Morning journal and courier., 1881-09-14

Fishing GrOunds-The Kind of Bait
 Used nnd the Methods Employed by
 AngIers-CaPtain Mike Lyman's Extra
 ordinary Catch on stil1rveIrs Reef
 From the New York sun.I
 Just now fishermen are in 8 somewhat ex- cited condition over the big run of weakfsh in the lower bay In old times the upper bay was preferred by New York sportsmen, be- cause it was nearer home, and, being com pletely land locked, was considered perfectly safe for small boats; but with the growth of the city the fishing grounds in the upper bay disappeared, and now it may be said to be completely plotted out of the fisherman's chart.
 Some fishing clubs have been established at Staten Island, the members being princi- pally residents of this city. The most influ- ential is probably the Excelsior club. When it was first established it waged bitter war against pound nets, and succeeded in getting a local statute passed which prohibited their use. In revenge for this the owners of the pounds endeavored to have law passed to prohibit angling in Staten Island waters on Sundays. Against them all the owners of
 boats united with the Excelsior club, and it
 was hinted that even the railroad company
 quietly took hand in the fight The result
 was that the pound netting Sabbatarians
 were defeated, and now the boats of the fishermen swarm over all the fishing grounds. Shredder crabs, shrimps and sand worms are the bait used for weakish. Angling for weakfsh is liked by all fishermen, and by some is preferred to trouting, although it is often far more tedious. Green fishermen are rarely successful with weakfsh Success de- pends upon skillful handling of rod and | reel, knowledge of the fishing grounds and of the habits of the fish, combined with the proverbial patience of the angler, and a he- roic resolution to stand seasickness if neces- ! sary while waiting for high water slack.
 Most of the anglers, young and old, use l fioaters when fishing for weakfsh, and lead use single hook. The depth to sink the bait from the Aoater is regulated by the depth of the water and the run of the fish but in no instance should the length of line from | the hoater be greater than the length of the | rod. When fishing with hoater it is neces- | sary to watch it closely. The moment an un- | lucky fisherman takes his eyes off it down it ! goes. The fish seem to steal the bait when | he is not looking Then the unlucky fisher 1 man swears, and, of course after that he never catches anything. Some of the mem- J bers of the clubs have found the use of float ! CTS disadvantageous about dinner time, for ] then they are apt to keep looking for the | huttering of the flags on the club houses | announcing that the meal is ready, and mean | while hoaters are neglected and the fish steal ! the bait. When the flags wave the dinner | signal the anchors come into the boats with | wonderful rapidity and the members vigor- | ously row to the shore, while envious outsid. CTS who belong to no clubs shout at them, | ''Go it, fellows pull for your hash"
 In deep water the best time to fish for weakfish is at low water slack; in shallow ! water the best time is at high water slack. | There are only few fishing grounds where | there are eddies in which one may fish success
 fully when the tide is running rapidly, and | here the heaviest fish are taken. In the mouth of June, when the fish begin to bite l first. shrimp is the best bait. Later, shredder ! crab is preferred and sand worms are prob ably the best bait in all rocky places. They are not used much at Princes Bay or at any | of the fishing grounds close to the south | shore of Staten Island. Every Saturday | night crowds of fishermen go down on the
 railway to Clifford Station, Princes Bay, Pleasant Plains, and, in fact, to all the sta l tions from New York down. They sleep in l the boat houses or in the boats, and al
 sunrise they get cup of hot coffee, g | shrimp with about pint o1 | shrimps in it, and a boat for all the day, for about $2. Some of the fishermen hire sail | boats at Clifton and go to Prince's Bay or to
 wherever else they ike cooking their meals on board. From Clifton to Princes Bay is | quite long sail, but with fair wind it is an exceedingly pleasant one. The boat runs along close to the shore, and full view o1
 all the beautiful scenery of the bay can be \ ~--NA~S | splendid days sport. When the wind is of shore there is never any seasickness, for even
 with brisk breeze the ripple is no greater
 than that of a mill pond; but in southeast
 CT, when the rollers come roaring along, peo pie liable to become seasick had better stay ! at home.
 Weakfsh will bite well down to the end o1
 the present month. After that blackfsh will
 come in. They are not prized as much as
 weakfsh, but in the fall they are good eat
 ing, and afford capital sport for those who
 go down after them to the Monument and to
 the wrecks on the Romer Shoals. Some time | ago Captain Harry Nolan caught a blackfsh l in one of those wrecks that weighed fourteen | pounds.
 Among the Staten Island boatmen there are several Jacks and one Mike There are
 'Old Jack, :" ''Young Jack," "Black Jack, ''
 seRed Jack," .tJack Mac" and "Jocko." The
 solitary Mike is Captain Lyman, the cham l pion weakfsh catcher. It is on record that | he once caught over two hundred weak fish on Stillwell's Reef when dozen boats with at least two men in reach at the same ! time and place didn't take in dozen fish, and they were all first-class fishermen. How
 he did it is one of the mysteries of the lower hav