Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-04
GREAT OUTDOORS

I1A IIANs nus.
many years Little Egg Harbor Bay
has been a favorite fishing ground
for Philadelphia anglers. Up to this
summer they pretty much mad the
bay to themselves as fishermen from
the northern, part of New Jersey,
New York and points north found it
hard to reach here due to a lack of
train service except by a roundabout
way making the trip from New York
consume over six hours for the hum
dred and seven miles.
Now that the Central Railway OF
New Jersey has opened up this fish
ing country with a three hour train
service from New York to Beach
Haven, the New York fishermen are
arriving daily to try their luck with
the big weakfish which abound in
the channels and inlets Of Little Egg
Harbor Bay. The reason why the
big fish are plentiful in this bay Is
easily explained by a glance at the
chart of the bay which shows a great
many email streams emptying into
it from the main land.
In the early spring great schools
| of both weak and blue fish enter the
| bay through New Inlet and the old
inlet which has opened up in the last
| two years. These fish come in to
| spaun and seek the shallow waters
| in and around the mouths of these
| small streams. The major part CT
| the roe fish are large. Several have
| been caught Weighing over fourteen
pounds. During the spawning sea
| son the ish seldom bite and remain
in the shallow water around the
| spawning beds until June when they
- ..- T. oIor~n1c fo tbn cUyiff
| waters of the inlets in search of food.
When a weakfsh weighs seven
| pounds and over he is classed as "A
tide runner, a name given to these
big fish from their habit of feeding
around the inlets on certain stages
of the tides. The method of fishing
these gamey fish Is different than
that employed in other places. Some
are caught from the beach by cast
ing, but the greater number are
taken from boats at anchor or drift
ing according to the different stages
of the tide.
All kinds of tackle are used but
the most effective and the kind
| which furnishes the most sport con
| sists of a rod having a tip of split
bamboo, lance wood, greenhart or
black palm in weight from five to
six and a half ounces. On this is
mounted a good free running spool
| reel with two hundred yards of
number nine thread line. Two six
O hand forged hooks on gut leaders
are used. The sinker weighs from q
half ounce to two ounces Now as to
! the selection Of bait. At this time
| of the year the larger fish are biting
on shedder crab, squib (devil fish)
| and blood worms.
Most of the large fish are taken
about forty yards from the boat and
in about twelve feet of water. The
boat is anchored in the tideway
about an hour before the change Of
tide. The expert angler after bait
ing with shedder crab makes a cas-
of fifty yards from the boat on ar
tide. The line Is then reeled in some
three or four yards in order to pre-.
vent the halted hooks coming 1r
contact with the sinker and assur'
ing a straight line when the fish
strikes .
When an eight or ten pound
weGkfish strikes you know It. A
check of the line is often suff1cien
to set the hook and then h fur
begins. Very often as the game.
fish darts here and there trailing
the second bait after him another
Zig weakfish will pick it up and l
takes a skilled angler to land then
both. This very thing has happened
three times during the past week
w. H. Dougherty of Philadelphia
fishing with light tackle, landed TIVE
fish at the same time. One weighed
seven and three-quarter pounds ant
the other eight pounds. a total O
fifteen and three-quarter pounds. 1
took nearly a half hour before tn,
fish were brought to net. D. ID
Engle, president of the Englesidt
Company, took the second pair an
Frederick Castle of Newark. New
Jersey, took the third pair. All 81,
fan we're within a half pound weigh
OF one another.
When the tide begins to u toe
strong around the inlets a favorit'