902 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. 3, 1910. 
appropriate name, not one of the appellations 
by which it is known is applicable. Cannot 
some reader of Forest and Stream suggest a 
characteristic name for this fish? 
Geo. W. Fenimore. 
[An eminent ichthyologist, to whom this com¬ 
munication was submitted, says there must be 
some confusion in regard to the fish observed 
by Mr. Fenimore if we may judge from his re¬ 
marks on the differences between the channel 
bass and red drum. The red drum of Mr. 
Fenimore appears to have barbels under the 
chin, whil.e the channel bass is without barbels. 
Certainly this character of itself would serve 
to distinguish two fish as far apart structurally 
as the channel bass and the common drum, 
Pogonias croniis. But the name “red drum,” 
associated in the books on fishes with a large 
game fish of Southern waters, is merely a 
synonym of “channel bass.” It is true there is 
a possibility that the common name “red drum” 
should not have been applied to what is more 
generally known as the “channel bass”; but it 
has been so applied and will be found in all the 
literature of fishes. 
It may be stated, in conclusion, therefore, 
that if Mr. Fenimore has compared two fish, 
one of which has chin barbels and the other 
none, these fish are not identical. They do not 
even belong to the same group of the family. 
The channel bass has other common names in 
Southern waters besides red drum. It is some¬ 
times styled redfish, bull redfish, and, by the 
Spanish, Pescado Colorado. The color of this 
fish is usually grayish silvery, iridescent; overlaid 
often with coppery red. Near the root of the 
tail there is usually a black ocellated spot, some¬ 
times duplicated, and the body occasionally has 
many similar spots.— Editor.] 
Fishing in California. 
San Francisco, Cal., Nov. 23 .-—Editor Forest 
and Stream: The open season for brook trout 
in California ended Nov. 15, but the season has 
virtually been over for some time, for most of 
the nearby streams are so low that fishing is 
out of the question and besides hunting and 
salt-water fishing have been attracting the at¬ 
tention of most sportsmen. Steelhead trout are 
now in evidence, and this variety may be taken 
in tidewater, but not in fresh water until Feb. 
1. The trout season was the best experienced 
in this State in a great many years, due to the 
excellent condition of the streams and the 
splendid manner in which they have been 
stocked by the California Fish and Game Com¬ 
mission. The mountain snows were light last 
winter, resulting in low water in most of the 
streams, and there were no heavy spring rains 
to make the streams muddy. From the open¬ 
ing day to the closing of the season fishing was 
to be enjoyed in most of the fishing sections of 
the State, with the exception of the coast 
streams in the vicinity of the large cities. 
William Ellery, who recently returned from 
a trip to the McCloud River, says that fishing 
on that stream during the last two weeks of the 
season was as fine as could be wished for. 
Those who visited the Truckee had similar re¬ 
ports to make. The San Francisco Fly-Casting 
Club has had a splendid season there and has 
made more trips to that district than ever before. 
The club recently held its annual election of 
officers with the following results: President, 
H. B. Sperry; Vice-President, T. H. Reed; 
Second Vice-President, W. E. .Brooks, and 
Secretary and Treasurer, F. J. Cooper. Owing 
to the changes that have been made in the 
national fly-casting tournament rules by which 
the ban has been raised from contestants con¬ 
nected with the sporting goods trade, a team 
of experts from the San Francisco Club will 
enter the national events next year. 
Plans are being made for the holding of an 
international fly-casting tournament in this city 
in 1915, when the Panama-Pacific International 
Exposition is to be held here. The retiring 
president of the San Francisco Club, T. C. 
Kierulff, was presented with a valuable stick 
pin by the club members at a recent meeting. 
At this meeting John P. Babcock, the new Chief 
Deputy Fish Commissioner, and F. F. Moody, 
were elected to membership. 
Striped bass fishing is still on the uncertain 
order, but every Sunday finds large crowds at 
the various grounds where these fish have 
been taken and the season cannot be said to 
have commenced. From fifty to sixty anglers 
are to be seen, at Wingo regularly each Sunday, 
but only a few of them have been able to con¬ 
nect with the elusive fish. At the San Antonio 
slough slightly better results have been se¬ 
cured but few of the fish taken there weigh over 
ten pounds. The Northwestern Pacific Rail¬ 
road, at the solicitation of anglers, has estab¬ 
lished a station near the fishing grounds, and it 
is believed that more anglers will be visiting this 
slough than formerly now that it can be easily 
reached. 
Just at present the best sport seems to be in 
the vicinitj' of the Carquinez straits, off Benicia, 
but even there the run of fish is not to be re¬ 
lied upon. A new ground for this fish is re¬ 
ported from Oroville, where some years ago 
striped bass were planted in the Feather River. 
These have multiplied in splendid fashion and 
a number of fine fish have been taken this sea¬ 
son. A 20-pounder was recently landed just 
below the city, and several have been secured 
almost as large. 
A heavy rain is greatly desired by anglers, 
as this would take out the bar in the Russian 
River and allow steelheads to get into that 
stream. Large numbers of them have been 
seen outside the bar attempting to get over, 
but the obstruction has not been removed this 
season. 
At Point Reyes steelhead fishing has been 
excellent, and recently, while angling for this 
fish a fisherman hooked and landed a salmon 
weighing eighteen pounds. Most of the salmon 
are far up the Sacramento River by this time. 
The season is now open for salmon and large 
numbers are being taken in the vicinity of 
Redding. 
The unfavorable weather of the past few 
weeks has lessened the size of the crowds mak¬ 
ing the trip down the coast to ocean fishing 
grounds on the line of the Ocean Shore Rail¬ 
road. but those who have gone have enjoyed 
excellent sport. A. P. B. 
All the fish laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
Half-Pound Weight Casting. 
On the grounds of the British Amateur Fly- 
and Bait-Casting Club, at Idendon, on Nov. 19, 
an interesting contest was held. It will be re¬ 
membered that in our issue of Sept. 24 last we 
reprinted from the Fishing Gazette a picture of 
C. E. Merrin, and the great rod he fishes with 
along the coast of Natal, South Africa. This 
rod is of whole cane, 12 feet in length. On it 
he employs a huge single-action reel eight inches 
in diameter, and a braided hemp line, the break¬ 
ing strain of which is 35 to 40 pounds. He casts 
with a side swing. 
Mr. Merrin could not compete in the British 
Sea Anglers’ Society’s tournament in August be¬ 
cause this rod was too long, so he issued a chal¬ 
lenge to cast against any member of that club, 
six and eight-ounce weights to be used. The 
match was held on Hendon Lake, Nov. 5, several 
persons taking part. The winner was A. P. 
Scott, whose actual distances were as follows: 
, -■-——F e et—- 
6-ounce lead.271 272 262 262 9 261 1 
8-ounce lead.249 5 243 3 259 270 255 6 
The best single casts of the other competitions: 
6oz. Lead. 8oz. Lead. 
A. Haywood . 184 8 169 10 
T. A. Grant . 170 10 184 4 
C. E. Merrin. 204 6 231 9 
E. W. Marston. 239 231 5 
Percy Wadham . 220 
Mr. Scott used an eight-foot rod, a free-spool 
reel and a braided silk line, test fourteen pounds; 
overhead casting. 
Mr. Marston’s rod was eight feet long; his reel 
a French free-spool, which he thumbed; line, 
braided silk; test, eighteen pounds; overhead 
cast. 
As the general average was about equal to that 
of the average casting with 2p2-ounce weights, 
it will be seen that ioo-yards casts with any 
weights are not so easy to make as many critics 
of surf-casting claim. In Mr. Merrin’s case the 
difficulty lay in the reel which, employed in saL 
mon casting fashion, between the hands, re¬ 
tarded the smooth delivery of the line. His 
tackle, and the heavy weights, he says, are prac¬ 
tical for use along the rocky coasts of Natal, 
where the surf is heavy and long casts are neces¬ 
sary. 
The People’s Fish. 
The patient anglers who pass their leisure 
time on piers, in boats and ashore all the way 
from Coney Island up the bay and the Hudson 
River to Croton Point, are having their innings 
now with the toothsome frostfish. These little 
fish, known as tomcods and tommies, are the 
people’s fish. The news of their arrival in 
numbers is quickly spread, calling out men, 
women and even little folks who seldom fish 
save when the tomcods and the lafayettes are 
running. Frostfish do not appear in large num¬ 
bers until the temperature goes steadily down¬ 
ward, but when they do come in, even the dis¬ 
comfort incident to fishing for them is forgotten 
in the excitement of large catches. Crowds oc¬ 
cupy every available space along the water front 
and the scene is an animated one. And every¬ 
body goes homeward at last well supplied with 
these little panfish. 
The output of small trout in the Pennsylvania 
hatcheries is reported by Commissioner Meehan 
to be larger this year than that of the Govern¬ 
ment hatcheries. 
