492 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Dec. 20, 1902. 
Game Fishes of Northern California 
THiE anglers of San Francisco are now happy in the 
'conviction that for good sport they will not hereafter 
have to depend entirely upon trout fishing. A few years 
ago the scarcilj' of trout in our coast streams was deeply 
deplored by the angling fraternity, but striped bass fishing 
was then in its infancy and salmon fishing was not on 
the list of sports in our streams. Fortunately the trout 
fishing has somewhat revived and this year moderately 
fair sport was had during the early part of the season. 
I'o counteract the scarcity of trout, we have excellent 
ibass fishing practically all the year round, also salmon 
■fishing from November to January and the usual run of 
steelhead trout every winter. 
Trout. — For fair trout fishing the angler has only to 
travel three hours from San Francisco, where one of the 
most prolific streams, the Paper-mill Creek, is reached. 
Ihis stream has furnished good fishing for years to a 
very large number of sportsmen. The Sonoma Creek 
has also proved itself worthy of notice and Boulder and 
Bear Creeks, in the Santa Cruz mountains never fail to 
yield fairly good catches to those familiar with its 
stretches. 
In the early days of California when anglers were few 
and far between, good sport could be had on any coast 
stream. Where there were fifty fishermen twenty-five 
years ago, there are now probably five hundred, hence 
trout fishing must be a scarce commodity in our midst. 
Two rivers which yield good sport are worthy of men- 
tion, viz., the upper Sacramento and the never-failing 
Truckee. The upper Sacramento affords good sport from 
the opening of the season until about June 15, when fly- 
fishing practically ceases on account of the arrival of the 
salmon making for their spawning beds. The salmon, 
however, return to the ocean about the middle of Sep- 
tember and fly-fishing is resumed from that date to the 
close of the season. On the Truckee, fishing is good dnr- 
double hooks for bait fishing with salmon roe as a lure. 
For spoon fishmg, a 3-foot leader, with red fly on 
Ewiveled hook running loose on the line above the leader. 
Salmon.- — It is only within the past year or two that 
this species ,the Quinnat salmon, has visited the tidewater 
of the Paper-mill Creek in quest of spawning grounds. 
The majority taken thus far are monsters in size, but 
not as game as the steelhead, they, however, make a 
few good rushes, are swift and strong and the tackle 
required is similar to that for steelhead. x\bout the first 
of November they appeared in large numbers at Point 
Keyes and many of our local anglers went up after them, 
but the fish would seldom take any of the tempting lures 
presented to them. 
I. B. Kennifif and Sam A. Wells are both very expert 
in spoon casting and demonstrated to their admiring 
brother sportsmen that they could cast from the reel a 
5E Wilson spoon to any desired spot in the White House 
Pool. It was even remarked that W. A. Cooper would 
haA'e to look to his laurels, even though he is recognized 
as one of the best fishermen from San Francisco. 
The salmon were seen moving up stream by twos and 
fours. During their movements they had spoons thrust 
upon them from both sides, but they were too wise and 
failed to take any notice of the flashing metals. How- 
ever, a few were picked up in the White House Pool and 
the Narrows, and Messrs. Wells, Banker, Fatjo and Plall 
were the lucky ones. It was reported that Al. Hall 
caught one weighing 33 pounds on a No. 6 hook with a 
white worm as a lure. 
Fishing for salmon is an innovation in the Paper-mill 
Creek and the anglers will soon learn that the tackle must 
of necessity be of the strongest kind, at the same time 
it must be light, and the rod should, not weigh more 
than 8 ounces.- If the angler endeavors to cast inces- 
santly all day with a heavy rod he soon will have to quit 
the sport and seek lighter tackle. He must also provide 
himself with 100 yards of silk line, as the fish are swift 
and strong, and put np a hard fight before being brought 
I believe; though I know of bright, clear, shallow 
brooks, where the well-educated finny inhabitants can 
only be successfully tempted from the rear. Some- 
times, as Genio Scott has said, the question as to fish- 
ing up or down a stream, should be decided by its con- 
dition, and the difference between the characteristics 
of the average English and American trout strearn has 
doubtless had much to do with the different habits of 
the anglers who fish them. Thaddeus Norris has well 
pointed out that only in a still pool or where the cur- 
rent is gentle, is one able to fish up stream with any 
degree of precision, for the force of the current in our 
rapid brooks and rivers dash the flies so quickly along, 
that if the angler is below them, they are at his feet 
alnrost immediately after reaching the w^ater. Hallock 
and Bradford and almost every other American author 
on the subject favor down-stream fishing for trout, 
and in salmon fishing there is, of course, no room for 
any difference of opinion on the subject. 
While upon this topic I take down an English book 
which I was glancing over a few days ago, and in 
which I had marked something that very much arnused 
me, in connection with the matter now under discus- 
sion. David Webster, in his 'Angler and the Loop 
Rod" (attributed in literary circles to Dr. James Liv- 
ingstone, of Wisham), says "The reason why so many 
anglers prefer to fish down in all conditions of water 
is simply that they find it easier to do so. And no 
doubt fishing up stream is more difficult than fishing 
down." If the pursuit of difficulties be the angler's 
chief ambition, he should naturally, at all times, fish up 
stream. But most fishermen find difficulties enough 
ready to their hand without going out of their way 
to look for more, though the author of the work re- 
ferred to, being a good angler himself, repeats the 
dictum of Plato that "what is good is difficult," and 
adds to the "difficulty," and, therefore, to the pre- 
sumed "goodness" of his sport, not only by his method 
oF stream fishing, but also by the weight of the rod 
PAPER-MILL CREEIC — SALMON FISHING. 
RUSSIAN RIVER — STEELHEAD TROUT WATERS. 
ing the entire season, but is at its best during June and 
July. This river has its source from Lake Tahoe and 
empties into Pyramid- Lake. The anglers who yearly 
whip this .stream comprise not only California anglers, 
1)Ut sportsmen from all parts of the country, and the 
.same faces arc seen year after year at the different fish- 
ing points along the line, principally among which are, 
Truckee, the Union Mills, Boca, Floriston and Verdi. 
This surely is sufficient proof that for good sport the 
Truckee River has not its equal in California or probably 
the Ignited States. 
The only difficulty wliich our city anglers experience in 
visiting these rivers is a too short vacation, the railroad 
ratfcs are most liberal during the summer months and 
within the means of any angler who wishes good sport 
at a small outlay. The Southern Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany's lines run parallel with the Sacramento River from 
Slatonis to Shasta Soda Springs, and on the Truckee 
River from Truckee to Reno. The railroad employes are 
very obliging and are always willing to impart their 
knowledge of the best fishing points. The summer re- 
sorts at the best fishing grounds of the upper Sacramento 
River are Slatonis, Sims, Castle Crags, Shasta Retreat 
and Shasta .Soda Springs. 
Bass Fishing.— Although only in its infancy is a boon 
to the masses and bass are taken in large numbers almost 
anywhere in the waters of San Francisco Bay, the shores 
of" Belvedere, San Pablo Bay, the sloughs of Petaluma 
Creek, the long fill. Point Reyes, the Oakland estuary, 
■estuary canal and Lake Merritt, Oakland. The bait thus 
far known is the clam. During the past two years troll- 
ing with a large spoon (Wilson's) has proven a very 
killing lure. 
Bass fishing has become universal and hundreds of 
fishermen enjoy the sport. Our deep sea fishermen have 
taken it up, our "Dago" friends with their hand-lines 
can be found everywhere in search of this game fish. The 
proper tackle for this sport, is an 8-foot rod, 200 yards 
of strong line, good substantial reel and a No. 4-0 hook. 
Steelhead Trout. — This very game fish may be taken 
with rod and line during the winter months, in tide 
water and is found in all streams emptying into the ocean, 
the best of which is the Russian River, Mendocino Coun- 
ty. They loiter in the pools awaiting an opportunity to 
ascend to their spawning beds and it is at this time that 
.they will take all kinds of lures, but principally a trolling 
spoon. They run in size from a few pounds to 25 and 
30 pounds, and when hooked put up a great fight before 
being brought to gaff. The tackle used, a 10 ounce rod, 
]0Q yar4s sijk line, a 3-fpot Jeadei? with Q^ie or tWQ 
to gaff. The silk lifie is by far the best, as it runs freelj^ 
from the reel and enables one to make a much better cast 
than with the linen lines in use. 
We were all very much amused recently at our friend 
Banker, wlio was fishing with the butt end of a good- 
sized sapling, and notwithstanding the weight of his 
rod, he landed in a couple of minutes a fish that would 
do credit to a deep sea fisherman, it was a 35 pounder. 
A novice at angling for salmon whose tackle was of tlie 
l^est, emulated Banker's style of playing his fish and lost 
two good sized ones which he might have landed had he 
allowed him a little leeway. 
On this occasion Sam .'\. Wells made the catch of the 
day, and judging by his efforts and excitement, we 
thought he had hooked on to a 50-pounder, but it soon 
developed that the supposed mammoth salmon was noth- 
ing more than a large sized northern diver or grebe 
v/hich had taken the spoon, while it was sinking, in mis- 
take for a fish. Wells landed the diver after a twenty 
minutes' fight and was vigorously applauded by the as- 
•■^embled fishermen. James Watt. 
San Francisco, Dec. 3. 
Fish and Fishing. 
Fly-Caittrg Up or Down the Stream. 
Only a day or two ago I listened to a very interest- 
ing discussion by two old fishermen upon the relative 
merits of fishing up and down stream, and though both 
of the disputants are men well up in the literature of 
angling, and quoted freely from the authorities in sup- 
port of their respective views, I could not but observe 
that only one American author was appealed to in 
support of the contention that in wading a stream it 
is better to cast toward its head, although this is the 
view entertained by the majority of English writers on 
the subject. Genio C. Scott, who advocates fishing up 
stream when wading, supports his contention by say- 
ing that this method does not roil the water, and' that 
consequently there is less liability to alarm the fish. 
He admits that when casting from the shore it makes 
very little difference which way the stream is fished, 
but fails to make- the principal point insisted upon by- 
English advocates of up-stream fishing, namely, that 
fish resting in the water have their heads pointing up 
stream and cannot see behind them. The majority of 
American aj^d- Canadian trout fishermen believe in 
<iQA;vn-strf^in ^§Wnf ^ general rvjcj and rightly so. 
Avith which he does it. He describes it as being a two- 
handed spliced rod, from 13 feet 6 inches to 13 feet 8 
inches in length. As the butt is made of ash, the mid- 
dle piece of hickory and the top of lancewood, the rod 
must be quite as heavy as those generally used by 
American anglers for killing salmon. 
The American Sardice Indastry. 
So noticeable has been the decline, of late, in the 
herring fisheries of the Bay of Fundy and the west- 
ern Nova Scotian coast that an investigation has been 
undertaken to determine whether or not this decline 
is attributable to the operation of the so-called sardine 
weirs, or brush traps, especially off the New Bruns- 
wick shores. Between 700 and 800 of these traps are 
fished every season under licenses issued by the Do- 
minion Government, while on some of the West Isles 
off Passamaquoddy Bay, limited parts of the shore are 
thickly studded with these fish-weirs. In the waters 
further north, especially in St. John County, N. B., 
tliere has been a serious decrease in the supply of full- 
grown herring, so much so, in fact, that certain schools 
which provided important fisheries in former years, 
have totally disappeared. The growth of the Maine 
sardine industry has been remarkable, especially in 
view of the fact that the major part of the raw mate- 
rial comes from Canadian waters. Its value is about 
$3,000,000 per annum, and as there is no such fish as 
the real sardine in American waters, those canned in 
Maine being the young of the common herring, it is 
not surprising that there should be a large decrease 
in the supply of the latter. 
E. T. D. Chambers. 
A certain Scottish laird recently invited an English 
friend to stay with him for some fishing. One day the 
Englishman, who was a novice at the sport, hooked a 
fine salmon, and, in his excitement, slipped and fell into 
the river. The keeper, seeing that he was no swimmer, 
hooked on to him with the gaff, and was about to drag 
him ashore, when the laird called out, "What are ye 
aboot, Donal' ? Get haul o' the rod and look tae the fush. 
Ma friend can bide a wee, but the fush winna !" 
"Do ^Qu think that the theatrical profession leads 
to unhappy marriages?" "I have never been able to 
decide," answered the manager, "whether a stage career 
leads to divorce or divorce leads to ^ stage cs.x^^x"'^ 
W^s^iington Star. - ^ 
