Feb. 23, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
301 
Recent Deaths. 
(! Hiram L. Leonard, who died recently at his 
[I home in Central Valley, N. Y., at the age of 
seventy-five years, was one of the pioneers in 
the manufacture of split bamboo fishing rods; 
or, as his friends often said of him, “the first 
man in America to make a split bamboo rod as 
it should be made.” 
Like several other men, each noted for his 
specialty in a particular line of work, Mr. Leo¬ 
nard’s life work was the result of the apprecia¬ 
tion in which the rods he made for his own use 
were held by others. He was born in Sebec, 
Maine, but lived in Ellenville, N. Y., in his 
youth, studying civil engineering, but becoming 
so proficient in mechanics that he made his own 
guns and fishing rods. Lie had made quite a 
name for himself as a maker of oars before his 
friends’ insistence caused him to devote more 
and more time to rod making, the result being 
that his place in Bangor became a rod shop. It 
is said of this shop that Mr. Leonard’s only 
tools were a hatchet, a knife and a wood rasp. 
From Bangor he moved to Central Valley, N. 
Y., where for upward of a quarter of a century 
he had made fine fishing rods until a shdrt time 
ago when his health began to fail. Manly Hardy, 
the Maine veteran, who knew him well, says of 
Mr. Leonard, “No man ever had a better camp 
mate.” 
Howard P. Frothingham, who died at his 
home in New York city, Feb. 12, was one of the 
pioneer fish and game commissioners, he having 
served as president of the New Jersey Fish and 
Game Commission from the time it was estab¬ 
lished until a short time ago, upward of a dozen 
years. Until recently he lived at Mount Arling¬ 
ton, N. J., and there, in Lake Hopatcong, in¬ 
dulged his fondness for fishing. He was about 
forty-five years of age. 
Major Enos G. Budd, who died on Feb. 9 at 
his home in Morris county, New Jersey, was one 
of that great army of adventurers who roamed 
the Western plains a half century ago. In 1855 
he went with a party of other young men from 
Fort Leavenworth to Utah, traveling on foot be¬ 
hind the rear guard of General Johnston's army, 
hunting big game along the way. 
Fly- and Bait-Casting. 
Several anglers of Newark, N. J., who have 
taken up the practice of bait-casting but who are 
not skilled in the organization of clubs, desire 
the support of all other anglers in and near 
their city who may be similarly interested, with 
a view to forming a fly- and bait-casting club, 
and holding business and practice meetings in 
that city. So far a number of enthusiasts have 
become interested, and these can be counted on 
to form the nucleus of the proposed club, but 
they want others to join with them in the steps 
preliminary to organizing. 
If any such Newarkers will communicate with 
Fred T. Mapes, 87 Eighth avenue, Newark, N. 
J., he can inform them what is proposed, and 
the Newark daily papers can assist by stating 
the facts. We understand that it will not be 
difficult to obtain a place for fly- and bait-cast¬ 
ing on fresh water in the city of Newark, and 
this in itself is a great advantage, as so many 
clubs find it difficult to obtain such privileges 
from park authorities. The editor of Forest 
and Stream will, if it is desired, attend any 
preliminary meeting and give all the assistance 
in his power to aid preliminary organization. 
The Newark casters are very enthusiastic, are 
good sportsmen, and should have a good or¬ 
ganization. 
We are in receipt of a communication from 
an angler in Boston stating that after consider¬ 
able delay it now seems probable the new fly- 
t and bait-casting club partially organized there 
will obtain permission to practice casting on 
the pond on Boston Common. Its promoters 
1 are making preparations to take part in the 
j tournament to be held during the Boston 
Sportsmen’s Show, March 30 to April 13, when 
j,hey hope to gain numbers to help along their 
organization. Several members of the Anglers’ 
Club of New York having signified their in¬ 
tention to take part in the Boston tournament, 
the anglers of the latter place promise to see 
that they enjoy their visit. 
The Anglers’ Club of New York has decided 
to hold its spring tournament May 17 and 18 
next. This will probably be held on Harlem 
Mere, but that is a question to be decided later 
on. Committees have been appointed, and these 
are about to begin work on programmes, 
arrangements, etc. The tournament held last 
autumn was gotten up in a hurry, but proved to 
be a success, and with the elaborate prepara¬ 
tions now under way, the forthcoming tourna¬ 
ment will be a lively one, and it is expected that 
several of the western casters will attend. 
The New York Sportsmen’s Show tourna¬ 
ment, which will open March 1, will attract 
nearly all of the local fly- and bait-casters, al¬ 
though in March these gentlemen are not in the 
best of casting form. As the show will be of 
shorter duration than usual, and the programme 
is complete, events will be held at 2, 4 and 
8:30 P. M. on some days. 
Gaffing a Leaping Salmon. 
New York City, Feb. 16. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: In your issue for Feb. 16 a corre¬ 
spondent tells about catching a salmon on the 
fly with a gaff, and “flatters himself that he is 
the only man who has done it.” Now, hold on 
just a minute, and I will relate an incident that 
I do not dare to speak about excepting when 
some one else has set the pace. 
Some nine or ten years ago I was fishing 
for salmon on the Wash-she-cootai River. 
Several days of cold rain in succession had 
caused the salmon to stop rising to the fly, but 
they were leaping over the falls in front of 
camp every few minutes. Indian Joe was get¬ 
ting so hungry that stock provisions disappeared 
alarmingly. My old guide. Caribou Charlie, 
said, “I believe I can gafft one of them fellers 
goin’ over the falls.” 
I told him that it would not be sportsmanlike. 
“Neither ain’t Joe’s appetite,” said he. He 
took one of the gaffs, and standing in front of 
the falls, struck and landed the first salmon 
that went up over his head. It was a 14-pound 
fish only, but there wuis a cyclone on the bank 
for about two minutes. When he got back to 
camp with the salmon, he said, “There, now. 
Ain’t that sportsmanlike? I ketched him on the 
fly for sure.” 
In the same number of Forest and Stream 
Mr. MacLeod, of the Hudson’s Bay Co., is 
quoted as saying that two brook trout, of 12 
and 15 pounds respectively, were caught last 
summer near his post. This confirms what I 
had previously reported about Moose River 
trout. Mr. MacLeod knows the difference be¬ 
tween lake trout and brook trout, as he catches 
both species. The skin and head of a Moose 
River trout which I sent to Washington was 
identified as belonging to Salvelinus fontinalis. 
I hate to have all of these “traveler’s tales” come 
my way, for I do not like to tell them, and do 
not like to keep them to myself. That makes a 
predicament. The only way to avoid trouble is 
to stay at home. Robert T. Morris. 
Fish Distribution in Pennsylvania. 
The superintendents of the Pennsylvania State 
fish hatcheries were in conference with Commis¬ 
sioner Meehan recently and the distribution of 
trout for the coming spring was arranged. There 
are about 8,300,000 trout in the hatcheries. There 
were 4,018 applications, of which 454 were re¬ 
jected either because applications were made 
for private waters or that the waters were un¬ 
suitable for trout. In all 3,564 applications were 
granted and 5,533 cans awarded, 1,500 fish are 
to go to a can. Superintendents will begin ship¬ 
ping when the weather is favorable, probably 
about the middle of March. 
Fishery Bills in Pennsylvania. 
A bill prepared by the Department of Fish¬ 
eries and intended to take the place of all acts 
relating to fishing in inland waters is now be¬ 
fore the Pennsylvania Legislature. The bill is 
very voluminous, embracing sixty-three sections 
and covers every conceivable feature of fish 
protection. A novelty is the embodiment of 
paragraphs protecting frogs, fresh-water terra¬ 
pin, snapping turtles and pearl mussels. If the 
new bill becomes a law, these three interests will 
have a protection such as the State never, be¬ 
fore gave them. 
Although the bill is very lengthy, the con¬ 
struction is simple and easily understood; in 
fact, it differs materially from the act of 1901. 
If this bill becomes a law, there will be no un¬ 
certainty in the mind of any one as to what 
device may or may not be used in fishing. It 
is divided into nine groups: First, the classi¬ 
fication of all the fish in the State without ex¬ 
ception. Second, the methods which may be 
employed for fishing. Third, conditions which 
make any particular kind of fishing unlawful. 
Fourth, open and close seasons, minimum size 
and number of fish which may be caught daily. 
Fifth, providing for the unobstructed main¬ 
tenance of migratory fish and in some cases to 
prevent carnivorous fish from escaping into 
trout streams. Sixth, enlarging the powers and 
duties of the Department of Fisheries. Seventh, 
encouraging the growth of commercial and 
private hatcheries. Eighth, defines the legal 
procedure. Ninth, provides for small licenses 
on nets used for commercial fishing. 
The new bill is undoubtedly the most liberal 
fish bill ever prepared by the State fishery au¬ 
thorities or sporting associations. The act of 
1901, which is now in force, was constructed to 
be a great advance over all previous acts, but 
the new bill exceeds the one of 1901 in liber¬ 
ality quite as much as the 1901 act did over 
previous acts. 
Section 1 names the same fish as game fish 
which were designated in the act of 1901 and 
adds yellow perch, chubs and fall fish. 
Section 24 prohibits the sale of -any small- 
mouth bass, pickerel, rock bass or calico bass 
wheresoever caught or any other species of 
dead game or food fish caught in the Common¬ 
wealth, or any large-mouth bass wheresoever 
caught under nine inches, or any yellow perch 
wheresoever caught less than seven inches dur¬ 
ing the close season. The provisions of where¬ 
soever caught is in deference to an understand¬ 
ing between the States of Maryland and Penn¬ 
sylvania as formulated by a legislative commis¬ 
sion of the two States. 
Other sections prohibit trespassing on State 
fish hatcheries, commercial hatcheries and or¬ 
ganizations which have established hatching 
houses; prohibit the sale of brook trout; forbid 
trespassing of domestic waterfowl on trout 
streams; forbid the use of dynamite or poison, 
and obstructing the migration of fish; provide 
for fishways and screens and the return un¬ 
harmed to the water fish caught out of season; 
fix minimum size of trout at 6 inches, black bass 
9 inches, muscallonge 24 inches and rock and 
calico bass 6 inches; number of trout per day, 
50; bass, pickerel and wall-eyed pike, 25; sun- 
fish, 50; muscallonge, 4; prohibit planting Ger¬ 
man carp. 
Fish Commissioner Meehan says the bill is 
the result of his four years’ experience as the 
head of the Department of Fisheries and 
voluminous correspondence with both anglers 
and commercial fishermen. Naturally the fisher¬ 
men throughout the State are not all united 
on any one single measure, but lie said he en¬ 
deavored, as far as possible, to meet the wishes 
of what seemed to be the majority so far as he 
could consistently with the proper protection 
and maintenance of fish life. 
Quite a number of bills relating to fish have 
been introduced. Some of them are meritorious 
in every respect. Some are harmful in certain 
particulars, and one or two are dangerous and 
destructive to the maintenance of fish in the 
streams. 
