a long time I used this method of 
angling almost exclusively. It is a 
pleasure to catch any fish by casting, 
but in still-fishing the pleasure comes, 
to me, at least, in trying to catch 
unusually good or large fish of the 
commoner kinds. We need as much 
improvement in the art of still-fishing 
as we have made in bait-casting, for 
to be successful in this, one must give 
as much attention to his tackle and 
methods. My grandfather caught a 
perch weighing nearly two pounds 
when fishing for pickerel by “skitter- 
ing’ a spoon over the surface of the 
water, and I once saw a giant perch 
rise to a small white wooden casting 
bait having a piece of red felt on each 
side and a single large hook behind. I 
have forgotten the name of this bait, 
but it is a very good one for many 
kinds of fish. The largest mullet that 
I ever saw was induced to bite by hav- 
ing a few feet of small black silk cast- 
ing line as a “leader” from the hook. 
The larger and older the fish the more 
experienced and wary he is. I have 
frequently been surprised at the great 
size to which our common fishes grow. 
The small and medium-sized ones are 
easily caught and lead us to think that 
they do not grow any larger, at least 
in our particular locality. We think 
that we must go to some distant waters 
to catch big fish, and then suddenly 
someone catches a huge one like the 
twenty-one pound bullhead (catfish?) 
that was taken from a small pond in 
this vicinity some time ago. He is a 
wise angler who knows the secrets of 
the waters nearest his own home. 
THEODORE H. COOPER, 
Batavia, N. Y. 
Catching Ringtail Cats 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: 
T seems that each magazine is just 
full of interesting stories. I enjoy 
most all of the stories and never fail 
to read them all. It has been my 
pleasure while hunting in Texas to 
catch a good many ringtail cats. It is 
very hard to catch ringtails as they 
seem to be related to the mink. When 
I set a trap for a ringtail, I kill some 
kind of a bird, and if I can find a cliff 
where there are some’ signs, I then 
take my trap, which is set down level 
with the ground, and cover it with the 
feathers of the bird which I use for 
bait. I then build up a nice little rock 
fence so as to make the animal cross 
the trap before he gets to the bait. 
I always sprinkle a little dirt over the 
feathers to keep them from blowing 
away, and I never fail unless some 
other animal beats Mr. Ringtail to my 
trap. 
484 
I have had great pleasure in hunting 
ringtails with dogs at night. They can 
run fast and if you do not watch, they 
will beat you to some hole or hollow. 
They can climb a tree as well as a 
squirrel, and they generally climb a 
tree when a dog gets after them. I 
have seen them jump from tree to tree 
just as squirrels do. 
In hunting ringtail signs, it is best 
to go to some cliff where there are 
hollows back up in the rock. It is most 
always dry back in these hollows, and 
you will be sure to see the tracks if 
Evan Rogers with a good pair of beagles. 
there are any ringtails in the country, 
as the ringtails seem to hold meeting 
in these places from the signs that are 
there. We surely do have a good time 
down here in Texas if we don’t have 
many bear and mountain lions. It is 
never too cold or too deep. with snow to 
go out and enjoy a good hunt. Some- 
times we have as much as two or three 
feet of snow in the northern part of 
Texas, but not one bit in the southern 
part, so you see what a wonderful cli- 
mate we have—just right. 
ELBERT D. HUMPHREYS, 
Brownwood, Tex. 
A Good Pair of Beagles 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: 
HAVE read with pleasure lots of 
“ letters that were contributed by the 
subscribers of your magazine, and I 
am enclosing you a picture of a dog, 
and her owner, whom I had the plea- 

sure of meeting up in Minnesota two 
years ago. I have seen a great many 
pictures of beagle hounds in your 
paper, but I think the picture of this 
dog will be as interesting to your — 
readers as any of them. These two 
dogs are the most remarkable rabbit 
hounds I ever saw. I have hunted over — 
both of them and I had two pups out 
of the one that is nearly white that re- — 
minded me of the pictures I saw in — 
your magazine of Jack and Jill. This © 
dog, at the present time, has the most . 
beautiful bunch of puppies I ever saw. — 
I trust that this letter and these — 
pictures will interest some of your 
readers. 
EVAN ROGERs, 1 
St. Paul, Minn. 
The 20 Bore on Quail 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: ‘ 
| HAVE just read an article on the 
20 gauge and if you will kindly give 
me a small space in your very interest- 
ing magazine, I will tell you what I 
think of it. 
I have been shooting quail for the 
past fourteen years, usually hunting 
about thirty full days each season. I 
have shot everything from the 12 gauge 
to the 20, cheap ones and good ones, 
and for me there is only one quail gun 
and that is the 20.. Last season I bought 
one case of shells, part 10’s and part 
8’s, soft shot. Out of 500, I bagged 
456 quail and shot some few times at 
other game and I made clean kills, no 
cripples to get away and suffer. I used 
No. 10’s when birds were young and 
tender and No. 8’s the latter part of 
the season when birds were older and 
flew faster. 
My reason for using soft shot may 
not appeal to many of your readers, but 
I found chilled shot went through, pro- 
duced no bleeding, and many birds flew 
away to die. The soft shot spreads out 
when striking the bird, producing a 
larger wound, more bleeding, hence 
quicker death. 
I use an Ithaca 20 ga. 28-inch barrel, 
full and modified. 
Last fall I had the chance to hunt 
with a man who had the title of being 
the best quail shot in East Tennessee. — 
When I saw his gun, I did not doubt i 
his title, for he had a 12 ga. 22-inch 
barrel and the heaviest load he could — 
buy. At noon, I told him to use my ~ 
gun for a while. He did, and the best 
he could do was to kill one out of eight — 
shots. In the meantime, I got everdan 
bird with the bludgeon and I did not — 
fail to “ride him,” so this year he will — 
shoot a 20. 
it AE LP Ey Mag ey, Pe ET ew carte ee 
dl 
Dr. B. J. McCary, 
Norfolk, Va. 

