St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1895-08-24
LANDLoCKEp SALMON.
Splendid Sport to BE Fonnd In Lakes al
Streams of Maine.

Splendid Sport to BE Fonnd In Lakes ana
Streams of Maine.
In point of gameness, qulckness 1n
taking the bait or fly, and savage fight
ing when hooked, the Canadian species
has no advantage of the landlocked
salmon of Maine. The reason SO many
anglers in the past have complained OF
tha lack of gamy qualities in the fish il
that they have sought and captured
them in still water. Every frequenter
of the Roberval region knows that
onananchie taken in the quiet Lac
Jeune or Lakes Pemoka, Plonger, or
Brochet, are as tame as any salted cod
fish when compared with the furious
fish that hide and feed in the foam-em-
broidered eddies Of the Grand Dis
charge.
Z It is the living and struggling for ex-
istence in mad swirling current that
bring out the devilish agility and pow
erfui energies Of any race Of fish. So
II the Maine fishermen wish to lind the
landlocked salmon in perfection, let
them seek him in no calm, sstagnant
ponds or pools One Of the very best
spots to fish, If one does not mind trs.v-
cling a rough country to reach It, is
Sebac lake, in Piscataquis county, Me.
It is a lovely sheet of water, thirteen
miles long by about four and hall
wide, fed By two spring brooks, the
Wilson and the Ship pond. It is sur
rounded by densely wooded ridges, and
it's water is as cold as ice. The old
time custom has been to Ash in the
deep, quiet coves Of the lake, but the
place to find fun is in the swift water
inlet. As soon as the ice is broken and
goes out, the sport begins, and contln.
ues all through June. After that the
fish take to the pools and deep spots II
the two brooks and are sluggish and
disinc1ined to bite.
Three or four pounds is the average
weight of these beautiful fish. though
occasional prizes tip the beam at seven
and eight. When the salmon are first
run, . i. e., come up out of the deep
places IN the spring, they are an ex. :s'
tremely dark greenish color. Shortly
after their play in the rapids has be-
gun, their sides and bellies take on
silvery white tone, and the black shad-
ings show sharply. They have then
become fighters All the winters
s1oth has been shaken off, and the
1andlccIxed salmon are ready to give
battle to all comers.
They hunt and feed on the smeits,
which are very numerous and pluihp,
and so respond better to the efortA OF
the bait caster than to those of the fly
fisherman. At the very mouths of the
brooks, however, and above, in the
basins below the high falls, the fish
run and jump for fly during this
month. The killing bait are the young
smelts. or, failing them, small sinners
of not more than three inches in
length. Use light but strong tackle,
about such as you would carry for
black bass. a light salmon, single
strand, nine-foot leader, and a No. 5
sproat hook, without swivel or sinker,
is a good rig.
Though some of The old guides al
ways hook the minnow through both
lips, it is easily demonstrated that the
bait lives longer if only hooked
through the upper lip. The once pop
ular hooking IN the back under the
dorsa1 fin has been entirely discarded.
With your boat or canoe securely an.
chored in the swiftest current, let out
plenty Of line, say from a hundred to
hundred and fifty feet, and let the
eddies carry the bait as they will. Do
not, however, have too much slack, for
4. Il
must be able to strike. There are
many rock points from which the
angler can take good fish without any
boat, but it is more difficult to bring
the fish to net.
The fly fisherman will find the dark
Montreal and the professor the taking
feathers here for June fishing. He will
find, too, that the fish in the lake pre-
fer bait, and his best sport will be had
along the rivers. The Ship Pond
stream contains some very pretty riffs
and runs, and abounds in small but
gamy fish. Both fly and bait fishers
will admit after fair trial that this is
as game a fish taken under proper
conditions and at a right season. as
they have ever hooked. .#3=.
It is not so hard to reach this fine old
lake as it was a few years ago. One
can take train to Dover. and from
there take drive Of six miles to
Blethen's, on Sebec lake, and then by
steamboat up the lake. There is an
other slightly longer route by way Of
Abbott Village by stage. The hotel
on the lake isa small one and only
plain, coarse food may be had. One
dollar a day is the rate charged. A
guide and a beat will cost two dollars
day, and they are hard to get in the
fishing season, for the demand far ex-
ceeds the supply. If no other scheme
is feasible, one can join one of the sew
eraI sporting camps along the north
shore. There is no warm weather
ever known there, and the nights,
even through July and August, are ac.
tually cold. One needs warm suit
for the early morning fishing, which is
the best of the day. for at sunrise and
shortly after, the biggest salmon are
feeding.
inexpensive Draperies.
Some beautiful inexpensive materials
for draperies and hangings in country
houses and seaside cottages have a
shadowy pattern of iris, morning-glory