The sun., 1916-08-27
CHANNEL BASS DUE
ON SEPTEMBER 70
Has Most Remarkable Charac-
tcristic for Punctu-
atty.
FINE PLACES ARE NEAR BY
~ HARTIE I. PHILLIPS,

-
Look for the fall run OF channel bass
On the New Jersey coast In a fortnight.
In the neighborhood Of September IL is
when the first Is likely to be taken. The
channel bass Is a most punctuai Ash and
u likely to appear at this time along the
beaches from Cape May north to Sea-
side Park.
1t Is questionable II any gamy salt
water fish that swlms Is more pro-
nounced In the habit OF appearing al
certain localities at almost the same
period each year.. often on the same day.
Then they disappear for a little over a
month and reappear again for a period
and finally disappear entirely until the
following year.
The channel bass is considered by an
sisrs I'm the New Jersey section as the
gamest feh. pound for pound. tina. can
b taken surf fishing. and Is Justly en-
titled to the designation given to Il many
years g Of the bulldog o: the deep"
1t has been compared with tho striped
bass. which has been referred to as the
'~racehorse." The first rush Of a striped
bass is swifter than that Of a channel
bass. but after being played and landed
on the beach II Is "all in
Not SO with the channel bass. The
writer saw a recent instance Of their
gameness which proves their claim to
never giving in.
On August . while fishing at New In
loe, N. j., Mrs. Horace c. Fisher, an ex-
pert woman angler, landed a channel
bass which tipped the, scales at 1914
pounds. which Is. l think. the record
channel bass caught by a woman surf
fishing.
Two larger fish by a half pound each
nav been landed from boats, one by
Mrs. Felgenspan Of Newark and another
BY Mrsi A. q. Laing OF Brooklyn.
Mrs. Fisher brought her fish through
the undertow after about half m hours
play. II made a rush as soon as II real
lied that It was near the beach and took
out about 200 feet of line. This It re-
peated at least n half dozen times. At
last the angler beached II and her hus-
band rushed down and actually had his
hand behind Its gills to throw II up on
the beach when another wave gave II an
opportunity and off II rushed to sea
again. and required another ten minutes
play before 1t lay IN the sand. a beaten
but worthy foe. All told 1t took her
AtoasAy shiSS-luohsS va OH bVeh ~
land II.
where to Find Channel lass.
Channe bass travel northward In tn
spring and a noted place to catch them
IL Topsail's Inlet. North Carolina, q
short distance from Wilmington. They
generally appear there about May Is {:
they continue travelling toward IN,
north until they reach different inle's.
at which they hover. In New Jerse.
they generally make their appearance
al The following places: Townsend's
Inlet, Corson's Inlet. Ocean City, New
Inlet and north point Of BarneGat In
let. which seems to he their nor:herly
limit Oh their carly run.
This year the first one taken at New
inlet was OH June Il. the same date a.
that of last year. l also learned that
the first was also taken at Ocean City
on the same day.
Channel bass feed around the iniets
until the early part OF August. when they
seem to school up and go out in deep
water. where they ~sojourn until about
September 10. when they again make
their appearance, only at this time In
stead OF being confined 10 the inlets
alone. are found scattered all along the
beach from Cape May northward 10 Sea-
side Park.
An exception to this rule occurred
last fall. when a school OF them struck
in as far north as Deal Beach. near
Asbury Park. Last year in the fall run
they were all taken on the same day.
September IL. At the following places,
many miles apart: Corson's Inlet.
New Inlet. Beach Haven. Barnegat
City. Seaside Park and Deal Beach. and
remarkable to say the first run In the
Dan ~ anch veor 10 very rlnaa tn the
same day annually.
Why 1t is that they migrate out into
deep water In August. where they have
been seen In schools Of thousands by
fishermen, and at which time they
seem averse to taking the hook. Is a
mystery which will probably be for
ever unsolved and equally mysterious
IN. why when they again reappear in
stead of being found only in the in
lets they are scattered all along the
beaches.
"Bugs" Follow NigratiOns.
Many an angler after catching his first
channel bass becomes a bug" on the
subject. aud tine writer knows a number
Of anglers who follow them in their mi
grations from Florida to their northern
hab!tats. The worst feature is that often
times 1t causes the angler to lack interest
thereafter In the catching of the smaller
varieties of fish.
The tackle necessary to handle them
should be the best: the rod a strong
split bamboo or areenheart and a 90 reel
capable Of holding 600 feet of Is thread
line, a three way swivel to one end Of
which Is attached the sinker. on thc
other end the line. aud to tine third "A Two
foot twisted gut leader or piano wire. IL
you prefer. and a 10 or SO hook.
The bats used are II matter Of pref
erence. ] have seen them caught on
shedder crab, squid, mullets and moss
bunkers.
The best tide to fish for them Is also
a matter In which all do not agree. They
are sometimes taken Mt dead low water,
hut the best results are generally OBJ
tanned between half nood back to half
ebb tides.
1t IL not all luck, the catching OF chan
mel bass. as those who have obtained the
best results can testify. and the picking
out of likely snots might be compared to
che trout angler locating likely pools.
How Tlsh Are Located.
When the tide Is very low the numer-
Gus bars. sl"ws n holes along the
surf can be best located. and It Is al
this time that the channel bass angler
may he seen exploring along the beach,
minus rod and reel. and stopping every
once In "A y lille, scanning the ocean I'm
front II him with an intense interest
that to the observer IL puzziing. which
becomes still more SO when he walks
back on the beach. above high water
mark whore ha IriNnu "A Gtiak In tha