Sept, q, igii.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
421 
Salmon Fishing in a School of Whales 
Santa Cruz, Cal., Aug. 25. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: Perhaps the inclosed cutting from 
the Sentinel may be of interest to the readers 
of Forest and Stream, showing, as it does, the 
kind of sport that is at present enjoyed by 
visitors to Santa Cruz in Monterey Bay: 
Great is the sport of the bay these days, and 
still greater is the enthusiasm of those who go 
out to try their luck at salmon fishing. Our 
visitors are having great success as fishermen, 
and Santa Cruz is just about the best place in 
the whole world to these people who will go 
about telling of this one grand attraction even 
if they have not been inspired by anything else. 
Salmon fishing is one of the things which will 
make Santa Cruz famous. The advantages are 
complete. The bay is most beautiful and calm 
in the morning; there are plenty of launches 
and boats of every description. Those in charge 
are obliging and courteous and everything is 
provided for the pleasure and enjoyment of 
the visitors as well as for the home people. 
Thursday was a great day in more ways than 
•one. Not only was it fun to hook and puil in 
the gamy fish which weighed as high as fifty 
pounds, but the greatest sight of many was en¬ 
joyed because of the great schools of sardines 
which blackened the water and the large num¬ 
ber of whales which sported among these smaller 
fish, gulping them down by the tons. 
“In all the years I have been out on the bay 
I never saw a sight to equal it,” said Ralph 
Miller, one of the most ardent sportsmen in the 
county. “I have never before seen as many 
sardines stampeded and driven frantic by the 
presence of the whales, the salmon and the sar¬ 
dine birds which were after them continuously. 
Whales would come to the surface of the water 
within less than a hundred feet of our boat. 
They would sink beneath the surface of the 
water, and come up right under the sardines 
with their massive jaws wide open, taking in 
the sardines by the thousands. When they 
would close their jaws you could see the water 
spurting out the sides of their mouths as their 
jaws came down upon the fish. Then all 
around the water would become oily from the 
sardines which had been crushed and eaten.” 
Mr. Miller was asked if it was not dangerous 
to be out on the bay with whales in such close 
proximity to the small boats; if they were not 
liable to come up under a boat occasionally and 
precipitate all hands into the water and prob¬ 
ably break up the small craft. 
“There is nothing to fear,” said Mr. Miller. 
“1 he whales keep at a distance. They hear the 
noise of the launches and do not come near 
them.” 
“But how about the sail and rowboats which 
do not make any noise,” was asked. 
“No danger at all,” was the reply. “All you 
have to do is to stamp your feet on the bottom 
of the boat and the whales will keep away.” 
Mr. Miller was out with his son, Seller, and 
W dliam Kirk. They got nine beauties, one 
weighing nearly forty pounds. 
Rev. E. S. Williams, who was out with L. 
McQuesten and Carl Larson, states that he has 
crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific and has seen 
many whales, but never has he seen such a sight 
as witnessed by him Thursday morning. He is 
one of the most enthusiastic sportsmen on the 
bay. He landed a 37(4-pound salmon and the 
party returned with three big ones. 
A. H. Raht, of San Francisco, hooked a 46- 
pounder on a light line. It was a king salmon 
and a fighter, too. One can imagine the sport 
in landing such a beauty when it took fifty 
minutes. The next largest was 37 pounds. 
Father McNaboe and Father Cameron, of San 
Francisco, and Ben Blaisdell and Sam Harris 
were out in the Eleanor and caught a big lot. 
Seven to Blaisdell and five to Harris. James 
McCall, M. Krilanovich and Frank Morris were 
in the McCall boat and brought in seven, all of 
good size. John Perez’s boat had seven also. 
Joe Delaney and Carroll Uhden caught seven. 
The salmon run this year is larger by far than 
any year since 1901, and the sardine shoals are 
simply immense. 
The best time for fishing is from daybreak to 
about 8 A. M., although good catches have been 
made in the afternoon and about an hour be¬ 
fore sunset. George St. J. Bremner. 
British Casting Contest. 
The British Amateur Fly- and Bait-Casting 
Club will hold a tournament at Hendon, near 
London, on Sept. 23 and 24. It will be open to 
members only, and the events will be as follows: 
1. Salmon fly-casting (distance), 18-foot rods 
and under. 
2. Salmon fly-casting (switch), 18-foot rods 
and under. 
3. Trout fly-casting (distance), any rod up to 
11 feet 6 inches. 
4. Light rods fly-casting (distance), 5-ounce 
weight (J^-mmce allowed for metal reel seat). 
5. Ambidextrous fly-casting (distance), rods 
not to exceed 11 feet 6 inches (two minutes 
allowed with each hand). 
6. Heavy bait-casting ( 2 ( 4 -ounce), distance 
only. 
7. Accuracy casting (i( 4 -ounce), five casts 
at each distance, 30 and 40 yards. 
8. Light bait-casting (( 4 -ounce), distance and 
accuracy. 
9. Accuracy casting (( 4 -ounce), five casts at 
each distance, 20 and 30 yards. 
10. Special light bait 04 -ounce), distance only. 
Contestants will be classified in accordance 
with their skill. In the fly events leaders are 
restricted to not less than 6 nor more than 10 
feet in length, and no cast which touches the 
water or grass behind the caster will be al¬ 
lowed. Neither will blackleaded lines be per¬ 
mitted. Trout rods are limited to n (4 feet in 
length. 
In the bait events lines must withstand strains 
as follows: 20-o.unce, 10 pounds; (4-ounce and 
( 4 -ounce, 3 pounds. Any reel may be used. 
In the bait-casting events if, in the judges’ 
opinion, a bait strike inside the court, and then 
jump out of the court, the cast will be taken at 
its striking point in place of at its final resting 
point. And if a bait strike outside of the court, 
and then jump into the court, the cast will be 
taken at its striking point, and will reckon as 
no score. 
A cast that rests outside the court does not 
score, although it counts as one of the five casts. 
Women who Make Artificial Flies. 
One of the first women, perhaps, to make flies 
in large quantities in America was Miss Carrie 
J. hrost, a Wisconsin girl. At first she began 
making flies for friends, as a sort of a side 
issue, and as her fame spread, orders increased, 
and in recent years she has conducted a large 
establishment of her own. She employs a large 
number of girls and women, all of whom she 
taught herself, and the flies supplied to the trade 
by her are well liked. 
Another woman who makes flies as a business 
is Mrs. Anna Keene, of Queens, N. Y. She is 
the widow of John Harrington Keene, who wrote 
so many books and articles on fishing and rod 
and tackle making. Mrs. Keene is fond of fish¬ 
ing, especially fly-fishing, and takes lively interest 
in the success met with by anglers who fish with 
her flies, which are superb, especially those made 
for dry-fly fishing. 
In Los Angeles lives still another woman who 
makes flies for a living. This is Mrs. Frances 
Brown who, the Press says, is a widow and 
formerly a school teacher, who hit on the idea 
of preparing flies for the trout from the com¬ 
plaints of her pupils, who told how the fish ate 
the bait, but escaped the hook. She began by 
fashioning worms of silk, wool, thread, floss and 
chenille, and her wares were put on sale in stores 
dealing in sportsmen’s goods. After a trial the 
fishermen came back enthusiastically for more, 
and several friends gave Mrs. Brown sugges¬ 
tions which enabled her to extend her business. 
Now she has a half dozen girls working for 
her, and even then she hardly can keep up with 
the orders. The bait is made so skillfully the 
oldest and wisest trout are deceived. 
North Shore Casting Club. 
Chicago, Ill., Aug. 27.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The club at its last regular meeting 
voted to challenge the Illinois Casting Club to 
a series of four casting contests; two events to 
be held on the South Side, Sept. 23, and two on 
the North Side, Sept. 30; the prize to be a ban¬ 
ner offered by the North Shore Casting Club. 
A joker in the challenge compels you to par¬ 
ticipate. As a matter foreordained, the North 
Shore Casting Club will win, so let us win with 
a large margin. All we need to win is to have 
the most points, all we need to win said points 
is ability, all we need to have the ability is prac¬ 
tice. 
I am inclined to think that some of you fel¬ 
lows are under the impression that our lagoon 
has been drained to get the weights we have so 
cheerfully (?) consigned to its ever ready maw. 
and that it has not been refilled by the persons 
made rich by the sale of the weights which 
they found; however, I hereby certify that the 
lagoon is full of perfectly good water, and that 
ail facilities exist; casting as long as you can 
hear your weight splash. 
The joker? The banner will be awarded to 
