Evening star., 1916-07-01

! Hundreds of anglers are making ex-
! tensive preparations for Fourth OF
July outings on the nearby rivers an6
is that the holiday does not fall on a
day that would give them the benefit
Of two-day outing, including Sunday
There are many sportsmen who are
| unable to get holiday more than the
one day, and they will have to content
themselves with the short outing. while
scores of others have arranged to leave
the city today and remain away until
the close of the national holiday.
Anglers who enjoy only bass fishing
have become thoroughly disgusted with
the water conditions. they state, and
unless the unexpected happens and the
upper Potomac and Shenandoah rivers
clear they will have to seek sport a
long distance from home. Some will
try their luck on the upper end Of the
Rappahannock and others will go to
the Susquehanna river, hoping to find
clear water.
There are many places on salt water
where sportsmen expect to enjoy splen-
did sport On the Potomac river and
it's tributaries there are numerous at
tractive places all the way to the
mouth of the river at Point Lookout
including Colonial Beach. Chapel Point
Rock Point. Piney Point. Cornfield har-
Dor and Smiths creek, while on the
Patuxent there is Benedict and numer-
Gus places between there and Solomons
Island.
Chesapeake Beach, Fairhaven and
Plum Point are among the places on
the bay that will attract anglers, many
will fish in the vicinit.r of Annapolis
and still others will go to Norfolk and
vicinity, including Old Point Comfort
Ocean View and Virginia Beach. Lake
Smith, a large body of fresh water
near Norfolk. it is stated. is well
stocked with a variety of fish. among
them being large-mouth bass. pike.
crappie and perch.
Owners of launches are getting their
boats in trim for trips to fishing and
camping places along the lower river.
while a larger number of sportsmen
probably will make trips to them in
automobiles, more especially to points
on the Maryland side of the river,
where the state roads make the going
good.
1t is more than probable that some
of the more enthusiastic anglers will
visit places on the upper Potomac be-
tween this city and Harpers Ferry.
whether the water is clear or muddy.
They have become tired of the long
wait. they stated, and have concluded
to try scale bait, even il the water is
muddy.
Weather conditions for the weekend
sportsmen was anything but propitious.
Those who left here Saturday afternoon
reached their destinations before the
appearance of rain. but the early morn
ing starters were greeted by a drench-
ing rain. Some delayed their depart
ures, while others lowered the curtains
of the automobiles and braved the
downpour. Many anglers who had in
tended starting before daybreak waited
until or 9 o'clock in the morning be-
fore starting.
Some of the late starters" re-
marked w. P. Bowie. reported larger
catches than some Of those who braved
the unfavorable conditions"
Those who went to Benedict declared
they were not inconvenienced. The
state road was not put in bad condi-
ton they stated, and the sandy stretch
beyond Hughesville presented only a
few muddy places that were Of little
consequence.
Anglers who toured to Rock Point
were disturbed by a washout on the
stretch of country road beyond Lothair.
There had been washouts there earlier
in the season and some pretenSe had
been made at repairing the bad places.
las an evidence of the interest the
country people were taking in the road
repairing work" remarked one of the
anglers. "it was reported that the state
road commission had determined to re-
lieve the miserable conditions in the
near future.
After ALL" he added. why should a
person complain about a few hundred
yards of bad road on stretch of nifty
Ave miles. II he catches fish he should
be satisfied.
Charles G. Smons is plain Mr.. Simons
when in the city, but when he Is navi-
eating his launch about the vicinity OF
Aqua creek. his friends say. It's case
of Capt. Simons. Tom White is the
name Of the popular sportsman's launch
and many of his angler friends have
fished from 1t.
The captain recently participated in
an interesting weekend outing with
Tom Brown of base ball fame, Richard
Richards and Ben Harding. They went
to Rock Point. following the return OF
the captain. Tom Brown and DR.. Walter
l. Silliman from weeks outing at
Aqua creek. where, they stated. the
water was too muddy for fishing.
Rough water greeted the sportsmen
and the rudder was lost from their boat.
but they remained on the fishing
grounds until they were satisfied that
they had made one Of the best catches
of the day.
white perch came so fast that we
stopped counting them" said a member
of the party. declaring the string con-
tanned no less than 800 fish.
A dozen hardheads, four trout and a
few cells were included in their catch.
THE prize fish of the day." said Capt.
Simons. was a white perch that weigh
ed one and three-quarter pounds"
1t was not until s o'clock in the
morning that William Eccard's fishing
party got start. The severest of the
storm was over and the trip to Benedict
proved to be a most enjoyable one.
Others in the party were Mrs. Eccard.
Mr.. and Mrs. Ernest Mudd. Erskine
Rupp. Albert Eccard and e. F. Mudd.
when we reached our destination on
the Patuxent." said a member Of the
party, there was no sign of rain, and
our trip on the water could not have
been under better conditions
And we may not have caught any
more ish II we had been there earlier
in the day."
Tom Platter. captain of one of the
motor boats at Benedict, explained that
the high water had driven the big fish
down the rivAs. He said he knew about