sadiddiaaiassidbeiaseiaanasaatdatiaishaiede 
Fs ESSE LEE ASAT TOSS TENS ESE PER TART ZENS IS OTS JERS TERR JT TERN | 







Ria aTeTRURCECETERTRTRTRTRER TIT poate tel 
[ei Nr ir sr a a ia se 

Robert O. Pecci holding his large 
rainbow trout. 
A Day on the Trout Stream 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: 
Haynes been enjoying the other 
fellow’s stories of hunting and 
fishing I thought I would tell you of a 
successful fishing trip I had last year. 
During the trout season last year I 
had a day off, and as I am an ardent 
hunter and fisherman, I decided to go 
trout fishing in a nearby stream. I 
arrived at the stream and proceeded 
to rig up my 4% ounce fly rod. Prep- 
arations complete, I put on a royal 
coachman and proceeded to whip a 
likely looking pool. After a few casts 
I had a rise, but failed to hook the 
fish. Again I cast in the same place 
and again the fish took the fly and this 
time I hooked him. After a few 
minutes of battling I promptly brought 
him to net, a brown about eleven inches. 
Two more rainbows followed the 
brown into the creel, and as I could 
not get another rise from this pool, I 
proceeded up stream hooking a trout 
here and there. At noon time I had 
seventeen nice trout, consisting of 
rainbows, browns and natives ranging 
in length from ten to fourteen inches. 
After dinner I just lay in the grass 
and rested, for I was tired. 
How long I lay there I do not know, 
for I must have fallen asleep. When 
I awoke the sun was sinking fast, so 
I thought I would fish one more pool 
and call it a day. I changed the royal 
coachman for a gray hackle and start- 
ed for a pool above me. This pool was 
about thirty feet long and twenty feet 
wide. On the opposite bank were a 
606 
number of trees whose roots extended 
into the water and whose overhanging 
branches almost touched the water, 
forming a nice shady spot for Mr. 
Trout. 
I whipped the fly through the air and 
finally cast it near the overhanging 
branches. Nothing doing. Surely 
there must be something in this pool, 
so after a number of casts I carefully 
dried the fly in the air and cast to- 
wards the beginning of the pool. The 
fly floated on the water wonderfully. 
When it was about ten feet from me I 
started to strip in the line to begin a 
new cast. Then the fun started. There 
was a loud splash and my little rod 
doubled up severely. 
First he headed up stream (I think 
he was headed for Canada, for it was 
in that direction) and I gave him the 
butt as much as I dared, for I did not 
want to buy a new rod. After about 
ten minutes of pro and con he spotted 
those sheltering roots and started for 
them with a rush. How I ever stopped 
him I don’t know, but stop him I did, 
thanks to the new line and _ leader. 
After making two more unsuccessful 
attempts he began to tire, for he tried 
to sulk. 
I put all the strain I dared on the 
rod but I could not budge him. Finally 
I struck upon a bright idea that I have 
heard of but never practiced. I be- 
gan rapping on the rod with my right 
hand. This proved successful and he 
made two or three rushes. It was plain 
he was tiring as his rushes grew 
shorter each time. Meanwhile the sun 
was fading fast and I realized I must 
land him quick, if at all. Finally he 
turned over on his side and I lead him 
gently, ever so gently, into the landing 
net. There was not a struggle left in 
him when he was in the net, because 
he fought, as all rainbows do, gamely. 
How wonderful he looked with the 
sinking sun shining upon his glisten- 
ing sides and how wonderfully propor- 
tioned he was. Surely he was the king 
of all trout and I took my hat off to 
him. I then weighed and measured 
him and found he weighed 3% pounds 
and was 19% inches in length. It took 
about a half hour of hard fighting to 
land him. Whenever I look at him I 
can dream that glorious battle over and 
over again. 
I wish ForEST AND STREAM the best 
of luck and hope I will be able always 
to enjoy its delightful articles. 
RoserT O. PeEcct, Irvington, N. J. 
Believes Dr. McCary Has Over- 
estimated 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: 
lt you will kindly give me a little 
space in your valuable publication, 
I would appreciate it very much, as IT 
would surely like to take issue with an 
article appearing in your August num- 
ber, under head of “The 20-Bore On 
Quail,” page 484, and signed by Dr. B. 
J. McCary, Norfolk, Va. 
In this article he states that he killed 
456 quail out of 500 shot at, and then 
shot some few times at other game. 
This shooting is possible but not prob- 
able, as I do not believe that there is 
a man living to-day that can average 
914% on quail and take the shots as 
they come, that is long shots, and hard 
brush shots. Mr. Jim Jordon (de- 
ceased), Greensboro, N. C., was con- 
ceded to be one of the best, if not the 
best, quail shots this country has ever 
known, and he could not do this, figur- 
ing 91%% as an average for a sea- 
son’s shooting. 
It sums up to this: The doctor has 
evidently made a mistake in the num- 
ber of shells shot, or quail killed, or 
else the game laws of Virginia have 
been very badly broken, as their laws 
plainly read: Bag limit 15 birds per 
day, or 150 per season. Season opens 
November 15th and closes January 
31st. 
The above remarks are made in the 
kindest spirit, and I trust to hear fur- 
ther from Dr. McCary. 
“Over and Under.” 
W. B. AREY, Salisbury, N. C. 
Questions Existence of Jew-Fish 
in San Francisco Bay 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: 
ee a recent number of your always 
interesting and usually accurate 
journal appears a photo of a stalwart- 
looking young man standing by the 
side of an unusually large jew-fish 
claimed to have been caught “off of 
Point Reyes, San Francisco Bay.” 
There is no disputing the fish and its 
size. Not descending to punning, there 
is something fishy in the item. In the 
first place, Point Reyes is situated on 
the coast of California, a little over 
sixty miles north of the Golden Gate, 
the entrance to the harbor of San Fran- 
cisco. The catching of a jew-fish in 
that region or even in San Francisco 
bay would be such a rare and unusual 
occurrence, that the local papers would — 
be full of it. No such news item has 
appeared in the San Francisco papers. 
I believe I am correct in stating that 
there is no record of a jew-fish ever 
having been caught in San Francisco, — 
much less in the ocean in this latitude, 
in which statement I am supported by © 
Mr. Harry Golcher, an ardent sports- 
man and dealer in sporting goods for 
more than 30 years. These huge fish 
may rarely come as far nortk as the © 
Santa Barbara channel, which is about 
100 miles north of their usual habi- 
tat around Catalina and the adjacent 

