SSO' 
(maxiinnni) became from five to eight fish, generally the 
fcnner, per day. Result : Not so many fish caught ; by 
75 ])er cent- and lOO per cent, more sport. I explained to 
the few boatmen who had no conveniences at this time 
how my fishing boat on the St. Lawrence was rigged, with 
chairs, etc.. for the comfort of the angler, and suggested 
the introduction of the water glass, or glass-bottomed 
boat which I had used in Flor'da and which was in use 
in the Bermuda islands, and in a short time finely equipped 
fishing boats appeared. To bring to the aid of the 'reform 
movement' other sportsmen, I suggested or founded the 
Tuna Club, the original members being Mr. H. K. 
Maconiber, Mr. E. L. Doran, Mr. Clifford Scudder, of 
St. Louis; Mr. Fitch Dewy, of Toledo, and myself, and 
some twenty or thirty well-known anglers did me the 
honor to elect rne first president of the club. I drafted 
the following sections of the constitution and by-laws: 
" 'The object of the Tuna Club is the protection of the 
game fishes of the State of California and to encourage 
and foster the catching of all fishes, and especially tuna, 
yellowtail, sea bass, black sea bass, etc., with the lightest 
rod and reel tackle, and to discourage hand line fishing, as 
being unsportsmanlike and again?t the public interest. 
" 'No records w ll be considered if made on lines larger 
than a 24-thread Cuttyhunk. this being the limit, and the 
club recommends an i8-thread line for yellowtail and sea 
bass.* " 
The club soon had 200 members, and as honorary 
members Theodore Roosevelt. Caspar Whitney, Grover 
Cleveland, President Harrison and many more sportsmen 
and anglers whose names emphasized the fact that game 
had certain rights and that those rights were to be pro- 
tected at Santa Catalina. Mr. Holder now sitggested that 
the Tuna Club give a series of tournaments, offering 
prizes of cups, medals, rods, etc., to encourage the use of 
light tackle, which did much to spread abroad in southern 
California what a true sportsmanlike standard was. These 
tournaments were enjoyed by thousands, all conforming to 
the rules of the Tuna Club regarding light tackle, and to 
see a large line or a hand line used at Santa Catalina is 
to make the unfortunate owner the butt of the entire 
fishing community; in fact, it would require more than 
ordinary courage to attempt it. How well the boatman 
and gaffers have joined hands with the club members is 
show n by a glance at the fleet of boats in Avalon Bay 
devoted to angling. A moderate estimate as to the value 
i.s $100,000. The boats are mostly launches for tuna and 
yellowtail fishing, handsomely fitted, and with an equip- 
m.errt of rods and reels in some cases valued at $1,000. 
Hand lines would be a much cheaper outfit for these. men, 
but they all have Vom Hofe reels from $25 to $50 
apiece ; ^ silver-mounted rods of greenheart, and the 
very finest and most up-to-date tackle the rnarket 
affords. Not one of these men carries a hand line; even 
ten-foot sharks are caught with twenty-one-thread lines, 
all of which suggests that of all places in the world, Santa 
Catalina Island makes the most determined effort and has 
made it to stand well before the sportsmen of the world. 
Enormous catches of fish have been shown here at times. 
One of the largest was of yellowtail, showing about fifty 
fish, but this was the catch of four rods in a whole day, 
or about twelve fish apiece, and as the anglers came three 
thousand miles to fish, they were pardoned. The catch 
of even five fish here seems large, as they are so heavy — 
the yellowtail running up" to fifty pounds, white sea bass 
seventy poimds, sheepshead twenty-five, black sea bass five 
hundred pounds, tuna three hundred pounds (record 251 
pounds), albicore one hundred pounds (record sixty-three 
pounds). When it is remembered that this peculiar 
angling grmmd w th its monopoly of tuna fishiijg and its 
vast schools of big game fish is fished the year around by 
hundreds of anglers frcm all over this country and 
Europe, it would not seem strange if occasionally some 
niember of the "unsportsmanlike fraternity" g'ot in his 
deadly work, but the anglers and boatmen of Santa Cata- 
lina submit that for a new place and a new country they 
have done fairly well, and submit with all courtesy to your 
correspondent that the ethics of sport are not observed in 
a vague manner at Santa CataLna Islaiid. 
21-Thread. 
Angling for Lafayettes. 
It is not often that the anglers who haunt the piers 
along the North R ver experience much excitement or 
catch any fish large enough to furni5h their families with 
a meal, but when the lafayettes are running they furnish 
sporl for thousands of persons who do not otherwise catch 
many fish during their twelve months of toil. 
The lafayette is not a large fish, it being only four to six 
ii.ches in length, but it s a gamy fellow, and when it 
comes in with the new flood t de in large numbers, as it 
often does, catches of a hundred or more are not remark- 
able in an afternoon's fishing. Of course many of the 
persons who fish for these lafayettes do so for the sport 
of catching them, just as many anglers make big catches 
of hrnok trout, and put back all but a few of the larger 
ones; but others catch them for the pan. and carry them 
home at nightfall with great pride. It is usually in late 
- August that tiie word "Lafayettes are running." is passed 
along the line, whereupon the demand for sandworms 
equals and often surpasses the supply kept for such emer- 
gencies by riverside boatmen and smalT shopkeepers. Then 
it is that space on all the piers is at a premium, and every 
boat that is available is pressed into service by the people 
who hurry to the river in groups or singly. Not much 
space is required to cast a hand line or manipulate a rod 
along the string pieces of the piers, or from some canal 
boat or schooner moored alongside, but very often there 
is no space for one more, so that the late arrivals must 
geek standing room elsewhere. And it is a motley crowd. 
Old salt-water anglers who fish at every opportunity 
throughout the year; boys of all sizes and ages ; women 
v;ho for the time being become as enthusiastic over the 
fun as their husbands do at all times; whole families, each 
iTiember equipped with som!e sort of gear with a hook or 
two at the business end. All along the river, while the 
lafayettes are in these waters, the same scene is repeated 
every day and all day. 
The tackle used is simple. Hand lines are most in evi- 
dence, but those who own ordinary salt-watisr rods use 
them.. There is l.ttle space on the crowded piers for 
fnncY casting, an4 perhaps this accounts in a measure 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
for the style employed in projecting the line as far out in 
the water as possible. The hand liners grasp "their' Imes 
some two feet above the heavy sinker and toss it out by a 
vigorous underhand swing, or, when there is room, by 
whirl ng over the head a couple of times before letting go. 
The rodsters use multiplying reels sometimes, but gen- 
erally the large wooden salt-water reels that sometimes 
rival a diner plate for size. In every case the sinker is 
very large. This is necessary in order to keep the line 
taut against the strong tides, and it is easier, too, to cast 
a heavy weight in close quarters. The hooks being baited 
with sandworms, the line is reeled in until but three feet 
of it shows beyond the tip of the rod. The rod is car- 
ried well back over the head, and a vigorous forward 
swing imparted, which sends the sinker and line far up 
and out, to drop in the deep water many yards distant and 
run until the sinker touches bottom. Then enough Hiie is 
recovered to keep it taut, and a bite is anxiously awaited. 
The sinkers are generally pear-shaped, and are attached to 
the end of the liiie. with the snelled hooks further up, so 
that they may be held in a horizontal direction by the 
tide some distance above the boat. 
With several ounces of lead holding the line on the bot- 
tom -of the river, and a slack line, it need not be supposed 
that the strike of a five-inch fish will pull the angler 
overboard, but the fact is that the lafayettes give a taut 
line a goodly twitch, considering their size, and make 
their presence known by considerable fuss as they are 
being reeled in. Those who fish with more than one 
hand line attach one or more of these to bits of stiff 
wire carrying tiny tinkle bells at the end. . The wire is 
pushed into the stringpiece of the pier, the line g:ven a 
turn round it, then coiled, and a strike is signalled in 
this way. 
It is all very amusirig, this scramble for the little lafay- 
ettes, and yet thousands of persons get enjoyment, out of 
it in their few leisure hours, and it is of record among 
them that a mess of lafayettes is not half bad. Let those 
who have the patience try it. Pekry D. Fkazer. 
A Pearl River Camp. 
Jim and Walter Kirkman^ Will Norswofth and I, when 
boys living in Mississippi, formed a quartette of insepara- 
bles. We ranged in ages from fifteen to e ghteen years, 
the two first-named brothers, Jim and Walter, being re- 
spectively the youngest and oldest of the four. 
We were just about the average, as boys run, being 
neither .so good as to cause our loved ones uneasiness for 
fear our earthl}'^ career would be brief; nor so bad as to 
cause them constant sorrow for fear it would not. 
We were all fond of the sports that attract boys, and 
hunted and fished together in season and out. 
Near our home were two large creeks, which passing on 
either side of the town, flowed into what was called-the 
"Big Black. Swamp," and after adding their mite to the 
great swamp's water-soaked area, made their way by 
tortuous windings to the beautiful Pearl River, twelve 
to fifteen miles away. These creeks we fished, seined and 
muddied each year, as the fishing season rolled around, 
l)ut the river we had only visited once or twice, and then 
for very brief stays. 
We had heard much about the size of the fish in Pearl 
River, and wonderful stories were told by the local fisher- 
men of the freedom with which they took the bait. Both 
of these essentials to good sport were lacking in our 
creeks. The fish were small and seldom bit freely. Sein- 
ing occasionally gave good returns, but generally when the 
seine came up with a good haul of fish, there would be 
from one to three vicious old stump-tailed moccasin 
.snakes thrashing around among them, . which always 
caused us to drop fish, seine or any other impediment to 
speedy flight, and take to the high bank. 
i^'^uddying, of course, we never really seriously indulged 
in, but only at times, when the water was very slow, and 
we wanted to get into it, would we engage in th s prac- 
tice. For the enlightenment of the uninitiated I will ex- 
plain "muddying " which is a sport confined exclusively 
to the "lowlands," and practiced generally by the small 
boy of African descent. When the season is very dry the' 
creeks and branches become a succession of small pools, in 
which the fish collect. 
The bottoms are all muddy and the fishermen get into 
the pool with a hoe, or bit of brush, and vigorously stir 
the bottom until the water is thick with mud, then as the 
suffering small fish seek the surface for air, they are 
caught by hand. Does not sound much like sport, but 
your fly-fisherman, with his hundred-dollar outfit, will not 
have as much fun in a year as a small darky in a well- 
irudd ed pool will have in one half hour. 
Numerous parties of adult sportsmen were in the habit 
of camping out for a week or two each season on the 
river, and nearly always reported good luck and a good 
time, so we at last determined that we would go on a 
real camping trip. Our first intention was to join one of 
these adult parties, but we soon found that our good 
company was not as eagerly sought after by these more 
experienced sportsmen as we had expected, so we deter- 
mined to get up our own party and go our own way. 
We began planning the trip in Apr J, and got- away the 
latter part of June. Convincing our several hbuseholds 
that we were mature enough, and discreet enough, to be 
trusted for a week camping out was the most serious 
and difficult part of the undertaking, but this we finally 
accomplished, and began our preparations in real earnest. 
After acquiring all available informaton, -and holding 
many consultations, "Long Lake" was selected as our 
destination. 
Long Lake was one of many so-called lakes, which were 
in reality bayous, that bordered the Pearl River in central 
and south-central Mississippi. The river being a very 
tortuous stream, flow-ug through a light sandy soil, often 
formed entirely new channels by cutting through across the 
neck of some big bend, and then as the openings of the 
loop filled with soil and drift, a long piece of still water 
would be formed, which made an ideal fish preserve. Our 
selection was a long loop, probably a mile around, with 
its ends both open into the main stream, and ,not more 
than two hundred yards apart. The current did not flow 
into it except in high water, as the upper end was partly 
closed by a high bank of sand that had gradually formed 
during freshets in the river. 
There werp many coijflicting opinioiis to be reconciled 
[Oct. 25, 1902. 
among us as to the necessary equipment, outfit, etc., essen-! 
tial to the most complete, enjoyment of a week in camp,, 
and many loud and long discussions were held before al 
decision was reached. 
At first our discussions were hampered w'th a condi-li 
tion, and all opinions and suggestions prefaced with "NowJ 
if we do go," but finally when we had all secured parental! 
sanction to our plan, the bridle was off, and every fellowl 
voiced his sentiments freely, and backed up his positionl 
with earnest argument. 
A boat was necessary, but this otherwise difficult probi 
lem was early eliminated by the kindness of a local 
sportsman, who kept a boat on the lake, and promised us 
the use of it for our stay. Other matters of prepara-' 
tion were more difficult to arrange. After three weeks of 
discussion, sometimes cool, and at other times somewhai 
heated, the problem of what to take, and how much, wa^ 
not only unsolved, but, in most cases the outfit suggesteq 
had steadily increased in items and amount. 
We finally agreed to cease all discuss ons for one week 
and then meet to consider each one's list of what he'i 
thought necessary for the trip, each list to be reduced to 
writing. A two-horse wagon was what we had agreeq 
upon to carry us and our outfit to the lake, and when 
we finally met and submitted our lists, a freight car would 
have been overloaded with any of the four. Walter had ir 
the main the best and shortest list, but after we saw thai 
he had put down four dozen towels and a dozen cakes oi 
soap, we took little further interest. Will's list read well; 
until he came to the items, "Two beds and mattresses,"' 
when he was promptly howled down. 
Jim came to grief over a cook stove, which he insisted 
was an absolute necessity; while I suffered complete ship- 
wreck in trying to hold up these items in my list : "Plates, 
cups, saucers, knives, forks, spoons, and a table cloth." 
As we d d not expect to get off until some time mm 
June, and the question was a pleasant one to discuss, -v^P 
went at it again as a committee of the whole, and the 
result was that -vye finally took what there was room in 
the wagon for. and left, behind as much again that Wf; 
had intended taking. 
It was out of season for all game, except ,i 
but we would have called off the trip ins j 
allowed firearms. , 
There was well-grounded rumors of bear ir i 
and semi-wild hogs ranged the canebrakes. s 
of defense arms were unan mously voted 
When collected, they consisted of two double-barrel muzi 
zleloading shotguns, and a .38-caliber Colts revolver. Wal- 
ter and Jim furnished one shotgun, I the other, while Will 
contributed the revolver, and we hoped that his fathel 
would have no occasion to use a weapon during our ab- 
sence, as Will did not consult him about borrowing il 
for the trip. 
My gun was a 12-gauge, medium-we'ght, serviceabit 
weapon, without any spec al points; but he one con- 
tributed by Walter and Jim was a curiosity. Nothing 
bigger had any of us ever seen off of wheels in the guti 
line. About 8 gauge, with iron in proportion to its callj 
her, not one of us could do mere than sw ng it to horizon^ 
tal and fire quickly before tire weight pulled it down ; ano 
one shot a day was all a fellow generally cared abou) 
making with it, as it took twenty-four hours for even i 
boy to forget how it had kicked. 
To provide bait for fishing, we made a small seine fo^ 
minnows out of coarse netting and caught a quantity oi 
roaches. Crickets were considered the best ba t for bream 
but when we had hunted out the most favoralsle coverf 
for this insect, for the better part of two days, and onlji 
secured a dozen or two, we remembered hearing tha'.; 
roaches were almost as good. 
An old abandoned sm.oke house in the rear of 
and Jim's yard teemed with them, and by enterir 
denly with a bright light after dark, we easily ca 
a few trips as many as could safely be accommoc 
our bait can, made of a leaky two-gallon milk 
further vent.lated with numerous holes punched wuii < 
small nail. 
Catching the roaches was the most unpleasant part ' 
cur preparations, as they had an oily, creepy, disgust! : 
feel to the hand like nothing else that we had eve, 
handled. 
All our preparations being completed, we selected Wiii 
ter and Jim's home as the rendezvous, and collecting ou 
outfit engaged the team to be on hand at the first breal 
of day, Monday morning, June 20. There were two bed.l 
in the boys' room, and we turned in early the night be • 
fore, but there was very little sleep ng done. Whenev! 
ccnversaticn ceased long enough for us to doze off, one :> 
another would wake with a start and strike a match to £ 
the time of night. 
Morning came at last, and found us waiting impatient 
in the front yard for the wagon, which, fortunately, w 
on time. 
Making a hurried selection of what the wagon woul<A 
hold, we loaded it in, climbed up on top of the pile ami 
were off. Lewis Hopkins. 1 
Clams on Hand for the Clam Bake. ! 
Mr. Charles. Alexander, who lives at Rumstv ' 
Point, Rhode Island, having encountered the. usual di: 
culties in procuring clams of good qual ty at the desir: 
time, has invented an ingenious method for overcomirij 
this difficulty. A series of heavy boxes was put dowi! 
alongside a pier, and their covers perforated with holes 
The clams, when procured, were transplanted into thesi 
boxes, which had been filled with about eighteen inches 
sand. Here they grew readily, became very fat ar 
tender, and were always on hand when desired for baki 
This device not only allows the inventor to have clam 
whenever he wishes them., but tlof clams actually gro\| 
in size; and it is the testimony of every one who hal 
tried them that they are superior in quality to those dul 
d rectly from the shore. Mr. Alexander has here' 
demonstrated the feasibility of a method which the Rhc 
Island Fish Commission thinks .will be used extensiv': 
by others who have : land • bordering upon the shores : 
Narragansett. Bay. , - ' ^ • .- 
All . communications .intended for Forest and Stream, ^ou;! 
always be addressed tb fhe Forest and Stream. Publisbing Co., N?!' 
Yorle, m4 set' to ao^ individtul connecte4 wftb tbe^ paper. 
