Oct. 20, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
621 
G. M. L. LaBranche Casting in the Accuracy Contest. 
Reuben C. Leonard Casting the Fly in the Fifth Event. 
modestly. His average casting was very close 
to the 50-yard mark, and he came off the plat¬ 
form apparently as fresh as when he began the 
long ordeal—for it was an ordeal to handle that 
heavy rod for ten minutes straight, after an equal 
length of time given to practice. 
The long distance salmon fly-casting event was 
postponed for the day and Event 3 started. This 
was open to all, half-ounce bait-casting for ac¬ 
curacy, five casts at each distance, 60, 80 and 
'ioo feet, with no preliminary casts. The prizes 
were three trophies for the highest percentages, 
and three tackle prizes for the most perfect casts. 
In the first round, at 60 feet, C. G. Levison was 
high with only seven demerits, and Uncle John 
Waddell, of Grand Rapids, was second with eleven. 
At 80 feet Reuben Leonard was high with eleven, 
and he was the winner of the 100ft. round, with 
a grand total of only thirty-five demerits and a 
percentage of 97 10-15. Mr. LaBranche was 
second. In scoring, the sum total of the de¬ 
merits is divided by 15, and the result deducted 
from 100, giving the accuracy per cent. The 
scores follow: 
Mr. Leonard also won a choice of two fine 
reels, prizes for the greatest number of bullseyes, 
and LaBranche, Levison, Stepath and Waddell 
tied for second and third prizes. 
Afterward, to save time, lots were drawn by 
those tied for bullseyes, and Mr. Waddell won 
first choice. Mr. Leonard chose one of the two 
prize reels, and Mr. Waddell took the other 
one. 
Second Day, Oct, 13. 
The weather conditions showed improvement 
on Saturday morning. The wind came from the 
southeast, very light, the sky was slightly over¬ 
cast at times, and the air was balmy. Long before 
the arrival of the members of the tournament 
committee a large crowd gathered and lined the 
edge of the Mere for two hundred yards, grow¬ 
ing in size steadily as the day wore on, until in 
the afternoon the squad of police on duty had 
difficulty in restraining the more eager ones. In 
the afternoon there was a noticeable change in 
the character of the crowd, for at that time every 
man interested in angling who could attend, was 
there watching every cast and commenting in¬ 
telligently with his friends. In order to -keep 
the small boys from crowding each other into 
the lake, the police formed a fence of park 
benches, outside which only those directly in¬ 
terested in the tournament could walk, and in 
this way smoothed the way for visitors who were 
not there out of idle curiosity. 
The first event called was No. 4, trout fly-cast¬ 
ing for distance, without restrictions on rod or 
leader, but open only to these who had never cast 
more than 75 feet in any similar contest. The 
judges were Thomas D. Whistler and Perry D. 
Frazer, with Gonzalo Poey as referee. Charles 
Stepath was first to cast, and he, as well as 
others who followed him, was handicapped by the 
wind, which eddied around the trees and cut 
down the casts. His best cast in ten minutes 
was 82 feet, high score for the event. G. M. L. 
LaBranche came within six inches of his best 
score, but could not beat him. The score, in 
feet and inches: Best three Casts. 
Charles Stepath ..82 ‘ 79 6 80 6 ftP 
G. M. L. LaBranche.81 6 81 fi 79 6 78 6 
R. J. Held.77 6 77 6 75 74 
Milton H. Smith .60 6 60 6 60 59 
Besides the three cups taken by the winners, 
there were prizes of fishing tackle for the best 
two averages, and these were won, Stepath, first; 
LaBranche, second. 
The wind had grown lighter when Event 5 was 
called, shortly before noon. This was trout fly¬ 
casting for distance, with no restrictions on rod 
or leader. Reuben Leonard won easily, with 105 
feet for his longest cast, and he was also high 
for best three casts. Louis Darling was second 
and King Smith third, while Leonard and Dar¬ 
ling took the merchandise prizes for best casts. 
The judges were E. H. Meyers and R. B. Law¬ 
rence; referee, J. H. Cruickshank. The scores, 
in feet and inches: 
Best three 
Casts. 
Distance. 
f - 
X 
--^ 
R. C. Leonard . 
.105 
105 
104 
104 
Louis Darling . 
. 96 
96 
94 6 
92 
King Smith . 
. 93 6 
93 6 
93 
91 6 
E. T. Mills. 
. 88 6 
88 6 
87 
87 
N. S. Smith. 
.87 
87 
82 
81 
R. F. Cruickshank. 
. 85 
85 
83 6 
79 
John Waddell . 
. 85 
85 
80 
79 
(i. M. E. LaBranche.... 
. 77 
77 
72 
71 
Charles Stepath . 
. 72 6- 
72 6 
71 
70 
The casting so far on Saturady was done 
toward the south instead of toward the north, 
as on the first day. After noon, however, ihe 
measuring line was towed back on the north side 
of the platform, and all of the casting was done 
there during the afternoon, as the light was 
better, and the contestants had the benefit of the 
wind. This, however, aided them not at all, as 
the wind fell flat before noon, and the closing 
hours were ideal, for at no time was the sun 
obscured more than for a few minutes, and then 
by very light clouds. A few of the contestants 
went away for luncheon, but most of them re¬ 
mained, depending on sandwiches, loth ■ to miss 
any part of the fun. Shortly after noon Mr. En¬ 
right was given the platform. He had announced 
his wish to try to break his own previous record 
with a 14ft. greenheart rod, and in the ten minutes 
allowed him for the trial, he did break it, scor¬ 
ing 126 feet. This pleased the crowd, and three 
hearty cheers were .sent up. 
Then followed Event 2, postponed from Fri¬ 
day. It was open to all, salmon fly-casting for 
distance, rods restricted to 18ft. Unfortunately 
Mr. Enright’s rod measured more than 18 feet, and 
although he cast further than anyone else, he 
could not win a prize, although all of the con¬ 
testants agreed to waive their right to object to 
his rod. Mr. Enright, however, wished to abide 
by the committee’s rules, and Mr. Leonard took 
first prize, with E. J. Mills second. Mr. La 
Branche was too tired, after the strenuous work 
put upon him, to handle Mr. Enright’s 14ft. rod, 
which he used on Mr. Enright’s invitation, as 
successfully as he might have done at another 
time, but his average was good. He had never 
before used a rod of that length and weight. The 
scores, in feet and inches: 
Best three Casts. 
Distance. , - A -\ 
R. C. Leonard.137 137 135 129 
E. J. Mills.125 125 124 122 
G. M. L. LaBranche. 84 84 83 S3 
John Enright .148 6 148 6 148 146 
Messrs. Leonard, Mills and LaBranche won the 
SCORES OF SALMON FLY-CASTING. 
,-60 feet --,, - 80 feet-, ,-100 feet-, Total 
12345 12345 12345 Demerits. Per Cent 
R. C. Leonard. 70320 21125 1 4232 35 97 10-15 
G. M. L. LaBranche. 03353 42144 18445 51 .96 9-15 
C. G. Levison. 2 0 2 1 2 5 4 10 1 4 2 5 7 4 3 52 96 8-15 
Charles Stepath . 7 0 3 1 2 5 3 4 7 2 4 2 5 9 3 57 96 3-15 
Tohn Waddell . 3'0 2 4 2 o 4 6 4 8 6 6 6 7 4 68 95 7-15 
M H Smith. 24427 2348 10 475 7* 10 79 94 10-15 
P. D. Frazer. 2 8 3 3 4 5 4 1 4 6 60 5 4 2 1 112 92 8-15 
Louis Darling . 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 1 3 1 10 75 3 2 3 132 91 3-15 
R. J. Held... 47710 45814 8 65 60 . w 
