132 
[Aug. 12, 1905. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
blues or tailors. Our score was, 15 big blues, 22 tail- 
ors, I bonita (about 4 pounds) and 15 weakfish (about 
2 to 3 pounds). Total, 53. 
Among the guests at the hotel was Mr. Edward Hud- 
son, of New York, who has been coming here for sev- 
eral years seeking sheepshead, striped bass and other 
game fish. Mr. Hudson was successful on July 17 in 
capturing an ii-pound sheepshead on what is known as 
the “Old Boiler,” a part of the wreck of a sunken coal 
barge lying among the shoals just outside the point of 
North Beach, a point that can only be fished on a very 
moderate day, as otherwise the sea breaks all over the 
wreck and it is impossible to lay there. In July, 1904, 
Mr. Hudson caught five sheepshead at this place in one 
afternoon, weighing together 60 pounds. While out- 
side to-day he had great sport with his rod and reel, 
catching bluefish, using a small squid and a 24-thread 
line and a moderately heavy rod for the tailors, and a 
stout surf rod for the 5-pounders. Mr. David Brown, 
with a party of four lines, caught about eighty of the 
larger fish. 
Thursday the news of the catch of bluefish soon 
spread, and on this day some twenty-five yachts were 
outside. Another perfect day, with_ moderate westerly 
wind, and smooth sea all day; and it was the best day 
of all for the bluefishing. Lem. and I captured sixty 
of the big blues, ranging from 4 to 6 pounds, also fif- 
teen weakfish all caught with the squid. The school of 
weakfish was an immense one, and if we had wanted 
them we could have filled the boat. Mr. Hudson was 
out again, using his rod and reel. It was fine sport 
for him, and it was interesting to watch the struggle, 
his captain having frequently to- throw the boat into the 
wind to enable him to land his fish. 
Friday, the 27th, was another fine day, probably the 
finest of the week, a moderate two-reef breeze blowing 
all day, with a very smooth sea. On our way out we 
took aboard our old friend Capt. Joel H. Ridgway, who 
for nearly thirty years was the keeper of Barnegat 
Life Saving Station, a man of cool head and rare judg- 
ment, and splendid personal character. _ We were glad 
of the opportunity To renew old acquaintance, and the 
day was much enjoyed by all , of us. We found some 
fifteen fishing smacks engaged in chumming the blue- 
fish. Each smack carries four to six dories, and each 
dory has two men. The chum is menhaden, ground up 
and spooned out at regular intervals untij an oily slick 
is made upon the water. The bluefish get into this slick 
and come up to the boat, when the fishermen baiting 
with a small chunk of menhaden haul in the fish as fast 
as they can get their lines over. Large numbers are 
caught in this way, and as soon as a cargo is obtained 
the smack weighs anchor and starts for New York, and 
the fish soon find their way to Fulton Market. When 
the fish are thus chummed up and filled full of this 
ground up menhaden they rarely take the squid. This 
was our luck to-day, for our score for three lines was 
but nine; but they were bouncers. 
Saturday was a day of no wind, and no fish were 
caught. , - 1 
Sunday was a day of rest for me, but the inlet was 
full of yachts and bluefish. The small blues or tailors 
were there in great profusion. A walk around the 
strand to the northeast of the lighthouse showed the 
beach covered with sand eels just driven out of the 
water by the voracious and ever hungry Pomatomas 
saltatrix. Some of the yachts caught as high as 200 
to the boat. 
I neglected to mention that on Friday, when out- 
side, we were able to see two objects which in twenty- 
seven years’ experience at Barnegat city we had never 
seen before. One was a genuine tropical flying-fish ex- 
ceedingly rare in our waters off New Jersey. He came 
out of the water like a bird, and flying for about fifty 
yards, about four feet above the water, entered the 
water and after a few seconds came out and flew for 
about the same distance, and so on. We were hardly 
through expressing our surprise over this circumstance 
when Lem. shouted, “There’s a whale!” and sure 
enough there he was. He came up three times from 
about 200 to 300 yards away, the last time he made a 
tremendous crash in the water as though a three-story 
brick house had fallen, and then he spouted about 
twenty-five or thirty feet in the air. He seemed to be 
about seventy feet long and was headed south. He was 
doubtless the same whale mentioned in the New York 
Herald’s dispatch of the next day as taking a course in 
the direction of Long Beach. It was off Long Beach 
that we saw him. A hundred years ago whales were 
a common sight off the Jersey coast, but they are very 
rarely seen now. . , 
Monday was uneventful except for a sail inside. Mr. 
Hudson was outside and caught thirty-three blues, eigh- 
teen big and fifteen small, all with rod and reel. If any 
one wants real sport this ought to satisfy. 
Tuesday we spent the morning in High Bar thorough- 
fare and caught six fine 214-pound weakfish. The after- 
noon was spent in the inlet squidding for tailors; 78 was 
the score, and 60 of these were caught with rod and 
reel — our first experience with this kind of fishing. A 
small squid was used and a light line of about 25-thread. 
More fish can be caught in this way than with the com- 
mon heavy hand line, as the lighter line is not seen so 
plainly in the water. Our thumb and fingers of the right 
hand were thoroughly tired out with the constant ex- 
ertion in winding reel. The water seemed alive with 
fish breaking water in every direction, and there were 
places, where if it had been possible to have trolled 
twenty lines, every one would have been loaded with 
a fish. It was a great day. 
Wednesday morning we took our departure, voting 
our IQ05 July trip the best in many respects we ever 
Ijad James G. Francis. 
Black Bass Near New York. 
Good black bass fishing was had at these ponds during 
the week ending Aug 3, the figures being supplied by the 
Erie Railroad agents at the places named : Sterling 
Forest, N. Y., Greenwood Lake; Monroe, N. Y., Lake 
Mombasha; Parker’s Glen, Pa., Twin Lakes; Carbondale, 
Pa. Elk Lake; Narrowsburg, N. Y., Cochecton, N. Y., 
Caiiicoon, N. Y., Hankins, N. Y., Long Eddy, N, Y., 
Hancock, N. Y., all on Delaware River, 
Chicago Fly-Casting Tournament* 
We have received the programme of the fourth scien- 
tific angling tournament to be given by the Chicago Fly- 
Casting Club, on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 18 and 19, 
at North Lagoon, Garfield Park, Chicago. The pro- 
gramme is handsomely printed, having portraits in color 
of the brook trout, rainbow trout and small-mouth black 
bass, and a concise history of the club, which runs as 
follows r 
The Chicago Fly-Casting Club was organized in 1891, 
incorporated in February, 1892, its objects being to en- 
courage the art of angling in a scientific manner, the use 
of artificial lures in the capture of game fish, to promote 
good-fellowship and social intercourse among its mem- 
bers and the angling fraterntiy generally, and. to assist in 
the protection and propagation of game fish. 
Series of contests for each season were inaugurated 
and an increased interest in fly-casting was promoted to 
a very great extent. It was determined by the club in 
1893 to add bait-casting as one of the events of its 
regular contests, as it was recognized that this branch of 
the sport could be raised to a very high plane, requiring 
great skill, and time has proved the contention correct, 
for under the impetus given by the club, bait-casting has 
risen to a high place in the estimation of the craft, the 
practicing of it in an artistic manner renuiring delicate 
tackle and skillful, sportsmanlike manipulation, and this 
has been carried to a still greater degree by the addition 
in 1901 of the Delicacy and Accuracy Bait Event, in 
which one-quarter ounce weights are used. 
The interest in fly and bait-casting having grown apace, 
the club felt moved tO' inaugurate the Chicago Fly-Cast- 
ing Club’s Columbian Exposition Tournament, which was 
held in the grounds of the Exposition in 1893, and proved 
to be the largest tournament of its kind up to tliat time. 
Handsome gold championship medals were awarded by 
the club, one in each event, as well as many other valu- 
able prizes. 
The club did much in 1893 to arouse enthusiasm in 
scientific fly and bait-casting. It reproduced on the shores 
of the lagoon near the Art Palace in the Columbian Ex- 
position grounds, the Izaak Walton Lodge, where ang- 
lers assembled, and from the pier gave exhibitions of fly 
and bait-casting. The World’s Columbian Exposition 
Scientific Angling Tournament was such a pronounced 
success that the club may well look back to it for all time 
with gratification and pride. The winning scores in the 
1893 tournament were as follows : 
Amateur — Distance and accuracy fly, H. G. Leavitt, 
Grand Island. Neb., 87 per cent. 
Amateur — Accuracy and delicacy fly (dry fly), W. H. 
Babcock. Chicago, 103V3 per cent. 
Amateur — Long distance bait (on lawn with accuracy 
feature), F. B. Davidson, Chicago, 106V5 feet. 
Expert — Long distance fly, R. C. Leonard, New 
York, 96 J2 feet. 
Expert — Accuracy fly (at 75, 80 and 85 feet), R. C. 
Leonard, New York, 88 per cent. 
Expert — Long distance bait (on lawn with accuracy 
feature), E. E. Wilkinson, Chicago, 134V0 feet. 
Mr. Davidson’s longest cast in long distance bait was 
152 feet perfect, and remained unbroken for ten years 
until broken by Mr, H. G. Hascall, of Chicago, in the 
Grand Rapids, Mich., tournament of 1903, with a cast of 
17254 feet perfect, which stands to-day as the best on 
record in an open event. The succeeding years, 1894, 
1895 and 1896. were uneventful outside of club contests. 
In .1897 the club decided to give a second open to the 
World Scientific Angling Tournament and to add two 
more events than were given in 1893, viz., roll fly-casting 
and bait-casting at buoys in the water. In this tourna- 
ment, held at North Lagoon, Garfield Park, Chicago, on 
Aug. 13 and 14, 1897, the best scores were as follows : 
Distance and accuracy fly, H. A. Newkirk, Chicago, 
91V3 per cent. 
Accuracy and delicacy fly (dry fly), W. D. Mansfield, 
San Francisco, 86Vo per cent. 
Long distance fly, W. D. Mansfield, iiP/i feet. 
Roll fly-casting, W. H. Babcock, Chicago, 90V3 per cent. 
Distance and accuracy bait (Rj ounce at 60, 70, 80, 90 
and 100 feet), F. N. Peet, Chicago, 95Vr> per cent. 
Long distance bait (on lawn), F. B. Davidson, Chicago, 
98V5 feet. 
Diamond medals and six other valuable prizes were 
awarded in each event. Mr. Mansfield broke all records 
with his iiiyi feet in long distance fly, which remained 
until broken by Mr. R. G. Leonard in the New York 
tournament of 1898 with a score of 120 feet, which in 
turn was broken by Mr. Mansfield with a score of 134 
feet in the San Francisco tournament of 1902, which 
stands to-day the best on record in any open event. 
Through the seasons of 1898 and 1899 interest in the 
work of the club continued to increase, and many new- 
and enthusiastic members were added to its lists, while 
the value of its efforts was evidenced by the increased 
scores made at its contests. The general interest having 
largely centered upon the five events noted below, it was 
decided to give a third tournament, which occurred Aug. 
17 and 18. 1900, at North Lagoon, Garfield Park, Chicago, 
with results in highest scores as follows : 
Distance and accuracy fly, A. E. Lovett, San Francisco, 
98 per cent. 
Accuracy and delicacy fly, I. H. Bellows, Chicago, 97 
per cent. 
Long distance fly, A. E. Lovett, San Francisco, 105 feet. 
Distance and accuracy bait, A. C. Smith, Chicago, 98% 
per cent. 
Long distance bait, George Salter, Chicago, i03Vi2 feet. 
Mr. Bellows and Mr. Smith broke all records in the 
two events noted, and a team contest added materially to 
the interest of the occasion. Mr. H. G. Hascall and Mr. 
F’. N. Peet, the Chicago' team, being the winners. 
The years since 1900 have been progressive ones for 
the club, the interest continuing and membership increas- 
ing steadily, but they have been uneventful except from a 
club standpoint, aside from the development of the ex- 
tremely scientific and popular delicacy bait ()4 ounce) 
event, which originated with the Chicago Fly-Casting 
Club and has been incorporated in the events of this 
fourth tournament. The Chicago Fly-Casting Club feels 
that its labors have added materially to an increased ap- 
preciatipn of spieptifiq angling ^nd that it has promoted 
the cause of true sportsmanship and of God’s “out of 
doors.” 
Tournament, Aug. 18, J9, 1905. 
RULES AND REGULATIONS. - 
Rule I. 
Each person competing shall pay an entrance feet of 
$2 for each event, or $10 for the entire six regular events. 
Entries to each event close thirty minutes before contest 
commences. 
Rule II. 
The captain shall be the executive officer of the day, 
and shall examine and approve all tackle used in the 
events. The secretary-treasurer shall receive all entry 
fees and issue cards to contestants, designating their num- 
ber in the order of competition. The timekeeper shall 
start and close all events. He shall signal the judges 
with a flag and call time to the contestants. 
Rule HI. 
• 1 he contests shall be governed by two judges and a 
referee. In case of disagreement the referee shall decide. 
The decision of the referee shall be final, except as to a 
question of interpretation of rules. In such a case con- 
testant shall have a right of appeal to the tournament 
committee, provided that notice of such appeal is given 
to the captain before the close of such contest. 
Rule IV. 
All casting shall be done single-handed only, except 
where otherwise noted. 
Rule V. 
Competitors may consult their own wishes in choice of 
reel and line, but lines must not be knotted, leaded or 
weighted, and bait-casting reels must be free running. 
Rule VI. 
Leaders shall be of single gut, and shall not be less 
than six nor more than nine feet in length. One fly only 
shall be used, of a size not larger than No. 5. Snell must 
not exceed six inches in length. Hooks shall be broken 
off -at the bend. Official 1-2 ounce and 54 ounce casting 
weights used in the bait-casting events will be furnished 
by the captain. 
Rule VII. 
Fly-rods shall not exceed eleven feet in length, except 
in event i. In event -i the weight and length of the rod 
is not limited. In event 2, the weight shall not exceed 
854 ounces. In event 3 the weight shall not exceed 5 
ounces, but an allowance of ounce will be made for 
solid reel seat of metal (aluminum excepted), rubber, 
bone, ivory or celluloid, Bait-rods unrestricted, except 
that they shall be single-handed. 
Rule VIH. 
No cast shall count after the judges have notified con- 
testant that fly is missing until same is replaced. 
Rule IX. , 
If tackle breaks, contestant shall be allowed to replace 
same if in the opinion of the judges it was defective. 
Rule X. 
All ties shall be cast off immediately after the contest. 
The loser shall be entitled to the prise next in order. 
Rule XL 
No one except active contestants and captain shall be 
allowed nearer the judges or casting pier than ten feet; 
and any contestant distracting the attention of the judges, 
timekeeper or active contestant in any manner whatever 
shall forfeit all rights or claims and be barred from any 
further participation in the tournament. 
Rule XII. 
The general rules and usages of the Chicago Fly-Cast- 
ing Club shall be used in deciding any question that may 
arise not covered by rules in this programme. 
Notice. — The Tournament Committee retains the right to reduce 
the number of casts specified if it deems such action necessary. 
Programme. 
AUGUST 18— FIRST EVENT, 10 A. M.— LONG DISTANCE 
FLY-CASTING. 
No limit to rod or line. Ten minutes allowed to cast fly to 
greatest possible distance. No time allowance for replacing fly. 
SECOND EVENT, 1:30 P. M.-DISTANCE AND ACCURACY 
FLY- CASTING. 
There shall be three 30-inch rings, distant 50, 55 and 60 feet 
from the edge of the casting platform. There shall be made five 
(0) casts at each ring. If the fly falls within the ring or on 
the rim of same the cast shall be considered perfect. For each 
mot or fraction of a foot outside the ring a demerit of one shall 
be made. The sum total of such demerits, divided by the dum- 
ber of casts, shall constitute the demerit per cent. The demerit 
per cent, deducted from the 100 shall be the percentage. Not 
more than one minute will be allowed in which to extend the 
line to 50-foot ring. When the contestant has extended his line 
11 shall call “score,” and the next cast thereafter 
L® counted. , When five successive casts have been inade 
at 50-foot ring, the Captain shall announce “next ring.” Con- 
testant must then lift his line, and if he so desires can make not 
to exceed five “dry casts” before dropping his fly at the 55-foot 
ring. A like procedure will be followed between 55 and 60-foot 
rings. Should contestant whip off his fly at any time after calling 
score,” he will be allowed to replace fly and proceed. For this 
purpose he may “work out” to point where fly was lost call 
“score,” and resume scoring at point where scoring stopped ’ The 
same procedure will be permitted if contestant’s line is fouled 
through no fault of his. No cast shall count after judges notify 
contestant that fly is lost. ■' 
THIRD EVENT, 4 P. M.-ACCURACY AND DELICACY 
FLY-CASTING. 
(Dry Fly.) 
There_ shall be three 30-inch rings, distant 35, 40 and 45 feet 
from edge of casting- platform, and there shall be made five 
(5) casts at each ring. If the fly falls within the ring or on the 
rim, the accuracy shall be considered perfect. For each foot 
or fraction of a foot outside the ring a demerit of one shall be 
made. The sum total of such demerits, divided by the number 
of casts, shall be considered the dement per cent. The demerit 
per cent, deducted from 100 shall be the accuracy per cent In 
addition, there shall be kept an account of delicacy. The delicacy 
per cent, shall be determined by the judges and the referee in 
manner indicated below. ’ 
A*'' be allowed thirty seconds to extend his line bv 
dry fly casting to 35-foot ring. Scoring shall begin the first 
time the fly strikes the water. When contestant has made five 
(5) casts, captain will announce “next ring.” Contestant must 
then lift his line and in not less than one nor more than fiva 
“dry fly ’ casts, reach the 40-foot ring. Scoring to begin the first 
time the fly strikes the water. A like procedure shall be fol 
lowed between 40 and 45-fqot rings. No cast made without a 
fly shall be scored. If fly is lost, contestant may replace -same 
and in not more than five “dry fly” casts resume his scor^g 
Not more than two “dry fly” casts will be allowed between 
scoring casts, except between rings, as stated. All castine- shall 
be done from the reel. Contestant will be allowed to start with 
Ippse line nnd Racier equal to length of rod, and may strip line 
