Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-09-12
PLENTY OF PoRo,Es.
O0e q the Finest of r God f-fsh and Eaa
Caught In the East

One - the Finest of Food *l.h and E..,l,
Caught In the East
The porgy, or soup, is one of our
nnest food fishes, being perhaps the
most common of all fish in the markets
OF Boston. New York and Philadel-
Phia- For years these fish were so
plenty as to be held in contempt and
the tons of them caught by nets, seines
and pounds were sold by the barrel for
manure In the war days and until
some twenty years ago twenty and
twenty five cents was a fair price for
soup; now they are ten cents a pound
wholesale. At last, however. the in
discriminate slaughter of these and
other food fishes by net fishers is being
Investigated by the government and
gradually cured by stringent laws.
The anglers are now learning that
the once despised porgy, though not
game fish in any sense of the word.
nevertheless is a lively bitter and can
put up good, stiff fight on light
tackle Not only do the Jersey coast
market fishers land most of their
porgies with hook and line now, but
city men-amateurs-are beginning to
take great pleasure in porgy fishing.
The porgies range all along our At
iantic coast from Cape Cod southwark
to the gulf of Mexico. In Virginia
they are called "fairmaid.- In the
Carolinas, Georgia and Florida waters
they abound all through the wear.
but here in northern bays and
sounds they can be caught
only IN the summer months,
and before and after the warm season
nra
water outside. The most convenient
places to fish for porgies for city
angler are the Jersey and Long Island
towns At Seabright and Little Egg
harbor. little farther south, they are
exceedingly numerous
a good tackle for this work is a stiff
trout-bait rod, light braided linen line,
not over seventy-ive or one hundred
feet, a No. 5 sproat hook snelled on
dou ble-strand gut. and a split buck
shot sinker. Soup are indiscriminate
feeders, and therefore the fisherman
may choose from quite list of bats
earth worms. sea worms, hard and
soft clans, shrimps, fddlers and snails
are greedily taken. but long-necked or
soft clans are the favorite food.
The best fishing breeze is one from
the northwest and porgies always bite
best in light current or tideway
Old hands always go for them on the
ebb or at low water, saying that they
feed them They are very tickle.
When they bite at all they bite madly
and constantly. AS fast as you can
fling over your baited hooks you have
a soup fast on each. Then suddenly
they will cease feeding. and, though
you should wait all day, you will not
feel another nibble. Another queer
habit of theirs is to rise as they feed.
You begin catching them on the bot
tom in two fathoms of water. Then
they take hold nearer the top
each time, until at the end
they are splashing on the very sur
face. They run fast and fight for a
moment, but are tender-mouthed and
short-lived. Two or three on at once
make a lively scuffle. and if they pull
together will bend your rod well before
you can land them. Sportsmen usually
use two hooks on a wire spreader to
keep them apart, but the market fish
ermen use two hand lines apiece, each
one with three baited hooks. at Sea-
bright it is not unusual for a good
porgy fisherman to bring in three hun
dred pounds for days work.
These fish seldom attain a weight o,
more than five pounds and length OF
fourteen or sixteen inches when fully
grown. 1t takes six years or more for
them to reach their greatest size
and weight, but the females
lay mature eggs in their second year.
an unusually early spawning for any
fish. The great beauty of the sport is
that when there is any it is fast and
furious, and even a greenhorn can
bring home a full basket They are
delicious cooked. and the down east
cooks declare that they make the best
fish chowder of anything that swims-
Down on Block island they fry them
in cracker crumbs and serve them with
crisp bacon, and it is dish fit for the
gods of sea or land. Scuppang they
call the fish there, but they are just as
much fun to catch by that name. and
every bit as toothsome on the table