East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-05-02

spent a portion OF last season IN tne
beautiful lake district OF northern
Idaho. has written the following ex-
cellent descriptive sketch OF that
country for the East Oregonian:
Lake Chatcolet is one of the many
lakes in the Occur d'Alene noun
tains. It is in Idaho, 20 miles from
Tekoa on a branch of the o. r. & N.
running from Tekoa to Burke.
It's altitude is 210O feet above sea
level and is noted for its abundance
Of fish and game. and also as a great
summer resort. 1t is a fresh clear
body of water about three miles long
and one mile wide, surrounded by
mountains on three sides and the
beautiful st, Joe river on one side.
People go there from all parts of
the country for a summer outing and
you can see tenting parties in every
direction, particularly on the banks
of the St. Joe river and from its mouth
to Coeur d'Alene City. a distance of
about'35 miles, the banks of Lake
Coeur d'Alene.
There is no lack of small boats for
hire. One evening l counted 40 at
the boat house and they were not all
in. These can be rented by the day
or month at a reasonable figure.
There are three kinds of fish in
the lake which are the most numer-
ous-black bass, trout and perch.
'Tis but a few years ago that there
were no fish in the lake but trout
which is the native fish.
Bass were planted in lake adjoin-
ing (Hayden lake, which overflowed,
carrying the bass into lake Chatcolet
The bass Immediately commenced war
on the trout and so successful have
they been that now you will catch
so bass to one trout. The bass are OF
canabalistic nature, eating all the
trout spawn and small trout they can
find so It will not be long before the
bass will have full possession OF the
lake. There are many ways of catch
ing these fish. The old fashioned
hook and line without any kind OF a
pole or bait; trolling with a spoon or
spinnig minnow, they will raise to
fly.
A good many fishermen use what is
called a buck tail, which is made to
represent a large fly with a black
body and long wings made of hair.
I had greater success with a spin
ming minnow than any other way.
This device is made to represent a
minnow about three inches long and
covered with hooks (mine had 15)
with a fan shaped ring at the head
and tail which revolve as you pull
il through the water.
You fasten this to a line about so
feet long, then throw 1t out in the
lake the full length of the line. This
is done by taking hold of the line
about six feet from the minnow and
swinging it around your head until
you get the impetus. Then pull the
in to shore, hand over hand.
In this way have caught a great
many bass. some of them weighing
three and one-half pounds, and l
tell you when you get one on your
hook that weighs that much you will
think you have got something.
One day I saw an old fisherman
trolling with a field mouse and fish
ing with a buck tail at the same time. |
He told me that there were times
when the bass preferred the mouse |
to anything. The bass are good eat
ing, some say as good as trout. They
are good, but I prefer trout.
There are times of the year when
the lake is covered with ducks, |
geese and other game. There are a !
few ducks there the year around and
mud hens by the hundreds.
I think I am safe in saying have
seen a thousand mud hens in one
flock made the remark one day
to a gentleman who had lived about
the lake for years that I had seen
mud hens in many parts of America.
but never saw more than two or three
together at a time. and they were
not considered good to eat or for any
thing else"
He replied that mud hens are
good eating and told me how to pre-
pare and cook them, so the next time
we went cunning we brought home
12 mud hens besides some ducks. We
gave away all of the mud hens but
three. thinking that was enough for
an experiment. then we prepared and
cooked according to Instructions,
which we're "tO skin them like you
would a rabbit: remove the entrails
and wash thoroughly in salt water
Fry or stew as you would a duck"
The meat when cooked resembles that
Of a jacksnipe both in taste and ap-
pearance. We thought it good and
were sorry we gave any away.
st. Joe river heads in the Idaho
mountains. is fed by numerous
streams the clear water being one
Of the largest and empties into Occur
d'AIene lake II Is nayigable for