| Title: | From Thomas W. Magrath, Esq., to the Rev. Thomas Raddiff, Dublin. |
|---|---|
| ID | 4561 |
| Collection | Authentic Letters from Upper Canada [Rev. Thomas Radcliff] |
| File | radcliff/19 |
| Year | 1832 |
| Sender | Magrath, Thomas Wm |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | London, England |
| Destination | Dublin, Ireland |
| Recipient | Rev. Thomas Radcliff |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | friends |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 2448 |
| Genre | fishing |
| Note | |
| Transcript | London, April, 1832. My dear Sir, I was obliged to close my last letter abruptly, or should have missed a favorable opportunity of sending it free. It terminates all I have at present to communicate as to the sports of the wood; and I shall now touch briefly upon those of the water. Whoever is fond of fishing, should bring with him his tackle duly prepared; a stiff trout rod, and all the usual requisites for angling. The flies made use of, here, are precisely the same as those which are most approved with The Canadian trout is neither squeamish or particular, and will not disdainfully reject any that you may throw in his way, but on the contrary will rise briskly at some that your epicures of the stream would hold in utter contempt. I have frequently caught from nine to ten dozen in a few hours, where an artificial fly had never appeared before. In fishing for trout, the bass frequently takes off the fly. The salmon fly is best suited to them—which is here but seldom used, as the salmon are so well fed at the bottom of the rivers, they arc, in but few instances, known to take the fly; and the most usual method of killing them is with the spear. If this take place in the day time, a bright sun is preferred, and a tree having been felled, so as to fall across the river, the sportsman taking his stand on this, rests quiet, and strikes the fish as they pass up—any violent movement will alarm the Salmon, and drive them suddenly back or make them shoot forward with great rapidity. By observing stillness and composure, I have known a good spearman to kill from forty to fifty Salmon in a few hours. The method, however, which is usually preferred is night-fishing, which is effected thus: Two sportsmen take their stations in a light skiff, one at the bow, with spear in hand, the other at the stern. The spear is three pronged, the handle twelve feet in length, of the best white ash; the thickness, that which is well known, but better handled, in every fair in Ireland, under the title of a shilelagh. In the Bow, also, is secured a pole of stronger dimensions about four feet in length, to the top of which is appended by means of a socket, an Iron Jack, or grate, moveable on pivots, so as to balance, and right itself, when the boat moves roughly through the rapids, and to prevent the fire or light wood, which it is to contain, from being thrown out. This Jack or grate is circular, about one foot in depth, and fourteen inches in diameter. It is supplied from time to time with pitch pine, cut into lengths of eight inches, about an inch and a half in thickness—a large heap of these is piled in the centre of the skiff, from which magazine the light-Jack is replenished, so as to keep up a bright and continued flame, which blazing upwards from two to three feet, exhibits clearly to your view the fish even to the depth of ten feet, or fairly across the river where it happens to run shallow. The spear-man takes his stand behind the Jack. If in deep water, he at the stem plies the paddle, if in shallow, a light spear; by means of which he prevents the skiff from bolting too suddenly down the rapids, and often strikes a fish the bow-man may have missed. Thus appointed, you go as quietly as possible down the stream, and on seeing a fish, you must not be in too great a hurry to strike, unless in a shallow and rapid part of the river. If, in deep water, the blazing Jack throws down its light upon a Salmon, let your eye not swerve from the object, nor your spear deviate from its poise, till you strike; and when you do, observe that you throw yourself back to preserve your balance; or an upset, and a cool dip, will be the penalty of your incaution. In aiming at the fish, strike nearer to you than he appears, and nearer still, in proportion to the depth of the water. In this respect, the young sportsman will meet frequent disappointment, as nothing but experience will enable him to calculate the power of refraction, so as to reconcile the real, and apparent distance. You should always aim at the shoulder, and if you strike successfully, bring in the fish with as much expedition as possible, lest he should twist himself off the spear —when you have him fairly in the skiff, you loose your spear from the fish, by striking it against the seat. Should the Salmon, however, at which you have struck, escape, and turn down the stream, keep steadily on, and when he wheels to pass you, wheel also rapidly, by putting out your spear at one side to assist the steersman, then push up the stream to get above the fish, as he will generally rest some time after making what is termed the dart pass, and you will be sure to find him in the first sudden deepening of the river. The slightest wound he may have received will appear quite white in the water, and should he be out of distance, you must endeavour to strike, by throwing your spear, for which purpose you must grasp it at the middle with your left hand, and at the top with your right, and fling it at the remote object with such aim and dexterity as you can command—many are expert at this, but he that is not, had better avoid the experiment as the effort will probably be unsuccessful, and it will require the greatest possible steadiness, to keep his feet, when the spear has quit his hand. Shortly after our arrival here, my brother and I speared one hundred and twenty Salmon of a night; but they are now becoming less numerous in consequence of the number of saw-mills erected, the profusion of saw dust on the water, (always annoying to the fish) and, the multitudes of oak staves annually floated down the river. By the hardy sportsman, night-fishing is always preferred, but is a source of misery to the Dandy, who is afraid of wetting his feet. For this description of animal, I have so little respect or pity, that I have often undergone a wetting by upsetting the Canoe, to enjoy the terror of the would-be sportsman—one need not however, often volunteer these occasional ablutions; they will occur of themselves, and, when you least expect them. As my brother Charles is generally my companion in all sports upon land, so my brother James is upon the water—not having the same relish for the fatigue of Deer shooting as for the saddle of a Prime Buck; to which no man can pay his respects in greater style, or better understands the due and relative proportions of the currant jelly and wine sauce; and woe betide the cook, if there be any omission on her part, of preparing, cording, pasting and basting, when he invades her premises on a visit of inspection. For our third or fourth attempt at night-fishing, we prepared by pulling our skiff a couple of miles up the river by day light, and when night came on, to use the sporting phrase, we lighted up, and falling down the stream with excellent amusement, had taken about thirty Salmon, when being driven at a spanking rate by a smart current, we discovered, (but alas! too late) that a tree had fallen across the river against which the staff of the light-Jack having struck, the skiff wheeled broadside to the stream, and the gunwale coming in contact with one of the branches, the capsize was as sudden as disastrous—every article on board, our dear selves—the numerous Salmon —magazine of Firewood-—axe—rifle—brandy bottle— light-Jack—all—in a moment committed to the deep!!— Most fortunately, however, we were not past our depth, but pretty nearly so. Floundering about in our blanket coats for some time, and having at last gained the bank, our first look out was for the skiff; having hauled her on shore, and with much groping recovered one of the spears, our next exertion was to kindle a fire, the night being too dark from the over-hanging trees, to venture forward without a light. In our dripping state this was a project of very dubious result; but having luckily, between us, a flint and steel, at the sore expense of our knuckles in the dark, we at length succeeded in setting fire to an old tree; and forming a torch with some birch-bark, we resolved on walking home, and returning in the morning for the recovery of our apparatus. Here, however, the idea of being laughed at, shook our resolution; were we, uninjured in our persons, and unentitled to any serious sympathy, to come back like drowning Rats, to the family fireside, divested too, of the produce of our night's labour? how truly ludicrous would be the exhibition! No; it would never do—we could not stand the jibes and jeers, even of the home party. Resolved, therefore— That, the skiff be forthwith launched once more. That, the fishing light be renewed, and— That the recovered spear be put in immediate requisition to raise and fish up our sundry property, from the place of its immersion. Acting upon the spirit and principle of the foregoing resolutions, by means of the skiff and spear, we brought up all the solid articles, except the brandy bottle, which, rolling off the prongs at every effort to raise it to the skiff, my brother, grievously disappointed, and suffering from the cold, determined on a desperate and final effort, and wading in, to the shoulders, upon touching, with his foot, the object of solicitude, immediately dived and brought it safe to—the skiff?—no—the land?—no—his mouth? yes—but not till he had removed both that, and the mouth of the bottle, into shallower water, and beyond the risk of admixture with that deteriorating element. He embraced his regained companion with prolonged ardor, but had the charity to interrupt his draft by leaving me a comfortable potation, to which I paid my respects, with great complacency. With renewed vigor we plied the axe—prepared the firewood—re-lighted the Jack—and bound for home, picked up at every eddy one or more of our lost salmon; bringing back, in triumph, after all, twenty-seven choice fish, being within three of the original number taken. There are other modes of night fishing: — That practised by the Indians, from whom we derive our habits, differs from the foregoing in two particulars only. First—Instead of the light-Jack they make use of a slender pole, split at the top, so as to receive a torch of birch bark, which, with respect to light, is equal to the former method, but from the frequency of its renewal is attended with infinitely more trouble. Secondly—Instead of a steersman at the stern, that situation is generally assigned to the squaw, I should be very sorry that any fair lady, who may intend, or be persuaded, to honor me with her hand, should suppose that Mrs. T. W. Magrath would be obliged to take her place at the stern of my canoe, upon such occasions. In all other respects the Indian practice is the same with our's. Another method is that of erecting a stage or platform in the river; and supplying it with sufficient light, you spear the fish as they pass up. This often affords tolerable sport, but very inferior, in point of number, to the other modes. It is, however, much to be recommended to your fat and unwieldy fellows, who dislike being wet to the skin, and enjoy a firm footing. The platform is an improvement on the Indian plan, (with the same object of security,) of fighting a fire on the bank, and striking the fish from thence. There is one other method to be remarked, which is that of cutting a hole in the ice, of about eighteen inches diameter, and sitting over it, rolled up in a blanket or buffalo skin, with a line and small hook baited with a grub taken from the inside of the pine bark. Trout is the chief fish sought for in this way; but you may occasionally hit with the spear the bass, the pickrel, and the pike. .Some dozens of trout have been often hooked through this aperture, when the ice has been ten inches thick; a kind of sport which I never enjoyed, but which may be agreeable to those who, as my countryman would say, "are very hot in themselves." The salmon fishing is, to me, the most agreeable. I have taken, in the river Credit, in spring, within twenty yards of our hall door, as fine fish as I ever met in Ireland, as firm and full of curd as if within ten miles of the sea, instead of five hundred. It is still a matter of doubt with some, whether the salmon of Lake Ontario visit the ocean every year, or not. My opinion is, that according to the natural history of that fish, they must do so. It is only in the waters that communicate with the sea they are to be found. No salmon was ever seen in any river or lake above the Falls of Niagara; indeed it would be, as the Yankee expresses it, "pretty considerable of a jump for him." Mullet, (a very bad fish,) are to be taken in vast numbers ; I have speared them till I could hold the spear no longer. When they come up the river to spawn, they are taken in hundreds by the net. They are still worse at that season, but by some are thought worth being salted and packed in barrels for future consumption. The fish of the lakes are salmon, salmon trout, herring, pickrel, cat fish, pike, white fish and maskanonge; the two latter are of superior quality. These may be treated of in future; but though I have confined myself in this respect to the fish of the river, I think I have furnished you with a pretty good dish for one letter, which, in compassion to you and myself, I will now conclude. I remain, my dear Sir, Your's, &c. &c. T. W. MAGRATH. |
