Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-06-05

stOries-fsh stories-of greater or less
dimensions and varying degrees of probability.
Strange what lies man will tell when he
comes to talk about fish Men who rank
high in the communities where they dwell.
some of them pillars of the churches, and
even doctors of divinity, whose word on
ordinary occasions would never be ques-
toned, when they come to tell some inter
ested brother about the fish they have
captured will find themselves sliding from
the plain level of facts even before they are
aware Of it, The fish will either be larger
or more numerous than unvarnished
varacity will warrant, or else there will be
sure to be some remarkable feature in con-
nection with the catching of them which will
weave into something startling with the
addition of very little color. The two
fishermen who sat behind me were evidently
gentlemen of intelligence and culture whose
varacity would never be questioned at home
The one who did the most of the talking was
evidently fisherman of wide experience
and many of his stories bore the plain stamp
of truth
Now is good time to try the trout he
said.
"How so?" queried the other
"No flies, no mosquitoes. Then you get
to the grounds before all the brooks and ponds
have all been fished to death. The summer
travel hasn't set in yet. 1t isn't the inhabi-
tants of good fishing regions that do the most
fishing; not by any means. It's the fellows
who come in from outside, and who have
nothing else to take up their time"
"Do you find good fishing up in this re-
gion?"
-"Very good indeed It's a little early
though, to try it in the mountains. I'm going
to Wakefield, n. II A few miles from that
place are some good trout brooks, and l ex-
pect to have several days good sport in fish
ing them. | was at Eustice last year; it's i
wild place, and there is considerable roa'i to
be covered in stages before you get there
Once on the ground, however, and tramp OF
an hour or two from the country tayer'l
New England
pretty plenty. are they"
Eyes, and they are very good sized. |
caught twenty-eght pounds on my trip there
last season and some of them were beauties.
There's one popularity about that pond, how
ever, which | have never noticed in any
other?"
"What is that"
well, although the water there is as clear
as crystal, and you can drop a white pebble
in it and see it sink to depth of twenty or
thirty feet, yet you can never see fish
there even when you are catching them the
most plentifully." Then followed string of
fish stories which grew larger and larger
toward the end, and as the interest of the
listener increased. Fisherman No. Two
showed himself good listener. but finally he
evidently concluded that he must do some
thing to sustain his reputation as a piscatorial
artist He apparently had not had as much
experience as his companion. but was blessed
with good Imagination.
II haven't fished for some years to amount
to ANYTHING" he said, ''but there was time
when used to go good deal | well re-
member when first started in to learn my
business. The village where l was located
was situated on bay. l boarded with the
old merchant for whom l worked and who
was himself found, considerable of a fisher
man. His son invited me several times to
90 trouting with him and finally one holiday
I started out with him. We took small
row boat and started up the bay. At the
head of it we found a small brook. We fol
lowed it up through the woods about q mile
and finally stopped before quite deep pool
Here's where father catches EN-" said
,John-that was the name of the young fellow
Well sir, I wish you could have seen that
Mace. 1t wasn't very far across and the
water all about it was very shallow and rapid
The pool itself was about six feet deep and
fairly alive with trout. The minute we
dropped our lines in, they came for our hook
in regular schools and we could pull them out
lust as fast as we wanted to-
at must have been rare sport
Snort. well guess it was. We fished
there till we got tired of usi {
m. hook and line. Then We hitched thre,
hooks together and jgged EN-. Finally We
crew tired even of that sport Then trieo
q new scheme. laid aside my clothes ant
Owed TO the bottom of the pool. kunnint
nv hands under the edges of large rocs
that was there | could feel them slipping
about. After got the hang OF the thing
began to catch them in earnest. DIVING
down would bring them to the surface ant
throw them out on the bank. l tell you
kent John pretty busy killing EN-. WEI
when we got through we had the larges
gunny sack John had brought plumb fui
and il was about all John and could stag
Ger under 10 get it to the boat. we hVeu Oh
front for about week Afterwards eeslo''
giving a lot of them away to our neighoo's-
The speaker was about to spin some mor'
stories of a similar complexion nut nc''eiht
,ha broad smile of a namber of hrs te'io"
passengers who hal taken IN sorry NO l. rs
subs;ded with conscious blush AM m-es
a1nress;on that miaht CT aracterize Ia FACE
of y man who had been caught robh'ng tn
h.n roost. The converts alton then turned
mon salmon fishing at Bangor. Both flsh
ermen had heard that some really og MS
we're being taken there, and both declare
their intention Of visiting the Queen cit
and testing their luck before the season wa
over Then followed some Store
about salmon fishing, but the speaker
talked in subdued tones and the scribe 500
r wearied of endeavoring to follow them an
, turned his attention to the farms along IN
, way and the little graveyards that do,tei Y
hillsides. Every farm seemed 10 nave y
r ho ouite nreyalent. 1t no doubt aroi
E from necessity in the pioneer days OF the'
nlsces when roads were rough and the di
! lance between settlements long. Now
these things are changed. There are gos
l. ro.ds and the towns are quite thickly settle
II there is anything in the world where the