Oct. i8, 1913. 
FOREST AND STREAM 
495 
EVENT NO. 4. 
Wet fly accuracy for cup presented by Mr. 
Keinbusch: 
Dr. R. J. Held ... 98 14-15 
W. C. Metcalfe... 98 9-15 
C. H. Higby .9S 5-15 
Dr 1. G. Fulton 
J. L. Kirk . 
P. D. Frazer .. 
C. O. 
98 3-15 
97 10-15 
97 9-15 
EVENT NO. 5 - 
Quarter-ounce distance bait, average of five casts, 
150-foot class: 
Dr T G. Fulton ..’ 176.4 O. T. Mackey .100.8 
J. L. Kirk . 109-2 
Longest cast, Dr. Fulton 1S7 feet. 
Open handicap: 
Dr. R. J. Held . 
Dr. J. G. Fulton. 
Longest cast, Dr. 
181. T L Kirk 
165.2 
Held 194 feet. 
EVENT NO. 6. 
97.8 
Fly casting for distance, 
Dr. J. G. Fulton.75 
Hundred-foot class: 
.T. L. Kirk .99 
Open handicap: 
P. D. Frazer .112 
J. L. Kirk . 97V 2 
heavy rod; S5-foot class: 
O. T. Mackey . 70 
Dr R. J. Held .84 
Harry Friedman .... 96 
EVENT NO. 7 - 
Fly casting for distance, four-ounce rod; 70-foot c'ass: 
Dr. J. G. Fulton .75 Dr. F. C. Raynor .68 
O. T. Mackey . 74 
Open Class: 
P D. Frazer . 89 Dr. R. J. Held .86 
J. L. Kirk . 88V& C. H. Higby . 84 
EVENT NO. 8. 
Fly casting for distance, 5-ounce rod; 75-foot class: 
O. T. Mackey . 78.2 Dr. J. G. Fulton .78. 
Dr. F. C. Raynor... 78. 
Open class: 
J. L. Kirk . 92.6 Dr. R. J. Held .86 
P. D. Frazer . 90 W. C. Metcalfe . 84 
C. H. Higby . 87 
EVENT NO. Q. 
Salmon casting; 115 foot class: 
C. H. Higby . 113.6 C. R. Hanners . 95 
Open handicap: 
('. H. Higby. 
P. D. Frazer . 
W. C. Metcalfe. 
J. L. Kirk. 
i)r. R. J. Held. 
C. R. Hanners . 
113 1 / 2 +14y 2 =12S 
121 + 5 =126 
120 + 3.2=123.2 
112 + 6 =118 
110 + 0 =110 
95 +10 =105 
J. G. Fulton, Chairman. 
Fishing in Cape Colony 
K ALK BAY is fort}’ minutes by rail from Cape 
Town. The coast is rocky, reefs running 
from Muizenberg to Fishhock, a distance 
of about five miles by road. There are sandy inlets 
between reefs, which can be discovered at low 
tide, up which fish run, and in which fishing is 
fairly safe, as far as sinkers and hooks are con¬ 
cerned. provided that the bearings of each inlet 
are carefully taken and accurate casts are made. 
Personally, says G. G. Evans in I he Field, 1 
found local fishermen exceedingly kind in show¬ 
ing me safe places and the correct mark to aim 
at when casting. 
From Muizenberg to St. James' railway sta¬ 
tion, inlets in the reef are few. and those that 
do exist require a very long cast, forty yards at 
least, but the safe places increase toward Kalk 
Bay. Just at St. James’ station, to the south of 
the Aquarium, is a rock with deep water just 
below it, possible only at low tide, and with a 
calm sea. The beach just south of this is good 
at high tide. Then south again, about 300 yards, 
is an inlet, which deepens rapidly, up which big 
fish come in the season. Careful search is 
necessary to discover it. The inlet at Kalk Bay 
bathing place has a bad reputation as a fishing 
spot, nothing but sharks being caught there, as 
a rule. 
Next comes the “Small” Boat Beach, the 
inlet to which is considered a certain spot for a 
fish. The bay of Kalk Bay itself is fished from 
the rocks on the south, below the fish-curing 
ground. The first spot is the cleaning slab, 
from which the cast is diagonally seawards. The 
next is an obvious stand, locally called the 
Pulpit, and from these two most of the big 
fish caught in Kalk Bay have been hooked. 
From both these spots a thirty-yard cast, at the 
least, is necessary in order to clear the inter¬ 
vening rocks, and a good lift and quick reeling 
in. when not in a fish, are also essential. From 
the Pulpit beware of casting too far to the left; 
an old wreck is the mark, considered the left- 
hand limit of safety. The next stand is Tafel 
Bank—a large, flat rock, bare, at low tide—and 
the rocks between it and the Pulpit; it is danger¬ 
ous here for bottom fishing, as the bed is very 
rocky. From Tafel Bank there runs a reef 
eastward, forming a pool, in which the harder 
and moss-banker swarm at times. From the 
point beyond there is a dangerous cast, where 
one usually loses a lead twice out of three casts; 
but, if there is a fish anywhere, it is here. 
From this point to Fishhock there are sev¬ 
eral stands, notably big and little Baviaan, two 
rocks, each with a curiously shaped top; they 
are possible from low to half tide only under the 
best conditions. For all the stands on this 
stretch of coast it is necessary to be shown 
the correct and safe cast, or to experiment until 
it is found. 
As to the rod, a 14-foot Castle Connell, two 
joint spliced, is the best, or a light bamboo in 
one piece. A stiff top is very necessary, as the 
lead should be 4 ounces, which requires great 
lifting power in the rod. As to the reel, this 
should be big enough to hold 200 yards of 
strong line, for one may encounter fish weigh¬ 
ing as much as 100 pounds, and sharks bigger 
still. I have seen a io-footer off Tafel Bank. 
For ordinary use a 2—o hook is best; but, when 
trying for big fish off the Pulpit, a 7—0 or 8—o 
is necessary. For small fish, such as harders, a 
4 is small enough; smaller hooks than this are 
practically useless here. A 4-ounce to 6-ounce 
lead is heavy enough, as long as the line is not 
too heavy. Stubtafford, in Cape Town, supply 
a green twisted line, twelve ply, for I think, 5s. 
6d. per 200 yards, which is quite strong enough. 
The chance of hook or lead catching in 
something at the bottom is highly probable, 
therefore tie on the lead with material slightly 
weaker than the line, so that, if a break is neces¬ 
sary, you lose your lead only, not a length of 
line as well. Some men have' snooding for the 
hook weaker than the line, but. personally, I 
would rather lose a little line than lose a hooked 
fish through the snooding breaking. 
So much for stands and tackle. Now as 
to baits, which are always on the large side, 
(a) Fish bait here means mackerel or steinje; 
the former can usually be obtained from the 
fishing boats for one or two for a penny, should 
be fresh and hard, and cleaned directly after 
purchase, or they will get soft and useless very 
quickly, (b) Octopus, locally called “sea cat”; 
the arms are used, as a rule, and have to be 
skinned first, and then beaten partially to break 
the fibre. The body or bag contains a bait 
which is excellent for all rock fish. This con¬ 
sists of two small yellow organs, which, I think, 
must be the lungs, one on each side of the body, 
(c) Red bait: This consists of three kinds—(1) 
"deep sea,” (2) "mossy,” (3) "inkpot." They 
are variations of the same species, and consist 
of a pale yellow to deep orange body, encased 
in a horny, spheroidal shell. Protruding from 
the top of the spheroid are the mouth and vent, 
which look like teats. The deep sea bait is 
that used by the professional boat fishermen, 
and is obtained by dragging in particular spots, 
principally in Fishhook Bay. The secret of their 
whereabouts is kept as far as possible. 
The mossy bait and the inkpot are found 
attached to the rocks all along this coast about 
low water mark. The mossy bait is dug off the 
rock with a long-handled, broad-bladed chisel, 
and hooked to safety with a gaff. In many spots 
the inkpot can be cut out with a strong, sharp 
knife at low tide. Cut the top of the horny 
shell right off, cutting below the base of the 
teats, insert a finger, work the body loose, lift 
it without breaking from the shell, and string 
this on a string, to which a match has been tied 
to act as a needle—this tip is useful also when 
putting fish on a string. When bait is very 
easy to get and plentiful, it is worth while get¬ 
ting a week's supply at the least, and salt it by 
putting it in a tin and covering each layer with 
salt. It will keep for months, and fish take it 
just as well as bait a day old. The deep sea 
bait and the mossy bait are superior to the 
inkpot, and bait cut fresh from its shell is better 
than bait a few hours old. This is a well-known 
fact to the professional boat fishermen, who 
have proved it again and again. Red bait is very 
fragile, but salting toughens it; some men tie it 
on with thin cotton. The saying here is. "The 
bigger the bait the bigger the fish.” For a 
big fish will not trouble about a little piece, 
though it may try to catch a fish nibbling at it. 
but it will seize and swallow a large piece, (d) 
Crayfish: The body of the large Cape crayfish 
is greedily eaten by all the smaller rock fish, 
but is difficult to keep on the hook. The above 
are the principal baits used, but, when these 
fail, any piece of fish is made use of. A kabbel- 
jaauw weighing 96 pounds was caught with a 
piece of half rotten albacore not long ago. 
As to the fish to be caught there are many 
kinds, small and large. The rock frequenters 
are the steinje, running up to one pound, the 
Hottentot, to one-half pound, the klipfish to one- 
half pound, the John Brown to two pounds to 
three pounds, the Roman, a beautiful golden red 
fish with a blue brow band, running up to eight 
pounds, the white stumpnose up to four pounds, 
the red stumpnose, a Japanese looking fish, up 
to ten pounds, the galgueon up to eight pounds, 
dassies of two kinds, the dot, running up to two 
pounds, the wildeperd (zebra) up to nine pounds, 
the barbel, black and white, running up to ten 
pounds (the black barbel is said to be uneatable). 
Of these all except the barbel and the klipfish 
belong, I think, to the large family of sea perch 
The klipfish is, I think, a goby, and the barbel 
is akin to the siluridae. I may as well add the 
octopus to the above list, as it is a frequent 
occurrence to catch one or more in a day’s fish¬ 
ing, especially if the water is clear. In addition 
