Oct. 29, 1885.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



267 



md ^mr fishing. 



Aftdrens all communicalions to the Forest and Stream IhiMish- 

 ing Co. . 



THE ANGLING TOURNAMENT. 



THE morning of Wednesday, Oct. 31, opened with a 

 drizzling rain that gave no promise of change for the 

 better. At Harloni More a dozen enthusiastic anglers had 

 gathered at nine o'cloclc, and from the door of the wall tent 

 watched other enthusiasts testing rods and getting their arms 

 limbered up for the contests. The rows of bcuches were 

 empty, and two policemen, detailed for the day's service at 

 the tourney, .looked wearied and bored. Half an hour later 

 the party had increased to twenty, and doubts were raised 

 whether 'the contests would take place that day or be post- 

 poned. At ten there were many fresh arrivals, among them 

 President Endicott and Secretary Mather, and to all proposi- 

 tions of postponement these gentlemen said "no," giving as 

 reasons the facts that there was no assurance of better 

 weather next day, and the presence of gentlemen from Balti- 

 more and other cities who had come to cast and who might 

 not return. A brisk wind was blowing from the east, and 

 casting could only be done from the north or south. After 

 much delay it was decided to stretch the measuring line to 

 the north, and it was brought forth, stretched and the posi- 

 tion of the floats verified or corrected, the line having been 

 soaked for twenty-foin- hours previous. The philform was 

 six feet square and one foot above the water. The line was 

 stretched from one corner of the platform and had the usual 

 buoys at cvety five feet. The judges' boat was on the beach, 

 and" the secretary began taking entries for the amateur class 

 in siugle-handecl lly-casting. No doubt the weather kept 

 many who would have cast away, for the report was current 

 in the city that there would be a postponement. There were 

 eight prizes in the class and but tour entries were made. 



Of the judges appointed for this class, as published iu 

 Forest and Streaiw and in the score book, two were pres- 

 ent, Hon. James Geddes and Mi-. Fred Mather. The latter 

 ■declined to serve because a pupil of his, Wallace Blackford, 

 had entered for the contest, and the president appointed Mr. 

 Henry P. Wells and Dr. George Trowbridge, with Mr. 

 Geddes as referee. The contestants drew for the order of 

 casting, and cast in the order named: Samuel Polhamus, of 

 Central Valley, N. Y., who has cast here in former years, 

 and who is known as a very graceful caster, who keeps his 

 line well clear of the water behind; Mr. Ira Wood, the best 

 known of all and an "old timer," whose right to cast was 

 questioned because of prize winnings in State sportsmen's 

 associations or other tournaments, but who was eligible 

 under the ruling that the National Rod and Reel Association 

 had no records of, and recognized no other contests but its 

 own; Master Wallace Blackford, the flfteen-year-old son of 

 the Fish Commissioner, who last year cast in public for the 

 first time and attracted much attention from his youth and 

 skill; Mr. Wm. H. Goodwin, his first appearance. The 

 drizzle increased and the wind became more iitful, being at 

 the right of and a trifle to the rear of the men. 



SINGLE HANDED FI,Y-CASTINO— AMATEUR. 



Open to amateurs, under rule 2. who liave never won a first prize. 

 Eods notto exceed life. 6in. in lengrth. 



Scale of points: Distance, actual oa^t; accuracy and delicacy, S.t 

 each (If a contestant cast 60 Et, and is awarded 20 for delicacy and 15 

 for accuracy, his score will bo 95), Delicacy should be judged by the 

 lightness with which the flie.s light upon the water, and accuracy 

 shall be determined by the judges Ttie casts shall be made for deli- 

 cacy and accuracy at the same iime. 



Name or Contestant 



Length 

 Bod. 



Wt. of 

 Bod, 

 cz. 



Dis- 

 tance, 

 ft. and 

 inches 



Deli- 

 cacy. 



Ac- 

 curacy 



Total. 



Sanjl. Polhamus 



11.6 



9 



74.6 



20 



20 



114.6 



W. H. Goodwin 



11.5 





76.0 



15 



22 



113 



AVallace Blackford.. 



11.6 





68 



22 



18 



108.0 



Ira Wood 



11.6 



9^ 



71.0 



30 



15 



106.0 



The wind beat down the lines in retrieving and twice tied 

 Blackford's line in a bunch, Mr. Goodwin was scarcely less 

 fortunate. The distances cast were shorter than in any 

 previous amateur contest of this kind. 



The salmon casting class was also lacking in entries, there 

 being but three in a contest where five prizes bad been 

 offered. The entries were: Ira Wood, a winner in the ama- 

 teur salmon class of 18y3 (there were two classes that year) 

 with a record of 98 feet; Reuben C. Leonard, winner of the 

 expert salmon contest of 1888, with a record of 124 feet, and 

 Ed. Eggert, who won in the single-handed amateur fly-cast- 

 ing last year, but wbo had never made a record in salmon 

 casting. The drizzle had increased to a pouring rain when 

 the class was called and nobody expected that such good 

 throwing would be done in the beating down of the rain 

 drops. As it was, Leonard exceeded his cast as winner in 

 1883 by one foot and beat all records in this country except 

 that of Hawes, of 131 feet in 1884. 



SALMON CABTINft. 

 Judges: J. S.Van Cleef, John A. Roosevelt. W. C, Han-is, Referee. 

 Open to all. Rods not to exceed 18ft. Scale of points as in single 

 handed fly-casting. 



Name of Contestant. 



Length 

 of Rod. 



Wt. of 

 Rod oz. 



Dis- 

 tance 

 in ft. 

 and in. 



Deli- 

 cacy. 



Ac- 

 curacy. 



Total. 



R. C. Leonard 



18 



37 



125. 



18 



12 



155 



Ira Wood 



18 



33 



100. 



18 



12 



130 





18 



27 



109. 



10 



8 



137 



It will be seen that Mr. Eggert's weak points were in de- 

 licacy and accuracy, but he cast a long line very cleanly. 

 Mr. Wood also cast iu a style that might be envied by many 

 old salmon fishers, while Reuben Leonard's cast is perfection 

 itself. He is as clean and beautiful a fly-caster as we have 

 ever seen, bis back cast is a marvel of beauty^ the line 

 straightening out behind at an angle above his hea'd, and the 

 powerful "swish" of the rod keeping exact time in both the 

 forward and back motions. The only one who approaches 

 him is his cousin, Hiram W. Hawes, who has exceeded him 

 in distance but not in clean delivery. In this contest none 

 of the casters got out more line than they could handle, and 

 the consequence was that there were few accidents and less 

 calls for "time." We 1;hought that Mr. Wood case exceed- 

 ingly well in his trial for delicacy and accuracy, and admired 

 the manner in which he laid his flies alons the water. 



The "Heavy Bass" class was called and the rain poured 



without iiitermis,sion. It was proposed to have the trials 

 take place on land in the same vacant lot where they were 

 held last year, when some one suggested the Polo grounds 

 opposite. Fortunately the secretary, Mr. Bell, was present 

 and gave permission. This gave the audience not only 

 cover but raised seats also, and only the contestants and 

 judges were drenched. The lane system of previous years, 

 which combined accuracy with distance, was aboUshed, and 

 there was therefore a wide latitude allowed to the heavy 3J- 

 ounce sinker to range in. This style of casting is identical 

 with the "Nottingham" of English anglers. The weight or 

 bait is reeled up to within two feet, more or less, of the tip 

 of the eight or nine-foot rod, and is cast from a free-running 

 reel controlled by the thumb. In this contest the records of 

 this or any other country were beaten by the wonderful cast- 

 ing of Mr. W. H. Wood, who caught the big tarpum 

 (Floridian tarpon) last spring. 



The entries were: Ed. Eggert, his first appearance in this 

 role; Mr. .John A. Roosevelt, the winner of the three 

 previous years, and Mr. W. H. Wood, first appearance in 

 public; they cast in the order named. The foilowlDg is tiie 

 score : 



HEAVY BASS CASTING. 

 .Judges: C. G. Levison, W. S. Sheafer. W, C. Harris, Referee. 



Name of contestant. 



First 

 Cast. 



Second 

 Cast. 



Third 

 Cast. 



Fourth 

 Cast. 



Fifth 

 Cast. 



Aver- 

 age. 



W. H. Wood 



231 



236 



235 



250 



250 



240 2-5 





204 



202 



180 



187 



190 



193 4 5 





50 



138 



148 



133 



60 



105 4-5 



The minnow casting for black bass was called on the 

 same ground as the last class, as it had been dc(;ided to have 

 it cast on land in.stcad of in the water, as was done last year. 

 There were five entries in this contest and we know that 

 four of them never cast a minnow for black bass in actual 

 fishing and are in doubt about the fifth. It is a style of fisu- 

 ing not in use in the East and is an advance on bait-fishing 

 with helgramites or dobsous. There were five entries : Mr. 

 G. Poey, who, by the way, was accompanied by his 12-year 

 old daughter who had her rod and would have cast had not 

 the weathe*- prevented ; and four others, three of them new 

 to this class, at least iu public, while Messrs. Levison and 

 Eggert cast in this class last year. 



MINNOW CASTING FOU BLACK BASS. 

 Judges: W. 0. Harris, H. P. Wells. Francis Endicott, Referee. 



Name of Contestant. 



Distance 

 in feet 

 & inches. 



Delicacy. 



Accuracy 



Total. 



A. F. Dresel 



137 



20 



23 



170 





123 



20 



20 



103 



a. Poey 



112 



20 



25 



157 





110.8 



20 



15 



151.8 



Ed. Eggert 



81 



15 



10 



100 



Prof. Mayer won last year with the following score : 97 

 feet, 25d., 15a.=137; therefore Mr. Dresel beat the record 

 30 feet, or 33 points. In fact the whole class, except Eggert, 

 beat the record. 



The expert class in single-handed fly-casting was called 

 and ten entries were made. It was already 4 P. M. and 

 dusk, raiu}'^, and with every prospect of the last men finishing 

 in absolute darkness. The first man, David Guthrie, was 

 called to the score and cast. He was followed by Samuel 

 Polhamus, and then Ed. Eggert stepped on the platform, 

 when the judges, Fred Mather, Hon. James Geddes and J. 

 S. Van Cleef, came on shore and reported that they could 

 not do justice to themselves nor the contestants because of 

 the darkness and the roughness of the water, and that it was 

 impossible to see where the flies fell. The contestants were 

 called together and they decided to have it out next day, 

 rain or shine. After a meeting for election of officers all 

 dispersed. 



On the morrow the fair day brought out many spectators, 

 and Messrs. E. R.Wilbur, C. G. Levison and Tho,3. B. Mills, 

 all amateur photogi'aphers with improved apparatus to catch 

 the fleeting fly. Mr. Polhamus was absent and two new 

 entries were taken. The contestants were as follows: C. G. 

 Levison, cast in former amateur contests and entitled to still, 

 a veiy graceful caster. Martin Culhane, having a record in 

 previous expert classes, but barred from the amateurs by 

 reason of business. Geo. Landman, cast for David Guthrie, 

 foreman in Malleson's rod factory^. Ed. Eggert, winner of 

 amateur contest last year with a record of 75 feet. Thomas 

 Prichard, son of Harry, of 91 feet fame (1882) a weak, deli- 

 cate boy of apparently 21 years and about 100 pounds weight 

 but with a wonderful private record. Reuben C. Leonard, 

 with a record as winner in 1882 of amateur class (87 feet) 

 and other records. W, E. Hendrix, winner of amateur class, 

 1883, with 78 feet, and also records in other contests. W. H. 

 Goodwin, first appeared in amateur class this year. Thos. B. 

 Mill-;, a well-known winner of minor prizes, but never a 

 first. 



Eggert and Prichard cast with what is known here as the 

 "rolling cast," the "water cast," "hoop-snake" cast, and in 

 England as the "switch cast," used by Harry Prichard in his 

 famous 91-foot cast in the tournament of 1882, The others 

 retrieved their lines in the old style. 



SINGLE-HANDED FLY-CASTING — EXPERT. 

 Judges: Dr. B. H, Kealhofer, T, B. Stewart. J. L. Vallotton, Referee. 

 Open to all. Rods not to exceed 11 feet 6 inches in length. Distance 

 only to count. 



Name of Contestant. 



R, C. Leonard 



Thomas Prichard 



Thos. B. Mills 



Geo Landman .. 

 Martin Culhane.. 

 W. E. Hendrix... 



C. G. Levison 



Ed. Eggert 



W. H. Goodwin . . 



Length of 



Weight of 



Distance 



Rod, 



Ro(l. 



Cast. 



11 



9 



92 



11.6 



9 



90 



11.6 



K-M 



85 



11.6 



10 



8H 



11,6 





88 



10,6 





81 



11,6 



loi 



80 



15,6 



10 



78 



11,6 



9 



65 



In this contest the record was not only beaten one foot by 

 Mr. Leonard, but it Avas conclusively^ shown that the height 

 of a man and his muscle had little to do with the distance 

 he could cast, and little Tom Prichard was the best evidence 

 of this. We append the former records as published in the 

 score book : 



LIGHT ROD CONTESTS, 1882. 



Class A, Rods to be oi ounces or less— H. W. Hawes, rod 

 4i dunces, distance 82 feet. 



Class B, Rods not to exceed 44 outiees— H. W. Hawes, 



rod 4i ounces, distance 78 feet. 



B. P, NICHOLS CONTEST, 1882. 



All contestants to use the same rod, 10 feet, 6^- ounces— 

 H. W. Hawes, distance 71 feet. 



SINGLE-HANDED PLY-CASTING, AMATEUR. 



Class A, 1882— H. W. Hawes, rod 11 6 feet, 9| ounces, 81 

 feet (R. C. Leonard cast 85 feet, but failed on delicacy and 

 accuracy). 



Class *A, 1883-H. C. Thorne, rod 11.6 feet, 8i ounces, 80 

 feet. 



Class B, 18R3— R. C. Leonard, rod 11.6 feet, 10 ounces, 85 

 feet. 



Class B. 1883— W. E. Llendrix, rod 11.6 feet, 10 ounces, 

 78 feet. 



Class C, 1883— Thomas Prichard, rod 10 feet, 4i ounces, 

 80 feet 3 inches. 



Class A, 1884— C. A. Rauch, rod 11.6 feet, 10 ounces, 80 

 feet. 



Class B, 1884— Ed. Eggert, rod 11 feet, 7i ounces, 75 -feet, 



SIJ50I-E-HANDED FLY-CA8TL5fG, EXPERT. 



Class C, 1882— Harry Prichard, rod feet, 8 ounces, 



91 feet. 



Class D, 1883— H. W. Hawes, rod 10.3 feel, ii ounces, 85 

 feet. 



Class E, 1883— R. C. Leonard, rod 11.6 feet, 12 ounces, 87 

 feet. 



Class D, 1884— H. W. Hawes. rod 10 feet 3 inches, 5 

 ounces (R. C, Leonard cast 78 feet with 5-ounce rod, but 

 fiiiled on delicacy and accuracy). 



Class E, 1884— R. C. Leonard, 83 feet. 



SALMON CASTING. 



1882, open to all— H W. Hawes, rod 20 feet, cast 116 feet. 

 188:], amateur- Ira Wood, rod 18,3 feet, cast 98 feet. 



1883, expert- R. C. Leonard, rod 18 feet, 2 pounds 12 

 ounces, cast 124 feet. 



1884, open to all— H, W. Hawes, rod 18 feet, 34 ounces, 

 cast 131 feet. 



MINNOW CASTING FOR BLxVCK BASS. 



1884, open to all- Prof . A. M. Mayer, rod 8 feet 9i inches, 

 8^ ounces, 97 feet. 



STRIPED BASS CASTING (LIGHt). 



1882 — J. E. Williamson, 2 casts, score 33 3-5. 



1883— 11. W. Hawes, 4 casts, score 100 4-5. 



1884— H. W. Hawes, 5 casts, score 129 6-10. 



STRIPED BASS CASTING (HEAVY). 



1882— J. A. Roosevelt, 4 casts, score 127 1-5. 



1883— J. A. Roosevelt, 5 ca.sts, score 157 2-5. 



1884— J. A. Roosevelt, 5 casts, score 204 feet 3 inches. 



AUTUMN FISHING IN BARNEGAT BAY. 



WHEN our two families planned to spend part of last 

 mouth (October) by Barnegat Bay we had small hope 

 of much fishing. Weakfish would be gone, and they are all 

 that most persons expect to catch in the bay. Slill, we 

 hoped for a few sea bass and blackfish, and perhaps some 

 striped bass. W e also had some vague hopes of squidding 

 some bluefish on the beach. 



Our particular place of abode was Seaside Park. The 

 Pennsylvania Raihoad from Whiting's and Toms River to 

 Long Branch here crosses the bay on a trestle bridge about 

 a mile and a quarter long. A draw is made over the channel 

 near the mainland side. Around the piling of this draw- 

 bridge we made our first regular trial of fishing. Our train 

 went back in two hours, and we returned in it with about 

 twenty-four fish, weighing in bulk twelve pounds. We 

 called that very good luck. There was nothing very scien- 

 tific about it; still, it requirod some knowledge to find the 

 best places, and some 'skill to affix properly the crab bait, 

 and constant vigilance to strike just as th'e bite was felt. 

 Then the reeling up of the fish from the deep water was a 

 pleasant operation, the fisherman meanwhile speculating as 

 to the weight and kind. If the fish pulled with quick, strong 

 jerks it would probably be a blackfish ; if it ran here and 

 there without much wriggle it would probably prove a sea 

 bass; if it manifested a strong desire to seek the bottom, 

 first in one direction, then in another, it probably was a 

 porgy ; if it struck oflf toward Barnegat Light or Bay Head, 

 and showed no disposition to stop it might be a striped bass.' 

 Finally, when it pulled up like a young calf and wrapped 

 the line around a pile, tied it up and broke it off, we never 

 knew what it was but supposed it was a sheepshead. 



And so we filled our creel nearly every day; sometimes it 

 took us two hours, sometimes half a day. Sooner or later 

 our luck always came, yet we caught no more than our fam- 

 ilies could eat. Our bait was pretty uniformly hard crabs. 

 Mussels were not found anywhere near Seaside Park. Clams 

 could not be found. A few minnows were used, and the 

 sea bass and striped bass took them ; but our main depend- 

 ence lay in crabs. And just here let me put in a word of 

 advice to any one intending to do fall fishing. Get a live- 

 box for crabs, and stock it well when crabs are plenty, for 

 on cool mornings they are always scarce, and may disappear 

 entirely at any time. Several times we were told that the 

 fishing was over now, for wc could find no more crabs for 

 bait; but we did, though with trouble sometimes. For a 

 hook Jet me commend the Chestertown. It is the best thing 

 known to keep a soft bait near to the point, and to hook the 

 fish that bites. 



We probably should have done better with striped bass, 

 but the water was so constantly rough that we could not 

 conveniently explore the best grounds in our small boat. 

 The thing which promised best in appearance and turned 

 out least in fact was squidding for bluefish from the beach. 

 The fish came on shore only a few times, and then stayed 

 but a little while. To a novice the throwing of the squid 

 was a tiresome operation, and was very hard ou the fingers. 

 When one stopped to rest or to change location, then the fish 

 began to bite. Even when they were evidently within range 

 of our lines they preferred menhaden and weakfish to pewter 

 squids. Once the great flsh, six to eight pounders, fairly 

 wallowed in the undertow, but none would hook themselves, 

 though we wore away our finger ends with the sandy line. 

 If we had had a spear or gig, or even a garden rake or a 

 pitchfork, we could have dragged them out, they came so 

 far up on the sand. The writer then and there resolved to 

 cast the squid no more. Before ho goes again he Vv'ill learn 

 to make long casts, and will either throw a weightier spoon 

 or a genuine bait of fish. To play a six-pound bluefish 

 through the surf and then land him amid the breakers would 

 be about as fine sport as often falls to the angler's lot in our 

 latitude. Prnn. 



