460 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[March 20, 1909. 
this pool the little stream had journeyed through 
boggy meadows. Just a short distance below it 
commenced its zig-zag way through the woods, 
between neighboring hills, and went bounding 
and roaring over rock and ledge, sometimes 
turning sharply to right or left, while often in 
doing so it had cut out deep curving pools upon 
the waters of which swirled round and round 
suds-like foam patches that seemed to say “fish, 
a trout 1 mark.” 
I later arrived at one of these deep whirl¬ 
pool bends. It was a likely place; one quite 
fitted to cause that thrill of excitement when the 
angler views for the first time the most promis¬ 
ing condition of the day. Years ago a tree had 
been undermined or blown over and now lay 
across the brook as though to prevent further 
progress down the stream, while just below it 
the brook hurried in deep, sullen swirl through 
a miniature canon topped by the thickest of tall 
spiny blackberry bushes. The limbs upon the 
tree were now growing straight into the air, 
while the underside of the prostrate trunk had 
long since ceased its efforts to cause branches 
to sprout, only to have them cut and broken 
off by the spring floods. I let my line float down 
under the tree time and again, changing from 
fly to worm and from worm to fly. It seemed 
incredible that no trout should be there, but I 
was forced to believe it, and sought a way to 
float my line down through the little gorge. 
I was compelled to crawl along the trunk of 
the tree. I left my creel on the bank so that 
I might more easily work around the upright 
limbs. Finally I was in a position in the tree 
over the middle of the stream, where I got my 
rod through its limbs and gradually worked off 
my worm, so that it floated down to the furthest 
end of the flood wjiere it danced and wriggled 
about, as I thought, in the most tempting way. 
I shifted my tip from left to right and back 
again so as to play the lure over all parts of 
the rift, and then began to reel in. Skipping 
and bobbing up the pool, my bait slowly came 
until half the distance was covered, when all at 
once the waters parted and through them rushed 
a trout that looked as big as a dog. I was so 
startled that I quickly drew away the hook from 
the oncoming fish that was so eager to get it 
that he lifted himself considerably out of the 
water. As I saw his size my heart thumped 
painfully and I had to swallow something sev¬ 
eral times. Of course he missed it. I once 
more let the bait float down, though my hands 
trembled so that the slender tip of my lithe 
bamboo wobbled badly. When the bait reached 
the end of the pool again I allowed it to bob 
about there for a moment and then began to 
reel in once more. As before, my bait reached 
the second half of the upper pool when, shades 
of Father Izaak, what a shock I got! 
Strange how unexpected the expected strike 
of a trout can be. How that fish did rush! 
How my rod did dip and curve! What power¬ 
ful rushes and slambang tugs that old trout 
threw upon my rod and line! A pool two rods 
from end to end is not long when you have a 
monster trout upon frail tackle, and particularly 
when the same pool is less than eight feet wide. 
I just had to keep tight line upon him. I could 
not afford to let him go down stream while I 
was up a tree, so I reeled him in as best I could 
and tried to hold and tire him out, which after 
a little I thought I had succeeded in doing, and 
began to bring him in toward me. Twice I got 
him close up to the tree, but I had no net, and 
the tree was too high above the water to reach 
him with my hands. I was all alone; what 
could I do? 
Then I saw a very small slope beside the tree 
on the right bank; I might land him there. 
Through the limbs, which seemed to me to have 
greatly increased in number while I was up the 
tree, I carefully backed my way, reaching the 
handle of my rod around the limbs from hand 
to hand until I was about ready to get off the 
trunk, when my foot slipped, I lost my balance 
and snapped my tip, which jerked the hook from 
the big fellow’s mouth. I am glad I was alone. 
Just as the hook broke from the trout’s mouth, 
either from contempt, fright or pain, he made 
three curving splashes through the water as he 
made his frantic way to the pools below. As 
though it was not enough to lose him, he took 
this means to show his sides so that I might 
see what a great fish I had lost. Really, he 
looked as big and -as deep as a shad. 
For a long time I sat and mourned the loss 
of that fish, and then as though with sudden in¬ 
spiration I began to cast anew, hoping I might 
get an overgrown member of his family. Pres¬ 
ently again a vicious fight was on and shortly 
afterward a twenty-ounce trout was added to 
my creel. 
This was enough for one day. The sun came 
out from behind a cloud for the first time that 
afternoon and I saw that I would have to set 
out and travel fast to make eight miles in a 
little less than two hours if I was to get home 
that night. At the little country station I found 
my old friend George, who, for the first time 
in the history of our many days a-fishing, had 
failed to beat my catch, either in size or num¬ 
ber. Together, wet and tired, and I may say 
hungry, we waited for the train that came two 
hours late, and which got us into Providence 
after all the street cars had stopped running 
for the night, compelling us to walk another two 
miles on top of the twenty I had been that day. 
Was it worth it? It was. 
Franklin N. Strickland. 
North Carolina Trout. 
Linville Falls, N. C., March i. — Editor 
Forest and Stream: It may surprise some ang¬ 
lers, but it is a fact that trout have been taken 
with hook and line, usually with a fly, in every 
month of the year in this wonderful Linville 
River gorge. The winter has been so mild that 
on some of the brightest days, with a tempera¬ 
ture of 50 to 64, the rainbow trout have been 
lively enough to rise to the fly. In a month 
from now the season will really open, though 
fish will be taken before that. In six weeks it 
will be well started, and by the first of May 
it will be at its best. The river is well stocked 
and brook trout are in the creeks. The great 
gorge is a natural preserve, for few fishermen 
get far into it, while easy fishing is to be had 
above the falls. The fishing lasts all summer 
and into the fall, or it did last summer. Some 
of ihe largest fish were taken in September 
anci October. The fish in this turbulent stream 
are livelier than in any lake or preserve. 
F. W. Bicknell. 
National Tournament Arrangements. 
At the business meeting which followed the 
regular monthly dinner of the Anglers’ Club 
of New York, held March 9, a full discussion 
was had regarding ways and means relative to 
the forthcoming national casting tournament. 
This will be the third annual tournament of the 
National Association of Scientific Angling Clubs, 
and it will be held under the auspices of the 
Anglers’ Club of New York. The time agreed 
on is tentative, but as the dates named have not 
been objected to, and fair weather can be con¬ 
fidently expected then, it is likely no change will 
be made. These dates are the three days end¬ 
ing with the last Saturday in September next. 
Both the dates and the tentative list of events 
were announced at the February meeting, and 
discussed at the March meeting, and as there 
was objection to one feature only, it is probable 
the programme will be as follows: 
Distance bait-casting with half-ounce weights. 
Distance bait-casting with quarter-ounce weights. 
Accuracy bait-casting, half-ounce weights. 
Accuracy bait-casting, quarter-ounce weights. 
Trout fly-casting for distance with single-hand rods. 
Salmon fly-casting for distance with fifteen-foot rods. 
Dry fly-casting (accuracy) with rods under ounces. 
Accuracy fly-casting with rods under 8Vi ounces. 
Surf casting with 2%-ounce weights. 
Fly-casting for distance with five-ounce rods 
was the event objected to, on the ground that 
comparatively few are interested in or prepared 
for it. 
It was agreed that the dry-fly event should 
be changed, so that instead of one cast at each 
distance, as at present, three casts should be 
arranged for at each target, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 
60 feet. This will be submitted to the execu¬ 
tive committee of the National Association with 
the recommendation that the change be made 
in the national rules. 
The suggestion was also made that lines for 
distance bait-casting be restricted to a practical 
size and strength. This would cut down the 
scores, but would facilitate the casting, which 
is now subject to delays through the breaking 
of lines. It would also make this branch of the 
sport much less costly than' at present, for with 
the lines now used, which are of eight-strands, 
braided square, of a diameter of only .008 to 
.010 of an inch, a lOO-yard line is good for one 
or two events only, and it is not unusual for a 
caster to use up 1,000 to 2,500 yards of line in 
a season. In this way his e.xpenditure for bait¬ 
casting lines is greater than for double-tapered 
fly lines, which cost $5 to $10 each, but last 
several seasons. The club’s rules restrict surf¬ 
casting lines to those strong enough to lift 15 
pounds dead weight, and it was urged that proper 
restrictions could as well be made for the finer 
lines, but no action was taken. 
A proposition to amend the constitution so 
that fishing tackle and sporting goods manu¬ 
facturers and dealers could become active mem¬ 
bers but not hold office, and could enter all 
events, was voted on and defeated. 
When this subject was under discussion, ex¬ 
tracts from a letter from a member of the Fly- 
Fishers’ Club of London, one of the oldest if 
not the oldest amateur organization of its kind 
in existence, were read, as follows: 
So far we have not allowed any fishing tackle maker, 
fishing guide or professional fisherman who takes out 
anglers to fishing grounds and waters, or any professional 
teacher of angling or casting, to compete as an amateur. 
