Feb. 2, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
179 
presenting a blaze of iridescence often as the 
fish dies. Few fishes so impress one with their 
evident power' and sturdiness as this amber jack 
which the ichthyologists call Scriola lalandi; a 
fish which averages twenty-five pounds and in 
its prime tips the scales at over one hundred. 
Later when four or five jacks have been 
added to the score they are taken in. the largest 
one weighing nearly seventy pounds, all in all 
one of the finest fishes of the summer seas. 
At Palm Beach there is much rivalry in the 
amber jack field, and some splendid records 
are held by the gentlemen who fish there. Mr. 
Wm. Lawrence Green held the record for many 
seasons with an 81^-pound fish which he killed 
after a gamy struggle. This record was beaten 
by Mr. J. B. Caldwell, who in 1905 took an 
amber jack with a 21-thread line, rod and reel, 
that weighed 92 pounds; and this may be said 
to be near the limit. Mr. Green stated that he 
fished the amber jack waters for-five years be¬ 
fore he made his record of 8ip2. Some of Mr. 
Green’s fish weighed as follows: In March, 
1904, No. 1, 46 inches, weight 34 pounds; No. 
2, 50 inches, long; weight 42pounds; No. 3, 
60 inches, weight 67 14 pounds; No. 4, 61 inches, 
weight 67 pounds; No. 5, 60 inches in length, 
weight 8ij4 pounds. 
My own amber jack fishing has been mainly 
on the extreme outer reef, and for several sea¬ 
sons I was content with one fish of good size 
Long, East, Garden, Bird, Middle, Sand and 
Loggerhead keys rose directly in the Gulf 
Stream that came sweeping up from Yucatan 
and the winter home of the tarpon. The water 
was beautiful in tint and tone, and the reef of 
branch coral stretched away for miles, cut here 
and there by vivid blue channels, the type of 
all that is beautiful in color. The water was 
filled with delicate forms of jelly fish, the fairy¬ 
like Physophora with its blaze of colors, the lumi¬ 
nous colonies of Pyrosoma and chains of Salpcc. 
I had fished for days for the elusive amber jack 
along these submarine gardens and without luck, 
until one day while trolling with live mullet, the 
strike came and the sport was on. 
It is difficult to find any fish with which to 
compare this fish, its power and strength are 
so great. I was hardly aware that I had 
hooked it; my line was deep in the heart of the 
channel, and suddenly the amber fish had me in 
its toils, racing away with the light dinghy and 
300 feet of line, evidently reaching the bottom 
to come pulsating up to the surface with great 
throbs easily felt on the line, to stop when 
checked and give back blow for blow. 
The amber jack of the Pacific Coast is the 
great game fish of the people in Southern Cali¬ 
fornia waters, where it is known as amber fish, 
but more particularly as yellowtail (Scriola dor¬ 
salis). It is longer, more slender,, the head not 
so large and the body not so thick, and there 
are no dusky spots nor lines; the fins yellow, as 
gold, and a stripe down the side of gleaming 
yellow. The upper surface 'is green or amber, 
the belly silver. The yellowtail ranges from 15 
to 70 pounds here and comes in from the deep 
water in March or April and remains about the 
islands from San Clemente to Santa Catalina or 
San Nicolas until December. I have taken them 
from the wharf at Avalon Bay nearly every 
month in the year; but they are not supposed 
to be here in the two cold months and are 
generally absent. But in the months named, or 
in May, they suddenly appear in large well 
broken schools, soon breaking up into smaller 
ones. Then the sport begins, not for the ex¬ 
pert few, but for all the people who may fish, 
and i.rj July or August one of the most remark¬ 
able fishing sights to be seen anywhere is staged 
on the placid waters of Avalon Bay, Santa Cata¬ 
lina. Here possibly two hundred boats may be 
seen, the anglers, with rod and reel, fishing for 
the game yellowtail or amber jack. They are 
anchored about twenty feet apart, and. form 
a compact floating town or assembly, fishing 
* in water of the deepest blue about one hundred 
feet or more in depth just at the entrance of 
the bay. Now and then comes a shout and a 
boat cuts loose from the throng and is rowed 
or towed away, and the angler is seen to be in 
the toils, the fish jerking the rod down to the 
water’s edge in sharp blows while the reel sings. 
There is nothing, at least in these waters, 
quite like this splendid rush, fairly demoralizing 
to some. I have seen a man jerked from a pier 
by such a fish. Another on receiving the strike 
was seized with a species of buck fever and 
trembled so that the fish ran away with all the 
line—600 feet—and would have taken the rod 
had I not gone to the rescue; yet these fishes 
average but 17 to 25 pounds. I have seen one 
that weighed 80 pounds, and the largest catch 
with a rod is, I believe, 51 pounds. 
The yellowtail is so common in these waters 
that if fished for in the eastern fashion with 
A 17-POUND YELLOWTAIL TAKEN BY PROF. HOLDER 
ON AN S-OUNCE SPLIT BAMBOO FLY-ROD. 
TIME, THREE-QUARTERS OF AN HOUR. 
handlines, a boatload could be taken; but the 
rod prevails, and fifteen or twenty minutes is 
devoted to the catch which, comes slowly up 
through the blue water like a star. Four or 
five such fishes satisfy the most ardent angler 
along these isles of eternal summer. 
Charles F. Holder. 
Salmon and Smells. 
New York, Jan. 7. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
“The Old Angler” always brings up points of 
.interest, and some for discussion. His query 
about rivers in which smelts and salmon are 
found together can be answered in this way. 
In many "of the far northern streams salmon re¬ 
main in the estuaries until autumn. . In other 
streams they run up to falls that are impassable 
at the summer stages of water, and remain there 
until the autumn flood. In some small, streams 
nearer home salmon remain in estuaries until 
almost spawning time, and then run up quickly 
and return quickly. This is said to be the case 
with some of the Prince Edward Island streams, 
and if smelts are found in the same waters they 
would probably be in the rivers at the same 
time with the salmon. Robert T. Morris, 
Lovers of Rod and Reel Meet. 
The members of the Racine Fly-casting Club 
held their annual banquet and dinner Monday 
evening, Jan. 14, at Racine, Wis. This organiza¬ 
tion is. composed of the representative men of 
the city who< take particular interest in angling 
and casting. The arrangement committee spared 
no pains nor expense in arranging the decora¬ 
tions in the dining room. Susan Thompson, the 
well-known caterer, prepared the menu, and it 
"was perfect in every respect. The tables were 
most inviting and covers were laid for fifty. Be¬ 
sides the local club members, there were present 
as guests from out of town, Mr. H. W. Perce, 
of Chicago, president of the National Associa¬ 
tion of Scientific Angling Clubs; and Mr. B. J. 
Kcllenberger, of Milwaukee. Judge E. B. Bal¬ 
den, president of the local club, acted as toast¬ 
master. Toasts were responded to by many. 
Mr. Perce outlined the benefits and scope of the 
national organization, which, it seems, will aid 
largely in perfecting this admirable game of fly- 
and bait-casting. The proposed new aluminum 
weight received considerable discussion, with the 
result that the delegate from this club to the 
National Association was instructed to vote in 
favor, of the aluminum weight, provided a satis¬ 
factory one was produced. 
Considerable interest was manifested in the in¬ 
ternational tournament for 1907, and all of the 
members resolved themselves into a committee 
of one to make this tournament the biggest, best 
and most interesting ever held. The boys are all 
working together, and nothing but the best of 
results are possible. Racine being very readily 
accessible by either boat or rail, ought to attract 
a large number of entries. Furthermore, as this 
is the first tournament ever held under the aus¬ 
pices of the National Association, it is re#eiving 
considerable support, and it is to be hoped that 
all clubs interested will get in line and send as 
large a delegation of casters as possible. The 
various committees are already at work on the 
many details, and will leave no stone unturned to 
give every one a good time. 
New officers for the year were elected as fol¬ 
lows: President, Chas. H. Washburn; Vice- 
President, Allen H. Barnes; Secretary-Treasurer, 
Dr. C. F. Browne; Captain, J. R. Dishington. 
To Drain Trout Lake. 
A dispatch to the New York Times says the 
United States Steel Corporation is preparing to 
spend nearly $2.000000 in draining Trout Lake, 
seven miles from Grand Rapids, Minn., and re¬ 
ducing what is now a beautiful body of water 
four miles long and a mile wide, to a mere mud 
hole. Trout Lake is near the Canisteo Mine, 
which has been opened by the Steel 1 rust. Into 
the deep shafts that have been sunk water from 
the lake pours constantly, making it necessary 
to work the pumps day and night. With the en¬ 
larging of the underground workings, the ex¬ 
pense from the excessive moisture in the soil will 
increase. So the trust decided to get rid of the 
lclhc 
“For some time agents of the corporation have 
been purchasing and obtaining options on the 
land abutting the lake shore.. This work is about 
finished, and it is expected that before long a 
deep canal will be built that will carry the water 
into Swan River, several miles away. The towns 
of Bovey and Colerian are situated at one end 
of Trout Lake. They are beauty spots, especially 
in summer, because of the lake, which is a 
favorite resort for campers and fishermen. But 
these towns have nothing - to say about the j^te 
of the lake because they are practically controlled 
by the iron mine interests.” 
A Preservative for Minnows. 
Although a similar formula has no doubt 
been frequently published, for the benefit of 
those who have not read it. the following, is 
given: Pure formalin 2 fluid ounces, glycerine 
5 ounces, water 20 ounces. Into this put the min¬ 
nows it is desired to preserve and leave them 
several days, after which they should be placed 
in- a fresh solution. Seal the bottle with paraffin 
and they will keep for many months. 
