Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-11-03
FISH TRADE TRICKS.
HOW THE PROFESSIONALS LOCATE A
LIFTING" GROUND.


the New Jersey Const-Marking the
Good Spotn For Future Catches and
Dodging Rivals.
"Got the range, Will?''
Clocks like it, ST."
See the walnut tree on the hill?"
Yes; stands about west-northwest. /"
"And the church steeple sou-sou-
west?''
'To the dot. No mistake about that
Chow heads Ladomus' oottage?"
"About due west
I'VE ought to be nearly over it now,
Will. Stand by to let go when 1 sing
out. Steady, now; steady Let her rip.
Now! Now Bully boy Right over the
middle of it,
That is how the professional fisher
man along the Jersey coast finds his ia
vorite "bitingn ground. The latter may
be 20 or more fathoms deep, and
dozen or more miles offshore; but,
with the aid Of such landmarks as trees,
steeples and beach cottages, lying in
various directions along the strand,
these crack surfmen seldom make mis-
take in picking up" the ground sought
otfshore. It's no easy job this finding
of some particularly good fishing ground
that has no mark on the chart and is
only fixed in the mind of fishermen by
study of distances from the shore.
1t is we'll known fact that fish must
no l.,
come to the fisherman, be the latter
professional or amateur. Sea fish, as
we'll as lake fish, like rocky bottom, and
it is over this kind of bottom that the
best catches are made. 1t is no easy task
to locate rocky bed along the Jersey
coast, and even with ranges or land
marks one is not always certain to find
it on another days fishing trip. The
ranges are manipulated this way:
In an ordinary surfboat, such as the
majority of the Jersey fishermen use,
the beach line that looks so white and
extensive close inshore resembles
white thread at a distance of, say, Is
miles from the land. When the fisher
men discover new ground at or about
that distance offshore, they generally
pick three marks on land-one north,
one south and the third directly to the
westward. By bringing these three
marks to conveyance the happy hunt
Ing ground is located.
AS rule these fishermen are bit
selfish when new grounds are discover
ed. They conceal the fact as long as
possible from one another, for business
reasons principally, for there is ripe
competition among these beach comb
ers, and it is only by playing possum
and keeping weather eye open that
one learns what his rival sometimes
knows.
One day last season reporter was in
one of these surfboats 10 miles offshore
from Barnegat. The fisherman in charge
of the tiny craft was heading for rocky
bottom as far offshore as he dared to go
without compass and provisions. When
within mile or SO of the ground, an
other fisherman and his helper were
seen at anchor. They were hauling up
whacking big bass as fast as they could
throw out. and altogether they seemed
to be having a glorious time. After the
two boats had separated sufficiently to
permit a private conversation the pro-
fessional in charge of the FIST mention
ed craft said to his shipmate:
"Did you mark it?'
eyes" answered the other. "The
piers to the westward, the life saving
station is to the northward and the
cottage of that old crank is to the south
ward. -
"That's the way made it, . replied
the first speaker. All this seemed like
so much Greek to one of the amateurs
in the boat who began to ask questions.
"That's new ground" said the fish
erman. "We didn't know that it exist
ed. Yes, they are catching lots of fish.
Why don't go back and try it? Well,
do not like to initiate people-at least
do not care to let them see me copy
them. I'll try it some other day"
1t may have been professional pride
or etiquette, this sharp bit of practice,
but in other walks of life it would be
called trick of the trade. It's done all
along the beach. Here's another trick
} of the trade that a surfman at Belmar
i. | Taught lulo 1aud1uUUCIIJ 1CpOIbel.
There's schooner that takes city folk
from Asbury Park offshore to fish. She
was anchored ten miles otfshore this
particular morning over newly found
, ground, and there We're half q dozen OF
more surfboats clustered about her. The
biting was first class, but presently one
of the big fishing steamboats, from the
Battery was sighted heading down the
beach. There was an interchange OF
! conversation on the part of the profess
: sional fishermen, but they suddenly
pulled up anchors as if one man and
began rowing around.
The schooner weighed her bower also
and under her headsails and mainsai
reached offshore. Naturally the anna
tours wanted to know why shift,
should be made, especially as the strikes
were unusually lively. "That's the Ha
Corster coming down, said one of the
fishermen in a half whisper, as if those
on the steamboat could hear him, al
though she was fully two miles away
"We have good ground here, and we
don't want her pilots to find the ranges