Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-15
THE ANGLER AND Tue FISH.
rHE COLD wxsrHxR has orvKS rux RAss A
HRfEv RESPfrE

THE coID wxarHxa Has orvxs rux nAss A
BRIEF RESPITE
The warm weather during the FIRST part Of
last week brought curious feeling Of unrest
into the minds Of the happy anglers and there
was o great overhauiiug Of tackle. Rods and
reels, lines, landing nets and bal. buckets were
dragged ont Of dusty corners and dark closet Is
and big black bait bottles were snugly
placed in the creels that have been hanging
lob-sided on high hooks since last fall
The small boy, who will fish in any water and
at any season OF the year when his feet and
fingers VIII not freeze. the n5n who thinks he
Is fond OF fishing and is satisfied with one at
tempt at the sport made very early in the sea-
son, and the genuine fisherman. who casts n line
whenever the water and the temperature are
right, all alike felt the angling mania taking
possession as the warm weather brought tine
buds ont On the trees
Tho man who thinks he likes it bought new
tackle, which he Will never use; the old angler
rugged up bis old tackle, made an inventory Of
STOCK and his spirit struggled and ehafed
within him because the river wss high and
muddy; but the small boy, he ran away from
home and went a-tshIng, and returned without
any signs OF having been anywhere except in u
mudhole.
CHILLED BIT COLD RAINS
Bnt the warm weather did not last and the
cold rains that have fallen during the past
week have sent q chill to the fisherrnan's
heart It is carly for the spring fishing.
out WREN warm sun and the smell
OF wild flowers once tempt the angler to
get out his tackle he has no mental
quiet nor comfort of soul until he has cast
his lines into the waters and felt the thrill
that comes with the first strike of the season.
Hundreds OF fishermen in Washington are
Watching the weather maps and the changing
est, while impotence possesses them.
Those mysterious signs or intgitions which
anglers understand, but cannot translate nor
explain, give hope OF very good bass season
In the Potomac. There were a great many
bass caught last fall up to very late period
fishing places on the upper Potomac were full
OF small bass. too small for the
angler to take. but large enough to give fair
promise for this year. Every one who fshed
IN the upper Potomac last fall noticed this
abundance OF small fish, and when the cold
weather forced him to put away his rod and
reel 1t was with the expectation OF line sport
with both ay and live bait IN few months.
Those two months have passed, and it is al
most time for the anglers to be upon the river
In full enjoyment OF their favorite sport. A.
clear river aad q few warm DAYS and the sport
will be on. Minnows are already being caught
for bait, and few impatient men have already
east Lines into cold water. But II ttIis cold
water is not thrown on their ardor they will
md their reward soou-
WHAT FEW WARN DAYS WILL DO.
After . few warm days such as last week
opened with, and clear weather, will open up
the bass fishing all along the river from the
first lock and feeder up to Woodmout. The
trst spring fishing will probably be done by
the second lock, Cabin Johns bridge and the
Great Falls Later the anglers VIII find their way
in great Numbers to the Monocaey. Tnscarora,
Point of Rocks, Harper's Ferry, Goose Creek.
Neverton, Hancock and Woodmont. The first
Sunday preceded by three warm and clear
days will find hundreds OF fishermen floating
on the river at all the familiar fishing points
for forty or fifty miles up.
Meanwhile the true fisherman Is painting
his boat or buying a new one, overhauling his
tackle and fretting about bait and the weather.
The perch fishermen are not dependent upon
SO many conditions for this sport and any day
now that il becomes warm enough to be COM
Portable on the rocks or In boats along the
river they will begin taking hundreds Of this
little fish between the Long bridge and the
Little Falls. some few small fish have been
caught already.