Sept. 14, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
335 
Interstate Fly-Casting Tournament. 
Newark, N. J., Sept. 7.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Fly-casters were in attendance at the 
fifth annual interstate tournament, held to-day 
at Weequahic Park Lake under the auspices of 
the Newark Bait and Fly-Casting Club. The 
program consisted of six events, which were 
held throughout the day. 
The silver trophy cup, presented to the win¬ 
ner having the largest number of points, was 
captured by Charles T. Champion, of Bloomfield, 
a member of the local club. Champion was 
credited with 555 points, which topped Fred T. 
Mapes by four credits, the second man having a 
score of 551. John Dougherty, of Plainfield, 
was third with 532 points. The fight between 
Champion and Mapes for the trophy was exceed¬ 
ing close, and the final standing of the two 
nearest contenders was not certain until the last 
event, the half-ounce distance bait-casting, the 
accuracy dry-fly casting competition. Champion 
had the edge and was credited with only twelve 
demerits. Mapes fell behind and was marked 
with thirty-five demerits, which cost the trophy. 
Mapes set a high mark in the first event, 
the half-ounce distance bait-casting. He was 
credited with 174 feet for his longest cast and 
totaled 806, with an average cast of 161 feet. In 
this event the casters were divided into two 
classes, those who had set a mark of 175 feet 
in previous competitions composing the first 
division. 
In the first of the afternoon events accu¬ 
racy half-ounce casting, Champion made a rec¬ 
ord score, having only twenty-six demerits. Con¬ 
testants made one cast each consecutively at 60, 
70, 80, 90 and 100 feet, then reversed the order, 
from 100 feet back to 60 feet, and again same 
as first five casts, from 60 feet out to 100 feet, 
making fifteen casts in all. The next best score 
to that of Champion was made by R. E. Eichlin, 
with thirty-eight demerits. 
During the running of the fifth number a 
stiff wind blew across the lake, which made 
accurate casting impossible, and for a time the 
tournament committee considered postponing 
these events. After thirty minutes’ delay, the 
conditions became feasible to resume the sport. 
Mapes bested Champion in distance trout fly- 
casting, having a cast of 87 feet, 
which sur- 
passed Champion’s 
throw by four 
feet. 
The 
summary : 
Class 1. 
Longest 
Average. Total. 
Cast. 
F. T Mapes. 
. 161 
806 
174 
A. T. Neu. 
. 141 
707 
154 
J. Doughty . 
. 127 
638 
144 
P. 1. Muldoon . 
. 117 
585 
132 
P. D. Frazer . 
. 61 
306 
127 
Champion and Dou 
ghty tied f.or third 
place, 
and on 
the cast-off. Champion 
won. 
Class 2. 
G. A Endersby. 
. 125 
625 
140 
L. L. Sands .. 
. 113 
567 
135 
Smith . 
. 116 
583 
146 
Distance fly-casting, unlimited rod: Frazer, 
102 feet 6 inches; Champion, 101; Mapes, 89; 
Dougherty, 88; Muldoon, 84; Smith, 73; Eich¬ 
lin, 69. 
Accuracy trout fly-casting, at 50 feet, 55 feet 
and 60 feet, five casts at each target: First, J. 
Doughty, 15 demerits; second. Smith, 17; third, 
F. J. Mapes, 20; fourth, P. J. Muldoon, 29; 
fifth, C. T. Champion, 33; sixth. P. D. Frazer, 45. 
Accuracy half-ounce bait-casting: First, C. 
T. Champion, 26 demerits; second, R. R. Eichlin, 
38; third, P. J. Muldoon, 40: fourth, John 
Doughty, 44; fifth, A. J. Neu, 44; sixth, Gano, 
44; seventh, F. T. Mapes, 46; eighth, G. A. 
Endersby, 70; ninth, A. J. Neu, 44; tenth, J. 
Jacobus, 87. 
Distance trout fly-casting, five-ounce rod: 
First class, Mapes, 87 feet; Champion, 83 feet; 
Frazer, 80 feet; Doughty, 78 feet. Second class, 
Mercer, 80 feet; Gano, 73 feet; Eichlin, 72 feet; 
Muldoon, 71 feet; J. Doughty, Jr., 77 feet. 
Accuracy dry-fly casting, five-ounce rod: 
Won by Mercer, 9 demerits; second, Champion, 
12; third, Doughty, 14; fourth, Frazer, 35; fifth, 
Mapes, 35; sixth, Muldoon, 42. 
Northwestern Fall Fishing. 
BY AMOS BURHANS. 
Waterville, Minn., Aug. 29 . —Editor Forest 
and Stream: In nearly all the Northwestern 
lakes that are fed by creeks and rivers, there 
appears during the months of May and June a 
tiny green bit of weed seed or castoff portion 
of a stream water weed which, as it gains age, 
floats to the surface and clouds the water. Be¬ 
fore it rises it hangs in the water close to the 
top. This, with the other marine growth along 
the shores of most of these lakes, make the fish¬ 
ing very nasty during July and August. 
On a lake close by one end of it contains 
about twenty acres of this nauseating mass dur¬ 
ing the warmest weather. I have seen fish fight 
to get out of this mess and shift their feeding 
grounds as the weeds and floating muck was 
shifted about the lake. This weed was carried 
in this particular valley from one lake to an¬ 
other by the outlets or thoroughfares. Nearly 
every small lake empties into another. There is 
no bait-casting along the shore of our best bass 
grounds until this weed growth is nipped a few 
times by the frost and the water gets cold enough 
to kill it out. 
During the early portion of the season, while 
these weeds are gaining density in our waters, 
bass often work about in them and lay where 
the morning sun can strike them. At such times 
I have taken two to four bass from one spot in 
this moss. This is before the weed gives off its 
seed and stenches the water. It is no trick to 
approach stealthily and cast beyond the spot to 
be fished, dragging the weedless surface lure di¬ 
rectly over the spot. 
Later in the season, say the fore part of 
September, the moss begins to die and settle or 
be thrown upon the beaches, this according to 
the storms and direction of the wind. It rolls 
in the water like the western sage brush on the 
prairie and piles up where there is an obstruc¬ 
tion. Then we begin again with the surface lure 
on the rather shallow shore waters in the best 
feeding grounds near mouths of creeks or along 
patches of rushes and coarse water grasses. 
Frogs are good bait at this time if they are 
scarce. If. they are plentiful, the fish can get 
a quantity of them from about the stones along 
shore, under which the frogs ensconce themselves 
for the night, taking advantage of the heat the 
rocks draw and store during the day. Flies are 
good at this season, too. Anything with white 
and red on it seems to be good. 
If the fall rains have been copious and the 
rivers and creeks are full-banked yet clear, cast¬ 
ing is good in them. Two to the boat is the 
ideal number, one to hold it in midstream and 
advancing gently while the other wields the rod. 
Last fall I did some bass fishing on a lake 
that I had never been able to do any good upon 
during the best days of the season. One round 
point covered with water grass and rushes shoved 
itself out into the lake with a deal of promi¬ 
nence. The water was probably three feet deep 
outside the line of dense weeds and grass. Back 
in the closely growing weeds it was not more 
than half this deep, and among the jungle was 
a deal of this moss or water weed, which was 
growing still, this owing to its protection by the 
taller grass from the frosts. It was the first of 
October. 
During the whole day I had been working 
about the shores of the lake among the lilypads 
and pickerel weed with only meager success. At 
4 to 5 o’clock in the afternoon we started to try 
the waters about the point again. Into the edge 
of the grasses we cast our frogs. They were 
big, live greenbacks that kicked and splashed 
about in fine style. Back among the weeds we 
could hear the bigger bass jumping for the frogs 
that were taking shelter in the tangles. 
“Throw a frog over into the water where 
that big one made the splash,” softly suggested 
my companion. 
“I think too much of my tackle for that,” 
I said, knowing that a fair sized fish could not 
be led through the weeds and grass for forty 
feet or even half that. However, my friend 
would try it. 
The frog lighted on top of a bunch of weeds 
two feet above the water. By gently working 
the line he managed to cause the frog to drop 
slowly into the water, where he worked it about 
cautiously, just enough to make the frog kick 
and swing about a little. Getting no strike, he 
raised the frog up out of the water (for the 
line was still resting in the top of the grasses) 
and slid it down again. This time there was a 
rush for the bait and a series of splashes that 
indicated a good one on the hook. 
By careful working of the line and taking 
advantage of the rushes of the fish in the small 
space he had to disgorge the torturing hook 
he finally worked the fish out of perhaps twenty 
feet of tall weeds and grass into the open water 
where he came to net easily, being exhausted. 
Three times more did the same thing happen in 
the same or nearly the same spot. The splash¬ 
ing of the frogs as they dropped from the weeds 
to the water attracted the fish, it seemed, and he 
landed four after some mighty exciting moments. 
The fifth broke the hook and we quit. 
We tried the same idea three or four more 
times during the fall and failed to duplicate the 
trick. This summer we worked the same lake 
again and failed at it. The fish seemed to have 
taken up their headquarters on the opposite side 
of the lake in a bit of pickerel weed and lily- 
pads, where during the early morning we had 
very fair sport. 
The coming spring our local organization is 
going to buy crushed rock salt and distribute it 
about the bottom of the lake where the weeds 
I have mentioned begin to grow. The pickerel 
weed does not multiply as fast as this finer weed 
and along the shores protects the fish to make 
trolling good. It is said that rock salt will dis¬ 
solve slowly and kill out water weed of all kinds 
as it sinks to the bottom and does its work, and 
though we have never tried it, we want to use 
a carload next spring. I would be glad to hear 
through these columns from those who have 
tried it. 
