MEMO from the publisher
Many fishing purists, among them Ted Williams, consider the bonefish the finest light-tackle antagonist of them all. In this issue it takes its place with such eminent rivals as the steelhead and brown trout, which have already sat for their word-and-picture portraits in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. The occasion seems proper to mention some future stories on fishing and other outdoor subjects.
Wondrous things can happen when fish move from traditional haunts to unfamiliar waters. One example comes in an article on how the oceangoing striper takes to South Carolina's fresh-water Santee-Cooper lakes. Another appears in an account of trout of once troutless Chile, all newcomers since 1900. For readers fortunate enough to make seeing believing there are also tips on Chilean travel.
Four states, Alabama, California, Louisiana and Texas, require saltwater fishing licenses. More are considering them. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED will shortly examine the merits of the controversial question.
The trout PREVIEW in the April 6 issue will have reports on fishing prospects across the nation. It will also have what might be called an "expert's dream," in which Sparse Grey Hackle calls on half a century of fishing experience and constructs the "dream expert"—an angler of parts, each the best talent of the great anglers Sparse has known.
A challenging fish for this or any angler is the tarpon, whose leap is as incredible as its meat is inedible. It's due for a portrait by Roy Terrell.
The beaver, as Canadian as the maple leaf, seemed to be on the wane. Ottawa took steps. In an early issue John O'Reilly describes the transition from meager to eager beavers. Later O'Reilly will explore a problem of increasing menace to all wildlife and for that matter to all life not so wild—atomic waste.
A lot of field dogs these days—hounds, poodles, retrievers—have settled down indoors. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED will tell how to train them for the outdoor duties their forebears raised to an art and their country cousins do so well. Trap shooting is a year-round sport but spring brings the gaudiest, gamblingest shoot of all, Reno's Golden West Grand. Silver dollars jingling in its jeans, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED will be there.
During midsummer's heat Virginia Kraft will report her discoveries of the limitless outdoor opportunities in Alaska—for every sportsman an essential guide to the 49th state.
This résumé must be partial. But I want especially to note a three-part story planned for fall. An evaluation of American conservation policies, it will be the most thorough study of the subject ever made by a national magazine. Its importance is clear: for what happens in conservation means what happens finally in the whole outdoors.
THREE ILLUSTRATIONS