Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-28
BASS FISHING.
Unnecessarily Stringent Laws ON the
Subject.
To the Editor of THE EVENING star

To the Editor of THE EVENING STAR
In your issue Of the 18th inst you gave, at
some length, the laws restricting the taking Of
bass by hook and line and other methods The
principal points of interest In said article are
that the laws Of Maryland prohibit taking bass
during the month Of May, and those of Virginia
for a certain time, commencing the 18th of May.
contend that the anglers rod exerts but very
small influence in thinning out the bass, and that
consequently all legislation on the subject IL
wholly unnecessary. as will be hereinafter more
fully set forth 1t has been about thirty years
since bass were first placed in the headwaters Of
the Potomac, the facts pertaining thereto, as
procured from one of the parties who assisted in
their Introduction. being as follows: Fourteen
bass were procured from some Of the western
waters and placed in a mill-pond near
Cumberland. The stream was small, a mere
creek. After some years the dam broke and
number of the fish finally found their way into
the Potomac river. At this time there were no
fish in the Potomac that fed on other species of
fish to any great extent, The river being
well-stOcked with t0bacco-boXes (sun perch),
mullets. suckers. &c. &c. the bass held a high
carnival and. as result. increased very rapidly.
Consequently the river became well stocked
with them before the people were aware of
their presence. as they were not accustoT cd to
fishing for this kind of fish But, after a few
years. their numbers in the vicinity Ci Cumber-
land began to tell on the fish upon which they
deprecated, and it was noticed that as these
fish grew scarcer the bass correspondingiy
grew scarcer. The result of this Is that in tie
vicinity Of Cumberland the bass are not now
so plentiful as they were a few years ago. and if
the catch in this vicinity was totally prohibited
| hazard hut little in saying that they would
never become as plentiful as formerly,
unless some means be devised to IN
crease the fish upon ar'lch they feed.
When their supply of food gives out they turn
to eating each other and regulate their numbers
in that way. even if there be not one taken with
hook or other means l know that they eat
each other for the reason that one of the largest
II not the largest, bass | ever caught was found
to have previously swallowed bass some five
or SIX inches lOng-large enough to catch with
hook 1t could not swallow more than three
fOurths of the little bass. there being from one
to two inches of the tail prOtruding above its
throat. Although thus gOrged, it sought an
other bait and was caught. as stated. This cele
brated bass was caught at what is known as the
Stubble Field Falls. about three miles this side
Of the Great Falls. With such vOraciOus fish
prowlin" around how can the smaller fish main
tain their requisite numbers. and unless they do
this how can the bass procure the necessary
amount Of food without feeding on each other!
VIII our lawmakers give us some information
on this subject? The fact is that every bass
taken leaves that many more small fish for
the others, and therefore correspOndingly
lessons the necessity for feeding on each other.
Residents in the vicinity of the Great Falls tell
US that suckers. tobaccO-bOxes &c. &c, are
much less plentiful than they were before bass
were introduced into the river, and the pre-
sumption is that but for the large number of
bass that have been taken In this vicinity by
hook and line said fishes would long ere this
have been ainostOr quite exterminated. There
fore, If our lawmakers would maintain and even
increase tie number of bass, let them provide
the necessary hatching-houses for propagating
mullets. suckers. tobacco boxes &c. &c. Keep
the supply of food fishes up to the demand and
the bass will take care of themselves in spite of
the anglers art. No mistake on this point
Another reason why the fishing laws should be
abolished is that the condition of the weather
and water is frequently such as to prevent
spring fishing until about the time SD d laws
take effect. ifurfnT the time that fish are spawn
ing they need no laws 10 protect them, for all
anglers know that no Kind Of fish will bite at
such times to amount to anything. They
appear. for time. to lose all desire for food
and will spun the most touching bait that can
be offered. / have offered a hook to several
species of perch while bedding They would
take the hook into their mouths and carry it out
of their beds and drop it. No bait that could
be found would tempt them into a bite. These
same fish at other seasons would BITE raven
ously. l am crediby informed by others that
they have. in the same way seen bass refuse the
best bait that could be offered. What then is
the use OF laws to protect them at time when
they will not bite! There could be no harm in
laws that would prohibit bass fishing from, say,
May 18th to September 1stI
Adopt necessary measures to supply them
with plenty of food and their numbers can
never be materially lcssened by hook and line.
ANGLER