260 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
in Padfk Waters* 
Sacramento, Cal. — Striped bass are becoming more 
plentiful in San Francisco Bay, judging from the catches 
made during the past week in the Straits between Tiburon 
and San Quentin Point. 
The largest catches of last year were made during 
March and April, and according to present weather con- 
ditions the sport should be of the highest order from now 
until the game fishes leave for the San Joaquin and 
Sacramento rivers. 
Deputy fish commissioners who returned recently from 
a trip through Santa Clara and Monterey counties, re- 
port that they were unable to capture offenders of the fish 
laws with game fish in their possession, although they en- 
countered men in several of the trout streams they visited 
with spears. These were thrown away by the spearsmen 
when the deputies arrived. With few exceptions people 
who live within proximity of rivers and creeks have no 
respect for the fish laws, and will kill the large steelheads 
which should be protected during breeding season, which 
runs from December to April. 
John Butler, of the California Anglers' Association, 
was invited by a man who evidently had no respect for 
the fish laws, to a day's fishing on Paper Mill Creek. 
Mr. Butler cautioned the man who was intent on breaking 
the law to have a care, but his good advice had little 
effect, as the game vandal went fishing (?) Sunday last. 
The Lagunitas and Paper Mill creeks, in Marin county, 
and Sonoma Creek in Sonoma county, are trout waters 
seldom visited by deputy fish commissioners or game 
wardens during the closed season. As a consequence 
anglers who- observe the law find few fish to catch of 
good size when the season opens. 
The San Francisco^ Fly-Casting Club held its first con- 
test of the season Sunday a week ago at Stow Lake. The 
day was perfect for the switching of lines, and good 
scores were made. In long distance casting, J. Marsden 
got out 103 feet of line, a very creditable performance. 
H. B. Sperry, who has shown remarkable improvement in 
long distance casting, reeled off 102 feet. C. G. Young's 
performance, in accuracy and delicacy and lure-casting, 
was highly creditable ; in fact, Mr. Young's lure-casting 
was almost perfect. Among the devotees who participated 
in the contest were : J. Marsden, C. G. Young, F. M. 
Haight, A. Sperry, Chas. Huyck, C. H. Kewell, J. R. 
Duglass, H. B. Sperry, H. Golcher, W. E. Brooks, G. W. 
Lane, T. C. Kurulff, W. H. McNaughton, F. H. Reed, H. 
H. Kirk, E. Everett, W. L. Gerstle. _ 
Th^ present officers of the California Anglers' Associa- 
tion, who will serve for the ensuing year, are : President, 
John H. Sammi ; First Vice-President, James Watt ; 
Second Vice-President, Adolph Lorsbach; Secretary- 
Treasurer, W. E. Stevens; Directors — R. Hass, C. Ashlin, 
J. Swan, Bert Spring, S. Wells, James P. Sweeney, John 
Butler, G. Wentworth, William Halsted and J. Flynn. 
A meeting of the officers and directors was held in San 
Francisco last week to amend the constitution and by- 
laws in some particulars, and tO' decide upon a permanent 
location for club rooms, etc. The Association is growing 
fast, and now has a membership of 140 staunch sup- 
porters of angling, and of the laws which are made for 
the protection of game fish. J. D. C. 
Ringed Flies. 
Chicago, III. — Editor Forest and Stream: In your 
issue of February 15, you published an article on a fly 
and cast box, showing a drawing of the latest box, which 
I think an improvement on the old. I regret to say that 
more than 50 per cent, of trout fishermen do not know 
its use and what it is intended for. We are much behind 
the English fly-caster in the art of fly-casting, and more 
so in the manufacturing of flies. 
I have carried boxes of the kind you describe for fif- 
teen years. An English concern induced me to buy a 
supply of two-winged flies which are unmounted. The 
mounting is very simple. I carry a package of silk gut 
with me and mount my flies as I go along. I can change 
flies more quickly than by having looped mounted flies, 
and can save the fly I am discarding as useless at the 
time. 
I have fished nearly every stream in the Northwest, and 
have found the two-winged fly far superior to any manu- 
factured. The ringed unmounted fly is the fly of the 
future, and if fellow sportsmen will try them they never 
will use any other, as they are truer to life, last longer, 
and if properly mounted are safer, as mounted flies are 
unreliable after the gut is two years old. 
A package of gut can be kept in condition for years by 
putting it in a chamois skin saturated with oil. 
Strange as it may seem, when I first began using 
ringed flies, every dealer in this city found objections, 
such as that a small end of gut projecting by not being 
cut close enough would form an air-bubble, or it was 
too much trouble; etc. It is only in the last two years 
that a couple of our best dealers have taken them up, one 
of them — Von Lengerke & Antoine— being enthusiastic 
on the ultimate outcome. Other dealers still remain be- 
hind the age. 
In conclusion, I advise all fly-fishermen to try the 
ringed two-winged fly and carry the little box you advo- 
cate. It will prove a revelation. E. Lipkau. 
Big Fish Exterminate the Bass. 
Isleta, Ohio. — Editor Forest and Stre'am: I wish to 
write a few lines in corroboration of Mr. Bainbridge 
Bishop's ideas of fish and their protection at the present 
day. I have fished in our stream, the Tuscarawas River, 
for thirty-five years, and I note a decrease in our swift 
water fish, especially the bass family. Each year shows a 
gradual shortage, and I fear very much that in the imme- 
diate future they, along with the pike-perch, will almost 
become exterminated. Now, I want to give you an actual 
experience, for I am on deck to tell the truth. It was 
in the early days of last November, when the waters were 
just beginning to get chilly, which causes a little dor- 
mancy in the movements of the bass and pike-perch, while 
in the maskinonge, or pike, as some call it, this chilly sen- 
sation simply instills new life, and he comes from his 
fji^ing with the swiftness of an arrow, singles out his 
prey, and with one dextrous move picks it up. The first 
day of November, in company with two friends from the 
city of Coshocton, we spent the entire day — and a beauti- 
ful one it was, too — with but very little success, only catch- 
ing three fish the entire day. During the entire day there 
was quite a commotion among the bass in a large basin 
that we fished in most of the day. Now comes the cause 
of the disturbance of the swift-water fish in this pool 
at that time. The second day one of the bass which had 
been caught the day before was tied to the boat with a 
string, possibly four feet in length. The commotion 
among the bass continued the second day, and about 2 
o'clock in the afternoon something struck the boat, and 
there lay a maskinonge, with the bass that was tied to the 
boat in his huge mouth. He had killed it with the first 
grab. The maskinonge, or pike, as some call it, was fully 
six feet in length. I noted at that particular time that the 
trouble was seemingly with the bass family. This proves 
clearly that those monsters feed principally on bass and 
our jack salmon, and I feel almost sure that in a few 
more years bass in our stream will be a thing of the past. 
Just what measures should be introduced to correct this 
I am not able to say. One thing is sure, these big fellows 
cannot be taken out of onr streams with common hook 
and line. What shall be done in this case? 
S. A. Stowe. 
Michigan's Proposed Angle/s License. 
An Open Letter. 
To the Honorable, the Governor of Michigan, Lansing: 
Respected Sir — I am informed that a bill is before the 
Legislature of your State to exclude every angler from 
outside States to catch brook trout or grayling in your 
State, unless a special license of $25 is paid by all non- 
residents, with a 75-cent license to residents. 
Being a citizen of Illinois who has whipped a large 
share of the streams of your State for the past twenty 
years, and who has always complied with the conditions 
of the statutes of your State as regards your law, I beg 
to enter a protest against the passage of a law that pro- 
hibits an outside citizen from such sport in your State. 
Why not, under the same conditions, prohibit an out- 
sider from buying the lands of your State, or becoming 
a temporary citizen by buying pine lands; or still further, 
of taxing every person who spends a summer in your 
State during the months that suggest rest and recreation? 
This is as reasonable as the proposition to- prohibit 
angling by anyone who does not happen to reside in your 
State. 
' Every trout that is caught by non-residents brings dol- 
lars into the State. 
By the inauguration of such a law as is now proposed, 
your State will exclude many thousands who annually 
visit your State for rest and pleasure. The streams of 
Michigan are naturally the home of the speckled trout. 
Some streams of Wisconsin are also the natural grounds 
of the fontinalis, which are also frequented by sports- 
men, and where no such laws will be enforced. 
Being a member of one of the most prominent clubs of 
scientific fishermen in the West, I sincerely hope that 
this prohibitive bill will not become a law — ^not only in 
justice to sportsmen, but also in justice to the freedom of 
visitors, who would, under the above conditions, leave 
your summer resorts empty during the fishing season. 
Should such a bill pass your Legislature, I trust that your 
Excellency will veto such an act. I am assured that the 
real sportsmen of your State are against such a law, and 
only those who wish the whole State to themselves are in 
favor of it. Very sincerely yours, 
B. W. GooDSELL, of Chicago, 111. 
The Arizona Seasons* 
PhoiNix, Arizona, March 17. — The Territorial Legis- 
lature finished its 60-day session last night. An entirely 
new game law has been passed this session. The law in 
brief is as follows : Male deer and turkey, open season 
September 15 to December i. Antelope killing prohibited 
to March i, 1911. Quail, Bobwhite, partridge, grouse, 
pheasant, snipe or rail, open season October 15 to March 
I. Ducks, geese, brant, doves, open all the year. Trout 
(not less than seven inches long), June i to September i, 
open. Black bass, strawberry bass, crappie, September i 
to December i, open. Introduced pheasants, killing pro- 
hibited to March i, 191 1. Limits — Three male deer in 
one season, 25 quail in one day, 20 pounds or 40 individual 
fish in one day of trout, bass, crappie or catfish. Fishing 
with hook and line only permitted. Sale of all above 
game and fish prohibited at all times. Non-resident 
license tax to hunt deer, $10. Killing prohibited of lark, 
thrush, sparrow, swallow, grosbeak or tanager, camel, 
elk, mountain goat, mountain sheep, female deer or 
spotted fawn. 
Governor Kibbey re-appointed the old board of Fish 
and Game Commissioners: T. S. Bunch, Safi^ord; W. L. 
Pinney, of Phcenix, and Jean Allison, of Jerome, for two 
years. W. L. Pinney is secretary and business agent of 
the board. 
Florida Black Bass Destrwction. 
A New Rochelle, N. Y., correspondent of the Florida 
Times-Union writes : "Although I reside in the State of 
New York, I feel that I am almost a Floridian, inasmuch 
as I have spent my winters in Florida since 1883, not for 
my health, but prefer to take my vacation from business 
during the' winter months and fish, hunt and amuse my- 
self under the tropic sun, with charming surrounding 
scenery, nowhere to be found in the United States, in the 
world, all within a few hours of New York city. Black 
bass fishing has been the great sport and amusernent. 
All of the fresh waters of the State, especially oh the 
west side until this winter, were filled with these game 
fish. I have seen ladies catch with #od and line in streams 
I have been accustomed to fish eight and ten-pound bass. 
This winter I have fished in the accustomed streams 
as heretofore without a ^Strike, when in the past any 
fishermanllcould with ease capture from twenty to forty 
in an afternoon. Upqn examination I found numerous 
wire fish traps set along said streams that have been de- 
populated of bl^ck bass. ' Upon inquiry I learned that 
tons ofblack bass have been caught in that way from 
streams in Levy county and sold to mill hands and 
negroes making turpentine in the vicinity for two cents a 
pound, one man at the little settlement where I am stop- 
ping, I was told, sold twenty dollars' worth of black bass 
caught in traps, in less than two weeks. This shows that 
one thousand pounds of black bass was slaughtered for a 
.twenty-dollar bill. A Government official at the same 
place, whom I have no reason to doubt, informed me 
that tons of black bass had been caught in traps in Levy 
county during the past year. At this rate, it will not be 
long before the black bass of Florida will be a thing of 
the past, and the State of Florida will, in the near future, 
be trying to restock its streams with bass so cruelly 
butchered. If there is a State law that prohibits trap- 
ping of black bass, enforce it quickly or the finish of the 
black bass in 'the Land of Flowers' is in sight. If there 
is no law that protects, in God's name and sake of 
humanity, place one upon the statute book for the State 
of Florida that will prevent the game fresh-water fish 
from extermination." — C. G. B. 
The Missisqttoi Complication. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The Mississippi River has where it enters the Missis- 
quoi Bay three mouths or outlets; the bulk of the water 
now flows out of the middle branch, and the current of 
water goes directly across the Canada line, which is only 
about two hundred yards away, then swings through 
Canadian waters to the Alburgh shore and south back 
into* Vermont. The pike-perch follow up this current, 
which takes them up through Canadian waters. About a 
half mile west of the middle branch is the west branch 
of the river, and the water that flows out from this chan- 
nel does not enter Canadian territory, and if the sand-bar 
at the mouth of this west branch was dredged out and a 
wing were built upi at the head of Metcalf Island at the 
fork of the river and the flow of water turned into the 
west branch, this would deepen the channel and cause the 
fish in following up the current to keep wholly in Ver- 
mont or United States waters, and it would help naviga- 
tion, and be a Godsend to the numerous owners of small 
craft that reside at Swanton, and who now can only cross 
the bar into the river at high water flood. 
The channel along the Alburgh shore can be easily 
blocked up. A rocky point projects out from the Can- 
adian shore into the Vermont waters, called Province 
Point. The channel is quite narrow at the end of that 
point, as there is a long reef but a short distance out 
from the point. This point is covered with large boul- 
ders, which, with the gravel dredged from the sand-bar 
at the mouth of the west branch, would be quite suffi- 
cient to completely block the channel. This would force 
the migrating fish to either go up the channel of the west 
branch or to swing out so far from the shore as to be 
out of the reach of the fishermen's seines. Though simply 
dredging out the west branch with the wing dam at the 
forks of the river would quite likely remedy the evil, it is 
usually the better way to do a thing up thoroughly. 
Stanstead, 
The Adirondack Depredations. 
Governor Higgins has ordered an investigation of the 
Adirondack forest depredations, and has directed^ that 
legal proceedings be instituted to recover for the timber 
removed from the State lands. 
Ex-SenatOr Elon R. Brown has made public his_ letter 
of resignation from the Association for the Protection of 
the Adirondacks, in which he says : 
.1 hereby resign my membership in your Association. The im- 
mediate occasion of my doing so is the attack you are making on 
Commissioner Middleton. Mr. Middleton has been the sole 
Commissioner since April, 1901, and if he has been suffering 
ti^espassers to denude the Adirondacks during his term of office 
you have performed your duty very badly in keeping silent on the 
subject until just before the expiration of his term, of office. 
It is less than sixty days since you entertained him as a guest 
of honor at a dinner at the University Club in New York, when 
the i)olicy of the State as to the Adirondacks was the matter under 
consideration, and no mention was made of any criticism of this 
sort or opportunity given to consider the facts that do exist. 
You knew then, as you know now, that never during the history 
of the Forest Commission, has there been a period of four years 
when so little live timber on State land has been destroyed as during 
his term; that every such trespass has been checked at the 
earliest practicable moment, and that all such trespasses during 
his term of office have been inconsiderable and even trifling in 
amount. 
If the Commissioner has asserted the law by compelling pay- 
ment into the State's forest fund of compensation for burnt timber 
removed rather than by a seizure of the timber itself without 
further compensation, and has done this to eke out the scanty 
appropriations for this great interest, it ill becomes you to at- 
tack his policy on the basis of a technical violation of law rather 
than inquire whether harm has been done the forests. 
But the course you are pursuing now is only the occasion and 
not the reason of my withdrawal. I have for several years during 
my service in the Senate felt that your influence on the whole 
was detrimental to the Adirondacks. 
Acting on the assumption that no one but yourself has honor- 
able intentions toward these forests, you have opposed every 
attempt to build them up by scientific forestry, while the great 
majority of the leading men in your organization are themselves 
engaged in denuding large tracts of Adirondack forest lands. 
Recognizing as you have often professed to do, the great 
necessity of introducing a system of forestry, you have opposed 
every step suggested, on the cowardly plea that no_ one can be 
trusted to carry it out, while the national service is filled with 
competent men doing efficient forestry work, drawn to a consider- 
able extent from New York State and even from, the Forestry 
Department of New York State. If your present charges against 
Commissioner Middleton have any basis in fact, it will have to be 
conceded that you could not be relied upon to point out dere- 
liction of administration that was undertaken oftener than once in 
four years. . j • f 
A favorite means of assault on your part is a condemnation ot 
political methods and of politicians, while I know of no other 
organization in the State more given over to a self-perpetuating 
clique. You are collecting dues from several thousand members 
who never have and who cannot get an opportunity to share in 
directing your policy, and who have thus far had only the privilege 
of subscribing to a sentiment without regard for the wisdom or 
ftjllv of your way of expressing it. _ . " . 
I' have, on at least a half a dozen occasions, during my service 
in the Senate, suggested to your officers the propriety of having 
a;: meeting of your Association for the purpose of taking up and 
discussing forestry problems, with a view to- agreeing on a pohcy, 
but I have never been able to discover that there was likely to 
be any such opportunity. 
>--With the funds of your society you employ one or two men to 
carry out the views or the whims of managers who really never 
su'bmit themselves to the judgment of your members, by publish- 
mg lampoons from time to time on the Governor of-the State, or 
"offier public officers, and by organizing a paid bureau at times 
J^ching most of the public press of the city of Neiw York. As 
E'do not approve of the policies which you have supported, and 
(Jo; not believe in the methods employed, you will see that my 
membership in your Association will no longer be either a mat; 
ter of pleasure or profit to me. Yours truly, Ej,qw R. Bfiow«, 
