Evening journal., 1916-11-27
common SHAD Will
TAKE FLY AND WORN
Will New Game Fish be
Added TO American
Anglers List?
SOME FISHERMEN
GIVE THEIR VIEWS


added to the game fish Of America
The new game fish is the shad, which
in the spring Of the year run up the
rivers empty ing nto the Atlantic
Ocean. After the shad depos tneil
spawn IL has been definitely ascer-
tanned that they will strike at flies oil
other small shiny objects and will
also take the worm.
That the latter statement IS true
has been demonstrated by William b
Simmons OF 109 West N netieth street
who caught a shad N this manner, in
the spring in the Nissequogue River
at Sm thtown. That fisn put up q
play for fifteen minutes that was ss
good as any game fish Mr.. SmmOns
aver landed.
And it m ght be remarked Mr.. Sim
mons is familiar with every game
fish that swims on the Atlantic coast
particularly the larger spec es like
the striped bass and the channel bass
incidentally Mr. S mmons was one OF
an angling party Of three, who, in
two and a half days angling, at Bul S
Island, s. c., caught 215 channel bass
weighing from six to twelve ounds
each The other two men were H.
g, Leiding and W. d. Kershaw, both
ST Charleston.
If enough anglers can be induced
TO angle for the shad perhaps this
American fish WI be raised to the
high rank set by the black bass.
When the black bass was first in
trOduced in the Delaware (now a
splendid black bass stream) by means
of n locomotive tank Delaware fisher
men tried for these fish in vain. They
used worms and dough and other
pr mitive lures. but thout success
They said the hardest kind of things
about the black bass, add ng a kick
by saying that it devOured such high
class game FISH as the chub."
At last a light broke in, at first a
beam and then a flood II was dts
covered that the black bass loved a
minnow. and a I've one, at that.
Shad Dates for Next Spring.
The placing OF the shad on the list
Of game fish Of America would mean
that practically all along the coast
anglers would have an opportunity to
try for this fish in the spring of the
year before the migratory fishes
come UP the coast.
The following summary shows for
the principal water areas OF the At
lantic coast the approximate date at
which such shad fishing can be had
next spring;
St. Johns River, December / (; Alta
maha River. January 10; Ogeechee
River, January 4: Savannah River,
January 6; Ed'sto River January a;
Santee River. January 15 WinyaN
Bay. January IL; Cape Fear River
January 21: Pamlico Sound. February
B; Neuse River, February 8 Pamlico
River, February s Albemarle Sound,
February 4 Roanoke River. March
ID; Chowan River March s; Chesa-
peake Bay. lower end, February 26:
james River. March 6. Ch ckahom nv
River. March 10: Rappahannock Riv-
er, March IS; Potomac River, March
z; Nanticoke River. March 13; Chop
tank River. March IA; Susquehann'
River. ADrll Il; Delaware Bay March
10: Delaware River Anril l.; New
York Bay March 80; Hudson River,
April /: Long Island Sound. April 10;
Connecticut River, April 13: Nara
gansett BayAnril 2; Casco Bay. April
%; Keunebec River. May I
Shad by the last of Nav reach the
Miriam CHI River in New Brunswick.
TarpOn Member of Shad Family.
The shad VIII ch took Mr.. Simmons
hook was the common shad, OF Amer
lean shad. called also Delaware shad,
North River shad, Connecticut River
shad, thqy receiving their names from
the river they ascend. Upon the pur-
'ty Of the water depends the delicacv
Of their flesh. which IS the reason for
calling the fish for various rivers.
Simmons makes It a point that the
shad which took his fly AMI worm in
the Nssequogue RIVER is not the hick-
ory shad or tailor herring, not the
alewife or branch herring both of
which fishes have been known prev
iously 10 take the hook of the angler.
Il might be remarked that tarpon,
one OF the gamest OF game fish. IS a
member OF the shad family. and II
the common shad can be induced to
get the habit OF fighting for the ang-
ler's bait IL may mean game fish with
in fifteen minutes of Times Square.
Anglers have noticed at odd times
that at dams on various rivers they
have had strikes from shad One
angler who has landed shad with a
fly ust below the dam at the head
Of the Connecticut River at Holyoke,
Mass, is Robert Lyman. one of the
editors OF the New York World Mr..
Lyman got his shad on a small white
fly. locally Known as the shad fly, and
more generally called the May fly.
Harod c. Stevens of New York who
spends his week-ends at Sm'thtOwn,
during the summer. succeeded n TAX
ing a shad on a fly on June % in the
N'ssequopue River.
Various Tactics Used by Fish.
Mr.. Simmons one evening about
dusk tried. various kinds OF flies with
out result. and again the next morn
ing, but faded to get a rise. That
afternoon he tried worm. and final
" got strike. and the line shot Off
with a rush Mr.. Simmons compares
his str Ike to that OF a blow like that
OF a sedge hammer. The fish kept
we'll down in the swiftly running wa
ter, and finally rose to the surface.
Il REQUIRED fifteen minutes before the
landing net could be passed under IL.
'The shad d d not take it by acci-
dent" said Mr.. Simmons. yesterday.
for the FISH had swallowed the bait.
and the hook was in it's gullet"
Mr. Simmons cast apa N and Qafu