The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-06
FISH AND FISHERMEN.
Dan O'Connell's Weekly Budget Of
News Caught on the Fly.


A tidy little stream which empties into
the Alameda, near the second railroad
bridge in Niles Canyon, will always yield
good fish in the middle of the season to
the careful angler. Stony Brook, for this
is its name, used to be preserved some
years ago, but the owner of the property
abandoned the effort in despair. The can
yon is filled with campers all summer,
and a dozen keepers, with eyes all over
them, would not be sufficient to keep these
amateur gypsies off the stream. All the
trout brooks of Alameda County have de-
perforated. The Alameda itself, near the
headwaters of the Wild Cat Canyon, used
to afford capital fishing. But the pools are
now only tenanted oy a few fngerlings,
and only the memory of the plump half
Founders remains.
The Calaveras, a right beautiful stream,
at its junction with the Alameda still
holds few-a very few-good fish. This
is an ideal river, not unlike the Yuba in
the vicinity of Cisco in character and
volume. 1t has sharp falls, long reaches
OF broken water and deep pools. But this
year. the angler who takes half dozen
fish in three-mile tramp is fortunate.
1t has been stocked, but the great
trouble is that no matter how the trout
prosper they are never permitted to attain
a respectable size. AT four and five inches
they are lively, hungry and incautious.
Then they are pouched by the hundreds
by those vandals of the brook, those
conscienceless Herods who will spare
nothing that has fins.
Will Kittle and Joseph Quay spent 8
portion of the Fourth on Trout Lake, on
| the County Clubs preserves. They caught
some of those fine speckled fish with
which the lake is stocked, and also some
| "cutthroats." This fish is grand fighter
| No trout that swims gives as hard battle
! as the which, by the way is not
| nice name for them, and has its sole rea-
son in the red marks in the fishes throat
| Their growth is phenomenal. The cut
Threats caught Thursday weighed a pound
and were only year old. A full pound in
single year from the egg conclusively es-
tablishes the desirability of cultivating
| this game fish.
The sport that can be had with rod and
line in bay fishing is not appreciated by
the majority OF anglers: Indeed, those
who have made study of the sporty ways
of this pastime are largely in the minority.
To many it will be new thing to learn
that the blue rockcod will take the spoon
trolling. This is daily occurrence in
Monterey Bay, where salmon trollers fire.
quently take half dozen rockcod in sue
cession on the sardine or spoon. In this
nafDOr IN clear water the same results can
be obtained and with light tackle there is
lot of fun in this sort of fishing. Smelt
and perch will take fly, so the fly fisher
man need not confne himself to the lakes
and streams.
The new and excellent provision which
interdicts trolling with the spoon on Lake
Lagunitas has cut down the big catches
made in this water in the early part of the
season. The man now who fills his creel
will have the satisfaction of knowing that
he has worked for the fish.
An angler at San Andreas on the Fourth,
while his rod lay on the bank, a steel one,
heard the whir of his reel and saw his
tocker disappear. Shortly afterward he
booked a fish on another rod and landed
a nineteen-inch trout and also the lost rod,
to his delight and surprise, which the
other line had fouled. Mr.. Mel Vogel is
the name of this fortunate fisherman.
DAN O'CoNNELL.