The sun., 1904-05-22
WEAKFlSHING TIME AT HAND.
NO BETTER SALT WATER SPORT
At HAND THAN THIS.

A Fine Fish and . Beautiful One Is This
Trout OF the Sea, hut BE Wary in APP
prOaching His Haunts--Ynst ruction for
Given NOyices b. tho Angling Doctor.
A few weakfish have been caught in
Jamaica Bay In the last week. These are the
advance courlers Of the schools now on their
way northward along the Atlantic coast,
to invade In two weeks all the bays along
the seaboard.
The weakfish, said the angling doctor,
"is one OF the most interesting deniHens
OF nearby waters. In the first place, no other
marine product is more beautiful. He Is
the salt water prototype Of the trout and
when lifted into the boat he is indeed
living jewel bathed in brine. His sides are
silvery and his eyes look like spots Of jet
In circles OF amber. ] do not know OF any
object more beautiful than the eye OF the
weakfish, unless 1t be that OF the camel.
The weakfsh Ia known by a greater var
iety OF names than any other fish inhabiting
American waters. In New York State It Is
known exclusively by the term weakfsh.
The Indians century ago called 1t sque-
league, which meant weak mouth. Some
authorities say that the term weakfish
Is legacy from the Dutch colonists OF
Manhattan. Around Cape Cod the fish are
known rs '6rummers.' In Buzzard's Bay
the big weakfsh which Grover Cleveland
pursues annually are known as yellow
fms From southern New Jersey 70 Vir-
ginia the weakfish lie known as 'bluefish.
and in the South Atlantic States they are
variously called gray trout sun trout
sad trout sea trout and salt water
trout
"The habits of the weakfish and the blue
fish are similar, as matter OF fact. They
feed on the same food and upon the Same
temperature,
strictly speaking the weakash cannot
be called a game fish. BY this do not
mean that he does not afford sport for the
angler, but he Is not game fish In the
sense that striped bass or bluefsh is
game, which simply means that he Is not
so strong as the two species mentioned,
and dies more easily. Yet the weakfsh
affords a great deal more sport then either
the striped bass or the bluefish, because he
is thousand times more plentiful and in
the early part Of the season he is greedy
Another advantage in weakfshing is
the fact that he can be fished for with the
lightest kind OF tackle. Except in very
few cases, the weakfish is a surface feeder.
the agile shrimp being his chief food; and
as these little crustaceans dart around
in the water with almost inconceivable
rapidity. the wcakf1sh is kept in constant
motion to capture them.
"The best time to capture weakfsh is in
June. During that month the fish are
fresh from the sea and are empty as
gourds Later in the season, food in the
bays becomes more plentiful and the fish
are moro shy and dainty l have seen
school OF thousands of weakfsh darting
around my boat during the hot days Of
July and August, but not fish would touch
even so dainty morscl as shedder crab.
'One OF the chief charms OF weakfshing
is its accessibility to the city angler, and
and half Of leaving his office in Wallstreet
or Twentv-third street the angler can be
on the fishing ground with his line in the
water, His success in the month Of June
will depend absolutely upon his MS skill sdh and
aThe professional guides, Of whom there
are about fifty in Jamaica Bay. are almost
invariably successful in their pursuit OF
weskfish in the early part Of the season.
Of anglers Ash the weakfish waters every
sesson and return without enough fish to
mako the pan cdorous. because they did
not exercise sufficient care.
-SteaFhv as an Indian on the warpath
feeding ground OF The fish. An oar dropped
upon the bot ON Of he boat or the splash
OF an anchor carelesslv thrown overheard
will make the weaktish as scarce as hens
teeth. The precautions taken by the
skilled weakfisherman are regarded by
the ignorant amateur as unnecessary, but
the result just ifies the means: The trout
is not more timorous than the weakfish:
All the preparations for the sport should
be made before the ground Is reached,
the anchor rope cleared nnd neatly coiled:
rods jointed--even muf1ed oars would
not be an unnecessary caution. When the
fishing ground Ia reached. the oars should
be unshpped and the boat permitted to
drift over the chosen spot hundred feet
above where the fish are supposed to lie.
-The ideal weakfishng is done wit hout
a sinkcr. he weight OF I he leader. hook and
bait baing sufficient to sink the hook far
enough below the surface to attract the
attention Of the fish, II the tide Il strong