Explorations in Gulf of Mexico

March

28, 1889.]

FOREST AND STREAM. 196 GRANDACOY OR TARPUM.

LAKE ^CHARLES,

^La.,

^March

^{10.—EditorForest}

^and

Stream:

As

usual,

when

ⁱⁿ

want

of information,¹ appealtoyou.

Can

you, or

any

ofyourreaders,tell

me

anythingofa^fishcalledthegrandecore^(as nearlyas I can write the

name

from the pronunciation),

which

is

foundhereinprofusion?

Some

of the fishermenclaimit isthe tarpon, othersdenyit:

some

sayit takes thebait freely,others thatitiscaught,if at all,onlybychance.

Can some

one

who

has fished forit—if

any

such there

be—

tell

me

thekindof tackle, Bize of rod,hook and^line, bestkindof reel, bait,time and

manner

of fishing,etc.,

andI'lldoas

much

foryou sometime. H.P.

Uffoed.

[The grandacoy, grandecaille, sabalo, savanilla. silver fish,tarpon or tarpuni are

some

ofthe

names

applied to the large silvery herring-like fish

which

has recently achieved

fame among

anglerson account ^{of its}

game

qualities,combined withitsenormoussize and brilliant appearance. Forest

and Stream

ofDec.13,1888,con- tainsagood figure of the tarpuniand a descriptionof

some

of the tackleusedinitscapture.

The

writerofthe article, "Lancewood," used 5-0 Kirby Limericks on a fifteen-thread line, and landed three tarpuni,weighing 128,135and147ilbs. i-espectively. Another paperispub- lished inForest

and

Stream,Dec.27, 1888. Mulletis usedfor bait,althoughthefishfeeds

upon

anysmall fry that

may

be convenient.

Some

anglers use a 10-0 O'Shaughnossyhookanda No.15or18linenline. Most aiiglersu8ealargebassreel. Thereelis placed abouta footfromtheendoftherod;itshouldholdat least 500ft.

ofline,asthe^fishtravels likeaflashandisprodigiously strong.

A bamboo

stripedbass rod inasingle piece, 6 or7ft.long,isemployed,orasplit-bambooof about the

same

lengthintwopieces. Snellsshould be 30 to 36in.

long,

and

thebaitshould be securedtothehook

and

snell by

means

of finewire. The time for thefishing is on thefloodtide.

A

gooddeal of activity willbe required onthe partofthe boatman,to keep

up

with the fish.

March and

April are the best

months

for catching this fishwith rod andline.]

WIRE LEADERS.

EditorForest

and

Stream:

Inlastweek'spaper

"Lancewood"

asksforinformation about the wire leader. Iprocureda9|ft.sampleleader

from

Messrs. Shipley soonafter theadvertisement ap- peared,andtrieditin fly-fishing for basslastseason. It isverypliable,in fact,as

much

soasgut,

and

is quite invisible inthe water. After

making

a

few

castswithit

(and it cast very nicely)about one-thirdofitwithfly attached,snappedoff,very

much

asIexpecteditwould.

As

receivedby

me

there

was

noprovision

made

for

more

than one fly,andIdidnot trytoattach

more

thanone, sothebreak

was

not causedby anythingbut a kink. I have never used it since,

and

for practicaluse thegut leader haslittleto fear

from

thewireleader,althoughit

mightpossiblybebetteradaptedforstill-fishing.

HOliLIDATSBTTRG, Pa. T.E,D.

EditorForest

and

Stream:

Inreply to yourcorrespondent's inquiryconcerning metalleadersIwouldsay thatIhave found

them

unsatis- factory.

On

accountoftheir attenuationand ductility they are very liable to knot or kink or loop. This weakens them,besidesbeingveryannoying. Forleaders gutis stillintheleadandisgutenough. O.O.S.

Fkedonia,N. Y.

Editor Forest

and

Stream:

Inanswerto"Lancewood's" query concerningthe value ofpatent wire forleaders, Iwould begtosay thatI tried a

few

of

them

last

summer and

findthatthey are not pliableenough,areveryeasilykinked,and

when

kinked areveryeasilysnappedasunder. If

"Lancewood"

would order a sample foot or

two

he

would

verysoonsatisfy

himself.

White

Miller.

Delaware,Ont.

SALMON SATIETY.

ONE ^morning

^{in the}

^summer

^{of 1885,whiletheAlba-}

trosswasatSt.John's,apair of fine salmon were seen lyingondeck,and near

them

stood the native

who had

brought

them

on board.

Some

one remarked,

"Those are magnificent fish." "Yes,"said the native,

"doze fish are de kingsinNewfoundland; dey are de finestfish

we

has; but, darenow,you'll gitsick of 'em mighty quick.

We

^{folks eats}cod twenty-onetimes a

week

"and takesitforlunch,and nevergets tired onit;

but'twon'ttakeyoulongto git tired of eatin'salmon."

We

^areinformed by one

who was

onthe Albatrossat thetimeand

who was

very fondofsalmonthathesoon learnedtoappreciate the force of the fisherman's state- ment.

The ward room

table

was

supplied with an abundanceof salmonforaboutten days,by which time our informant

bad become

so thoroughlysated that he says he could not looka salmon in theface.

He

con- fesses tohavingobtainedinthattime a

more

thorough insightthan heever

had

beforeintothe

meaning

of the old story about early Colonial laws

which

prohibited mastersfrom compelling^their apprenticestoeatsalmon

more

than three times aweek. Trout were eatenby the

same

authority, on anothercruise aroundthecoasts of

Newfoundland

and Labrador, almost everymealfor about a month, and the "hankeringfor fish"had not decreased.

Decrease

of

Seals.—

Latearrivals atSt.John's,

New-

foundland,fromthe

Dundee

seal fisheryreportasteady diminution inthe

number

of seals.

The

fleet is con- stantlybeing decreasedin sizethroughsales of vesselsand lossesat sea,andthe vacancies are not^refilled.

The

oil is greatlyreducedinprice,as in the case ofwhale oil,

by

the introduction ofpetroleum productsfor lubricating

and

illumination.

Some

ideaofthe shrinkageofthein- dustry

may

begained from the fact that in 1857

more

than350vesselsweresealingfrom Newfoundland, while in1885the^fleetincluded onlytwentysteamers

and

afew sailing vessels.

A

valuable account ofthe fishery

was

publishedin

Forest akd

Stream,July2,1885.

Salmon

Fishing in

Puget Sound.—

Governor Semple of

Washington

^Territory, says of salmon fishing in Puget Sound, which certain anglers have decried as an impossibility or a failure on the Pacific coast:

"To

troll for

them

either a sail or rowboat

may

be

used, providednogreaterspeedthanthreemilesan hour

isattained.

Pay

outabout100ft.ofline,andleavehalf that

amount

coiled inthe boat,so as tobe ableto leta largefishhavearanatthestart. Sucha precautionwill oftensave yourtackle

from

beingbroken,forthese big fellows are of the

same

familyasthetrout,andwill not surrender without a hard struggle.

They

have been

known

todescribea halfcirclewithGOft,ofline,holding

itastight asabackstayandcoming up fromastern to a point nearlyahead while theboat

was

underfullhead- way.

They

will sometimes suddenly dart

away

from alongsideand go30 or40ft.diagonally

downward,

draw- ing thelineacrossthe keelofthe boatwiththeapparent intention of rasping itintwoagainstthebarnacles. It requires great^skill and patience tolandone,evenwith the stoutest tackle, for

you

can neverbe sure that they willnottearthehookoutwitha backtwistthe

moment

yougive

them

abitof slack. Iftheyfailin thismaneu- ver theywilloften get thelinecaught behindtheirgills,

and

then theyare an easy prey. In the heightofthe seasou great catches are sometimesmade.

A

partyof tworecentlykilledtwenty-fiveofthesefishinhalfaday in

Tacoma

harbor,

and

landed onlytwo-thirds ofthose thatstruck thetrolls.

The

tackle

was

repeatedlybroken bylargefishin spite ofevery precaution,andtheparty landed with one

damaged

spoonoutofhalfadozen that were on boardatthestart.

The

catchweighed2001bs."

Penobscot

Salmon.—The

last

number

oftheForest

and Stream

hasanarticleupon salmonfishinginwhich

itstatesthat thefishingseason hasset inunusuallyearly, and with a remarkable run of fish, this year, in the Canadianwaters.

From

this

we may

anticipateanearly openingofthe seasonon the Penobscot,

and

those best acquaintedwiththe habitsoftheking of fishes lookfor itsappearancehere early in April. Last year the first fishwere takenApril27,which

was

theearliestonrecord.

Manager

T.F.Allen, ofthePenobscot

Salmon

Club, is

gettingeverythinginreadinessforbusinessandwillhave the clubhouseinfirst-class condition.

The

telephone wire,that

was

carried

away

bythe freshet last spring, causing

much

inconvenience, has been replaced, this timebelowthe

dam

whei^-etheice orhigh water cannot affectit. Mr.Allenhaslaidina stock offirst-class flies, of thebestmake, adaptedtotheuseofthese waters.

He

also received, recently, as a present from Archibald Mitchell, Esq.,ofNorwich,Conn., themost enthusiastic and mostsuccessfulofourvisitorsfromabroad,abox, of beautifulflies

made by

Mr. Mitchell himself,

who

isan adept to the businessand occupies his spare

moments

in

making

allthathe uses.—

Bangor

(Me.) Whig.

Blackford's

Trout

Opening.

—

^Mr.E. G-. Blackford's exhibition oftrout onthe opening day, next Monday, April 1,promises toexceed anything in the past, in additiontogoodlyspecimensofallthevarietiesof trout rearedatthe State hatcheries,he willhave a thousand half-poundlivebrooktrouton exhibitionintanks.

We

can give nofurtherdetails of the exhibition to-day, as arrangementsarenot yet completed, but

we

hopeto be inapositionnext

week

tofurnishfull particulars.

The

opportunity should be improved for comparing in the flesh the several species, of

which

accurate drawings willbe giveninour nextissue.

Chautauqua

Lake.

— Com.

R.TJ.

Sherman

has selected a ^sitefor aState hatchery,

and

the

work

of stocking this beautiful

body

ofwater with muskallonge will be undertakenatonce.

TrovtSupplementnextv-eek.

egislfcttlturq.

CHALEUR BAY ^PRODUCTS.*

FROM

^{Mr. Mowat's extremely}interestingandvaluable reviewofthefisheries ofChaleurBay

we

learnthatcod banks extend into the bayabout sixtymilesfromitsen- tranceandfortymiles seaward, Lobstersarecaught ouits shoreson bothsides. Fivesalmonriversfallintoitsnorth shore,andon the south^isthe notedNepisiguit. TheResti- gouche. with its branches extending north and west140 miles,furnishinga fresh-watersurface ofnearly400 miles on which salmon spawn,istheprincipal nurseryforthe salmon caught in the bay. The total catchfor 1887was

l,021,4001bs.,distributed as follows:

Pounds.

Restigouche county 271,700

Gloucester county 386,000

Bouaventure county 208,700

GaspecountvtoShip

Head

It0,000

Add

for anglers'catch 50,000

Total 1,021,400

Theentire

amount

takenin

New

Brunswickforthesame year exceeded theyield ofthebayofChaleurbyonly333,- OOOlbs. [Nova Scotiaand Labrador combinedfurnisbed^less salmon thanthebayofChaleur. Thequantitytaken on the north shoreofthebaywas

much

smallerthan on the south shore,owing,saysMr.Mowat,tothe followingcauses: (1) Ithas fewer nettingstationsbyaboutsixty,(2)Quebecnet- tersdare not usetraps orpachenetssuchas areusedin

New

Brunswick,(3)theQuebecnetterpays alicenseof40cts.per 200lbs.offishcaught, while the

New

Brunswickerpays3cts.

per fathom of net used. Reliable returnsundersuchcir- cumstances cannot beobtained.

The catch ofsalmon iu Quebec showed anincrease of 142,0001bs. Theanglingscoresweresmall,but the supply ofsalmonwas fair. Therewas an increase of salmonin

New

Brunswickof88,0001bs.

Thefisheryproductsofthebayof Chaleurarevalued as follows:

RestigoucheandGloucestercounties $792,028 BouaventureandPortofGaspe 599,000 Expensesof 200ang]ers 50,000

$1,441,628 nearly equallingBritishColumbia and Quebec, above On- tario,and morethan PrinceEdward'sIslandand Manitoba combined. Of the above amount, the salmon yielsonly aboutS90.000or§100,000,the codfishingbeing themostim- portant,supplementedbythewaning lobsterindustry.

A

brief historicalsket*hoftheearlymethodsof fishing, the disposition ofthe catchandthelaws governing thefisher-

men

follows. Mr.

Mowat

recommends the abolition of fixednets andpicketsandtheuseof gillnetswithcertain restrictions as tothesizeofthemesh andtheobservanceof aweeklyclose time.

Chaleur Bayand itsProductsfor1887-"88,withNet andRorL ByJohn Mowat.

EXPLORATIONS

FN

GULF OF MEXICO.

THE

^{U. S.Fish Commissionschooner}

^Grampus

^left

^Key

West

Feb. 14toinvestigatetheoff-shoregroundsinthe regionbetween the Tortugasand Cape SanBias,to deter- mineas far as practicable theextentofthebanksandthe abundance of fish and other animals inhabiting them.

Dredgings were

made

atintervals often milesandtempera- tureobservationsrecorded. Duringthedaythesmallsur- facenetwas towed and collectedvariousspecies ofsmall fish and

many

Crustacea. Flying Gsh were abundant,also smallschools of skipjacks.

Two

large turtleswere seenat the surface. Mr. Cohley struck oneofthemwithaharpoon, but the iron didnotpenetrate.

A

^{Portugueseman-of-war}

wassecured.

Feb.15,between I and2P.M.,while dredging,threered snapperswerecaughtinquicksuccession;otherlineswere put outbutonlyonemore fish was taken,as thevessel driftedonto softbottom. Theaverage lengthofthespeci- mens was26in.:average weight 131bs. The stomachscon- tained oneeel-like fish and severalsmall shrimp. Oneof thefish contained prettywelldevelopedroe. Thelocation ofthefishing isnorthlat. 25°to25" 01'westlong.,^{82° 33'}to 82°40'.

Feb.16,innorthlat. 26°^01',westlong.^82°52',whiledrift- ingwith thedredge out, redsnapperswerestruck. Five lines were immediately put over,and beforethey reached the bottom everyone had a fish on, and somehauledin pairs. The fish'continued to biteverygreedily forabout

fifteenminutes, duringwhich time31 red snappersand3 groupers were landed ou deck. Fishing was stoppedbe- causenomorewereneeded. Itseemedasifavesselmight have caught afullfareinthatplace.

The

averageweight ofthe redsnapperswas lolbs.;.averagelength,24in. The groupersaveraged16lbs.

Feb.18,Mr.C'onley harpooned aspotted porpoise,which washauled ou deck"and askeletonpreserved.

Feb. 19, in north lat. 25° 15', westlong. 82° 39'15",the

Grampus

"struck"fish, andthey appearedtobe plentiful for a few minutes; 15 groupers' and3 red snapperswere caught.

A number

ofgrouperswereseenalongside,nearly atthesurface.

A

school of redfishwasseenbreakingwater about a quarterofamiledistant. Duringtheafternoona largesharkand a turtlewereseen atthe surface nearby.

Fishermenclaim that the presenceof turtles indicatesgood fishing grouuds,but the officers of the

Grampus

cannot agreewith them.

Thepresent systematic studyoftheGulfistheoutgrowth ofthepreliminary examinationbytheAlbatrossinMarch,

1885,whichindicates possibilities of suchimportanceas to leadCapt.J.

W.

Collins tomention them inthefollowing terms:

"Theinvestigations thatwere

made

afterleaving

Tampa may

fairlybe considered as probablythemost important work done on the cruise in thedirection of making re- searcheson thefishinggrounds. Theregion lyingbetween

Tampa

and the Tortugas.outside ofdepthof 20fathoms, hasnever been resorted tobyfishingsmacks,andit is cer- tainlyquestionableifanyone

knew

that redsnappers could be taken on theground

we

wentover. Thattheyaromore generallydistributed here, in depthsof 26to 27fathoms, andfarmore abundantthan on thegrouudsvisitedbythe snapper fishermenofPensacola,seemsclearlyestablishedby the result oftheresearchesmade.

"Inviewofthegrowing

demand

forredsnapper,andthe factthatthefishon theoldgroundsare believed tobemore orlessdepletedand becomingscarcereveryyear, theimport- anceof this discovery,ifit

may

sobe termed, can scarcely beoverestimated,sinceitopensup an additionalfieldof broad proportions thatthereisgood reasontosupposewill beprofitablyworkedi*ithefuture. ItsnearnesstoTampa, whichhas the advantages otanexcellentharborandrail- road communication,^{are features}that should not beover- looked, forifthe distancefromPensacolaistoogreattorun

fishthere they can be shippedfromthe nearerport." ^- Influencedbythisreportthe schoonerWateska.ofChat- ham,Mass., in the latterpart of 1888, fished forty miles southwestfrom

Egmont Key

inthe regiondiscoveredbythe Albatross. Thecrewofsix

men

averagedabout9,0001bs.of red snappers perweek^{in thislocality.} Thegrounds reported by the

Grampus

are

new

andwithin easy reachofrailroad communication fromCharlotte Harbor.

Feb. 26, in north lat. 25" 23',westlong. ^82° 43', several bonitowerecaught ontroll lines.

Feb. 27, northlat. 25° 24' 30", west long. 83°06', flying fish were numerous.

A

^{school ofporpoises} was sighted.

Onebouitowas^caught.

March 1, north lat. 25° 34', west long. 83° 28', two groupers were hauledto the surface.

A

few flyingfish were frequently observed during theday.

Two

largeschools of porpoiseswereseen.

March4,at 10A.M.. inCharlotteHarbor, theseine boat joinedtheGrampus.Dr.Henshallreportsa pleasantcruise, andallhandswell. TheDoctor has

made

a very largecol- lection offishes.

March5,Mr.

Hahn

tooktheseineboattoPunta Gordato supply her withprovisionsfromthe Fish

Hawk

foranother cruise ofthreeweeks.

FOREIGN ZOOLOGICAL STATIONS —Danish

Biolog- ical Station.—Iu the estimates for 1889-'90 isanitem of

$11,502 forthe establishment and support ofabiological station,whichistobemodeledafterthe"movablestation"

known

forthelastfewyears in Scotland, Thecost ofthe building is calculated at $9,180. Netherlands Zoological Station.—The Netherlands Zoological Society has deter- minedto begin,during thecomingspring, abuildingfora permanent,zoological station in Nieuwediep, themostim- portant fishing port of Holland. Thestructurewill cost about§0,750. The lower story will contain the aquaria, laboratoryandlibrary:the upper thedirector's livingrooms.

Thepostof directoris,with the consentoftheGovernment, conferredupon itsadviserin fishery matters. Dr. P. P. C.

Hoek,

who

is.also,thefirst secretary oftheZoological So- ciety. Dr.

Hoek

willgotoNieuwediewaboutEaster. Itis hopedthatthe laboratorywillbe openinthelatter part of thesummer. ^"

MICHIGAN FISH COMMISSION.—

^{Mr.John H.Bissell}

hasretiredfrom ^theCommission attheexpiration of his term,audMr.HoytPost, of Detroit,has been appointedin his place. Thepresident ofthe Commission

now

is Mr.

Herschel Whitaker.^ofDetroit.

An

unusuallylarge

number

ofbrooktroutisbeing plantedthis spring,andthedistribu- tionis

made

with the

new

car, tothegreat satisfaction of theCommissioners andtheparties

who

receivethefish.The Commissionersbelievethe purchaseofthiscar tohavebeen oneof the bestinvestments theyhave made.

STUDY OF HERRING MIGRATIONS. —

FilipTrybom,

who

is well-known to Americans,is

now

thefirstfishery assistant ofthe Swedish Government, andisengaged in studying^themigrationsandspawning habits oftheKat- tegatherring.—Deutschcr Fischerei-Verein.

Lafayette, Ind„ July34,1888.— UnitedStates Cartridge Co., LoKf'll,Mass.: DearSirs—IfindyourClimaxpaper shotshells excellentandQuiteequalto Eley's. Thereisno hangfireor ten- dencytodoso. Iintendusine;yourshells inamatchnextweek.

1willgivethemagood boom,asthey deserveit.

Yours^truly,

—

Adv. (Signed)

W.

Graham, ChampionEnglish Shot,