Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-12-20
FISH TRADE TRICKS.
HOW THE PROFESSIONALS LOCATE A
LETTING" GROUND.

1 LOOKS ike III, 81.
| "See the walnut tree on the hill?"
| Eyes; stands about west-northwest. +"
| "And the church steeple sou-sou-
rest:''
ITO the dot. No mistake about that :"
.'How heads Ladomus' cottage?'
| ABOUT due vest
1--WE ought to be nearly over it now,
Will. Stand by to let go when sing
out. Steady, now; steady! Let her rip.
Nowl Now! Bully boyl Right over the
middle of it.
| That is how the professional fisher
man along the Jersey coast finds his IA
vorite biting ground. The latter may
| be 20 or more fathoms deep, and a
| dozen or more miles Otfshore; but,
with the aid CT 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
| offshore. 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
be sought. They will not, a. a rule,
como to the fisherman, lie 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 a rocky bed along the Jersey
coast, and even with ranges or land
marks one IS not always certain to find
il on another days fishing trip. The
ranges arc manipulated this way:
In an ordinary surfboat. such as tho
majority of the jersey fishermen use.
| the beach line that looks so white and
extensive close iDshore resemb Il
white thread at distance of. say, ID
miles from the land. When the fisher
men discover i rev ground ut or about
that distance olTshorc they generally
pick three marks on laud-one north,
one south and the third directly to the
westward. By bringing these three
marks to convergeuce the happy hunt
ing ground is located.
As 4 rule these fishermen are q bit
selfish when new grounds are discover
ed. They conceal the fact as long as
possible from one another, for business
reasons principally, fo- there is q ripe
competition among these beach comb
ers, and it is only by playing possum
and keeping q weather eye open that
one learns what bis rival sometimes
knows.
One day last season a reporter was III
one of these surfboats / s miles offshOre
from Barnegat. The fisherman in charge
of the tiny Craft was heading for rocky
bottom Us far offshore as he dared to go
without compass and provisions. When
within q 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 ont, 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 III charge OF the first mention
ed craft said to his shipmate:
did you mark it:''
Eyes" answered the other. 1.-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
III the boat who began TO ask questions.
erman. 1--WE didn't know that it exist
ed Yes, they are catching lots of fish.
Why don't L go back and try it? Well,
1 do not like to initiate people-at least
/ do not care to let them sec 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
srfp "a fbssr done
along the beach. Here's another trick |
of the trade that surfman at. Belmar |
taught this Iandlubberly reporter. |
There's a schooner that takes city folk |
from Asbury Park offshore to fish. She |
was anchored ten miles otfshore this |
particular morning over a newly found |
ground. and there were half a dozen or |
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 tho profess
sional fishermen, but they suddenly
pulIed M anchors as if one man and
began rowing around.
The schooner weighed her bower also
and under her headsails and mainsaii
reached ofTshore. Naturally the anna
teurs wanted to know why shift
should be made. especially as the strikes
were unusually lively. That's the Hal
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.
1--WE have a good ground here, and we
don't want her pilots TO find the ranges
She'll keep 10 the southwark, and We'll
circle around until she gets out Of the
way. That's how we save our bacon.
And they did save it too. The steam
boat kept 70 the southwark fer some lit
tie distance and finally, being unable
Tn GET the ranges or whatever ground
- ,ilotS had in view. came about