Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1894-01-05
BLUEFIsHING.
CATCHING. a GAsIY MEMBER OBJ
THE. FINNY TRIBE.
IN n Blucfisll Smack OF the New Jer-
sey Coast-.Squiddirg From
the Shore-TrawlinS Be-
hind 4 Catboat.
YT YHE sea is everywhere, Its
emerald surface rising and
falling in great round swells,

He sea il every WneTe, It7
emerald surface rising and
falling in great round swells,
kisses in the far distance the
blue of the cloud hecked sky. on to
the southwest, hidden behind the no.
rizon, lies the Jersey coast; while be-
hind tho bank of clouds to the north
ward is concealed the low shore OF
Long Island. The seventy-foot blue
fish smack tugs at her anchor us she
rises and falls. Almost in unison bob
and luck the eight little dories that
are clustered about the smack within n
radius of less than half mile. Over
head are screaming gulls. In each
dory is a smackman fishing. On the
schooner captain and cook are also
handling lines.
Each dory contains small tub full
of m oily mush of ground up mem
| like that used to cut up hay for horses
This is every once in while scattered
with II wooden ludle broadcast over the
waters. 1t forms ''slick' which drifts
far to leeward, and attracts about the
boat from which it comes the bluefish
which nro in it's vicinity. Tho bait
used on the quickly following hooks is
tho back of inenhaden, thrown us far
rs possible from the dory and rapidly
hauled in again. The fishing is kept
ND until the smack is londed. AT the
end of ench days work tho fish are
cleaned and packed away on ice. Some
times in SINGLE days fishing the
dorics will bring in from 300 to 400 fish
apiece Oftener, however, the bluefsh
will disappear before the smack is
londed. Then the smack must sail
away in search of another school, and
it frequently happens that days will
pass before one will be sighted.
The duration of smack's trip is
from week to two weeks. From 5000
to 5000 fish make catch. Tho port
of departure and haven which the
smack endeavors to reach Thursday
afternoon or Friday morning is Fulton
Market. In this way it is that the
bulk of the bluciish which New York
eats on IL Friday arc caught. One in
search OF absolute rest, q sea voyage
and unsurpassed sport cnn find moth
ing better than n trip on smack.
The smuckmen live we'll. Fresh vege-
tables and delicious fish, served us they
only know how, are to be hnd Mt every
meal. Very reasonable terms can be
made with the captain OF any Fulton
Market smack for such trip.
The powerful, blue backed wolf of
salt water, rs the bluetish has been
called, is migratory in his habits, and
roams from Florida to Maine. In
different sections he is known under
different names. The swapping mack
erel of the South, tho bluoiish of the
Middle Atlantic States and the skip
jack of New England are one and the
same. Hc preys upon smaller fish and
visits our coasts i'll immense schools i'll
search of his food. From the middle
of July to October he is to be found
in the waters within reach of this city.
Along the Jersey coast bluetish fire.
quently chase schools of menhaden al
most up on the beach. Then it is that
the residents and summer visitors turn
out in full force to ''squid." The
"squid' is of bone or polished lead
and is attached to the two or three
hundred feet of line by stout piece
of wire about six inches long. The
latter is necessary precaution to pre-
vent tho razor like teeth OF the fish
from swapping the line. With the line
coiled loosely in one hand and grnspet
about five or six feet from tho sguI
in the other, the fisherman runSsG I
n usfstreating wave MS far opsfrssef