LET'S GO FISHIN'

LET'S GO FISHIN' True Fish Stories from Springerville, Gateway to White Mountains and Blue Range

There are approximately 350 miles of trout streams located in the White Mountains and Blue Range, southeast and southwest of Springerville, and there are no more beautiful mountains in the southwest nor better trout fishing to be found. Many enjoy "camping out" among the firs, spruce, yellow pines and aspens, while others prefer the luxury of the many lodges to be found throughout these mountain ranges. We have assembled a few notes received from various disciples of Isaac Walton, who have already fished the streams of the White Mountains and Blue Range, to the end that our readers, who have in mind a fishing trip this summer, may know how the fish are biting and where they are plentiful. Believe them or not!

Colonel Dale Bumstead of Phoenix, who is at present a guest of the Musgrave summer home on the Black River, expects to move into the home of Lone Wolf, the famous Indian painter at Greer, southwest of Springerville. He advises that he has been catching all the fish needed within an hour's time during the evening. He furthermore tells us that he has seen plenty of deer, wild turkey and beaver, also many tassel-eared squirrels. A Rainbow trout, weighing three pounds and measuring 19 1-2 inches, besides twenty of the same species weighinging half a pound each, is the report of a one day's catch of Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Boothe of Springerville. They fished the Blue river a short distance southeast of the Becker and Perry cattle ranch and near the Bill Johnson ranch, that paradise of hunter and fisherman. Mr. and Mrs. Boothe have fished in Black River, south of Springerville, since the first of June, also on Reservation Creek and on Three Forks, and they advise that the are larger than usual and biting good and they have no trouble in catching the limit within a few hours. They also report good fishing in the two reservoirs near Greer and on the Little Colorado at that point. Large trout have also been caught in the creek near Alpine, twenty-six miles southeast of Springerville on the Coronado Trail, and the El Paso-Grand Canyon route..

Melvin Brown of Springerville has fished on the East Fork of the Little Colorado within the last few days, and he reports that he caught 16 trout, measuring from 10 to 14 inches in length, within two hours time. He further advises that there are a number of snow banks in the canyon along the trout streams which are melting, that water is running into the stream from every direction, promising a plentiful water supply.

The Game Specialist of the U. S Forest Reserve, Mr. M. E. Musgrave, an old resident of Phoenix, who has a summer home on the Black river about 35 miles south of Springerville, advises that the trout fishing has never been better; that the fish are larger and there is more water in Black river than usual, due to the late melting of the snow. He also reports more wild turkey in the White Mountains than ever before. A few days ago he saw four large flocks of gobblers, besides finding a number of nests of setting hens. He advises further that he has seen about fifty deer within a week's time. also several grouse with young ones. There are a large number of beaver on the Black River, increasing rapidly. and their dams are a great help to fishermen. Elk also are numerous, and on the increase. A few years ago the number of these animals were brought in from Montana and turned loose on the Blue Range and White Mountains.

E. C. Becker of the Becker Motor Co. informs us that several days ago he and his two boys caught 57 trout within two hours' time on one of the three forks of the east branch of Black River, sometimes known as Buffalo Creek. He says that over a third of these fish measured from 10 to 12 inches in length and quite a number measured more than that. He and his boys also caught the limit of 75 trout for the three in the South Forks of the Little Colorado, within one and a half hour's time, measuring from eight to ten inches.

Some fishermen are having exceptional luck on the Little Colorado River from a point five miles from Springerville up through the Steinberger ranch section towards Greer. Mr. George Eberle of the U. S. Rubber Co. and Mr. Cline Asbury of Phoenix, reported very good fishing at this point.

Good trout fishing has also been reported from Greer on the Little Colorado River by many people from southern and central Arizona who have their summer homes in that locality. Mr. and Mrs. John T. Butler of the Greer Lodge advise that no complaint of the fishing