A. M. STODDART
Grover Cleveland, the twenty-second and twenty-fourth president of the United States, was a dedicated fisherman. This amusing 1915 retelling of one of his fishing stories from The Oregon Sportsman highlights the enjoyment President Cleveland found in the outdoors.
Various stories are told of Grover Cleveland by anglers. While fishing one day, dressed in oilskins and slouch hat, Mr. Cleveland was addressed by an angler dressed in the height of fashion with:
“Hello, boatman, you’ve certainly got a good catch. What will you take for the fish?”
204
“I’m not selling them,” replied the man in oilskins.
“Well,” continued the persistent angler, “when do you want to take me out fishing tomorrow?”
Mr. Cleveland was plainly enjoying the joke.
“I can’t make any engagement except by the season,” he replied. “Will you give me as much as I made last year?”
“You’re a sharp fellow,” replied the angler, “but a good fisherman, and I’ll accept your terms. What did you make last year?”
“Oh,” replied Mr. Cleveland, “about $1,000 a week. I was President of the United States.”
Mr. Cleveland was an angler who believed in conservation. He practiced leaving something for those that come after. His limit was twelve fish a day. Curious to relate, when black bass fishing he always carried a measuring stick and returned to the lake all fish less than twelve inches in length.