The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-02-15
ROD AND REEL.
Angling for Salmon in Mid Winter
Season.

Angling for Salmon in Mid Winter
Season.
Judging from the number of anglers that
take passage on the Sunday ferry boats to
Sausalito and Ti5uron in season to connect
with the early trains for fishing grounds
galore in Marin and Sonoma counties. one
would be inclined to the belief that Cali
fornia, even during the winter season, is n
| paradise for the lovers of piseatorlal SPORTS
The law which governs fishing by means
of nets or rods is, to say the least, rather Pc
! culiarly interpreted in this State. The gen
eral superstition is that angling has lis
| closed and open seasons us well as any
other branch of field sports The law says
| quite plainly that every person who takes,
| catches or kills any speckled trout. Drook
| or salmon trout, or any variety oil trout,
| between the 1St day of November and the
1st day of April, is guilty of misde
meanor
Experienced anglers and those who pro-
fesS to have studied the nature OF the tsh
which run from the sea to the rivers and
streams of this Coast in the winter season
to spawn. and which are known by the
name of anadromuus fish. declare that these
fish are salmon, anG can therefore be taken
by means of a rod and line. IL is further
stated that, with the exception of one or
two small streams, there are no trout proper
| in this State.
The PurisSima Creek in San Mateo County
| Is said to be one OF the few streams that con-
| tain trout, AMI tn, fS,: were planted IN
the stream by an old resident many years
| ago. There is one thing certain and that is
| that unless the lovers of the gentle art are
! permitted to angle during the winter months
they win not catch any large fish, for
| there will be no such thing as catching large
| fish after the season opens in April
| This is an exceptional winter, and as
! the salmon (Which they certainly are) must
| remain in the deep bottoms of estuaries I'M
| Ill a ireshet Will give them an opportunity
to reach their spawning beds, 1t may be late
in the season when they will take their de-
parture from the fresh water to the ocean.
Speaking of the peculiar habits of the
salmon, the following remarks by an EN-
inent pisciculturist will be found interest
ing:
How far out to sea do salmon go2 Do they
travel direct from their feeding grounds In the
sea 10 Their spawning grounds IN tic river? II
| not, bow far do they eX end their wandeTings
along the coast? Having arrived in their own
estuary, DO they lnger long IN The salt water
Ali these are questions on which we have little
or no definite information, writes W. L. Archer
10 the London Field. Continuing his account of
Ihe Norwegian experiments OF last season. he
states that, out OF thiTtyhve salmon that were
recaptured. eighteen were taken IN the same
river where marked fifteen IN salt water, either
on the coast or in the flnrds, presumably on their
way back to their own rivers. and one III differ
ent river 10 where IL was naked.
The fifteen salmon caught Ia salt water were.
Win The exception OF one, caugb; coming from ths
noTIhWafu, and that one exception taken
only two and hall tmiles south OF lis own
estuary. One salmon was caught ninety-iiye
miles from lis native liver, another seventy-tve
miles and two at point hfty-three miles distant,
proving that salmon approach the coast at a con
siderable distance tiOm their native river and
showing by what an extended area Of coast tile
fishing In each river Is affected.
Some of the recaptured salmon entered a long
iJord from which there was no exit except by The
way they entered and To which they could mol
be guid by any scent OF flesh water, and
actually passed the stream or fresh water issuing
from their own ford 10 reach It, This Is Ia en-
as strong evidence that salmon prefer TO linger
in salt water and not TO come direct 10 their
rivers from the sea. or all the tISh marked only
IL peT cent have been recaptured.
The result of these EXPERIMENTS shows how
large district is Inhabited by the fish bred in
each river. and that therefore the regul ttlOnS
affecting the coast line tor at least ninety miles
are OF mpoi lance 10 The nyhShers aud fish OF 4
salmon rlvrr.
The following successful stream whippers
returned from Olema on Sunday with large
fish: w. II. Peckham, +. DasSanville, A.
Wilson, l.. Deliver, j. Gallagher, W.
Cooney, \. Fitzgerald. French Louey,
Charles Precht and X. Newson. Prec6t
hooked an eight-pound fish about four min
utes before the train left the depot, and the
style in which he played him. or rather
yanked him, is said to nave been quite
laugha bic.
Charley Ohm and Perkins also caught a
few splendid fish at Shellyille on Saturday
and Sunday