Oct. 3, 1908.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
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Northern Trout Reserves. 
Newfoundland on the east Atlantic and British 
Columbia on the north Pacific coast seem to be 
the great fish preserves of final resort when all 
others are sealed up to anglers or depleted of 
their stocks of ichthyo fauna, and they are the 
best on earth. 
The latest report of the Commissioner of Fish¬ 
eries for British Columbia, for 1907, says of the 
Yale and Kootenay districts, which he made an 
extended investigation of with a view to ascer¬ 
tain their supply of food and game fishes: 
“With the exception of the Columbia River 
from Golden to Windermere and Columbia 
Lakes and Kettle River, all waters visited were 
found to contain trout and charr in abundance. 
All the trout found belong to the rainbow-steel- 
head series. Th^ number observed in some of 
these waters was amazing. I have never seen 
in fresh waters larger or finer specimens of 
trout than those secured in Kootenay and Okana¬ 
gan Lakes. At Kaslo last July I saw ten trout 
which had been taken with hook and line that 
day from Kootenay Lake that weighed from ten 
to twenty-two pounds each. For number and 
game qualities the trout in McMurdo and Fish 
lakes and numerous other small mountain lakes 
in all these sections cannot be exceeded in any 
country. One cannot visit the Kootenay and 
Yale districts in the fishing season without being- 
impressed with the fact that this province is as 
rich in its wealth of game fish as it is famous 
for the value and extent of its commercial fish¬ 
eries. 
“When the anglers of the world come to know 
the extent and character of our fresh water 
lakes and streams, and the sport which awaits 
them there, and in the salmon rivers and inlets 
of our extended coast line, this province will 
become their Mecca. No section of America 
offers such opportunities to the devotees of the 
angle. [All free, too!] 
“In addition to trout and charr most of the 
large lakes and streams contain ling [burbot, of 
the family Gadidce], the Pacific whitefish and 
the redfish, the former being quite common and 
furnishing excellent food in some sections” [de¬ 
pending upon the habitat of the fish]. 
The Commissioner states that the regulations 
relating to dams and dumping of sawdust and 
deleterious substances into the waters of the 
province are carefully observed, but recommends 
that the closed season for trout should be ex¬ 
tended until May 1 as well as a size and number 
limit to the catch. 
Hawaii’s Game Fishes. 
Honolulu, T. H., Sept. 15 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Hawaii should be an angler’s paradise, 
for the waters about the islands teem with a 
variety of fishes to be found in but few other 
parts of the world. But up to the present time 
fishing as a sport is almost unknown. It has 
simply been overlooked like a good many other 
good things in the territory. 
The United States Fish Commission sent an 
expedition here several years ago which spent 
many months collecting and classifying the 
marine life of the group, with the result that 
a number of our most common fishes in the 
local markets, before known only under their 
native names, were identified as among the most 
prized game fishes of Florida and southern Cali¬ 
fornia. Several varieties of the tarpon are com¬ 
mon, including the Flops saurus, the king of 
game fishes of the Florida coast. It has escaped 
attention here almost entirely, since it is inferior 
as a good fish to many others, but in relation 
to it the Bulletin of the United States Fish 
Commission says: “This is one of the greatest 
game fishes, in the estimation of anglers who 
have had the good fortune to fish for it on the 
coast of Florida, and it will doubtless prove one 
of the most interesting of Hawaiian fishes to 
sportsmen who visit these islands.” 
Many species of the mackerel family are 
found, including the albacore, ocean bonito, little 
tunny and frigate mackerel, all of which are 
splendid game fishes, but sought only for the 
markets at present. Several species of the 
voracious barracuda are to be seen in the fish 
market of Honolulu almost daily, some of them 
six feet or more in length, while various basses 
and snappers are also plentiful and are brought 
in by the Japanese fishing boats in great num¬ 
bers. 
Hawaii has a great many fishes which are 
known in no other waters, some of which possess 
splendid game qualities. There is also much 
sport to be had in the shallows along the reefs 
in spearing and angling for the various surf 
fishes. 
Practically the only fishing done as a sport 
at the present time is for sharks. These are 
frequently lured by an anchored animal carcass, 
and either hooked or harpooned. Either method 
usually insures an exciting half hour for the 
fisherman, not altogether devoid of danger. 
There are a number of varieties of this great 
fish to be found in Hawaiian waters, outside 
the reefs and occasionally one of the great man- 
eating species is taken. With the ancient 
Hawaiians the shark was an embodied god, and 
played an important role in their human sacri¬ 
fices. Will J. Cooper. 
Anglers’ Casting Club of Chicago. 
Chicago, Ill., Sept. 26. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: A bait-casting tournament will be held 
on our grounds in Douglas Park, Chicago, on 
Sunday, Oct. 4, open to bonafide members of 
clubs affiliated with the National Association of 
Scientific Angling Clubs. 
Programme: One-quarter-ounce accuracy bait¬ 
casting, 10 A. M.; one-half-ounce accuracy bait¬ 
casting, 1 P. M.; one-half-ounce distance bait¬ 
casting, 3 P. M.. To be cast under the tourna¬ 
ment rules of the National Association of Scien¬ 
tific Angling Clubs. Registration fee, $1. 
The casting pool forms a part of the north¬ 
east lagoon of Douglas Park near the inter¬ 
section of Twelfth street and California avenue. 
Suitable trophies will be presented to the con¬ 
testants winning first, second or third place in 
each event; provided, however, that the gentle¬ 
man occupying the same relative position in 
more than one event shall be eligible to receive, 
only, the honorarium allotted to the position won 
in the event in which he obtains the highest 
score. For the purpose of effecting a compari¬ 
son between the degrees of merit attained by 
contestants in the three events, an arbitrary base 
of 200 feet for each cast is established as a 
perfect cast in the distance bait event; namely, 
it is equivalent to 100 per cent, in the accuracy 
contests, and this base will be used in deter¬ 
mining the highest score obtained by contestants 
under the above conditions. 
Should unfavorable weather conditions render 
it impossible to hold the tournament as sched¬ 
uled, it will be cast on the next following Sun¬ 
day, Oct. 11. 
Illinois Bait-Casting Club. 
Chicago, Ill., Sept. 22. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The scores made on re-entry day, 
Sept. 19, were as follows: 
14-ounce, 
Accuracy. 
%-ounce, 
Accuracy. 
Distance, 
Av. 5 casts 
Wm. Stanley . 
.... 99.1 
99.0 
i39 2-5 
A. Wagner . 
.... 98.3 
98.7 
J. P. Mohan. 
98.4 
A. G. Berg. 
.... 97.9 
96.5 
i27 2-5 
F. W. Hemminghaus. 
98.1 
. . . 
H. R. Winfield. 
. 
98.9 
. . . 
C. P. Clifford. 
.... 97.7 
96.5 
. . • 
S. B. Cramer.. 
.... 97.9 
98.8 
. . . 
W. II. Ball. 
.... 97.9 
9S.6 
. . . 
O. C. Wehle. 
97.6 
. . . 
E. A. Humphrey. 
.... 95.9 
98.0 
W. W. McFarlin. 
96.6 
. . • 
W. L. Dolman. 
. 
94.4 
. . . 
W. H. Clegg. 
95.2 
1.47 3-5 
H. C. Chapman. 
Visitors: 
96.4 
M. II. Cooley. 
. . . 
R. W. Crompton- 
98.2 
... 
vv. urompiun. vo.u ... 
In jounce, accuracy, A. G. Berg, on re-entry cast 98. 
The fourth contest in the inter-club series was 
won by our club. The scores were: 
Illinois Bait-Casting Club. 98.19 
Chicago Fly-Casting Club. 97.88 
Our average of 98.19 is the highest average 
in any previous contest in this series. The final 
summary of the season’s scores will be made 
up and sent out as soon as possible. 
H. E. Rice, Sec’y. 
The Drouth and Fishing. 
Anglers who have returned from the Dela¬ 
ware River report the worst conditions as to 
bass fishing that have been known in recent 
years. The river is so low that in some of the 
eddies the water is working and is covered with 
green scum. There has been no rain of conse¬ 
quence since early in June. The strings of fish 
taken are remarkably small. 
The Susquehanna River is lower than it has 
been for sixteen years and sandbars predomi¬ 
nate. 
Esopus Creek, famous for its brown and rain¬ 
bow trout, is lower than it was during last year’s 
drouth, and reports are current that some of its 
smaller feeders are dried up and the trout are 
landlocked. 
A dispatch to the Times from Westport, N. 
Y., last Saturday, says the water in Lake Cham¬ 
plain has reached the lowest point in a long time 
—nine feet below high water mark. Steamers 
have been obliged to abandon some of their trips 
on account of the difficulty of making landings 
at the docks. The mountain brooks are almost 
dry and the beds of some of the largest rivers 
in this region carry mere threads of water. The 
drouth and the forest fires have seriously af¬ 
fected agricultural interests. 
Pulp mill pollution of the streams adds to the 
troubles of the inhabitants. The water of the 
Ausable River is a black, heavy fluid from this 
cause. The village of Keeseville has given up 
the use for drinking purposes of the water from 
that stream which formerly furnished the regular 
supply. The refuse borne on the waters of the 
Ticonderoga River, which empties into Lake 
Champlain within the limits of the proposed 
National Park, is visible far out into the lake 
and even to the Vermont shores. 
