498 
FOREST AND STREAM 
April 19, 1913 
otherwise. In fact, there are many ways to de¬ 
liver the flies, and sometimes any one of them 
will take trout, and again there are times when 
none of them will. T.he more I fish for trout, 
the less it seems I know about them, and find 
yet a great deal more to learn. And it certainly 
is very interesting the lessons one learns. The 
old proverb which says: “We learn wisdom 
from failure more than from success,” is very 
true in trout fishing, and what would the pleas¬ 
ure be if we knew before we started just what 
we were going to do, and knew we were going 
to be successful. The very uncertainty adds zest 
to it. Ernest L. Ewbank. 
Fishing in California. 
BY GOLDEN GATE. 
Weather conditions have been ideal for win¬ 
ter sport in California, the rainfall having been 
exceptionally light, and more enthusiasts of the 
rod and reel have been in quest of steelhead 
trout, salmon and striped bass than is often the 
case at this season of the year. Splendid catches 
of bass and steelhead have been made, and so 
unusual have conditions been that some fly-fish¬ 
ing has been done with considerable success. 
While the weather has been very satisfactory 
for fishing in tide water, the lack of rain makes 
the outlook for trout fishing in coast streams 
very uncertain. Streams are lower now tnan 
they should be in May or June, and the indi¬ 
cations are that the season will be a very short 
one. Trout fishing will be in order in all of the 
fish and game districts of the State, except one 
in the high sierras, after April i, and will be 
general a month later. The snowfall in the 
sierras has been light, and unless there are un¬ 
usually heavy storms late in the season, early 
sport will be the best. Last season was an ex¬ 
ceedingly hard one on trout, owing to the low 
waters, and the coming one promises to be even 
worse. 
Steelhead fishing is still good in tidewater, 
and in some places exceptional catches are being 
made. Carl Werner and two companions re¬ 
cently fished in the Gazos lagoon and landed over 
300 trout in one day. There is a limit to the 
catches that may be made above tidewater, but 
below the established lines there is none what¬ 
ever. 
Heavy catches of steelhead continue to be 
made in San Lorenzo Creek at Santa Cruz, and 
further down the coast, near Santa Barbara, some 
good sport has been enjoyed in the Santa Ynez 
River. It is reported that so low have some of 
the coast streams been that steelhead trout have 
spawned in the shallow lagoons, being unable to 
get upstream. 
The largest fine ever imposed upon anyone 
in Trinity county for a violation of the fish and 
game laws was recently inflicted on J, H. Hooper 
of the Globe Mining Company. He plead guilty 
to the charge of turning sawdust from the. com¬ 
pany’s mill into Canon Creek, and was fined 
$250, which he promptly paid. 
The Union Oil Company, which has been on 
trial in the Justice Court at Martinez for per¬ 
mitting oil waste to flow into the bay from its 
refinery, has been bound over to answer to the 
Superior Court. The Fish and Game Commis¬ 
sion contends that the waste oil from the re¬ 
finery is killing the fish in San Pablo Bay. A 
bill is now before the State Legislature to make 
possible the strict enforcement of the present 
law touching upon oil pollution of State waters. 
Attention is being called to the fact that 
there is a radical conflict between the fishing 
laws of the State and the provisions of the law 
by which the water of streams may be appro¬ 
priated. The work being done by the Great 
Western Power Company on the North Fork 
of the Feather River brings to public attention 
the fact that it is lawful for water power con¬ 
cerns to appropriate every drop of water in a 
stream, divert the water from the regular chan¬ 
nel, and at certain seasons of the year dry up 
the stream from the point of diversion to the 
power house, which may be miles below. 
The California Anglers’ Association, the 
Pacific Striped Bass Club and the San Fran¬ 
cisco Striped Bass Club have prepared a state¬ 
ment for the legislators now meeting at Sacra¬ 
mento in which arguments are presented for and 
against certain of the fish and game bills under 
consideration. Changes in the present laws re¬ 
lating to the open and closed seasons on salmon 
and striped bass are opposed, as are the efforts 
being made to remove all protection from black 
bass. The proposition to again permit the use 
of the Chinese shrimp net is condemned, it being 
claimed that since the use of this net was pro¬ 
hibited, there has been a great increase in the 
number of fry of striped bass and other fish 
in the bay. A bill prohibiting the use of salmon 
or trout roe as a lure is approved. A reorgani¬ 
zation of the Fish and Game Commission is 
urged with commissioners devoting their full 
time to their duties. Bills are favored that will 
permit the importation of fish into the State dur¬ 
ing the closed season under proper restrictions. 
The trout fishing season in coast streams 
opened on April i, and some splendid sport has 
been enjoyed since that date. More anglers 
journeyed from San Francisco to fish on the 
opening day than was ever the case before, 
special trains being put on by the railroads to 
accommodate the crowds desiring to visit the 
streams on the peninsula. Weather conditions 
were decidedly favorable, and almost everyone 
returned with fair-sized catches. The rains late 
in March served to increase the flow of water, 
and better sport was enjoyed than was thought 
possible. It is conceded, however, that it will 
be but a short time until the water in all of 
the coast streams will be very low, and that the 
fishing season will be a short one. 
While some trout have been taken with flies 
and with spinning spoons, most of the fish have 
been taken with bait, and it will be a couple of 
weeks before artificial lures are effective, as in¬ 
sect life is just commencing to make its appear¬ 
ance. The most taking lure at the present time 
is a hackle fly with the hook tipped with a salmon 
egg or an earth worm. Most, of the trout landed 
were of small size, from six to ten inches in 
length, but here and there some large steelheads 
were found. While fishing in Laurel Creek, 
James Payne landed a 32-inch steelhead, and 
several 5-pound fish were taken on the opening 
day. 
Many of the members of the California 
Anglers’ Association visited Paper Mill Creek 
on the opening day, this being an established 
custom, and but little difficulty was experienced 
in securing satisfactory catches. Probably the 
best fishing, however, was experienced on the 
San Lorenzo River in the vicinity of Santa 
Cruz. This stream was visited by hundreds, and 
it is asserted that at least 8,000 trout were taken 
there on April i. Some large fish were taken on 
Soquel Creek, Clarence Houghton landing a 30- 
inch steelhead there. The streams in Alameda 
and Contra Costa counties were too low gen¬ 
erally, and but light catches were made there. 
The. indications are considered good for the 
passage of the alien fishermen’s bill by the State 
Legislature before its adjournment. This bill 
provides for an annual license tax on com¬ 
mercial fishermen, $5 for Americans, $10 for 
foreigners who are taking out citizenship papers, 
and $100 for aliens not eligible to citizenship. 
The measure is aimed at the Japanese and 
Chinese whose mode of living makes it impos¬ 
sible for white fishermen to compete with them, 
and whose methods of fishing are declared to 
be destructive. 
Do Trout Eat Spawn? 
Branchport, N. Y., April 8 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: I have heard it claimed many times 
that carp destroy the spawn of the lake trout 
{Cristinomer namaycush). Now, it does not 
seem to me that this can be so, as the carp is 
a vegetable feeder mostly, and a shallow water 
fish. Then at the time the trout are spawning 
(November and December) carp are supposed 
to be lying in deep water and in a semi-torpid 
condition. (The German Carp in the United 
States, Cole, page 561.) If any of your readers 
know of a case where trout spawn has actually 
been found in the stomach of a carp, I would 
be glad to hear from him in the columns of 
Forest and Stream. 
That the lake trout itself sometimes eats 
the spawn, I know to be a fact from my own 
observation. Three or four years ago in No¬ 
vember or December, I saw a man dressing a 
lake trout, and the stomach was full of trout 
eggs. Again in December, 1911, a man brought 
to me the stomachs from two small lake trout, 
and both were full of trout eggs. He said that 
these trout were about eleven inches long. 
Their stomachs I now have, preserved in alcohol. 
It would seem from the foregoing that it 
is not an uncommon occurrence for the lake 
trout to eat the spawn of its kind. 
Verdi Burtch. 
Illinois Casting Club. 
Chicago, Ill., April ii .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The fish and game laws now pending 
before the Illinois Legislature can probably be 
passed if every man will help. 
On receipt of this will you please write two 
letters, one of each to the gentlemen named 
below. 
To the Hon. F. A. Garesche, Chairman, Fish 
and Game Committee, House of Representatives, 
Springfield, Ill. 
Write, asking him to support House bill 
453 without change or amendment, and to espe¬ 
cially insist that there be no alteration made in 
the provision for a closed season for game fish. 
Write also to Hon. Edmond Beall, Chairman, 
Senate Fish and Game Committee, House of 
Representatives, Springfield, Ill. 
A letter of the same import asking him to 
support Senate bill 255 in the same way. 
A. F. Swisher,. 
Secretary Illinois Casting Club. 
