Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-18
THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN FISHING CLUB.
How 1t Originated and Some of Its Many
Expeditions.

Expeditions.
Maj Thos. B. Kirby in Shooting and Fishing
In September, 1887, four Washington news
paper men sat upon the porch of the hotel at
Weverton, Nd. after good days fishing upon
the best bait-casting water on the Potomac.
Weverton is fifty-two and a half miles from
Washington on the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road, and it is also known as Hagerstovn juno
ton. There was just room enough at the foot
of South mountain to build the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad,
the hotel, three or four houses and -four mill.
The problem which troubled the minds of the
four fishermen was the old one of ways and
means. At last Fergus Patrick Ferris corre-
spondent OF the Baltimore Morniag Herald.
spoke. He had been talking all the time. but
this was the first time that he said anything
Il saw the general passenger agent last week
and he told me that il We would organize q club
We could get reduced rates, round-trip tickets
for one fare
"Why didn't you say so before?"
The organization was perfectedat once. The
name was taken from the historic mountain at
whose base we sat. The offices were divided
by mutual consent as follows: President
Thomas B. Kirby; vice president. F.. NJ. Hood;
secretary and treasurer, Fergus Patrick
Ferris; bait catcher, Charles ]. Hayes.
were any written constitution and bylaws
adopted. although it WAS understood that
every member of the club should have an
office and should go a fishing whenever the
water was clear. The original distribution Of
the offices has been modified som swhat. Mr.
Hayes has been placed upon the retired list and
several new members have been taken in
The South Mountain Fishing Club (iimited)
has added to its membership Col. VIM. g.
Sterett OF the Gdlreston- Dallas Ne,cs, to whom
Mr.. Ferris was compelled to surrender the
Office of secretary, retaining as his own prop
erty the office OF treasurer, which is the only
sinecure he has been able to obtain. Mr.. John
P. Miller Of the Washington Star has been
sworn in as commissary. and Mr.. A. j. Kaiser,
who Is not newspaper man, but a plumber, is
bait catcher and general hustler. Col. Richard
j. Bright, the sergeantat-arms Of the United
States Senate when that august BODY was demo-
cratic and Of all the recent democratic national
conventions. is purveyor general
There are no elections held for the officers Of
the South Mountain Fishing Club, nor does the
club ever meet except to go a fishing. The
original members took all the necessary Offices
and intend to keep them, while new offices have
to be created for new members. The club has
now seven members. This is the extreme limit
of the game, and. when all present. fire.
quently compels the last one or two to draw
from the discards, which is unpleasant.
The club keeps no records except In the MEM
DRY Of its members. During the past three
years Secretary Sterett has tried to keep
record OF the fish taken, but the members would
not stop fishing long enough to weigh the bass
they had caught, and so the record is defective.
Statistics are deceptive, because the enjoyment
Of fshing trip cannot be stated in figures.
The Potomac river is the best black bass fish
ing water in the world. The Chesapeake and
Ohio canal follows the course of the river from
Cumberland to Georgetown, q distance of l84
miles The canal not only affords q splendid
breeding place for the bass but in many ways
facilitates the operations Of the fishermen.
The first session OF the Fiftieth Congress was
long and tedious. We had to watch and chronicle
the deliberations Of the House Of Representatives
and of the Senate upon the Mills tariff bill
from April to Octobsr, 1888. and nearly all
tina time the river was muddy from frequent
rains At last the river became clear, and the
Senate finished its revision Of the Mills bill.
Con yress adjourned October 20, and the
next morning the South Mountain Fishing
Club went fishing. We took the Baltimore and
Ohio train ON the Metropolitan branch for
Gaifhsrsburg, Nd, our objective point being
Seneca, Nd, whsrs there 4 famous rcd sand-