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Carter Lake and Park
LOOMING SOU Til
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ITH seven and n half miles of fine boule
vard built around the shores, filled In
banks, concrete retaining walls, a new
and commodious boat harbor, a modern
pavilion, free bath house, a fleet of steel
rowboaU, and widespread natural dec
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orations In the way of trees and shrub
bery when these Improvements are completed Car
ter lake and park will take Its place as one of the
finest outdoor pleasure prospects In the west
This beautiful projoct Is not a dream, but la fast
being realised by hard work under intelligent direc
tion. It waa given a first positive impetus by the
generosity of Mrs. Sellna Carter-Cornish, when she
supplied a fund of $60,000 to buy land surrounding
the lake, formerly known as Cut-Off. She also has
paid in $13,000 cash to settle certain claims of land
owners, and besides has already contributed $20,000
cash toward making the improvements under way
and contemplated.
The attention of Mrs. Cornish was centered on,
the poent possibilities of the lake in Omaha's north
dooryard long ago, and when the city, through Its
park board, began to evince an Interest in the proper
development of the stretch of water and woodland
Mrs. Cornish quickly gave very substantial evidence
of her grasp of the situation. Negotiations with
property owners, and some more or less friendly liti
gation, had to be gone through before the way was
straightened and made clear for the formulation and
adoption of plans. This preliminary work accomp
lished, and a plan adopted, the work was started in
earnest.
Dredging Lake and Filling Ixw r Laces.
At the very beginning it was agreed that certain
portions of the lake should be dredged, the material
to be used for filling low places and raising the shore
line to a proper height. To do this a large dredge
was built on the shore of the lake and was formally
launched under the auspices of interested residents
of North Omaha, headed by "Uncle Joe" Redman. The
dredge had to have a coal tender, and then it was
found the coal tender had to have a towboat This
latter craft Is now on the stocks on the west shore
of the lake, and is practically ready to launch as soon
as the spring freshets raise the lake level. The tow
boat is a stern-wheeler, not large, but powerful enough
to do all the towing necessary.
The dredge, which operated the better part of last
season, is of a type that sucks the mud and sediment
from the lake bed and discharges it through long tubes
wherever filling is required. It has worked very sue-
cessfully, and within a few days will be in active oper
ation again, filling In behind the concrete walls which
have been built in the immediate neighborhood of the
old Larson boat landing.
Something over half a mile of this concrete wall
has been built where it was necessary to thus safe
guard the bank, and beyond the ends of the wall
considerable riprapplng with broken stone bas been
done, and more will be. The north line of the wall
will be the south line of the new boat harbor; and
the row of piling shown in one of the illustrations
marks the north line of the harbor. When the bath
house Is erected It will be located Just east of the
row of piling, on a sandy beach which Is to be left
Just about as it stands at present, to permit of young
sters wading and having fun In shallow water.
Where the Larson home stands now is the site
selected for the pavilion, and the new concrete boat
landing, with steps down to the water, will adjoin
the building. The concrete wall Is built around the
Jutting point of land at Larson's place, and a sidewalk
and roadway Is to run sround the wall for the use
of pedestrians and vehicles visiting the lske. This
new harbor will not only accommodate several hun
dred boats, but will also furnish a safe shelter in
stormy weather. The rowboats will be vkept on
wooden floats when not in use, and the Park board
will regulate the charges for their use.
Roperintendon Adams Talks of nana.
When the photographs were being taken Park
Superintendent Adams was busy with a gang of men
t that nartlcular place. Mr. Adams Is not given to
unnecessary conversation, and has to be pumped with
nmi nerslstence to tell things. Once started, though,
he pictured the finished work in a most Interesting
fashion.
"It doesn't look very promising now," he said,
"because we have only made a fair start as yet. All
this land about he dredge and lying in front of the
wall is to be pumped out and spread about the banks
of the lake. The same process will deepen the harbor
aaf fill In behind the piling yonder, which will be faced
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with heavy planks. Then we will establish a cleat
waterway to that slough over near Fifteenth street,
thus getting a smaller lake, or big pond, that will add
materially to the general ensemble at this focal point.
It is in the boulevardlng about the shore of the lake
that the great effect will be secured. Eventually the
roadway will be lined with trees, and when the proper
connections are made the finished work here will be
practically a part, and perhaps the most satisfying
and attractive part, of the Omaha park and boulevard
system.
"Naturally, when this improvement is carried out
in its entirety, it will probably result in the extension
of the street car line from Sherman avenue to the
pavilion, and Carter lake will then be as accessible to
the general public as any other part of the park sys
tem." Mr. Adams also said It Is the Intention to have the
railroad tracks moved from their present location to
a point farther north of the lake shore to permit of
carrying out the decorative part of the scheme.
Reservations for ice houses now located on the lake
are permitted by the plan adopted, but steps will be
taken to bring the houses and the immediate sur
roundings into harmony with the general prospect.
"Billy" O'Brien, state fish warden, has for several
years past been taking particular pains to stock Carter
lake with the best species of game fish. In this work
he has had the active co-operation of the Omaha Rod
and Gun club, which maintains a paid warden on its
own account to aid in patrolling the lake against
poachers and game hogs.
As a result of the co-operation of the state and
How to Choose
ROM now on till late summer this most im
portant item in the flyfisher's art is the
chief aid to success both as to numbers and
size of fish captured, writes Louis Rhead.
Most fish that take a fly. Including salmon
sea and landlocked; various species of trout and
charr, bass, wall-eye perch and in a limited locality
the grayling, all cause no end of trouble and ex
pense to anglers in getting the right fly. Ninety per
cent of these men bave little time to spare in making
a study of natural flies on the water's surface, and It
Is perfectly natural for the most successful anglers to
abstain from telling their rivals what fly got the "big
flsh."
It Is hardly to be expected that tackle shop clerks
know everything, however knowing and wise they
may seem when you purchase flies; all they possibly
can do is to tell you which fly sells best. But that is
not an Infallible guide; indeed, it is most likely to be
otherwise. It is a truism in fishing, as Myles Stand
ish said of women, "If you want a thing done, do it
yourself." For that reason if you study the "natural"
fly you will be able to choose the right "artificial" fly.
In America it is well known that "fancy" flies are
more numerous than the imitations of the natural fly,
and the entomology of stream life has not so far been
carefully studied as it has in Great Britain. We are,
therefore, obliged to be guided to a choice by the
known results of their use n various places, seasons
and methods of other anglers. Success achieved by
study and care is a delight that holds its own in more
ways than one. To that end a short and simple
classification of the natural insects will be helpful to
identify them by the following names:
There are browns, drakes, duns, spinners, house
flies, beetles and ants. Of these seven there are
a great many varieties' and many stages of existence,
from the egg, the larva and the pupa to the "Imago,"
OMAHA SUNDAY BTT,: APRIL 23, 3
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the genuine sportsmen of Omaha Carter lake is today
one of the best fishing places in this section, and Mr.
O'Brien asserts it will become better atid better as the
years go by. Every season a cleaning out is made of
the voracious, destructive and useless species of fish,
to the end that eventually the lake shall be free of
them, leaving only the game fish.
A generation ago certain kinds of fish were so
plentiful in the lake that they could be taken out by
hand when the water was low in the spring. That
happy condition has vanished forever, but thousands
of hopeful hooks are dropped in Carter lake every
seaBon, and with fairly satisfactory results. 'Bank
fishing is perhaps more popular at Carter lake than
boat fishing, and any day In the season dosens of men,
women and children put in pleasant hours in the open
air watching a bobber, ruminating on the restful
philosophy of Isaac Walton, and occasionally pulling
in the glittering game that arouses their joy.
"Regulars" a Feature of Fishing Brigade.
The group known to Carter lake frequenters as
"regulars" are ' inveterate hook and line handlers.
Many of them arise before daylight and "hike" any
where from a mile to five miles to reach the shore
and try for a mess before breakfast, returning home
on the street cars. Others keep lines out all night,
with several hooks attached, and in the season Indulge
in early morning hunting. Hand lines, bamboo poles,
rod and reel from the most primitive to the costliest
tackle are all to be found in use at Carter lake. Wise
old "bank" fishermen have special spots they like to
preempt on their fishing excursions, and some of
Right Flies for
or perfect fly; but during the entire time they are
aquatic insects they are preyed upon by game and
other fishes. The brown flies, of which the needle
brown, orange brown and yellow sally are familiar,
while in the "creeper" state are extremely active, run-
Spiritual Comfort
WRITER lu the St. Louis Globe-Democrat
gives an interesting glimpse into primitive
conditions in Missouri. He says: '
At the Snl ford, in Lafayette county,
where the old Santa Fe trail crossed
river, are the remains of a dia-
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tillery, a
prlmltlve Baptist church and tho resl-
dence of James Warder.
The Joules Warder house
was a noted place in the old Missouri on the old trail.
Warder, so the story goes, was a hardshell Baptist
preacher nearly a century ago. He built on one side
of the Santa Fe trail a hardshell Baptist church,
where he preached as occasion offered the iron gospel
of that sturdy faith.
Across the trail but a few yards distant upon the
same river at the same ford he built a distillery,
which he I)eratel during week days and the product
of 'bich. he sold at reasonable prices, pure and un
defiled, as occasion demanded, ilia home was upon
a rocky eminence to the east of the church and dis
tillery, overlooking the Snl river bottom. The trav
eler along the trail at Warder's ford was, of course,
compelled to make the dangerous crossing of the Sni
river, but he had the opportunity of fortifying himself
for the fording by a visit to Warder's distillery or
Warder's church, or both.
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them are as Jealous of their preemptions ns a goTd
miner of his claim. Many of the rod and reel men
likewise have special spots along the shore or among
the reed gardens where they regularly anchor their
boats and exercise their skill.
Amateurs are not barred at Carter lake, and form
perhaps the larger group of frequenters. A goodly
proportion are women, but not one of them will con
fess to such little knowledge of the game as the wo
man of whom Councilman Sheldon tells this yarn: "A
prize fisherman was getting ready for his first try
of the season at the lake. He had rod, reel, gaff,
Bass and Trout
nlng about the shallow bed of the stream, where trout
feed upon them.
The drakes are an interesting class, with deli
cately veined wings, so common on the streams In the
daytime, and they are known also aa "day flies." The
mature insect lives but a short time, for the purpose
of reproduction only, but as larva and pupa they live
from one to three years burrowing in the mud, hiding
under stones and among grass and weeds. In differ
ent localities they are known under various names,
as May flies, drakes and cocktails, the latter because
of the reversed and elevated position of the "stylets,"
or tails. Among these species the best known are
the green drake, March brown, iron-blue dun and
others.
There are a large number of "duns," varying in
shade from a light copper to deep gray, the structure
of the wings resembling those of moths. Like the
two classes previously mentioned, they lay their eggs
upon the water. From these eggs are hatched the
larvae or "creepers," but, unlike other larvae, as soon
as they are hatched begin to construct a tiny covering
of sticks, stones, bits of sand, gravel or shells by
mcana of a glue-like thread. Vy.bile abiding in this
they are known as case worms or caddis worms, and
are able to moe it about on the bed t the stream
by thrusting forth from their tubular case the head
and forefeet, dragging the case along with them.
The spinners are very numerous upon the water;
familiar types are the crane fly, daddy longlegs and
mosquitoes. The house fly is represented by the cow
dung fly, black knat and bluebottle. Of these few,
chosen from thousands of varieties of Insects seen
near or on the water, the angler can, with a little
study, inform himself in choosing the right fly. It is
beyond argument or question that to fisii most suc
cessfully you must offer the fish an exact Imitation of
the food it consumes,
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a wm t nuns' a. i nwmawi r-s
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creel, lines, hooks, bait and every little extra all ready,
when his wife approached with a bunch of sticky and
speckled paper. '
" 'What in Sam Hill is this?' asked the astonished
husband as she smilingly handed the bundle to him.
" 'Why, you said last fall you always had to buy
flies when you wanted to go fishing, so I saved all the
old fly papers for you.' "
t
Spring Fever Is Prevalent Xow.
Just now "spring fever" bas taken a hold on peo
ple with a bent for fishing, and while they act sleep
ily and are given to yawning at ordinary tasks, they
are ready to work like nailers at the business of try-
:
ng to lure a few finny beauties from the lairs they
wot of In Carter lake and other places. Adults aro
not alone in being attacked with the call of the hook
and line. A goodly number of youngsters can be
found any day sitting quietly on the bank for a longer
time than they can ever -be kept quiet at any other
occupation. Most of tbem bring a dog along, and it's
surprising how well behaved these canine friends are
when the little master is exercising such unwonted
patience. The spirit of care actually seems to be
communicated to the dog.
Let the breezes blow as chilly as they'wlll; let rain
threaten aa it may; let school keep or not the true
fisherman, boy or man, pits his stored up longing and
his winter accumulation of heat against anything the
weather man can spring on him. He prefers to bathe
in sunshine, and to hear the music of the crickets and
the birds, but fish he will. One good bite suffices
for much weary waiting, and one very ordinary fish
will satisfy the craving he cherishes. If he be fortu
nate enough to land a good one, then his cup of Joy
Is full indeed. This thing is medicine and meat for
the angler.
One specially favored place at Carter lake Just
now, for the youngsters, is alongside the big dredge.
Here are several floats on which the large discharge
pipes are laid, and these latter make a good seat,
while the paraphernalia and the dog can be disposed
of on the floats. Some few boats are to bseen out
thus early, and In the hours Just after the dawn a
company of "regulars" can be found scattered in the
neighborhood of the Ice houses. Soon the family
groups will be on the ground to spend the day, angling
and rusticating, with home-made lunches parked
plentifully in baskets, and then Carter lake will be In
full bloom, with its devotees working from early morn
to dewy eve, taking "fisherman's luck" as part of the
day's work.
Just a hint to would-be fishermen from an old
denizen of the Carter lake ground: "The best time to
get fish here Is when rain U falling gently auU tho
wind la Just a epbr.''
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