The sun., 1917-09-30
CHANNELS BITING;
HOW TO CATCH EN-
Expert Tells Proper Rod, Reel,
Line and Rigging for
-. Hooking Bass.
OCTOBER SPLENDID MONTH
By CHURCHILL ItUN0ERroRD.

~
OCEAN CITY. N. J.. Sept. 2s.--october
next to June Ia the best month for chan
mel bass OH the New Jersey coast. and
the catches of the red warriors during
the past week make the Octob:r outlook
most promising. -
How to catch a channel bass in my
thems First OF all comes the tackle
For beach fishing use a stout greenheart
or bethabara rod with SIX foot tip
and a spring butt abou, &c inches long.
1t should be equipped with agate guides
and the end guide should be Of the or
sct type.
A split bamboo tip is very attractive
on account Of It's lightness. but no var
rish' 10 absolutely waterproof and some
damage may come TO this rod through
dampness Solid wood rods are more re-
liable In the long rum and man who
Is strong enough to buffet the surf for
hours can certainly carry the few ounces
ara and split bamboo
The reel should be Of the free spool
type and should he so constructed that
Z can readily be disass. mbled to remove
any stray sand grlinG that are quite
likely to get In II and should be capable
Of carrying not less tnan 200 yards Of
standard fifteen thread line
As for the line itself. 1t SHOULD be
Of linen. Use good substant'a al line
not smaller In size than 4 standard
twelve thread. or better yet a fifteen
thread line. The tremendous pounding
the line receives In ths surf the drag
ging over sand and the casting all wear
n, line away very rapidly. and while a
liEht line n n very attractiv, thing to
hsh with In many ways 1t has little
Durability and can be used but twice
with s'fe;y.
On the other hand fifteen thread line
e cut back after each days fishing may
last through an entire season. Moreover.
the dreaded back lash. which happens
occasionally even to the most expert,
does not mean the loss Of your tackle
with the h avy line. while It invariably
does with the lisSt one.
Snood saves Hook From sharks.
The rigging on the end Of the line is
extremely simple. II co,.slsts. first. Of
four ounce d'ps;y with a large brass
eye. n rawhide thong n quarter Of an
inch wide and three inches long with a
hole In each end. four ply leader two
feet long and a Harrison -Shaughnessey
hook mounted on double piano wire
snood eight inches long.
This hook ranges in size from 40 to
SO. and even In some cases to 100. The
object Of the piano wire snood is to keep
the sharks from biting OF the hook.
In putting together the rigging. first
pass the line through the eye Of the dip
sey. then tie "a loop In the end Of your
line about six inches long. slip the loop
Of the leader over the rawhide thong
and carry II to the middle. then double
the rawhide thong so that the two holes
come opposite, then slip the loop In the
line through the two holes and over both
thong and leader then pull taut. and the
line IL securely fastened to the leather
thong and leader.
In fishing the line beds itself in the
leather so deeply that the wear at the
point OF juncture Is almost obliterated.
Moreover. the leather forms Il stop for
the dipsey SO that 1t cannot, In casting.
drop down TO the hook. Then attach
your hook to the other end OF the leader
and you rigging Is complete.
Rig Insures Free Running Gear.
The object OF this style Of rigging is
to insure Il free running line that does
not hamper the fish when he first picks
UP the bait. 1t will be readily seen on
studying the above that the line will
pass through the eye Of the dipsey when
the bait Is moved and can be carried
to any distance without disturbing the
dipsey. This. as will be explained later,
is a very important feature when fishing
with heavy bait.
Special attachments with large eyes
are made to fasten to the dipsey. but the
writer finds that the simpler and less
complicated the tackle the fewer the
hsh that are lost through accidents.
There are two ways to dress for beach
fishing. One way is TO rig yourself up
In hip, boots. wading breeches or other
India rubber abominatIons. and the
other is to put on a bathing suit over
which Is worn a heavy flannel shirt and
| a pair Of khaki trousers. An old felt
hat and a pair Of sneaks complete the
| outft. Attired this way no gully Is too
deep to wade and no bar is beyond cast
ing distance. Moreover. you are getting
next to nature with a vengeance.
You are wet with tngling sea water
clear to your scalp lock. but the buffet
ing OF the waves and the continual exer-
else you get In meeting them and in
| drawing your fish ashore keeps you as
| warm and comfortab BILE as II you were in
bed. Further. II you belong to the
fat brotherhood six pounds OF not too
| solid flesh are burned up and washed
| away In a days fishing.
No Rheumatism From wadinE.
There are some people who cannot af-
| ford to lose SO much flesh and are con-
| seQuently obliged to wear hip boots or
waders. 1t Is delusion to believe that
either Of these will keep you dry. They
| won't. not II you're a fisherman. In
your easerness to reach a particularly
attractive place you are sure to wade
out beyond the limit just at the time an
extraordinarily high wave suddenly ap-
pears and washes over you. with the re-
suit that you wade in waterlogged and
must lie down to let the water run out
OF your boots.
Fortunately most OF us can wade
Half the sport In fishing consists In the
intimate contact with the ocean itself
and not mere association through the
medium of a pair Of boots One doesn't
become SO tired in n days fishing when
wading and feels Infinitely better.
| Don't believe the stories about rheu-
matism overtaking you II you wade
Wading In sea water won't give 1t ia
you. nor will it give you e cold. II the
Rheumatism gets you It Isn't the wading
that you need look to. but to your tonsils
or your teeth or some of the other or
gans which scientists have now decided
to be at the bottom Of all rheumatic
troubles.
OF course II you have to wear boots
there is nothing more to be said. but
half the enjoyment is taken out Of the
game and you get mighty tired OF those
boots Doc L!pshuts's Hymn Of Hate
Ny boots. they haul me round the beach
They wade me through the sea;
| I continually curse them
skAxt ~.