Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1904-05-23
WHERE FISHING COMES HIGH.
Salmon Beats That Cost Thousands Of
Dollars a Season.

Dollars a Season.
London Daily Mail.-"God never
made a more calm, quiet, innocent rec
reation than angling" wrote Izaak
Walton some 800 years ago. If the
philosopher could come To life again in
this Goth century country of preserved
waters he would probably hasten to
add expensive" TO the list Of adtec-
tives.
The sportsman whose thoughts run
to trout streams or salmon pools and
an infinite variety OF taking flies will
tell you that angling" is still calm,
quiet. innocent recreation" within the
reach of the poor mans purse; but
"angling" means to him the patient
individual who may be seen on any of
the quiet reaches Of the Thames. sit
ting on a Kitchen chair in the middle
OF a punt, with a rod, black bottle. a
dog, and a paper bag, listlessly watch
ing a float
or perhaps the quiet looking men
who may be seen by the SOS and CO.'S
sitting on soap boxes IN the summer
time on the banks of the canals near
London. watching each others rods,
apparently ownerless, lying on the
banks. This is the poor mans fishing
competition" and there are many
worse ways Of spending a holiday.
Fishing" TO the same sportsman,
means something infinitely more excit-
ing and more difficult 10 obtain. A
beat on a Scotch or Irish salmon river,
or the right 10 fish in a small portion
. CA a West country trout stream in the
brief dry-fiy season-that kind or fish
i ins IS fast becoming the monopoly Of
the rich.
The silver salmon" is a misnomer.
The king OF the British fish should be
at once rechristened the golden sal
mon" for the man who takes a beat
Y on a Scotch river nowadays may be
well excused for muttering that fish
cost me exactly so sOvereigns," when
he lands a 3O-pounder or even a grilse.
A very wealthy English duke often
tells his friends a story against him
self which serves TO illustrate the ex-
I penses and surprises Of salmon fishing.
He took two beats on the Tweed
beats which had yielded over 200 sal
mon the previous season, and paid
I e1.2OO pounds for the autumn fishing.
The days passed, the river was low,
and not a fish was killed.
! Just before the time was up the duke
killed a grilse, a friend killed two Is
Founders. and a gillie landed a fourth
fish. 4 ate the grilse myself" said
the duke. 1T cost me e30n, so I
didn't see why ] shouldn't"
Trout fishing is still within the reach
of the man of moderate means. From
many Scotch, WEIGH and Irish inns
very good sport can be obtained for a
trifling addition TO the hotel bill In
/ the County Galway, for instance, good
trout fishing can be enjoyed for three
I shillings per day; and in many parts of
I Scotland the hotel proprietors buy up
the fishing rights of five or six lOchs
and add trout fishing to their list OF
attractions gratis.
Salmon fishing tickets" which are
still issued on a few rivers in Ireland
and Scotland at a guinea a day, are
well enough for the man on a short
/ holiday; and If he have luck he will do
well out Of IL, for the rule with these
tickets" is that the market price of
the FISH killed is deducted from the
/ guinea Thus, one day he may pay
guinea and another day two shillings-
but he must give up the fish when he
has landed IT,
The prices of sporting estates afford
ling grouse shooting and salmon fishing
have bounded up in recent years until
they have reached sums out OF all pro-
portion 10 the sport they AFFORD. The
millionaire who wishes TO entertain"
. is said 10 be the cause Of the inflated
sums now asked by owners of even
third-Tate shOotings and fishings; but
even then the millionaire is often a
much-maligned person, and still more
often a much-deceived one.
In a certain London bankers safe
are several papers yellow with age. The
letters are from an old client, who
about the year 1882 strongly objected
20 having TO pay the sum Of $500 a