The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1903-11-05
RESTIGOUCHE STORIES.
YARNS THE GUIDES TELL WHEN THE
SALMON WON'T BITE.
[ Metapedia Letter to the N. Y. SUM-

are times when the great silver fellows
sulk behind the sheltering rocks at the
bottom of the swift current and disdain
to rise to any lure, however carefully
and cunningly cast.
Then one seeks consolation in the
stories of the guides, for if the Resti.
gouche river region is famous for the
largest and finest salmon in the world,
so the Restigouche canOemen bear an
equally well-deserved fame for the larg-
est fish stories known to the disciples
Of Izaak Walton. For instance, there
is Archie Macdougars story of the long
cast.
Archie is an old-timer, one of the
most skillful of bowmen-and the bow
man is captain and master of the canoe
and well-versed in all the arts of sal
monry.
mind you,' says Archie, sit is not
the longest cast l ever made. I'm not
saying that at ALL Not by any means.
But, considering the circumstances, I'll
hold by it to beat any cast thrown out
in these waters.
81 was fishing with M. Davies. You
mind Davies, the great tobacco man?
A gale was blowing from the west and
we'd had spare luck.
Just after we'd taken long drop
and anchored in likely pool we saw a
great fellow rise upstream OF our an
Choir. 1t might have been a hundred
and ten feet from the bow. Now, you'll
mind that a salmon, when he rises, goes
down in the same spot and stays there.
mn. Davies cast for the spot, but the
wind being so heavy against him he
couldn't reach it, No Shame to him,
10 throws unnJ limo
% If we up anchor, Archie, says he,
we may disturb him. Do you think
you could drop a fly over his nose?'
IN try it, says l. He's thirty
FOUNDER sure
My first cast fell short. The gale
tangled up my second attempt and MI.
Davies smiled. That stirred me up. l
shook out the line, gave myself hand
ful of slack from the reel and put on
the whip of the roland a pretty bit
of greenheart she Was-lnto the finest
cast of my record.
AS the fly took up the slack | knew
! was over the spot and well beyond it..
One hundred and twenty feet that throw
must have measured it it went yard,
and that against as fierce a wind as
you'd care to fight.
Beyond the spot where the salmon
had risen was little scoop in the
bank. In the calm of the water there
the fly landed.
Then what do you think happened?
Well. sir didn't a beaver take it! Right
out from under the bank he came and
-flump.-he and the hook. Then the
trouble began.
Talk about salmon. The biggest
salmon ever spawned never had half
the fight in him of that reptile. Out
into the river he went with rush, and
the old reel singing a song of disaster
and smoking like new pipe, with the
friction.
i" Cut the anchor rope" l yelled to
Mr.. Davies, and his knife was through
it in a second Dollar and half that
anchor cost me.
Down the stream we went, eight
nine-an-hour with the current, and
across the Stream-ten- mile-an- hour with
the beaver. Every half-minute or so
he'd come up out of the water and then
his big. fat tail would whop the surface
like a revolver shot and the water
would squirt fifty feet.
after he'd turned few dozen OF
These handsprings he set off down
stream, and the fight was on in earnest.
3" If we Can get to shore below him
and coax him in says Mr.. Davies, very
much excited, 'I'll get out and gait
him
You stay in the canoe" says |, un-
less you've got a leg to spare. That
tellow'd lop it off like a twig if he
caught you in the water. Well just
have to tire him out and drown him."
"W ell, sir, if that beaver didn't tow
,,ix Il
rapids and around islands. for nigh on
two hours, hope | may never prick
another salmon. We might have been
following him yet if we hadn't met
another canoe with a man in it that
had revolver.
Il handed the rod to Mr.. Davies, and
the beaver near hauled him out of the
boat, for he wasn't used to such pull
ling Finally he coaxed the reptile to
the surface and | loaded old paddletaii
up with lead. When we had him safe
ashore Mr.. Davies turned to me with
long sigh and says he:
Archie, salmon fishing isn't much.
Let's only fish for beaver after this. "
But, do you know Archie con-
cludes, solemnly, from that day to
this | never rose another beaver"
Another New Brunswicker wise in
the ways of salmon is Ned Price. Ned
isn't properly a guide; he is one Of the
crack engineers on the Intercolonial
railroad. But when the salmon run he
is neither to bind or to hold; SO the
railroad authorities, recognizing his
worth, gave him an elastic vacation in
the fishing season.
1t is said that one year Ned's appli-
cation for leave was turned down, and
that, two days later, as the crack ex-
press train opened up stretch of the
Metapedia, fisherman was discovered
fighting hard with big salmon.
Thereupon Price put on the brakes,
leaped from the cab, ran down to the
bank, and aided with advice and coun-
sci until the big silverside was flop.
ping on the shore amid the plaudits of
the entire roster of passengers, who
attended in body.
Thereafter he got his vacation.
In the winter when no salmon are
to be had Ned turns his attention to
trout.
"A Restigouche trout is the hungri-
est creature that nature ever made 2"
says he ''and the hungriest time is in
winter.
"Last winter Desmond and | went
up the river one tolerably mild day to
try fishing through the ice. We cut
two holes, the downstream one being
just over little eddy near the bank.
I'd taken along some flies, though