582 
been observed. They attain a maximum 
weight of 75 pounds as the rod records 
show, whereas Thunnus thynnus grows to 
above the 1,000-pound mark. On 9-ounce 
rods the “Japs” have fought like fiends 
and are no discredit to the family; they 
are much superior to the tuna in point of 
edibility. Now, should a 100-pound speci- 
men be taken, the Tuna club would con- 
front a pretty problem as to awarding a 
“button” and the honor of active member- 
ship to the captor of one of these exotic 
intruders. 
The new yellow-fin tunny is preémi- 
nently’ an autumn: fish, if these last 2 
years may be accepted as a precedent, 
whereas August 15 was wont to mark the 
close of the season formerly. 
Mr. Lafayette. P. Streeter, mentber of 
the Tuna club, Gold Button member of 
the Light Tackle club and member of the 
Asbury Park Fishing club, New Jersey, 
in the writer’s opinion in the first rank of 
American sea fishermen, has this to say 
from his wonderful catch of 17 yellow- 
fins this summer on the 9-ounce rod :— 
“They rank with any game-fish that 
swims. In the hypothetical situation you 
have suggested, that of the capture of a 
100-pound fish, I believe the club would 
issue the sacred button, as though it were 
a blue-back. ... The common albicore 
is a tortoise as a game fish in comparison 
». they. are. ‘brilliant shehters, 9.) My 
gold button fish weighed 51 pounds, re- 
quiring 1 hour and 40 minutes’ fight... . 
It was a grand battle of extreme fierceness 
on the tuna’s part.” 
The Gulf Stream on the Atlantic side 
has altered its course in 1906, as the uni- 
versal report of navigators assures us. Is 
it not possible that, perhaps influenced by 
the terrific seismic disturbances of the 
year on the Pacific shores, the Kutro- 
Shiwo or Black Current of Japan that 
warms the southern Caltfornia waters 
may have as well been subjected to a 
diversion in its general course and so lead 
these strange denizens of the aqueous un- 
known to appear some 5,000 or 6,000 miles 
from their accepted habitat? 
Where arc the vast millions of tuna that 
ranged the district in 1900 and 1901? 
Will the true leaping tuna reappear to 
challenge these aliens for his old grounds? 
The affair seems to us, indeed, amazing, 
and the situation next spring will be fol- 
lowed intently by ichthyologists the coun- 
try over. We have Mr. Thomas S. Man- 
RECREATION 
ning, treasurer of the Tuna club, to thank 
for bringing the matter to our attention. 

Ireland Sets the Pace 
The First Annual Casting Tournament 
of that lusty infant, the Anglers’ club of 
New York, assumed an international air 
of importance. The presence of an an- 
gling star of the first magnitude, John 
Enright, of Castleconnell, Ireland, imme- 
diately brought the attention of the 
fishermen on both shores of the Big Ferry, 
and the fact that Uncle Sam’s professional 
representative was no less prominent a 
person than Reuben C. Leonard added 
increased interest to the affair. 
Mr. Enright’s visit, for the sole purpose 
of entering the lists, will without doubt 
add great stimulus to fly-casting in the 
Eastern states. His manipulation of the 
20-foot rod was quite a revelation to the 
spectators, for our comparatively limited 
field for the weightier salmon rods has 
resulted in almost universal ignorance of 
their practical handling. Those anglers 
familiar with Nova Scotia and New- 
foundland fishing doubtless were more 
appreciative of the fine points of Mr. 
Enright’s style, particularly his clever 
treatment of the backlash. As an object 
lesson to those fortunate enough to have 
been at Harlem Mere, Central Park, on 
Friday, October 12, to witness him frac- 
ture his record of 147 feet, made in the 
London Crystal Palace in 1903, by an 
amazing cast of the salmon fly to the 152- 
foot mark,—the exhibition was invaluable 
as a visual demonstration of the possibili- 
ties of the rod. 
The tourney was held on a small dock 
constructed for the purpose, on the 110th 
street side of the lake, and an wunex- 
pectedly large crowd attended the two- 
day function, being favored with good 
weather. The casts were measured by an 
unique arrangement of floats of various 
- colors to indicate the distances, attached 
to a galvanized wire. Split bamboo held 
the American fancy for the fly-rod and 
largely for the bait-rod as well, the latter 
running about six feet in length. 
On Saturday, the 13th, the representa- 
tive from Erin again claimed the laurels 
in casting with the 14-foot rod, using the 
salmon-fly, making 126 feet and eclipsing 
his former record. He employed a green- 
heart rod in this feat. 
No one must conclude from this that the 
