The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-16
TACKLE RUNNING OUANANICHE
TIE LEAPING, FIGHTING FISH
OF LAKE ST. JOIN.
They Can Give Pointers 10 Both BAss INT
Trout I'm Battle and Can Hold Thelr
own with Any Salmon In Beauty and
Brillianey-FIshinE In the Rapids.

QUEBEC, June 15+-Only a few years ago
o~uananlche was not 10 he found In any
Of the dictionaries. Now it has an estab.
lished place in the vocabulary Of every
angler who has visited the famous waters
OF Lake st. John. The ouananiche can
give pointers to both trout and bass in
battle. and can hold It's own with any little
salmon in the symmetry Of Its form, the
grace OF It's movements and the brilliant
sheen Of Its silvery sides.
The Lake st. John o~uananiche is very
near congener OF the landlocked salmon
OF some Of the Maine lakes. In brllianoe
Of %coloring and in fighting qualities it is
an entirely distinct fish. The environment
may make all the difference.
The life Of comparative ease which is
spent by the fish Of the Maine lakes con-
duces TO enervation and ed eminacy. and
the deep dark water Of Sohoodio and the
Rangeleys communicates tints akin TO It's
own to the landlocked salmon inhabiting
it. At Lake st. John all is different.
There the fish are chiefly found in the
rapid, swirling waters Of the Grand Dis
charge Of the lake, in which life is a con-
tinual battle for existence. So violent are
the rapids here that they may better be
described as a series Of falls and cascades.
There is no place for a life OF Incidence
and luxurious ease.
The very excitement and unrest OF their
surroundings renders inactivity impossible
to the fish inhabiting them. while the physi-
cal exertion necessarily employed in their
constant struggles amid those turbulent
waters insures for them the possession OF
courage. agility and strength that make
them the recognized champions Of the
hnny warriors Of Canadian waters. The
graceful proportions and splendid con-
dition Of the adult ~ouananiche, found in
rapid water in the spring OF the year. are
not more remarkable than the beauty Of
its coloring.
Clothed, indeed, in purple and finest
silver, it undoubtedly fares ~sumptuously
every day. In its various hues it reflects
/ every shade OF it's natural sur ~roundings,
from the indigo colored storm clouds TO the
rose tints OF the setting SUM-, from the purple
haze over the distant hills to the pale green
foliage Of the burs ting buds. from the
darkest views Of the deepest holes which IL
frequents, the olive and bronze Of the
floating water weeds and the gray Of the
surrounding rocks, TO the silver sheen Of the
moonbeams, the white topped rapids and
foam fecked, eddying pools.
In proportion TO their a~voirdupois they
can do more tackle smashing than any other
flsh. Their leaps are prodigious.
Habituated TO overcome obstacles TO their
progress upstream by jumping over them.
their skyward somersaults and aerial con-
t~ortions when hooked leave the angler
little leisure for contemplation while the
struggle is in progress. When a IL 10 under
stood that a ouananiche of five pounds
weight will frequently leap three feet or
more out of water in its endeavor to get
free, and perhaps a dozen times in success
sion, some idea may be formed Of the skill
that is necessary to bring it safely to the
net.
And yet the leaps Of the hooked ouanan-
iche are nothing when compared with those
of the same fish when in a state OF freedom
it undertakes TO surmount a lofty water
fall interposed between it and It's ~favorite
spawning grounds higher up the stream. |
There is such a fall on the Mistassini River. |
one of the largest northern tributaries Of
Lake st. John, which is twenty or twenty
five feet in height. 1t is a sight worth
seeing TO watch the shoals OF ascending
fish leapjng up the fall.
The height is too great to permit of the
feat being accomplished in one leap, but
at one side there is a broad ledge forming
a pool about half way up the cataract, and
the instinct Of the fish is such that they
va ~ AAAS NN6DNAASA ~ NAAS AVNN vi
the fall into this pool and after resting
there for some time spring out Of il again
to attain the summit OF the fall.
II is scarcely possible 10 do justice To
the wild grandeur OF the scenery below the
grand fall of the Discharge. Looking up
stream one sees only the rush of the rapids
and the steady fan of the prdHde chute,
while the surging waters below are never
at rest, and the angler who stands fishing
with his feet one moment upon a rock thirty
inches above their surface may the next
himself more than knee deep In the rising
and falling swell produced by the force and
volume of the cataract. II is necessary
here 10 De always quite sure OF ones foot
nag, for there is often twenty TO thirty feet
Of water alongside the very rocks from which
The angler fishes his pool.
To add TO the wildness OF the surround
.ngs there is the ever present roar Of the
rapids that are rounda6 bout on every side
the constant rumbling Of the prdnde
,hMe. Immense quantities OF the foam
up by the rapid succession OF VIC.
. EN- " falls ais. are r,rr continually ny lily f floating Ssu % d9wn
where this foam or brou abounds is
to be had the best fishing for GUAM
The east vino s~catters it and is always
Of the guides in padding the an
through the rushing, whirling.
rapids OF the Grand Discharge
bring him near the edge OF the SCUM
DONeTeu tuultt, uOlleu Win llStCJ ne,
where the hungry ouananiche lies in ambush
below, waiting 10 spring upon its prey az
soon as its ~favorite fly floats around.
Very often the fish OF which you are in
float about 30 near to the surface OF
he water that dorsal and caudal fins may :
be seen moving through the creamy scum
that has come down laden with insect life
from the overlooking ohurn OF yonder
rapids. This is a sign that T. ouananiche
made a discovery and found them
selves 80 situated that conoealment is no
necessary TO their selection Of insect
food. The thick foam has proved a natural
trap for weak winged insects, where the
have only to go and take the
contents.
Sometimes the most tempting cast OF
fies, Of which the best are usually
The Jock Scott. Silver Doctor, Grizzly King
the red and brown hackles and palmers,
may be drawn several times through the
foam, almost touching the backs or tails
of half a dozen large ~ouananiche without
attracting the notice Of any of them. But
under the conditions described n
well directed cast will not fail Of a rise and
occasionally there will be a couple.