123 
March, 1923 
THIS MONTH IN THE OUTDOORS 
MARCH STANDS AT THE VERGE OF SPRING AND IS A MONTH 
OF PREPARATION FOR THE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TO COME 
Best Place for Tarpon 
J OSEPH W. STRAY, of 84 Broad¬ 
way, Brooklyn, N. Y., who is thor¬ 
oughly familiar with Florida and the 
Gulf waters, and has taken on the 
flats of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, a 55- 
pound tarpon on shoemaker’s flax sew¬ 
ing thread, which, when tested on a test¬ 
ing machine at Useppa Island, broke 
repeatedly under a strain of from ten to 
sixteen pounds, writes this department 
as follows: 
“You may have inquiry at some time 
as to the best place to catch tarpon. The 
very best tarpon fishing is to be had 
after the tourist season has come to an 
end. Owing to the building of a long 
jetty at Anansas Pass, Texas, that pass 
has lost the premier place as tarpon 
ground, and Boca Grande Pass on the 
Florida West Coast is now the very best 
place in the whole United States at 
which to catch tarpon. 
“To many Northern anglers the name 
Florida conjures up pictures of great 
fish and anticipations of capturing them. 
Many expect that hunting can be com¬ 
bined with fishing, yet the hunting sea¬ 
son and the best period for taking fish 
are not coincident as to time. 
“The hunting season begins on No¬ 
vember 20th and ends on February 15th 
following, making a period of 88 days; 
during this time a non-resident hunter, 
by paying $25 fee for each county shot 
in, may kill two deer, five wild turkeys 
and 300 of any other game birds. No 
sex restrictions on either quail or turkeys ; 
20 quail, 25 ducks, 8 geese, 8 brant, 25 
Wilson snipe and 6 woodcock may be 
killed in one day and all this game may 
be found in Lee County. 
“The best all around fishing is in the 
spring. The fishing guides have a 
bromide that says: “It costs a Northern 
angler a thousand dollars to visit Florida 
and take a tarpon during January, 
February or March’’; that is a true say¬ 
ing, for tarpon are not in season during 
those months, though some are taken 
along the East Coast during March; 
however, about the time of the full 
moon during May, June or July, tarpon 
may be taken in Boca Grande Pass, on 
the Florida West Coast, by anyone who 
chooses to fish for them there. Knowl¬ 
edge of how to handle these fish is not 
necessary to get the strike, the guide will 
measure the line and mark it so that the 
bait may be kept at the proper depth. 
“The Gasparilla Hotel at Boca Grande 
closes for the season on May 1st. The 
Tarpon Inn on Useppa Island, 4 miles 
north, closes after lunch on May 31st. 
The best tarpon fishing begins about 
June 1st and arrangements should be 
made for food and shelter after June 
1st before starting for this little village 
on the edge of the great Florida wilder¬ 
ness. Mrs. N. Hamel manages The 
Palmetto Inn at Boca Grande and can 
care for thirty to forty guests at one 
time. She takes men and women both as 
guests and will arrange for guides also.” 
Trout Time Next Month 
N EXT month is the beginning of 
trout time in many states for the 
brook, brown, rainbow and other mem¬ 
bers of the tribe, and wise men obey that 
impulse, as the advertising man says, and 
■.mi.ill.... 
Forest and Stream conducts this 
department for the purpose of tell¬ 
ing sportsmen where to go and what 
to do throughout each month of the 
year. It is not a mere directory but 
is intended to be a newsy depart¬ 
ment of interest to men who fish 
and hunt. 
It is conpiled by Alexander Stod- 
dart, who was Rod and Gun editor 
of the New York Press, the Sun, and 
the New York Herald for the twenty 
years from 1900 to 1920. 
MllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllM 
go fishing. The warm days of spring 
make the sap rise in plants, animals and 
mankind and when the trout calls, men 
and women need a trouting trip to take 
the spring fever out of their system. 
“Where are the trout?” is a question 
often asked. That is the great joy of 
angling, to go out and find them and to 
discover in the great outdoors the big', 
delightful place it is to live in. 
Flies for Trout 
A well-known angler who is fond of 
brook trout fishing and has kept notes, 
believes that darker flies are better in 
the early months of spring than later in 
the season. For April and May, his fly 
book contains the following flies: Cow- 
dung, Stone, Yellow Sally, March 
Brown, Wickham’s Fancy, Olive Quill, 
Royal Coachman, Montreal, Gray Drake, 
Hare’s Ear and Black Gnat. The Parma- 
chene Belle he likes during May and 
after that, say in June, Yellow Sally, 
Ibis, Royal Coachman, Montreal, Katy¬ 
did, Imbrie, and Gray Drake. 
Yet as to what flies to take on a fish¬ 
ing trip probably Dr. Henry Van Dyke, 
Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, Ellis Parker 
Butler, Robert W. Chambers, Dr. Robert 
T. Morris, Louis Rhead, Charles Zibeon 
Southard, Dr. John D. Quackenbos, Dan 
Beard, Gifford Pinchot, Perry D. Fraser, 
Sam S. Stinson, Robert II. Davis, Peter 
A. Farley, Dr. J. W. Droogan, Dr. F. C. 
Raynor, Eugene V. Connett, 3rd, and 
Kenneth F. Lockwood, men who know 
the fish familiarly, even intimately, would 
hardly agree on the three best flies, but 
it would make one of the most interest¬ 
ing discussions if these men met, say at 
a fishermen’s gathering, and held an 
experience meeting. Seriously, or not, 
as you may take it, Irvin Shrewsbury 
Cobb’s three favorite flies are: 
1. A good, durable angle worm. 
2. Another worm. 
3. Another to the preceding two 
worms. 
The Club’s Championship 
M ARCH is a good time of the year 
for angling clubs to get together 
and decide upon the club’s champion— 
a decision that will come later with the 
opening of the trout season. It stimu¬ 
lates good fellowship, gets the men out¬ 
doors and promotes a fine spirit. All 
that is needed now is to assign a date 
for the outing and formulate some sim¬ 
ple rules such as the Anglers’ Club of 
New York uses. The four conditions 
to be met follow: 
“All fish must be taken by the method 
commonly known as fly fishing. 
“Either wet or dry flies may be used, 
with no restrictions as to patterns. 
“Fly rods of any weight and length 
are allowed. 
“Scoring by points, which are made 
up by multiplying the length of the fish 
by its weight. A ten-inch fish weighing 
seven ounces would score seventy 
points.” 
King of Speckled Beauties 
NEW JERSEY reader asks about 
the largest brook trout ever caught 
by angling. The record is held by Dr. 
J. W. Cook of Fort William, Ontario, 
Canada, who caught on the evening of 
Tuly 22, 1915, at the foot of McDonald 
Rapids, so far as records are known, the 
largest brook trout ever recorded. The 
fish weighed \A l / 2 pounds. This king of 
speckled beauties took a live minnow, and 
ten or more men in the party attested to 
the weight and species of the fish. The 
fish was weighed at Nipigon and at Fort 
William. 
The fish was skinned, the skin split 
along the back into two halves and each 
half was mounted after the manner of 
the Nipigon Indians, by stitching the 
skin flat on the birch bark panel. 
That the question of doubt would na¬ 
turally arise, the skin was submitted in 
Ottawa to Alexander Finlayson, Inspec¬ 
tor of Fish Hatcheries of the Dominion, 
who reported: “I am convinced it is a 
speckled trout. The square tail, short 
head, and the abrupt curve of the lateral 
line all go to show this.” 
It might be interesting to record that 
when Edwin W. Sanborn, who has a 
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