Thank you to the old and new readers of the Nipigon Museum Blog.
Work is progressing in setting up Displays for the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Dr. Cook's catching of the World Record Speckled Trout , July 21, 1915.
The Township of Nipigon will be holding a Brook Trout Festival that weekend, July 17, 18, and 19th, 2015. The Museum will be part of that celebration plus we will have added activities on Tuesday July 21, 2015 in honour of the specific day.
Relatives of the original fishing "Party" will be in attendance. Those whom we have missed getting in contact with are welcome to join in.
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
MARY PICKFORD SPECKLED TROUT TROPHY 1936 WINNER'S STORY
MARY PICKFORD SPECKLED TROUT TROPHY
THE 1936 WINNER’S STORY By Edwin Mills
The fish was taken during the course of a canoe trip down
the Nipigon. My guide was the well-
known Johnny Abisikung of Orient Bay and
who has guided the winners of the C.N. R. Trophy at Orient Bay twice in the past
four years. His splendid river ability
coupled with an almost uncanny “fish sense” marks him a most prominent and
sought after guide on the Nipigon.
We camped at Virgin Falls the night of July the 7th
last and I had taken one nice fish of about four pounds on a “cockatouche
fly” at that spot.
The following day we went down river and, after a short
pilgrimage in the form of an hour’s trial at Rabbit or Macdonald’s Rapids where Dr. Cook of Fort
William took his world’s record fontinalis
in 1915, we proceeded down river and
prepared to run Miner’s Rapids.
Just before we reached that spot I mentioned to Johnny that
in the course of reading an article by Ozark Ripley which had been given me
before leaving home by Bill Griner of Hamilton,
Ripley made the statement that whenever possible he cast from the canoe
whilst shooting the rapids thereby touching spots he would be unable to reach
from shore. I told Johnny I would like
to try it and settled myself in the bottom of the canoe, rod in hand and
prepared to let him take her through.
The water was high and about half way down I made a short
cast over a likely spot, using a red Daredevil,
and let the line and lure run along parallel to us for a bit and slowly
reeled in.
I had a nice strike, hard to know its weight due to the
tossing of the canoe and so I let it run out whilst Johnny took me on down and
into a back-water to play the fish.
Previously we had been making little bets between ourselves
as to whether the strikes were pike or trout by watching the action of the rod
tip and Johnny called this one a pike.
There was a lot of line out and we had not seen the fish but
in the back-water it felt heavy so I played it carefully not wishing to lose it
as I had often done before in roughing a good fish too hard.
Suddenly Johnny got a glimpse of the tawny belly and warned me that it was a
big trout. Then the safest thing seemed to be to get ashore and play it from
there in case we had to beach it.
I always feel the single hook is much safer than a gang of
three and this fish felt secure but nevertheless it was nearly twenty minutes
from the time he struck before I was able to gently ease him into the net,
Johnny in the meantime taking some
pictures which have turned out excellently.
The beautiful male fish was in perfect shape and magnificent colouring and had none
of the heavy misshaped belly which
spoils the lines of many large fish. We
snapped him from all angles and then
Johnny volunteered to take him back to Virgin Falls after we weighed him and
found a record fish for that time of year on the Nipigon.
 |
| Mary Pickford Speckled Trout Trophy |
 |
| 25 inches 6 pounds 11 ounces |
INDIAN TAXIDERMY ... The Nipigon Style
INDIAN TAXIDERMY
EDWIN MILLS OBSERVATIONS:
Illustrating Indian Taxidermy practiced at the riverside.
The fish is skinned and rolled in damp moss and certain
roots.
A sheet of birch bark is nailed to a flat surface, later to
be framed, and the skin stitched to the bark.
It must be cured for several weeks and the guides are clever
at this and later give a few more natural retouching than can be done in town.
However, it is best to let the skin cure properly for at
least a month if the final colours are to hold, as the original oil must be
taken out of the skin for complete success.
Sam
Morriseau’s observations to K.K.
“ You skinned the fish out along the lateral line…stretched
the skin over a piece of dry wood – an old canoe paddle worked well – then you
smoked it over a cedar bough fire,” Old Sam said, “ the fish would keep forever
after this treatment but it did stain the fish a deep brown colour.”
 |
| 6 lbs 11 oz. Speckled Trout Mary Pickford Speckled Trout Trophy 1936 winner Edwin Mills |
THE ONTARIO FISHERIES ACT circa 1887 ...Extract
Extract from : The Ontario Fisheries Act circa 1887
SRO.25
The Commissioner may authorize to be set apart, and to be leased, any waters for natural or artificial
propagation of fish, and any person who
wilfully destroys or injurs any place so set apart or used for the propagation
of fish, or fishes therein without
written permission from a Fishery Overseer,
or from the lessee or licensee thereof,
or uses therein any fishing light or other like implement for fishing, during the period for which such waters are
so set apart, shall for every such
offence incur and pay a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, with costs of prosecution, and in default of immediate payment of such
fine and costs, shall be imprisoned in
the common gaol of the county wherein the offence was committed, for a period not exceeding three months.
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Nepigon River FISHING PERMIT Hiram W. Slack, 1887
This is the fishing permit issued to Hiram Worcester Slack
of St. Paul Minn. For his fishing trip on the Nepigon in 1887. That trip
journal is published in this Blog as the August
14, 2011 POST: Diary of a Mad Fisherman
NIPIGON RIVER FISHING PERMIT 1887
No. 33
Special Permit
Granted By Order of the Commissioner of Crown Lands of Ontario
The holder of this Permit
Hiram W. Slack having duly applied , is allowed to angle from
25 July to 25 Aug. 1887 , in Nepigon River within the district of the undersigned
Fisheries Overseer.
This permit is NOT TRANSFERABLE , and requires strict
conformity to the various provisions of the Fishing Laws and Regulations
Newton Flanagan
Fishery Overseer
Sunday, 10 May 2015
CANADA FISH COMPANY, Lake Nipigon
CANADA FISH COMPANY, Lake Nipigon
Rod and Gun, Vol. 7, No. 2, July 1905
(Buzz’s Notes)…at South Bay (Lake Nipigon) there are the
buildings of the Canada Fish Company, their store, and boarding camps. This point is the end of the Winter Road from
Nipigon Station, and a busy place in the winter season, supplies being moved
both by horse sleighs and dog sleds to the north.
…Cedar Portage seems to be the name given the portage around
Split Rock. Island Portage is just above
Split Rock. Camp Cincinnati seems to be
just above island Portage…
Saturday, 9 May 2015
Lake Nepigon, fishing Licenses Prices 1904
Nipigon Museum Archives, Buzz Lein Collection…1972
Fishing Licenses Lake Nipigon 1904
“Licenses for non residents of Canada fishing on Lake
Nepigon"
Lake Nepigon
2 weeks $15
3 weeks $20
4 weeks $25
For residents of Canada
2 weeks $5
4 weeks $10
From: Statistical Year Book of Canada 1904, Dept. of Agriculture,
Ottawa
Lakehead University collection
Page 250. Table
showing the Open Season for fishing and hunting in the several provinces of
Canada.
Buzz’s editorial comment:
These volumes are a mass of interesting and useless statistics
especially the older ones….Saturday March 18, 1972
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