FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 14, 1909. 
200 
might enter who have no time to prepare them 
selves for qualification in the longer distances, 
and yet who have an equal right to play the 
game? Would not this, in all common sense, 
put tournament casting upon the same plane 
of generous good fellowship that controls the 
fly-fishermen on the stream? Would it not 
open the different clubs to an increased mem¬ 
bership and result in an international tourna¬ 
ment being not only fair and just, but tre¬ 
mendously more popular? And would it not 
remove the discrimination which every amateur 
angler feels in his heart? 
If the present national association has neither 
the wisdom, generosity nor good will to make 
a change that essential justice demands, then 
why not get up a new association that will 
have more sense and more fairness? 
Chas. T. Hopkins. 
The National Tournament. 
On Aug. 19 , 20 and 21 the annual tournament 
of the National Association of Scientific Ang¬ 
ling Clubs will be held on the lake in Van Cort- 
landt Park, New York city, under the auspices 
of the Anglers’ Club of New York. The con¬ 
tests will be started at 9 o’clock each morning. 
The executive committee meeting will be held 
in the Grand Union Hotel, Forty-second street 
and Fourth avenue, the night of the 19th. On 
Friday night the club will give a complimentary 
dinner to visitors, at the same place. On Satur¬ 
day night the delegates’ convention will be held. 
Lunch will be served in the park each day, 
without charge to those contestants and visitors 
entitled to tickets. 
Headquarters will be at the Grand Union 
Hotel. The park can be reached by the subway 
trains from any part of the city, and also by 
railway from the Grand Central Station. 
Milwaukee Casting Club. 
Milwaukee, Wis., Aug. 2. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Following are the scores cast Wed¬ 
nesday, July 27: 
M. A. Beck. 
A. F. Bingenheimer 
P. W. Lange. 
G. C. Schoenlaub... 
IT. C. Mullen. 
A. Lahman .. 
C. L. Tolfson. 
C. A. Rhine.. 
Dr. Vanderburg .., 
IT. E. Loes. 
%-ounce. 
%-ounce. 
98 
14-15 
98 
11-15 
98 
5-15 
97 
12-15 
98 
2-15 
98 
8-15 
98 
1-15 
97 
14-15 
97 
6-15 
97 
8-15 
98 
12-15 
97 
7-15 
96 
14-15 
98 
i-15 
96 
13-15 
96 
9-15 
95 
8-15 
. . 
In the half-ounce event Beck tied the half-ounce 
record, held by himself, casting the highest score 
cast this season in either event. A. Lahman cast 
the highest score cast this season in the quarter- 
ounce events. # A. L. Stolz, Sec’y. 
A New Record. 
At the tournament of the Asbury Park Fish¬ 
ing Club on Aug. 7, Edward B. Rice, treasurer 
of the Anglers’ Club of New York, made a new 
record in surf-casting and won the open-to-all 
event. 
Casting with a three-ounce bank sinker, he 
scored 295 feet 3 inches, and averaged 268 feet 
in his five casts. 
R. J. Held, also of the Anglers’ Club, cast 
262 feet with three-ounce weight and won third 
place. 
W. J. Moran, of New York city, cast 277 feet 
6 inches with four-ounce lead. 
Fishing in California. 
San Francisco, Cal., Aug. 3.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: The attention of the California 
Fish and Game Commission is being attracted 
to some doubtful methods that are being pur¬ 
sued by local market fishermen in taking black 
bass, and while it is doubtful if any definite 
action can be taken at the present time, the prac¬ 
tice will be investigated and an amendment to 
the law will probably be recommended. Net 
fishermen have found that the vigilance of the 
officers has been such that it has been almost 
impossible to take black bass by this means and 
make it a paying proposition, as the large num¬ 
ber of arrests and losses of nets will show. As 
a result they have been looking for new ways 
for taking this highly prized fish and have de¬ 
vised a snagging device that conforms in a way 
with the provisions of the law which permits 
the taking of these fish by hook and line.* The 
device used is a hook and line, all right, but it 
is a deadly one. Attached rigidly to the line 
are a number of large hooks and this contri¬ 
vance is lowered into the water in deep pools 
where this fish is to be found. The fisherman 
then watches and when the fish are in the proper 
position, suddenly jerks the line and usually is 
successful in securing one or more bass. In 
some places the fish are so plentiful that a hun¬ 
dred pounds can be taken in an hour by one 
man. Fifty fish is the limit catch for one man 
in a day, but the market fishermen are not par¬ 
ticular about this and have no hesitancy in re¬ 
gard to disobeying the law. 
The California Anglers’ Association has just 
made application to the State Fish Commission 
for a large number of trout fry and is p'anning 
to distribute these fish among the many coast 
streams close to San Francisco. According to 
the present plans the fry will be distributed as 
follows: Sonoma Creek, 75,000; Paper Mill 
Creek 100,000; Olema Creek, 50,000 and Austin 
Creek 75,000 steelhead trout; Purissima Creek, 
50,000 rainbow trout and 75,000 Eastern brook 
trout; San Gregorio Creek, 100,000 and Pesca- 
dero Creek, 100,000 steelhead trout. 
The water in the Truckee River has receded 
sufficiently to enable good fishing to be had, and 
a number of anglers are now visiting that sec¬ 
tion. Fishing in the waters of the Feather 
River is also gdod at the present time. 
A. P. B. 
Fishing in Southern Minnesota. 
Waterville, Minn., Aug. 7.—. Editor Forest and 
Stream: The season is passing in Minnesota. 
Bass fishing is not what is was a month ago, 
owing to the clouding up of the waters with 
seed of the water weeds. The fish cannot see 
the baits, and now nothing but bullheads and 
other small fish are being taken. Bass fishing 
has been good here all spring. Wherever there 
was a patch of weeds or a bed of moss along 
the bank there the bass have held out and some 
good catches have been made. There have not 
been many pickerel caught immediately in this 
*Although the California law specifies “hook and line,” 
and does not specify how many hooks or lines may be 
used, the method described by our correspondent is 
plainly not hook-and-line fishing, but comes under the 
term “snagging fish.” This is one of the methods 
generally condemned, and the fish commission is or 
should be empowered to put a stop to the practice.— 
Kditor. 
vicinity this year, all owing to the cloudy waters 
and the inability of the fish to see the spoon. 
Last season and the year before we had some¬ 
thing like six to ten feet of high water, and this 
washed out during July and August about all 
the dirt that accumulated. 
Pike fishing is good here. There was a period 
of two weeks when any one could go out and 
get a fine string of pike and I saw forty boats 
after them at one time, these being used by 
residents and nonresidents. Some very fine 
pike were caught. They weighed all the way 
to ten and a half pounds. One man caught a 
bass while trolling for pike that weighed even 
nine pounds. The largest bass that I had ever 
known from this Cannon River valley up to 
that time was seven pounds and four ounces. 
During April the buffalo began to run. They 
ran by the thousand, and we are unfortunate in 
not being able to get them seined out. Thou¬ 
sands were speared and then smoked for table 
use, they being much better than halibut when 
rightly treated. We have heard about the 
buffalo seining and the taking out of other 
detrimental fish from this chain of lakes sc 
long that it does not have any effect on us now. 
Amos Burhans. 
The Striped Bass Season. 
Asbury Park, N. J., Aug. 5.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: That fishes as well as men change 
their habits has been made manifest the present 
season. June is always looked forward to as 
the month pre-eminent for the striped bass in 
the surf. July, however, has been far and away 
the best as regards numbers and size. While 
in years past many more fish have been taken, 
still it is a question if ever the average size has 
been as great as has favored us the past three 
weeks. Nearly every fish taken exceeds twenty 
pounds in weight and two have reached the 
forty-pound mark, one to the rod of Wm. 
Pennypacker, the other to H. G. Comegys: 
That bass are quite plentiful in the surf is 
evident from the fact that large schools have 
been seen sporting in the quiet seas which pre¬ 
vail. 
Kingfish are and have been fairly abundant 
periodically, biting freely for a day or two and 
then ceasing altogether. They are always eager¬ 
ly sought after, as they are great favorites both 
on the hook and the table. Weakfish came in 
much earlier than usual and are taking the hook 
freely in the surf, while the bays, particularly 
Barnegat, are fairly swarming with them. Great 
catches are made by all who go and have knowl¬ 
edge of the how and where. 
One particular matter is of intense interest to 
the angler and that is that the bluefish are much 
more abundant than for many years inshore. 
While they are small in size as yet, still the hope 
is that the larger ones will favor us later on. 
The smooth seas have evidently encouraged their 
working inshore of the pound nets and they 
take the hook eagerly. 
Continued ill health prevented me sending in 
any early spring notes, and was compelled to 
be in the South and spent some of the time 
along the Gulf coast, but was not strong enough 
then to do any fishing, although I was on the 
choicest of tarpon waters. Leonard Hulit. 
[On July 25 Mr. Hulit captured a 24-pound 
striped bass at Asbury Park.— Editor.] 
