EDITORIAL 



TO such an extent is California heralded abroad for her equable climate, 

 the charms of her scenery, and the great and varied output of her 

 agricultural districts, that one of her really characteristic resources is 

 almost unknown to print. And yet there are few regions of the earth, 

 and certainly there is no other State in the Union, that can exhibit 

 fsuch a diversity of fish and fishing interests as can the Golden State. Viewed 

 from the standpoint either of the sportsman or the market provisioner, her 

 [fisheries are by no means the least of California's assets. And Nature has 

 been ably seconded by science in the establishment of those conditions 

 under which the finny tribe, in stream and sea, best thrives and multi- 

 ^plies. Added to the increasing effectiveness of the several fish hatcheries 

 [of California, which incubate many millions of trout and salmon eggs each 

 [year, are the benefits resulting from recently modified game laws in many 

 [counties of the State, whereby the open season has been curtailed. 



The sea fisheries of California include one feature which would make 



[old Izaak Walton sit up and take notice. This is the angling at Santa 



Catalina, in which, armed with no stouter tools than rod and line, the 



[sportsman takes single fish weighing two hundred pounds and more, and 



[with fighting qualities in proportion to their pounds. Throughout the world 



the brotherhood of anglers know about Santa Catalina, and the leaping 



tuna, and yellowtail, and bass, and jewfish. And that knowledge, it may 



)e said, divides them into two groups — those who have been there and 



those who are resolved to go. 



Apart from this specialized marine area of big game fish, California's 

 entire reach of coastal waters offers every inducement to the fisherman. 

 The salmon, which invades our bays and rivers during the summer season, 

 is of a prime importance, both as a food supply and a game fish. 



Sea fishing in general is fast developing into one of the substantial 

 industries of the State, from the coasts of Humboldt to those of San Diego. 

 The fisheries of San Diego have increased four hundred per cent in the 

 past five years, and the old-fashioned sailing fleet has given way to gaso- 

 line boats. 



One of California's coastal industries which must one day develop in 

 Importance is that of abalone fishing. Despite fears to the contrary, our 

 lupply of abalone is probably inexhaustible, as pointed out in Mr. Greene's 

 irticle on the subject. The present difficulty appears to lie not in protect- 

 ing the abalone, but in securing it, from the inconvenient depths which this 

 inivalve seeks. 



The heart of one of the highest mountain lands of the continent would 

 lardly seem to be a place to profitably seek big fish. Yet, as Dr. Jordan 

 lys, some of the Tahoe trout run as heavy as twenty-eight pounds. And 

 Ranging down from this great size to the five-inch fellows of the lesser 

 lountain streams, there are no less than eight varieties of trout awaiting 

 khe angler's lure in the various lakes and streams of California. The great 

 "extent of California's mountain systems occasions a multitude of rapid 

 streams and provides ideal conditions for the inland angler's sport. And 

 so, whether he look landward or to sea, the disciple of Izaak Walton is 

 certain to find a distracting variety of temptations along the line of his 

 peculiar interest. 



