460 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. 19, 1908. 
to fish in unless he is a member of one of the 
exclusive clubs. Twenty years ago there was 
not an acre of marsh land along San Francisco 
Bay and its tributaries that was not open to 
every one to shoot upon. To-day this land is 
all in the hands of rich clubs and the poor man 
has no use for his gun. Now that the hunting 
rights are practically secured by a few an at¬ 
tempt is being made to get the choicest fishing 
grounds under private control. 
Within the past few years twenty miles of 
the McCloud River, famous for its splendid 
trout fishing, has been made into a preserve, 
and the outside fisherman is not only confronted 
by signs, but is threatened by keepers if he at¬ 
tempts to whip the stream. This year the 
Feather River in the vicinity of Prattville was 
placed upon the list of preserved streams and 
other choice places are also being closed. That 
there is no trespass law or laws of any kind 
that can prevent an angler from following a 
stream that contains fish that belong to the State 
is evident from the fact that at the last Legis¬ 
lature a member of the lower house sought to 
imend the law that now makes it a trespass to 
enter upon any inclosed or cultivated grounds 
for the purpose of hunting by adding a provis¬ 
ion that would include fishing as well. This 
proposed measure was fought by the anglers of 
the State through the California Anglers’ Asso¬ 
ciation and was successfully defeated. The 
measure sought to legalize every fishing preserve 
and make the trespass notices that now con¬ 
front the angler in many places to stand as the 
law of the State. ’While the California Anglers’ 
Association does not wish to enter into politics, 
it clearly sees that it is necessary to keep a close 
watch upon those who are sent to the Legisla¬ 
ture in order not to jeopardize the interests of 
sportsmen. It is a well known fact that in San 
Francisco alone there are at least twenty thou¬ 
sand active anglers, and if these can be banded 
together for their common good, assisted by 
loyal anglers elsewhere, it is felt that the en¬ 
croachments of private preserves can be in a 
great measure warded off. 
Jack Finnigan, a well known pioneer among 
fishermen in San Francisco, had an experience 
a week ago that he will not forget soon. For 
the past twenty years Finnigan has spent his 
Sundays fishing off the Fremont street wharf, 
but this place was recently razed by the harbor 
commissioners and he was forced to seek new 
grounds, selecting the Main street wharf as a 
likely place. His luck changed, however, and 
he fell asleep. Suddenly there came a tug on' 
the heavy line that he used and true to his fisher¬ 
man instinct Finnigan followed the tug, even 
although it took him into the waters of the bay. 
For a while it looked as though the old story 
of “off agin, on agin, gone agin, Finnigan” was 
to be sadly dramatized, but a boatman suc¬ 
ceeded in rescuing the fisherman who still held 
on to his line. The creature at the other end 
proved to be a shark, and after considerable 
difficulty it was landed. A. P. B. 
Death of Edward Leavitt. 
Edward Leavitt, who died last Saturday in 
his fiftieth year, was a well known angler. His 
property near Woodbury, Conn., was acquired 
with the purpose of controlling the fishing 
rights in the Pomperang River for the use of 
himself and his friends. 
North Carolina Convention. 
Raleigh, N. C., Sept. 8 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The State fish convention, held at 
Morehead City, was presided over by State 
Geologist Joseph Hyde Pratt, who has charge 
of the genera] work in this line, Theodore S. 
Meekins being the fish commissioner. Reports 
made upon all the fishing areas were that the 
supply of edible fish has rapidly fallen off, and 
that this is due to poor laws and to equally poor 
enforcement of the existing laws. Chairman 
Pratt says the State has placed little or no re¬ 
striction on the amount of fishing gear, and 
that save in a very small territory hardly any¬ 
thing can be done to enforce the laws protecting 
fish. He declares that if the commercial fisher¬ 
men will not consult their own interests enough 
of their own accord to protect the fishing in-, 
dustry, they should be made to do it, because 
they are not the only persons who have an in¬ 
terest in the North Carolina fish. 
A committee recommended and the conven¬ 
tion adopted fishing regulations which will be 
drafted and laid before the Legislature, and 
these, it is believed, will bring about a great 
deal of improvement. There were sixty dele¬ 
gates present, and as it was the first convention 
of the kind ever held in the State, its value may 
be imagined. The convention recommended 
that a general close season of three months be 
fixed for fresh-water fish which are caught in 
eastern North Carolina by nets for commercial 
purposes, this being particularly designated to 
protect some fish which have almost been ex¬ 
terminated in the upper sounds and their 
estuaries. 
A number of streams have been marked by 
numerous fish-traps, etc., which have been 
maintained for years, but the great floods have 
practically swept most of these away and num¬ 
bers of dams have also been destroyed. All 
the best fishing streams in North Carolina were 
at flood, so far as the eastern and middle sec¬ 
tions of the State are concerned. The moun¬ 
tain streams were not much affected, though 
the French Broad River was quite high. I saw 
a very singular thing in the French Broad near 
Asheville while the flood was at its height, this 
being the presence of a number of white gulls 
which were observed fishing in the stream. 
From time to time these birds have been seen 
in the mountain region, but as yet are a rarity 
there. Fred A. Olds. 
The Cincinnati Casting Club. 
Cincinnati, O., Sept. 8. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The scores made by members on 
Saturday are as follows: 
James . 
14-ounce. 
jounce. 
5-15 
97 
7-15 
Kellog . 
97 
8-15 
Groesbeck . 
.. 96 
5-15 
97 
1-15 
Moon . . 
5-15 
95 
6-15 
Liston . 
. 86 
3-15 
96 
11-15 
Murphy . 
. 84 
10-15 
95 ' 
11-16 
Lampe . 
. 97 
1-15 
96 : 
11-15 
Sheldon . 
97 
4-15 
The scores 
for club contest on Sept. 
7 : 
James . 
96: 
11-15 
Groesbeck . 
2-15 
96 
6-15 
Hutchins . 
. 88 
2-15 
93: 
10-15 
Murphy . 
. 72 
14-15 
95 
2-15 
Kellog . 
96 14-15 
Lampe . 
9-15 
95 
Liston . 
3-15 
91 
5-15 
Moon . 
. 89 
7-15 
94 
1-15 
Crugar . 
85 : 
13-15 
Roettinger . 
92 
3-15 
Gould . 
90 
9-16 
Sheldon . 
95 
9-15 
The club members are practicing daily in order 
to qualify to cast for the Groesbeck cup. This 
contest will take place the latter part of October. 
Harry Walter Hutchins, Sec’y-Treas. 
Trout in Kashmir. 
In stocking streams in the hill country of 
Kashmir with trout fry hatched from ova pro¬ 
cured in Great Britain, it is necessary, when the 
ova arrive in Calcutta, to ship them by,rail to 
Rawal Pindi, thence by native cart 200 miles to 
Srinagar, where they are hatched and kept in 
ponds until they are large enough to be liber¬ 
ated in the streams. 
the perils of practice casting at home. 
From a French Cartoon. 
