March 15, 1903. J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
218 
iide down, there is a clear space under the center of 
he largest size of about }4 inch, gradually diminishing 
to the ends. The peculiar manner in which the single 
hook is attached to the spoon reflects credit upon the 
inventor. A half ring projects from the convex side, 
riveted on the inner side. To this is attached a soldered 
heavy wire loop shaped like a figure 8, passing through 
the ring of a No. 4-0, 5-0 and 6-0 Pennell bronzed hook, 
the larger sized hook, of course, being attached to the 
largest spoon. The riveted ring is fastened to the spoon 
about one-third below the center, thus leaving plenty of 
space between the bottom of the spoon and the point of 
the hook. The spoons are made of German silver. 
Nearly every angler has original ideas about one or 
more features of his fishing outfit, and is eternally ex- 
ploiting them to his friends. That is why they call us 
"cranks." One fly-fisherman cuts off the tail of a royal- 
coachman; another snips the ends of the wings on a 
Hack-gnat, thinking them too long. A famous angler 
on the Truckee River cuts off the entire wing of his 
favorite, Williams-cowdung. Why don't he buy hackles 
to fish with? Because he's a crank 1 
Now, we have our cranks among the striped bass an- 
glers. One has his spoon silver plated to remove the 
yellow tinge of the German silver. Another must have 
his spoon also silver plated and then treated on a scratch 
wheel to remove the polish ; while still another has 
spoon, swivels and hook plated alike. 
In trolling with large spoons of the spinner type, and 
using a twisted linen line, the principal difficulty to over- 
come is the unraveling of the strands. Even with the use 
fff two or more swivels this will often occur, greatly 
weakening the line. Unlike the spinner, the new bass 
spoon does not revolve if the boat is rowed at a moderate 
speed, say one and a half miles an hour. It wabbles from 
side to side, and also has an eccentric motion hard to 
describe, but which may he likened to the action of a 
small fish in search of its food. 
Another lure recently perfected and named after its 
inventor is known as the Breidenstein spoon. It is shaped 
like the Wilson spoon, but each half is dished on the 
opposite side, resembling somewhat the Opposite blades 
of a propeller. This lure was perfected too late last 
season to be well known, but the few anglers who tried 
it pronounce it a decided success. Fish were caught on 
it wherever it was used, and when the season was sup- 
posed to be practically at an end. This spoon is mounted 
with two loose hooks attached to the end of the spoon. 
Few anglers here use a gut leader, a piece of the Cutty- 
hunk fishing line from 4 to 6 feet long being considered 
better. The loop at one end is fastened to the swivel on 
the spoon. At the other end two large barrel swivels are 
attached, connected with either a brazed or split ring. 
From this ring is suspended a small sinker, weighing from 
one-quarter to one ounce, depending on the depth of 
the water one is fishing in. This also prevents any pos- 
sibility of the line unraveling, by compelling the leader to 
turn with the spoon and reducing the action on the top 
swivel and line to a minimum. 
The line used is. a Cuttyhunk, varying in size from 
twelve to eighteen thread; the reel, a multiplier, the 
costlier the better; the rod from seven to nine feet long, 
and made of material to suit the fancy of the angler. 
Patent rod holders are used by a few, but most anglers 
while rowing sit on the butt of the rod, the tip project- 
ing over the side or stern of the boat, while one or two 
turns of the line are taken around the bars of the reel, 
which increases the drag and makes the fish hook him- 
self. The spoon is usually trolled about 150 feet from 
the boat. 
On a Saturday evening in September two anglers take 
the 6 o'clock ferry boat from San Francisco, where they 
are joined by many others of the same ilk. In half an 
hour they land at Tiburon, engage their boat for the 
morrow, have a quiet game of cards at the hotel, a chat 
on the subject dear to the hearts of fishermen, and then 
to an early bed. At 5 o'clock, next morning they are 
called, and, after a hurried breakfast, cross the one 
street of the town and are at the boatman's float. Here 
the rods are jointed, spoons attached to the line, and one 
angler takes the oars, while his companion busies him- 
self in paying out the lines, jointing the gaff and passes 
one rod to the oarsman, who promptly "sits on it." The 
other boats are seen going in different directions — some to 
Belvidere Point, others to Angel Island, while these two 
nnglers elect to go to El Campo. In five minutes they 
are in Raccoon Straits, keeping within a stone's throw 
of the main shore, while Angel Island, heavily wooded 
and dotted here and there with the buildings of Uncle 
Sam's soldiers, and a mile distant, defines the eastern 
side of the straits. The morning is bright and cool, the 
tide small, and the water very clear, while a light breeze 
ruffles the surface. Well they know that this is an ideal 
day for their sport, and they are too happy to expend 
many words. A caution from the man in the stern to 
keep out of that kelp-infested bay is given, and then 
Bridge Point is reached. Suddenly the rower drops the 
oars, which have been secured to the boat with a cord for 
such an emergency, and lifts his rod with a quick, strong 
sweep, for he has seen the tip quiver and bend, and 
knows that his tackle is strong, and that to set the hook 
well in the tough mouth of the bass at the end of 150 feet 
of free line, considerable force is necessary. His com- 
panion immediately reels in his line and takes the oars, 
keeping the boat headed most convenient to the angler. 
The spoon was ten or twelve feet below the surface when 
the fish struck, and his first run is on a parallel plane for 
fifty yards, when he comes to the surface and lashes the 
water into a foam in his endeavor to free himself from 
this unknown enemy. He then allows himself to be 
reeled close to the boat, but upon catching sight of this 
strange object the actual fight is on, for he sounds for the 
bottom and gets there, too, though the water is 100 feet 
deep at this spot. At this depth he runs first in one 
direction, then in another, and the man at the oars rows 
a few feet as the fish runs under the boat and threatens 
to foul the line on the keel. The strains on the fish 
finally weakens him and he is raised slowly, fighting to 
the last. He is gaffed, and a blow on the head frees him 
from any further misery. 
Pipes are now filled and lighted, after the fish has been 
weighed and found to tip the scales at 11 pounds. The 
boat is again moving, lines put out, and Yellow Bluff 
is sighted. As the eddies on the west side of the point 
are reached, two fish strike at the same instant. The 
oars are dropped, and now it is each man for himself. 
The lines cross each other several times, but do not foul, 
and both fish are saved. Back and forth, hugging the 
shore to avoid the full sweep of the tide, the boat moves 
in the eddies, and at noon is beached in a little bay, and 
the anglers go ashore to eat and rest. One more fish 
rewards their efforts, and at 6 P. M. they are again on the 
ferry boat, exchanging experiences with their friends. A 
good meal and a dreamless sleep repay them for their 
hard work, and the four fish, weighing about 40 pounds, 
are given to their friends, Jas. S. Turner. 
North American Association. 
Glens Falls, N. Y., March 10. — The objects of the 
North American Fish and Game Protective Association 
are: The harmonizing of the laws of the different Prov- 
inces of Canada and the contiguous States of the Amer- 
ican Union; the preservation, propagation and protection 
of fish, game and bird life, and the maintenance and im- 
provement of laws relating thereto, and mutual assistance 
in enforcing game and fish laws on the borders of the 
various States and Provinces; the preservation of for- 
ests; the promotion of fishculture; the introduction of 
new species and varieties of fish, game and useful birds, 
and the dissemination of information thereto. 
The Department of Biological Survey of the United 
States in a recent report states, in substance, that in a 
large degree we are to give credit to the North American 
Association for what has been done in the matter of 
harmonizing laws between the Provinces and "contiguous, 
States of the American Union. 
Following is to be found an order-in-council, which 
it is to be hoped forever settles spring netting in Lake 
Champlain and' other lakes bordering on Vermont in 
counties named in the order as printed : 
At the Government House at Ottawa, Saturday, the 8th day of 
February. 1902.— Present : His Excellency the Governor-General in 
Souncil. — Whereas, there has been reported a decrease in the 
supply of fish in the Eastern Townships, due to improvident fish- 
ing. The Governor-General in Council, in virtue of the provisions 
of Section 16 of the Fisheries Act, Chapter 95 of the Revised 
Statutes of Canada, is pleased to make and does hereby make the 
following Fishery Regulation for the Counties, in the Province of 
Quebec, hereinafter mentioned: 
"Fishing with nets of any kind in the lakes and tributary 
streams of Missisquoi. Shefford. Brome. Drummond, Richmond. 
Wolfe. Sherbrooke, Stanstead, Compton, Megantic, and Beauce, 
in the Province of Quebec, is prohibited. 
"And no night lines used in the above prohibited- districts to 
have more than 100 hooks on each." 
JotTN J. McGee. 
Clerk of the Privy Council. 
This, of course, is gratifying -to the members of this 
Association, especially those members from the Province 
of Quebec, Vermont and New York. Most of whom, for 
a long time, have been making effort to bring about this 
most necessary and desirable result. 
As one of the visiting delegation to Ottawa,- I wish 
with great pleasure to speak of our cordial reception by 
the Honorable Minister of Marine and Fisheries, Mr. 
James Sutherland, and his deputies, who, after giving 
careful attention to the request, and remarks of mem- 
bers of the delegation, submitted for our approval the 
identical order as passed in council. 
The Hon. Julius H. Seymour, Assemblyman from New 
York city, who represented the New York Fish Com- 
mission before the Commissioner of Marine and Fisheries 
at Ottawa upon his return, presented a bill in the Assem- 
bly stopping the use of seines at any time in New York 
waters of Lake Champlain. This bill has passed the 
Assembly and gone to the Senate. 
Secretary Chambers of the North American Associa- 
tion was right when in last week's issue he said : "Sure- 
ly this Association is entitled to the assistance^ and sup- 
port of every sportsman interested in the protection of the 
game and game fish of the eastern Provinces of British 
North America, and of the neighboring States.''^ 
Enrollment for membership in the Association from 
New York and other States and Provinces is now in 
order, and blank applications for membership may be had 
from the Secretary, Mr. E. T. D. Chambers, of Quebec, or 
C. H. Wilson, 
Vice-President for New York State. 
San Francisco Fly-Casting Club. 
Medal contests, series 1902, Sunday, contest No. 2, held 
at Stow Lake, March 2. Wind, southeast ; weather, 
showery and fair: 
Event 
Event 
Event 
No.l, 
No. 2, 
No. 4, 
Distance, Accuracy, 
Event No. 8.- 
Lure 
Feet. 
Per cent. 
Acc. < 
TJel. % 
Net* 
Casting % 
F Haight 
97 
88.4 
H Battu 
90 
80.4 
92.8 
76.8 
84.8 
74.9 
SO 
93 ' 
82.4 
77.6 
79.11 
F Daverkosen 
.. 103 
91.4 
95.4 
75 
85.2 
J B_ Kenniff. 
.. IIOV2 
.. 80 
84 
91 
76.8 
83.10 
95.2 
K Charles 
80 
79 
75 ■ 
77 
E A Mocker. . 
.. 101 
88.8 
87 
77.6 
S2.3 
49.9 
C R Kenniff. 
.. 105 
90 
-89.4 
73.4 
81.4 
94 
W Mansfield. 
83.8 
96.4 
S5.10 
91.1 
94.2 
T Brotherton. 
iio 
87.8 
82.4 
73.4 
77. 1U 
92.9 
A M Blade, . . 
85 
58.8 
72 
66.8 
69.4 
H C Golcher. 
.. 123 
89.8 
94 
77.6 
85.9 
W J Kierulff. 
•- 
75.8 
79.4 
75.10 
77.7 
T C Kierulff.. 
... 77 
87. S 
85.8 
68.4 
77 
S7.S 
83.4 
78.4 
80.10 
80.2 
85 
87.4 
78.4 
82.10 
Judges. Mansfield and Daverkosen; referee, Watt; 
clerk, Wilson. 
Bonefish of Biscayne Bay. 
Peacock^ s Inn, Cocoanut Grove, Fla., March 5. — Editor 
Forest and Stream: Mr. John Hunter, of Newport, R. I., 
has beaten all bonefish records of which I am aware by 
the following scores : 
Feb. 24— Six bonefish (Albula wipes)-, $H, 5M. 7V2, 8. 
8J4 and 9 pounds. Time expended in fishing, three hours 
and twenty minutes. 
March 4 — Four bonefish, s%, 6 z / 2 , 7 and 9 pounds, 
Time, three hours and ten minutes. 
As the U. S. Fish Commission report places 9 pounds 
as the extreme weight of this gamest and shyest of fish, 
the score of two of 9 pound? ea,ch is interesting. Tackle, 
bass-casting; bait, hermit crab; place, a flat near Coco 
Plum on Biscayne Bay. Weights sarefully verified. 
Henry Guv Carleton, 
Fish in New York Waters. 
The League of Salt Water Fishermen is working hard 
to secure the adoption of Assembly Bill 604, which will 
protect against the nets the salt-water fish in the tide- 
waters of New York Bay and vicinity. The League re- 
quests that those who are interested will address their 
Assemblymen _at Albany to this effect: "I believe that 
the fish in the tidewaters of New York city and vicinity 
should be protected. I ask you, as one whom you repre- 
sent, to vote for Bill No. 604." 
— $ — 
The New York Y. C. gave a reception in honor of 
Prince Henry of Prussia on Sunday evening, March 9. 
While the affair was informal, no speeches being made 
and no toast drunk, still there were over seven hundred 
members present. The Prince and his staff arrived at 
9:30 o'clock and spent two hours at the club house. The 
model room, which was hung with bunting and decorated 
with palms, proved to be of the greatest interest, but 
the library and the grill room, where a light supper <was. 
served, also greatly interested the strangers. 
Designing Competition. 
The publishers of Forest and Stream had held the 
idea for a long period of. time that a designing compe- 
tition for a cruising yacht of moderate size would meet 
Avith public approval and create a degree of interest among 
the readers of the publication, both at home as well as 
abroad. An opportunity finally presented itself to carry 
out the plan, and accordingly on Nov. 23 last an an- 
nouncement appeared in our columns, the substance of 
which was as follows: A pole mast sloop of 25ft. load 
waterline was required, with not over 4ft. draft with 
centerboard hoisted; with at least 50 per cent, of ballast 
outside on keel, and 5ft. headroom under cabin carlins. 
It was also suggested that all abnormal features should 
be avoided in the design, the object being to produce a 
safe, comfortable cruiser on which two or three amateurs 
could live with comfort for a period of two or three 
months and be able to cruise along our seaboard from 
New York to Halifax with safety. A centreboard boat 
of moderate draft was decided upon, as so many more 
harbors would be accessible to a boat of that type. . The 
competition closed on Feb. 28, when twenty-six designs 
had been received. Other drawings came to us after the 
date of closing, and could not therefore be considered. 
As had been previously announced, the judging was 
'done bv Mr. Clinton H. Crane, of the firm of Messrs. 
Tarns. Lemoine & Crane. It is hardly necessary to say 
that Mr. Crane stands at the head of his profession, and 
we were fortunate in securing his services. Mr. Crane 
gave much time and the most careful and critical con- 
sideration to the twenty-six designs, all of which had 
been submitted under a nom de plume. His task was 
by no means a simple one, as nearly all of the drawings 
were of high order, and contained much to commend 
them. As we stated last week, some of the designs missed 
being prize winners because of mere technical errors-p 
such as being drawn to wrong scale. It was Mr. Crane's 
intention to announce his criticisms of the different plans 
in this issue, but owing to the amount of labor involved 
he found it impossible to do so, and they will appear next 
week. -I 
The results of this yachting competition— the first ever 
tried in this country— have been a source of much 
gratification to the publishers of Forest and Stream. 
We were ourselves somewhat doubtful at first as to the 
outcome, but when we considered our very large list of 
subscribers, both at home and abroad, we felt sure of the 
final result. That we were not mistaken in our conclu- 
sions is evidenced both by the number and quality of the 
designs submitted, and these have emphasized the fact 
which we have always believed, and that is that the 
readers of this publication were intelligent and discern- 
ing sportsmen. The splendid success of this competition 
and the widespread interest which has been shown in it 
has persuaded us to continue the idea, and we hope to 
take up the matter again this fall and have at least one, 
and perhaps two more, competitions before the year 
closes. It was our intention to give a public exhibition of 
the twenty-six drawings that were received, but as no 
suitable place was available it has been decided to publish 
many of the plans in our columns. In this way our readers 
will ' have ample opportunity for comparison and in- 
spection. In order that the greatest benefits may be 
derived from our own efforts in this competition, we shall 
be glad to put any of our friends in touch with the 
different designers should they care to build from any 
of the drawings that shall be published. 
First Prize Design. 
We publish in this issue the lines, cabin and sail plans 
of the boat that" was awarded the first prize, and also 
the special prize offered by Mr. Theodore C. Zerega, for 
the best cabin plan in our designing competition. 
Mr. Morgan Barney, the designer of the boat, is not 
only an able draftsman, but he is also a practical yachts- 
man. He has made many cruises along our coast, and 
consequently was familiar with the needs of a cruising 
boat. This fact, in addition to the education and training 
he has had in yacht designing, together with a proper 
conception of the requirements of the competition, has 
enabled him to turn out a splendid practical cruising boat. 
In fact, the boat is just the type of craft we had in mind 
when laying down the conditions of the competition. 
The design is devoid of any abnormal features, and is a 
happy combination of moderation throughout. The rela- 
tion of the different parts of the boat's design and rig 
harmonize well, and the result is a very satisfactory 
craft, 
