The times., 1899-05-21


bic. when minor differences leave one in
doubt The anal fin Of the War Mouth has
only three spines, that of the Rock Bass
has six
Unfortunately these specimens from
Four Mile Run and the lower pool were
not examined by anyone who was familiar
enough with them to be positive. They
were probably the War Mouth as 1t affects
sluggish waters and muddy bottoms. while
the Rock Bass loves best strong currents
and stony beds. The next specimen from
| either pool will be submitted to expert au-
thority for Identification.
Charles Laird and party were at Chop
Pewamsie lately and caught a couple of
dozen pike (reticulatus) averaging fifteen
inches in length. Incidentally, they cap
| tured nearly half hundred black bass
ranging from a half pound to two and
half pounds. Three large ish-hawks dis
puted the fishing grounds with them, and
one was seen carrying away a fish weigh
ing pound. The kingdshers and herons,
too range this marsh undisturbed and vio-
late the laws and the anglers feelings
every day. 1t is an old English belief that
! the heron emits from its legs standing in
| the water an odor which attracts the fish.
| This has no doubt grown out of the ap-
parent impossibiliIy that SO awkward and
| slow a creature could otherwise catch
| fish at all. The secret evidently lies in
| their waiting perfectly motionless. The
eyes of fish are sensitive to motion but
not TO form Anyone who has had the
curiosity to watch them in their native
haunts has no doubt that if he could hurI
| a Jayelin at short range as quickly as the
heron can his beak he could get fish,
too; getting them within reach. is merely
matter of patience and absolute quiet.
The odor is a needless gift to the heron,
a gratuitous assumption of the theorist.
Good Perch Catch.
Mr. Cullinan and party were at Free
stone recently for a short days fishing,
| and took 100 perch. When the perch start
their spring run they seem to follow the
deepest channels. perhaps with an instinct
OF reaching head waters; at any rate. they
make their appearance in the pools from
the Three Sisters 10 Little Falls month
or more before they show up in the snail
low bays and coves further down the
river. For three weeks fine catches have
been made of white perch, ranging to
pound in weight. at Eads' Mill and other
points at the head of tidewater These
are taken with minnows, soft crabs and
worms, at considerable depths up to forty
feet. 1t is said by using minnow on the
lower hook and batting two hooks above
with soft crab, and cumming with the
waste of the crab, that the school may be
held indefinitely. new schools attracted,
and the more lines fishing from the same
boat the better.
They have not yet made their appearance
at Grayelly Run, Four mile Run, or the
nearby shallow bays. Next month, when
the May fly and the perch fly come cut,
with a half tide at sundown, the grassy
margins of the coves will be full of the
eager, swapping perches. jumping all about
for the drowning flies. Then light fly
rod. with three No. 10 or No. u hooks,
dressed with almost any coiored feathers,
will take a hundred perch in an hour or
two almost anywhere along the lee side of
the trees and bushes close to the bank all
the way to brackish water.
The largest seine upon the Potomac is
run by Captain NeitZe, who for fifty-two
years has been fishing the shore al High
Point, the extremity of the peninsula be-
tween Gunston Cove, which is the mouth
of Pohick and Accotink Greeks and Bel
mont Bay, the mouth Of Oecoquan River.
There were formerly two nets on this
shore, and to distinguish them, the upper
one was called Sycamore shore. and the
lower Stony Point. Sycamore is now
abandoned, and though the other is still
called Stony Point in the Government re-
ports, it is High Point to nayigators and
the neighbors. The net is $500 yards in
/ length and has steam engine at each end.
Its accredited force of men is ninety-siX
but with poor seasons il is reduced and
sixty now make the haul, though this does
not include all the shore men or those
engaged in transportation.
To one who has never before seen haul
it is intensely interesting; as it rears the
shore the surface of the water is seen to
be boiling with struggling mass of un-
happy fish. Watching a drag the other
day when the net seemed full to bursting.
the novice would have been shocked at
the expressions Of disappointment among
those interested. Enquiring the difficulty
il was found there were too many herring.
When these run in great schools the othei
| fish seem to run away or be crowded out
and the catch is likely to be all herring.
This station does not cure fish. but wait
ing tug tows the catch in lighters to the
city. The tug had Just down to wait for
this catch, bringing along a scow full OF
herring from the market, for which there
was no sale at any price, and which it was
necessary to throw away. so another full
house was no comfort when shad were
wanted.
1t was estimated there were 1000 her
ring in the net at this haul, and men were
sent in, who stood waist deep among the
fish. and with dip nets holding half
bushel seooped thousands out of the seine
into the riyer-there were so many more
'han they could use. Two great fatboats
were filled with the remainder but only a
hundred shad were taken out. and these
were mostly dead and bruised from the
threshing OF the multitude of herring.
Experts from the Fish Commission were
on hand 10 secure spawn for Matching, and
stripped one or two, but found the ova
worthless and blighted, and gave it up for
that haul
The swarm of herring seem even to
crowd out the eels and other odd fish that
add 10 the interest for stranger. In this
/ haul there was not an eel or turtle; few
small mud-cats. three or four great carp,
one of twenty pounds, and a dozen sunfish
/ offered the only variety TO the monotony
of thousands and thousands of Potomac
Robins" The shore, which formerly rent
ed for 81, ,0O0 now hardly brings 90 many
| hundreds. Under the old system each
shore had its regular customers. who
drove in wagons for long distances for
their winters supply of fish, and as the
net came in the wagons were waiting in a
procession on shore TO carry the fish away
| There was no competition. and a large
! catch meant a large revenue. Today com
paratiyely few are sold al the beach, but
/ they go to the market. where they meet in
competition the fish from hundred other
nets, and with the natural result that when
| the fish are plentiful they go down so low
| In price as TO be unremuneratiye, some
| times IS low as 70 cents per thousand
which will not pay expenses. This plant
alone IS worth $4,000. and while labor is
comparatively cheap enough the wages of
/ seventy-iive men for the two or three
months require many thousands of fish
al 20 cents. SILVER DOCTOR.
!