur from hare's ear, whipped with gray or green silk, "hackle from gray cock, and wings from the prolace of a partridge wing. Letter E, the natural, and F, the artificial of the prime dun, a fly for March {ephemera)^ and for which month the great dun, dark brown, little red-brown, and the small dark brown are also favorites. They are composed of different shades of mohair, dun and speckled wings, and gray and light brown hackles. Letter I, the artificial, and J, the natural dun drake, or March brown, or Moorish brown {ephemera). Body of hare's-ear fur and yellow worsted, or black wool whipped with red silk ; mottled wings, and hackle from the gray cock. Pro- fessor Rennie, M. Carroll, and hosts of other authorities, consider this the best March fly. M 178 Fishing in American Wateks. Letter G, the natural, and H, the artificial cow-dung fly. The body of lemon-yellow mohair and a yellow feather, whip- ped with yellow silk, and the wings of grayish-blue feather of a hen, land-rail, or mallard. This is one of the taking flies for March and April, and the best that I ever saw were tied by Pritchard Bros. Letter K, the artificial, and L, the natural blue dun or violet fly. Body of light worsted violet, mixed with gray down ; the wings from the pale feathers of a starling's wing, whip- ped with pale yellow silk. The black gnat, early and late bright browns or cinnamons, palm fly, and 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, the artificial hawthorn fly. Body of black ostrich herl or black seal's fur, mixed with buff" mohair ; wings of horn shavings, or of the palest snipe's feather or mallard's wing. Letter O, the natural, and P, the artificial oak fly. This is a May insect, famous under the names of oak fly, camlet fly, down-hill fly, and canon fly. The body* is dubbed with dark brown shining camlet, whipped with very fine green silk, or is made with a bittern's feather, and the wings from the double gray feather of a mallard or 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 light 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 hackle 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 diflerent in colors, having the body dubbed with whitish hog's down, mixed with black spaniel's fur or white ostrich herl, whipped with 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 Comments. — From the perusal of previous pages addressed to the questions of "senses, in fishes," the reader will not be surprised at the difference between natural and artificial flies. Fishes in general, and indeed all fishes, are generally more readily attracted by the size, color, and action of a lure than by its form. And as a floating lure is better than a sinking one, the fly-tyers prefer such floating hairs as those from hog's ears, seals, bears, the South American fox, otter, etc., while for feathers they prefer those of the mallards, the bar- red feathers of the wood-duck, and numerous other oil-quilled feathers, including all such as do not lose their lustre by the action of water, and, like the topknot of the golden-pheas- ant, will shine as brilliantly in the water as above it. It is doubtless true that more care in selecting floating materials, and the adoption of a greater number of oleaginous sub- stances in mounting flies, would be an improvement upon the almost perfect state to which the art of fly-tying has already attained. I prefer a body of silk to one of mohair for the c^wwamon^y, because silk retains more lustre when wet than does common wool, or even mohair ; and so with the blue pro- fessor^ another attractive fly for large trout, the body of which should be wound with lustrous blue silk. The near- est copies of nature that I ever saw in flies are those of gut- ta-percha, recently imported by Andrew Clerk & Co., who ^eep the largest assortment of hooks, duffings, feathers, silk- worm gut, and all the materials i-equisite for the angler to be prepared with on a lengthy fishing tour, of any house in America, if not in the world. Many fly-fishers claim that a different fly is required for every month during the trouting season; but that has not been my experience with trout, nor of the best anglers with whom I have conversed on the subject. I refer not to fledged lures for salmon, as that royal fish is as capricious about flies, and changes its mind as frequently as did the Empress Jose- phine about bonnets. Barker, an authority on angling, says: 180 Fishing in Ameeican W^-ters. "A brother of the angle must always be sped With three black palmers, and also three red ; And all made with hacklfes. In a cloudy day Or in windy weather, angle you may." He 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 with the following advice : " Once more, my good brother, I'll speak in thy ear : Hog's, red cow's, and bear's wool to float best appear ; And so doth your fur, if it rightly fall ; But always remember, make two, and make all.' Wise Trout below the Dajvi. 181 CHAPTER III. MIDDLE DAM CAMP. This camp is situated at the head of Rapid River, and at the foot of Mollychunkemunk Lake, being the next lake east of the Umbagog, in a chain of a dozen lakes, in the State of Maine, which head near the mountains separating that state from Canada. Rapid River falls into Umbagog Lake, and as this is a famous trouting region, I give a view of the camp, where the angler luxuriates on brook trout 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, though I never took one which scaled much over six pounds. It was here that I met a new experience in the character of trout, and think it worth relating for the benefit of anglers. While I believe that trout are not generally so discrimin- ating in the selection of artificial flies as to evince acuteness of vision, yet I have experienced that at certain waters, when the streams are low and clear, a copy of the living fly is more 182 Fishing in American Waters. or less necessary to success. This is the case at the pool and rapids below the middle dam at the head of Rapid River, and half a mile below Middle Dam Camp, where a large shoal of — rapparently 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 witnessing the self-denying hospitality which prompted several anglers, who were entire strangers to me, to ceasQ angling opposite the camp for the sole purpose of showing 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 brethren of the angle were interested in my efforts by their furtive glances and sly winks at each other as they anxiously inquired what sport I had enjoyed. But all their jokes fell short, for my mind was with the sparkling beauties below the dam. After 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 leaping about the surface of the clear, curling pool. I 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 cloud of drab ephemera, rath- er larger thai! musquitoes, swarming ov^r the dry timber 1^ Fish Philosophy evolved. 183 , and ever and anon, as one fell on the water, a trout very gracefully and swallowed it, turning quickly down, nd causing a whirl made by his caudal train, which had so excited me when I first looked upon the pool. With assidu- ity I 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 so 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 flies .with hooked tails are their terror,! adjourned to another pool, and did not return to the dam until nearly night, wl^en 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 chute, car- rying away my casting - line. Having captured five, and played two more trout that day, I felt satisfied. I 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 or discriminative. Since then, Mr. James Stephens, f 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 y. Neither would they take a minnow, while they rose freely to angle and grub worms, cast, without sinker, as a fly. On the last day of my visit to the pond I saw the trout nish- [ing 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 f the state. Indeed, the fish-culturists of France propagate frogs, that the trout may feed on tadpoles. The angler, on making a lengthy tour for sport, can not ave too great a number or variety of artificial flies. He can rocure them at the principal fishing-tackle establfehments New York, where competition has so sharpened invention d enterprise that the best flies and fly-tiers are imported, 184 Fishing in American Waters. together with the best materials, from wherever on earth they are to be obtained. Or he may be supplied in Boston, Montreal, Quebec, or at Rome, Rochester, or Mumford,'New York. In addition to an extensive assortment of flies, the angler should carry silks, wools, mohair, duffings, and feathers of va- rious colors, gold and silver threads and tinsels, fine hooks, and selected gut, so that he may occasionally extemporize a cast of flies, which, though not so finely tied, may combine size and colors attractive for the finny epicures which show themselves fastidious about putting in an appearance. This xjourse is pursued by many experienced anglers, whom, I may justly add, are great bunglers at tying a fly or properly mounting a hook. Half a dozen lessons from Pritchard Brothers, or from one of the fly-tyers for Andrew Clerk & Co., could scarcely fail of being useful to the student of con- templative philosophy. SECTION SECOND. • SELECT ARTIFICIAL TROUT-FLIES. No. 1. Black Gnat.— Black ostrich-feather body, wings of pale starling's feather, drab tail and antennae. 2. Red Ibis.— Red body, wound with gold or silver cord ; browu hackle and tail, red ibis-feather wings. 3. Wilson's Professor.— Yellow gut body, mounted«by M'Bride, of Mumford, N. Y. ; red ibis tail headed with gold tinsel, brown hackle, gray mallard wing. 4. Stone Ply — Green drake wing and hackle, drab body and tail. 5. Pritchard's Stone Fly. — Composition body, drab wings, tail, and anteu- nae. 6. Cinnamon Fly. — Orange body, ash-colored wings, brown hackle and tail. 7. Green Drake.— Silver body, tipped with gold ; short black hackle, black head, brown tail ; wings and shoulders of green. drake feather. A CKOOKED BUT POINTED SuBJECT. 185 BOUND BEND FLY-HOOKS. These are Adlington and Hutchinson's superfine warranted cast-steel hooks. They are imported in great numbers by Andrew Clerk & Co., and, whether straight or curbed, are the best fly-hook in use, and infinitely, superior to the common Limerick hook. 1 00 f^ n n n n (^ 1 V \ FISH-HOOK PHILOSOPHY. Upon the subject of fish-hooks, their important qualities and bearings are applicable to hooks for all fishing purposes. The draft, or pull on a hook, is equally applicable to a hook for fly-fishing or for capturing the largest sharks. It is con- ceded by hook-makers that the forged hook is the best, whether it be hammered flat, square, or round. The needle- pointed, cast-Steel hooks, of round bend, are probably best for mounting with flies for salmon, black bass, or trout, or bait- ing for striped bass, squeteague, and maskinonge ; while for sh^pshead, kingfish, and for all fishes which have a small and hard mouth, the Sproat bend is preferable. Of the Kiu- sey or Pennsylvania hook, the shape is good for small fish, but it gapes so much that a large fish is apt — in sulking and beating its nose against a rock, or rubbing it on the gravel bottom — to spring the hook out. If made of large wire and well tempered, it is good for sheepshead and kingfish, because it is not so long from the bend to the barb as is the Limerick ,c d^. c 186 Fishing in American Waters. of the O'Shaughnessy 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 f©unded on experience, I give it, refer- ring to the cut, as folloAvs : " Now I have this autumn devoted particular attention to this subject, i. e., hooks. 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 three 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 will 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, 5, c, is nearly in the direction of the point, whereas in the other the line of pull, 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 BrpoETANT 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 by flattening 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 drawing 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 filed, but hammered_, as they are usually described in the trade as ' forged Limerick tapers.' We have previously expressed a very high opinion of the Sproat bend, which is undoubtedly one of the best, if not tin' best, salmon hook made. — Ed.]" Having a greater variety of fishes to angle for in America than there are 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, go for worse than nothing. The centre-draft hook of the an- cients is quite similar to the hook «, 5, c, minus the barb, and it is probably the best form for all large fish. Plate of Trout-flies. A Cleegyman's Contribution. 189 No. 1. Red body, wound with gold cord; streamers red, blue legs. 2. Coachman.— White wings, green peacock herl body, brown legs. 3. Drab npper wings, and brown under ditto ; cinnamon body and legs. 4. Red body and legs, brown mallard wings. 5. Peacock herl body, Guinea-hen wings, brown hackle. 6. Gold body, orange wings, sandy legs, and gray tail. 7. Silver-drab wings, yellow body, and black legs. 8. Red- dish-brown wings and legs, with peacock herl body. 9. Drab wings, brown' body, legs, and tail. 10. B^o^vn Lody, red legs, gray mottle win^s and antennae. 11. June- fly.— Orange wings, brown body and hackle. 12. Red body, brown wings, gray mal- lard wings. 13. Brown hackle and two hdoks. 14. Purple body, wings, legs, gray tail, and green herl at root of tail. 15. Gold body, yellow and black legs, wings white and black bars. 16. Silver body, speckled wings, brown legs. 17. Black hackle over body of orange wound with gold, gray wings, and yellow tail. 18. Brown bo(ff wound with gold cord, gray wings, red and black hackle. 19. Green body, red tail, gray legs, and hackle round the neck. 20. Yellow Professor. — Yellowish-gray wings, red tail, golden body, gray antennae. 21. Gray Professor.— Broven maUard wings, red hackle, gray body wound with gold, yellow legs. 22. Black Gnat. — Black body, legs, hackle ; ash wings. 23. Blue Profjpssor. — Body dark blue and gold, legs blue, and drab wings. 24. Body brown South American* fox, wound with silver cord ; dark browu wings and legs. SECTION THIRD. BAIT-FISHING 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 trowsers, 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, lloj), flap." 190 Fishing in American Waters. The above pastoral was contributed by a clergyman who is as eloquent in the pulpit as he is persuasive along the streams. The disciples were 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 from 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 pre- pare for home, when in reality he is only putting up his tackle 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, w^here the bait-fisher finds them. Bait-fishing is, of all field-sports, the parent of more patience and eager per- severance than any other. 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 Josli 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 Haz fatted tew a pulp The sooty arth, Go seek the dark-skinned alder (A tiny forest), And from the crowded growth Selekt a slender wand. 192 ■ Fishing in American Waters. Tru tapering^from base to pinnakel, Four yards in length. Bee it thy care Smoothly the bark tew cleave from awl the pole Save near the springy top. Thare leave the natiff kivver two feet or more ; Haply thus the game no fear will hav 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-Vorm, 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 ARDENT ANGLER. Our wide acres and free streams are ^vorable 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 I 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, we throw ; It sweeps to the foam-spangled eddy below ; • A tremor — a pull — the trout upward is thrown, He swings to our basket — the prize is our own !" Alfred B. Street. The Hakmony of Nature. 193 The akdent Angler. I 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- cominsc Creek, the best native an oilers 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 deeji, 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 I^arts of the country, find it extremely diflicult to get a rise to their superior flies, though presented with the best make N 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 be 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 afibrded me so much pleasure and instruc- tion: " It may perhaps startle some, and those no novices in the art, when I declare, and offer nioreover 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 affirmation 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 trou ting-line of stained silk and hair, tapering Rig for Bait-fishing. 195 from the middle to each end, a§ sold by our fishing-tackle men, is the best. The same may be said of the ordinary click reel, though it were better did it multiply. " The casting- line of silk -worm gut should be well tapered, and seven lengths of long single gut, tinged rather than dyed with the ordinary 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 ofl" from a quarter to half an inch of the shank, which is 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 shduld 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 play naturally. 196 Fishing in Amekican 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 the 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, being 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 log 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 bird oi' sight of flower is enjoyed by the devotee, and as lie casts his eyes aloft and around, the earth appears a paradise, and anglers the only appreciative recipients of its blessings. Hence, from the variety of emotions which entrance the mind of the angler, men of genius and learning, especially those of ideal temperament, such as poets, painters, sculptors, philoso- phers, and worshipers of nature, become so penetrated with 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, Bums, 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 of 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 — each 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 Wateks. 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 calleth 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 in 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 preservation 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 offer 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 riding 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 m its pursuit that he will get sufficient exercise, while his mind 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 third 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 afiix 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. 200 Fishing in American Waters. Sometimes it is best to take an extra supply of worms, 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 Avhite 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 strmg 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 doree. The lad will soon learn that the most rapturous sport is realized along a stream and among the birds as they chirp and sing while flitting from spray to spray, for they rightly regard the young angler as a friend, First Sense of Cause and Effect. 201 and so neaiTy a companion that they vie with each other in melody to charm him on. After tea both mamma and papa .take a seat with the chil- dren in the punt, when papa rows out on the pond and an- chors the punt, and then baits the hooks and takes off the fish. This is the contemplative philosopher's recreation. It is simple, innocent, and charming. "Delicious musings fill the heart, and images of bliss ; Ah! that all pictures of the past were innocent as this!" "Like distant music — heard at even, When the gold light has left the dying 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 ! — what a deal Of good it does to have such recollections !" — C. Bede. 202 Fishing in American Waters. The Salmon. — Sabno 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, such 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 upper 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 description. 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 " roval," be- cause 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 modem history, though at no Anglers the true friends of 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- ing 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- ful 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 in its varied aspects for the table, for commerce, and as an interesting feature in the recreative sports of the coun- try. But, thanks to a few public-spirited gentlemen, whose sci- entific discoveries were derivpd 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 attention 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 never been in America, or he would have made some additions to his prerequisites. If it exhilar- ates and even astonishes to take 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 pool, 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 Canada, 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 oifered 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 grand. To spend a summer month on one of the riv- ers which empty on the north shore of the 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 gorgeousness 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 LTnited States who desire to fish a salmon- I Pkepaking to Start for Salmon. 205 er in the dominion of Canada should club together and apply for the fluvial parts of rivers. The estuary is usually devoted to net-fishing, 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 othei- 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 which side of the St. Lawrence they prefer a river. He will then forward the applicants a list of the rivers to be let, with 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 gafifers 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 difiusible 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 lor four rods. The total count was 279 salmon, weighing 3116 pounds, or the average weight of each fish 11 J 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 in 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. iOT SECTION SECOND. outfit foe 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-proof 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 shpes 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-anglers 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 sundotvn 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 str^p ; 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 pven summer excursionists, were 208 Fishing in American Waters. it not for the flies ; yet they are no worse there than they arc 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 Tinder 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 this hat 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 oflicers 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. 7 Fishing-hat and !Salmon-koi>. 2 Salmon Rods. — The salmon-rod of four joints is indica- ted by No^. 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 Kod. . 209 "Sir, — Not 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 suit ; no tackle beyond a yard of gut and two or three hooks in a piece of brown paper ; a small bag of moss with well- scoured worms within ; a sandwich or cold mutton chop — the latter for preference — in one pocket, and a flask of the dew " that shines in 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 thrill that shot through his frame when he hooked the " lord- ly salmon," and which lasted till he could say to himself, "It is my turn now ; you shall not have all your own way with me." ' " Such have been my feelings this cold, stormy winter even- ing, 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 strength and oppor- tunity 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- mon-rod, equally good for worm or. salmon fishing, which I got made at home last year. "Its weight is li lb. ; length, 15^ feet; first fish killed with it, 1 8 lbs. weight. "The first week in September this season I hooked and [killed a male fish, 11 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 15 ^-pounder, which for running, jumping, wheeling round and round in circles, shaking its O 210 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 Qf many hours' study in few words, prefacing them 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, 5| 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 J feet of selected ash. For top, 4| 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, graduating 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 the butt, the ringing, and the new splice. This new form of 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 ferruled rod." Francis Francis states that " the best wbod is unquestion^ A MOST IMPORTANT IMPLEMENT. 211 ably greenheart, and next to it hickory ;" adding that they in the British Isles had tried bamboo, and found it a failure. He also thinks that ferruled rods are better than spliced ones for general use, and shows, by comparing their weights, that the ferruled ones are not appreciably heavier. Since Mr. Fran- cis gave an opinion against a bamboo rod. Dr. Clerk, of the firm of Andrew Clerk & Co., has visited Scotland in the sal- mon season, and carried with him a split bamboo rod made by their house. I have seen the same rod used in Canada, where it was pronounced, by such competent judges as officers of the army, the best they had ever seen in use. The doctor stated that to be the opinion of the anglers and experts in Scotland. This is the fourth season that it has been used, and, though it has played and killed many salmon weighing from twenty-five to thirty-five pounds each, yet it has never started in any part, but appears as good as new. Having seen it used by the side of Castle Connell and Martin Kelly specimens, I frankly confess that the split bamboo is vastly their superior in delivering a fly at a great distance, and re- trieving the line ; in playing a large fish while the angler is on the shore of a wide, rapid river, and in all the essentials which conduce to elegance and satisfaction in salmon-fishing. The rod is twenty feet long, and not more than three fourths the weight of a greenheart or hickory of the same length. The reel is attached to bands from eighteen inches to two feet above the end of the butt, as easier to hold while racing down a river with a salmon. By the use of a couple of feet below the reel, the angler may place the butt under his left arm, and, with the rod perpendicular, let the rod and reel do their duty, while he runs an unequal race along a rocky shore, tangled with shrubbery and fallen timber. I sincerely be- lieve that the split bamboo is the perfection of a salmon-rod. Its make is a secret, but there is no doubt that the butt and second joint are corked with hickory or some one of our tough woods. The only part of the rod which is bamboo is the outside, composed of the outside and tough part of the 212 Fishing in American Waters. bamboo, and wound at intervals of six inches throughout its length with waxed silk lashings. Of course the rings are graduated in number to the length of the rod. The angler, on visiting Canada for salmon-fishing, should be armed with two rods, or an extra rod besides his bamboo, but should expect to fish with the bamboo. I am partial to a three-jointed rod over a four-jointer ; but either of them may be balanced well. I am also in favor of the lower joint being ferruled, and the others fastened with the " modem splice" of bands at each end of the splice. The bamboo rod should be from nineteen to twenty-one feet long, ^or a second rod, I should recommend one rather stiffer than the bamboo, in- tended, if necessary, for angling from a boat. It should be from sixteen to nineteen feet long, and the hickory ones made by Martin Kelly, of Dublin, are preferable to any that I have seen except the split bamboo. The Castle Council rods are rather top-heavy, and approximately double-acting, with a kick in the butt which nearly upsets a person when wading in a three-feet-deep rapid water. Mr. Johnson, of Boston, makes an excellent salmon-rod, and so does Robert Welch, of New York. I suppose that Pritchard Brothers might make a good salmon-rod, as they are old salmon-fishers.- An excellent sal- mon-rod is made with hickory butt, next joint of ash, a third of lancewood, and top of split bamboo ; all of the same pat- tern as a Long Island trout-rod, only heavier and longer. The butt should be ferruled, and the other two joints spliced. 2 Click Reels. — Each of these should be large enough to carry a hundred and fifty yards of English salmon-line ; that is, a silk, or silk and hair braided line, tapering, and protected by varnish from becoming water-soaked. Good salmon-reels are only to be procured at our best fishing-tackle establish- ments, and it is worse than love's labor lost to use any other. 1 spare line for the reels. 6 casting-lines of twelve feet in length each, made of stained gut, one fourth three-ply at the upper end, one fourth two- ply next, both twisted, and six feet of single gut. Let the Concluding the List of Tackle. 213 gut be round, clear, and perfect, and as strong as you can procure. 2 horse-hair casting-lines, from eighty to one hundred feet long each, braided in the form of a whip-lash, and nearly one fourth of an inch in diameter in the centre. Pritchard Broth- ers make this upper casting-line to perfection. It is light, and its shape greatly assists casting, while it is not so liable to sink and drown as the silk, or silk and hair line, though protected with varnish. This casting-line is a desideratum not to be neglected. Before splicing it to your reel-line, cut off from the latter as many yards as you add by the upper casting-line. 6 dozen, or nearly a gross, of assorted salmon-flies, and a quantity of materials to enable you to duplicate the size and color of either ; for salmon of different pools in the same river have different tastes, and keep changing so frequently that a Montreal fly of brown mallard wings, claret body, and golden pheasant top-knot for tail, which they curved their velvet tails at yesterday, is the favorite to-day, to be super- seded to-morrow, perhaps, by a Tweed fly. When the angler runs nearly out of a favorite fly, he selects a hook of the same size and combines the same colors to mount it with; and though it be not artistically tied, it generally proves success- ful, for salmon do not scrutinize very closely when they wit- ness the combination of colors which they admire. When yel- low is the favorite color, and you have run out of flies of that tint, tie a new fly, or, if in a hurry, add yellow to another fly. 1 hank of round, clear, and heavy silk-worm gut, stained. GAFF-HOOKS. A is the salmon-bend gaff, and B the striped bass. The dis- tance across the bend of the first is 2\ inches, and 2| across the bend of B. The screws are of steel or brass, to fit into a handle six feet long, and composed of two joints. The gaffs should be heavy, and from one fourth to three eighths of an inch in diameter in the heaviest parts. 214 Fishing in American Waters. Gaff-hooks. In addition to the foregoing list, do not omit a couple of changes of heavy woolen clothing. At the far north, where it is light enough to read twenty hours of the day, the other hours are cold enough for several blankets and overcoats. For the employment of guides, cook, gaffers, and the pur- chase of canoes, it is best to employ an agent in Quebec or Gaspe. Mr. "Willis Russell, of the St. Louis Hotel, Quebec, al- ways takes great pleasure in advancing the interests of an- glers from the States, and, on application, will name or ap- point suitable persons and direct them. Of supplies for subsisting the party, either Quebec or Gaspe are equally advantageous for the south side of the Gulf, but for the north side I should prefer to supply at Quebec. Smokers will find segars and kinnikinnik, with brier-wood pipes, or a meerschaum, something of a protection against flies. Parties that prefer may charter a schooner at Quebec or Gaspe for five dollars a day, including a "navigator and two sailors, who subsist themselves for that sum, the whole expense being only five dollars a day for having a vessel manned at the party's command. Thus, having studied the subject and made our prepara- tions, we propose starting for Canada or Labrador on a sal- mon-fishing excursion, and pray the reader to accompany us in spirit while we recall our recollections of one of our trips to Canada. The Start. 215 Having previously expressed the bulk of our outfit to Quebec, the banker and myself started from New York in marching trim, with the few articles here illustrated, to wit : Water-proof satchels — salmon-reel — clearing ring and reel — scap-nets — gaff — trout-basket — leather case containing rods — and a bottle of hartshorn to cure fly-bites. SECTION THIKD. DEPARTURE FOR SALMON-FISHIITG. The noble Northern rivers that pierce the mountain chain, Where leap the gleaming salmon in their watery domain, Invite us to their waters, by the fir-tree shftdow'd shore. Their shoals, and pools, and torrents with fhSh-rod to explore. s our party consisted of four gentlemen and two ladies, we concluded to divide routes, three going from Quebec via Gaspe to the St. John River, while the banker, his lady, and myself awaited the de- parture of the government r steamer Victoria, and, as it I proved, this was an unexpect- ed advantage, for the steamer was employed by government to provision the light-houses along the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the island of Anticosti, to assist wrecked mariners, and accomplish the 216 Fishing in American Watees. double office of charity and police. I was especially thank- ful for so good an opportunity for seeing the salmon-rivers on the north shores which come rushing and tumbling down every few miles from mountain heights, to swell the tides of the Gulf. It gave me the advantage of conversing with the government agents who superintend the fisheries, some of whom had been employed to supervise the fisheries under the Hudson Bay Company for many years ; and all agreed that the Company had greatly depleted the rivers of salmon, and necessitated the exercise of wisdom and care on the part of the government to restock them with a supply as ample as would be required for rendering them profitable, besides sup- plying the needs of the growing population. I was glad to be thus furnished with data for correctly reporting the con- dition of the salmon-fishery ; and in that report to the SpiHt of the Times, having had no pique or prejudice to gratify, but, on the other hand, entertaining the most lively sense of gratitude for the hospitality with which I was every where greeted, I expressed the wish that their people might become " altogether such as we are, except our bonds." The week's sojourn at the St. Louis in Quebec was in itself a great treat. The hotel is first class, and intrinsically good. Mr. Russell, its accomplished proprietor, is enterprising, and his guests are as well served as are those of the best hotels in New York, leaving nothing to be desired. The suburbs of Quebec are beautiful, besides being interesting from a his- torical point of view. In sight of the city are the Falls of Montmorenci, the picturesque islands in the river below the city. Point Levi on the opposite shore, with a broad belt of green foliage and pasture lighted up by country residences, some of which partake — with their surroundings — largely of the ornate. The weather was highly refreshing, and the promenade on the Plaza, with the enlivening music belonging to the military station, made the time pass gayly. I would here state, parenthetically, that Quebec is a beautiful place to remain for a few days on a bridal tour. But the day arrived I A Settlement of Fishermen. 217 for our departure on the Victoria. Our passage was very agreeable, and on the morning of the fourth day we were landed at the mouth of the St. John, some six hundred miles from Quebec, and with the hazy outline of the island of An- ticosti in sight to the south. We were rejoiced at finding a hamlet of huts, where resid- ed the cod fishermen of the station, who employed some sixty smacks, and were in full tide 'of operation, fishing with hand- lines on the banks between the main shore and Anticostl The salmon-fishers of the estuary also resided there, and were fishing with gill-nets fastened to stakes which were fixed in the bottom of the river, but not technically called stake-nets. Mr. J. Beaulieu, a superintendent or fishery warden, resides also at the mouth of the St. John during the salmon season. The doctor, with the general and his lady, haviijg arrived two days previously, had ascended the river with canoes to the plateau where we designed encamping, twenty-seven miles up the river, and had sent back two canoes and guides for us. While the grocer was preparing our breakfast of fried sal- mon, with salt pork, bread, butter, and English breakfast tea, I concluded to reconnoitre, and soon found that curiosity called the black fly, who left his mark on my nose. I saw also the salmon -netters land with their boats, containing many salmon which were either headless or showed signs of having been bitten in difierent parts of the body, and so mu- tilated by the seals, and perhaps otters and minks, as to be entirely valueless. I therefore concluded that either the seals should be destroyed, or that salmon should not be taken with gill-nets fastened to stationary stakes in the stream, where all water- vermin can feast on the struggling salmon, helpless- ly fastened in the meshes, from whence many of them, bitten in pieces, necessarily drift down the current to pollute the river, and warn salmon just entering to seek some other spawning-ground. 18 Fishing in American Watees. OUR START UP THE ST. JOHN. After breakfasting bountifully we repaired to our canoes, where we found our baggage stowed appropriately, and were invited to take seats on the bottom and in the centre of the canoes, our four willing guides manning the bow and stern of each canoe with paddles, iron-pointed setting-poles, and a long rope attached to each bow for towing us up the rapids along the shores, which they call " cordeliering." On the fir- brush flakes, which bordered the shore and covered acres, were strewn codfish to dry, whose fragrant aroma seemed to threaten even the black flies. The water was enlivened by thousands of sea-trout, foraging in every direction and leap- ing after flies. But we bade the last signs of human abode adieu, and started up the river, through deep mountain gorges of rock, whose summits were sparsely covered with small fir- trees. It was a pleasant morning in June, and we had not gone far before our Canadian guides began to chant, without regard to the time of day, their favorite river music of AVE MARIA. A - ve Ma- ri - a ! Car voi- ci I'heure sainte La cloche '^m^3. 1—^ ve Ma- ri - a ! Car voi- ci I'heure sainte cres. - - - -s - -- - r-N— :e5i?: -H — h- ?fee s> — tiDrte, Doux. A - ve Ma- ri - a I Tousles petits Anges Au front radi - eux, Chantent vos lou- an-ges, O -^ * ^ :f::J ijfS^iEf- Reine des cieux!A-ve Ma-ri- a! Car voi- La cloche tin - te, A- ve Ma-ri -a! Tout dim. pp ci I'heure sainte La cloche tin - te, A - / dim. pp -l-r l-j- eee^;^; dort sous vo - tre aile L'enfant au ber - ceau, La pauvre hiron - delle Dans SOENEEY ON THE St. JoHN RiVEE. 219 Et=p: son nid d'of- seau: A- vc Ma- ri - a! Car vol- ci I'heure eain-te ^^^iii^Si^igi^^-l^^l La cloche tin - tc, A - ve Ma - ri - Vous etes la voile Du ftauvre marin ; Vous etes I'etoile Du bon pelerin; Ave Maria ! Car voici I'heure sainte La cloche tinte Ave Maria ! Vous etes servante Des pauvre blesses ; Vous ^tes I'amante Dos eoeurs delaisses. Ave Maria I lan will insure a month of good fishing, and no trouble from the effects of flies worth naming. In fact, it will ud- >end the mind, invigorate the body, and renew your lease )flife. Of biting flies, the following, written by the Bishop of Quebec while on a journey up the Red Rivei-, in his "Songs )f the Wilderness," is truthfully expressive : 234 Fishing in American Waters. " Among the plagues on earth which God has sent. Of lighter torment is the plague of flies : Not as of Egypt once the punishment, Yet such sometimes as feeble patience 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 are 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 Fall." 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 my casting-line, I shouldered my heavy and lengthy friend, the Castle Connell 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 ofi" about two hun- dred feet of line, and then coming back as tame 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- times necessary that they shnll stand in dense smoke to enable them to re- main still long enough to be milked. I Get fairly Vanquished. 235 ty rods above, but I turned him, when he went down stream much faster than it was convenient for me to follow ; but he stopped to rest where I hooked him, and glad enough was I, for 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 gafter, 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 him here, the general insisted 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 returned to the tents. I felt as if I needed a strong glass of lemonade with a stick in 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 secundum arteni. After becoming sufficiently rested, I made a cast, and at once hooked another salmon about the same size as the one which had just unhooked. On realizing that my fish was on, with ia slight jerk I fastened the hook, in order to play him ginger- t ly if he wanted to " gallivant and cavort" some. Two or three : times he revealed his enormous size and great symmetry, so • that I felt quite sure I had hooked the mate of the first one. [ This also remained half an hour trying small tricks about the I pool, when all at once he dashed away across the current, I and, on rising to the surface, I distinctly saw the line wound three times round him. After this he plunged and leaped up, down, and across the river, until he liberated himself, and I 236 Fishing in American Waters. took my fly. Well, thought I, salmon of such great size, in so large and rapid a river, should be fished for with leaders or casting-lines of double gut all the way. I will return to tent, and try to rig gut leaders to hold them. The situation of our menage began to look inviting ; 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 not have dishonored a metropolitan hotel. The gaffers' shanty was finished, and the cuisine attractively arranged in order. • After dinner, numerous sentiments wor- thy of the day we were commemorating — it being the glori- ous Fourth of July — were given, and we made the welkin ring with shouts and music. The evening was spent in tying flies, and concluded by ex- amining the lunar bow through the smoke of a camp-fire and the bottoms of our punch-glasses until the near approach of midnight, when we retired to fight again the battles of tho day in 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 any thing about an- gling for salmon. The Saxons knew not the real luxury of angling. A thorough appreciation of angling can only be known by man civilized. " Catch who catch can" is the motto by which savages are guided, and the surest means of killing game is to them the best. Savages kill solely to eat. They know no better, and lack the genius of the civilized poacher to invent 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 Pole. 2'^ supposing the nature of the prey' entitled to it. But, in the opinion of an uncivilized people, to allow a quarry or a shoal the smallest chance of escape would be considered great folly. To the ignorance and cruelty of the poacher may be attribu- ted the reason for the robbing of salmon-rivers of their life and beauty. Existence could not have been so enjoyable to the angler in either the palmy days of Greece or Rome, or during any era since, while robbing the rivers of salmon was pursued, as it is in our day, when science revives sport aftd invents generous means for its perpetuity. Xes travaux sur les Poissons se sont singuli&nnent multi- plies durant la periode qui s'etend de Vepoque de la mort de Cuvier an moment actud. Having flown in my cogitations from Greece to Rome, and from thence to the British Isles and part way back to France, where I endeavored to think in French, and as if in danger of being overcome by a fresh swarm of musquitoes, I supposed myself aroused by their singing, when, to my surprise, on looking up, it was the doctor at the door of my tent, insist- ing in 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 side, a bowl of loaf-sugar on the other, and a bottle of old Jamaica before him. Being already dressed, for I slept with ray overcoat, body-coat, and boots on, between army blank- ets on an India-rubber one, and yet was generally cold to- ward morning, 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 aurora horealis in darts shooting up through the lu- nar bow like streams of gold and fire through a rainbow ! We viewed it with unstinted admiration until he composed a hot rum punch. We then examined the aurora borealis and lunar bow through the bottoms of our glasses, and the 238 Fishing in Ajuerican Waters. sight was really gorgeous ! After three or four similar rejj- etitions, we agreed that we saw the North Pole distinctly, heading Sir John Franklin's grave, and the bow, spears, and stars of the aurora horealis were merely the flag over Frank- lin's tomb. • While the doctor was evolving a new theory of mundane matters, only to be understood by draining a dose of diffusi- bility, John appeared. He was greatly excited, but breath- less. So soon as he recovered power of utterance he said, " Gintlemen, bedad there's a bear just foment yees ! I see'd him." " Well, John," we replied, " how did he look ?" "Bedad he was as big as an elephant, and had a tail as long as meself, and as big around, be gorrah !" " How long was he ?" we inquired. " Bedad he was as long as I can reach with my two arms." " What color was he ?" " Be gorrah, to tell the thruth, I couldn't see his color pre- cisely." " Was he green ?" " No, yer honors, not perzactly. I should say he was more brownish." " We supposed so, John ; it is a fox." " No, no, yer honors ! Dr. Bluff, of the First Fusileers, said h6'd often see'd bears here, an' I think the beast I seed is won." " This was at the shoot, twenty-seven miles farther up the river," we replied; and just then the halo of the rising sun began to illuminate the eastern horizon, and teach ns to pre- pare for the fresh-run salmon which had arrived that morning from their visit to the sea. Having consulted our watches, and learned, to our surprise, that it was only three o'clock, and as our gaffers were still asleep, we reluctantly retired to our tents and to sleep until called to breakfast. As it was our custom to rest the salmon-pools during the best part of the day for angling, in order to protect the river ( i Racing aix)ng the River. from 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 lying in pairs beside the rocks. They were very inter- esting to look at, but it was hard to induce a rise. Presently the general, who had been angling at the falls a mile above, was seen approaching, and doing some pretty tall walking, now in 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 the fish to gaff. In a short time thereafter the doctor was seen coming at the speed of two-forty on his rejoicing way down the river from the falls, led by a large salmon. We soop saw that the salmon was playing the doctor, who, finding that he was los- ing strength, called lustily for help, wliich was instantly rqu- dered, and a twenty-four pound salmon was soon p}ayed out and landed. The doctor retired to his tent and was not seen again until the next morning, when he said, " It's heaveijly to play a generous salmon, but when he turns the tables and plays you, he's worse than the cholera !" . It was the banker's turn next, and, thoroughly aroused and divested of his dignity, down he came, skipping over rooks and through brush at a very rapid rate. Down he came to Rattling Run, and brought his fifth salmon to gaff that day, ^K 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- ^B vented him from risking the play of another salmon until he ^B^ould quite recover from his last encounter. In the mean ^^Bime, every fresh contest with a salmon increased my respect ^^ppr the fish ; and I lost so many in proportion to the great «• number hooked, that I began, when my fly was first taken, 240 Fishing in American Waters. to realize an indescribable sensation of nervous hesitancy ; and the more gentle he appeared when first hooked, the more I 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. You 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 previous one and missed it, while I repeated my casts with as little sus- pense as if angling for brook trout. A salmon will return to the fly, if he rose to ijt 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 which it was attached, he 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 salmon with 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. I I Hot Days and Cold Nights. 241 SECTION SEVENTH. JOLLY SPORT OX RATTLING RUN. " Oh ! not in camp or court Our best delights we find, But in some loved resort With water, wood, and wind ; Where nature works, And beauty lurks. In all her craft enshrined." The days were divided into four hours of night, made sciii- tillant by the aurora borealis, and the lunar bow more bril- liant than daylight, but cool and hushed, 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 in 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 were the only sounds which relieved the monotone 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 thin 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 worthy 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 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 banker's included all the ojDposite of the river, while my sporting-water was Rattling Run, and I had never fished it. My gaffer was wanted elsewhere, and the doctor most generously consented to supply his place. He led the way with gaff 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 casts, 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 the falls just below, he shot up to within a few paces of me. The doctor, seeing his move, ran below the salmon to prevent 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 Mm out of the wet with his Shakp Contest with a Salmon:. 243 gaff, when it scaled twelve pounds ; and, though not large, it is something to play and save a twelve-pound salmon with a single 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- nlents. 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 vain 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 retuni, 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 firmly 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 it entered the St. John, I requested the doctor to fall below the salmon, and thus prevent the fish from run- jning the chute. The doctor waded below the pool on the tleft, 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 going to seek it. The salmon came to the near pool, and, finding no assistance, it endeavored to sulk a li4;tle, but finally resolved to run the chute, or return to the pool at the farther 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 244 Fishing in American Waters. to dinner, we learned that our friends had fished hard for modest results. By the supervisory care of the ladies, the dinner was served in the following order or ynenu : Vegetable soup. Boiled salmon and fried trout. Roast mutton, green peas, and other vegetables. Claret wine, tea, bread and butter, etc., concluding with n dessert of marmalade and dried fruits. After dinner we concluded to rest the pools, burn some to- bacco,' and tie some flies. When we first began angling, the preference by the salmon seemed to be given to the Montreal fly, 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 an& 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, aiid 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." — Stoddart. 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 tew 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, dep.osit their eggs, and, when warn- 246 Fishing in American Waters. 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 manoeuvre, 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 low, and its waters so transparent, that I could count scores of salmon lying in pairs by the rocks, awaiting 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 saved 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 salmon. 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 thoughtf several feet above the water. Finding itself still hooked, 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, when 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 was 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 appearance, 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 losinoj strenorth. 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 248 Fishing in American WatiIes. ing how beautiful ! There is nothing more beautiful than a fresh-run salmon when first taken, neither is there any pen- cil capable of creating its apparent counterpart. To feel a salmon fast to your fly and see its leap is alone worth a voy- age to Canada to experience. Again I swept the pool with care and got a rise. As I could 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 quarter of a mile wide, and shallow on my side. I therefore waded out, and after a few casts hooked a large, vigorous salmon. After a high leap it struck out to the middle of the river. Then it made numerous rushes and leaps, with turns and sweeps, un- til finally the hook sprang back to me, and let the twenty- pounder go on its way rejoicing.* Very soon I hooked an- other, and it attempted to run the rapid ; but I checked it a quarter of a mile below, where it stopped to sulk behind a rock, and before it formed another plan, my man Duncan watched his chance and gafied it. Again, after half an hour's playing, I succeeded in losing a very large fi*esh-run salmon. I felt mortified, and so con- cluded on returning to the head of the stretch to learn the intentions of the large fish which had offered before I left, and for which I rested the pool. I went to the head of the pool and swept it along down until I came to where I got the rise before I left ; but it had either leaped the chute or gone from home, and after a few rises but no strikes, I returned to dinner. " Moving large fish, however, is held by every true angler only second to hooking them ; but many persons are apt to despise the most skillful and patient efforts unless crowned with immediate success." This is the exjDerience of John Colquhoun and every true angler. Next morning, by dint of perseverance and continued ef- fort,! finally hooked a salmon at the foot of the pool, and just at that moment a loud crackling was heard in the thick un- Day-dreams and exciting Sport. 249 derwood along the shore, and Duncan called my attention to a bear that, having discovered us, was making off with all the speed possible. I could not turn to look from my salmon, for it had not yet decided upon what course of tactics to pursue. After a few minutes, when the salmon had concluded to run the hook out, I turned to see, but the bear was no longer in sight. After several runs, tacks, shifts, sweeps, and leaps, I brought the salmon home as gentle as a kitten, so that it seemed a pity to gaff 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 aurora borealis and lunar bow. Rosy were our dreams ; but, be it remembered, one of the party began to sigh for Susan 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 whiter ; but they are the same fish in ichthyological peculiarity. The next day that I fished Rattling Run I took two salmon at its mouth, where 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 fairly 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 me that the movement of a salmon is too swift to be followed by the eye. I played and killed the tlmon after the rod was broken, and my gaffer landed him. — 250 Fishing in Amekican Waters. great improvement on the. Castle Connell rod) the shoal had either passed by, or otherwise had concluded to decline my flies, and I was obliged to forego the amusement of again playing a salmon that day. As there appeared 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 heavy 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 parted his line and carried away his fly, he would forthwith stop where he was, 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 the fish, on the opposite side from the general, as the fish started down stream, leading the general at double-quick time. I was sweeping the pool at the mouth of Rattling Run when I saw the general hastening down the St. John, along the shore. The rain was drenching. He 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 difference of our general being on foot ; but, with his rod stretching high in air, the storm catching his loose garment, the hat with brim turned under and giving it the military chapeau shape, the tout 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, into which the general dashed and waded across, holding on ( Very Tall Walking. 251 to his fish, which he thought a forty-pounder at least ! His gaffer followed close behind, and was about to embark the general in a canoe to follow 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 1 7^ lbs. This feat was the greatest of the 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 the 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 bark roof of our dining arbor, we began to realize that a home in the wilderness possesses an indescribable attraction, and the apparently settled rain seemed an omen for better fishing 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, Wondrous in sublimity. 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 finnament, How its gorgeous columns climb With a majesty sublime." — Isaac M'Lellan. 252 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. 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 j)art of the river. About the 20th of July the grilse began to make their apj)earance, and the j)arr 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, unadorned 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.j 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 the 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 off" the sense of melancholy which I felt to be gaining on me, I remembered 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 Yiew. • 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 coifee with anecdotes. Our break- fast consisted of fried or broiled trout, broiled grilse, termed in Canada "f^'ewner," 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 families, and a regret that the lunar bow and aurora borealis, with the singing birds, would have to sing and shine without tis.' 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 waved 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 remahiing inhabitants around the foot of the mountain, at the bend of the St. John, just be- low the entrance of Rattling Run. Our hearts were full as we responsively shouted hurra ! Ye rivers, so haunted with myriads of flies, Whose flashes of salmon-breaks gladden the eyes ; Scenes where the brown bear roams the thick brake ; Scenes where the seals tlieir gambolings make ; When shall 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 ; but our guides 254 Fishing in American -Waters. knew how to manage bark canoes better than to speak any language, their patois 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 long journeys up rapid rivers two men are indispensable. Cabins for cooking and for lodg- ing may also be soon erected, and they are preferable to port- able tents. • The River St. John winds like a seVpent between the moun- tains, and as the fall from our plateau to the mouth — 27 miles — is more than 150 feet, the rapids are 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 the 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 taking 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 in the icy regions, having disposed of their furs at the Min- gan fair, and laid in a winter supply 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 ?" But very few would make so bold as to ask, "Has you nothing good for me ?" Of course they do not suppose it degrading to beg from civilized men, for they consider Welcomed by the Dogs. 255 them as appertaining to the outer world. I was greatly- amused by their appearances. There were many young men among them who displayed great taste in the arrangement of their hair; and some of the squaws had heads of locks worth diamonds, and for which many of our belles would swap their eye-teeth, of best manufacture, for similar heads of natural growth. On our arrival at the mouth of the river, the dogs came from some thirty cabins to welcome us. They were of all kinds, sizes, and colors, and their salutations were most wel- come. The sight and hospitable bark of our own kind of dogs gladdened our eyes and ears, producing a charming ef- fect. Having landed and become hospitably housed at the quarters of the government agent, while our guides attended to landing our luggage and cutting fir-boughs for our beds, we jointed our trout-rods, and walked a short distance from the cabin to the sandy shore of the river, where, within thir- ty minutes, we took over fifty sea trout averaging a pound each. I frequently fastened two at a time on the same cast of flies with which I had last fished on Long Island. SECTION TENTH. THE SILVER OR SEA TROUT. This fish inhabits for nearly half the year the tidal waters of the streams in Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. It is also taken in the estuaries of rivers in Maine, Massachu- setts, and Long Island. Being aware of the high authorities which assert this to be a distinct family of the Salmo genus, I must beg humbly to dissent ; and from the following de- scription I invite anglers to decide for themselves whether the .sea trout is not the Salmo fontinalis, or brook trout com- mon to the streams of the northern part of North America. The sea trout is similar to the brook trout in all facial pecu- liarities. It is shaped Kke the brook trout ; the vermiculate marks on the back and above the lateral line ar6 like those of the brook trout ; its vermilion, white, and amber dots are 256 Fishing in American Waters. 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 whiter and brighter than those The Silver ok Sea Tkout. — Trutta Argentina or Trutta marma. trout which inhabit swampy waters 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-water streams, ascending from the estuary in August, and not returning until the following winter and spring. 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, where the streams run through rocky defiles and mountain gorges, or through a sandy soil, are always brighter than 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 fofmed by the ^peculiarity of the clay and other substances on which it feeds. In the United States and the Canadas we have the salmon, the sal- i Choice Member of a Fikst Family. 257 mon-trout of the lakes, the brook trout, the silver or sea trout, which I believe to be the brook trout, the white trout, or land-locked salmon, the large brown trout (Salmo Cana- de7isis), the Mackinaw trout, the winninish, and the red trout of Long Lake. All these fishes have the adipose second dor- sal, are pinky-meated, and the laminary flakes are separated by a thin curd or creamy substance. The real salmon of different waters do not differ so much in shape and surface-marks as do either the brook trout or the lake trout, though old fishermen in Canada can distinguish by the appearance of a salmon to what river it belongs; so they say, at least. Twenty-five salmon of some rivers will fill a barrel, while of those from other rivers from forty to fifty are required ; but the variety in size constitutes the chief diff*erence. Our little party continued to take trout daily at the mouth of the St. John for nearly a week, until a schjooner was pre- pared to convey us to Gaspe. The silver trout is indeed [.beautiful, being plump and round, with its polished sides glistening brightly with a satin sheen which sparkles with flowing lustre in the light. Its superior condition renders [it plump, the meat very pinky, and the play very vigorous, 'he only drawback that I experienced in taking silver trout 'arose from too many offering for my flies at a time, and the little ones generally succeeding in obliging me to play and ;land them, when I had seen larger ones coveting my flies, land leaping at them for a taste. It was surprising to note rthe excitement which fly-fishing for trout produced among the |Cod-fishing families. Men, women, and children followed us 'along the river, and gladly received all the smaller trout. There was a fleet of some sixty sail of cod fishermen in the place, and their hired hands " shammed Abram to be idle" in order to see us take trout on our flies from the surface of the water. It was an easy matter to take in two hours a barrel '.of trout running from half a pound to four pounds. The wa- ter was so perfectly clear that we could occasionally perceive R 258 Fishing m American Watees. a lordly salmon move majestically among the speckled beau- ties, no doubt waiting for a shower to swell the waters, and enable him to start on his perilous voyage to the spawning- grounds near the head of the river. As we were fishing from the beach which forms the breakwater at the mouth of the St. 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 the 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. Broadway is beautiful to those who have never visited Paris ; but on returning from the Boulevards^ the Champs Elysees^ and the Bois de Boulogne, the beauties which he contemplated with admiration before he left New York lack the charm of artist- ic finish and the picturesque variety which youth always per- ceives, but which age or experience can not discover even with the aid of glasses. THE WHITE 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 meat varying from cream to mallow color. The average size of the white trout is from three to five pounds' weight, 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 Gajviy and Beautiful. 259 on the gill-covers like the salmon. The mouth is furnished with teeth on the palate, tongue, vomerine, palatine,.and max- illary, like those of the brook trout, or as are nearly all the young of the JSalmonidcB ; but its head is longer than that of the common trout, and much larger in proportion than the salmon's. Its scales are small, and the body is entirely white below the lateral line, and very light gray above it, all shin- ing with metallic lustre. It is better game than any other lake family of the genus Salmo, and will readily take the fly on the surface of the water. With a two-handed trout-rod, fifteen feet long, a person unskilled in fly-fishing has taken over a hundred in three hours of these transcendent beauties. The White Tkout. — Sal/no albus. Some persons have supposed this blonde beauty " a land- cked salmon," than which nothing can be much more ab- surd, for it has the common egress of a commodious river which debouches in' Passamaquoddy Bay, while those of the kes in the provinces have equally favorable avenues of es- cape. No, 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 taking e white trout, yet it is more artistic to use a half-pound fly- od and single fly ; the cinnamon, Montreal with claret body d brown mallard wing, with the yellow and blue profes- ors, are all the flies needed for any weather, though the coachman of white wing and peacock's herl body is a good lunset fly, and the red ibis wing with silver body sometimes kes very well. The late Rev. Dr. Bethune regarded this fish and its sport- e ways with enthusiasm, and the borders of Schoodic lakes 260 Fishing in American Waters. and the St. Croix River still retain many marks of his en- campments. The approaches to these grounds are via East- port or Calais, Maine. At either of these places the angler will find guides to the aromatic groves which overlook the waters where the white trout disport in shoals of thousands. THE WINNINISH. " At early dawn, or rather when the air, Glimmering with fading light, and shadowy eve Is busiest to confer and to bereave, Then, pensive votary, let thy feet repair To silent lakes, or gentle river fair." This fish belongs to the geniLS Salmo^ and tenants the up- per waters of the Saguenay, near the outlet of Lake St. John, in Canada. The fish runs from three to nine pounds' weight ; and as no very young members of the family nor the spawn- ing-beds have been seen by the hahitans and Indians of that region, it is reasonable to infer that they breed farther north ; and as they have a dorsal fin like that of the grayling, it is quite probable that it is the fish written of by an officer of the expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, whose descrip- tion made " Frank Forrester" suppose it to be an American grayling. But it is neither the grayling nor the omhle chev- alier^ but a rare delicacy of the frozen latitudes of the Cana- dian forests. Professor Agassiz is said to have named it the Northern charr. ( The Winninish. The fins of the winninish, being large in proportion to its size, render it very gamy. It sails near the surface, with the top of dorsal and caudal fins in view, and when it takes the YeEY rare DELICxiCIES. 261 fly, leaps, runs, and plays more vigorously than a grilse. The fish is gray on its back and sides, interspersed with white scales, all of which are small, but brilliant. Epicures regard the winninish as a higher luxury than either the brook trout or salmon. Its head resembles the trout, but the mouth is larger, and equally tough for holding a hook. The meat is pink-colored. It takes either the minnow or the fly gener- ously. Fish-culturists might with advantage turn their at- tention to the winninish and the white trout. Lake Trout of Moosehead Lake.— This trout is unlike any other in the American waters. It is round in body, and resembles the winninish in large first dorsal and large tail. Its meat is straw-colored, and on each side below the gills are five or six dark spots the size of peas, and like those on the shad. It is clad in small scales, dark on the back, orange sides, and belly like the doree or common river pickerel. Be- ing so excellent a dinner-fish, it is surprising that the markets of Maine continue to monopolize it to the exclusion of epi- j cures in other states. It is caught by the hand-line, as other bke trout. red trout of long lake. *' I see the bright trout springing Where the wave is dark, yet clear, And a myriad flies are winging, As if to tempt him near. With the lucid waters blending, The willow shade yet floats, From beneath whose quiet bending I used to launch my boats. " This is the richest and most beautiful specimen of lake trout known in the State of New York. In outline it resem- bles the brook trout which have access to marine feeding- grounds, except in the tail, which is forked. In color it is a jddish-brown on the back, mellowing to a pink at the sides, tod a belly of white with pink tinge. The whole of its sur- )e, except its head and belly, is thickly dotted with orange jcks about the size of pigeon-shot. Like the trout of all 262 Fishing in American Wateks„ 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 marseilles. This is an unfailing mark of peculiarity. Its meat is pink-colored, with rich layers of cream between its flakes. Eed Trout of Long Lakl. 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- dacks in June and July. It is fine sport to use salmon-tackle and take him on the fly until fatigued, when the exercise may be changed to trolling. There is a universe of pent-up luxuries for the sportsman in that ninety-two miles square known as the Adirondacks, in the heart of the State of New York. A hundred moun- tains shade as many lakes, which teem with living beauties too rich in coloring and symmetrical in form to be copied by the painter's art. All the American varieties of the Salmo genus except the salar are found in these lakes and their trib- utaries, with the palpitations of busy life shut- out, and naught but a simple tenting residence on aromatic boughs for a bed, where the timid deer comes with her spotted fawn to the margin of the lake to drink, and hesitatingly trusts the cross- paths of men. The eagles soar aloft in the heavens above the blue summits of cloud-capped mountains which seem to jostle each other. Imagination is not sufficiently vivid to The Home of a Sportsman. 263 realize the sense inspired in the Adirondacks by a sunrise scene. The owl has ceased to hoot, the whip-poor-will to sing, the panther to scream, and the wolves to howl ; but the sun lights up each bush and spray, and the shadows and mountains form majestic basins. Now the brook trout are busy, and the day-birds are musical. Here, in these narrow lakes of pure water, fed by trout- brooks, the gentle angler takes his morning walk, where the breaks of speckled beauties enliven the waters with hopeful expectancy, and naught disturbs the tranquillity, -richness, and grandeur of primeval nature. Here the poet, painter, or philosopher may inflate the soul and invigorate the body, so that, on returning to the busy world, he may be the better able to endure its chafings and contests for another year. TEOFT OP SENECA AND CANANDAIGUA LAKES. ' • The generous gushing of the springs, When the angler goes a-trolling ; ^ The stir of song and summer ^vings, The light which shines, and life which sings, Make earth replete with happy things When the angler goes a-trolling." — Stood art. This fish spawns in October and November, or when other families of the genus Salmo do ; is white-mouthed and pinky- meated. Its qualities, outlines, and superficial marks are as varied as are its edible qualities. All anglers know that these depend much on the quality of water they inhabit and the food they eat. In the latter particular they resemble all animals and fishes. There are salmon-trout in nearly every lake within the State of New York ; but the fish of Seneca, Canandaigua, Skaneateles, and Long Lake are infinitely supe- rior, both as game and for the table, to those of Lake Onta- rio and the other great lakes. The color of this fish is a drab, with pink tinge from the >ack two thirds down each side, shaded with vermiculate larks, and covered with infinitesimal scales, like the com- lon LAKE trout. The fins are like those of the brook trout. 264 Fishing in American Waters. except the caudal, which is forked. The head resembles the brook trout's, even to the teeth. By some persons this fish is supposed to be a land-locked salmon ; but it is a distinct family of the genus Salmo, though in principal outward marks of characterization it resembles the salmon-trout of Ontario and the other great lakes, differing because of inhabiting lim- pid spring waters with better food. Trout of Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. — Salmo conjinis. In May, after the waters become settled and clear, these fish are taken by trolling with spinning-tackle and minnow bait. It is necessary to sink the bait near the bottom, and, as the trout remain near shore until June, a light sinker will be sufiicient ; but when the weather becomes quite warm they resort to a feeding-level from fifty to two hundred feet below the surface, where they are taken by trolling with feathered squids. The line should be two hundred yards long, of the size used for catching cod, and from twelve feet above the hook to twenty-five feet leads an eighth of an inch thick are rolled at intervals on the line, sometimes to the weight of a pound. Row slowly, and let out line until you get a bite, and then calculate the depth to the feeding-level, as the water in some places is a thousand feet deep. Baiting the buoy and fishing with a drop-line is also prac- ticed with success, though none of these methods of taking lake trout are very attractive to the angler. THE MACKINAW TROFT. This trout is the largest of the genus in American waters, generally running from two to five feet in length, and weigh- ing from fifteen to fifty pounds, though Dr. Mitchill states A Luxury of the Noethwest. 265 that it sometimes attains to the weight of 120 pounds. It is dark colored on the back, sides, dorsal and caudal fins, mel- Towing off from the lateral lines to a white or creamy belly. Vermiculate marks cover its back and sides. The second dorsal, like that of all the Salmonidoe^ is adipose. Pectoral, ventral, and anal fins light cream color, as are also the irides. Thk Mackinaw Tkout. — iSalmo amethystus. — ^Mitchill. As this trout inhabits the jdeep pools in the cold lakes from Huron to the frigid zone, its meat is firm, and the fish is highly prized by epicures. It is sometimes taken as far south as the Ohio shore of Lake Erie, either by trolling with a minno^or a feathered spoon, or with cisco and young lake herrings— all captivating lures. There are many taken with gill-nets and set-lines in deep water, as also with hand-lines, by previously sinking a large stone with a rope attached, and at the other end of the rope fasten a buoy, and for several days cast in butchers' offal by the buoy until it is supposed the fish are chummed to that place as a feeding-ground, when — with large hook, heavy sinker, and codfish line — the fisher with the hand-line takes them as fast as he can bait and land them. This killing method is a favorite one with many men who fish for lake trout to sell, but it is very unsportsman- jlike. In winter it is taken on hooks baited with pork through holes cut in the ice for the purpose. The best places to an- ;le for this luxury, either with the troll or hand-line, is in iakes Huron, Superior, the Straits of Mackinaw and Green 5ay ; from the latter water, Chicago, Galena, and many towns the interior of Wisconsin are supplied. In fishing through le ice, when a fisherman gets a bite, he throws the line over is shoulder and walks away from the hole, drawing the fish 266 Fishing in American Waters. rapidly up and out on the ice, where it is left to freeze. Be- sides the thousands of them transported every winter in a frozen state, many are salted and shipped off in the spring. This trout is the most voracious of all the species, fattening on such delicate luxuries as herrings, ciscos, and whitefish. SECTION ELEVENTH. AMERICAN PICKEREL, OR PIKE. By blue lake marge, upon whose breast The water-lilies love to rest, Lurking beneath those leaves of green The fierce pike seeks his covert screen, And thence with sudden plunge and leap, Swift as a shaft through air may sweep, He seizes, rends, and bears away To hidden lair his struggling prey. This fish, like the brook trout, is almost universally known. It inhabits nearly all the waters of the north temperate zone, and varies in appearance according to its food, and the vol- ume and quality of the water in which it is found, ^he large pickerel taken in the St. Lawrence River and in many Cana- dian waters is called by some the " great Northern pike," of the family Esocidce, supposed to be unlike the common pike or pickerel, or Esox Lucius ; but throughout twenty years' experience at taking pickerel, I have been unable to discover a very marked difference between the Northern pike and the pickerel south of the St. Lawrence. American Pickerel, or Pike. " The pike is the English name of a fish belonging to the order Malacopterygii, section Abdominales, family Esocidse, and genus Esox." The pickerel or pike spawns in March and April, and should not be caught between January and July. In England it One of the American Fishes. 26', sometimes attains to the weight of sixty pounds, and in Nor- way it occasionally rises to a hundred pounds, and more than eight feet in length, while in America it is quite rare to take one of more than twenty pounds' weight. OF PICKEEEL, AND ANGLING FOR THEM. iSH of this family are known in the United States by the name of pickerel, which is the name in England for a dimin- utive pike. All pike, after ris- ing above the pickerel weight, and under five pounds, in En- gland, are known as " Jack," probably named after a poach- er by the name of Jack Pike. In the waters of the East- ern, Middle, and Western States, as also throughout the Dominion of Canada, the pick- erel is found in most of the lakes, ponds, and some rivers ; especially is it numerous in ponds where surface-water pre- ponderates, and by reason of which the salmon families are excluded. The meat of small pickerel is mealy, fresh, and without de- cided flavor, when — because of its yellow color — it is called doree ; but those from three pounds upward, taken in pure water, may be justly considered a good breakfast-fish. The pickerel of Greenwood Lake are good, because the food is abundant, and trout rills drop into the lake from every direc- tion. As the lake is only 60 miles from New York, I used to take a seat in an evening train of the Erie Railroad, arriving in Chester at 7 P.M., and drive down ten miles to the lake in time to give Jack — the baitman — orders to have all things ready, and call me at five next morning. Tap-tap-tap at my amber door announced that it was five, and nothing more. ^nh: 268 Fishing m American Waters. Forthwith I mounted my toggery, took a cracker, and fol- lowed Jack to the boat, where all things were in readiness, and he sculled me out to a raft or float on the lake, which had been anchored at one of the best feeding-places for the long- noses. Leaving me with my half dozen poles, ten feet long each, and a pail of live minnows. Jack returned to the shore. Among the numerous methods of still-baiting for pickerel, that from an anchored float is the most quiet and easy. As I was attaching a line to each pole, a deer, with elegant but timid tread, came to the margin of the lake and took a drink. It was September — a month for excellent venison; but^then he was too pretty and innocent-looking to kill, and, though within short range, I had no rifle with me. The god of day had not yet appeared, but the merry songsters made the copse and fields joyous. To each stout pole I tied a line, three feet longer than the pole, and at the end of each I at- tached a gimp-snelled hook, and covered the connection of line and snell with a small strip of sheet lead. The water was from seven to nine feet deep, and for a float I tied a piece of pine shingle, which produced no resistance to a bite, but merely kept the bait a foot above the bottom. The shingle- float was ten inches long, two inches wide at the thin, feath- ered end, and tapered to a point, being half an inch square at the end where I made the notch and tied the line. In still-baiting for pickerel, if the fish takes the bait, and learns that it is anchored or not at liberty, the fish at once rejects it ; but by means of the sharp-ended float no percep- tible resistance is ofiered, and the pickerel swims off toward a convenient place to gorge it. There were places arranged on the float for properly setting the poles, and arm-chairs at intervals invited 'to rest between bites. By the time I had baited Tny sixth hook and set my last pole, I saw the shingle- float to one of my lines tip up a trifle, and glide along the surface of the water, sinking gradually as it moved. I gave a sudden jerk with the pole to an opposite direction from that which the float was moving, and thus hooked and landed t How TO ENJOY A Bkeakfast. 269 on the raft a four-pound pickerel. Before I had baited again, another float gave signs of agitation, and I landed another. Jack, who had observed my success, now sculled alongside, and took the two pickerel to be prepared for breakfast. I continued fishing and admiring the scenery, with the tops of the mountains just beginning to be illuminated by the rays of a bright sunrise, and the pickerel accepted my of- ferings most voraciously, so that I was in the midst of a most successful contest when the horn blew for breakfast. After fastening my rods securely to the float, and seeing that each hook was well baited, I sculled ashore for breakfast. On that lovely morning the sun seemed to have decked all nature in holiday costume. After a refreshing bath, on en- tering the hall leading to the dining-room, in the fragrant aroma of the coffee I scented a welcome. The pickerel, whicli had been first broiled or singed on the flesh side to prevent the juice from escaping, was turned, and with a renewal of liickory-wood coals was " done to a turn." Fresh butter, red pepper, and a dash of black pepper for its aroma, prepared the melting delicacy for the table. The smoke of the viands, fish, and of the tureen of mashed potatoes, with the fragrant coffee, greeted the senses like incense, and filled the measure of my hope and ambition. After breakfast, a walk on tlie veranda, the discussion of a cabana^ and a look at the morning papers, which had al- ready been received from the city, made me again anxious to try the metal of those sly and peering long-noses. Adjourn- ing to the hotel at eleven o'clock, forty-four pickerel included my mess, and, partaking of an attractive lunch, I returned to 1 ew York City in time to dine at seven in the evenmg. 270 Fishing in American Waters. SKITTERING* FOR PICKEREL AMONG THE LILY-PADS. *' Now changed the tackle and the bait ; For larger prey we're all elate ; 'Mong lily-pads none vainly tries ; The line runs off — a noble prize ! Give time to poach — now strike ! " Now seeks his haunt the wounded prey, And then begins the angler's play ; He lengthens out, now slackens line. Till struggles past — a welcome sign — He lands a glorious pike ! Chorus. — The jolly angler's is the life, Devoid of care, devoid of strife. " Angling for pickerel among the lily-pads and pickerel-weed is very exciting sport. ^The angler should use a rod from 13 to 15 feet long, flexible, but strong. For skittering a float is not used, nor is natural bait the best. Use Buel's or M'Harg's spoons, mounted with red ibis feather, and white * Skittering is a word which belongs to an angler's vocabulary, but not found in a dictionary. It means drawing or jerking a bait along the top of the water. I Quiet Scenery and Active Sport. 271 feathers or hair for the under side of the spoon. Stand near the bow of your punt, and skitter the lure along the surface of the water, near the margins of the lily-pads, and if you are on Sodus Bay, or tempting the fish from almost any of the bayous of Lake Ontario, you will find cause for surprise that will force you to ejaculate; for it will be questionable which will be the most astonished, the novice in the boat or that in the water. A most important essential is to have a man at the stern who can use the setting-pole and sculls so as to en- able you to fish the border of the lily-pads without scaring the prey into their hiding-places. Cuffy says, "Uf we had de gun, we might git a mess of weod-duck." I reply, " Confound wood-duck ! Don't you see that the large pickerel is going into the weeds, and that I can not prevent him ? Turn the punt from shore." In skittering for pickerel with live minnow, the shiner is the best. Use two or three hooks in a gang, as represented for " spinning-tackle." Keep your bait in motion, upon the same principle that you would fish for salmon or brook trout. It is the favorite plan of angling for pickerel in New England, and is, moreover, essentially modem, and afibrds active recre- ation. still-batting for pickerel. * ' The angler is free From the cares which degree Finds itself \vith so often tormented ; And although we should slay Each a hundred a day, 'Tis a slaughter needs ne'er be repented." — Cotton. The primitive and philosophical method of angling for pick- erel is with an ash or hickory pole. The bait is a live frog. Of course, while angling in this way, you may study nature ; but, lest you should fathom all things too soon, take books with you, for they are frequently unfathomable. Seek a place on the margin of a solitary pond, shut out from the habita- tions of men by a dense grove. Seat yourself on some fallen 272 Fishing in American Waters. STILL-BAITING FOR PICKEREL. tree of ancient renown, and there beside you place your books. Then bait your hook, and cast it off among the lily-pads or stumps which margin the pond, and gaze away on vacancy. There is naught set down agajnst smoking at such a place on such occasions. Let the birds bill and coo in the grove behind you, and if your mind is intent on developing a new theory, let your bait creep up on a stump near you, to the i The contemplative Philosophek. 273 envy of all kingfishers who may covet it ; and let it partake of your afflatus while it watches your movements, to be pre- pared, in case you suspect a bite, lest you should disconcert it by jerking. If you do not take a mess of fish, comprehend solitude. It has its charms, of course, for Robinson Crusoe said that sages had seen them. Disregard the Frenchman's opinion who stated that the solitude which has charms is al- ways near cities or large towns. Verbum sat sajnetiti. S lX„fe.—T\\c laria or grnb of the diafron-flj lues in the wau i .( n oi t\\elve monthp, purpuiiifr there its prey, until the time for its metamorphosis .urn es. Then it cra\vls up out of the water upon the stem of some water-plant; a rent soon api)ears upon its shoulders, from Avhich comes forth the drapcm-fly. The " coming out" of this winged tenant of the air may be observed, arouud our ponds and marshes, almost any day in the months of May and June.] 274 Fishing in Amekican Waters. CHAPTER YI. • TROLLING AMONG THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. Here is the angler's paradise, A dreaming, Eden-like retreat, With balmy perfume in the air, And wild-flowers springing at the feet. All the charms which angling for pickerel confer are sub- limated and condensed into trolling among the Thousand Isl- ands. The pickerel of the thousand lucent streams and rap- ids, shaded by as many floral islands, are much better flavor- ed than are those which dream out an indolent existence while watching for frogs among the lily-pads, or darting, until they wear themselves thin, after the minnows of ponds and rivers. The Thousand Islands extend from Cape Vincent to a few miles below Alexandria Bay, or about thirty miles, and the average width of river is about five miles. Imagination may better picture than I can describe the hundred and fifty miles of trolling and casting the fly on streams dividing picturesque islands, or islets covered with greensward and enlivened by I The Quiet and Beautiful. 275 wild-flowers. Some of these isles are decked w^ith large clumps of copse and grove, and others with stately trees which reach sublimely heavenward. This charming scene is enlivened by the wood-duck and other birds of gay plumage or melodious song. I venture the statement that it is une- qualed any where on earth for its beauty, variety, and life of scenery. Neither the water streets of Venice with their gon- dolas, nor the Bois de Boulogne with its ornamental drives and picturesque lakes and fountains, are at all comparable with the Thousand Islands. . •, . . From Cape Vincent to within a few miles of Og^ensburg there is fishing and shooting enough to satisfy all. the epicu- rean lovers of field-sports in America, did they but know a tithe of the riches of land and water which their excellent fish and game offer as attractions. The Thousand Islands forms the most extensive spawning- ground between the Atlantic and the great chain of lakes ; there are numerous eddies and shallow sand-bars amonsr these islands where the wall-eyed pike and black bass spawn, but the fishermen are complaining that the annual diminu- tion in catches calls loudly for a law of reciprocal protection between the Dominion of Canaela and the United States. If the myriads of lake and river fishes which resort to the Thou- sand Islands to spawn were allowed to breed — unmolested by net or spear — an annual stock of pickerel, black bass, glass- eyed pike, Oswego bass, and fishes of smaller varieties would be propagated there in sufficient numbers to stock all the American waters. All the little towns along the Thousand Islands have be- come attractive summer resorts. It was here that Bishop Hughes and Dr. Bethune used to recuperate body and brain, while their minds were soothed by the picturesque harmo- nies of nature. On visiting the Thousand Islands for a few days' recrea- tion, my advice is to go in pairs. A gentleman companion will answer, but a lady is better. Clayton, which is a town 276 Fishing in American Watees. nearly midway of the islands, on the south side of the river, is said to be the most convenient point to select for trolling ; for, in addition to the best grounds being near there, its cen- tral location enables anglers to make a trip up or down the river to the extremity of the islands and to return the same day. The hotels along the Thousand Islands are generally comfortable, and the landlords reliable. Make known your wants to the proprietor, and he will engage a man and boat for you. All the t rolling-boats are superior in model for speed and comfort. The boatman furnishes rods, lines, baits, and rows his own boat. I prefer to use my own tackle, even to spoons and feathered squids. Each row-boat is furnished with two cushioned arm-chairs, in which yourself and lady are seated near the stern and facing it. The bottom of the boat is carpeted, and crimson is the favorite color. The fish- ing-rods are so set, by appliances in the boat and on the taff- rail, that the troll follows outside of the track, as the rods are held at right angles with the boat, like outriggers. The line is from fifteen to twenty yards long, and the troller lets it run from the reel as the gaffer rows along. The trollers soon become so enraptured with the varied beauties of the shifting scenes that they lose the consciousness of being on a fishing excursion until the oarsman calls loudly, " Bite on the lady !" which sufiiciently disenchants them for the lady to reel in a pickerel or black bass, or perchance a maskinonge ; when " Bite on the gentleman !" is heard, and he reels in a fish to the gaff or landing-net. Parties leave the hotels in couples, agreeing upon a rendez- vous for lunching on some island. The boatmen take bread, ice, vegetables, and condiments, and couples sally forth upon the waters, and adjourn at the appointed time in the midst of groves of more than Oriental beauty. The fish are cooked by an artist on an extemporized fireplace, while other gaffers are spreading the cloth on the greensward, where the repast is served, and all goes on enchantingly. After luncheon they repair to their boats, when they continue trolling, or cast an- I Leader of the Cl^vn. 277 chor on the shady side of a floral islet, in a narrow, rapid chan- nel, where they cast the flies for black bass. Thus passes the day, on waters where the air is laden with perfume from wild roses and honeysuckles, and where the music of birds chimes in with the running waters as the troUers alternate between light and shade, now gliding along in gorgeous sunlight, and anon tracing narrow channels, shaded by tall forest trees, where wild ducks and other winged game are rendered al- most tame by the contiguity of civilization and the frequent sight of gay and jolly fishing-parties. SECTION SECOND. THE MASKINONGI}. Where'er Ontario's waters chafe The rocky bluffs that crown its shore, And where Canadian banks are green, And crystal tributaries pour, The savage maskinonge doth roam The tyrant of the wateiy plain, No rebel to dispute his claim, No rival in his great domain. The maskinonge is the most beautiful specimen of the pike family. The tribe is confined to the range of large lakes and rivers of our Northern boundary, and to most of the lakes and rivers in the vast northwestern wilderness extending to the frigid zone. The Ojibwa name of this fish is " maskanon- jil^'' meaning " long-snout." When Canada was a French col- . ony, the " habitans''* named it masque-longue^ signifying long visage. I submit that the Ojibwa was entitled by priority to the right of naming the fish ; but as the Dominion of Canada has named it again, and in all legal enactments there in ref- erence to it the name of the fish is written " maskinonge," I willingly accept the modification instead of either the Indian or the French name. Thus much in explanation of naming a fish which has puz- zled most ichthyologists and anglers, so that they have been uncertain and dubious on the point. The name is Maski- nonge. 278 Fishing in Amekican Watees. Having heard many anglers state that they coulcLnot dis- tmguish the maskinonge from the pickerel, I invite tliem to look at the diversities. The mandibles of the former are longer, the tail more forked and larger, the dark gray back and light sides are dotted in black, the outline of the fish is more delicate and elegant, presenting the appearance pf greater refinement and higher breeding than the pickerel or pike. The surface differences are palpable, but they ^re^ not so marked as are the epicurean qualities. The meat.^of the maskinonge is compact, white, tender, and peculiarly delicate and rich in flavor, without partaking of any .taint of extrane- ous substance such as decayed wood and bark, which" so com- monly affect* the flavor of pickerel, and even trout. This proves that the maskinonge inhabits springs; and when taken in lakes where surface-water is supposed to preponder- ate, is always found at points where the fountains gush from the bottom. The MaskinoxNGe. Rice Lake, twelve miles north of Coburg, in Canada, con- tains favorite feeding-grounds for the maskinonge. Its nu- merous springs, its beds of wild rice miles in length, forming a ground shade, its row of islands rising high above the level of the lake, covered with dense forests of lofty trees in whose shade the fish disport near the fountains, make this their fa- vorite resort. These attractions, and the rivers which feed the lake and teem with shiners and other tiny baits, render Rice Lake remarkable for containing maskinonge which are equal in game qualities to any known in America ; and I be- lieve the fish has never been discovered in any water of the eastern hemisphere. This fish often attains to nearly seven feet in length, and A Study and a LuxrEY. 279 to tfte -^eight of from sixty to seventy pounds in the upper lakes, as well as in. Ontario and the River St. Lawrence. But when so large they are less active than when from ten to thirty pounds in weight, as in Rice Lake, and the River Oitan- ab^je, which enters Rice Lake opposite and about four miles frbm Gore's Landing. The greatest number that I ever took in one day on this lake and river was sixteen, and as I took them legitimately — with rod and reel — the gentlemen at Har- ris's Hotel decided that I had won the spurs, and invited me to their club. I there learned that it was the greatest num- ber ever taken fvom the lake in one day with a single rod and reel ; and as the club was chiefly composed of retired officers of the English anny and navy, with a sprinkling of civilians who own charming boxes on the margin of this beautiful lake of thirty miles in length, I regarded the compliment as a very flattering one. Maskinonge are taken on a troll like either of those repre- sented on another page, under the title of "Spoon Victuals for Long-snouts." - ■ - Instructions. — Troll with a striped bass rod about ten feet long, and on a reel which will carry six hundred feet of fine bass line place three hundred feet of the largest linen reel line. To the end of this line attach your feathered squid. In trolling, let your squid be about sixty feet behind the boat. The oarsman will regulate the speed. Then the first saluta- tion that you will probably receive will be a shoek-ing jerk, and you will see at the end of your line, and about six feet above the water, a maskinonge suspended like Mohammed's coffin, only shaking the squid -so that it jingles. In that case, don't get excited, for it is the last time probably that day that you will see him. Row on ; do not turn to go over the ground to retrieve your loss, but be ready for a new adven- ture. After he hooks himself, do not play him with too stiff a line, nor yet slack enough to let him get a bight in it. Tire him out, and bring him gently to gaff, and see that your gaff be the best of the striped bass pattern. Keep away from 1^80 Fishing m Amekican Waters. him after your oarsman lands him in the bottom of the boat, where he always keeps a mallet or billet of hickory wood to pound the fish on the head and prevent him from leaping out of the boat, for his saltatory powers surpass those of the salmon. It is said that a trout will rise a fall six feet high, a salmon one of eleven feet perpendicular, and a maskinonge one of nearly thirty feet. Far where Lake Erie's billows glance, An ocean-like immense expanse, The shai-p-teeth'd maskinonge abides, The shark of the fresh-water tides. Now in the dark abyss of waves He glides ; now where the shallow laves The grassy shore, and crisp waves break O'er the white sands that gird the lake. SECTION THIRD. THE BLACK BASS. Amid the Thousand Isles that gem St. Lawrence like a diadem, Where winds are soft, and waves are calm, And pine-woods steep the air with balm, Piscator floats the calm abyss 'Mid scenes of most transcendent bliss ; Wafted across that teeming flood. His heart o'erflows with gratitude. Many anglers think the black bass next to the salmon for game. It is unquestionably high game. Being numerous in many waters of the Northern States, it has come to be re- garded as a commercial fish, and, through ignorance, many confound it with the Oswego bass, which is quite an inferior fish as to game and for the table. Some persons have ex- ported the black bass both to England and France with the view of propagation ; but w^hether they were the real black bass is questionable, as they are difficult to export after they grow to be larger than fingerlings. The black bass is supposed to belong to the perch family, or rather order of fishes, because its mouth, gills, fins, and scales are similar to those of the Fercidce y but, in order to More Gamy than Beautiful. 281 distinguish it from other fishes of similar color and apparent organization, it should be remembered that the real black bass has a red speck in each eye like a dot of carmine. It is also more delicate in outline, and has a smaller head than the Oswego and the Southern bass. The black bass spawns in the spring, and, like most fishes which spawn in that season, is not supplied with a sac of nutriment attached to the um- bilical cord. • The activity and muscular power of the black bass are suf- ficient to enable it to hold its own and increase its numbers in waters inhabited by the most ferocious fresh-water fishes, such as the maskinonge, glass-eyed pike, and the pickerel or pike of the great lakes. The Black Bass. — Centrarchus fasciatus. — De Kay. With a view to giving the angler a list of the. principal fishes in the fresh waters of the State of New York, I append the following extract from a letter written by an old, intelli- gent, and successful angler, who has resided in the central part of the state, and fished for the most gamy part of the list of which he writes for more than thirty years. His theory of the black bass hibernating in clefts of rocks is corrobora- ted by other authorities, and is doubtless true. But to the extract.* * " In the waters of the St. Lawrence, Ontario Lake, Seneca River, Oneida and Cayuga Lakes, there are found the Oswego and black bass, very similar in their shape and in some of their habits, so much so that they are often mistaken for one and the same species. The Oswego (sometimes known as the ' river bass') is the heavier fish, often attaining to eight pounds' weight ; are taken at all times during the year, often in winter through the ice. They are good biters, and are game to the last. ^2 Fishing in Aj^iekican Waters. THE OSWEGO BASS. This fish is similar to the black bass in all outward marks, except that it has a larger head, lacks the double curve at " The black bass seldom attain to more than four and a half pounds,* I have taken hundreds, and have never seen one weighing more. They ai-e distinguished from the Oswego bass by a faculty of changing color in and out of water — sometimes yellow, or yellow^ with dark bands across, and often black as ink. All these changes I have seen in the same individual after landing him ; and they invariably emit a disagreeable musky odor. I have never known them to be taken in winter, and I think they seek a particular location and remain torpid during winter. My attention was directed to this fact about thirty years since. At that time I was in the habit of spearing fish in a mill-dam on the outlet of the Seneca Lake, at Waterloo, in Seneca County. From April to November I found numbers of bass ; from Decem- ber to March I found all other varieties, but no bass. "In the winter of 1837 the water was shut off at the lake for the purpose of deepening the channel to improve the navigation. This was considered a favorable time to quarry the limestone in the bed of the river ; and, upon re- moving the loose rock in the above-named mill-dam, where the ledges crop- ped out, there were found hundreds of bass imbedded in their slime, and pos- itively packed together in the crevices and fissures of the rocks. My subse- quent experience has done much to convince me that my theory is correct. The black bass appear in the waters of the Cayuga Lake in April. They make their beds and spawn between May 10th and June 20th, and disappear in No- vember. The trolling commences in the early part of May, and continues until July 1 st, after which time we find great annoyance from the weeds. "In the Seneca and Canandaigua Lakes the bass make their appearance at a later date — usually about the middle of May — and spawn between June 10th and July 25 th. This is the best time to take them. They locate in great numbers upon shoals and bars where there are large boulders. The Seneca Lake, unlike other lakes in this region, is very deep. It has a clean beach and bottom ; no weeds or grass except in the little coves and bays. In these places we find small patches of grass filled with all sorts of small fiy, and it is about these grass patches that we have the finest sport in August and the fore part of September. By the 1 st of October the bass have disap- peared from their usual haunts, and the next we hear from them is at tlie 'Bass Grounds,' near Big Stream, where they congregate in immense num- bers about the middle of October. The manner of fishing is with the hand- line and rod and line, using crawfish and minnows for bait, -Hundreds are taken in a day in this place. This sport continues until the middle of No- vember, when it ceases. The appearance of the bass in this locality I con- sider as another fact in corroboration of my theory. The shore is a bold, rocky cliff, and the water very deep. The black bass of the great chain of lakes range from three to nine pounds,— G, C. S. Habits of the Black Bass. 283 the end of the lateral line at the joining of the tail, and has no red in the eye. Its flaky meat is soft and watery, and its common weight is from five to ten pounds. Like the black bass, this fish is taken by casting the arti- ficial fly, or by trolling with the feathered spoon, with a min- now impaled on a gang of hooks, and forming spinning tackle. This fish inhabits most of the lakes in the interior of the State of New York, and the waters of Ohio, Kentucky, and "The lakes which are tributary to the Seneca River are not all supplied alike with fish. The waters are very different. The Cayuga Lake from Au- rora to the head is veiy similar to the Seneca Lake, and is stocked with the following varieties, to wit : Lake trout, white fish, herring-salmon, pike and pike-perch, black and rock bass, perch, suckers, eels, etc., etc. ; while the low- er end of the lake, very shoal and weedy, tefminating in a marsh, is supplied with large catfish, small ditto, maskinonge, rock bass, pickerel, Oswego bass, black bass, pike-perch, perch, etc., etc. "The Oneida Lake abounds in all the above-named varieties excepting the trout, whitefish, and herring-salmon. "The Skaneateles and Owasco Lakes have very few, but excellent vane- ties, to wit : Lake trout, brook trout, yellow perch, and suckers. The water cold and spring-like. "The Seneca and Canandaigua Lakes are supplied with lake trout, white- fish, herring-salmon, pike-perch, black and rock bass, yellow perch, catfish, and eels. "The Crooked Lake has fewer varieties. We find the lake trout, white- fish, yellow perch, pickerel, catfish, and eels. About forty years since this lake Avas stocked with pickerel from the head-waters of the Susquehanna, and they are now very abundant. "Our finest sport consists in trolling with the fly and minnow, the latter being preferred. In the Seneca River, at Oswego, the fly is preferred. Great numbers are taken throughout the season. Many sportsmen throw three or four flies, and often take as many bass. The manner in which this is done is to hook one fish, and, while giving him the necessary play, others take the extra flies. " A word in regard to our method of taking the lake trout and pike-percli may interest your readers. We use one hundred and fifty yards of cod-line, with from six to ten leads — the first attached to the line about fifty feet above the hook, the others at intervals of from eight to twelve' feet — weighing in the aggi-egate twelve to twenty ounces, regulated to suit the depth of water. Pike-perch are taken at twenty to forty feet deep ; lake trout at sixty to one hundred feet deep — always at the bottom, rowing moderately. We use the silver spoon or spin the herring.. In the Canandaigua Lake the minnow is considered tlie best bait. In the Seneca and Crooked Lakes the spoon is the most successful. " 284 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. The Oswego Bass. those of many of the Western States teem with it, as do the chain of lakes on our Northern border, and the rivers and lakes in the western part of Canada, and most of the waters of the Northwestern wilderness. In some places it is known as the yellow bass, and at others as the white bass. BLACK BASS OF THE SOUTH. To the casual observer this fish very nearly resembles the black bass of the North. Its habits are indeed similar, and so are its fins and color ; but it has a larger head, and in all points excepting contour it is like the Oswego bass. The Black Bass of the South. rivers in Florida are alive with this fish, and it is not difficult to take several hundred j)ounds of them in one day. It is taken there in winter, when the sport may be varied by shoot- ing deer, ducks, wild geese, an occasional brown bear, and an alligator, and all from the same trolling-punt. By some called Strawbeeky. 285 THE SPOTTED BASS OR SPECKLED HEN. This is a common fish in the fresh waters of the Western States ; it is also taken in the waters of the western part of the Dominion of Canada, where it is known as the speckled hen. This is one of the numerous small pan-fishes of the Western waters which naturalists have not yet classified. It ranges in weight from a quarter of a pound to two pounds, is blackish-green on the back, greenish-yellow on the sides, with a white belly, and dotted in black similar to some of the dace genus of Western streams. It is an excellent breakfast-fish, either rolled in flour and fried in butter, or in sparkling hot fat of salt pork. Sweet or olive oil is the best juice for fry- ing fish in, but seldom used in America for the purpose ex- cept by Israelites. The Spotted Bass ok Speckled Hen. EOCK BASS OF THE LAKES. This is rather better game than the " speckled hen," bites freely at a feathered squid troll, or to any shiny revolving spoon bait ; it also bites at the apple-worm, white grub, grass- hopper, or shiner. This may also be said of the speckled hen. The Buel feathered spoon of smallest size and brightest feath- ers is a captivating lure for both the spotted bass and the rock bass. This fish inhabits all the lakes in the centre of the state, and is regarded as an excellent pan-fish. It is green on the back, orange at the sides, and cream-color on the abdo- men ; the mottled spots are black and green. This is emi- ^6 Fishing in Ameeican Watees. Rock Bass of the Lakes. nently a lake fish, where it is found in greatest numbers over the shallows near the shores, and contiguous to the entrance of spring streams. It ranges in weight from a quarter to a pound. SECTION FOURTH. THE SUNFISH. This little fish inhabits nearly all the lakes, rivers, and ponds in the United States. Its habits are very domestic, seldom leaving its spawning-ground out of its sight, but seeks some rock or large stone where it plays about ; and the re- mainders of shoals of a single j)air maybe seen disporting to- gether, gay and lively, while watching the bottom for such ground-bait as angle-worms, and the surface for flies and grasshoppers. This tiny gormandizer is a great annoyance to fishers with the fly or worm when it becomes numerous in a trout-pond, for it will take both the worm and the fly ; and, besides, it will steal the trout-eggs from the spawning-beds. But it aflbrds ladies and children much sjDort, and is, withal, an excellent pan-fish ; and as it aflbrds good sport for school- boys, it should be tolerated. It never attains to more than half a pound weight ; but the buffalo, a Western fish, whicli is similar to the spotted bass, is sometimes mistaken for this fish, and in some waters ranges from half a poimd to nearly five pounds. The sunfish is dark greenish -brown on the back, greenish-yellow on the sides, lower end of gill tipped Greedy Small-fey. 28^ in; hUNFISH. with red, and the belly orange and gold. It is to be fished for with perch tackle and very small hooks. f THE PEECH. This fish is the head of the families of the Perddce or Per- co'ldes of Cuvier. The j^reoperculum is denticulated, the oper- culum is produced behind into a flattened spine, the infra- orbitals are obscurely denticulated, and the tongue is smooth. This is tlie common fresh-water perch — the Perca proper. It is so common in American waters that a description is scarce- ly necessary. It is a very voracious fish, will bite to the ar- tificial fly, and the red ibis is its weakness, while it seems equally well pleased with any bait which the angler may adopt or change to. Its weight is usually about half a pound, though three-pounders are not uncommon, while it sometimes scales as high as seven pounds, but rarely except in the large lakes. The Perch.— Pc '^88 Fishing in Amekican Waters. In EurojDe it is found desirable to cultivate this fish, as it is very prolific and an excellent pan-fish ; but in America, where it is no trick to take half a bushel a day on the ponds in the immediate vicinity of the city of New York, it is not deemed worth while to encourage its propagation. Indeed, so great a scourge is it regarded on Long Island, that poach- ers having a grudge against an owner of a trout-pond go in the night-time and stock it with perch. Of the fishes belonging to this order there are over twenty families, including the numerous kinds of bass, and nearly all of those fishes of fresh waters with the first dorsal sj)iked or spinous rayed. Of these families there is scarcely a fresh- water river or lake on earth which does not contain a repre- sentative. The ovarium of a perch is one fourth the weight of the fish; and a pound perch has been known to contain 992,000 eggs. THE GLASS-EYED OR WALL-EYED PIKE. This is one of the fishes of the Middle and Northern States. At the Southwest it is called wall-eyed, while at the North it is known as the glass-eyed pike, and by other local and un- important names, such as the pike-perch, sand-pike, etc. But its eyes being the most distinctive mark, it is more generally known by the names given at the heading than by any other. It sometimes attains to a very great weight. Doctor Buel took one in the Kentucky River which weighed nearly fifty pounds. They are found in all the tributaries of the Ohio River, in the range of great lakes, and most of the rivers and lakes as far east as New York, south as far as Tennessee, and west as far as Wisconsin. They also inhabit many of the waters in the western part of the Dominion of Canada. In Cayuga, Seneca, and other lakes of the western part of New York they are often taken, sometimes weighing as high as forty pounds. In Oneida Lake they are numerous ; in fact, the glass-eyed Various in Shai>e and Colors. ^^^9 pike is one of the most important commercial fishes of the lakes. ^m The Glass-eyed or Wall-eyed Pike. The glass-eyed pike of the rivers in New York is very sat- isfying game to the angler. He prefers the live shiner as a bait, and is generally found at the foot of a rapid, watching for any lame or disconcerted fish which appears not to know how to take care of itself. The best way to angle for them, therefore, is to anchor your boat at the side or above a rapid ; use shiner bait, and cast to the foot of the rapid, or let your bait run down the rapid, for they sometimes lie behind huge rocks in the rapid. Use regular striped-bass tackle and fish with a float. The pike of the Mohawk River are supposed to be the best for the table. The meat is hard, and laminates in rich flakes, possessing a peculiar flavor most tempting as a breakfast dish. Those fish which run* from three to nine pounds are the best for the table ; but they have been taken at the Little Falls .to the weight of nearly twenty pounds, and proved to be a superior fish for stufling and baking. The scales of the glass-eyed pike are hard, close, and diffi- cult to detach. The mandibles are wider and the jaws stronger than those of the pike or pickerel, while its teeth are shorter and closer set. It is dark gray, with greenish tint on the back, gray sides with yellowish tinge, and white abdo- men. The numerous shoals of this fish in American waters renders it common and unappreciated, but it is really one of the best table-fishes of the rivers. There is another family of glass-eyed pike, known in Ohio and Western Virginia as the salmon. It resembles the pike T or) Fishing in Aiviericak Water:; of the Mohawk by being bluish-%lack on the back, bliiish-gray sides, and white belly. It is found in the Kanawha and Mi- ami Rivers, as also in many other streams of Ohio. THE WHITEFISH. This sucker-mouthed, succulent delicacy is to be found in most of the small lakes in the middle of the State of New York, where it forages near the springs which gush from the bottom, so that its meat is pure, white, juicy, and possessed of a most delicate flavor. The color of the back is gray, and the rest of the fish a clear white of most lustrous sheen. The great lakes from Ontario to Superior produce millions annu- ally, and it is supposed the fish near the north shores are su- perior to those on the south side of the lakes, because a great- er number of cold spring streams debouch in the lakes on the north side. The whitefish is leather-mouthed, and sometimes takes the spoon or spinning bait. In weight it runs from three to nine pounds, and there is less waste in it than in any other fish of its size. The engraving is a copy sketched from still life by Walter Bracket, Esq., a Boston artist of merit. The Whitefish. — Corregomis alosa or albus. It is eminently an economical fish, requiring no butter to fry it ; but, of course, those persons who unite a little knowl- edge of hygiene with gastronomy never fry any but the Another breakfast Delicacy. 291 smallest kinds of pan-fishes. This is a broiler as truly as is a shad or a Spanish mackerel. Though an abdominal, it does not belong to the germs l^al- mo any more than does the smelt, which some ichthyologists classify with that genus^ though the smelt spawns in spring, and the whitefish late in summer or early in autumn. Whitefish are taken with nets and placed in fish-pounds in the fall, confined by water-fencing with nets or stone, whence they are taken with large scap-nets and sent to market. The new process of dry-freezing is being resorted to at the West, so as to enable the netters to take them in the season when they are best for the table, and preserve them in a certain stage of refrigeration until it is thought desirable to market them. This is the preferable method, because, when confined in pounds, closely packed, many of them get frozen, being thus rendered unmarketable by reason of their slow death. In the winter of 1868 there were 500 lost from one pound near Detroit by freezing. The pound system should be abol- ished by law. '•Tlie fisher stakes his net and weir The persecuted shoals to snare ; The seiner runs his seines around, Where'er their shining scales abound ; Then, di-agging to the neighboring shore. The white sands strew with ample store ; Yet, spite of foe, and net, and seine. Unnumbered mjriads yet remain." — Isaac M'Lellax. THE LAKE HERRING. The herring belongs to the Clupeidce family of fishes, and is the fifth and last division of the '"'' Malacopterygiens ahdomi- naux^'' being the supposed link between the Gadidce and the Salmonidm, vrithoMt second' dorsal or adipose. fin. The lake herring is quite similar to that of the salt waters, subsisting chiefly on animalculae. Its back is dark gray with a greenish tinge, white sides and abdomen, and covered with large sil- very scales. It is from nine to twelve inches in length, and, When fresh is a good broiler; but the world knows that it is 292 Fishing m American Waters. The Lake Herring. — Clupea harengus. cured every possible way with salt and smoke, from the deli- cate bloater to the shriveled, smoky-brown substance of a smoked herring-box. Nevertheless, it has been truly stated that " the ancients placed among their gods many a worse creature than a red herring." It is a great fish of commerce, and one of the indispensables to the poor in many parts of the world. Thus far, although the lakes of the United States swarm with a fresh-water herring which is not inferior to the best British, yet it has hitherto claimed little attention as a fish for exportation ; but the demand for it is becoming an- nually greater, and the fishermen of the Western lakes are now beginning to study the best net and management for its capture. The drift-nets will probably be found the best, and the lake herrings — which are more delicate than those of salt water — will soon become an important article of com- merce. THE CISCO OR CISCOQUETTE. The Cisco is a small white fish similar to the lake herring, but difiering from it by the addition of a second filmy dorsal, and in its meat being more delicate, and, when scaled, trans- lucent as a smelt. It usually measures from six to nine inches in length, sometimes twelve inches, but rarely longer. The scales are white as polished silver except on the back, which is greenish-gray like the caplin. The cisco is known in some places, eminently by fishermen and fish-dealers along the great lakes, as the ciscoquette, and «s just beginning to be regarded as a commercial fish, great quantities being taken with the whitefish by the fishermen of New Sport on Westeen Lakes. 293 Huron and Superior. A letter from one of the principal Lake Erie fishermen contains the statement that they entertain high hopes of profitable enterprises in this modern luxury. The Cisco is found in all the lakes belonging to the great chain bounding the United States on the north, and in some west- ern lakes of the interior ; but, while the lake herring — its fre- quent companion — is numerous in Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, I have not seen a cisco there ; but the large shiner of Canan- daigua Lake may be the cisco. Both the cisco and herring are favorite baits for lake trout, and, as food for game fishes, the waters should be kept well stocked with them. The Cisco or Ciscoqdette. From a recent letter to the Spirit of the Times from Camp Sterling, on Geneva Lake, Wis., it appears that "ciscoing" is the principal June sport for man, woman, and child in all the area formed by a radius of twenty miles round the lake. The cisco may be taken with bait or fly, though the latter is the most natural food, as its small, square mouth and soft teeth indicate that animalculoe or flies are its natural aliment. At Geneva Lake there is a fly called the " cisco-fly," which ap- pears to be its natural food ; it is nearly an inch long, of gray- ish-brown body and light gray wings, with tail and antennce — probably a Phryganea. The eel-fly is also said to be a favor- ite lure ; but the cisco and cisco-fly both appear in great num- bers at the same time. The cisco is said to be excellent game of its size, an4 will rise as vigorously as a brook trout, often meeting the fly be- fore it touches the water. They should be fished for with a single-handed fly-rod, like the trout ; though a sixteen feet perch-rod is recommended, as perch and small black bass oc- 2M Fishing in American Waters. cupy the same feeding-grounds, and often rise to the fly or take the bait. The cisco of the great lakes resembles, an ale- wife, and sometimes attains the weight of three pomids. THE shiner. This tiny white fish, with scales of metallic lustre, is from two to four inches long, and the best bait-fish which belongs to the fresh waters of America, where it is found in most of the brooks, rivers, and lakes of the north temperate zone. It is a greedy biter, and with a bit of angle-worm covering the point of a minnow'hook it is taken as fast as it can be drawn out with a supple willow wand. While fishing in rivers for black bass, I have moored one end of my scull-boat at the shore, and sat my waiter at catching shiners at the shore-end of the boat, while I took black bass with the shiner-bait at the other end. The Shinek. As a pan-fish, it is the sweetest, most juicy, and delicate of any fish except the golden mullet ; and when fried to a crisp in olive oil or fresh butter, it forms a mouthful more delicious than any other pan-fish. Many epicures in country places appreciate the delicious shiner ; but as it is too insignificant in size to form an object of commerce, inhabitants of cities are innocent of any knowledge of this succulent luxury. But it is as a bait-fish that I would recommend the shiner, and a bait-can is necessary for keeping it alive. SECTION FIFTH. bait-can and baits. A simple tin can or pail, large enough to contain from two Keeping Alive to Take Life. 295 to three gallons of water, with the lid perforated to let air into the bait, is generally sufficient ; but some anglers prefer a double pail, the inner one per- forated all over in holes the size of buckshot. In this case the pails are of equal size at the top and bottom, or cylindrical, and the inner pail may be taken out and the water changed be- fore returning it, without the danger of losing bait. Another plan is to have a can shaped like the foregoing cut, and, in- stead of frequently changing the water, insert a siphon, and draw the water up and let it fall back into the can, which aerates the water and revives the bait. In carrying young trout to stock streams, the cans may be of either wood or tin, but they' should be constructed with a pump to aerate the water. Clean swamp-moss, and a small piece of ice in moss, should always be placed in the water for c5nveying live fish several miles in warm weather. SPINNING BAITS. Spinning baits for trolling on all fresh waters have proved the most successful for nearly all the game fishes which in- habit them. I incline to the opinion that, if spinning minnow squids could be made strong enough for trolling with along our coasts and in our estuaries, all the surface-feeding fish of those waters might be taken in greater numbers than they are now by casting menhaden bait, and by all other fish- ing appliances except the set-nets and pounds, which — as they take all sizes of fishes — should be regulated by law, es- pecially as to where they may be used, and under what con- ditions, etc. Of course, the rig for coast-trolling would re- quire to be made very strong ; for even the plain bluefish squid fastened to a heavy hawser-laid line is often parted by the jaws of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, bonetta, or cero. Even a fifty or seventy-five pound striped bass, or a twenty or thir- 296 Fishing in American Waters. ty pound bluefish, would make the line hum some. But how would it be with a hundred and twenty pound bonetta ? i have taken large striped bass by trolling for them on the^ Se- connet River with a bone squid covered with white linen, out of which I formed the tail. The squid played by means of a brass swivel. All swivels should be of brass or copper, even if silver-plated afterward. Steel swivels rust. The leathern satchel for carrying hooks, screw-driver, pincers, porpoise-oil, and all the appliances necessary for use in mending rod, reel, or any. part of tackle, should be framed with brass. Water- proof canvas satchels are better than the leathern, and in them hooks and other anglers' implements will take no in- jury. Water-proof canvas is also preferable to leather for gaiters, and for boat-fishing they are preferable for shoes. I prefer Russia leather boots for wear when trolling off the coast, as the spinous dorsal and pectoral fins of sdhie fishes are sharp and strong enough to pierce any kind of cloth. Foreigners have frequently swindled the anglers of this country by attaching hooks of inferior quality to spinning baits; but the domestic competition in the fishing-tackle business has become so strong that first-rate tackle of all kinds can be had at home ; and the Buel feathered trolling- spoon, and those of M'Harg, are the best in the world for taking the principal fishes of our lakes and rivers. The sam- ples which I submit for the use of anglers on American wa- ters are supposed to be the best in use. Those just referred to I know are. If a plain spoon is used, it should be of sil- ver outside and copper on the concave side. HACKETT's spinning-tackle, cork, IRELAND. This piece of spinning-tackle was noticed in the London Field, and I think it a very good rig for trolling with a live minnow for maskinonge, glass-eyed pike, black and Oswego bass, pickerel, and the numerous lake and river fishes which delight in spoon victuals or captivating artificial lures. In baiting, put the large hook in at the mouth, and run the Disguises all the Go. 297 point of hook along the side, under the skin, bringing it out opposite the d*orsal fin ; then draw up the fish on the shank of the large hook, and insert the small hook through the upper' and lower lips, thus closing the mouth ; let the bait settle back so as to draw on the small hook, and you are ready for action. The hooks, screw, and swivel should be silver-plated. If the snells are o'f gimp, they should be made very fine ; but twisted gut snells, finely made, are better. The minnow should represent a silver-side or a shiner. This would be a killing bait to offer along the margin of a pickerel-pond while spinning it among the lily-pads with a long rod. Just cast it as far as convenient, without sinker ; let it sink a trifle, and draw it along, when its spinning will soon be stopped if there is a pickerel, perch, or glass-eyed pike, or even a black bass near. Properly made and handled, it must prove a very attractive lure and successful bait. Haskell's teolling-bait. — No. 1. The invention is patented, but may be had at most fishing- tackle stores. It is made of three sizes. The largest is 5^ inches long ; medium size, 4^ inches ; small, 3 inches. This troll must prove a successful lure if properly made. A whirl- ing joint below the dorsal fin must require great care to ren- der it quite free and yet sufficiently strong. I have heard good reports of the bait, and should think it would prove successful' on the lakes of the Adirondacks and among the Thousand Islands. 298 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. A 1) This bait is intended to represent a live fish with a screw tail. Its main feature is an ingenious combination of the spmmn*; principle with that of the well-known "troll- ing minnow." It is constructed of thm sheet metal, beautifully and durably sil- ver-plated. The form, as indicated by the engraving, represents a perfect fish ; the main portion of the body is stationary, and keeps in a vertical position in the wa- ter, while the tail portion, D, revolves at the jomt C by means of the turned ends of the tail, A and B. It is well to have but two hooks on metal trolls, but they should be as large as allowable for the size of lure. Needle-pointed, finely tempered steel hooks, of the Sproat bend, are as good as any. Especial attention should always be paid to the quality of hooks for all kinds of angling, but more especially for troll- ins:. The brightest artificial disguises are generally the best for trolling baits. This troll, if made strong enough, would be a very success- ful one for bluefish and Spanish mackerel. THE PROPELLING MINNOW. No. 2. This minnow is made from gutta-percha, shaded and colored to represent a live minnow. The pectoral fins are represent- ed by screw propellers, which, with the curve of the tail, ren- der the lure very attractive, as its motion in the water re- sembles that of a living fish. This may be made of any size, to suit the kind of fishing for which it is required. Andrew Clerk & Co. have them of all sizes, from those for use with a fly-rod to such as are large enough to troll with for the fishes of our great lakes. This bait has never been tried in our waters. It is^ similar to the troll for salmon in the lakes of Scotland, and, I think, will prove to be excellent for sea trout. It received a pre- LuEES FOR Game Fishes. 299 mium at the World's Fair in Paris, and the beauty of its make surpasses any spinning bait that I have seen. A small brass swivel connects the gimp snell with the line. buel's patent feathered troll. — No. 3. Among the many efforts at making captivating metal trolls, the one with a piece of silver, in the oval or fish-form, revolv- ing at the head of the shank of the hook, proved, from the year it was invented, the most successful ; and, when the ad- dition of feathers was introduced, I trolled with it at the Thousand Islands, Rice Lake, and on other waters, always with great satisfaction. The hooks should be heavy and well tempered. M'Harg's troll was very popular at the Thousand Islands, chiefly be- cause it was made with a pair of hooks ; but he tells me that recently trollers prefer a cluster of three hooks. Mr. Clerk says the same. It is a great mistake, because lar^e fish crush a cluster of hooks and disgorge them. The feathers which I found the most taking were the red ibis. The best troll that I ever used for maskinonge is a red ibis feather for the top of the troll, and a small tuft of white hair from a deer's tail for the under side. The white hair from a deer's tail is brilliant in the water, and it disguises the point of the hook, while the attractive red feathers extend back of the bend of the hook from the top of the shank. I prefer, also, plain brass trolls, trolls of silver for one side and of copper for the other, and trolls of pure silver. The troll for maskinonge should be oval in shape, and from two and a half to three inches long, playing round from a shoulder on the shank of the hook. The hooks should be next to the lar- gest size represented on the plate of implements for taking striped bass. spinning-tackle for live baits. The three desiderata in spinning rigs for trolling with and playing live bait are, 1st, the strength and applicability of 300 Fishing in American Watees. Spinning-tackle for Live Baits. the gangs of hopks ; 2d, the natural play of the bait when at- tached to the gang ; and, 3d, the delicacy necessary to form it an attraction instead of a warning. No. 1 represents an adjustable gang, the movable upper hook sliding, and with a half-knot fastening at the bend of the hook to the correct length, to hold the fish by the lips and leave the gills free. Always use shiners for bait when they are to be had. In impaling or affixing the minnow or shiner to the gang of hooks, first insert the bottom hook nearly an inch above the tail, and run it down and out at the tail, as represented by No. 2, so as to curve the tail ; and, that the tail may have precisely the correct curve, fix the next hook, at the top of the shank of the large hook, in the skin at the side, so as to hold the tail to the curve required ; then insert under the skin the two middle hooks, which fasten more firmly the bait, and confine it to the requisite curve. Then slide down the lip-hook, or upper one, and insert it through both the lips of the fish, shutting its mouth, but leaving the gills free for res- piration. Take a half hitch with the snell round the shank The Biter Bitten. 301 of the hook at the curve, wind it a few times round the shank, and run it through the hole at the top of the shank of tha hook. This completes baiting ; and with a good swivel at the top of the snell or snood, a few inches (say six) above the upper hook, the bait will revolve in water, and remain an attractive lure for hours while trolling, unless a bite inter- venes, and then the biter is quite sure to be hooked ; for the triangular gang, playing to a ring on the outside of the fish, is generally sure to intercept the fish (which aims at the head of the bait) before it is taken by the tail-hook. Francis Francis, in philosophizing upon the superiority of the spinning of artificial baits over natural ones, concludes that it is " because they are stiff throughout ;" and that is one of the reasons why they do not get out of proper shape as do the living ones when not properly impaled and perma- nently fixed on a gang of hooks so arranged as that nothing but a bite will disturb or derange the bait. I have not the slightest hesitation in pronouncing this spinning gang the best arrangement of hooks that has thus far been presented to the American angler. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate what is termed the " dead snap." Of course, all gangs for natural baits should either be fasten- ed to single, double, or twisted gut snells, or to the finest pos- sible silver gimp wire. They are generally wound to the lat- ter with fine wire, but fresh-water trolls or spinning gangs should be fastened on silk-worm gut. Regulate the number of plies of gut to the size and power of fish to be trolled for. The present gang, No. 3, may be fastened to single gut, if the gut be round and strong. In baiting, insert the tail hook firsts then the middle hook just under the skin, and finally slide down the lip -hook and insert it through both lips. Sometimes a baiting-needle is used to insert the snell from the body out at the mouth through the upper gill-cover. The upper hook should always slide on the snell by a hole or small loop of gut at the top of the shank. 302 Fishing in American Waters. All fishes of the genus Salmo are more readily captured by trolling with natural baits, such as the shiner or the smelt, which is the salmon's natural food, to a troll formed- of burnished silver, with the hook disguised by gay feathers, while all families of the pike and perch prefer the feathered squid. For trolling, the black bass prefei's live bait; but in July he will bite at almost any gay fly, if artistically pre- sented. 'The troll is the most killing method of angling short of the net and the pound, and yet it is not nearly so popular in America as in Europe. An American gentleman would hard- ly consent to troll for salmon, and yet in both Scotland and Ireland they cross-fish for them by "two row-boats carrying each an angler with troUing-rods, and the lines of each angler are connected at the ends, where a float marks the division. To each line numerous flies are attached, and the boats are rowed along at a convenient distance, and when a salmon bites, the angler on which side of the float the fish is fastened reels and plays the salmon, while the other angler gives line. If the oarsmen, who gaff the fish, get nervous, a snarl of lines and hooks, and a loss of the fish, are results quite naturally expected and frequently realized. SPOON-VICTUALS FOR LONG-SNOUTS. The larger sizes of feathered spoons are preferred in troll- ing for the maskinonge and the great Northern pickerel, as also for the glass-eyed pike. The difference in the two styles of troll is illustrated by A and B. Troll A revolves on a shoulder, to which two hooks are first wound with brass-wire, then soldered. On the shank, as represented, feathers are mounted. Decisive colors are to be preferred, such as red and white. Sometimes two swivels, one at the shank of the hook and the other at the end of the gimp snell, six inches above, are used to prevent the rapidity of the action of the troll from kinking the line. Troll B is so arranged that different fly-hooks may bo Captivating Trolls. 303 looped on by their wires at the joint, as illustrated. It is supposed by many that this rig is the best, because it permits free play to the hooks. In all other respects it is similar to A. Feathered trolls, like A and B, made strong, with stout hooks, and heavy, strong gimp or wire snells, would be most killing among such coast fishes as the Spanish mackerel, blue- fish, and squeteague. TROLLING WEATHER AND BAITS. Of weather for trolling there are several opinions. Some think that the calm after a storm is the best time; others, that a windy day is best. It is good weather for all kinds of angling and trolling when the mercury is well up in the ba- rometer and there is a gentle breeze ; also when the sun looks with a modest silver face, it is much better than when the • god of day is red and fiery, or glares with a golden or jaun- diced stare. 304 Fishing in American "Watees. Trolling is a luxurious style of fishing. It is not very ar- tistic until the fish fastens. Then the play of the fish calls for the deftly-expert handling by an angler whose experience has taught him the strength and tricks to effect escape pecu- liar to each family of fishes. . Of bait-fishes, the river chub probably ranks next to the shiner. It bites eagerly to a minnow-hook baited with liver. Then there are the daces, both the homed and smooth heads, which are good for bait, and bite readily to a red fly, angle- worm, or liver. The stone-sucker is often used for bait, but it has no other merit than being firm and lasting ; it is not a taking lure. I am in the habit, when angling in the interior of the country, and in want of minnow bait, to cut a two-inch thick rod, with a fork at the end, trimming the fork, and cut- ting it down to the length of two feet, and then fastening a piece of bobbinet lace or musquito-netting into the fork, full enough to form a bag, and with that extemporized scap-net I have always been able to scap up enough bait from the brooks or backsets from the fishing waters. But it is more desirable to carry a minnow-net on making these country ex- cursions. The gaff-hook, landing-net, and minnow-net are es- sential implements toward an outfit for an expedition for general fishing. PISH-HOOKS. In the two rows of hooks represented opposite, the angler may see the two important betids^ without reference to the slight bend side wise, and called the Kirhy bend^ which may be given to either one. Some anglers prefer a Kirby bend, while others contend that it is not so good for mounting with flies for either salmon or trout ; but Mr. Hyde, the best amateur expert in America, generally mounts his flies on Kirby round- bends. Offish-hooks the shape is important, but scarcely more • so than are the qualities of metal, temper, and finish. Oh, how many aching regrets and hopeless* feelings of momentary desperation have been caused by a flaw in a fish-hook, or in Importance of Fish-hooks. 305 O on '12 ' 13 n ' 14 QQnn 15 I its deficiency of quality ! As the quality of the hook is the foundation of the general results for the angler, it may not be a matter of surprise that I endeavor to impress the embryo philosopher with the importance of fish-hooks- I remember that, when a boy of seven summers, an extemporized bridge for carting hay was cast over a trout-brook in front of our dwelling, and that I baited a pin with a worm and lay down on the bridge, which was but a' few inches above the water, and let the baited pin run under the bridge. In a moment I experienced a tremendous jerk, and pulled in my line, when the trout struggled, and finally straightened my pin -hook. Oh, what would I not have promised at that moment to give for a real fish-hook! The store was near by, where two hooks might be had for a cent, but where was the cent ? I have never forgotten the feelings of that moment, and never will while life lasts. .1 would therefore plead for paternal generosity toward youths who early contract a penchant for angling. U 306 Fishing in American Waters. The rows of samples include the useful sizes to mount with flies for salmon and large brook trout, or to use for bait in the river fishings for commoner fish. The upper row repre- sent Adlington & Hutchinson's needle-pointed round-bends. This is also an excellent hook for small striped bass and black bass, and generally for fishing when a float is used. The lower row of Sproat bend hooks are samples of the manufacture of Hutchinson & Sons, intended for the same uses as the foregoing. This bend is better than the round one for fish with a small mouth, like th^ kingfish. The Sproat bend appears to be the neplus ultra in the form and quality of a fish-hook. The Virginia hook is quite similar in its short- ness of nib and low bend, while the Kinsey or Pennsylvania hook is lower still in the nib and wider in the bend, and, being shorter from the point of the hook to the bend or centre of draught, is preferred by many ; but my experience in losing large fish by their springing the hook out induces me to pre- fer a hook of larger wire, finer finish, and tempered better. These hooks enlarge gradually to No. 20, and in quality are truly superior. SALMON FLIES. The flies on the upper row are tied on the Adlington hook with Sproat hend^ while those of the lower row are mounted on the round bend, of numbers from 15 to 18. Fig. 1. Wing of diagonally barred feathers from under side of snipe's wing, in drab and black ; dark blue and black pig's-wool hackle ; gold tail. Fig. 2. Mottled black and white wing from a turkey's tail; body of olive-colored mohair and black hackle, •with brown shoulders, and orange peacock tail. Fi^. 3. Black and drab diagonally barred wing, blue and claret hackle body, with gold shoulder ; tail of gold and f'een. Fig. 4. Brown wings and legs, drab body, all of gutta-percha; glass eyes, ig. 5. Ribbed drab wing and antennae ; legs and body of gutta-percha ; reddish- brown mohair shoulders, and black bead eyes. Fig. 6. White miller ; white ribbed wings, drab body and legs, red glass eyes. Fig. 7. Brown gutta-percha wings, pur- ple body wound with gold tinsel, reddish-brown mohair shoulders. Fig. 8. Black hackle body wound with gold ; barred duck-wing tail ; argo pheasant wing. Fig. 9. Purple body with gold tail ; blue and purple hackle ; tail of the golden pheasant top-knot ; brown mallard wings. Fig. 10. Brown and white pheasant wing ; gold body and tail ; brown hackle shoulders, and black hackle head. Fig. 11. Golden body and tail ; black hackle shoulders, with pheasant and burnt-brown wings. Asia has contributed more material for artificial flies in her numerous families of pheasants than has any other quarter of the globe. Neither the South American fox, the barred wing 308 Fishing in American Waters. of the wood-duck, nor the brown mallard feather are equal in attraction and delicacy to the top-knot of the golden pheas- ant, or the feathers of the argo pheasant. The two lower rows of flies are copies of those used with success last year in Canada by Dr. Clerk, of Andrew Clerk & Co. FLY DRESSING. tEOUT-FLIES. Fig. 1. Preparatory to snelling your hook, which means tying the hook to a silk-worm gut snell, wind the head of the shank with several turns of waxed silk. Wax for fly-tying is the same as shoemaker's, only more clear and lighter col- ored. Then wind three or four times from near the bend of the hook up to the first thread at the head, and lay the end of the gut on the inside of the shank down near to the bend, and wind with the last silk thread down to the end, and fasten end as directed on the page of" loops and ties," leaving ends as 1. Fig. 3 is the same as 1, only the end of silk at the bend end of the tie is cut short, whereas the two threads of 1 are seen on 2 as follows : Fig. 2. Place two hairs as antennae, and the hackle that you intend for the head in the direction of the bend of hook, and fasten them by several loops ; then fasten the end of the dufiing like 2 or 9, and wind it round the hook to form the body, winding it afterward with a thread of gold or silver twist, or a hackle feather like 4, fastened as at 10, and wind round the body. Then add the wings like 5, finishing off" like 8 ; or cut from a feather a j^air of wings like 6, and wind them from the head so they will maintain their present spread shape. Many tyers of trout-flies tie only one wing on, but it never falls so naturally as do the two-winged flies ; and, to imitate Nature perfectly, some flies require to be tied with four wings. Imitate the natu- ral fly as shown on the plate of " natural and artificial flies." 310 Fishing in American Watees. MOUNTING SALMON-HOOKS. Fig. 11. Wind on your silk-gut loop, and wind the end of your duffing and antenna, fastening it all at the head, and form- ing the head of hackle as shown by 14. The hackle should be doubled, as represented by 7 ; and, after the duffing is wound, the hackle should cover it like 1 3 ; or the hackle may be heavy like 12. Some persons use a vice to hold the hook, as 14 ; but the best artists at fly-tying do not use them. After the duffing, the antennae, and hackle are fastened, the body is usually wound with a cord of silver or gold, as 13 and 15, when the wings are fastened like 12 and 15, the head and tail finished like the latter, and the ends of threads covered and closed off with shellac. This also fastens the tinsel at the head of the antennae ; but with all your windings of hackle, duffing (the body), cord, or tinsel, carry with each your thread of silk, well waxed with trans- parent wax, and as nearly the color of the material you are winding as possible. First fasten well your hook to the snell, and then exercise taste and practice delicacy of ma- nipulation. After all, an hour's instruction from an artist is worth more than all the books in Christendom on in- struction for making artificial files. I prefer to purchase flies from those who follow the art for a livelihood; but all anglers should be able to tie a fly when in a wilderness. THE PONDEEATING SINKEE. This recent invention is not in general use, or known to many anglers. I have tried it. it may do for river and fresh- water fishings with a float, but for bottom fishing the hollow tracing sinker is vastly superior. The object for thus in- creasing the ponderosity of a sinker is to save the trouble of carrying numerous sinkers of different weights when going a-fishing, and to increase or decrease the weight without tak- ing off the sinker. Explanation of the Cut. — No. 1 is the smallest size of the A NEW Combination. 311 set represented. In case a heavier sinker is required, No. 1 is unscrewed, and presents the appearance of Nos. 2 and 3. The increased weight necessary is found in such wheels as 4 and 5, which are screwed on 3, and then 2 is again fastened to 3 by means of the screw. The sinkers are of lead, and the screw of 3 and the hole of 2 are brass, in order that they shall be strong and not corrode. I can not recommend them for the heavy fish of our bays and cstuai;Je8, as they are liable to unscrew on the bottom and in a strong tide ; but as sinkers for float-fishing, no invention, I think, could be more oppor- tune. They are to be found at the principal fishing-tflackle stores. art tljiri. COMMERCIAL FISHERIES. CHAPTER I. LAKE FISHERIES. Statistics of a couple of Fisheries on the Western Lakes. As I have before stated that this is- not a school-book, I will add that it is not intended for the counting-room. The few statistics given are mere glimpses at a branch of industry which is a sealed book to the public. The lake fisheries of the United States are confined to the southern half of the range of lakes to which the River St. Lawrence is the outlet. Later in the history of this country important fisheries will be established on Lake Superior and at intervals far beyond. At present the few fisheries are controlled by private indi- viduals or companies, who have not cared for the publicity which would enable reporters to make a correct estimate of this industry. FOOD-FISHES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. The catch of fish in Lake Superior averages about ten thousand barrels, of which nine thousand are whitefish, and the remainder ciscoquettes (ciscos) ; but this only applies to the fish which are salted for an Eastern market ; for large quantities are shipped while fresh, of which no correct ac- count is kept. In Detroit one firm alone ships annually some three hundred tons of whitefish, which, however, is a portion of the harvest of Lake Huron. The largest whitefis*h are caught below Copper Harbor, in Lake Superior, and weigh about 8 pounds, or 60 to a barrel ; those caught above Copper Harbor average 1^ to 2 pounds, and about 1 30 to the barrel. From an estimate made in dollars by the dealers in Lake Supe- rior fishes, the catch of last year, when salted, amounted to... $200, 000 00 300 tons fresh whitefish, shipped by one house, at 10 cts. per lb. 60.000 00 $200,000 00 316 Fishing in American Waters. My informant — who is one of the most intelligent fisher- men of the lakes — adds that " ciscoquettes" (or the ciscos) are supposed to be the finest of the fresh-water fishes taken in the lakes. " They are something like a Spanish mackerel, very fat, and becoming valuable. They are never found far away from copper-mines, and wherever copper is found most abund- ant there also are found the greatest number of ciscoquettes. None are caught at the lower end of the lake. Fishing is yet in its infancy, many places having never been fished before last season," ^. e. 1867. The ciscoquette is only like the Span- ish mackerel in its flavor being free from any foreign taste ; but it is more juicy, and, if possible, more delicate in flavor. FISHERY OF SANDUSKY, OHIO. This is one of the principal fisheries on the lakes, and the following statement shows its annual catch, and the means employed : WHITEFISH. Taken in pounds, 1,800,000 fish ; aggregate weight, 4,500,000 lbs.; price, 10 cents the pound, or $450,000 00 2000 lbs. daily, or over, for 200 days, taken in gill-nets 40,000 00 490,000 00 GLASS-EYED OR WALL-EYED PIKE. 4,400,000 pounds, of sizes running from 1 ^ to 14 lbs. each. The wholesale price averages 4 cents the pound 1 76,000 00 BLACK BASS. 65,000. Average, 3 lbs. Price, 4^ cents per lb 8,775 00 SAND PICKEREL OR SAND PIKE. 1,200,000. Price, 1 cent each 12,000 00 LAKE HERRINGS. 13,500,000 fish, weight ^ lb. each, at i cent per lb 33, 750 00 WHITE BASS. 1,200,000 fish, at a cent each : 12,000 00 MASKINONGE. 500 fish, 10 lbs. each, at 6 cents per lb • 300 00 LAKE TROUT. 20,000 lbs. caught at Cape Vincent, N.Y., and 40,000 lbs. caught at Collingville and Greenwood, at 10 cents per lb 6,000 00 Amount total $738,825 00 Fish Pounds and Food-fishes. 317 NUMBER AND EXTENT OF NETS EMPLOYED. The fishery has 150 pounds or stationary nets, set in waters from 20 to 42 feet deep. The length of each net is 100 rods, and the cost $1000 each. Amount total, $150,000. The cost of fish-pounds are the principal expense, though the company has in continued use 1000 gill-nets, twenty seines, and numer- ous small boats. The fishery is very prosperous, and owned by men of energy and business capacity. The extensive coast and estuary fisheries of the United States, having been regularly worked ever since the eastern border was first settled by Europeans, have to such a degree absorbed the capital and enterprise of fishei-men and fish-deal- ers that the lake and river fisheries were not thought of until within the past twenty years, with one solitary exception. Prior to that date the establishment of fisheries in the inte- rior of the United States was not even spoken of Now there are many, from which I have selected the foregoing exemplars to illustrate results of this growing industry. Throughout the interior of our vast territory there is an ornamental tracery of running, sweet, and healthful waters, well supplied with food-fishes. The working of these waters is free to all fishermen, with the unimportant exception of a few depleted rivers, consequent on their having been over- worked, but which are now being restocked and protected by legislative enactments during the process of recuperatio^i. These are all near the sea-board. The lakes and lengthy riv- ers of the interior are still free ; and where no regular fish- eries are established, the inhabitants take what fresh fish they want, either with t^e angle, net, or spear. The poaching pro- clivity of some indolent persons has induced them to use the spear too freely in our small lakes during winter. In the State of New York there is a law against it, with fine and penalty attached, but it is still done in defiance of law. These poachers erect a board shanty on sleigh-runners, furnished 318 Fishing in American Waters. with a foot-stove, and a hole in the ridge of the roof for the spear-handle. This shanty they draw out on the lake, cut a hole through the ice under it, lock the door, and commence spearing all the fish that come near their hole. If the con- stable raps at the door, no reply is meant to signify that the occupant is absent. Thus poachers squat in villages on our lakes in winter when the ice is thick, and spear the fish at a season when they are unwholesome for food. In Canada, for attracting the maskinonge to the spear, in one hand the poacher holds a line attached to an artificial minnow, which he keeps playing in the water, while with the other hand he holds the spear. The maskinonge darts to within a foot of the minnow, and, while hesitating there, the spear takes him. The great Western rivers swarm with fish, and all the way for five hundred miles below the sources of both the Missis- sippi and the Missouri every tributary is a trout-stream. In addition to the pike and pickerel, the glass-eyed pike, doree, or sand pickerel, the gray pickerel, known as the Ohio salmon, there are some half dozen varieties of bass in nearly every Western river, besides perch, sunfish, chub, bream, eels, buf- falo. There are also several varieties of catfish, the most im- portant of which are the black, yellow, and channel cats. The Missouri River is justly celebrated for the latter fish, which runs from five to fifteen pounds each, and, besides yield- ing excellent sport for the rod, is a choice table luxury, equal- ing the salure of the Danube, which is also a species of cat- fish highly prized by European epicures. The Hammer-headed Shaek. An important Need of Man. 319 CHAPTER n. COAST FISHES AND FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. The fisheries of the Atlantic coast from Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf of St. Lawrence are so extensive as to cause re- gret that statistics in the catches of many important fishes are not sufficiently reliable to form the data necessary to a correct report of the numbers and weights annually caught by the thousands of fishermen who keep no account of their takes, but sell them at retail or wholesale, and live on the pro- ceeds, without keeping an account of their expenses. Coasting New England's rocky shore, Sailing where Southern surges pour, The daring fishers spread the sail To Southern haze and Northern gale. Thousands of craft the ocean speck, Thousands of seamen pace the deck, Eager to follow to the end, Where'er the mackerel shoal may tend. This is one of the most important food-fishes of the seas, as well as one of the most prolific. Nature, in the harmoni- ous arrangement of the universe, and in turning all things toward man's good, has made the duration and existence of numerous families of fishes dependent upon their searching out brooding-places and depositing their eggs in the neigh- borhood of man's nipR. By the process of procreation, these fish form, to a certain extent, home attractions, and dally about the shoals near shore, where they are fished for with the hook, and the more sure means of a drift-net twenty feet deep by one hundred and fifty feet in length, well corked at top, but with no leads at the bottom, for when mackerel are 320 Fishing in American Waters. in a biting or a moving mood they rise to the surface. Like all sea fishes, the mackerel is more easily taken than fishes of fresh waters. He foolishly dashes at whatever he sees before him which he thinks will not devour him. But in this pecu- liarity he does not differ from the royal salmon, which will snap at flies when out of season, and evince the most culpable rapacity when just returned from sea, even biting at an arti- ficial minnow, or a fly unlike any thing in existence. The Mackerel. — Scombridce — Scomber. — Linn, It would be difficult to find a fish more exquisite in form, or more important in a commercial point of view, than the common mackerel. It is also capricious in its movements. It is not always to be depended on for visiting us in great numbers, though it has never entirely deserted us for a sin- gle season. It is in best condition on our shores in October. Then it is most succulent, and orders for private tables should be made of that month's catch. Catches early in the season are lean. The catch of June is scarcely worth salting ; but mackerel fatten fast, and by September are very good. Oc- tober mackerel are preferable to those of any other month in the year, for, as a singular fact in the nature of the fish, it be- gins to deteriorate or lose condition in November. In gen- eral, mackerel move away from shore gradually after the first frost, and they finally settle off in soundings, not much influ- enced by the cold weather along our shares. October is con- sidered the closing month of the mackerel season ; but about five years since, near the 1st of December, the fishermen of New Providence, Massachusetts, were surprised by the sight of the saltatory exploits on the bay of myriads of mackerel leaping, shining, and gleaming in every direction. The boats The Conscience of Mackerel. 321 were supplied with bait, and manned in quick time for even Yankees, and the take that day was almost miraculous. The catch that season had been short, but that day made up the deficiency of the year. The next morning indicated that the shoal had stacked arms and was prepare^ to march. But few were taken that day, and less numbers each day for a week that the fleet followed them, when the shoals all sank, as by one general order, off the coast of New Jersey. It was matter of great surprise to the fishermen that the mackerel voluntarily yielded themselves to appease the fish- ermen and supply the fish-casks of human need ; but, having done so, the shoals seemed to have retired with a glow of sat- isfaction at having done their duty, even at the loss of some of their favorites. In vain is the intimation to the pious fisherman that mack- erel are as liable to mistakes in their calculations as men, and so settled, before the regular fishing season was over, in too cold a latitude, and rose during a warm term to take a lunar, and lay their course for more genial winter quarters. No ! The fishermen believe that, smitten by conscience for not fur- nishing the usual supply, the fish voluntarily yielded them- selves to the sacrifice for conscience' sake. Mackerel, to be fully appreciated, should leap as it were from the water into the hands of the cook, and be made ready for the gridiron, broiled, and on the table in half an hour aft- er it has left its native element. Or a salted October mack- erel can not be depreciated by a person of nice taste ; though, of course, a fresh fish is better than a cured one, and the soon- er it is cooked after its last shuddering flutter, and its ultra- marine tints die away, the better. The mackerel frequents the Atlantic coast from Belle Isle to Long Island. It spawns in spring in the bays, bayous, and estuaries, and comes into season for the table in August. "Whether from the abundance of suitable food found at such times, or from some other causes which influence the migrations of fish, it is hard to sayy but experience shows us that on the coasts of Ireland mackerel are taken nearly all the year round. They are rarely very abundant on the coast X 322 FismNG in American Watees. of Cornwall — although never entirely absent from it — much before March. A little later they visit the coast of Devonshire, appearing to approach the land as the season advances. At Lowestoft and Yarmouth the fishing season is still later, and is at its height during the months of May and June, whilst in the Frith of Forth June and July are the months when they usually ap- pear. In the Orkneys few fish are taken until the last week in July or the first in August. "The mackerel fanfily have an extended range, and are found most abun- dant in warmer climes than the British Isles, The Sea of Marmora and the Bosphorus at times literally swarm with them. It is extremely picturesque and exciting to see the light and graceful ' caiques' dancing like bubbles over the clear blue sea, as, propelled by their lusty crews, they shoot here and there amongst the circling nets. Meantime the cunning old cormorants, un- dismayed by the bustle and splashing water, ply their occupation most dili- gently. As they grow audacious from long-continued impunity, they make a sudden raid over the corks into the thick of the struggling, fluttering fry. The fishermen shout, and by dint of admonitory pokes, liberally administered with the oar-blades, the greedy, long-necked throng are ignominiously ex- pelled, and retire beyond the nets, gobbling down at leisure their ill-gotten plunder. Some idea of the abundance of fish to be found in this part of the world, and of the immunity from persecution enjoyed by these birds, may be formed by watching the countless thousands of them which at times pass, in apparently endless lines, between the Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea. I have watched them for hours without seeing any apparent diminution in their passing hosts. Vast numbers of mackerel also frequent the coasts of the isl- and of St. Helena, where immense quantities can be captured. I have taken them with the hook and line until literally tired of hauling up and unhook- ing, baiting with a little strip of salt pork-rind, and throwing biscuit-dust overboard as an attraction. These fish, although of excellent flavor, are rarely more than seven or eight inches long, and are much like the shiners, or young mackerel, found abundantly on the EngHsh coast during the sum- mer months ; while in British waters, from fourteen to sixteen inches in length, and two pounds in weight, is not an unusual size. "Much importance appears in past times to have been attached to the sale of mackerel in London, as we find that a law was passed in the year 1698 legahzing their being vended by a 'cry' on Sunday, which custom, as we know, still continues. " There are several modes by which the capture of the mackerel is effected. Seines, or long nets funiished with corks at the top and leads at the bottom, are dexterously carried by fast boats round the advancing shoal of fish, which is inclosed as within a ' pound. ' The ends of the net are now secured, and the fish either taken from within the inclosure with a smaller net, or drawn to the sm*face in the ' bunts' or bags foimed in the larger seines, when the leaping, struggling fish are dipped up literally by basketfuls (by mep stationed on the gunwale of the boat for the purpose) and thrown into a compartment provided for their reception. Great numbers are at times taken in ground seines or nets, which, although somewhat like those above described, are smaller, and so arranged as to be dragged to the beach with their contents. ' Trammel' and ' drift' nets may be compared to curtains suspended in mid- water, and are moored securely in the places selected for them by heavy stones fastened to their ends. In them the heedless fish, not perceiving the treacherous web, dart their heads, become hopelessly entangled, and are ulti- mately strangled in the meshes. "Hook-fishing, too, lends its aid in thinning the rainbow throng. As a matter of sport and pastime, few pursuits, I think, are more thoroughly en- Yielding Profit and Spoet. 323 joyable than * whiffing' for mackerel, and the following quotation will show that others are much of the same way of thinking : " ' It was evident the bay was full of mackerel ; in every direction, as far as the eye could range, gulls and puffins of the St. Lawrence were collected, and, to judge from their activity and clamor, there appeared ample enjoyment for them aniongst the fry beneath. We immediately bore away from the place where the birds were most numerously congregated, and the lines were scarcely overboard when we found ourselves in the centre of a shoal of mack- erel. The hooker, however, had too much way. We lowered the foresail, double reefed the mainsail, and then went steadily to work. Directed by the movements of the birds, we followed the mackerel. Tacking and wearing the boat occasionally when we found we had overrun the shoal, for two hours we killed these beautiful fish as fast as the baits could be renewed and the lines hauled in, and when we left off fishing, actually wearied with the sport, we found we had taken above 500 pounds. There is not, on sea or river, al- ways excepting angling for salmon, any sport comparable to this delightful amusement. Full of life and bustle, every thing about it is animated and ex- iiilarating. ' " Hook-fishing for mackerel is very exciting sport. A brisk breeze, sky mellowed by fleecy clouds, gulls swooping and screaming, every thing apparently in excitement. Under such circumstances and surroundings, it is not strange if the troller, whiffer, or still-baiter should inflate his lungs and feast his soul until the waning sun warns him to desist and jtire. Excellent sport is sometimes to be had by rowing or scuU- \g a boat into a thick shoal, and trolling for them with feath- ered squid, twirling spoon, or casting to them a white artifi- ^cial fly. Statistics of Mackerel Catches in the States of Maine and Massachtisetts from 1863 to 1867, and the average wholesale Prices per barrel. 1864, Massachusetts 306,000 bbls. f 18 00 $5,508,000 00 Maine 100,000 " 18 00 1,800,000 00 1865, Massachusetts 300,000 '• 2100 6,300,000 00 " Maine 90,000 " 21 00 1,890,000 00 1866, Massachusetts 250,000 " 17 00 4,250,000 00 " Maine 80,000 " 17 00 1,360,000 00 1867, Massachusetts *..... 200,000 " 15 00 3,000,000 00 " Maine 70,000 " 15 00 1,050,000 00 1,396,000 " $25,158,000 00 324 Fishing in American Waters. Scale of Inches. Hekeing an© Pilchard Family. — 1. The Mossbonker, or Hard-bead, Alosa menhaden (very abundant on the shores of Long Island and Mass. It is seldom eaten). 2. The Pilchard, Clupea pilchardus. 3. The Anchovy, Engraulis engrasicolus. 4. Amer- ican Shad, Alosa prcestabilis. 5. The Herring, Clupea harengus. SECTION SECOND. No. 4. THE SHAD. By the rice-border'd Southern coast, Where the Savannah River w^inds, The shad-shoal, an unnumher'd host, Its earliest feeding pasture finds. Thence northward where the Hudson sweeps Connecticut's transparent deeps, Their gleaming myriads seek a home Beyoiid the surges and the foam. The Shad, commercially, is an important fish. It winters in the ocean, dallies among the nets in the estuaries during spring, after which it lays its ova in the sands above tide-wa- ter, and returns to salt water to recuperate. It is very pro- lific, yielding from a fourth to half a million eggs annually within the months of April, May, and June. The Connecti- cut River is supposed to contain the best shad, while those of the Delaware and Hudson are excellent fish — vastly supe- rior to those of the British Isles, or to the Alosa vulgaris^ which is numerous in the rivers of France, but so small and lean as never to be seen on the 'table of an epicure. The av- erage weight of shad in Europe is less than two pounds, while Economical Bkeakfast Delicacy. 325 in America it is double that weight. The Alosa Jinta visits some of Jthe waters in France and Spain, and it is but recent- ly that it has been duly classified in France. The superiority of American shad in both size and quality over those of Eu- rope is probably caused by the purity of our rivers, and the greater amount of the kinds of food relished by this tooth- less spring delicacy of the breakfast-table. It feeds on ani- malculae, and is exclusively caught with nets. The shad season is comparatively short, but the principal Northern markets are supplied with them from Southern riv- ers in March, and sometimes as early as February. They do not enter the rivers of New York and Connecticut before the early part of April ; and one of the most peculiar features in this family of fishes was discovered by Seth Green, while hatching them by artificial means at Holyoke, on the Connec- ticut River, where he hatched nearly one hundred millions of shad in less than six weeks. From the time when he strip- ped the shad, and the ova and milt settled in the hatching- boxes, not more than thirty-six hours elapsed before nineteen twentieths of the eggs hatched, and the remainder within twelve hours later. THE SHAD FISHERIES. Sixty days include the shad season in New York Bay and the feud- son River, during which time the usual catch is 1,100,000 fish, averaging each 25 cts. as price, or $275,000 The catch in Delaware about 750,000, 25 cts 187,500 " Connecticut, 400,000, 30 cts 120,000 " Kennebec, 140,000, 15 cts 22,500 " Penobscot, 20,000, 20 cts 4,000 " North Carolina, 500,000, 40 cts 200,000 " Potomac and Chesapeake, 300,000, 20 cts 60,000 " Norfolk and vicinity, 200,000, 30 cts 60,000 $949,000 Although the shad of Southern waters are inferior to those of the Northern, yet, as the earliest in market, they command the price of a rarity. The foregoing wholesale prices are copied from the books of the most extensive dealers in Ful- ton Market, New York. , 326 Fishing in American AVatebs. SECTION THIRD. ^ . No. 1. — THE MOSSBUNKER OR MENHADEN. On salt-sea borders, sound, and bay, The twinkling spring-time sunbeams play, And white with froth the billows shine Where the mossbunkers lash the brine. Above them flocks of sea-gulls swing. Beneath the hungry bluefish spring, And, deadlier still, the surfmen strain The oars, and mesh them with the seine. The menhaden is a white fish, with large scales of metallic lustre. It disports, during spring, summer, and autumn, ofi* the coast and in the estuaries from Delaware to the Bay of Passamaquoddy. It is from nine to twelve inches long, and in shape resembles a diminutive shad, though not so wide or thin for its length. It is a very oily fish, very bony, and therefore never eaten except by fishermen, who frequently salt it for winter use. Its flavor is like that of the shad. The principal estimate of value put upon the menhaden is for its quality as the best bait for attracting mackerel, striped bass, bluefish, and even such of the GadidcB as the haddock, and of the* Crustacea as the lobster. It is either ground or chopped fine and cast upon the water to attract mackerel and other food-fishes to the hook, while it is the best bait for lob- ster-pots. The annual diminution in the numbers of mackerel taken within the past five years — as shown by the statistics — is justly attributable to the increase of the manufacture of menhaden oil. About five years since some person conceived the brilliant idea of making oil from menhaden by grinding them to a pulp, putting them under a press, and squeezing out the oil. He formed a company, which erected buildings, introduced machinery, and bought sail-boats and nets. For a couple of years, while menhaden were so abundant as to be used for manure in some places along the coast, the menhaden oil companies made generous dividends ; but no sooner did this fact become known among enterprising geniuses than Calling for Legislation. 32T nearly two hundred manufactories were put in operation, and the sails of menhaden boats enlivened Long Island Sound throughout its length and breadth, their flocks of white wings extending along the Atlantic shore for five hundred miles, as if striving with the numerous shoals of porpoises to see which could do the most harm to the fishing interest by robbing the fishermen of the greatest amount of bait. But every year since the shoals of menhaden have decreased in number, so that while the fishermen begin to find the price of bait op- pressive, some oil factories have been compelled to suspend operations. It may be a question worthy of attention by po- litical economists and statesmen whether menhaden oil manu- factories should not be taxed out of existence for the injury they are causing to the public ; for the oil companies offer in- ducements which attract fishermen from their legitimate call- ing, enhance the prices of most kinds of food-fishes, and thus injure the public. Laws which should adequately encourage by premiums the capture of the black porpoise and the puffer would greatly improve the coast fisheries. This course was deferred until the porpoises robbed some of the rivers of Ireland of their salmon, by watching in large shoals at the mouths of rivers when the salmon were returning to spawn. Already the black porpoise — the most injurious to food-fishes of all the mammal tribes — are becoming so numerous along the coast, and in the bays and estuaries, that the fishermen rightly con- sider them one of the principal causes of the annual decrease of striped bass and many other excellent fishes. The valua- ble oil of the porpoise would be a sufiicient reward for its cap- ture if the fishermen could be so encouraged as to induce them to decline catching menhaden for oil mills, and bring their forces to bear against the porpoise, the oil of which is the finest in the world for jewelers' use, and the lubrication of all machinery requiring a fine and pure article. By some, such means as I have hinted at the shoals of food- fishes may be checked in their eastern migrations, and in- 328 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. duced to forage in the waters of the United States, instead of settling beyond their limits. MENHADEN FOR BAIT. The largest fleet engaged at catching menhaden bait along the coast is at Gloucester, Mass., where twenty fast-sailing fishing-smacks are engaged six months of the year at netting menhaden, and their annual sales of bait average in amount $75,000. Of the pilchard, No. 2, and anchovy, No. 3, they are European fishes ; but the herring, No. 5, swarms along all the shores and inlets of the Atlantic during the spring and sum- mer months ; and whether it is the want of duly appreciating the fish, or because American fishermen have better employ- ment during the season which the herring visits our shores, I know not, but it does not claim its proportionate share of interest and attention among the numerous families of Ameri- can food-fishes. FROZEN HERRINGS. Late in autumn about fifty vessels sail annually from Mas- sachusetts to Newfoundland for frozen herrings. Their aver- age catch is one hundred tons each, and their wholesale price in the New York markets is three cents a pound, or $300,000. SECTION FOURTH. THE CODFISH — CATCHING AND CURING IT. Far off by stormy Labrador — Far off the Banks of Newfoundland, Where angry seas incessant roar, And foggy mists their wings expand, The fishing-schooners, black and low, For weary months sail to and fro ; Seeking no home, no rest the while. Till each is freighted full with spoil. While visiting the mouth of the St. John River, on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, I spent some time in examining the modus operandi of taking and dry-curing cod. Industry of wokld-wild Importance. 329 Fishermen from the isles of Guernsey and Jersey, with those from the British American Provinces, had come from afar, with their wives and little ones, and early in June settled in log cabins, to remain during the cod-fishing season, which, they supposed, would continue until September, when, with their freighted vessels, they would embark on their perilous voyage for home and a market. Their fleet numbered sixty sail, with a scull-boat (in which a sail might be hoisted in case of necessity) for each vessel. This fleet employed also two sail-boats, with nets, to catch caplin for bait. Large shoals of caplin, smelt, and spearing foraged about the estu- ary and along the bay and coast, wisely intended, no doubt, as food for salmon, cod, and other members of the Gadidas, family, besides the more ferocious monsters of the deeji, which seem to stop at nothing. During my stay of a week among these fishermen, and from what experience I before enjoyed with the class, I am forced to conclude, with Victor Hugo and others who have studied the habits of men, and deduced therefrom theories for the influence which their avocations exert upon their dispositions, that fishermen are the most amiable, patient, and obliging class of men in the world. They are temperate, industrious, frugal, and afiec- tionate among themselves, and hospitable to strangers. The Codfish. The fleet sailed out of the harbor every morning, each ves- sel taking a supply of bait as it passed the caplin-netters, when they would come to anchor at certain distances apart along the Banks, sometimes within a mile of shore, but more generally from five to twenty miles, always following the fish 330 FisHESTG m Ameeican Waters. as they changed feeding - grounds. On their return in the evening they ran alongside the planked docks, extending into the river from the salting and packing houses, erected part- ly over the water. From vessels the cod were pitched up on the docks (with forks made for the purpose), where they were beheaded, split, drawn, and cleaned, then pitched into the salting-room, where salt was rubbed into them for two days, and on the third day they were spread on the flakes to dry. The " flakes" are tables of fir-boughs, made by driving forked stakes into the ground, then laying poles across, and covering them with boughs of the fir-tree. These flakes were two yards wide, three feet high, and covered several acres. The fish, after being salted two days, on the third day are spread singly upon the flakes to dry. Here they are left four days, when they are grouped into small piles on the flakes of twenty-five fish in each pile, and left in that condition two days to sweat, when they are again spread on the flakes as at first, and, after two days more, are piled up two days as be- fore. Then they are gathered from the flakes and formed into round stacks, their necks at the outer edge of the stack, which is usually about five feet high, and conta'ins a ton of fish. After leaving them a week in stack, they again distrib- ute them on the flakes to dry, and after another week they again stack them. They are thus continued on the flakes or in pack about a month in summer, but only half that time in autumn, when they are considered cured. The cod cured on the north shore of the Gulf are dried harder than those on the south shore for the United States market. Those cured on the north shore are generally sold in South America, the West Indies, and to ports in the British Isles. The question of" What luck have you had ?" is more espe- cially applicable to fishers for the market than to the disciple of rod and reel ; for, without bait, a perilous voyage and a whole season's labor produce nothing but disappointment. The caplin, spearing, and smelt are sometimes prevented by rough weather from approaching waters where they may be An interesting Yakiety. 331 taken with the seine, in which case there is no use of thinking of substitutes for these baits, as the cod follow them and for- age upon them far away from the ken of fishermen, or their power to follow. Thus the career of the fisherman is both hazardous and precarious. The John Doky. 332 Fishing m American Watees. CHAPTER III. WHALES— Cfetacea — an order of aquatic mammals which comprises the largest ani- mated forms in existence : some of the genera composing it are phytophagous, or plant-eaters ; others are zoophagous, or animal-eaters. WHALE FISHING. " What though the wintry night falls dark, And icy foes beset our bark, And stiff our frozen rigging stands, Enclasp'd with rigid iron bands, While sheeted ice, like solid mail. Thickens each spar and stiifen'd sail ? Yet .brave are whalemen's valiant hearts, And stout are whalemen's hands ; And strong the arm the harpoon darts. And strong the arm that wields the lance, When o'er the tides our Avhale-boats glance To battle with the whale. Leviathan may lash the tide, But soon his floating, bleeding side. And soon the spouting streams of gore, That o'er the ensanguin'd waters pour, Declare that all is o'er. Right soon the precious oil is won, Our dangerous labors all are done, And homeward — homeward is the ciy, With all sails spreading to the sky." — Isaac M'Lellan. Spouting in favor of Gas. 333 WHALE FISHING. HALING is the most ad- venturous occupation known within the cir- cle of legitimate in- dustry. It demands . not only the explora- tions of most danger- . ous seas, but a resi- dence upon them dur- ing the most inclem- ent seasons. For many years very lit- tle whaling has been done in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the coast of Labra- dor, but the whales are again returning to their wonted feed- ing-grounds there, and the walruses or sea-cows nightly ap- proach, and sometimes rest on the islands. The Georgia shoals, and banks near Newfoundland gener- ally, teem with nearly all the fishes of the Northern seas. Fishes from afar visit those feeding-grounds, which are form- ed into rich pastures by the settling of the debris washed down from near the frigid zone. The heavy tides whose swift currents sweep around Scotland and Ireland are met by counter tides and strong currents from Baffin's and Hudson's Bays, and these precipitate vegetable and inineral matters, in- cluding the drift of large rocks in icebergs, and, being assist- ed by the backing of the Gulf Stream, they have already form- ed the island of Newfoundland, the Fishing Banks, and the small islands which dot those waters, all of which will yet rise into an extensive territory, connecting Newfoundland with the main land south of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The waters of the Straits of Belle Isle, which form one of the prin- cipal' outlets to the gulf, are so deep, and the rise and fall of the tides so great, that they have contributed to the forma- tion of the island of Anticosti, which is larger than Xong Isl- 334 Fishing m American Waters. and, N. Y. With the great rise and fall of the tides, and the consequent swift currents, many eddies are thus formed, and for hundreds of miles to the south of Newfoundland, and ex- tending to the west end of Anticosti, the feeding-grounds for food-fishes form a larger fishing area than any other in the world. This meeting and mingling of the frosty Northern waters with those more mild from the Gulf Stream are supposed to form another attraction for fishes, and the bait-fishes are fol- lowed thither by the food-fishes, and the latter by most of the voracious monsters of the deep, and thus procreation and depletion keep step with supply and demand. A voyage by schooner from the north shore of the Gulf, and turning the west end of Anticosti while bound for Gaspe, gave me some sights of whales in spouting groups which would be worth a voyage from New York to those waters to witness. Whales generally swim in pairs, unless they have a calf, when that swims between them for protection ; but I saw several groups at a time of more than three in each, all spouting like politicians. Our tub of a schooner, which kept " bidding and bobbing" like Mrs. Toodles at an auction, re- minded me of the following couplet : " When to the wind we spread our sails, Along the pathless ocean strolling, Crammed in a tub stock full of nails, Like Regulus, we die by rolling." Having thus spent a few nights and days on the turbulent Gulf of St. Lawrence, rising one bright morning unharmed in our tub, which seemed cast to the whales, as they surrounded us, we were elate with joy at the brilliant display which na- ture afforded in the bright heavens, sparkling waves, whales spouting in every direction, the light-house looming on the Isle of Anticosti, and the appearance of numerous beautiful birds swimming about our craft, which we learned were puf- fins, a species of duck peculiar to the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Anticosti. These birds are about the size of a mallard, An inteeesting Yoyage. 335 but robed in scintillant plumage of green tipped with purple, and farther ornamented with a beak shaped like a parrot's, of a bright vermilion color. As the sun rose above the snowy peaks of Labrador, the sails slackened, when half a mile to westward we saw slowly rise above the waves a white triangular fin, then an enormous head which spouted a large shower of spray high above the waves, next a huge back, and finally the enormous tail of a monster double the length of our schooner. We were shocked at the appearance of the monster, its great size, and the enormous volume of water it spouted, and the wake and roaring splash which its breaking water and diving produced. The sailors informed us that it was a sul- phur whale, one of the Mammalia., so vicious and powerful that whalers seldom or never attack that species. In the book on ''' Salmon-fishing in Canada,^'' by Colonel J^ir James E. Alexander, author of an important work on ex- |)lorations, he devotes a considerable space to the once sup- posed phenomenon of mirages. Those who have sailed near the Mingan Islands have doubtless observed the singular forms assumed by objects at a distance, which is caused by a peculiar state of atmosphere, and the different degrees of temperature and qualities of the waters intervening between the beholder of the mirage and the objects seen through it. Tlie peculiar mirage along the Mingan Islands is supposed to be caused by the number of large rivers debouching in the Gulf there, and, from their rapidity, carrying waters a great way out on the Gulf which differ in temperature and quality from that upon which they apparently float on the surface. It is stated that " the most remarkable mirages over wa- ter have occurred in straits," as those seen by Mr. Vance at Dover, and the celebrated Fata Morgana at Messina. In the St. Lawrence they present greater and more interesting varieties of ocular deception, as at Bic, Point des Monts, Min- ixan, and the Straits of Belle Isle. To return to my subject. The sight of a whale-ship round- 336 Fishing in American Waters. ing the end of Anticosti, and several game-looking boats row- ing away from her, increased our anxiety, as the sailors said that we were in the midst of numerous shoals of commercial whales, including the "fenners" and " hump - backs." The white pectoral fin of the sulphur was seen to rise at intervals, receding in distance, when all at once two huge black masses arose before us and spouted. They proved to be a mother and her calf, of the hump-back family. Nearer and more near approached the boats from the whaler ; and, after the whales rose to spout, as they descended the boats quickened their speed toward where they expected the next rise. This was repeated several times, until at last, just as one of the monsters rose, the man at the bow of the nearest boat plunged the harpoon deep in his body near the heart. " Laugh at fear ! Plunge it deep, the barbed spear ! , Strike the lance in swift career ! Give him Une I give him line ! Down he goes through the foaming brine. " The instant rush of the infuriated fish drew the boat hissing through the waters at a speed which soon hid it from our view, rendering the sight really sublime ; and when adding that the mother whale followed, lashing the waves with her tail and leaping like a salmon, the reader may picture to his imagination — fishing ! The mother whale swam numerous times round her calf, trying to entice it seaward away from its pursuers ; but its strength slowly failing with fatigue and loss of blood, it rose to spout. Then might be seen the mother's tender solicitude for her young, as she all but caressed it and coaxed it to fol- low her out of harm's way, and several times persuasively swam a little distance, and then returned to assist it. The boatmen were meantime hauling in line and coiling it carefully in a tub made for the purpose, when, like light- ning, off the whale started again, more rapidly, apparently, than at first. The mother cavorted and disported around Opinion of an eloquent Irishman. 337 lier young, as if to bid it persist and escape the wicked whal- ers. But the firmly-fixed harpoon held the young whale to the tether, and after several runs it rose to the surface in or- der to make its last fight, to which all previous efibrts seemed tame. It lashed the waves with a noise like thunder, and the spray caused by it and by the leaps and writhings of the agonized mother was carried more than a mile, causing a blinding mist for many rods around. Finally, all efforts fail- ing, the young whale gave the final shudder and was dead, lying lifeless on the surface. Then went up the shouts of the boatmen, in which we joined ; but a hauser, lashed to the tail of the dead whale, enabled the crews to float it slowly toward the whale-ship, which had drawn near. But the moth- er whale continued to lash the waters, as with snorting and blowing she evinced signs of fury until long after the blub- ber-spades had dissected much of the body, and a sea of blood Hurrounded the ship. I will conclude this chapter with the eloquent peroration of the gifted Burke, made in the House of Commons in 1774 : " As to the wealth which the colonists have drawn from the sea by their fisheries, you had that matter fully opened at your bar. You surely thought these acquisitions of value, for they seemed to excite your envy ; and yet the spirit by which that enterprising employment has been exercised ought rather, in my opinion, to have raised esteem and admiration. And pray, sir, what in the world is equal to it ? Pass by the other parts, and look at the manner in which the New En- gland people carry on the whale fishery. While we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson's Bay ■ and Davis's Straits ; while we are looking for them beneath M the arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the op- ■fcposite region of polar cold — that they are at the antipodes, ^■And engaged under the frozen serpent of the south. Falk- ^Hiand Island, which seemed too remote and too romantic an ^■abject for the grasp of national ambition, is but a stage and I 338 Fishing in American Waters. resting-place for their victorious industry. Nor is the equi- noctial heat more discouraging to them than the accumulated winter of both poles. We learn that while some of them draw the line or strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa, others run the longitude and pursue their gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. No sea but what is vexed with their fisheries — no climate that is not witness of their toils. Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enter- prise, ever carried this most perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pursued by this recent people — a people who are still in the gristle, and not harden- ed into manhood." THE striped red MULLET. The striped red mullet, a beautiful fish of a pale pink col- or, but somewhat larger than the one known to the Romans, is found in considerable numbers on the English coasts. The mullets, like the cod and some other fish which feed in deep water, are furnished with long feelers attached to the lower jaw, supposed to be delicate organs of touch, by which these fish are enabled to select their food on the muddy bottoms. This fish is more gamy than the golden mullet of the Ameri- can borders of the Atlantic, but it is vastly inferior for the table. Striped Red Mullet. — Mullus surmuletus. The Coast Industries. 339 CHAPTER W. SALT-WATER FISHERIES. COD-LIVER OIL. ^ Maine and Massachusetts make annually about 5000 bbls. common oil, such as is generally used for tanning purposes, or 150,000 gals., at 80 cts.$120,000 00 200 bbls. superior oil, used ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ for medical purposes, ^ I ' i^f'j'^^^^^^^^^^^^^p ^^^ made at Gloucester 1 1 v\V3 f^^^^^^^^^S and Rockport, 6000 gal- lons, at $1 50 $9,000 00 TONGUES AND SOUNDS. The yearly catch of Glouces- ter vessels averages 1000 bbls., at $8 $8,000 00 dried codfish. Massachusetts. The av- erage annual make is 350,000 quintals, at $6 $2,100,000 00 Maine. The average annual make is 200,000 quintals, at $6.. l,200,00aoo $3,300,000 00 halibut fishery. Halibut caught by vessels of Gloucester, Massachusetts, aver- age annually, for five years past, 10,000,000 lbs., at 10 cts.. $1,000,000 00 Yearly catch by Boston vessels, 2,500,000 lbs., at 10 cts 250,000 00 $1,250,000 00 SMOKING SALMON AND HALIBUT. One Boston Ifouse smokes 10,000 bbls. annually, at the average price per bbl. of $38 .$380,000 00 Do., 10,000 bbls., at $10 100,000 00 Do., 13,000 quintals* of smoked halibut, 9 cts. per lb 131,040 00 $611,040 00 THE EASTPORT FISHERY. Fish caught and cured in the vicinity of Eastport, Maine : 30,000 boxes smoked herrings, 40 cts $12,000 00 ' A qnlDtal is 112 lbs. 340 Fishing in American Waters. Brought forward $12,000 00 1500 bbls. herring oil, $30 45,000 00 8000 quintals dried cod, $3 24,000 00 20,000 quintals dried pollock, $2 40,000 00 10,000 " " hakes, $150 15,000 00 500 bbls. liver oil, $30 15,000 00 3000 bbls. pickled cod, $4 12,000 00 5700 " " herrings, $4 22,800 00 1200 " " mackerel, $15 18,000 00 500 " " haddock, $2 50 1,250 00 $205,050 00 The foregoing statement is made by Captain S. Treat, of Eastport, and is an average annual catch for the past five years to 1868. WHOLESALE FISH DEPARTMENT OF FULTON MARKET. This includes fourteen establishments confined to the pur- chase and sale of food-fishes. The average annual sales by each is $150,000. Aggregate $2,100,000 ©0 In addition to these sales, they employ one hundred and eleven fishing-smacks, the average annual catches by each amount- ing to $12,000, or an aggregate of. 1,332,000 00 $3,432,000 00 SCOLLOPS. The trade in scollops is annually increasing, but, like the other vast water-fields of Crustacea, the business is still embryotic and the trade undeveloped. East Greenwich, K. I., sup- plies 100 gallons daily for half the year, or 18,200 gallons at75 cents 13,650 00 Southport, Matatuck, Cutchogue, and Jamesport, on Long Isl- and, supply in the aggregate six months 18,200 gallons at 75 cents ; 13,650 00 $27,300 00 SOFT-SHELL CLAMS. Comstock & Co., of Fulton Market, sold last j^ear 3,250,000 for $8000. It is estimated that this is about one sixth of the aggregate annual sale in • the United States, which would render the sum total .*. . .$48,000 00 I could not get an estimate on the business done in hard clams, though it is nearly or quite as large as that in soft shells. SMELTS. Trade in smelts is confined to six months, or to the inclement season of the year, for which time the sales in Fulton Mar- ket averaged 1,352,000 at 16 cents $216,320 00 I A Chesapeake Industry. 841 SALMON, FRESH AND SALTED. One Boston house sells annually 10,000 bbls. salmon, the fresh and salted fish averaging per bbl. $38 $380,000 00 100,000 bbls. herrings, cured and smoked in the manner of Yar- mouth bloaters, $10 per bbl 1,000,000 00 THE OTSTEB INDUSTRY. Of the delicious bivalve which "gets out of bed to be tucked in,"dt is impos- sible to arrive at an appropriate estimate of all which are canned for the interior trade, and those sold in the shell for consumption in the Atlantic States ; but of the trade from Virginia to Massachusetts, it is computed by the largest dealers in the industry that about 50,000,000 bushels are an- nually sold at 50 cents per bushel $25,000,000 00 The following, copied from the Baltimore report of the in- dustry in that single city for the past year, may give some idea of the importance of this crustaceous bivalve : • OYSTERS AND CANNED GOODS. " This trade has been m fair activity throughout the year. The number of houses prosecuting it now reaches about seventy-three, of which some forty are strictly in the packing trade. The hands employed equal probably 5000 of both sexes in the various departments of shucking, packing, peeling, pre- serving, etc. Six to eight million bushels of oysters are consumed, one third of which are packed raw, and the balance hermetically sealed. The cans re- quired for these reach about 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 of half to one gallon each, and require say 300,000 cases to pack them. The balance of the oys- ters, say some 4,000,000 bushels, are put up in hermetically sealed cans of 1, 2, and 3 pounds each, of which during the active season some 80 to 100, 00() cans are daily packed, so that some 12 to 16,000,000 of cans are required for this trade annually. It is estimated that some $14,000,000 to $16,000,000 are invested in this interest in and around Baltimore, and that the annual product is worth some $6,000,000 to $7,000,000. The number of vessels said to be engaged in that business on the Chesapeake is over 1600, which give employment to more than 6000 persons. Had the trade to California contin- ued, the industry would have been greatly augmented ; but in that land of abundance fishes of nearly all kinds are more numerous than on the Atlantic coast, so that there salmon is too common for food, and the sardine canning industry bids fair to supersede that of the Mediterranean. 342 Fishing in American "Waters. THE CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY. By the following estimate, made by Messrs. Monroe & Gremeny, of Alexandria — the largest fishery firm in the South — I am informed that 25,000,000 herrings are caught in about six weeks, and 5,000,000 shad are taken in the mean time, being in March and April. These are caught by from 20 to 25 shad fisheries, giving employment to about 1000 men and from 75 to 100 vessels. Of course, those include the fisheries along the Chesapeake, in both the states of Maryland and Virginia ; yet I prefer to submit those samples of individual enterprise to the state or national reports, because they tell what may be done by showing what is being done by indi- vidual industry, instead of trying to deduce from the aggre- gate estimates in elaborate national or state reports what proportion of the income of all the states is derived frofn their fisheries ; whereas these are confined to a small portion of our borders, and comparatively few men and small means are employed in them. HADDOCKS. The sale of^^Jinnan haddies'^ per diem for six months of the year in New York averages 1000 lbs., at 10 cents '. |100 00 Boston, 2000 lbs 200 00 Portland, 1500 lbs 150 00 |450 00 Thus amounting in six months for those three cities to $81,900 00 It is stated by competent authority that 3000 lbs. of "^?^- nan haddies''' per day for six months in the year are cured in Portland, Maine, and that more than half of them are sold in the Dominion of Canada. It is becoming so large an indus- try in the United States that a brief account of its origin may prove interesting. FINDON HADDOCKS. The luxury known as " finnan haddies" was first cured at Findon, near Aberdeen, in Scotland. I can not learn when I Yankee Invention of Dey-feeezing. 343 the industry was begun, but am informed that it was such a favorite dish with George IV. that it was constantly on his breakfast-table during the winter. The curing of haddocks by moderately salting them and then smoking them over a smudge made of smothered peat was an invention of some pretty Scotch woman with — like most of her countrymen of both sexes — more brains and loy- alty than money. She was, withal, a woman with an excel- lent goilt^ as her invention proved ; for she had not followed the business long before many persons usurped her invention, and, instead of smoking them over the pure peat-reek fires, they used green wood of any kind that would make a smoke. Thus the Findon haddocks lost favor in some quarters ; yet, poor as it was made by bad smoking, there was still left a de- gree of delicacy, and the flavor was still so much admired as to divide the interest with the Yarmouth bloater as a break- fast-fish. Finally, as the " schoolmaster abroad" ascertained that the waters on our Eastern coast teem with haddocks, he intimated their value as a breakfast luxury, when several mem- bers of Brother Jonathan's family were not long in seeing the point of interest in the question. The result is that, within the past five years, no industry has grown faster, according to its pasture of short capital, than has the manufacture and trade in Findon haddocks, the annual amount of which in the United States is not much short of half a million of dollars. PRESERVING EOOD-FISHES FRESH. The Yankee invention for refrigerating salmon in an at- mosphere of such a degree of cold as is desired, and from which all dampness is excluded, has greatly increased the amount of consumption of fresh salmon in the border cities of the United States within the past three years. Already the Canadians are profiting by an invention which their prox- imity to salmon-waters renders of immense utility to them. This invention requires to be used when the fish are entirely esh, and have not been much handled. It consists simply S44: Fishing in American Waters. in placing the fish in the dry refrigerator the day that they are caught, and the sooner after they leave the aqueous ele- ment the better. Already the refrigerating process is in op- eration on railroads for the transmission of meats, fish, and fruits. Of numerous other fishes than the salmon which are sold in a fresh condition, no reliable estimate can be made. They include thousands of tons of striped bass, cero, bonita, Span- ish mackerel, sea bass, blackfish, squeteague, sheepshead, eels, flounders, flukes, crabs, lobsters, and several other kinds of coast and estuary fishes. It is, however, safe to state that they include more than half the number of pounds offish con- sumed by the inhabitants of the states on the Atlantic border, and amounting annually to a value of many millions of dol- lars. Throughout winter the netting of striped bass is pur- sued along the shores of bays, sounds, and as far up the Hud- son River as Peekskill, taking them at the latter place from under the ice. This practice should be inhibited by law. Those who feel interested in the commerce of fishes will please excuse me for not condensing the statements by reca- pitulation. The few examples which I have submitted of the industry have been those of individual enterprise in a busi- ness which is destined soon to become one among the leading industries of the nation. 1 |)art JourtI). ANCIENT AND MODEEN FISH-CULTUKE. I CHAPTER I. . THE ART AMONG THE ANCIENTS. MONG the many arts founded on pure phi- losophy peculiar to China, we find that of propagating fishes by artificial means to have been practiced there for many cen- turies, as is proven by their works, and the intimate knowl- edge of the art pos- sessed by so many of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. Father Duhalde, one of the earliest missionaries from France to China, was the first to reveal to the Christian world that the inhabitants of China might teach those of Europe the art of water - farming. "In the great River Yang - tse - kiang," said Father Duhalde, " not far from the city Kieou-king-fou, of the province Kiang-si, at certain sea- sons of the year there assemble great numbers of vessels for conveying away the fecundated eggs of fishes. Throughout the month of May the river is barred at short intervals for sixty miles with interlacings of osier and bulrushes, leaving barely sufficient space for the passage of barks or double ^^ chaloupes^ with lateen sails, which are engaged in transport- ^^ting ova." The reticulated weirs of osier and bulrushes are 348 FiSHLNG IN Amekican Waters. knows how to distinguish them with the naked eye when nn- practiced ones perceive nothing in the water. He therefore dips up the water with a mixture of impregnated ova, whicli many purchase in that condition, while he dips and fills vases for others who purchase the fishes when first hatched. Peo- ple are said to come from all parts of the empire for the purchase of both eggs and fish wherewith to stock the waters of their various districts. Great care is bestowed on the vivified eggs placed in the vases, and those having them in charge take turns in attend- ing to them, so that they are never neglected either night or day. . At the end of some days, as the eggs disclose life, the difierent species are removed into separate vases, and their prices fixed and published. Father Duhalde stated that the nett gain was often a hundred fold on the expense, and the sale always certain, because fishes constitute a large share of the food of the Chinese. Many travelers from time to time referred to this practice of the Chinese in propagating fishes, but their explanations were always more or less vague. Father Hue, the mission- ary, informed the French government that a great many mer- chants of vivified fish-eggs came to the province of Canton, and traversed the country for the sale of them to the propri- etors of ponds and other preserved waters. Their merchan- dise, being a sort of yellowish liquid, was contained in a cask. It appeared to be oily water, similar to the color of the vase (probably terra-cotta), in which it was impossible to distin- guish with the naked eye the least animalcula or living thing. For some saf^ques — small coin — they purchase a cup of that turbid water, which is sufiicient to stock a pond of consider- able size. They pour the contents of the cup into the pond or lake, and in a few days the eggs hatch, and by having their preserves properly divided they keep up their stock of fish. For the young fishes of the herbivorous families, such as the cai-p, etc., they throw into the pond tendei* herbs for food, augmenting the quantity as the fish enlarge. Carnivor- Growth of Heebivorous Fishes. . 349 ous fishes require some kind of meat, or a mixture in which meat or ofial forms a part. The fishes are fed in the morning and evening of each day, and, as they grow very fast, it becomes quite " a chore" for the boys and girls to gather them enough herbage, for they :ire so ravenous as to be appropriately compared to the silk- worms when forming cocoons. With generous feeding they attain to the weight of two or three pounds in fifteen days, when they cease growing, and are sold alive throughout the great centres of population. The fish-culturists of Kiang-si I'aise uniquely fishes of a fjoiXt most exquisite. The sea-rabbit is the name given by them to a species at once the most delicate and prolific. Fish-culture, or pisciculture, seems natural to the Chinese, who conduct the industry skillfully and successfully, culti- vating numerous species of herbivorous fishes, which they raise with great facility. Herbivorous fishes acclimatize much easier than the carnivorous. The French and other P]uropeans have commenced to import herbivorous fishes from Kiang-si ; the red and gold fishes, originally imported* from China, may be considered a luxury to the eye, and their sur- prisingly rapid increase in numbers without expense has in- duced the French to import such food-fishes as are prolific and of excellent flavor. The fresh-water fishes of commerce in China form much lighter and more digestible food than any fresh-water fishes of either Europe or America. They have cultivated their waters, and raised fishes for so many hundred years, and perhaps thousands, that their system is said to be much more perfect than any now practiced in Eu- rope or America ; and as France has sent an agent to China to study up the subject from an Oriental point of view, it might be advisable for our government to instruct its embas- sadors to make all the discoveries possible, and report them for the benefit of fish-culture in the United States. 350 . Fishing in American Watees. CHAPTER n. FISH-CULTURE IN EUROPE IN EARLY TIMES. The date when fish-culture was commenced in Europe is not definitely known. Its introduction there is generally at- tributed to the Komans, among whom, it is stated by several writers, the art approached a remarkable degree of perfec- tion. It is known to the student of antique inventions that, in the palmy days of ancient Rome, great attention was paid to aqudculture, and, by means of canals cut from the sea and the Bay of Naples to the ornamental lakes and ponds of the wealthy patricians, eminently those at Tusculum, and at oth- er villas near BaiaB, the fishes of the sea were invited by men of taste to spawn in their preserves, which they did in great numbers, as is related by Duval in respect to the extensive preserves of Lucullus. ' But after the spawning season, and when the spent fishes sought a return to the sea, they were intercepted by wicker weirs or wire gates, and there cap- tured and sold in the market ! This last fact is sufiicient ev- idence to prove to the modern angler or fish-culturist that the Romans knew little of the nature and habits of fish, or they would not have purchased spent fish, which is unwhole- some food. But in the evidence adduced thus far we see nothing to warrant the belief that the ancient Romans hatched fishes by the modern means of mingling the roe and milt of fishes, and placing them in a situation to be hatched. They did no more than invite or conduct fish from the sea to fresh-water feed- ing-grounds and spawning - beds. The Chinese had done more, for they divided rivers into spawning-beds, and before the spawn was hatched they removed it to hatching-vases. Among the articles exhumed from Pompeii and Hercula- Co:\rMENCEMENT OF Oyster-culture. 351 neum, stored in the Treasury at N"aples, I saw a glass vase of fish-eggs similar to those of the genus Salmo. Those eggs and their mode of preservation induced me to believe that a higher class of men inhabited Italy seventeen hundred years ago than do now in this iron age of intelligence. Is it not true that aggregations of high intellects — like celestial nebu- lae, or the focal coruscation of rays of light and heat — cluster at diiferent times on difierent parts of the earth, to reflect in- tellectual light to guide coming generations ? Well, it is stated that the inventions in ancient Rome, first devised to pamper the children of luxury, afterward were employed to supply subsistence to the nation. Des'viviers having stocked their preserves with many ornamental fishes, whose graceful gambols, beautiful forms, and colors chatoy- antes had delighted the ladies of that interesting period, did not disdain to encourage the increase of food-fishes also, with which their preserves were richly stocked. But, if the Romans did not hatch fishes artificially, that they excelled in the cultivation of Crustacea can not be suc- cessfully refuted. The removal of oysters from one water and planting them in another was begun by Sergius Grata at the commencement of the Christian era, by bringing them from Brindisium and planting them in Lake Lucrin, which, according to the evidence of the gourmet chief Crassus, greatly improved their flavor. Grata finally covered Lake Lucrin with reticulated paraphernalia made of wood, raised at one end on stone piers, and placed in numerous positions for the convenience of the deposit of oyster-spat. The Lake of Fusaro also, between the ruins of Cumae and the promon- tory of Misenum — "the Avernus of the ancients" — being salt, was planted with oysters; and the plans for oyster culture adopted by the Romans were quite similar to those pursued in France at present. My investigations of the rise and progress of fish-culture by the method of stripping the ova from the female and the milt from the male fish, and mixing them for vivification, in- 352 Fishing IN American Waters. duces me to impute its origin to the monks — those men of genius who invented eau da vie — and who were ever engaged in investigations for ameliorating the wants of mankind. They found the waters idle, while the needs of the Church demanded that they should produce. They therefore ap- plied themselves to the study of cultivating the waters, and in the fourteenth century — according to Baron Montgau- dry, nephew to Buffon — Dom Pinchion, abbe of Beome, had discovered the plan of hatching fishes in boxes, the process described being quite similar to that now employed. The needs of the monastic orders for complying with the require- ments imposed by their religion may be justly considered the motive cause which urged to this great discovery ; and the monks not only cultivated the waters, but they left records of their progress, and gave us their opinion that the carp is the most profitable fish to propagate, and next in order is the tench. The pike is considered very useful to prevent the excessive multiplication of carps, for otherwise they soon become too numerous for their healthy condition in a pond. At divers epochs the idea prevailed of introducing certain fishes into barren waters. The Lake Lovitel, in the depart- ment of i'isere, never nourished a£sh before 1670, when M. Garden placed trout in the lake, and they multiplied so that the lake has remained stocked with them ever since. Lapecherie of Comachio, on the Adriatic, is of very ancient origin. Bonaveri, and, more recently, Spallanzani, professor in Reggio, Modena, and Pavia, have described the very exten- sive eel-fisheries there. In spring, when the eels ascend the rivers, the fish-farmers open communications from the basins to the lagunes of the sea, and the young eels penetrate in great masses through all the free passes. Retained in the basins, where they find nourishment abundant, they grow rapidly. At the time when their instinct teaches them to descend to the sea, the fish-farmers lead them by small artifi- cial brooks whereby they are conducted into chambers from which they have no power to escape, and hundreds of thou- Cultivate Eels and Frogs. 353 sands of eels are thus annually gathered and cured for mar- ket, because there is a greater number of fresh eels than is necessary to supply the markets of Italy. At the commencement of the decade of the eighteenth cen- tury the brilliant discoveries of Spallanzani enriched the nat- ural sciences, and proved beyond reasonable doubt the possi- bility of developing the mysteries which theorists had from time to time mooted, of impregnating the eggs of fishes arti- ficially. He therefore took eggs of a frog, and impregnated them with the semen of a male frog. This he did before nu- merous witnesses, who saw the live frogs, and saw that from these eggs young frogs were hatched, and the triumph of the illustrious Italian naturalist was thus rendered complete. In 1763 Lieut. Jacobi announced through a journal of Han- over the feasibility of the artificial fecundation of salmon and trout. Before, however, publishing his successful exper- iments, he endeavored to promulgate his discovery through the medium of celebrated naturalists, such as Buifon,De Four- croy, and Gleditch, an eminent professor of Germany. "Les savants" of France appeared too much preoccupied to notice the Hanoverian lieutenant, especially as his writings were in German. Gleditch, who was not influenced by the same rea- sons, appeared impressed with the work of Jacobi, and he com- municated extracts from the work to the Academy of Berlin through Baron Von Harbke. In France the experiences relative to the artificial fecunda- tion of fishes occurred some years later. The work of Jacobi was published in Paris in 1770. The Marquis de Pezay^m his Soirees helvetiennes^ signalized the fortunate results ob- tained at Noterlem, including the information that England wished to recompense Jacobi by a liberal pension. Two years thereafter, and twelve years after the successful ■experiments of Jacobi, Adamson, in his course at the Jardin du lloi in 1772, made known to his auditors the plan and practicability of artificial fecundation, stating that it was ha- bitually practiced on the borders of the Weser, in Switzer- I 354 Fishing in Ameeican Watees. land, in the Palatinate of the Rhine, and in the mountains and elevated parts of Germany. For this object, he said, they take by the head a female salmon in November or December, or a trout in December or January, the times when these fishes deposit their ova. These fish are held over a vase with a quart of water in it, and by a light pressure on the abdo- men downward, the female vents the roe. They then take a male salmon, and rub his belly down with the palm of the hand in the same manner: milt falls on the roe and mixes with it, when it is placed in a running stream and covered lightly with gravel, and after several months the fish hatch. The Course of Natural History, by Adamson, was repub- lished in Paris in 1845, when its information on fish-culture first attracted attention to the truths published by him sev- enty years previously. The copy of the manuscript of Jacobi was sent to France by German officials, and thus became finally translated. Those who are educated to be courtiers or politicians do not always read. Apropos of this truth : the artificial fecundation of roe by Jacobi, imparted through his inter mediaires, the Count de Goldstein and the naturalist Gleditch, became neglected and forgotten. During sixty years no one dreamed of read- ing the '^Trccite des peches de Duhamel,'''' the veritable work of Jacobi. The end of the eighteenth century did not retain a souvenir of the success obtained at Noterlem for the artifi- cial multiplication " des Truites et des Saumonsy If the Chevalier Bufalina, of Cesena, had succeeded in fe- cundating several fishes, no one saw any novel feature in the operation not developed by Spallanzani ; and if Jacobi had invented a successful plan of artificial fish-culture in Germany, and if, in the region of the Rhine and in Switzerland, where fishermen "were successfully practicing fish-culture and enrich- ing their streams by it, yet the world was as ignorant of its true bearings upon the needs and prosperity of a country as if nothing had ever been said or written upon the subject ; so the progress may thus far be counted as nil. Experiments in Fish-ctjltuke. 355 CHAPTER m. FISH-CULTURE OF THIS CENTURY. o D E R N fish - culture is indebted to only thir- ty years' practice for all the wonders it has achieved. The early part of the present cen- tury was unfavorable to the development of industry. War en- gaged the attention of the civilized world. Many improvements known in France, Ita- ly, Germany, and En- gland at the commencement of their revolutions, were lost to this century ; but the calm which peace restored fructified genius and utilized its discoveries. In 1820, MM. Hivert and Pilachon, two inhabitants of the Haute-Marne^ fecundated eggs of trout. After hatching, they took the " alevins''' (the young, before the umbilical sac is ab- sorbed) to the waters which they desired to stock. These facts, though confirmed by M. de Montgaudry and M. Jour- dier, did not electrify the public mind, or evei^ cause a single government to put forth an efibrt for restocking depleted waters to cheapen food. So the matter lay dormant again seventeen years, when John Shaw, of Scotland, fecundated the eggs of a salmon, and hatched them by artificial means, which resulted in a memoir of his experiments relative to the prop- agation of salmon. But this, instead of causing efforts to be- 356 Fishing in American Waters. come more numerous and of wider scope, was merged in the side issue of the " parr question," which absorbed attention, as indicated by an important article in Blackwood of that year upon the " Transmutations of the Salmon." The first person in France who seriously called general at- tention to the study and practice of artificially stocking the waters was Baron de JRivihre. He urged the peculiar advan- tages obtained by leading the young eels from estuaries up artificial streams, and capturing them, to distribute in con- venient proportions throughout the waters of France. In the history of modern pisciculture a little event occurred without noise in 1844, in the Department of the Vosges, which gave rise a few years later to much excitement. A fisherman ofZaJBresse,m the commune of Remiremont, situated in one of the most elevated parts of the canton of Saulxures — Joseph Remy by name — having seen the trout, at other times numerous in the streams of the mountains, di- minishing so fast as to produce grave prejudice to his indus- try, the rivers and the brooks in the Vosges having been dried up by a long drought in 1842, sought from Nature a remedy. This humble man, endowed with a spirit of obser- vation, studied with intelligence the habits of the trout from the moment of hatching, until he arrived at the idea of artifi- cial fecundation, and, by numerous experiments, finally suc- ceeded in arranging the hatching apparatus into compart- ments, as it is done at this day, though commencing, like Jacobi, by placing the fecundated ova in a trough, with wire-grating cover and ends in the trout-stream, letting the natural running of the stream hatch the eggs, which were slightly covered with gravel in the trough. Remy, chagrined at not knowing any person with means from whom he might hope for assistance by communicating his discoveries, became melancholy and fell sick, when he confided his secret to the keeper of the little tavern where he boarded, by name Antoine Gehin. This inn-keeper was to him a collaborateur, and soon became full of zeal both as Reasons for Water-faeming. 357 a fisherman and pisciculturist. The names of Remy and Ge- hin were destined to become indissoluble. They unveiled the advantages of the discovery to a few notable persons ; but our two poor copartners met with the difficulties com- mon to those who discover any strange improvement by means of a switch from the track of Nature. In the mean time the inspector of primary schools in the Vosges received information of the discovery, and communicated it to the Society of Emulation. This society, being of high celebrity, occupied itself at once upon the question. In a report by M. Sarrazin on the recompenses accorded to agriculture and industry by the Society of Emulation, the proceedings of Remy and Gehin were described. M. Micard, General Guard of the Forests, had favored the early efforts of Remy, and gave him in spawning-time the liberty of the brooks of the forests. In spite of the memoir of John Shaw — malgre the results which were vauntingly promised to England — malgre the fortunate experiments of Remy and Gehin, encouraged by the Society of Emulation for the Vosges, all slept again. The interest in the success of those men, whose ardor and industry greatly multiplied the number of fishes, lasted no longer than the transient sound of the murmurs of the rivers and brooks which had proved the theatre of their exploits. But on the 23d of October, 1848, M. de Quatrefages, in pur- suit of the development of certain animals, fished up the com- munication of Count Goldstein, and read at the Academic des Sciences a memoir demonstrative of artificial fecundation be- ing the means for obviating the causes of destruction to the eggs of fishes. The lecture of M. de Quatrefages at the Academy of Sci- ences was published by numerous journals, which ^projected the subject into the air of public favor, and the assurance of the lecturer that a pursuit of the subject would be the birth of* a new industry important to the world, decided the com- mencement of action. All the world was at once going into fe 358 FiSHma m American Waters. the artificial fecundation project, and founded the most bril- liant hopes of the new art oi pisciculture. The information of Quatrefages' lecture reached Epinal, and was seen by the Society of Emulation in the Vosges about four months after it was delivered. On the 2d of March, 1 849, the secretary of the society wrote to M. de Qua- trefages that two fishermen of La Bresse had been engaged since 1844 at stocking the waters of the Vosges with trout produced by artificial fecundation. All at once, loud became the acclamation in favor oiRimy and Gehin^ as if the echo had gained strength by the years in which the truth had lain dormant. Next an English en- gineer, M. Gottleib Boccius, announced the great advantage which the inhabitants of the Vosges had derived from re- peopling their rivers by the aid of artificial fecundation, and hatching fishes in boxes where they were secure from nu- merous enemies of both water and air. He had published a small treatise in 1841 with the object of benefiting lar^ded proprietors in stocking their waters, and more especially their artificial fish-ponds. But the French philosophers regarded the discovery in a national aspect. Hence one of the savants most illustrious, M. Dumas, who was minister of Agriculture and Commerce, charged the most authoritative naturalist, M. Milne Edwards, to examine and give an opinion upon the di- vers essays published in England, Germany, and France upon the subject of stocking fluvial waters with fish. On the 26th of August, 1850, M. Milne Edwards addressed a report to the minister, in which he reviewed the work of Jacobi, and noticed the success of Remy and Gehin with marked commendation for their perseverance in perfecting fish-culture, whereby they had restocked the streams of the canton, besides having discovered a new industry for France. He also named a dozen important rivers and lakes which they had restocked with trout, concluding with impressively recommending them to government favor. He said they had done more than to stock the waters with trout, for they had French Fisheries' Commissioners. 359 stocked them with frogs also, because the spawn of these time-beaters is an aliment which the young trout search with avidity ; and the tadpole furnishes an excellent pasture for trout more advanced in age. For fifteen years Gehin had been working under the full knowledge of what now engaged the sages of political econ- omy. The subject enlarged, as they thought of stocking the waters of France with all the choice fishes of the world ; and, conformably with the view explained by M. Milne Edwards, a commission was named by the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, dated September 28, 1850. The commission in- cluded MM. Milne Edwards, Valenciennes, members of the In- stitute ; Susanne, Inspector of Forests ; de Bon, Commission- er of Marine ; de Franqueville, Chief of Navigation and of the Ports, and Minister of Public Works ; Monny de Momay, Chief of the Division of Agriculture, of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce ; Coste, Professor of Embryogo- ny at the College of France ; Doyere, Professor of Zoology at the National Agronomique Institute. The decree was signed by Dumas, and in the spring of 1 85 1 , M. Valenciennes — the ichthyologist — received a mission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce to visit and pro- cure the large fishes of the rivers in Germany wherewith to stock the lakes and ponds of France. He succeeded in ob- taining several species, of which he conveyed to Paris the living individuals, including sandre, genus Jjucioperca^ Lin., the silure^ one of the* most voracious fishes in creation, the av- erage size of which is large enough to dine eighteen persons. The silures (silurus glanis), with the sandres and a dozen lotes (eel-pouts), were placed in the reservoirs at Marly. Thfe selection of fishes speaks unfavorably for the taste ofM. Va- lenciennes. The sandre grows large enough to dine eight per- sons, but is a dry fish ; the eel-pouts are detestable, and dis- gusting to behold ; the glanis is similar to a Missouri River catfish! Of this selection wherewith to stock the fresh wa- ters of France, not one lived to leave any posterity. 360 Fishing in American Wateks. M. Coste then advised that the numerous ponds of Ver- sailles be employed as " stables" wherein to propagate fishes for the waters of France, believing that in those spacious ba- sins fishes which inhabit alternately the fresh and salt waters, such as the salmon, shad, lamprey, and plaice, might be culti- vated. The advice was followed with unsuccessful result. In the mean time, two engineers of hridges, MM. Detzem and Bertol, made large profits by peopling the Canal du Bhdne. They had been invited by the prefet of Doubs to verify the method in use in the Vosges, when, with assistants, they hatched in four months 3,382,000 eggs of salmon, trout, perch, pike, etc. On May 7th, 1851, they placed in basins confided to their ^are 1,583,111 fishes recently hatched. The facility for hatching fishes by millions induced them to calculate how many fishes might live in the fresh waters of France. Estimating the actual population to be twenty-five millions of fishes, they concluded that by four years' artificial hatching the number would be increased to three billions, one hundred and seventy millions, and yield a revenue of more than nine hundred millions francs. It was evident that they had consulted but one side of the question, and that the least difficult. Myriads of fishes may easily be hatched, but the questions of greater import are, how are they to be protected, subsisted, and made to grow ? These are the questions which most seriously address them- selves to the student of modern fish-culture. The brains of Bertol and Detzem were made dizzy by ^e presence of a cal- culation which proved millions of revenue easily obtained, and they exclaimed, " Is it possible to endow France with such a revenue ?" On the examination of results so unexpect- ed, no member of the Fisheries' Commission evinced a senti- ment of distrust, stating that they were aware the calculation produces the same impression on all those who examine the subject. Bertol and Detzem, encouraged by the Minister of Agricul- ture and Commerce, followed their work with great zeal, and, Fish-food for Food-fishes. 361 established at Loechlehrun^ near Huningue, continued the op- erations df hatching trout and salmon on an extensive scale. By their second report in March, 1852, they announced that since the November preceding 722,600 eggs had yielded 700,000 fishes. From the day when M. De Quatrefages called attention to the advantages of artificial fecundation for repeopling the waters of France, M. Coste occupied himself incessantly upon fish-culture. He explained the experiments on alimentation and growth of young eels, which ascend the streams every spring. These fishes, nourished by the debris of the butcher- shops- cemented into a sort of pie, are fattened and made to grow very fast, attaining to the weight of several pounds in a single season. In 1853, the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, for the object of founding an establishment of fish-culture at Huningue, accorded a credit of 30,000 francs. This credit, M. Coste stated, " is to be used in undertaking one of the most grand experiments of which the natural sciences have ever given an example." He also described the method for preparing the food for young salmon and trout with a pie formed of butchers' oflal, or of horse-flesh boiled. A knowl- edge of the advantage of this feed was acquired by the ex- periments of Dr. Lamy at the artificial hatchings in the pare du Maintenon. In 1856, the subject of fish-culture engaged more or less the attention of a majority of the best minds in France, whether men of state or of science, or men of wealth and en- terprise. Though the felicitations and encouragement of the fishermen of the Vosges had not been cooled or diminished, yet the book-philosophers, having read up, became aware that hatching fishes by art had engaged the minds of sages in oth- er ages ; and as that was the most simple part in the train of successfully restocking waters, they were studying and exper- imenting to acquire a more perfect knowledge of the nature, habits, preferable haunts, and means of subsistence. M, de 362 Fishing in American Watees. Tocqueville had determined that a strong light was injuri- ous, and that a lamp or candle should not be thrust before young fishes. This was one of the reasons for placing the government breeding apparatus at Huningue under cover; another was to maintain in the hatching-troughs nearly an even temperature throughout the winter while hatching game fishes of the genus Salmo^ that spawn late in autumn ; for these, while young, are much more delicate than common fishes, which (spawning in spring) hatch in a few days, and require comparatively no care in the process or in the kinds of feed; for, as they come into the world without a sac of pro- vision to last them a month suspended to the umbilical cord, nature prepares them for fighting their way for food from, the moment when they leave the shell. Gehin had visited Paris in 1850, and was presented to Lou- is Napoleon, then president of the republic, as quite a person- age, and received from the government, in compliance with the promise of M. Milne Edwards, the mission to stock the rivers of several departments. There were 50,000 brook and lake trout introduced to the waters of the Bois de Boulogne in 1866, where they grew rapidly. At this time many of the public waters through- out France, which had rested dormant, began to astonish and delight the neighborhoods with the leaps above water of amber beauties, which formed miniature rainbows in the gleams of the sun, and many peasants regarded this novel gift of life and beauty as a providential blessing on Napo- leon's reign. Reports of successes m pisciculture poured in monthly more numerously from every department. The waters were ev- ery where stocked with young fishes, which were doing well. The ponds, lakes, and reservoirs in public parks were each annually hatching 25,000 to 50,000 of the genus Salmo for the benefit of the public rivers of France. In the departments generally, the zeal of the prefets kept pace with that of the government, and men of science and Impokting Salmon Ova. 363 the Conseils Generaux voted the sums to successfully operate the enterprises. Thus the great work continued to proceed with unvary- ing success until 1862, when the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce published a history of the perfect success of Hu- ningue, which includes seventy acres laid out into artificial creeks, ponds, and hatching-houses. The statistics in this his- tory were furnished by M. Courses^ Ingenieiir en chef des tra- vaux du Mhin^ to whom application should be made for vivi- fied roe wherewith to stock waters in the United States. By my advice, Seth Green made such order in the autumn of 1865, and in the spring of 1866 the eggs came to the New York Custom-house, where ofiicial and other delays detained them until they died. The French government had gener- ously presented Mr. Green 20,000 fecundated salmon ova, so nearly hatched as to show the eyes of the alevins, carefully packed them in moss, and shipped them gratuitously ! And then to know that our government was so callous to the ma- terial interests of the people as not only to have neglected to make any effort toward reducing the prices of food-fishes, but to have actually rendered the revenue officers a barrier against the efforts by men of enterprise who would embark their own money in it, is humiliating ! I humbly ask. Is it not the duty of Congress to authorize the Minister of the Interior to appoint a commission for the improvement of the fisheries in the United States ? Individ- ual states can not, unaided by the federal government, im- port either ova or young fishes of choice quality from abroad. Without the seal of a United States commissioner, the col- lectors of revenue have no discretion but to destroy the im- portation by delay, exposure to heat or cold, or to the air. Any authority given to United States consuls on the other hemisphere would prove ineffectual, for there are no consuls near the great piseicultural establishments ; and, in fact, since the fiasco of the Acclimatization Society in the preserves of Mr. Francis Francis at Twickenham, there is no establishment 364 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. of fish-culture left in Europe which supplies fecundated ova but the national one of Huningue, and by this one all appli- cants are served — by order of the French government — free of expense. The liberality of France in bestowing ova and young fishes on all applicants did not prevent her from deriving the re- spectable revenue in 1862 for her fresh-water fisheries of $4,000,000. In 1861 the Huningue establishment distributed about 9,000,000 ova, and in 1862 about 12,000,000. The paramount reason for artificial culture is based on the known fact that of every thousand salmon or trout hatched in a stream in the natural way, not more than one arrives at marketable size ; and as a salmon yields about one thousand ova to the pound, a pair of salmon would scarcely yield twenty-five per cent, if hatching in a stream where the eggs and alevins are unprotected, while if the 20,000 eggs were hatched artificially and the young salmon protected, the in- crease to marketable size would generally be two thousand per cent. The numerous successes resulting from artificial propaga- tion, and restocking and newly stocking waters in France, has had a favorable influence throughout the civilized world, so that within a few years Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Ger- many, Italy, and Spain have establishments of fish-culture. On the British Isles great results have been accomplished near Galway and on the River Tay, so that the rentals of some fisheries have increased fifty per cent. Through the enterprise of Mr. Francis, of the Meld, some of the waters of Australia have been stocked by ova transported from En- gland — fifteen thousand miles ! He has also succeeded in stocking a river in New Zealand in the same manner. The River Plenty, first stocked in Tasmania, has proved a success in both trout and salmon. That the gigantic rebellion has delayed action by the United States government is quite natural ; but one of the paramount duties of government is to increase the stock of I FisH-cuLTUBE IN Ameeica. 365 food-fishes in the waters throughout the Union. Reports from the French government have been forwarded to the President, and by him they have been laid before Congress, so that the subject will doubtless soon be acted on nationally. Through the efibrts of individual states, much has been done within the past three years. Influenced by an intelli- gent enterprise for which the states of New England are justly celebrated, each of those states has appointed a Fisher- ies Commission, and the following extract from a report of progress in one state may be accepted as a fair sample of all : " Of the 40,000 spawn recently placed for incubation in the Cold Spring trout-ponds at Charleston, New Hampshire, for the Connecticut River, the first salmon were hatched Decem- ber 11th, 1865. The eyes of the embryo salmon were first clearly seen in the egg about November 25th. The eggs were taken from the parent salmon on the Miramichi Octo- ber 10th, making 62 days as the period of incubation.* The first trout which broke shell at these hatching-works this season came out on November 9th, 35 days from the time when the roe and milt were shed by the parent fishes." Fish-culture is a success. It is not only triumphant, but it is almost miraculous. Waters hitherto worse than useless may be made a hundred fold as profitable as any equal num- ber of acres of land, and with not a tithe of the labor. But these truths, so palpably patent to many intellectual minds of the present day, are almost a sealed book to the mass of the rising generation. In view, therefore, of these facts, and the depressing truth that the fishes of the coast and inland waters are annually decreasing, while by immigration and natural causes our nation is increasing in population faster than any other on the globe, is it not advisable to make the art of fish-culture a study in the agricultural colleges ? Up to the present time the inauguration of plans for pro- * Mr. Francis and other fish-culturists are not in favor of employing water so warm as to hatch in so short a time, believing that the young fish are not s ) hardy as those hatched in colder water. 366 Fishing in American Watees. tecting fisheries by laws, and increasing the numbers of fishes by aqua-culture and fish-culture, are due to the efibrts put forth by sportsmen's clubs, scattered throughout the United States as ofishoots from the parent New York Sportsmen's Club. Too much praise can not be awarded those benevo- lent institutions, united solely for the public good, for which they shun no duty through fear of the poacher's hatred or the malevolence of dealers in stolen goods. The poacher both hates and fears them, while they are the principal reli- ance for guaranteeing the public that the laws for the pro- tection of fish and game will be sustained. If the national and state governments will unite in stock- ing and protecting the fresh waters, they will soon arrive at truths sufficiently luminous from which to form data for laws adequate to govern the whole question. To the ignorance of legislators may henceforth be attributed the lack of suit- able laws for the protection and stocking of water-farms of millions of acres, which might be rendered a means of recre- ation for the improvement of health, while offering cheap and luxurious food to the million. Cuttle-fish. — Sepia officinalis. Killing two Bieds with one Stone. 367 CHAPTER IV. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SALMON. Near head of stream, in crystal spring, Or recess of the strand, The salmon drops its precious eggs Amid the pure white sand ; And here the infant fish disport Beyond the harm of tides, Each swarming shoal resplendent With dotted silvery sides. the want of data, the nature and habits of salmon were a sealed book to naturalists until, through the dis- covery and practice of fish-culture by ar- tificial means, some mysteries in physiol- ogy were interpreted. In the natural his- tory of the salmon, two questions occur which have presented a good deal of difficulty to pisciculturists and naturalists in arriving at just conclusions. Tlie first is. How long do the young salmon inhabit the fresh-water streams in which they were hatched before they migrate to the sea ? The second is. How long do they inhabit the sea before they return as grilse to the rivers in which they were bred ? A salmon has properly four stages of existence. The first is when it is a parr, or a small bright fish with dark bars across the sides, which are commonly called the parr marks. 368 Fishing in American Waters. The second is when it puts on the silvery scales of the grilse, which occurs when it is about to emigrate to the sea. It ap- pears as if the little pet, when in the parr state, required some provision against the novel effects of salt water which it is about to encounter, for nature furnishes it with a new suit of scales, bright and silvery as those of the parent salmon. These begin to develop themselves just previously to the first migration of the fish. The scales form apparently over the old skin, and in doing so they obscure the parr marks, and the fish becomes a smolt, or a miniature grilse ; but that it is the same fish may easily be seen by rubbing off a few of those new scales, when the parr marks are plainly seen which were hidden beneath them. These scales are at this time very lightly attached to the skin, and can be easily detached, coming off even by the mere handling of the fish ; and this insecurity of the attachment of the scales continues through- out the whole period of grilsehood, or until the fish becomes a veritable and mature salmon, when whether it develops a new suit of scales is not known, but the scales certainly be- come much more firmly fixed to the skin, and are far more difficult to remove. But the point in debate is how long the parr remains in the river before it becomes a smolt. Now experiment has shown us thus much, viz., that a large por- tion of the parr become smolts in about fifteen months, that is, supj)osing them to have been hatched from the egg in the fall, or say in the winter. They live in the river over the next autumn, and do not become smolts and migrate to sea until the next succeeding spring. It has been found that a very large proportion of them do not become smolts and mi- grate even then, but stay in the river yet another year, and so do not put on the smolt scale and migrate until the next succeeding spring. Thus some remain in the rivers altogeth- er two years and two or three months, and others remain even for another year still, and do not migrate till the third year. These facts for a long time puzzled naturalists, and gave rise to the supposition that there was another fish of Cleaking up the Question. 369 the salmon species which never went to the sea, called the " Salmo samulus," because, after the great annual migration of the smolts, parr were yet found in the rivers, and it was thought that as all parr became smolts in fifteen months, those which staid behind must be of another species alto- gether. But science and fish-culture have dispelled this er- ror, and it is now known that the "Salmo samulus" is a myth. When the smolt went down to the sea for the first time, it was generally supposed that it returned to the river again in a period of, from two to four months, and its extraordinary and unusal increase was always cited as one of the most val- uable qualities of the salmon ; for, if it could grow from the weight of only two to three ounces to eight or ten pounds in three months, it was almost a lusus naturce. But, though smolts do grow very remarkably under favorable circumstan- ces, a strong doubt has been thrown upon the fact of salmon growing quite so fast as this,//*om»^Ae smolt state^ by experi- ment and experience ; for it has been found uniformly — in ' mU cases where the waters were what are termed virgin waters^ that is, waters never before inhabited by salmon — that when such waters were stocked with young salmon fry, or with ova laid down for hatching, a period of fifteen instead of three months invariably elapsed before the emigrating smolts came back to the river as well-grown grilse of six or seven pounds' weight ; and in the instance of much larger grilse, as those which are at times met with of even eleven pounds' weight, that a yet longer period may have elapsed. This, however, is merely conjecture. In the late remarkable experiments in Australia, where no such thing as a salmon ever was known, it was clearly proved that the smolts were a year and some months at sea before they returned, and in other waters never before tenanted by salmon the same re- sult has ensued. This is very strong evidence against the two or three months' theory, particularly when the evidence supporting that theory was gathered from well-stocked rivers, Aa 370 Fishing in Ameeican Waters. where there could not fail to arise great difficulties in identi- fying the fish upon which experiments had been tried; for the uncertainty and difficulty of marking a parr of two ounces, which is to grow to sixty or seventy times that weight before it can be caught again and identified, can not fail to be very great indeed. However, this is still a moot question, and it has not been as yet satisfactorily determined, though it would seem that the soundest and most reliable evidence is in favor of the fifteen months' theory Tather than the other. When the grilse returns to the river, it spawns,for the first time as a grilse, in which, its third stage of existence, it is per- fectly distinguishable from the salmon ; for not only are the scales loose and easily detached, but the fish is more slender and delicate in shape than the adult salmon, and the tail is much more forked. Having spawned, it becomes what is called a kelt or foul fish. The flesh is white, and the fish is out of condition and unwholesouie to eat. It then goes down to the sea by easy stages, and there, by the aid of the healthful salt waters and plenteous food, it soon recovers its condition and grows rapidly, often increasing four or five pounds or more in weight. In the course of a few months (and this point is clearly ascertained and settled) it returns again to the river, but in the mean time it has lost its grilse form and become a veritable salmon. The scales now are hard and firm, the fish of a hardier, rounder make, the tail has lost its forked shape, and it has reached its fourth and last stage of existence. This change in the form of the fish actually at one time led to the belief that salmon and grilse were of a difierent spe- cies, and some few persons stoutly advocated this view ; but the ova of salmon have been found to produce grilse, and marked grilse have been retaken as salmon, so that there are not the slightest grounds for such a wild supposition now; and, indeed, the belief always was a very partial one, and con- fined to one or two wrong-headed individuals, so that it is now entirely exploded. As a salmon, it continues in the same Protect Fish at Spawning-times. 371 course of existence until it is cooked, or dies of old age, or of wounds and weakness from incessant fighting at the breed- ing-time. It seeks the river every year, as is supposed, though this is but assumption, which it is almost impossible to prove, and whether it breeds every year or only at intervals it is hard to say. The general creed, however, is, that it does breed every year, and all that it requires from man is a little reasonable forbearance, and better protection at the breeding season until it again reaches the sea ; and if it is able to reach the higher ranges of spawning-beds, it will speedily crowd our rivers with delicious food, and the means of healthful and magnificent sport. In these respects the capacity of Amer- ican rivers is second to that of none in the world. Our riv- ers ought to swarm with salmon ; and when we hear of riv- ers in England, ridiculously small by comparison with our own, yielding their $100,000 a year, and enormous revenues besides, do we not feel it to be a sin and a shame that such splendid capabilities as ours should be suffered to be behind them, and to fall into neglect and disuse, and that such im- portant resources should be lost to the country and to the consumers throughout the Union ? If an American wants salmon-fishing, he must go either to Canada or Scotland for it, and this is disgraceful. We have many good coast and estuary fishes, but none equal to the salmon in all respects. Is there any reason why we should not have the best, and plenty of it ? England and France are both putting their shoulders to the wheel. Have we less energy and determin- ation than they ? DEVELOPMENT OF THE SALMON. PROCESS OF INCUBATION. The egg of any fish of the genus Salmo, before impregna- tion with the milt of the male fish, is the color of the yolk of I a hen's egg, and apparently of about the same consistency, being a mixture of albumen and oil. In this particular the 372 Fishing in American Waters. and Gadidm^ which appear as infinitesimal atoms of albumen, enlarging tenfold within an hour after impregnation, turning entirely white, and the fish is hatched in a less number of hours than it takes of days for the genus Salmo. Incubation with all the salmon families is slow, the Qgg indicating no appreciable increase in size by fructification ; but, being por- ous, with tubes and globules, scientifically termed micropyles^ the milt fills them, and they present the appearance of white globules in the egg, as represented by Fig. 1, and enlarged like Fig. 2. After the egg has remained in running spring Fig. 1. Salmon egg of natural size after fecundation. Fig. 2. Salmon egg enlarged, to show the vesicles and globules. Fig. 3. Salmon egg in which the embryo is per- ceptible. Fig. 4. Alevin just hatched, enlarged, and showing the umbilical vesicle. Fig. 5. Natural length of the alevin. water of temperatures ranging from 40° to 50°, the egg will disclose the shape of the embryo salmon in from fifty to sev- enty days,* as illustrated by Fig. 3. After the embryo be- comes perceptible, and the eyes tolerably distinct, within a few days — say from five to fifteen — the salmon will hatch into the shape of Fig. 4, as enlarged from the natural size, in- dicated by the length of line. Fig. 5. Suspended to the um- bilical cord is a sac containing aliment for the alevin, on which it subsists by absorption from twenty-five to forty days, when the tiny creature takes its second form. The egg^ * Salmon have been hatched in fifty-five days, and trout in thirty-five days, in water 55° ; but Mr. Francis recommends spring water of from 40° to 45°, while the Cold Spring trout-ponds at Charleston, N. H., are excellent hatch- ing-waters, and they are said to be 60° asrmean temperature. We Improve with Age. 373 from the date of fructification to the birth of the fish, varies from 60 to 120 days, the time required being dependent upon the quality and temperature of the water, with the condition of quiet and shade necessary to accelerate incubation. While the umbilical vesicle is attached to the tiny fish it is called an "alevin" (name borrowed from the French), but after its absorption it is known as a " fry," or " penk." Now it sculls along and seeks its food from imperceptible particles, as animalculae of the stream and the tiny fledglings falling to the surface, or rising from the bottom to burst from their embryotic state and take wing at the top of the stream. Like Salmon Fry — a, the natural length. * the young of the fiajjEst' breeds of animals on land, it appears more delicate and less able to contend for subsistence than do those of coarser natures. In its second form it is not beautiful, and few would suppose it a young salmon. Its trans vcBBe bars are plainly marked, and within three months after its birth it assumes lighter shades, and carmine spots begin to develop, when it becomes a parr. ^his specimen is half the natural length, retaining its natu- ral proportions. Though only between five and six inches in length, the parr. from which I made this copy was taken by me A Park Eight 'Months Old. on the fly and hook with which I had that morning brought two goodly-sized salmon to gaff. This fact proves the real 374 Fishing in American Wateks. game of the pet. It was all life — a translucent thing of ac- tion — having a dark drab back, barred sides, and seven dots of carmine on each side, which were brighter than any burn- ished metal or precious stone, and about the size of pigeon- shot. It was the most anxious and voracious creature that I had ever captured, and so sat down at once on the bank of Rattling Run to sketch this liveliest specimen of fish kind that I had ever seen.^ During the month of August parr of the last fall and winter's hatch take their places on the reefs, and nip the wings of flies intended for their parents ; especial- ly is this so of the part of the shoal intended to visit the sea with the next spring freshets. It will be perceived that while this fish has the parr rays, or the horizontal bars peculiar to the parr, its head is taking better form, the mouth apparently not so large, and the white scales are almost beginning to appear; but this parr is not A Parr Fifteen Months Old. Half the natural length ; proportions natural. to visit the sea until it arrives at two years of age or more. Those of the shoal which do not visit the sea until after hav- ing spent two autumns in fresh water develop less rapidly than do such as visit the sea after spending fifteen months in the river. There being no longer a " parr controversy," the next specimen, of the same shoal as this one, Avill illustrate the difference in the development of those intended to become voyagers on the second spring after their birth. This fish, of the same shoal and age as the parr, is the part of the same hatch intended for visiting the sea after remain- ing only one summer in the stream of its birth. Nature, more careful than man m protecting the families of animal creation, Getting Eeady for Sea. - 375 sends only half the shoal to sea at a time ; the remaining part of the shoal will follow next year, or perhaps a few will remain three summers in the river before resorting to marine L A Smolt Fifteen Months Old. feeding-grounds. In the mean time we lose sight of the first detachment, which falls back from pool to pool, and descends rapids and falls tail foremost until it arrives in the estuary, where it faces to the right about and prepares to protect itself from the monsters of the deep. For some days, and perhaps weeks, it dallies in the lower reaches and estuary, feeding on small caplin, shrimp, and the roe of coarser fish un- til its burnished sides form an armor to protect it against the })riny deep. Where the marine feeding-grounds of the sal- mon are it is impossible to state from indubitable data. Sal- mon are sometimes found in soundings off the Isle of Jersey, several hundred miles from any salmon river, and yet in Can- ada the netters capture all their fishes approaching their riv- ers on the north shore of the St. Lawrence from the west, when the sea is at the east. That this genre of fishes, like all others habitually visiting fresh-water streams to spawn, re- turn and enter the rivers of their birth, is well authenticated, while it has been satisfactorily proven that if scared away from the estuary by nets or other unnatural fixtures they will enter other rivers. In the physical transmutations of the salmon, from the time it breaks the Qgg and hides about in crevices with a part of the egg attached to its abdomen, to the time when it fully matures into an adult salmon, there is no form it takes which is so graceful and beautiful as that of the grilse, the last stage 376 Fishing in Amebic an Waters. short of the mature salmon. A shoal of them is like a joy- ous ball-party in full costume. It lacks the embonpoint of the salmon as much as the young people of a gay ball-party do that of their parents. The grilse — when attached to a hook^plays more gayly and with less judgment than does the full-grown salmon, skipping about and playing with great energy, and never stopping to sulk, or, more properly, to study the cause of its grief, until it gayly darts up to the gaffer and falls an easy prey, as does the coquette to the practiced skill of a heart-thief The Grilse. The grilse is the same fish which left its river as a smolt. In its ocean pastures, where it has spent one or two winters, it has doffed the Brothers' Valuable Sta7idard Works, LOSSING'S FIELD-BOOK OF THE WAR OF 1812. Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812; or, Illustrations, by Pen and Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the Last War for American Independence. By Bemson J. LossiNG. 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