July 21, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
97 
On the Bay of Monterey. 
Monterey, California, June 19. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: I. send a few lines from this oldest 
settlerrfent on the California coast, and where the 
American flag was first hoisted at the commence¬ 
ment of the Mexican war in 1846, which ended 
by the acquisition of the immense territory which 
extends from the mouth of the Rio Grande to 
British Columbia, with its great extent along the 
Pacific coast, the most extensive and valuable 
region ever acquired by any nation in satisfaction 
for any war demand. 
Here is the Government military post, under 
Colonel Mans, from which large and beneficent 
aid was afforded with soldiers from other military 
posts for the protection of San Francisco during 
the calamitous conflagration of last April, and 
from where all the soldiers have not been entirely 
removed. 
The town of Monterey and its adjacent village 
of Pacific Grove are growing rapidly as residen¬ 
tial sites, and near is the ideal watering place of 
Del Monte, large and spacious, and surrounded 
by extensive ornamental grounds where historic 
oaks and numerous flower beds abound. Equipped 
with large salt water bathing establishments, and 
miles of sea shore drives, and with a climate .the year 
around difficult to be equalled elsewhere, it pre¬ 
sents in my opinion the most inviting watering place 
I know of in the world. Most attractive to me is 
the field it presents in the beautiful bay of Mon¬ 
terey, where fishes of a hundred variety are found. 
Whales, blackfish, grampus, orcas, sea lions, seals 
and porpoises can almost daily be evidenced, down 
to schools of uncountable small fry, and where 
the king of the Salmo family disports himself 
with numerous retinue, by frequent and long 
visits, and where in fact some of his class may be 
found the year around, while the great army of 
kindred are clambering the fatal falls of distant 
streams, from which alas! they never return. 
Not many leagues away, further out from the 
shores, below twenty or thirty fathoms of depth, 
are the winter and spring homes of the salmon, 
from grilsehood to maturity, at feeding grounds 
where millions upon millions of squid, sardines, 
anchovies, and small fry abound, as attested by 
the magnificent condition of the king when he 
comes frolicing into the Bay of Monterey at this 
season of the year, in company with masses of 
small fry, which seek the brackish water of the 
bay for propagation. But the salmon have not 
come in heavily yet, nor fully into the bay as 
they will soon. 
I saw some of the fishing boats come in at the 
wharf to-day, with an aggregate of some two 
hundred of fat, lusty glistening chaps, most at¬ 
tractive to a fisherman’s sight, averaging perhaps 
fourteen pounds, none over twenty-five, and 
among them only one grilse of six or seven 
pounds. They will come larger soon. Most all 
.were males. The schools as they come, indicate 
a fraternization to a considerable extent in weight 
as I have frequently observed, showing that this 
feature may be observed in their hame localities; 
and at Carmel Bay below Monterey where I have 
frequently fished in past years, I found them 
averaging as low as ten pounds, while the average 
of the chinook or king salmon, as seined on the 
Sacramento River, runs seventeen and a quarter 
pounds. To this class belong the salmon of this 
locality, while the same class at the Columbia 
River, of which none come into the Monterey 
waters, average twenty-two pounds. 
I observe a great change in the class of market 
fishermen from that which existed a few years 
ago; and in vain have looked for some of the old 
fishermen I knew before. They are all Japanese 
now, and all of the old ones have been practically 
displaced by the latter, which is a curious feature, 
and indicates the peculiar adaptiveness of the 
brownies. These were fishermen at home, where 
the fisheries are largely carried on, and where fish 
and kindred food compose the principal article of 
diet. It may be considered that those formerly 
engaged in this line for market wants represented 
a pretty low class, sifted down from various em¬ 
ployments where little success was obtained, ac¬ 
cepting employment where results were uncertain 
and meagre; and those before at it were com¬ 
posed of a motley mixture of Italians, Portuguese, 
Mexicans, Indians and Chianmen, with very few 
Americans, and those old seamen and whalers. 
It was then the custom to go out in pairs, with 
heavy double-ender boats, while now the nearly 
200 Japanese employed go out singly in smaller 
boats, and everything they catch goes into the 
pot even what is not marketable, such as sharks, 
skates and other inferior fishes, which the former 
fishermen discarded, and these supply the Japanese 
with the greater part of their food which is fish, 
and this is eaten entirely raw, cut thin and dipped 
in their peculiar sauce which they use freely with 
all their meals. This sauce, so largely an element 
in their Japan cuisine, is worthy of consideration. 
It is imported from Japan in fifty pound firkins, 
and is of two qualities, number one selling at 
retail at $4 a package, and number two at $3. It 
is clear fluid, the color of port wine, and is 
brewed from wheat and a Japanese bean, with a 
slight salt addition. Its taste is somewhat neutral 
with a vinous tonic flavor, and leaves a pleasant 
abiding taste in the mouth. The Japanese say it 
gives the raw fish in thin slices a most palatable 
flavor, extending to fresh whale blubber, which 
they eat with avidity when opportunity offers; 
and the Japanese whalers at Carmel were ob¬ 
served to barrel no much fresh blubber which 
they salted down. It is a feature of notice that a 
rapid chemical change occurs in fish largely 
abounding in oil. when exposed to the sun; then 
the oily nature quickly changes unpleasantly to 
the taste, while before it was appetizing and 
easily digested. This is strikingly evident in the 
so-called anchovies abounding plentifully on the 
coast, which I have used largely for bait. A 
fish in size slightly under the average herring, 
and which is full of oil, quickly softens and drains 
out in oil if exposed to the sun. but if protected, 
makes most delicious, eating in its delicate flavor 
when freshly boiled, as I have frequently enjoyed. 
The flavor of fresh mackerel and many other.fish 
when freshly caught and broiled changes rapidly, 
but none so quickly as of these anchovies, which 
are worthless if held over a day. 
The squid, which is a miniature octopus and 
most repulsive looking, is also eaten raw by the 
Japanese after being dipped in the sauce., and is 
boneless and very largely composed of oil. It is 
said to be good eating and nutritious, and I am 
told is eaten largely by the lower element of Por¬ 
tuguese and Italians, and is served fried at many 
of the lower class of restaurants in San Fran¬ 
cisco. It is certainlv more consumed by the sal¬ 
mon in the bay at this season, than any other class 
of food, and is found plentifully in them when 
dressed. As the sauid swim largely on the sur¬ 
face of the water while spawning in the bay, when 
acres of them in extent are often observable, they 
afford plentiful feed for the myriads of birds 
which gorge upon them so that they can scarcely 
rise from the water for flight, and thousands of 
fish nrey upon them; yet so innumerable are the 
squid that apparently but small diminution occurs. 
The whaling from land stations on the coast 
formerly pursued, has been practically abandoned, 
but the Tapanese lately established a station, at 
Carmel Bay below Monterey, but after taking' 
two humpbacks, with the aid of the veteran 
Captain Noon, by bombing, which yielded 800 
barrels of oil or twenty-five thousand gallons, 
which brought only thirty cents per gallon, they 
threw up the business as unprofitable. 
Since whaling has been so generally given up 
in late years owing to the use of petroleum, the 
whales have considerably increased, and almost 
daily the spouting of these huge leviathans can 
be seen off at sea from the bay. 
J. Parker Whitney. 
Colorado Fishing. 
Michael Hassey, of Leadville, holds the record 
so far this year for having caught the largest fish 
in Colorado, while Dr. E. N. Bullock, of Denver, 
claims the championship for the biggest single 
day’s catch. Hassey landed an 18H pound land¬ 
locked salmon in Twin Lakes with bait, after a 
game fight. The first was the largest caught in 
the lakes in many years, a beauty to be proud 
of. Dr. Bullock fishes along Platte River every 
Sunday. He apparently knows just where the 
trout hold forth. Four weeks ago,’ he returned 
to the city, after a few hours of whipping that 
stream, with forty-two ranging in size from nine 
to eighteen inches. The following Sunday he 
hooked twenty-nine, and two weeks ago he came 
home with thirty-nine. Last Sunday he says it 
was an off day. He filled his creel with twenty. 
The majority of these trout were caught in the 
vicinity of Insmont and Crossins. 
Allan Yard, the three-year-old son of Dr. E. 
L. Yard of Florence, is the champion junior 
fisher-kid of the State. Thursday, while his 
father was fishing along Beaver Creek, he gave 
the little lad a fishing line and hook, baited with 
worms. The boy began angling on his own ac¬ 
count and soon landed a nine inch trout without 
anv assistance from his father. 
Fishing conditions throughout the State are 
improving every day. The streams that were 
running high a week ago, are now receding 
rapidly, and flies are displacing bait at nearly 
every point. 
At the beginning of the Reason the Denver 
Post offered a prize of $50 in gold for.the first 
ten pound trout. So far no one has claimed the 
reward, but hundreds of anglers are out for the 
money. Larger fish are being hooked as the sea¬ 
son advances, and somebody is bound to land the 
coin before long. The conditions governing the 
Post prizes are these: 
The trout must be either of the native rain¬ 
bow or brook variety, and must be caught in a 
running stream and weigh ten. pounds or more 
when hooked, and at least nine and one half 
uounds when it reaches the office of the Denver 
Post, where it must be sent, properly packed, ac¬ 
companied by a certificate showing how, when, 
where and by whom it was hooked. Fish caught 
in lakes or private reserves are barred from this 
offer, which holds good for Colorado, Wyoming 
and New Mexico. 
Mr. B. E. Moritz, one of the most enthusiastic 
sportsmen in Denver, went fishing with a friend 
several days ago, at Lola, on the Gunnison River, 
and from io 130 A. M. until 4 P. M. caught thirty- 
one trout, the largest weighing 5H pounds. 
Denver, Col.. July 1 . A SOCIAL TrAMP. 
Vancouver Island Fish. 
Cumberland, B. C., July i.—Trout fishing is 
practically just commencing, as all the rivers 
have been aflood up till the last two weeks. Now 
the water is falling and some big catches have 
been made in the famous Oyster River, where the 
fish average from 2 up to 4 or 5 pounds. 
One gentleman from here returned last Tues¬ 
day with a catch of 62 for two days’ fishing. 
J T? T> 
THE CAMPING OUTFIT 
of the thoughtful camper invariably includes a supply of 
Borden’s Eagle Brand Condensed Milk. W ith this in 
camp the most important food item is taken care of. 
Eagle Milk keeps indefinitely in any climate the 
original and leading brand since 1857. Always uniform. 
Adv . 
