May 15, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
779 
could be sufficiently tough to withstand such a 
terrific strain for such a length of time. 
Just as we were preparing to turn the fish 
loose some natives living on the bank asked 
for him. As they wanted the tarpon for food, 
we were, of course, glad to oblige them. True 
to my promise I called a halt, and little Pablo 
was very happy. 
William J. Ehrich. 
[to be concluded.] 
Tarpon at Sarasota. 
Red Bank, N. J., May 8 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Dr. John Ilalton’s announcement in 
Forest and Stream of the arrival of tarpon at 
Sarasota, Fla., reminds me that I should say 
something of the place for the benefit of fisher 
men, having visited it several winters in either 
January or February. 
Sarasota is on the mainland, fronting on a 
beautiful bay some fifteen miles in length by one 
to three miles in width and about three miles 
from the gulf, which is reached by either Sara¬ 
sota or New Pass directly opposite the town. 
It is on the Seaboard Air Line Railway, about 
fifty miles south of Tampa, and may also be 
reached by steamer. 
Winter is not the best time for fishing, but I 
have caught large channel bass or redfish, blue- 
fish, Spanish mackerel, sea trout or weakfish, red 
and black grouper and several other kinds. 
Usually the kingfish comes about the first of 
March or a little later, and after the winter 
tourists have gone home the tarpon come in 
May and June. 
From what I have gathered the tarpon fish¬ 
ing is usually good and the grounds are easy 
to reach. The residents have the tarpon fishing 
largely to themselves. 
Sarasota Bay is connected at. its southerly end 
by a dredged channel with Little Sarasota, which 
also has its pass to the gulf, and below that 
comes Casey’s Pass, so that there is a long 
strip of inland water connected every few miles 
with the Gulf of Mexico. Taking into account 
its accessibility, climate and fishing, Sarasota is 
hard to surpass. T. H. Grant. 
Fishy Trimmings. 
Upon a lady’s hat you’ll see 
The feathers of a bird 
Mixed up with flowers in a way 
That really is absurd; ■ 
For when the rose is blooming 
The buttercup is dead. 
And yet together they will cling 
Upon a lady’s he.sd. 
But though they slaughter pretty birds. 
And animals most rare, 
To mingle with their flowers 
That upon their hats they wear. 
They let alone all things that dwell 
In rivers or the sea. 
And so I ask, as a mere man. 
Why should this boycott be? 
Why not a hat with fishes’ heads, 
Or oyster shells upon it? 
Why cannot some one lead the way 
And wear a “fishy” bonnet? 
A cod’s head might be stuck upon 
A hat of “shelly” shape, 
With two eels used to form the strings, 
Instead of silken tape. 
Such trimmings may be “smelly” things. 
But we know, in'many nations, 
That ladies can, and often do, 
W’ear “fishy” imitations. 
—Bristol Times. 
Tournament Casting. 
Atlanta, Ga., May 8 . —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The resolution adopted by the Chicago 
Fly-Casting Club and printed in a recent issue 
has reawakened the confusion in my mind in 
reference to the much discussed professional 
rule of force in the National Association. Un¬ 
fortunately I have not been enlightened by club 
comments, for my city being inland does not 
boast a fly club, and therefore I get only an 
occasional “look in.” 
Last summer I attended a meeting of the 
executive committee of the parent body in Chi¬ 
cago and was profoundly impressed with the 
repeated assertions that the professional must 
be kept out or the universe would get lopsided 
and fail to sail on an even keel. So strenuous 
were the declarations that commercialism must 
be sternly rejected that I enthusiastically deter¬ 
mined to devote the remainder of my life to 
preserving, at all hazards, the snow-lit purity 
of our art. So Spartan-like was the spirit which 
dominated the meeting that it was resolved to 
eliminate rods, reels, etc., as prizes and, in lieu, 
crown the victor with blue ribbon badges, thus 
consecrating him to the cause of temperance and 
the holy crusade against professionals. I kicked 
a little at the badges because I thought some 
day I might be able to slip up upon some nod¬ 
ding manufacturer and get one of those rods 
or reels. They looked good to me, but the 
motion went through with reverent acclaim. 
It is true things were a trifle hazy as to why 
it was dangerous to dally with the siren profes¬ 
sional, nor did any member stoop to give a rea¬ 
son, but the peril was so emphatically and loudly 
proclaimed as to render argument beside the 
point. So I left permeated to the core with the 
sacred saintliness of my Chicago brethren. 
A few months afterward I was genuinely 
alarmed to hear that a noted New York profes¬ 
sional was to be a member of a fishing party 
to which I was also invited. I immediately ex¬ 
perienced a distinct sense of having been pol¬ 
luted, and it was with difficulty that my con¬ 
science was sufficiently appeased to permit an 
acceptance of the invitation, and I became a 
member of the party. To my surprise the ex¬ 
pert possessed many of the outward appearances 
of a human being and the hair on my back grad¬ 
ually assumed its position of wonted repose. A 
close scrutiny failed to disclose the accoutre¬ 
ments possessed by his satanic majesty. Finally 
I asked him where he carried his forked tail 
and was gently assured he had none. Then I 
got friendly. Fie evinced a perfect willingness 
to tell anything he knew about the game and 
gave me a number of valuable points. 
As a maker he appeared to have dealt fairly 
■A'ith the purchasing public, for I carefully ex¬ 
amined his fishing kit and the contents are for 
sale by any reputable dealer. His rods were 
excellent, but not better than my own. They 
put the fly out further than mine, but that was 
due to the “man behind the gun” and not to 
the gun. My flies, lines, etc., appeared to be of 
equal texture, and if he had kept for himself 
the best it was not visible. 
This little experience caused me to cast off 
my cloak of holy righteousness, and now I hail 
from Missouri and want to be shown some rea¬ 
son for all this nonsense. I have tried to work 
out by myself some intelligent argument which 
would support the rule, but it will not argue. 
A comparison with other sports failed to reflect 
light. Cock fighting seems to be different. So 
are prize fighting and horse racing. Billiards 
carry professionals, but they are not manufac¬ 
turers or salesmen, but men who play before the 
public for a living, and i do not know any man 
who casts a fly in public for a livelihood. I do 
know that if any 'skilled expert undertook to 
find his three meals through the avejiue of public 
tty-casting he would fail. 
Trap shooting is quite close on the surface, 
'but this will not bear an examination. For 
every tty-rod there are probably 100 shotguns. 
My city, to illustrate, has probably twenty-five 
tty-rods and 10,000 guns. A trap exhibition will 
attract a good audience at fifty cents per head; 
a fly- and bait-casting tournament at ten cents 
per head would not yield thirty cents. And 
again the professional shot is not a maker, but 
a handler of the gun. The maker is justified 
in employing him by reason of the widespread 
public interest, but what maker could afford 
to put out upon a circuit an expert fly-caster if 
the salary was only a dollar a day? 
I have never observed the slightest attempt 
upon the part of any maker or dealer to debauch 
any phase of the sport. Obviously, they would 
not, if they could, because a tournament pro¬ 
duces no revenue and not even a thief will steal 
an article which is without a market value. 
Does not this fact contain the fundamental 
truth of the whole business? There can be 
strictly speaking no professional unless the sport 
is so popular as to afford a good living to the 
expert. Whenever this interest exists it is in¬ 
variably attended with more or less betting. It 
requires a combination of this public interest 
and betting to breed the class of professional 
that besmirches a sport. Is not our sport so in¬ 
herently clean, so necessarily limited in scope, 
and so morally healthy as to remove it from 
the possible taint of this much dreaded 
bugaboo ? 
What is it the maker or dealer does that justi¬ 
fies his outlawry? Is it not fair to approach this 
proposition with the general premise that any 
man of good character and manners is eligible 
unless there be good reason to the contrary? 
Surely the mere character of his occupation 
does not per se render him unfit. If it did, we 
would all, as purchasers, be in pari delicto. 
Should we adopt trade standards, then let us 
start with the universally despised dentist. 
If he sells bad goods we have a specific and 
not generic matter to deal with. Personally I 
have bought from the leading New York firms 
for several years and my first complaint is yet 
to come. No one will assert the expert is selfish 
and keeps for his own use the best and there¬ 
by obtains an advantage. My money has always 
gotten what I wanted. Does his business give 
more time for practice, because handling a rod 
in the store will not teach him casting? If 
leisure is the objection, then bar first the man 
who is rich and has no trade. 
Does the expert extol his wares and drum 
trade? As to the first, we all do that. I have 
some rods that are the best on earth and the 
semblance of doubt only awakens my pity; I 
am sorry for the other fellow. Would this not 
more properly be treated as a matter of con¬ 
duct and controlled by a club rule? Would not 
the members be individually capable of protect- 
