It carries us into the most wild and beautiful scenery of nature;
amongst the mountain lakes and the clear and lovely streams that gush
from the higher ranges of elevated hills, or make their way through
the cavities of calcareous rocks.
Sir Humphrey Davy.
Were it not for the salmon, we should pronounce the trout the most
superb game-fish in the world. As the case now stands, however, we are
inclined to believe that he has delighted a greater number of anglers
than any other inhabitant of the “liquid plain.” The characteristics of
this charming fish are so well known that we shall not, on this
occasion, enter upon a scientific description, either of his person or
habits. In all the particulars of beauty, of color and form, of grace,
of activity, of intelligence and flavor, as before intimated, he has but
one rival. He always glories in the coldest and purest of water, and the
regions of country to which he is partial are commonly distinguished for
the wildness of their scenery; and therefore it is that to the lover of
nature this imperial fish has ever been exceedingly dear. Their period
of spawning is in the autumn, and they recover as early as February,
thereby remaining in season a part of the winter, as well as the entire
spring and summer—though the trouting months, _par excellence_, are May
and June.
In weight, even when fully grown, the different varieties of trout run
from four ounces to sixty pounds, and of the different distinct species
found in the United States and Canada, we are acquainted only with the
following:
_The Common or Brook and River Trout._—There is hardly a cold and rocky
stream in any of the New England or Northern States, or among the
mountains of the Middle and Southern States, where this species is not
found in abundance. In regard to weight, they ordinarily vary from three
or four ounces to two pounds; and in color, according to the character
of the brook or river which they inhabit. So apparent is the difference
of color in this family, that, in the several sections of the country
where they are found, they are designated by the names of Silver or Fall
trout, as in Lake George; and the Black trout, as in many of the smaller
lakes or ponds of New England. The only _civilized_ mode employed by our
people for taking them is with the hook; but, while the scientific
angler prefers the artificial fly (with an appropriate reel), large
numbers are annually destroyed by the farmers’ boys with the common hook
and red worm. As to the heathenish mode of netting this beautiful fish,
we can only say that it merits the most earnest condemnation of every
gentleman. The common trout is proverbially one of the most skittish of
all the finny tribes; but, when he happens to be a little hungry, he is
fearless as the hawk, and at such times often leaps into the air as if
for the purpose of defying the cunning of his human enemies. According
to our experience, the best bait for early spring fishing is the common
worm, but for June, July, and August we prefer the fly. Sometimes,
however, a minnow is preferable to either. The great charm of
fly-fishing for trout is derived from the fact that you then see the
movement of your fish, and if you are not an expert hand, the chances
are that you will capture but one out of the hundred that may rise to
your hook. You can seldom save a trout unless you strike the very
instant that he leaps. But, even after this, a deal of care is required
to land him in safety. If he is a half-pounder, you may pull him out
directly; but if larger than that, after fairly hooking him, you should
play him with your whole line, which, when well done, is a feat full of
poetry. The swiftness with which a trout can dart from his hiding-place
after a fly is truly astonishing; and we never see one perform this
operation without feeling an indescribable thrill quivering through our
frame. The fact that this is the only fish in the world which nature has
designated by a row of scarlet spots along the sides, would seem to
imply that she deemed it the perfection of her finny creations, and had,
therefore, fixed upon it this distinguishing mark of her skill.
_The Salmon Trout._—Under this head we include all those fish of the
trout genus which are found only in those lakes of our country having no
connection whatever with the sea. The fish now under consideration
resembles, in its general appearance, the legitimate salmon, but is
totally unlike it in several particulars. The salmon trout, for example,
varies in weight from three to sixty pounds; and, if everybody is to be
believed, they have been taken in some of our waters weighing upwards of
one hundred pounds. They are also of much less value than the real
salmon as an article of food, there being nothing at all delicate in the
texture or flavor of a mammoth fish. As sporting fish, too, they are of
little value, for they love the gloom of deep water, and are not
distinguished for their activity. The names besides its own by which
this fish is recognized, are the lake trout and the Mackinaw trout; and,
by many people who ought to know better, they are often confounded with
the genuine salmon. As is the case with the salmon, they are seldom or
never found in any of our rivers, but chiefly in the lakes of the
northern and northwestern States of the Union, being found in the
greatest numbers at the Straits of Mackinaw, in Lake Superior, Lake
George, and the other lakes of the Empire State, and in Moosehead Lake.
_The Sea Trout._—Our idea of this fish is that it is quite at home in
the “deep, deep sea,” but rather partial to the brackish waters of large
rivers and the inland bays of the American coast. And also that they
vary in weight from three to fifteen pounds, and ought to be highly
prized as a game-fish, their flesh being of a rosy hue, and excellent,
and their courage and strength allied to those of their more
aristocratic cousin—the salmon. Like the salmon and common trout, too,
they scorn the more common baits of the fisherman, and possess a decided
taste for the fly, albeit thousands of them are taken with the shrimp
and minnow. The waters where they mostly abound are those of the lower
St. Lawrence and its tributaries, the bay of Cape Cod, all along the
southern shore of Barnstable, the entire shore of Martha’s Vineyard, and
the bays Delaware and Chesapeake. So much for the varieties of trout
with which we are personally acquainted.
It now behooves us to record some of our experience in trout fishing,
but we have already published in our books of travel, and elsewhere,
quite as many _fish stories_ as will be readily believed. We shall,
therefore, content ourselves, on this occasion, with a brief description
of our favorite localities.
As a matter of course, the first place that we mention in this
connection is Saut St. Marie, which, for many reasons, is an exceedingly
attractive place. In the first place, it is the outlet to Lake Superior,
the largest body of fresh water on the globe. It is also the western
terminating point of the lake navigation of the north. From the earliest
periods of our history to the present time, it has been, as it were, the
starting place for all the fur expeditions by land which have ever
penetrated the immense wilderness bordering on Hudson’s Bay and the
Arctic ocean. The fall of the river St. Mary, at the spot called the
Saut, is nearly twenty-five feet within the space of half a mile, so
that from a canoe at the foot of the rapid it presents the appearance of
a wall of foam. The width of it is reputed to be one mile, and on the
British side are several beautiful islands, covered with hemlock,
spruce, and pine, pleasingly intermingled with birch. The bed of the
river at this point consists chiefly of colored sand-stones, the depth
varies from ten to perhaps one hundred feet, and the water is
perpetually cold, and as clear as it is possible for any element to be.
But what makes the Saut particularly attractive to the angler, is the
fact that the common trout is found here in good condition throughout
the year. They are taken with the fly, and from boats anchored in the
more shallow places of the river, as well as from the shore. We have
known two fishermen to spend an entire day in a single reef, or at one
anchorage, and, in spite of sunlight and east winds, have known them to
capture more than a cart load of the spotted beauties, varying in weight
from half a pound to three and four. How it is that the fish of this
region always appear to be in season has never been explained, but we
should imagine that either they have no particular time for spawning, or
that each season brings with it a variety peculiar to itself. Those of
the present day who visit Saut St. Marie for the purpose of throwing the
fly, ought to be fully prepared with tackle, and that of the best
quality. With regard to the _creature comforts_ obtainable in the
village of Saut St. Marie, they will be as well supplied as in any other
place of the same size equally remote from the civilized centre of the
world. And when the pleasures of trout fishing begin to subside they can
relieve the monotony of a sojourn here by visiting the Indians in their
wigwams, and seeing them capture (with nets, in the pure white foam) the
beautiful white fish; they may also with little difficulty visit the
copper mines of Lake Superior, or, if they would do their country
service (provided they are Americans), they may indite long letters to
members of Congress on the great necessity of a ship canal around the
falls or rapids of St. Mary.
And now for the island of Mackinaw. For an elaborate description of this
spot we refer our readers to any of the numerous travelers who have
published its praises, not forgetting, by way of being _impartial_, an
account from our own pen already before the public. The time is rapidly
approaching, we believe, when this island will be universally considered
one of the most healthful, interesting, convenient, and fashionable
watering-places in the whole country. And the naturalists, not to say
the angler, will find here the celebrated Mackinaw trout in its greatest
perfection. And when the Detroit and Chicago steamer runs into the
little crescent harbor of the island for the purpose of landing the
traveler, and he discovers among the people on the dock some half-dozen
wheelbarrows laden with fish four feet long and weighing fifty or sixty
pounds, he must not be alarmed at finding those fish to be Mackinaw
trout, and not sturgeon, as he might at first have imagined. The truth
is, the very size of these fish is an objection to them, for, as they
have to be taken in deep water, and with a large cord, there is far more
of manual labor than sport in taking them. But when one of these
monsters happens to stray towards the shore where the water is not over
fifty feet, it is then, through the marvellously clear water,
exceedingly pleasant to watch their movements as they swim about over
the beds of pure white sand. As before intimated, the Mackinaw trout is
far inferior to the common trout as an article of food, and to the white
fish almost infinitely so.
The Mackinaw trout (as is the case with all salmon trout) is in fine
condition throughout the winter months; and the Indians are very fond of
taking them through the ice. Their manner of proceeding is to make a
large hole in the ice, over which they erect a kind of wigwam, so as to
keep out the light; and, stationing themselves above the hole, they lure
the trout from the bottom by an artificial bait, and when he comes
sufficiently near pick him out with a spear: and they are also taken
with a hook. The voraciousness of the Mackinaw trout at this season is
said to be astonishing; and it is recorded of a Canadian fisherman that,
having lost all his artificial bait, by their being bitten to pieces, he
finally resorted to a large jackknife attached to a hook which he had in
his pocket, and which was swallowed by a thirty pound fish. Another
anecdote that we have heard touching this mode of winter fishing is as
follows, and shows the danger with which it is sometimes attended. An
Indian fisherman, of renown among the tribes of Lake Superior, while
fishing on this lake in the manner above mentioned, at a considerable
distance from the shore, was once detached with a cake of ice from the
shore and carried into the lake by the wind, and was never heard of
more. Such a death as he must have met with it would be difficult to
describe.
But we cannot leave Mackinaw without making a passing allusion to the
fish whose Indian name is _ciscovet_. It is a beautiful fish,
unquestionably of the trout family, a bold biter, richly flavored, and
quite beautiful both in symmetry and color. They are not very abundant,
and are altogether the greatest fishy delicacy in this region, excepting
the white fish. They weigh from five to ten pounds, and are remarkable
for their fatness. At the Island of Mackinaw the common trout are not
found at all, but in all the streams upon the main shore of Lake
Michigan, which is only a short distance off, they are very abundant and
very large.
Another trouting region whose praises we are disposed to sing is that of
northern New York, lying between Lake George and Long Lake. All the
running waters of this section of country are abundantly supplied with
common trout, and all the lakes (which are quite numerous) with salmon
trout. The scenery everywhere is of the wildest and most imposing
character. The two branches of the noble Hudson here take their rise,
and almost every rood of their serpentine courses abounds in rapid and
deep pools, yielding common trout of the largest size. But the angler
who visits this region must not expect to be feasted with the
fashionable delicacies of the land, or spend his nights in luxuriantly
furnished rooms; he must be a lover of salt pork, and well acquainted
with the yielding qualities of a pine floor. To those of our readers who
would become better acquainted with the region alluded to, we would
recommend the interesting descriptions of Charles F. Hoffman, Esq., and
the spirited though somewhat fantastic ones of J. T. Headley, Esq.
In the “times of old” we have enjoyed ourselves exceedingly in making
piscatorial pilgrimages among the Catskill and Sharidaken Mountains, but
their wilderness glory is rapidly departing. We can now only recommend
this region as abounding in beautiful as well as magnificent scenery.
Now, while we think of it, however, we have one little incident to
record connected with Shaw’s Lake, which beautifies the summit of one of
the Catskills. Having once caught a large number of small common trout
in a stream that ran out of this lake, we conceived the idea that the
lake itself must of necessity contain a large number of full grown fish
of the same species. With this idea in view, we obtained the services of
a mountaineer named Hammel, and tried our luck at the lake, by the light
of the moon, with set lines and live minnows. During the night we caught
no less than forty-two trout, averaging in weight over a pound apiece.
We were of course greatly elated at this success; and, having enjoyed
quite a romantic expedition, we subsequently published an account of the
particulars. A few days after this, a party of anglers residing in the
town of Catskill saw what we had written, and immediately posted off to
Shaw’s Lake, for the purpose of spending a night there. They did so, and
also fished after the same manner that we did, and yet did not capture a
single trout. They of course returned home considerably disgusted, and
reported that the lake in question was covered with dead eels, that the
water was alive with lizards, that they saw the glaring eyes of a
panther near their watch-fire, and that _we_ had been guilty of
publishing a falsehood. It now becomes us to deny, and in the most
expressive tone, this rough impeachment, although we fully confess that
there still hangs a mystery over our piscatorial good fortune.
If the anglers of New York city are to be believed, there is no region
in the world like Long Island for common trout. We are informed,
however, that the fish are here penned up in ponds, and that a
stipulated sum per head has to be paid for all the fish captured. With
this kind of business we have never had any patience, and we shall
therefore refrain from commenting upon the exploits or trespassing upon
the exclusive privileges of the cockney anglers of the empire city.
But another trouting region, of which we can safely speak in the most
flattering terms, is that watered by the two principal tributaries of
the river Thames, in Connecticut, viz., the Yantic and the Quinnebaug.
It is, in our opinion, more nearly allied to that portion of England
made famous by Walton in his _Complete Angler_, than any other in the
United States. The country is generally highly cultivated, but along
nearly all its very beautiful streams Nature has been permitted to have
her own way, and the dark pools are everywhere overshadowed by the
foliage of overhanging trees. Excepting in the immediate vicinity of the
factories, trout are quite abundant, and the anglers are generally
worthy members of the gentle brotherhood. When the angler is overtaken
by night, he never finds himself at a loss for a place to sleep; and it
has always seemed to us that the beds of this region have a “smell of
lavender.” The husbandmen whom you meet here are intelligent, and their
wives neat, affable, and polite, understanding the art of preparing a
frugal meal to perfection. Our trouting recollections of this section of
New England are manifold, and we would part with them most unwillingly.
Dearly do we cherish, not only recollections of scenery and fishing, but
of wild legends and strange characters, bright skies, poetic
conceptions, and soul-instructing lessons from the lips of Nature. Yes,
and the secret of our attachment to the above-mentioned streams may be
found in the character of these very associations. What intense
enjoyment would not Father Walton have derived from their wild and
superb scenery! The streams of England are mostly famous for the bloody
battles and sieges which they witnessed for many centuries, and the
turreted castles which they have only tell us eventful stories of a race
of earth-born kings. But many of the streams of our country, even in
these days, water a virgin wilderness, whose only human denizens are the
poor but noble Indian tribes, who live, and love, and die in their
peaceful valleys; and the unshorn forests, with the luxuriantly
magnificent mountains, sing a perpetual hymn of praise to One who is
above the sky and the King of kings.
Of all the New England States, however (albeit much might be written in
praise of Vermont and New Hampshire, with their glorious Green and White
Mountains), we believe that Maine is altogether the best supplied. In
the head waters of the Penobscot and Kennebec, the common trout may be
found by the thousand; and in Moosehead Lake, as before stated, salmon
trout of the largest size and in great numbers. This is even a more
perfect wilderness than that in the northern part of New York, and it is
distinguished not only for its superb scenery, but its fine forests
afford an abundance of large game, such as moose, deer, bears, and
wolves, which constitute a most decided attraction to those disciples of
the gentle art who have a little of the fire of Nimrod in their natures.
Another, and the last region towards which we would direct the attention
of our readers, is that portion of Canada lying on the north shore of
the St. Lawrence. At the mouth of all the streams here emptying into the
great river, and especially at the mouth of the Saguenay, the sea trout
is found in its greatest perfection. They vary from five to fifteen
pounds, and are taken with the fly. But what makes the fishing for them
particularly interesting, is the fact that when the angler strikes a
fish it is impossible for him to tell, before he has seen his prize,
whether he has captured a salmon trout, a mammoth trout, common trout
(which are here found in brackish or salt water), or a magnificent
salmon, glistening in his silver mail.