Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-07-16

= without doubt one q
fthe oldest and noyl
~@ successful in New
I@@zH- England. He has made
ESAI IS annual fishing trips
80 Upper Dam. and d.
b. 1E'vides the honors with
| tIeeidnd Howe Of Norway, Me, who
has made "a fishing expeditions there,
but in Is years. for he goes twice 4
year, for spring and fall fishing.
| Upper Dam is one OF the most IA
nous fishing regions of the Rangeeys,
because of the Upper Dam pool.
classed as the most famous trout pool
| in the world, but the entire chain #
Rangeley, extending over all Of north
ern oxford county and into New
Hampshire, are best natural trout
waters in the world.
| Tho Rangeleys have always been ia
| nous. United States Senator William
| p. Frye has had camp at the junction
| of Notwithstanding and CupSuptc
| lakes for over 80 years. Even before
| the close Of the Civil War Massach,l-
| sets sent its annual contingent of fish
| ermcn to these waters. Most of the
| fishermen of those days have gone. but
| best known of those who are left are
| Eugene Lynch of Boston, r.. n. Par
| ish of Connecticut, George 3. Bearce ot
Lewiston, Senator Frye, who holds the
| record for taking the largest trout
| ever taken on a fly in the world, and
| Arthur L. ReeS of Philadelphia.
Genial men are the fishermen. Mr.
| Bracket is a man of infinite humor.
| His biggest catch" furnishes an ex-
ample Of this. and the story is often
| repeated by the camp fire. His guide
| Leroy w. Jordan, tells the story thus:
81 took Mr.. Bracket out one day
| when he wagered with Mr.. =. W.
| Tenny of Mehtuen. Mass. that his
| catch would be the biggest of the day.
f. w. Brown was guide for Mr.. Tenny.
ard | was in another boat with Mr.
| Bracket
eve fished all the forenoon without
any luck at all. Mr.. Tenny had four
| fish by noon. that weighed better than
| 10 pounds and it looked as if they
would win. We lunched at the Mar
rows, and on our way to camp that
night saw a hedgehog. or porcupine.
budding from a small willow tree
Then Mr.. Brackets eyes sparkled with
fun. He directed me to go ashore |
good-sizcd crotChed stick We cut
the tree down. and when it fell Mr..
Bracket got the crotched stick over
the hcdgehog's neck. We had some
rope in the boat. and tied the hedge
hogs four feet together and lashed
him to a pole. Then we took him to
the Upper Dam float.
1T was triumphant march to
| x.-~I,4
of fun. for Mr. Bracket is a favorite
up here. We waited until Mr.. Tenny
came up. and then weighed our catch.
Mr.. Hedgehog tipped the scales at ex-
| actly 16 Dounds-six pounds better
than Mr.. Tennys trout, and the
| wager was decided in our favor Mr.
Rraclett had made the biggest catch
| of the day
Amos Ellis. now proprietor of the
Bald Mountain camps. guided Senator
| Frye for over 20 years. and was with
him when he secured his famous trout.
In the early days the fishermen kept
their catches alive in little cars drawn
| behind the boats. These cars were
| about three feet long. Il inches deep.
and had a trap on the top to put the
| fish in. Frequently some Of the fish
tTHtH NouI1 nave I,uuV lIOul til HS1hu
at one time. There were no salmon
| then. When they were through fish
ing they could select about 100 pounds.
which they were allowed to carry home.
and let the others 60 free.
In those days the navigation on tho
| lakes was very much interrupted by
| floating logs and trees and stumps. as
the lake had been raised 13 feet by the
building Of the dam by the Union
Water Power Company. and the leav-
ing Of so many fallen trees and stumps
along the shore, the 'driki." as the
guides called it, made it impossible to
| reach the shore at many points.
F'recland Howe of Norway. whose
trip to Upper Dam this spring made
his 47th successive expedition, has
national reputation as fisherman.
Fishing was good in the olden
days" he says "A good deal Of fish
ing was done from boats anchored III
favorable spots. My son Freeland ana
caught over so trout in one hour on
one occasion. saving them all aiVe.
We We're both fishing on one side OF
the boat, and one trout took both the
bats. so we had the same FISH az the
same time. Trout in those days ran
from half pound to pound ana a
half.
II am very much opposed to stocking
natural trout waters with salmon.
Ten years ago everybody was delight
cd to get hold of salmon. In the big
lakes nine tenths of the fish are
salmon now, and eventually there will
be no trout caught.
There is no pool in the world that
compares with the pool of Upper Dam.
This is where Lady Greygown OF
Fishermen's Luck by Henry Van
Dyke, learned to catch big trout.
I'm 1884 landed my first large trout.
weighing 5A pounds. which was
painted by Mr.. GriSgs Of Boston. My
largest salmon was taken three years
N Continued on Page Five)