980 
FOREST AND STREAM 
than 10 feet The fly will equal our No. 1/0. 
In the trout fly contests the leader must be single 
gut not longer than 10 feet, and the fly may be 
as small as No. 13. Blackleaded or shellacked 
lines will not be allowed, nor can one use a 
spliced line. The line, whether level or tapered, 
must be one piece to the backing—a good rule 
for line makers. 
Two-foot leaders must be used in all bait 
events. For the ij^-ounce casting the line must 
lift 6 pounds dead weight 2 feet from the 
ground; for the 2j4-ounce weight it must lift 
10 pounds, for the J^-ounce weight it must lift 
2 pounds. Every line must be of uniform thick¬ 
ness throughout its length. 
In the salmon fly event the casting time will 
be five minutes, and in other distance fly 
events three minutes. In the bait events five 
minutes’ time will be allowed, the aggregate 
of the best three casts to be scored. 
Bait casts will be made on the grass, in a 
triangular court whose side lines will be 84 feet 
apart at the 150-foot mark. The distance from 
the weight to the tape will be deducted from 
the actual distance cast. 
Medals will be given in each event. 
Milwaukee, Wis., June 1. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: It seems, from the comment you have 
recently made, that the London tournament com¬ 
mittee is looking for trouble, and that a lot of 
it will be found before the danger of formulat¬ 
ing arbitrary rules and placing unwarrantable 
restrictions on tackle, to be used for tournament 
work, is over. Action of this kind would very 
quickly disrupt every casting club we have in 
this country. 
Many different kinds of rods are used, for 
both fishing and target practice, and by what 
criterion the committee will determine that a 
certain target rod cannot and will not be used 
for fishing is difficult to understand. When 
this phase of the matter properly or fully de¬ 
velops there will be no end of trouble for the 
tournament committee if I know my English¬ 
man, and I think I do. 
I take it that, aside from the pleasure we get 
out of the game, the object largely in view is 
to increase the skill of the angler in handling 
his rod and reel, and also to improve the char¬ 
acter and type of tackle used for the several 
kinds of fishing that the game we play is sup¬ 
posed to stand for, in a general way. If, for 
instance, in bait-casting a certain score can be 
easily and gracefully made with a minimum ex ■ 
penditure of energy by using a certain length 
and weight of rod, then there should be no re 
striction placed on its use, other than what is 
necessary in making such classification as may 
be found desirable in arranging the contest. 
In common with many others I am looking 
for economy, both in material and in the ex¬ 
penditure of energy, and on this account I am 
naturally opposed to any needless rules which 
will place a limitation on the progress I may 
wish to make. I find that even the 5/2-foot 
rod, as usually made, consumes over 50 per 
cent, of the energy applied to the grip in put¬ 
ting it in motion and getting it through the air, 
and of the remaining 50 per cent, or less, which 
is absorbed by the half-ounce casting weight, 
fully one-half—depending on the kind of reel 
used—is given up in starting the reel in motion, 
to say nothing of overcoming thumb pressure 
and guide friction or drag. This gives the out¬ 
fit an efficiency of say, 20 to 25 per cent., which 
is certainly low for so simple a piece of mechan¬ 
ism. But to force me to use a rod which gives 
me a still lower return for the effort put into 
it, is hardly fair. 
I have no objection to anyone using a six- 
foot or longer rod, if they wish to, and, on the 
other hand, I think I should be allowed to use 
a 5-foot 3-inch or 5-foot 6-inch rod if for very 
good reasons I prefer to do so. All anglers 
have not the same wrist, and what may be, in 
the way of effort, quite easy and enduring to 
one may be quite fatiguing to another. The 
effort required to send, say a half-ounce weight 
to a target, is largely a measure of the moment 
of inertia of the material in the rod and the 
half-ounce slug at the end, and beyond a certain 
moment I cannot go without too much effort, 
which not only interferes with proper thumbing 
LONDON BAIT-CASTING WEIGHTS. 
These are 2*4, 1 %, y 2 and 3-16 ounce respectively. 
Actual length of 214-ounce weight, 414 inches. 
of the reel, but with a certain ease on which 
accuracy in delivery largely depends. 
As the specific weight of the material out of 
which the rod is made cuts quite a figure, I have 
made an effort to work out curves giving the 
economic length of one-quarter-ounce and one- 
half-ounce rods when the material varies from 
fifty to seventy pounds per cubic foot; but even 
for the lightest material I find available I am 
unable to get up to the six-foot length, and at 
the same time get full value out of every cubic 
inch of material in the rod. The speed of a 
rod is greatly affected by a very slight change 
in the length, and will vary inversely as the 
specific weight, or weight per cubic foot, of the 
material it is made of, all else remaining the 
same; and while a given six-foot rod may be 
quite slow the removal of a few inches in length 
may make it much quicker in action, and better 
suited for its work, but its use at a tournament 
would be barred because of an arbitrary ruling. 
There is a rational basis for the economic 
length of all types of rods, and the matter 
finally and automatically, so to speak, settles 
[June 20, 1908. 
itself largely owing to the natural tendency ii 
man to use as little effort as possible in doinj 
whatever he is called upon to do; and the way 
of nature, in the process of natural selectioi 
or evolution, should not be tampered with arbi 
trarily by a tournament committee, no matte 
how well-meaning its intention. 
M. A. Beck. 
Illinois Bait-Casting Club. 
Chicago, Ill., June 8 . — Editor Forest au< 
Stream: The scores made in our club contest 
June 6, were as follows: 
^-ounce, 
Accuracy. 
Re- jounce, 
entry. Accuracy. 
Re- 
J. E. Amman. 
entry 
.. 97.9 
97.6 
Dr. Rawlins . 
.. 9S.2 
97.1 
C. P. Clifford. 
.. 94.7 
90.9 98.3 
97.0 
A. D. Whitby. 
.. 9S.4 
94.6 
N. (.. Heston. 
.. 97.5 
97.8 
A. Wagner . 
.. 96.4 
97.5 
L. E. De Garmo.... 
.. 97.7 
97.7 
F. W. Heminghaus 
.. 96.4 
97.3 
H. R. Winfield. 
.. 97.2 
97.3 
97.6 
J. P. Mohan. 
.. 96.7 
97.7 
W. T. Jamieson. 
.. 98.2 
97.5 
H. E. Rice. 
.. 96.0 
97.1 96.2 
89.9 
W. W. McFarlin... 
.. 98.3 
96.1 
W. H. Clegg. 
.. 96.3 
96.0 
J. D. Tones. 
.. 95.3 
96.5 
E. H. Matthews_ 
.. 97.6 
97.5 97.0 
97.8 
A. G. Berg. 
.. 92.3 
95.5 
E. A. Humphrey.. 
.. 96.9 
97.3 
P. J. Linderman... 
.. 97.9 
96.6 97.4 
98.0 
W. O. Van Treese 
.. 93.9 
96.3 
T. N. Ranney. 
.. 97.1 
97.9 
1. N. Schroeder_ 
... 95.7 
90.8 97.2 
95.9 
D. R. Linder. 
88.4 
Visitors: 
Geo. Hinterleitner.. 
.. 97.6 
97.9 
F. N. Peet. 
.. 97.5 
96.9 
I. N. Bellows. 
.. 96.2 
E. R. Letterman_ 
.. 97.9 
9S.9 
E. P. Sperrey. 
93.4 
Mr. Cooley . 
.. 95.4 
95.4 
Mr. Jackson . 
... 98.1 
97.1 
Kempfer . 
81.1 
Crompton . 
95.3 
The dry-fly accuracy was postponed until Jun 
20, the next contest day. Events will be om 
quarter-ounce accuracy, on e-half-ounce accurac; 
accuracy fly and dry-fly accuracy. 
H. E. Rice, Sec’y. 
Louisville Casting Club. 
Louisville, Ky., June 7.— Editor Forest an 
Stream: Below are the scores of members i 
the contest held to-day: 
Event No. 1.—One-half-ounce bait-casting cor 
test for accuracy. Fifteen casts at five distances 
60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 feet. 
J. T. Richards.98 1-5 
W. R. Talbot. 97 3-5 
W. A. Calloway.96 1-5 
Chas. F. Brotzge... 96 
D. T. Spangler. 95 3 
J. C. Bond.94 2 
Fred Hardwick .93 
Ed Meglemery. 92 
Event No. 2.—Weekly club contest won by M 
W. A. Calloway with a good score of 984-1 
per cent. This contest is at 60 feet for accurac. 
ten casts, one-half-ounce weight. 
W. A. Calloway.... 98 4-10 
R. G. Tafel.. 97 2-10 
C. F. Brotzge. 97 1-10 
D. T. Spangler. 96 8-1 
J. C. Bond. 95 6-1 
D. J. Spangler, Sec’y. 
Advertising Pays. 
A Kansas man is convinced that advertisin 
pays. He advertised for a lost $5 bill and 
stranger, who had picked tip one on the street 
read the advertisement and returned the bill t 
the advertiser. A few days later while lookin 
over a waist coat he had laid off the origin; 
lost bill was found in a pocket. He says advei 
tising pays 100 per cent.—Utica Press. 
All the fish lazvs of the United States and Can 
ada revised to date and now in force, are give 
in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
