294 



RECREATION. 



men, and you need have no fear of the re- 

 sult. 



C. E. Oliver, Portland, Oregon. 



Concerning the North Dakota herd, it 

 seems to me the judge and his lawyer 

 friend, with their threatened lawsuit, are 

 barking up the wrong tree. I can count 

 about 250 fish in the illustration, and there 

 could easily be as many more in the strings 

 which do not show in the cut. At all 

 events, it is a most hoggish exhibition, and 

 well deserves the exposure given it. 



J. W. Kerlin, Harrisburg, Pa. 



In regard to the picture and comments 

 on page 360 of November Recreation, I 

 believe you there express the sentiments of 

 every true sportsman in the land. 



One can not help smiling at the vulgar 

 taste evidenced by that picture. 



B. S. White, L. A. S. 7520, 

 Morgantown, W. Va. 



The men shown on page 360 of the No- 

 vember issue of Recreation should have 

 been strung up instead of the fish. You 

 were perfectly right in saying what you 

 did, my only regret being that you didn't 

 say enough. 

 Geo. M. Ockford,. Jr.. Ridgewood, N. J. 



CUBAN FISH. 



One fine morning 2 others and I 

 sailed out from Tunas de Zaza, on the South 

 coast, in a little sailboat, to try the fishing. 

 We made for an island, Cayo.blanco, 4 miles 

 out. We anchored just inside one corner 

 of the island for protection from the sea 

 swells. Fish, were caught rapidly; we had 

 enough in 40 minutes to satisfy us, mostly 

 sea bass. However, it takes skill to pull 

 in a fish under the conditions forced on one 

 in Cuba. The hooks are always too large 

 for the fish one usually finds. Again, the 

 bait that the fish take best is the ordinary 

 small shrimp, and these are so soft that a 

 nibble will tear them off. Hence it comes 

 down to knack of pulling strongly at the 

 right fraction of a second to hook the fish. 

 We landed on the island and took a short 

 tramp, picking up a few star fish and conch 

 shells; then started on our return. The 

 wind died out and we killed time by look- 

 ing at our catch. We discovered that 

 every bass had what the natives call a sea 

 cockroach in its mouth. The other species 

 of fish were not so burdened. This parasite 

 apparently gets in the fish's mouth when 

 small, and grows as the fish grows, in some 

 instances becoming so large as to fill the 

 mouth entirely. 



The sea cockroach has 6 legs. It hooks 

 these in the gills of the fish, its head toward 

 the front, and clings so firmly that it can 

 be removed only with force. 



The local fishermen catch the large sea 

 pucker by stretching a net along a rocky 



shore, 100 to 150 feet out. Then they row 

 up and down several times, near the edge 

 of the bank, slapping the surface of the 

 water with flat boards. The fish dart out 

 and run into the net. This is done just 

 after dusk or in the moonlight. I call 

 these fish suckers, for they resemble the 

 fresh water sucker, only they are larger. 

 They weigh 8 to 12 pounds, and will 

 not bite on a hook. A larger fish, 2 to 2^ 

 feet long, is called sabana. Its sides 

 are slivery white, the back being darker. 

 The sabana will not take the hook either, 

 as a rule, but plays around a dock or a boat 

 waiting for scraps of bait. It is good 

 sport to feed them and lead them near 

 enough to spear; but they are strong and 

 will frequently break away, leaving only 

 a few scales on the prongs. 



Courtland Nixon, 1st Lt. 2d Inf., 

 Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. 



NIBBLES. 



Joe Eaton of Beatrice, Neb., was ar- 

 rested in December last by Game Warden 

 Geo. Maxfield with 36 fish in his possession 

 which had been caught illegally. Eaton 

 was taken before Judge Ingman of Bea- 

 trice, where he was convicted of violating 

 the State law. The judge gave him 30 

 days in jail to think the matter over. If 

 Joe could have had his fish to eat while in 

 jail he would have had plenty of time to 

 pick the bones out of them, but he proba- 

 bly was not so well fed there as he had 

 hoped to be at home. 



There is fine salmon trout fishing in 

 Okanagon lake. Trolling is the method 

 usually employed, though I have fished 

 successfully with rod and line from rocks 

 overhanging deep water. Fish are occa- 

 sionally taken weighing 15 to 25 pounds. 

 The last time I was trolling I caught 3 

 large ones in 2 hours, and could have se- 

 cured mere had I desired to. There seems 

 to be no close season for fish in Okanagon. 

 Alexander Crawford, 

 Okanagon Mission, B. C. 



J. D. Levy, a fish dealer, and John Hu- 

 bert, a restaurant keeper, both of Butte 

 City, Mont., were arrested by State Game 

 Warden W. F. Scott on a charge of selling 

 and serving trout in violation of the 

 laws. They were convicted by Justice 

 Olson, Hubert being fined $25 and Levy 

 $50; and thus the good work goes on. 



Will some reader of Recreation tell me 

 where I can find reasonably good fishing 

 within 100 miles of this placer 



H. C. Wurtsbaugh, Rich wood, Ohio. 



