416 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 2, 1887. 



THE TOURNAMENT, 



THE fifth annual tournament of the National Rod and 

 Reel Association took place on the Harlem Mere, 

 Central Park, New York city, on Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day last. It was by far the most ncerestingr and import- 

 ant meeting that has yet been held, and shows that the 

 interest in these contests has been gradually growing since 

 the inauguration of them by Forest and Stream m 1882. 

 The records were broken so badly that there seems little 

 chance to break them in future. The great cast by Hiram 

 W. Hawes of 102ft. with a single-handed fly-rod seems 

 almost incredible, but it is now placed on record as ex- 

 ceeding by lift, any cast heretofore made in public in 

 this Or any other country. The cast was made in what is 

 called the' "switch" style in America, but in England is 

 known as the Wye cast, a style introduced by Harry 

 Prichard, and one that was strongly opposed in the 

 first tournament by those who were accustomed to put 

 their flies as far behind them as in front; but our anglers 

 were quick to see the merits of a cast which could be 

 made with a wall of rocks or brush behind them, and it 

 soon became popular, and now many of them consider it 

 an indispensable mode of getting out a fly under certain 

 circumstances. 



As far as weather was concerned we did not see that 

 May proved to be better than October, for the wind was 

 strong and so variable that a contestant who used his full 

 allowance of fifteen minutes might have the wind in all 

 quarters during the time allotted him. It is to be noted 

 that but one man in the first class used all his time, and 

 one of them cast only four minutes when he said, "That's 

 the best I can do." 



There was less grumbling at the decisions of the judges 

 by "mug-hunters," who enter for what they can win than 

 on any former occasion, and this shows that the contest- 

 ants in the amateur classes are men of more gentlemanly 

 instincts and that the Association is getting rid of the 

 small element which would put its contests on a level 

 with the base-ball matches, where winning in any event 

 is the central idea. Few men did more to bring about 

 this result than the late Ira Wood, who used to take off 

 his coat and help his opponents not only with his counsel 

 but with assistance to untangle lines and to replace 

 flies, an example we are glad to see has not been lost. 



FIRST DAY. 



The first class called was the amateur single-handed 

 fly-casting, which was done from a platform one foot 

 above the water, and along a line with marked buoys at 

 every 5ft. Judges. Francis Endicott, Dr. A. Ferber; 

 referee, Rev. H. L. Ziegenfuss. The following is the 

 score: 



Length "Weight Dis- Dell- Accur- Total 

 of Rod. of Rod. tance. cacy. acy. Points. 

 Ft. In. Oz. Ft. 



G. Poev 10 11 8J4 77 15 17 109 



T.B.Stewart 11 06 9 73 14 20 107 



Dr. «. Trowbridge.. 11 04^ 9M 81 12 13 106 



C. G. Levi son 11 06 10 77 11 17 105 



Gravdon Johnston.. 11 0% 10^ 68 8 12 88 



Fred Mather 11 06 10 57 13 10 80 



J.L.Cornell 11 01J4 10 65 6 6 77 



"Switch" Fly-casting. — This was with single-handed 

 rods, distance only to . count, no cast to be counted in 

 which the fly went behind the caster, and here Mr. Hawes 

 outdid himself and all previous records. The judges Avere 

 John A. Roosevelt. Hon. Henry P. McGown; referee, 

 James L. Vallotton. 



Length Weight Distance 

 of Rod. of Rod. Cast. 

 Ft. In. Oz. Feet. 



H. W. Hawes 11 00 10 102 



Harrv Prichard 10 11 BU 85 



Ed Egsert 11 6 10^ 72 



C. G.Levison 11 M 10 70 



Salmon Casting. — Here again the record was broken by 

 Reuben C. Leonard, who beat the cast of 131ft. made by 

 Hawes in 1884 by 1ft. The judges were Dr. A. Ferber, 

 James L. Vallotton; referee, Wm. Dunning. The follow- 

 ing is the score: 



Length Weight Distance 

 of Rod. of Rod. Cast. 

 Ft.In. Oz. Feet. 



R. C. Leonard .18 00 37 132 



H. W. Hawes 18 00 37 128 



EdEggert 17 6 37 113 



H. Prichard 17 6 37 108 



T. B. Mills 18 00 37 107 



Minnow Casting for Black Bass.— This contest was made 

 with half -ounce sinkers on the turf of the Polo Grounds, 

 and in this trial all previous records were beaten. The 

 judges were W. C. Harris, Hon. H. P. McGown; 

 referee, W. E. Hendrix. Mr. Dresel beat his own record 

 of 1 885, which was the best up to this time. The score 

 was: 



Length Weight Score of Casts in Feet, 

 of Rod. of Rod. 



Length Weight Dis- 

 of Rod. of Rod. tance. 



C. G. Levison 



Dr. G. Trowbridge... 11 



R. B. Lawrence 10 



Graydon Johnson... .11 



T. B. Stewart 11 



J. L. Cornell 1L 



Ft. In. 

 ..11 



Oz. 

 10 



m 



9 



10 



Ft. 



83 

 89 



76 



•m 



Deli- Accu- 

 cacy. racy. ! 



20 



23 



126 



25 



14 



124 



18 



25 



m% 



12 



13 



101 



12 



12 





7 



15 



91 



Ft. In. Oz. 1st, 2d. 3d. 4th. 5th. Feet. 



A. J. Dresel 8 6 9 115 133 69 110 128 111 



Sidfley Frey 8 6 9^ 118 125 92 77 77 99 2-5 



G. Poey 8 3 8 88 84 104 32 94 80 2-5 



Ed. Eggert 8 6 7 54 82 44 77 80 67 3-5 



J. L, Cornell 8 5J£ 7 3 33 47 25 47 32 



Dresel— Accuracy, 25; style, 23; total, 159. Frey— Accuracy, 23; 

 style, 20; total, 142 2-5. Poey— Accuracy, 15; stylo, 20; total, 115 2-5. 

 Eggert— Accuracv, 12; style, 15; total, 94 3-5. Cornell— Accuracy, 

 5: style, 0; total, 32. 



Expert Single-handed Fly-casting. —Here Reuben Leonard 

 exceeded all the records of previous years, and, in fact, 

 everything but the switch cast of Hawes this year, with 

 a wonderful cast of 97ft. with a retrieved line. The cast- 

 ing throughout was remarkaule. The gentleman who 

 entered under the name of John Gray was as suspiciously 

 like a contestant in the first contest as his name was, and 

 many thought him to be the same elegant wielder of the 

 rod. The judges were T. B. Stewart, C. Van Brunt; 

 referee, Gen. R. C. Ward. In this class distance alone 

 counted. The score stood: 



Length 

 of Rod. 

 Ft. In. 



R. C. Leonard 11 6 



T. B. Mills 11 00 



H. W. Hawes 11 00 



Ed. Eggert U 6 



John Gray 11 2M 



Weight Distance 



of Rod. Cast. 



Oz. Ft. 



12 97 



10 92 



10 90 



vm 76 



10j| 70 



Salmon Casting. — Mr. Harry Prichard, whose single- 

 handed casts had never been equaled until now, entered 

 and won in this class. He announced it as " the old man's 

 last cast in public, but he's goin' to keep on fishin' just 

 the same," and his friends were pleased to see the veteran 

 in such good form. The judges were James Ramsbot- 

 tom, Wm. Dunning ; referee, T. B. Stewart. 



Length Weight Dis- Deli- Accu- 



of Rod. of Rod. tance. cacy. racy. Score. 



Ft. In. Oz. Ft. 



H. Prichard... 15 6 26^ 113J^ 14 5 132^ 



T.B.Mills 15 6 26^ 105 8 3 116 



C. G.Levison 15 6 26)4 104 7 1 112 



J. L. Cornell 15 6 26J£ 92 7 1 100 



R. N. Cranford 15 6 26>& 75 2 77 



Light Rod Contest. — This class was introduced in 1882, 

 but has not had a place on the list since. Then Hawes 

 won in two classes, casting with a 4|oz. rod 82 and 78ft. 

 respectively. To-day Reuben Leonard beat the best cast 

 by 6ft. , using a rod of 4f oz. Under the rules the rods 

 were not to exceed 5oz. in weight nor ll^ft. in length, 

 and distance only was to count. The wind blew hard 

 from the west across the casts, which were made to the 

 north, and at times it rained heavily. The judges 

 were W. H. Wood, Dr. A. Ferber; referee, William J. 

 Cassard. 



Length 

 of Rod. 

 Feet. 



R. C. Leonard 10 



H. W. Hawes 10 



Thomas B. Mills 10 



C. A. Bryan 10 



Heavy Bass Casting. — This was done on the Polo Grounds 

 and again the records were broken, Mr, W. H. Wood, the 

 celebrated tarpon killer, beating his average in 1885 by- 

 six feet. Judges, Hon. H. R. McGown, J. S. Van Cleef : 

 referee, Col. Frank S. Pinckney. 



Length Score of Casts in Feet. 



of Rods, i 1 . Average. 



Ft. In. 1st. 2d. 3d. 4th. 5th. Feet, 



W.H.Wood 9 00 234.6 240.4 241.7 260.1 255.9 246.5-10 



T. A. Buell 9 00 225.6 2^7.1 213.1 208.9 129.8 200.7-10 



J. A. Roosevelt... 7 06 181.7 198.5 203.8 198.2 203.4 197.1-10 



A. J. Dresel 8 Wk 163.6 164 176.7 178.7 175.3 171.6-10 



Svdnev Fry 8 2^6 164.9 170.2 159.5 159.1 141.3 159 



EdEggert 9 00 145.1 147 153.0 137.8 107 150.1-10 



G.Poey 7 11 161.4 138.7 94.4 132 98.8 125 



Fly-Casting for Black Bass. — This was a new class and 

 was open to amateurs under Rule 2, single-handed rods 

 not to exceed ll£ft. in length. Only one fly required, 

 this to be furnished by the committee and to be tied on a 

 No, 2 Sproat hook. Distance only to count. It was 

 similar in all respects, save the size of the fly, to trout 

 casting, and it did not awaken much interest. The judges 

 were G. M. Skinner, Francis Endicott; referee, Wm. 

 Dunning. The score stood: 



Length Weight 

 of Rod. of Rod. 

 Ft. In. Oz. 



C. G. Levison 11 1^ 10 



Dr. S. Trowbridge 11 00 10 



Gra vdon Johnson 11 %\i WA 



A. J*. Dresel 11 04 10M 



G. Poey 10 00 9 



EdEggert 10 00 9 



T. B. Stewart 11 6 9 



S. Fry U 4 10M 



J.C.Cornell 11 1% 10 



Distance 

 Cast. 

 Ft. In. 

 80 00 

 79 00 

 75 6 

 74 CO 

 71 00 

 71 00 

 70 06 

 62 00 

 58 00 



SECOND DAY. 



The first class for amateurs in single-handed fly-casting 

 was called shortly after 10 A. M., and several gentlemen 

 who had never taken a first prize entered their names. 

 The judges were R. C. Leonard, H. W. Hawes ; referee, 

 James Rice. The following is the result: 



YOUGHIOGHENY AND TRIBUTARIES. 



IN looking over an old file of the Forest and Stream 

 of 1885, 1 find a communication from "Amateur" 

 relative to the fish in the Youghiogheny River, in which 

 he mentions the advent of black bass and the exit of other 

 fish, i. e., sunfish, chubs, catfish, suckers, etc. This is 

 partially true, as above the falls at Ohio Pyle it is a very 

 rare occurrence that a catfish or sucker is caught, although 

 the fish he terms sunfish are really the rock bass, and they 

 are quite frequently met with. As to the chubs, their 

 name is legion. Frequently when the bass have refused 

 to bite I have turned over a few stones and procured 

 some dobsons, then standing in one place I have caught 

 forty or fifty. These, however, are the salmon trout he 

 speaks of. It appears that these fish were put into the 

 north fork of the river near the town of Ursina by a party 

 of gentlemen who had procured them for salmon trout, 

 and while they failed in stocking the river with fish they 

 had expected to, they most effectually stocked it with 

 food for the bass. I coincide with "Amateur" when he 

 says that as an ediable fish it is worthless. They have a 

 peculiar trait that I do not understand and can in no 

 manner account for it. They take a fly very readily, 

 something that in my experience I never knew any other 

 chub to do. I was fishing in the North Fork in June last, 

 about the time that the large trout leave for the smaller 

 and cooler streams. At my first cast a good sized fish 

 arose, but I failed to hook him. At the next attempt I 

 succeeded in capturing him. When "Amateur" says 

 there is no game in them he is mistaken, for they fight 

 as stubbornly as any fish I have ever caught. I was con- 

 fident that I had hooked a trout, but what was my disgust 

 upon landing him to find a "something 7 ' weighing about 

 a pound, that was soft and worthless within an hour after 

 I had caught it. They bit readily and fought weli. and 

 it was some sport to catch them. I attempted to take 

 this lot home, but was compelled to throw them away 

 before I got to the railroad station. I have caught a 

 number of them since but always retxu-ned them to their 

 native element. 



We have a fish and game protection association here, 

 and have done much in the way of stocking the "Yough" 

 and its tributaries, having planted about 75,000 brook 

 trout and about 15,000 California trout m ten streams in 

 Fayette and Somerset counties. We did not have much 

 faith in the rainbow trout, but have been agreeably dis- 

 appointed, for within a year after planting I caught sev- 

 eral that ran from 8 to 9in. long, and a friend of mine 

 caught one about lOin. long; and I also heard of a num- 

 ber of others being caught, all being about the same size. 

 This would indicate a very rapid growth. Most of our 

 mountain streams are well adapted to brook trout. We 

 have one stream in particular, fed by two small 

 streams, which run through a swamp where the under- 

 brush is so thick that it is impossible to fish it. The fish 

 breed in this natural retreat and then go down into the 



larger stream. The supply seems to be inexhaustible. I 

 know no stream that is fished as much as this, although 

 the fish are small. The main stream is a series of ripples 

 and pools well protected by rocks and trees. It is about 

 five miles long; there is not a clearing on the whole 

 length of it, and owing to its roughness and poor craality 

 of the timber it is not likely to be bothered with much for 

 years to come. All the streams that we have put trout in 

 are natural trout streams, and our attempts at restocking 

 seem to be a decided success. 



There is one good-sized run in the mountains, at the 

 head of which is an immense pond of spring water cov- 

 ering an acre or more and very deep, where they tell me 

 leviathan trout lurk, and no man can entice them. It is 

 a Mecca to which I have longed to make a pilgrimage, 

 but as yet I have failed to rea h it. When the stream 

 leaves the spring it flows under the rocks entirely out of 

 sight for half a mile, although in places you can hear it 

 running beneath. It derives its name from this pecu- 

 liarity and is called Lost Cow Run. It is almost impos- 

 sible to find where it enters the other stream. I have 

 fully made up my mind to explore it this summer, and if 

 I succeed in getting there will let you know more about 

 it, I have fished the lower part of the stream for the last 

 four years on Fourth of July, with a net result of about 

 300 fish, all being good-sized. 



The greatest obstacle in restoring the "Yough" River is 

 the work of the dynamite fiend. Almost every pool from 

 Connellsville to Rockwood has been shot. It has been at 

 the cost of very serious results to the perpetrators. I 

 can now recall three instances, one in which the party 

 had his arm blown off, another his eyes blown out and 

 was disfigured for life, and the terrible accident at 

 Brooks Tunnel, which occurred on a Sunday, last year, 

 was caused by the explosion of dynamite cartridges which 

 some men were preparing in the magazine at the mouth 

 of the tunnel for the purpose of dynamiting Shoo-fly 

 Hole, a favorite bass resort near by. Six or seven 

 men lost then- lives in this accident. You would natu- 

 rally think that such lessons as these would be heeded, 

 but stUl this dynamiting goes on. Yough. 



CONNELLSVILLE, PeUD. 



NEW ENGLAND WATERS. 



THE salmon fishing at Bangor is good. Some large 

 fish have been taken. The showing of a 211b. fish in 

 Dame, Stoddard & Kendall's fishing tackle window has 

 set all Boston talking salmon, and the interest centers 

 around Bangor. The season has been good there since 

 the late opening, and those high up in salmon lore say 

 that it is going to hold out well. Mr. Fred Ayre is on 

 record as believing that later there is to be a good run of 

 smaller fish and everybody can take them. Indeed, they 

 are everybody's fish in the fullest sense of the term. That 

 salmon pool at Bangor is everybody's pool. Were it only 

 in the Queen's Dominion now — just over the line in 

 Canada — it would rent for thousands of dollars. A cer- 

 tain Englishman is said to have been asking the question 

 if that pool cannot be leased. He has suggested that he 

 would give §30,000 or even $40,000 for it. But not so in 

 the State of Maine. You can't John Bull salmon pools 

 nor trout streams there. Though the breadth of liver at 

 Bangor, below the dam, is proving to be the finest 

 salmon pool in the world— thanks to the enterprise of the 

 State commissioners— it is free to everybody who will fish 

 within the bounds of the laws of Maine. 



It must be rare sport to witness the salmon angling of 

 everybody. The river driver, the beachcomber, who owns 

 a boat, with his whole outfit of tackle not worth a dollar, 

 is just as good a man as the aristocrat with $60 worth of 

 flies alone, as carried there by one man last week. The 

 river is broad enough for everybody to get a chance. The 

 old Penobscot runs feather white for more than half a 

 mile below the dam, when the tide turns, and it is then 

 that the fun begins. The object is to have a good boat- 

 man, who by lusty strokes of the oar can set the craft up 

 into the rapids as far as possible. Then the fly is cast 

 down stream into the seething water, often without much 

 skill. It is frequently done with a mere fish pole; but a 

 reel or some sort of loose ling is necessary. The salmon 

 strikes the fly — not always a Jock Scott, worth $6 the 

 dozen, for the Irish boy, the beachcomber from Ban- 

 gor, must put up with something less costly. But, all 

 the same, the fish is hooked. Give him loose line, 

 for he darts down stream like lightning. Hurrah! 

 Up anchor and down after him! He can never be 

 brought to gaff in that rushing, boiling water. Every- 

 body is watching. There is a crowd on the shore. The 

 boat dashes down river after a hard fight, where the 

 salmon is landed on the more level beach a mile below. 

 Landed? Not all of them. It is said that, counting in all 

 the ungainly tackle used, not one-quarter of the sal m on 

 hooked are landed. They break away. But not so from 

 a few of the real salmon anghrs there. Not all prove to 

 be salmon that are hooked. More than one piece of slab 

 or driftwood has been followed down river this spring, 

 with all the excitement of a real live fish. Not all catch 

 a salmon who go to Bangor. Two-thirds come home 

 empty-handed. Our good friend Henry, of Appleton & 

 Litchfield, has been there. Did he have a nice outfit? 

 He is in the tackle business and is after every improve- 

 ment. Did he hook a salmon? He did. "Did you land 

 him, Mr. Litchfield?" His head is down and he is tend- 

 ing to the wants of a customer just the length of a fish 

 rod further down the counter. Don't press the answer. 



The fishing at the Androscoggin lakes is improving. 

 This will doubtless be the best week of the season. The 

 reports of 71b. and 81b. trout begin to come in. Mr. Tuttle, 

 of Lake Point Cottage, is on record with one more of 81bs. 

 There is one curious feature of the season, if it be true, 

 and the authority is good. There is said to be good fly- 

 fishing at Moosehead Lake. Seventy trout were taken 

 witli the fly in one day last week off the grounds near the 

 mouth of the river. Harry Mason and W. D. Weld, of 

 Boston, are reported to have been among the lucky sports- 

 men. This is two weeks early for fly-fishing. 



W. T. RockweD, Will Whitcomb and Harry Moore are 

 at Rangeley: C. P. Stebbins, Mr. Shuttuck, Mr. Smart 

 and Mr. Stevens, of the Vine Vale Camp, are on their 

 fishing grounds. What is known as the Faxon party of 

 twelve were to start Saturday for the Upper Dam. Lieut. 

 F. R. Mudge and wife, Geo. T. Freeman, Mrs. Freeman 

 and Miss Wyman, are this week the guests of Mr. and 

 Mrs. W. K. Mood at Camp Stewart. So the jolly parties 

 go. Well, what a blessing this trouting is, to be sure. 



Special. 



