The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-08-11
WADDELL SAYS RED BREAST.

To the Editor: Certainly you did not
realize what you were inviting when you
propounded those plscatorlal conundrums.
If you are not overwhelmed with a vast
variety of conflicting opinions on each of
them, it Will be very surprising. Your
questions cover all our waters, salt and
fresh, every kind of fishing, and every To-
cality from the great Smoky Mountains to
the breezy open sea.
When l was a boy, and infested the
banks of the raging Emo, near Hills
borough, (Which, by the way, had a great
er variety of fish than any stream known
to mel, I regarded a yellow belly perch
as a sweet and toothsome dish. 1 pursued
him by every method, including grab
bling for HIM under rocks and logs, nm
til | pulled out a water mOccasin one day
when | concluded to quit that mode. The
"yaller belly" was only one of a dozen
kinds that swarmed in that stream. A
larger experience changed my views and
my taste on the subject Of fishing, but I
nave never since enjoyed so much unal-
loyed happiness IN that sport as in those
early days.
Now, what is the most delicious fish IN
>Orth Carolina w~aters-mOuntain trout ?
No, sir, and Sam Ashe went back on his
raising when he said so. Mountain trout,
L tAIIt - III NIouSh | u ti1t
most delicious. and after you have waded,
and slipped and fallen over rocks and
stepped in holes for five miles, and caught
your line on a thousand twigs and blades
of grass and sweated. and used bad words.
and allowed a number of the slippery lit
tie beauties to get away and finally got
back to headquarters tired and hungry
with about a dozen, ranging in length from
eight to eleven inches, they ought to be
delicious.
But, compared with a red breast out of
the waters of Sunber river, the mountain
trout, Cor any other fresh-water fish fer
that natter is almost -tasteless. The red
breast Is, for flavor, for firmness of flesh,
and for its fresh-keeping quality, the fin
est fish in our inland waters, without a
doubt.
AS to saltwater fish the range of choice
is, Of course, much larger. The Spanish
mackerel, which feeds all along the coast
from the mouth of the Cape Fear to New
England, is, perhaps, the general favorite.
The pOmpaSlo Is rare on our coast, but is
the greatest delicacy farther South. The
rOck-flsh, as we cal. 1T, Is very fine, ard
the sheep-head Is good, as also are the
whiting, and black fish. and one or two
others. But there is not one of them
equal to the pig fish, when caught be.
tween Cape Fear and Cape Lookout. |
mention these two localities because they
mark the boundaries of the true habitat
of that fish. They are found az far North
as the Virginia coast. where they are
called hog fish. but the peculiar flavor of
the Cape Fear pig fish is lost after he
passes Cape Lookout. 1t is here hat he
attalns perfection, and becomes the most
delicious pan fish known to our waters;
and if Sam Ashe will come back here, as
he has been promising me to do for a
long time, and get another taste of a fresh
fried one, he wouldn't recognize a noun
tain trout as "vittles" any more.
Now, as to the best sort of fishing: The
only hand line fishing fit to indulge in Is
trolling IN a good seaway, with pleasant
company. OF course a rod and reel is the
best either in fresh or salt water.
AS to the best place for fresh water
fishing: I should say that. for mountain
trout, Caney River. in Yancey county
(Murchison's preserved, is the best, not
only for sport, but on account Of lnc
magnificent scenery. For other fresh-wa-
ter fishing l know no better place than
the upper water of New River, in Onslcw
county, and Black River, in Fender. I'M
less it be the White Lake, in Bladen or
Orion rOnd.
The best place for salt water fshins
with a rod and reel, or pole and line, Is
around the wrecks-melancholy reminders
of the daring blockade ru~nners-that lie
along the coast, from Wrightsville Beach
to Corncake Inlet, and again near the
mouth of the river.
The best trolling ground, perhaps, is of
Beaufort, and the sharpies are the most
comfortable to fish from, especially for
ladies.
| am just about to start for Southport.
where l anticipate fine sport catching
sheephead, pig fish. etc, and of having
some tussles with the big tantog, as l dc
last summer.
ALFRED MOORE WADDELL