FOREST AND STREAM 
425 
Midland Beach Fishing Club 
A Progressive Body of Anglers 
By William 
T HE Midland Beach Fishing Club is not a 
hibernating body. When winter comes 
it does not go to sleep, nor lapse into 
indoor habits of yarning and overhauling tackle. 
It keeps in the open and substitutes long dis¬ 
tance field casting for surf casting, .every Sun¬ 
day, regardless of weather, led by such enthu¬ 
siasts as Dr Carleton Simon and Commodore 
Kurtz, the members assemble at Midland Park, 
Grant City, Staten Island, and vie with each 
E. Simmons. 
other in trying to hurl the lead beyond the 375- 
foot mark. 
The accompanying photographs portray them 
in one of those winter meets at which the new 
game of angling golf is alternated with distance 
casting. And concerning that game of angling 
golf, it may be said, that, although new to this 
country, it has been played in England for years. 
The first picture represents the members in the 
field on Sunday, April 18. In the group are 
Top Picture 
Picture 
-Members of the Midland Beach Fishing Club Assembled for Practice. Middle 
-Just After the Cast. Bottom Picture-Breathless Interest in the Measure¬ 
ment of a Record Cast. 
— — - "mi noias me vv oriel s 
Record For a Long Distance Cast. 
Dr. E. Saberta, president of the club; Dr. Carle- 
ton Simon, holder of the casting record; Ed¬ 
ward Merrell, captain of the field; Fred. Fitch, 
Commodore Kurtz, Sidney Rice, Edward E. 
Davis, who landed the record striped bass and 
bluefish in 1913, LeRoy Kurtz, J. W. Moore. 
Karl Durand, Robert Corson, Earnest Barnett, 
Willis M. Finch, E. Kronje, M. De Cocci, and 
Dr. Raynor. 
The club is three years old and has about 150 
members. It holds spring and fall casting 
tournaments every year, at which all casters of 
the different fishing clubs are made welcome. 
The club is the holder of the Finch Banner, 
which is the championship emblem of the casting 
world. This banner has been won two years in 
succession by Dr. Carleton Simon, and it needs 
to be won only once more to become the prop¬ 
erty of the club. The 1915 spring tournament 
was held on the 27th instant, at the Staten Island 
Fair Grounds, Dongan Hills. The fall tourna¬ 
ment will be held in September, about the 15th. 
The officers for the current year are: Dr. E. 
Saberta, president; J. W. Kelly, vice-president; 
William Paul, treasurer, and Le Roy Kurtz, 
secretary. 
The club is building a beautiful house at the 
Midland Beach pier, in Queen Anne style, and 
it will be ready for the coming season. The 
accommodations will include a general meeting 
room; a ladies’ reception room, and individual 
lockers. The formal opening and housewarming 
will take place at the conclusion of the spring 
casting tournament, on the evening of June 27. 
The friends of the club are cordially invited to 
make its house their headquarters. 
The Golf Casting Club of America, of which 
Commodore B. M. Kurtz is president, is making 
rapid strides at the new game and it invites all 
golf enthusiasts to visit its casting grounds at 
Midland Park, Grant City, where members will 
be found every Sunday. Any persons interested 
in the game will be welcomed and initiated into 
its intricacies. Mr. Sidney Rice is secretary of 
the club. 
