Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1882-06-29
Fly Fishing.

The family of salmonidae, especially the
salmO salar, the common salmon and the
salmo fontinalis, Familiarity known as
brook trout or speckled trout, are the es-
pecial objects of the training and skill In
casting the fly; but the percdae or perch
family also furnish excellent sport. par
ticularly the black and striped bass Sal
mon fishing, while noble lsport, has of
late years become nearly impossible to
many, owing TO the fact that salmon are
only TO be found in sufficient quantities TO
repay the quest In distant and remote rivers,
They have nearly disappeared from the
waters of the h lstern States, few being
still annually taken from the more north
ern streams; IN Canada wherever they are
still plentiful the fishing is farmed cut to
the few at stiff prices. Still the chance
of sport Is good, especially as there are
nearly always plenty Of brook trout in the
neighborhood 10 make up for any failure
with salmon, that trip which is both in
expensive and delightful is recomm nded
TO almost any of the waters that empty
into the ST. Lawrence below O Iebec Of
couree, i'm speaking Of this sport there liz
no reference to the streams that debouch
on the Pacific coast as they are accessible
only TO the few whose command of money
enables them to indulge in expensive luxu-
ries. In fact, In alnIOst every locality now
salmon fishing is not 10 be had without
considerable outlay of money. Ii is a
noble sport, however, per Sc and both
from the magnificent sport it affords, as
well as from It's commercial value, let us
hope that the restocking the many rivers
/ that emf ty into the sea along our northern
coast, once visited annually by thousands
or this splendid fish, may prove q success
A few hEe salmon have recently been
taken in the Delawere In nets, but 1t is
doubtful if any haYe been killed by far
angling with the fly.
Of the brook trout, however. very
dIiferent things can be SAID Before the
ingenuity and necessities OF man had vexed
aud impaired the purity OF many spr.Dg-
born streams tnet wash the Eills aud
mountains of the more noethern aud east.
ern States one could hardly fail TO be sure
Of days excellent sport 10 any locality,
and even now they may be taken, in more
or less numbers, where tney once aoounded.
Few whose boyhoOd days were passed
among the rugged mountains and green
| hills of the Eastern states but can recall
this beautiful fish-linked with the purest
memories of youthful hopes and anus,
ments. Beautiful In shape, wonderfully
rich In delicate colorlngs. covered with a
velVety embossed skin, It appeals by It's
| beauty not less than by Its galneness, 10
the love of the angler and the student of
nature. Its pursuit leads the angler IN o
natures pleasanTest retreats, By hill or
mountain or on wild, picturesque laSelets,
bosomed among prlmeval forests where all
the surroundings are unsrtifclai wild and
free. Look for them here, We followers
of sedentary pursuits, bilious and dyspep-
| tic. pursue them through the rocky glen,
tickle and enthuse the fiexors and exten-
sors BY climbing the mountain side or
bending to the car over some placid lake,
and ''me iudice, your reward shall be a
thousand fold. But pursue them, as they
by many noble qualities deserve pursuit,
with skill, with patient science, aud with
cultivated enthusiasm, remembering that
they are ''better bred" an higher en-
doWed, so to speak, than their congeners
the cat fl b, perch, or dace. b. not
partlcepts crImInis to the death of Cne OF
these beauties save only in legitimate an-
CLING with the fly, and number not i'm your
list OF friends the man who needlessiy inn
pales worm on no or seeks to compass
their fate in any Of the ways of snare or
net or other murder.
Brook trout vary In size aud weight
greatly, In accordance with the nature of
the waters they frequent. In Northern
New York. among the Adlrondacks, where
the streams generally empty into some of
the little lakes, and in III nne and Canada
they have been taken to weigh as high as
eight to ten pounds. There are, how.
ever exceptional sizes, as the usual run of
fish will average ftom one-quarter to one
and as half or two pounds. Careful
examination has convinced me that, des-
pite the belief of many excellent anglers,
the large specimens taken in the northern
streams and lakes are the genuine salmo
tontlnalis, and not, as they affirm, diff
ferent variety of the species. DFellers in
the pure and large waters of the north,
they attain size impossible in the small
brooks and ponds, and there is doubtless
much due also to superior possibilities of
food in the larger waters
In the family OF percldae, the bass, both
striped and black, affords excellent sport
with the fly, and not being so dainty as
the trout frequents almost any Of the
rivers and lakes of the States. Both in
the Delaware and the Schuylkill, above
the city of Philadelphia, this sport can be
enjoyed with little expense of time or
money, and is excellent pastlme for
beginner TO acquire the peculiar tact of
casting fly adroitly, and managing "a gUou
sized fish with the light tackle of the fly
hsher's OuttiG. The first rush of two
pound bass IS something TO startle unac
customed nerves, and the rapidIty with
which he makes off with thirty or forty
feet OF line is something to be remcnl-
| bered.
Our Bodies After Death.