The record-union., 1891-07-09
FOR SPORTSMEN.
Their Paradise is Found in the Shasta
Mountains.
Camping Among the Pfnes-Grand
Trout-Fishing Along the Nc
Cloud-Deer, Etc.

The neighborhood of Sissons, at the base
of Mount Shasta, upon the line of the Cal
ifornia and Oregon Railroad. has been
well called the Hunters Paradise" Elk,
deer, bear, mountain sheep and antelope,
all frequent the rocky Businesses of Shasta
Butte.
The cervus or deer family of this vicin-
ity consists of three varieties, viz: The
mule, white and black-tailed deer.
The mule deer (CeTUuS nlGcTOtiS) is sup
posed to be hybrid between the antelope
and black-tail, and is the largest of the
varieties named. Hair in winter, ashy
brown, with light gray tips; rump and
about half of tail white, with black tip.
The black-tail (CerUuS ColocmbiaauS) is
the most common variety of deer in Cali
fornia. Winter coat, yellowish chestnut;
summer hair falls in September; distinct,
dusky horseshoe mark on forehead an
terror to the eyes; tail, black above and
white beneath; flesh, tender, juicy and
delicious; horns doubly dichotomous,
forks nearly equal.
The Whitehall (CeyU1ts leucu71LSl, va
riety of the Virginia deer, small size; dark
color above, light below; tuft of white
hair between legs. Rather scarce about
Shasta.
Wise game laws and the inaccessible
nights OF the great butte may preserve to
California this magnificent animal for
many years to come.
FISHING ON THE M'CLoUD.
The inaccessibility Of this wonderful
stream, the entire absence of agricultural
land on its margins and of gold on it's
banks, has rendered it the most unin-
habltable and uneXplored region on the
Pacific Coast. Its grand raYineS and
tortuOus detiles have locked within them
secrets that the botanist, the geologist,
and the ethnolOgist will one day greedily
unearth. Little wonder that this rugged,
inaccessible country should be very
paradise for the sportsman and the sight
seer (and generally the man who takes
passlOnately to the one will have q grand
appreciation of the other.
Anglers who have fished on the Nc
Cloud say that in some parts Of the sea-
son fishing loses its Zest-it is labor and
not sport-on account of the great num-
bers that are so easily caught.
The most feasible route to the best fish
ing grounds on the McCloud is from
Strawberry Valley distance, eighteen
miles, from which point parties are
fitted out every season. SiSson has good,
comfortable quarters on Horseshoe Bend.
IN the very heart Of the best fishing
grounds.
Fly-tishing for trout is good during the
months Of June, August tthe latter part,
! September and October, and bait-fishing
all summer. The natural fly of these
waters has yellow body SAY three-auar-
ters of an inch in length with brown
wings. A good fly also is the ''McCloud,"
made by Benn, which strongly resembles
the natural fly. Take, also, Benn's
| "orange-gray and brown" "Williams &
Burling's barn-yard" and "blue miller"
No true angler will use salmon roe as a
bait IN this country. 1t is nearly as
deadly as giant powder. and one of these
days fishing with salmon roe will be
! treated as miSdemeanOr. The angle
worm is decent, respectable bait the
world over, and so is the caddis fly, and
there are natural flies and worms of vari-
Gus kinds on every stream that one may
find by a careful search.
The rainbow trout (SdJnao tgTded),
weighing from one TO three pounds, is the
most plentiful here, but the Dolly Var
den lcalled by the Indians "wyedul-
ticket') is, perhaps, the gamiest and best
favored fish. Salmon are very plentiful
in the McCloud, and at certain seasons
will bite at almost anything; that is,
shortly after their 50O-mile swim from
Sacramento, and other more accessible
points from Delta to the head-w waters of
the Sacramento; also at Castle and Picay-
une Lakes.
CAMPING AMONG THE PINES.
This IS the country par excellent for
camping during the summer and fall
months. The precipitation tables show
that scarcely any rain falls between Red
| ding and Edgewood during the months of
June, July, August, September and
| October. There is an abundance of
! splendid wood and water everywhere.
| There are opportunities innumerable
along this whole route for sketching, fish
/ ing and hunting, and we name among
! the prominent points: Lower Soda
/ Springs, Mossbrae Falls near Upper Soda
/ Springs, the Eighteenth Crossing, the
Big Bend and Strawberry Valley.
At the last-named place there is proba-
/ bly, greater variety of attractions than
any place on the road. Parties are here
| fitted out by Sisson at very moderate
charges for the Great Horseshoe Bend on
| the McCloud River, where, it is safe to
! say, there is no such "Sportsman's para
disc in North America. Then a trip to
Castle and Picayune Lakes from this
! point is one worthy of the attention of
| tourists for scenery, fish and game; and
here, by all means, are the finest views of
Shasta to be had and the only convenient
/ point from which the ascent can be made
/ We have not space to dwell upon the de-
1 lights of this wonderful atmosphere; it is
simply perfection, and though we should
! skirmish ''Webster's Unabridged for
/ adjectiyes, and though we heap them
! as high as Shasta itself, the half could not
ha Fnll