The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-30
TROUT TINE OPENS
HERE THIS WEEK
First Day for New Jersey on
Tuesday; Season Begins in
New York on Saturday.
BROOK VERSUS BROWN
Changed Conditions in Neigh
boring States Indicate Latter
Is Fish of Tomorrow.
by ALLEN.

- by ALLEN.
Trout Hshiug begins on Tuesday in
New Jersey Connecticut and New Hamp-
shire on Wednesday In Rhode Island ;
on Saturday in New York and April Is
IN tho States OF Pennsylvania, Massa-
chusetts and Vermont Maine fishing
begins when the ice goes out.
The ancients who put into human
form the attribute of Justice and then
represented her as blind, could with
equal truth have done the same with
prejudice. Blind prejudiee, caused me
for years to hold the brown trout. salmo
fario. with somewhat OF scoyn. That
was in serious error / now admit.
First impressions are lasting. | re-
member distinctly the first brook trout
which I ever caught. I was a young
ster of II. fishing with birch pole, cot.
ton line. the old fashioned eye hook And
worms at the mouth of we'll loved
sucker brook in Massachusetts.
At that point the brook paused for a
moment in a deep hole before II lost
itself In a lake, and here the suckers
gathered In schools for little while
before they started UP the brook on their
spring run. had caught several OF the
large, funny mouthed fellows when
suddenly became conscious that fish
OF another kind had taken the bait.
Here was no dead weight upon the
line, but n quick. spirited dash.
heaved upon the pole. sent my QUAR-!
far over my head. and then ran 10 see
what he looked like. I had caught q
graceful. trim built fish on whom a.
the colors OF the rainbow seemed tc
dwell The row of carmine spots along
his sides were his introduction.
prooL and prown Com.nred
had never seen one alive before, bu
knew him Immediately for the match
less brook trout, the gallant knight Of
our cold water streams, without re-
proach and beyond compare. The cap
ture OF that eight inch trout made me 6
hero with my companions. and from thai
day to this salvelinus has held my un
swerving devotion and admiration.
Equally we'll do I remember the frs
brown trout l ever took. In 1905 l wa.
fishing with n friend stream In Sulli
van county and had n fair basket o.
trout. all brooks. At bend in thu
stream I came to a large pool with 6
tiny. brushy inlet in the middle. 1
looked trouty, so I let out much lin
and let the baited hook--for that was N
the unregenerate days when had ye
TO know of the Joys of fly fshing-sr
the current.
felt a fierce tug. saw a good sizet
fish struggling on the surface, and there
fore thought that he had been hooked
foul. ] had so much line out that 4
became tangled. SO I dropped my roo
on the bank and pulled in hand Owe
hand. Somehow the line got across thu
islet and the first thing ! knew my fisl
was struggling vigorously, suspended
from one OF the bushes that crowned II.
ran down the stream. throwing
water right and left, and after various
narrow escapes from going headlont
into the smother salvaged my captive
1 had caught a strange bird, to me
The red spots were there all right
but comparing him with my graceful
and beautiful brook trout he looked pc
nellied. gross. scaly and mouthy.
He ran larger than any of them, owe
thirteen inches, but I told my friend, Z
whom likewise he was a stranger. tina
wouldn't swap two OF the toothy thing
for any one OF my other trout. w
knew him for what ne was--a brow
trout.
Brown Trout Harder to Catch.
In the twenty years I have lived Il
New Jersey have seen many change
In the streams. not only here but /,
New York and Pennsylvania. The,
have dwindled in size. Owing to de
forestation they are subject to short
fierce freshets which scour the bottoms
and they have become warmer.
The numerous small springs ristn
from beneath messy rocks and 4
tangled swamps no longer feed man
OF them. and fontinalis has LEFT Their
never to return. Many Of them. perhap
the ajority. may now be classed a
meadow or pasture instead of fores
streams, and are therefore exposed 70
much OF their length TO the full glar
OF the summer sun.
Fontinaiis cannot live and prosper /
them. He Is creature of the livin
water, OF almost icy coldness. But hi
less beautiful rival finds them much
. his taste. He attains a weight unhear
OF In his American namesake. He
distinctly able to take care of himsel
Put him in quantity in waters where h
belongs and cease to worry. A FISHES
stream Is fishless no longer. but fuI
nishes sport OF the best sort with a res
game fish. a very gallant fighter and In
tie inferior in the pan to fontinalis.
Here I wish to perpetrate heresy.
am by no means convinced that III
brown trout Is not q sportisr FISH TIA
the brook trout, I have had n prett
considerable experience with both. an
while i love our own spotted beauty TIL
best because Of his loneliness and sprin
fed habitat I really believe that III
brown trout Is considerably the harde
TO catch,
He feeds less readily to the bate
hook than fontinalis. He Is harder I
deceive with the fly. and he Is just q
hard a fighter when he is hooked.
half dozen such standard flies as II
brown hackle. coachman, queen of d
waters. black guat. cahil and cowdun
are amply sufficient in most instances
insure the ordinarily apt fly fisherman
good days sport on brook trout water
But il is my earnest conviction. as e.
pressed on the Rod and Gun page
THE SUN nearly a year ago. that Il
brown trout is much more fncky tina
the brook trout, and that the list Of fiji
necessary for even ordinary condition
OF water and weather must be conside
ably heightened II the angler would
successful.
No Specific Fly Fishing Laws.
am fully conscious that there is a G
vergence OF opinion upon this matte
switch Caster" apparently a skillt
and experienced fly fisherman. in nnsw'
to my article "Six Flies or Thirt
which" appearing In THE Sun Ia
May, stated that while he fully agree
with some OF the writer's opinions in r
gard to the differences between the broC
trout and the brown trout, in the matt
OF tho necessity for many fiies against
few ne could not agree.
Certainly there are days when Il
brownies win rise pretty freely to ar
one OF half a dozen standard pattern
But the casual angler like myself. wi
may only take a few trips OF day Z