The sun., 1895-05-26
STRIPED BASS A-PLENTY.
fGs RUN IN THE HUDSON rms
YEAR ALMOST UNPRECEDENTED.
ereat Htnuir Teken In the Nets, and Big
FELLOWS Strt,ck by Angiers-An Eight


Great ntnui. Takea In the Nets. and Big
Fellows Str,ck ny Angiers-.Nn Eight
FOUNDER Caught with Trout Rod.
The run OF striped bass UP the Hudson River
this season Is almost unprecedented. At CT oton
Point hve tons OF 0sh wcro taken from the va
ter In two hnuls Of the seines, and within n week
twelve tons were lifted by the same party of
nshermen. This very nearly equals the famous
catch Of bass made by Bill Sherwood OF Snee-
dens Landing many years ago. \ big school OF
taem hnd somehow got past the nets lower down
the river and taken to the water between Snec-
den's Landing and the Erie Railway pier mt
PiermonL They continued to play about ia
this crea for ten days. and every day iiiA
would so out to his nets two or three times and
eaten tons OF them. Striped bass were bringing
high price In the market that year, and lie
made $4,000 above his expenses.
The enormous hauls made In the nets this
year will no doubt be highly pleasing to the
State Fish Commissioners; but what will please
anglers In general far more is the fact that the
fsh are taking very kindly to the hook. In GER
tain localities some fine catches have been made,
notably from the sunken pier. halfway between
Riverdale aud Mount st. Vincent. aud from the
Big Rock, u little way north of the G,enwool
station on the Hudson River Railroad. At the
latter place a resident OF Yonkers caught twen-
ty-two beauties. about week ago, weighing
from quarter OF pound up to three pounds
and half Many bass weighing from three to
six pounds have been taken from the sunkcn
pier and those who go their should be prepared
to strike fish OF even greater weight.
1t is u custom Of many anglers when the bass
are not biting rapidly. to anchor their rods in
tho rocks and watch their tips for strike. An
angler who frequents tho sunken pier lost a
monster bass recently by fishing in this careless
manner. He had planted his rod firmly between
two heavy stones. and was idly watching his
line. when the fish suddenly struck his hook
The rod snapped or ut the tip. the line broke at
tho reel and he had the modification to see his
tackle go scudoing out into the river. towed by
a fish that he would gladly have spent hours in
waiting for. Two days later. n dead bass weigh
ing between fifteen and twenty pounds. noatcd
then fishing lie went over to examine it. and
found his line dangling from its mouth with the
The Ash had probably been killed by the hook
which 1t had completely swallowed.
10 battle with II large fish when you have all
the appliances at hand necessary TO land him is
sufficiently exciting sport. but when you hook
end OF pier seven feet above the water at low
tide. you have Job on hand that is absolutely
a III RI nas IS ~ you mf any MT
prize Yet this is what happened to h Yonkers
lad a fey days ago; He was fishing from the
When the Srsnt, hsh struck him his light rod
second afterward fifty feet of line went buzzng
off mis- reel. Then the bass changed his course
sdoy Kent the ankeE ns
He had mot n the sh long esGro
gan to despair for his tackle. Yet he d id not for
river In shore ore and nd out, rushed the % .h but the the
boy never let him have chance to get away.
monster for half an hour. a man in n rowboat
appeared around the END OF the pier and Sc
At some OF the fishing grounds along the Hud-
son IT Is customary on certain days for the ang-
glers TO contri ribute to n pool which is to go to
the largest single fish during tho day. The
spirit Of emulation which this engenders Is OF
unfortunate angler Of An entire day will have a
change Of luck late in the afternoon. and beat
Il Is only at certain tides that the bass run near
the shore IN any great numbers. Some anglers
prefer tho last Of the flood tide and the first OF
the ebb for bass fishing, and others the turning
OF the ebb tide to flood:
hst o y ba to 90 TN the oest snnT
that covers the level bottoms at the mouth Of
the Croton River. These shadows are very eI;
tensiye, SO that one angler might tlsh thereall
angler. choosing a ditrerens position, would
when fishing over these grounds to change from
one place to another until the bass make their
presence known. The incoming tide is invar-
ably the best, for as the water deepens over tho
bottoms the fish come In to feed. IT Is also ad-
visable to take along several kinds Of bait, such
us sand worms. white worms. and shrimp. for
striped bnss have remarkably tickle appctites.
and though they may take white worms greedily
on ono day they will touch nothing but shrimp
on another.
Forty years ago the Hudson River was con-
sidered an excellent fishing ground for anglers.
IL then abOunded in great variety Of fish. such
as salmon. striped bass. weakhsh. founders.
sand porRies tomcods, and other pan rsh that
could be caught with hook and line. besides
shad. sturgeon, and other fish that were cap
tured in nets. AT that time few OF the cities
along its banks emptied sewage into Its waters,
sufficient for sanitary purposes. The period ar
rived when. in all the larger towns. the public
health demanded "A more effectual means Of
| drainage. and sewers were introduced. Then
question whether they would ever abound in
tho river again. Even the number of shad be-
came SO diminished that many men who had
depended for Il living mainly upon this catch Of
Then for II long time the only fish TO hc caught
with hook and line were eela. tom
Gods. snappers, a few sand porgies, and an oc-
casional bass The State Fish Commissioners
river. yet for many years their efforts bore
little fruit. They put in yearly great quantity
OF the fry OF salmon. striped bass. shad. and
other fish. but, seemingly. with little result.
have appeared again in considerable numbers
The catch OF shad this spring has been large,
bass are abundant. and. from the Indications.
1t may be hoped that salmon will at last be in
duced to resort to the headwaters OF the river
to spawn. Even now they are occasionally
caught In nets and by casting; but not In su1i-
cent numbe to encourage anglers