FOREST AND STREAM 
Oct. 3, 1908.] 
F-;- 
noticed a new weed in the hay fields, and was 
I informed by the driver that it appeared about 
[ three years ago. It has spread very rapidly, 
and is a great nuisance, as it will not make hay 
1 ; and animals will not eat it. It is supposed to 
have come from the West in grass seed brought 
from that part of the country. The introduc¬ 
tion of foreign plants and animals, either acci¬ 
dentally or by design, is sometimes a very 
serious matter. They can not be kept down or 
stamped out and increase with marvelous rapidity. 
We think at once of rabbits and starlings in 
Australia, the mongoose in the West Indies and 
Tasmania, and many noxious plants and insects 
which vex the agriculturist. The introduction 
of fish, where it is successful, has been at¬ 
tended with great benefits, except in the case 
of the carp in this country. In New Zealand 
they now enjoy the best trout fishing in the 
world. Brown and rainbow trout of great size 
are very abundant and the State retains the 
ownership or control of the banks of rivers 
and streams, so that the public may never be 
excluded therefrom. It is curious that the same 
state of affairs should exist in poor old Portu¬ 
gal. In the latter country, however, netting and 
poaching are very common. I fancy that the 
brown trout are not growing as rapidly as they 
did during the first decade after their introduc¬ 
tion. It might be a good idea to introduce 
fresh blood from England in the shape of eyed 
ova. We speak of Salmo fario as the German 
trout, yet many of our fish are descended from 
the ova shipped to this country by R. B. Mars- 
ton, of London. There are few very large trout 
in these streams now and occasionally we are 
gratified by the sight of one either after its 
i capture or in the stream. I have spent a good 
deal of time in watching one of the latter, but 
this fish occupies a very safe position and is 
[ shy. Under certain conditions it may change 
its berth and go strong on the feed. In this 
case the first man who comes along and puts 
fly or bait to it just right, will probably take a 
grand trout. It adds immensely to the interest 
of fishing to know that there are real whales in 
the water we are on, no matter how scarce they 
may be. The very largest may be induced to 
take the fly when feeding, even in quiet water, 
but you are fortunate if you find one in the 
rough broken waters at the top of a pool. 
Years ago I read the autobiography of an old 
Scotch salmon angler who had peculiar ideas 
about flies and the sportsmanlike way to land 
fish. He would not permit a gaff or landing 
net to be used in stream fishing, but insisted on 
stranding his salmon. He used a lisle thread 
glove on one hand and gripped the fish near 
the tail. Long before I heard of this book I 
was very expert in slipping the left hand down 
the leader and gripping trout behind the gills, 
but later found the method too dangerous with 
big fish. If one is patient, however, and will¬ 
ing to lose a few trout he may play his fish 
out and strand them, even with the smallest 
hooks that are made. This is more exciting, 
I fancy, and landing nets are rather a nuisance. 
They are absolutely essential on many waters. 
Never allow a stranger to handle your net. It 
requires experience and coolness to land a big 
trout and many of us can relate sad tales of 
fish knocked off the hooks, lines and flies broken 
or entangled in the meshes, and other horrible 
misfortunes. Theodore Gordon. 
Peculiar Accident to an Angler. 
Los Angeles, Cal., Sept. 15. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: While trolling for yellowtail and 
barracuda off Playa del Rey last Sunday, Louis 
Breer, of Los Angeles, became the victim of 
a peculiar accident and came near losing an eye. 
Mr. Breer, in company with several companions, 
was industriously engaged in getting as many 
pounds of fish as could be reeled in in a few 
hours. They wanted to catch enough to feed 
the multitude at the monthly dinner of the 
Southern California Rod and Reel Club outing. 
They were fishing with light tackle and Mr. 
Breer was hurrying a big yellowtail along almost 
on the surface. Just as the fish was hauled 
straight astern and nearly in reach of a gaff, 
the yellowtail gave a wild leap and the bone 
jig tore out of its mouth. Like an arrow from 
a bowstring the jig flew straight into the angler’s 
face. The heavy barbed hook was imbedded in 
the man’s forehead just over his left eye. The 
pain was intense and as no one volunteered to 
act as a surgeon and no other means was at 
hand, Mr. Breer balanced a small hand mirror 
on the combing of the launch and cut the hook 
out with his pocket knife. The blood was 
staunched and the anglers went at it again. 
About 500 pounds of fish were caught and sent 
to the pavilion at Playa del Rey. One hundred 
and seventy hungry anglers of both sexes sat 
down to a feast and great was the dismay when 
it was learned there was not enough fish to go 
around. Suspicion was directed at the anglers 
who had boasted of the fishes, if not loaves, pro¬ 
vided. The explanation came when it was 
learned that 500 Los Angeles newsboys had been 
fed an hour previously in the pavilion. The 
tender-hearted chef fed the kids and then fled 
to the sand dunes. 
Another incident which might have been re¬ 
corded as a serious accident was witnessed at 
the casting tournament at the baseball park after 
the dinner. Several casts upward of 225 feet 
had been made when a contestant’s line parted 
just as he whirled his short rod over his head 
539 
preparatory to sending the two-ounce lead weight 
out over the triangular course. With a short 
bit of six-thread linen line trailing like the tail 
to a comet, the sinker flew out over one corner 
of the crowded grandstand. Watchers saw it 
send up a little puff of dust on the hillside 275 
feet away. If that pellet had struck a spectator 
it would probably have had the effect of a spent 
.45-70 bullet and might have resulted in a 
fatality. F. E. W. 
Massachusetts Anglers’ Club. 
Boston, Mass., Sept. 24. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have pleasure in sending you the list 
of events decided on for the Massachusetts Ang¬ 
lers’ Club tournament, to be held Friday and 
Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10, at the Frog Pond, Bos¬ 
ton Common: 
Distance fly, 75 foot class; accuracy fly; accu- 
racy dry fly; distance fly, five-ounce rods; dis¬ 
tance bait, one-half-ounce; accuracy bait, one- 
half-ounce ; Eastern championship distance fly, 
amateurs; salmon fly, distance; handicap fly, dis¬ 
tance. 
Programmes will be ready in a few days and 
can be had from Call J. McCarthy. 
No. 12 Yarmouth Street, Boston, Mass. 
The Cincinnati Casting Club. 
Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 21. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: The scores made in the club con¬ 
test Saturday are as follows: 
ti-ounce. %-ounce. 
Hutchins . 96 11-15 96 10-15 
Latham . 96 12-15 97 14-15 
Groesbeck . 97 3-15 95 11-15 
Murphy . 95 9-15 93 7-15 
Sheldon . 95 3-15 96 11-15 
Lampe . 97 12-15 96 2-15 
Kellog .. 97 6-15 
James . 97 11-15 
The challenge buttons were won by Mr. 
Lampe in the one-quarter-ounce, and Mr. 
Latham in the one-half-ounce. 
On Oct. 24 the contest for the Groesbeck cup 
will be held. 
Harry Walter Hutchins, Sec’y-Treas. 
YELLOWTAIL ON LIGHT TACKLE. 
Roy Shaver using a six-ounce rod and six-thread line off Catalina Island. 
