Feb. 17, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
211 
Fly-Casting and Sportsmen’s Show. 
A FEATURE of the eighteenth annual Sports¬ 
men’s Show, which will open Friday evening, 
March i, at Madison Square Garden, will be 
the anglers’ casting tournament. The competi¬ 
tion will be conducted by a committee represent¬ 
ing the Nsitional Association of Angling Clubs 
and the important Eastern anglers’ clubs. The 
tournament committee consists of David T. 
Abercrombie, Chairman; John Doughty, E. M. 
Gill, C. G. Levison, A. Jay Marsh and Walter Mc- 
Guckin. The general committee includes the 
tournament committee and the following: Julius 
H. Seymour. Fred. T. Mapes, Wni. C. Metcalfe, 
Jason G. Lamison, D. W. Poor, Willett B. Gano, 
Robert B. Lawrence, Flarold G. Henderson, 
Arthur C. Rice, Warren L. Miller, Charles T. 
Champion and Nathaniel S. Smith. 
Most of the criticism of the past has arisen 
from the lack of good management. In the 1912 
indoor tournament the committee aims to make 
a record in this respect. The rules will be the 
tournament rules of the National Association 
with modifications adapted to the occasion. The 
judges will be appointed by the committee upon 
their assurance that they will serve. 
The opening event will be at 8:30 Friday eve¬ 
ning, March i; trout casting for distance, 5-ounce 
rods, 70-foot class, open to all except those who 
have cast 70 feet or more in any open or club 
tournament with a 5-ounce rod. The complete 
program for the fol'owing seven days of the tour¬ 
nament will be announced later. It contains 
some accuracy-casting-under-obstacle events that 
will be spectacular and designed to be especially 
attractive to the public. The committee in charge 
intends to attract and interest novices. There 
are innumerable anglers who have cast flies and 
bait in fishing who have never realized the al¬ 
lurement of casting as a sport and the improve¬ 
ment it steadily makes in the angler’s art. 
Lake George Association Protest. 
Lake George, N. Y., Feb. 8. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: The proposed “uniform fish and 
game law’’ is now before the Senate of the 
State of New York, introduced by Senator 
Franklin D. Roosevelt. A man closely in touch 
with matters at Albany, particularly those per¬ 
taining to fish and game, says of the bill: 
“I am satisfied the bill is framed to please the 
commercial fisheries in the main, hut it is also 
a political measure of the cleverest kind.’’ 
It is strange that the commission should have 
framed such a bill without consulting their pro¬ 
tectors as to the needs of the various districts; 
it is significant that one of the ablest game pro¬ 
tectors in the service was asked for his resig¬ 
nation two days after he had openly denounced 
the bill. 
I do not know how the bill affects fish and 
game interests in other sections of the State, 
but if it is as disastrous elsewhere as it is here, 
then it is easily the vilest enactment of its kind 
ever offered the people of the Empire State. 
For years organized effort has been sustained 
at considerable expense to promote the develop¬ 
ment of game fish in Lake George, Schroon and 
Glen Lakes until laws now exist which are fair¬ 
ly satisfactory in the main. We protect black 
bass until Aug. i, bullheads until July i, great 
Northern pike until June 16. We also last year 
secured an act limiting the catch of any one 
boat in a day to twenty-five pounds of black 
bass or thirty pounds of pike. 
In these Northern waters black bass do not 
spawn until July and are not off their beds 
even as late as Aug. i in many instances. The 
new law opens the season for black bass June 16. 
Great Northern pike run up into the marshes as 
late as June i to spawn, and the bill proposes 
to open the season May i. Protection is re¬ 
moved entirely from bullheads. Catch of fish 
is limited to each fisherman so that our steam¬ 
boat fishhogs can again get busy with their 
crews of hired fishmen who of late years have 
all but stripped the lake of its game fish. 
As far as the Adirondack section is concerned 
it is of the utmost importance that this bill be 
defeated. It is probably true that other sections 
of the State will be as badly off. May I ask 
that you will in some form give publicity to the 
danger which threatens? 
Edward A. Knight, Sec’y. 
Restoring Natural Conditions. 
The following suggestion relating to th- res¬ 
toration of fish life in the lakes of Pennsylvania 
has been made by N, R. Bul’er, Commissioner 
of Fisheries: 
“One of the proper functions of the fisheries 
department is an effort to restore fish life in the 
inland lakes of the State of Pennsylvania. The 
greater number of inland lakes are in Wayne, 
Pike, Monroe and Susquehanna counties. The 
four counties mentioned contain over 200 natu¬ 
ral lakes, which are not likely to be contaminated 
and comprise the greatest natural resources of 
that region, not only for furnishing food fishes, 
but as ati attraction for people seeking recrea¬ 
tion. 
“Deterioration of the fish in these bodies of 
water has come as a result of the inroads of 
civilization as well as the lack of stocking and 
propagation. Years ago when the country 
around them was in a primal state, the lakes 
were full of fallen trees, especially around the 
shores, which furnished natural breeding, feed¬ 
ing and hiding places. The timber near the lakes 
having been cut away, and time having eradi¬ 
cated those that fell into the water, the fish 
gradually became robbed of their natural pro¬ 
tection, and they have diminished in size and 
numbers. 
“To overcome this downward tendency it is 
recommended that landowners, sportsmen and 
others interested in the restoration of fish life 
in these lakes, haul trees and even piles of stone, 
of which there are p’enty on these lakes, when 
thej^ are covered with ice, and when the ice 
melts and the trees and stones sink to the bot¬ 
tom, they will, as it were, furnish homes for the 
fish where they can breed- in safety, find proper 
food and secure necessary protection from their 
natural enemies.’’ 
Fisherman’s Club of Chicago. 
The fifth annual dinner of the Fisherman’s 
Club of Chicago will be held on the night of 
March 30 at the Auditorium Hotel in that city. 
All anglers will be welcomed, as they will be 
assured if they will write to the secretary, 
George Henry Cleveland, 1909 Ogden avenue, 
Chicago, who will inform them concerning all 
details. These functions have always been pleas¬ 
ant ones, at which a large number of fishermen 
have met, to discuss fish and fishing, exchange 
experiences, renew old friendships and form new 
ones. A copy of the preliminary announcement 
is reproduced herewith. 
THE TOP RAIL. 
Some of the camera people advise the begin¬ 
ner to start out w'ith a cheap outfit as the proper 
thing to learn with. This is nothing more nor 
less than fraud, for they know the serious ones 
will not be satisfied w'ith the outfit, will discard 
it and buy a more expensive one. There is 
nothing too good for a beginner if he is serious. 
An old fisherman w'ho became enthusiastic over 
tournament casting asked a group of experts 
whether it would not be advisable for him to 
begin with a good nine-foot rod, then after he 
had practiced awhile with it, purchase a ten- 
foot rod, then a standard iik2-foot rod. Did 
they disagree in their rep'ies? No; all advised 
Ir’m to buy the best standard length rod he could 
afford, of a weight to suit his strength of wrist; 
I'ne and leader to suit, and practice, practice. 
He acted on this advice, took up the sport in 
earnest, and became a first-rate fly-caster. Money 
was no object to him but he rejo'ced that he had 
not wasted it and his time to no purpose when, 
as it transpired, he was led to start in right at 
the beginning. Grizzly King. 
