Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1911-10-06

for the haunts of the blackfish. Here
they anchor and remain all day. sell
dom falling to land good catch.
Small launches make the best
means of conveyance, because they
enable one to reach the likeliest
lodges Chose near shore are pretty
well fished out) and because their
shallow draft permits of their run
ming safely into the rocky places in
habited by the fish. Sailboats are
rather dangerous in this respect and
| 1t Is no rare occurrence to see one
hung up high and dry by the falling
tide. Rowboats are very convenient
! for near-shore fishing, but rather
risky. Squalls are likely to come up
at any moment and make matters
more than interesting for the fish
ers.
The blackfish is said never to desert
his home waters and 1t is a fact that
he never visits the rivers like do the
salmon and the sturgeon to lay his
spawn. At the advent of the cold
weather he becomes torpid and goes
into Information, not emerging again
into life until spring. April makes
the return of his appetite and fisher
men time the period of his reappear-
ance with the Towering of the dog
wood. From then until November he
can be caught, though there is time
in midsummer, during the excessive
heat, when he will only be tempted by
the daintiest of delicacies. BY Sep
TENDER he is feeding voraciously
again, however, so the slack season
only lasts few weeks.
The bait commonly used for black
der crab. Knowing anglers swear va
riously by shrimp, hermit crab sand
worm, hard clam and the tail-end of a
chicken lobster as irresistible NOR
sells when the fish are not biting we'll,
| but, as a rule, there is no necessity
for special bait
The securing of a soft-shell clam on
| the hook is task that requires con-
summate skill. Wherever lives the
blackfish is to be found also in great
! abundance the small fish called the
bergalt or Gunner, and the bergalt
has particular fondness for clans
and fiendish cleverness in separating
| them from hook. While he is about
it you feel few gentle nibbles and
then motion ceases. You pay no at
tention, of course, but after waiting
vainly for bite you decide to inspect
| the bait and find to your surprise that
| it is gone. The hook is picked as
/ clean as whistle. A motionless line,
/ free from nibbles has come to indicate
| a baitless hook to the seeker of the
Blacklist.
The most effective way of checking
the predatory instinct of the bergait
is to bait with the entire clam, shell
and all This is done by inserting the
hook into the protruding neck of the
clam, twisting it around until 1t Is
4 firmly imbedded into the hard mus
Gle of the bivalve and then crack
ing the shell lightly. Prepared this
/ way the clam Is easily taken into the
big mouth of the blackfsh, but pre-
sents an armored surface to the begalt
which he attempts vainly to break
through
4 The vast majority of blackfsh
anglers being fishermen rather than
sportsmen, and counting the days en-
joyment only from the standpoint of
the catch, scruple not to minimize as
much as possible the 'fishs chances of
escape. They use heavy hand lines
provided with two or three good
hooks. and when fish strikes it be-
comes merely matter of hauling it
in, hand over hand
There are others, though, who have
the right sporting blood and believe in
equalizing matters so that skill will
have to be brought into play. They
use light rather than stiff poles.
preferably Of split bamboo, and bass
/ lines.
The blackfish being bottom fish,
it is necessary to anchor the line.
/ This is done by securing small sink
er to the end Above it are spliced two
leaders a foot or so apart, each bear
ing hook, the size of which depends
on the individuals idea of what is
proper. These ideas evidently vary
greatly, for wide range is seen. To
the writer 20 has seemed to best fill
requirements The double leader has
been universally adopted owing to the
changeable moods of the blackfish.
They will often refuse absolutely to
even look at fddlers and pounce