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=By Charles Bradford=
=The Determined Angler=
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Life and Writings of the Father of
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[Illustration: A MORNING'S CATCH OF TROUT NEAR SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
"Three times too many for one rod."--_William T. Hornaday_
An object lesson on the too-liberal fish laws. _See page 38_]
The Determined Angler
and the
Brook Trout
An Anthological Volume of Trout Fishing.
Trout Histories, Trout Lore, Trout
Resorts, and Trout Tackle
By
Charles Bradford
Author of "The Wildfowlers," "The Angler's Secret."
"The Angler's Guide," "Frank Forester," etc.
[Illustration]
_Second Edition, Greatly Enlarged_
_Illustrated_
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York London
The Knickerbocker Press
1916
COPYRIGHT, 1916
BY
CHARLES BRADFORD
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
To
J. CHARLES DAVIS
THESE LITTLE YARNS ARE DEDICATED IN REMEMBRANCE OF SOME DELIGHTFUL
OUTINGS PASSED IN HIS SOCIETY.
THE BROOK TROUT'S HOME
"I am _Salmo fontinalis_.
To the sparkling fountain born;
And my home is where oxalis.
Heather bell and rose adorn
The crystal basin in the dell
(Undine the wood-nymph knows it well):
That is where I love to dwell.
There was I baptized and christened,
'Neath the somber aisles of oak;
Mute the cascade paused and listened.
Never a word the brooklet spoke;
Bobolink was witness then.
Likewise grosbeak, linnet, wren--
And all the fairies joined "amen!"
Thus as _Salmo fontinalis_
Recognized the wide world o'er.
In my limpid crystal palace.
Content withal, I ask no more.
Leaping through the rainbow spray.
Snatching flies the livelong day.
Naught to do but eat and play."
CHARLES HALLOCK.
BROOK TROUT ANGLING
"... 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 that make their
way through the cavities of calcareous strata. How delightful in the
early spring, after the dull and tedious time of winter, when the
frosts disappear and the sunshine warms the earth and waters, to
wander forth by some clear stream, to see the leaf bursting from the
purple bud, to scent the odors of the bank perfumed by the violet, and
enameled, as it were, with the primrose and the daisy; to wander upon
the fresh turf below the shade of trees, whose bright blossoms are
filled with the music of the bee; and on the surface of the waters to
view the gaudy flies sparkling like animated gems in the sunbeams,
whilst the bright and beautiful trout is watching them from below; to
hear the twittering of the water-birds, who, alarmed at your approach,
rapidly hide themselves beneath the flowers and leaves of the
water-lily; and as the season advances, to find all these objects
changed for others of the same kind, but better and brighter, till the
swallow and the trout contend as it were for the gaudy May fly, and
till in pursuing your amusement in the calm and balmy evening, you are
serenaded by the songs of the cheerful thrush ... performing the
offices of paternal love, in thickets ornamented with the rose and
woodbine."--_Days of Fly Fishing, 1828._
"Gentlemen, let not prejudice prepossess you. I confess my discourse
is like to prove suitable to my recreation, calm and quiet.... And so
much for the prologue of what I mean to say-"
Izaak Walton
[Illustration]
PREFACE
"Don't give up if you don't catch fish; the unsuccessful trip should
whet your appetite to try again."--GROVER CLEVELAND.
A preface is either an excuse or an explanation, or both. The Brook
Trout needs no excuse, and it is fully explained in the general text
of this volume. Nor does the Angler, be he Determined or otherwise,
need any excuse, because "our Saviour chose simple fishermen ... St.
Peter, St. John, St. Andrew, and St. James, whom he inspired, and He
never reproved these for their employment or calling" (Izaak Walton,
_The Compleat Angler_, 1653). And the Angler--the man--needs no
explanation, though it seems ever necessary to define the word.
Webster, himself a profound Angler, must have been unconscious of his
gentle bearing, for his definition of "angle" is simply: "to fish,"
and every Angler knows that merely to fish--to go forth indifferent of
correct (humane) tackle, the legal season, and ethical methods in the
pursuit--is not the way of the Angler.
I like the explanation of the word by Genio C. Scott: "Angling, a
special kind of fishing."
The inspired landscape genius and the kalsominer who shellacs the
artist's studio are both painters; so, the gentle Angler with perfect
tackle and the mere hand-line fish taker are both fishermen.
The Angler is the highest order of fisherman, and while all Anglers
are fishermen there are many fishermen who are not Anglers.
"Anglo-Saxon," writing in the New York _Press_. October 14, 1915, uses
the term "gentleman Anglers." He should have said "gentleman
fishermen" (Anglers), because all Anglers are gentlemen, regardless of
their business calling, appearance, personality, companionship, etc.
When a man, fisherman or no fisherman, develops into an Angler he must
first become gentle in order to be of the gentle art. "Angling is the
gentle art" (Walton). "The gentle art of angling" (Cotton).
"If true Anglers," says Genio C. Scott, "you are sure to be gentle."
Peter Flint (New York _Press_, Oct. 15, 1915): "Our most successful
Anglers, amateurs as well as professionals."
All Anglers are amateurs, brother Peter. There are no professional
Anglers, though there are both amateur and professional fishermen, and
those fishermen who are amateurs are Anglers. The word "amateur" seems
to be adrift upon the same bewildering tideway as the words "angler"
and "angling." "Amateur" hasn't the definition commonly attributed to
it--it doesn't signify inefficiency, inexperience, unpracticality,
etc., as do the words "beginner," "neophyte," "tyro," etc. An amateur
in fishing, or farming, or any other pastime or pursuit, may be far
more practical, more experienced, more proficient, and better equipped
in tools and paraphernalia than a professional, and he usually is so;
he is certainly always so in angling.
Watch your word.
"It is the belief of Acker that hand-line fishing is as good [as], if
not better than, the rod and reel kind." (Wandering Angler, New York
_Press_, Aug. 17, 1915.)
Hand-line fishing, as fishing,--though the Tuna Angling Club, of Santa
Catalina Island, California, is bound to the use of light rods and
fine reels and tells us hand-lines are unsportsmanlike and detrimental
to the public interest,--is good (Christ and His disciples sanctioned
it), but to say it is as good as or better than rod and reel angling
is not convincing. The indifferent fisher can't condemn angling in
praising common fishing with any more reason than he might proclaim
against cricket playing in favoring carpentry, or _vice versa_. One
might as correctly say hand-line fishing is as good as riding, or
driving, or golf, or baseball, or canoeing (of course it is), for
fishing without rod and reel and fishing with proper tackle are
pursuits as distinct in character as riding a plain horse bareback
with a rough halter, and straddling a gallant charger with neat bridle
and saddle; or as mere boating upon a refuse creek, and skimming the
green billows in a trim yacht.
That the fisher's hand-line and the fisherman's net will take _more_
fish than the Angler's tackle is not of moment, because a stick of
dynamite or a cannon filled with leaden pellets or a boy with a market
basket will take still more fish than the net and hand-line. Quantity
makes fishing "good" with the fisherman; quality delights the Angler.
There is no objection to the mere fish-getter filling his boat with
fishes with or without tackle, but as the jockey is separated from the
sportsman rider and the sailor from the yachtsman so should the
quantity fisher and the quality Angler be considered in contrasting
spheres. "What a man brings home in his heart after fishing is of
more account than what he brings in his basket," says W. J. Long.
"Anglers encourage the adoption of angling methods," says Dr. Van
Dyke, "which make the wholesale slaughter of fishes impossible and
increase the sport of taking a fair number in a fair way."
As chivalric single-missile bow-and-arrow exercise dignifies archery
above bunch-arrow work in war, so the gentle use of refined tackle
dignifies angling above mere fish getting. Trap shooting is
delightful, and more birds are killed than the gunner would bag in
marsh and meadow, but is trap shooting therefore more "good" than
game-shooting in the glorious fields and forests? No, sir; and though
the hand-line fisherman may honestly take half the ocean's yield,
still his pursuit and his catch cannot equal and cannot be
legitimately compared to the code and the creel of the competent
Angler.
=C. B.=
RICHMOND HILL,
LONG ISLAND, N. Y.,
_March, 1916_.
AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The article "Fly Fishing for Trout," I contributed in its original
form to _Sports Afield_, Mr. Claude King's Western journal.
The article "Trout and Trouting," as I originally prepared it, was
entitled "Near-by Trout Streams," and was written for and published in
_Outing_, when I was field editor of that delightful magazine.
"Trouting in Canadensis Valley" is rewritten from a little story of
mine penned at the suggestion of the noted angler and ichthyologist,
the late William C. Harris, and published by him in his _The American
Angler_ when I became his managing editor.
"Trout Flies, Artificial and Natural" and "The Brook Trout Incognito"
are elaborations of studies I composed for _Forest and Stream_.
And many of the items in "Little Casts," etc., are from a collection
of paragraphs I have contributed to the New York _Herald_, the New
York _Press_, and various sporting periodicals in past years.
The extracts from the article by Willis Boyd Allen are reprinted by
permission of _Scribner's Magazine_.
For the little pen-and-ink sketches I am indebted to our jovial
artist, Leppert.
The picture, "Taking the Fly," is a reproduction from an etching in my
possession, presented to me by Mr. William M. Carey, whose etchings
and paintings in oil are well known to American sportsmen.
"The Fly Rod's Victim" is reproduced from a photograph framed in
birch bark and presented to me by the poet, Isaac McLellan.
"The Brook Trout" illustration is from a photograph of a captive
specimen in an aquarium, the engraving being loaned me by the late
John P. Burkhard.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I.--THE HOLY ANGLERS 1
II.--HISTORIES OF THE TROUTS--HOW
THE ANGLER TAKES THEM 7
III.--THE ANGLER AND THE FISHERMAN 15
IV.--FLY-FISHING 21
V.--WALTON'S WAY 33
VI.--THE WANTON WAY 38
VII.--FLY-FISHING FOR TROUT 41
VIII.--THE ANGLER'S PRAYER--SAVE THE
WOODS AND WATERS 52
IX.--TROUT AND TROUTING 56
X.--TROUTING IN CANADENSIS VALLEY 64
XI.--THE TROUTER'S OUTFIT 68
XII.--TROUT FLIES, ARTIFICIAL AND
NATURAL 71
XIII.--THE BROOK TROUT'S RIVAL 84
XIV.--TROUT ON BARBLESS HOOKS 87
XV.--THE BROOK TROUT INCOGNITO 92
XVI.--HOOKING THE TROUT 102
XVII.--DOCTOR NATURE 104
XVIII.--THE BROOK TROUT 106
XIX.--THE ANGLER 112
XX.--ANGLING 119
XXI.--TROUT FLIES 133
XXII.--CASTING THE FLY 138
XXIII.--TACKLE TALKS 142
XXIV.--THE ANGLER'S KITCHEN 149
XXV.--CARE AND BREEDING OF TROUT 151
XXVI.--THE ANGLER'S CLOTHING AND
FOOTWEAR 153
XXVII.--LITTLE CASTS 155
XVIII.--BORROWED LINES 157
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
A MORNING'S CATCH OF TROUT NEAR SPOKANE.
WASHINGTON _Frontispiece_
BROOK TROUT 8
MALMA (DOLLY VARDEN) TROUT 8
LAKE (MACKINAW) TROUT 8
OQUASSA (BLUE-BACK) TROUT 10
BROWN TROUT 10
YELLOWSTONE TROUT 10
SAIBLING TROUT (LONG-FIN CHARR) 10
RAINBOW TROUT 12
LAKE TAHOE TROUT 12
STEEL-HEAD TROUT 12
AN UNUSUAL WAY OF TAKING THE FLY 46
THE TROUT BROOK 66
The Determined Angler
CHAPTER I
THE HOLY ANGLERS
"The greater number of them [Christ's disciples] were found
together, fishing, by Jesus, after His Resurrection."--IZAAK
WALTON.
"... certain poor fishermen coming in very weary after a night of
toil (and one of them very wet after swimming ashore) found their
Master standing on the bank of the lake waiting for them. But it
seems that He must have been busy in their behalf while he was
waiting; for there was a bright fire of coals on the shore, and a
goodly fish broiling thereon, and bread to eat with it. And when
the Master had asked them about their fishing he said: 'Come, now,
and get your breakfast.' So they sat down around the fire, and
with His own hands he served them with the bread and the
fish."--HENRY VAN DYKE.
"The first men that our Saviour dear
Did choose to wait upon Him here.
Blest fishers were...."
W. BASSE.
"I would ... fish in the sky whose bottom is pebbly with
stars."--THOREAU.
The principal fishes of the Sea of Galilee to-day are the same as they
were two thousand years ago--bream and chub. These were taken in
olden times by both net and hook and line.
The fishermen whom Christ chose as His disciples--Peter. Andrew,
James, and John--were professional net fishermen, but hook and line
fishing was a favorite pastime of the well-to-do Egyptians as well as
the poor people who could not afford a net.
Weirs not unlike the modern article were used in the Holy Land in
Bible time, excepting on Lake Gennesaret, where the law of the land
forbade them.
The bream and the chub were eaten alike by rich and poor people.
Wayfarers roasted them over chip fires in the groves and on the lake
shores, housewives boiled and broiled them, and the wealthy man served
them at his banquets. "Moses, the friend of God," writes Izaak Walton,
in his immortal _Compleat Angler_, quoting from Lev. xi., 9, Deut.,
xiv., 9, "appointed fish to be the chief diet for the best
commonwealth that ever yet was. The mightiest feasts have been of
fish."
Our Saviour "fed the people on fish when they were hungry." The
species is not alluded to in the Biblical paragraph, but no doubt the
fish feasts of the Lord were mostly of chub and bream. Jesus loved
fishermen and was in their society most of His time. No other class of
men were so well favored by Him. He inspired St. Peter, St. John, St.
Andrew, and St. James, poor fishermen, who drew their nets for the
people, and these four fishermen, declares Father Izaak, "He never
reproved for their employment or calling, as he did scribes and money
changers."
The Lord's favorite places of labor and repose--the places He most
frequented--were near the fishes and fisherman. "He began to teach by
the seaside. His pulpit was a fishing boat or the shore of a lake. He
was in the stern of the boat, asleep. He was always near the water to
cheer and comfort those who followed it." And Walton tells us that
"when God intended to reveal high notions to His prophets He carried
them to the shore, that He might settle their mind in a quiet repose."
Bream and chub are not monster fishes--they do not average the great
weights of the tarpon and the tuna; they are of the small and
medium-size species; so, if the apostles were pleased with "ye gods
and little fishes," we mortals of to-day should be satisfied with our
catch, be it ever so small.
APPELLATIONS OF THE TROUTS
Trout, Bear: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Beardslee: _See_ Crescent Lake Blue-Back
Trout, Black-spotted Salmon
Trout, Blue-Back: _See_ Oquassa Trout
Trout, Brook
Trout, Brown
Trout, Canada: _See_ Greenland Trout
Trout, Canada Sea: _See_ Brook Trout and Greenland Trout
Trout, Colorado River: _See_ Black-Spotted
Trout, Columbia River: _See_ Black-Spotted
Trout, Cousin: _See_ Roach
Trout, Crescent Lake Blue-Back
Trout, Crescent Lake Long-Headed
Trout, Crescent Lake Speckled
Trout, Dolly Varden: _See_ Malma Trout
Trout, Dublin Pond
Trout, European Brown
Trout, Fresh-Water Cod: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Golden: _See_ Rainbow Salmon Trout and Sunapee
Trout, Great Lakes: _See_ Mackinaw
Trout, Green: _See_ Black Bass
Trout, Green-Back
Trout, Greenland
Trout, Hard-Head: _See_ Steel-Head Salmon Trout
Trout, Jordan
Trout, Kansas River: _See_ Kansas River Salmon Trout
Trout, Kern River: _See_ Rainbow
Trout, Lac de Marbre
Trout, Lake
Trout, Lake Salmon: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Lake Southerland Salmon
Trout, Lake Southerland Spotted: _See_ Jordan's Trout
Trout, Lake Tahoe: _See_ Lake Tahoe Salmon Trout
Trout, Lewis: _See_ Yellowstone Trout
Trout, Loch Leven
Trout, Lunge: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Mackinaw: _See_ Mackinaw Lake Trout
Trout, Mackinaw Lake
Trout, Malma
Trout, Marston: _See_ Lac de Marbre Trout
Trout, Mountain: _See_ Brook Trout, Small-Mouth Black Bass,
and Rainbow Salmon Trout
Trout, Mt. Whitney: _See_ Rainbow
Trout, Mucqua Lake: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Namaycush: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Namaycush Lake
Trout, Nissuee: _See_ Rainbow
Trout, Noshee: _See_ Rainbow
Trout, Oquassa
Trout, Pickerel: _See_ Long Island Pickerel
Trout, Pickerel: _See_ Long Island Pickerel
Trout, Pike: _See_ Long Island Pickerel
Trout, Pike: _See_ Long Island Pickerel
Trout, Rainbow: _See_ Rainbow Salmon Trout
Trout, Rainbow Lake: _See_ Rainbow Salmon Trout
Trout, Red: _See_ Lac de Marbre Trout
Trout, Red-Spotted: _See_ Malma Trout
Trout, Rio Grande: _See_ Rio Grande Salmon Trout
Trout, Rio Grande Salmon
Trout, Saibling
Trout, Salmon
Trout, Sea: _See_ Greenland Trout and Brook Trout
Trout, Silver: _See_ Black-Spotted Salmon Trout and Lake Tahoe
Salmon Trout
Trout, Siskawitz: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Siscowet: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Stone's: _See_ Rainbow
Trout, Sunapee
Trout, Tahoe
Trout, Togue: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Truckee: _See_ Lake Tahoe
Trout, Tuladi: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Utah
Trout, Waha Lake: _See_ Waha Lake Salmon Trout
Trout, Waha Lake Salmon
Trout, Western Oregon Brook: _See_ Rainbow
Trout, White: _See_ Sunapee
Trout, Winipiseogee: _See_ Lake Trout
Trout, Yellow-Fin
Trout, Yellowstone