388 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May i8, 1901. 
Between the hours of 7 and 9 I caught ninety-two bull- 
heads that averaged a half-pound each when they were 
dressed. We have a crate in which we keep the fish 
alive, and as we want them we dress them and use them. 
It is a notable thing about this lake we never make two 
catches in the same place during the same season. So 
the next time we wanted bullheads I anchored my bottle 
in a<.^fferent place, and everywhere I anchored the bot- 
tle I nad similar success. 
Up to last summer perch had been a very certain 
quantity, but owing to the dryness of the season they 
were not inclined to take any dead bait, such as worms; 
so we took the boats and scoured the shore for minnows. 
We finally found a school, but thej- were very shy, but 
FLYING PELICANS AT TAMPICO. 
> 
by feeding them wc gradually got them in near enough 
shore to anchor our boats^ We anchored the boats about 
10 feet apart and dropped over a big net- At first we had 
difficulty in getting any over the net, but we noticed that 
when we pulled up the net they would swarm over the 
place where the net had been, so we dropped over the 
big net, letting it down pretty deep ; then we dropped over 
a smaller one, and as soon as a minnow was over it we 
pulled up. As before, the minnows swarmed over the 
place where the net had been, and then we pulled up the 
big net, and had all Ave could use for a month. Just al 
sunset I took a light fly-rod and put on an easy playing 
reel, and picli;ing out some of the smaller minnows went 
out and anchored my boat in a little nook where the 
water was very deep. Using a small hook, I baited with 
a lively minnow and cast aboitt thp length of the rod 
away from the boat, having on a sinker just heavy 
enough to draw the line under the water. Letting it 
sink down about 3 feet, I watched the minnow work 
back and forth. I could see him plainly because the 
water is so clear. After a while the perch began to 
come around, but they were pretty shy. Finally one 
fcii 
LEAPING TARPON. 
made a grab and started off, and I struck, but no perch ! 
I only lost my bait. The next time I tried a different 
policy. I gave him plenty of slack line and waited fully 
thirty seconds before I struck. This time I had him, 
and with the light fly-rod it was good sport. I caught 
just an even dozen in the next two hours, and it took 
from five to ten minutes to land each one. I was not 
aware a perch was such a gamy fish, and hereafter I 
shall not fish any other way for them. 
When the lake is high the pickerel rise freely to troll- 
ing or skipping, but when it is low they will not rise at 
all. I broke the record for low water in the lake last 
summer, but T did not get a rise to all the trolling and 
skipping I did, but resorted to a novel method that I 
never heard of before. I got the idea from the worms in 
the bottle. I made five boxes out of fine wire netting, 
one side only being of wood. Putting about thirty or 
forty minnows in each, I towed them to the best pickerel 
ground in the lake and anchored them in a radius of 
about 25 feet and about 5 feet under the surface of the 
lake. After they had been there a day or two, I took 
a rod and some good lively .minnows and anchored di- 
rectly in the center of the boxes. I kept casting con- 
tiually on all sides of the boat, putting on a fresh rninnow 
now and then. In about half an hour I was rewarded 
with a ferocious grab, and how the reel did hum! In 
just twenty-two minutes I landed a pickerel in the boat 
'\lfmt tipped the scales nt ^ poun-di ^n^ i ounce, I m^i^ 
many early morning visits to that place and always suc- 
ceeded in landing one or two good-sized pickerel. The 
first one was the largest, but the smallest one ah but 
tipped the scales at 2 pounds, I caught a sum total of 
eleven pickerel about those boxes. We opened them 
on the back and stuffed them, then sewed them up again 
and baked them. Talk about your fine meals! why, noth- 
ing ever touched one of those baked pickerel eaten under 
the shade of that spreading maple. I locked those boxes 
up in our cabin, and no one to this day knows how I 
caught those fish; but I like to see other people enjoy 
a mite of sport as well as myself. 
Tarpon at Tampico. 
Kansas City, 'Mo., April 24. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I am disappointed by the failure of my first 
paper on tarpon fishing to evoke a discussion and supple- 
mentary papers or letters. Surely there are many of your 
readers who are tarpon fishermen, and who can tell the 
rest of us about "where to go," Their neglecting to do 
so is probably due to reluctance to take the trouble of 
writing, for no one need fear the giving away of some of 
his private haunts, as might be the case were brook trout 
or bass fishing the topic under consideration. The supply 
of tarpon and other game fishes that are found therewith 
is absolutelj' inexhaustible, because rod and line cannot 
niake any impression on the countless thousands of such 
fishes. Again, one's pleasure on a tarpon fishing trip is 
increased materially by the presence of a number of jolly 
good fellows sharing the same sport during the day and 
meeting in the evening to repair tackle, compare experi- 
ences, tell stories, etc. 
This feature of the sport is one of the principal charnis 
of the town of Tarpon at Aransas Pass, where, under the 
shelter of the Tarpon Inn, that is kept by the genial Frank 
Hetfield and his obliging wife, sportsmen from all over 
the United States, ■ and even occasionally from foreign 
countries, meet upon an absolutely equal footing on all 
else than piscatorial skill. The total lack of style that 
governs at the Tarpon Inn appeals to the heart of every 
true fisherman. The best of the fishing season is gen- 
erally the months of May and June, but any time during 
the four succeeding months is likely to afford good sport. 
Since sending you my last communication, I have had 
another oUting at Tampico. this time with my friend, Mr. 
Marshall Miller, of Mexico City. The weather was not 
as favorable as on my two previous visits, nevertheless we 
did fairly well, taking 112 game fish in eleven days, my 
friend's share being ir tarpon, 26 jackfish, i pike, i pargo 
niulato and i chopa in ten days; and mine, 15 tarpon, 44 
jackfish, 2 pargds and i gar in twelve days. 
The total weight of the catch was in the neighborliood 
of 2,800 pounds, and there was not a single day that either 
of us failed to catch something. 
The longest tarpon was one of mine, measuring 6 feet 4 
inches, but Mr. Miller caught a 6-footer that weighed 
more. 
' Our best day gave us six tarpon and twenty-three jack- 
fish, all but three being caught in the forenoon, and the 
weight of the morning's catch reaching fully 1,000 pounds. 
I am sending you a few photographs of some of our 
fish, so that you can reproduce them in your paper, if you 
30 desire. 
The large print shows a three hours' catch by Mr. Mil- 
ler and myself, consisting of three tarpon and six -jack- 
fish. In it Mr. Miller is standing on the right and yours 
truly on the left. 
Among the prints you will notice three leaping tarpon 
and one of flying pelicans. These were taken with an 
apparatus that I evolved, and which was manufactured 
by my friend. Dr. Howe, of Mexico City — the gentleman 
who has caught the largest tarpon up to date. We call 
the apparatus a "gun-camera," for it consists of an ordi- . 
nary camera mounted beneath a little wooden gun. =0 
that the axes of both gun and camera are parallel and 
hfive a triggf.r that operates the shutter. 
Had either of us known anything about photography, or 
had the weather been m.ore favorable, we would have had 
many more views of leaping tarpon. Dr. Howe, who 
went to Tampico after I left there, has taken a number of 
snap shots, and has promised to send me prints of same. 
If they be eood ones, and if you care to publish any 
ni.orc, I won'd be pleased to send them to you. 
Mr. Farley, the taxidermist, of Taroon. Tex. spent 
part of February and all of March at Tampico to study 
the fishing grounds and mount some tarpon. He is so 
p'eased with his experience there that he is going back 
about Nov. 15 to remain until next April. 
Some of the gentlemen who were at Tampico last .sea- 
son are going to form in Mexico City a tarpon club, con- 
sequently any sportsman who goes to Tampico next win- 
ter will he liable to find good company there. 
Now in respect to my second paper on tarpon fishing 
— viz., "Tackle and Outfit" — I would state that, as I am 
verjr busy this year on professional work, I may be pre- 
vented for some little time from writing it. Moreover, be- 
fore doing so, I would prefer to wait a little in order to 
hear from other sportsmen something more concerning 
"Where to go." J. A. L. Waddell. ' 
San Ffancisco Fly-Casting Clot. 
Medal contests, series igoi, Sunday, contest No. 4, held 
at Stow Lake, May 5. Wind, light; weather, pleasant: 
Event 
Event 
Event 
N0.I, 
No. 2 
No. 4, 
Distance, Accuracy, 
Event No. 8,- 
Lure 
Feet 
Per cent. 
Acc % 
Del. % 
Net^ 
Casting^ 
Brooks . . 
.. 88 
88.8 
82.8 
69.4 
76 
Btothertoii 
.... 110 
93.8 
90.8 
79.2 
84.11 
Dinkelspie] 
.... 84 
82 
86 
69.2 
77.7 
Everett ... 
116 
93.4 
91.4 
81.8 
86.6 
Poulks 
90 
89.4 
85 
74.2 
79.7 
. , ,119 
88.4 
91 
79.4 
85,1 
115 
85.4 
TIaiglit . . . 
80 
88.8 
■ 92!4 
69^2 
86!9 
Heller .... 
95 
88 
80.8 
79.2 
79.11 
Huyck . . . . 
96 
90 
88 
67.6 
77.9 
B Kenniff 
, , , . 93 
94.4 
87 
75.10 
81.5 
Tt Kenniff 
83 
88.4 
91 
67.6 
79.. 3 
I Kieruff 
, , , , 66 
74.8 
79 
73.4 
76.2 
T Kieruff 
, , 73 
89 
75 
74.2- 
74.7 
Mansfield 
95.4 
85 
81.8 
83.4 
Mocker . , 
.. 90 
75.4 
91.8 
78.4 
85 
MuDer 
98 
. 94 
88.8 
82.6 
85.T 
88 
94 
83.4- 
SS.S 
t ' • ■ 
92;8 
94 
82.6 
88.3 
« f • » 
VV. 
MM 
• »t»» 
New England Fishing. 
Boston, May 13. — The fishing season has begun in good 
shape at the Rangeley waters. The ice "sprung a march" 
on the sportsmen^ as well as hotel and camp keepers, by 
going out at least a week earlier than expected. But the 
telegraph gave the word and the early fishermen are on 
the grounds. At the Upper Dam there are already more 
than a dozen of the lovers of the rod and reel, E. E. 
Suffern, of New York, is there, and his fishing friend, 
John Watkins, is coming in a day or two. B. G. Acker- 
man, who has fished with them for so many years, and 
has a wonderful record of trout, is kept at home by 
serious illness. Mr. Suffern took a small salmon on 
LEAPING TARPON. 
Tuesday and a trout of 7 pounds. He is almost alwa3rs 
high line. Freeland Howe, another early and veteran 
fisherman at those waters, has taken several good trout 
and salmon. He caught one or two on the fly at Mill 
Brook Wednesday. Mr. W. P. Clark, who has fished at 
the Upper Dam for so many seasons, caught four trout 
on the fly at Mill Brook the 'other day, the united weight 
of which was 10 pounds. This is remarkably early for fly- 
fishing. Mr. Clark says that the Parmacheuee-belle did 
the busines,s, and Mr. Howe says that he used a Gray 
fly, something like the silver-doctor, Other fishermen 
have taken trout on the fly at that point, among them Mr. 
W. D. Brackett, who has fished with Mr. Clark for so 
jnany years. The fi.shermen have had a hard time getting 
to the Middle Dam. Capt. Ed. Coburn's steamer "spread 
the ways," when sliding her into'^-the water .after the ice 
went out, and it has taken a long time to get her into the 
water, hence that point has had to be reached by row- 
boats, or else by one of the private steamers on the lake 
above. But some good catches of trout have been made 
by those who have been willing to take a nine-miles' row 
in an open boat from the Upper Dam. Fishermen at the 
Upper Dam, Middle Dam and Rapid River below will 
want to know about the sluicing of the logs this spring, 
since fishing in some of the pools is impossible when the 
logs are running. In other pools the sportsmen are claim- 
ing that the fishing is better when the water is on and 
the logs ruiming. The drivers work every minute of day- 
light, imless during meals and when waiting for booms or 
rigging. Supt. John A. Larey tells me that there were 
22,000,000 feet of logs to go through the sluices in the 
first place, and that he has got about 3,000,000 feet through 
at the Upper Dam. It will take sixteen to eighteen days 
longer to get the logs all through. Then the pools will 
be unobstructed. 
Fishing at Indian Rock, the home of the old Oquossoc 
Angling Association, is very much obstructed by the big 
drive of logs, all of which have to pass out of the narrow 
Kennebago and be boomed at that point. At Haines' Land- 
ing the fishing is already good, and .sportsmen are assem- 
bling in considerable numbers. Salmon are being taken. 
At Mountain View the fishing season was opened by Mrs. 
Sawyer, of Boston, who caught a trout of 4 pounds 
weight off th9 wh^fl e^rly (his yit^k. At Billy 
