Evening star., 1924-05-18

Strange as II may seem 10 those VINO
do not know, the fish in the Potomac
and Shenandoah rivers were but little
affected by the flood. OF the thousands
Of them. including the small-mouth bass
in the upper river; perch. catfish, shad.
herring. rockfish and all other kinds
that inhabit the waters in the vicinity
of Washington, only a very small per-
centage were lost, and those that were
killed or injured were perhaps struck
by pieces of debris carried along by the
Swift-running current 1t was estimated
that this current in some places in the
river reached speed of about fifteen
miles an hour, maybe more.
How do the fish escape in times of
flood waters? Why are they not washed
down by the mad currents? The bureau
of fisheries answered these questions by
saying that the fish get behind rocks
and other instructions where the force
of the water is not so great and also
get in toward shore out of the big, swift
currents.
One authority on fish gave the in
formation that the resistance of a fish's
body to the water is not half as great
as that of a birds to the winds. The
bureau says that the real harm to fish
as a result of a flood at this time of
the year is that it stops their spawning.
They will not deposit their spawn. pre-
ferring to wait until conditions get bet
ter, instinct telling them that the spawn
will be swept away by the currents.
If it were possible to have flood
conditions and not have the mud
which always accompanies it. which,
after all, seems to be the worst
enemy of the fish. perhaps these deni-
zens of the deep would really enjoy
battling with the currents But the
mud is there and has a tendency to
cause them to retreat. They go
downstream until the water becomes
clearer, a distance of some few miles.
of course, this does not apply to the
small-mouth bass, only to those fish
that come up stream from the salt
water each year to lay their spawn
| When the water clears the fish will
make rapid advance to their favor
ite spawning grounds.
1t is hard to tell just exactly when
the river will be in condition for
fishing, but the fast currents will un-
questionably carry off the mud in a
reasonably quick time. River rfront
men who are familiar with condi-
tions say that when the water clears
this time the angler will have to uSe
a little larger and stronger hook on
his line than the small perch hook
for the rockfish will then be with US
1t would not be a bad idea to use
one perch hook and one larger hook
for rock.
Frank kfdweiI, well known Wash
ington angler, has just returned from
fishing trip to Wachapreague, Va,
where he went in quest of trout. 1t
may not be geperaIly known, but this
is one of the best trout fishing
grounds in this part of the country.
1t is located near Cape Charles and
Is reached by either motor or train.
BY motor the best way is to go to
Claibourne, taking Annapolis ferry,
and from Clafbourne the distance is
134 miles over good roads.
Mr.. kidwell and a party of six mo-
tored down and spent six days, four
OF which were devoted to fishing.
Ihe Trout were running and many
good catches were made. The great
est number in any one of the. four
days fishing was ninety, some of
them weighing as much as eight
pounds. The bait used was squid.
The accommodations are excellent for
fishing parties and the meals fine,
furnished at a very reasonable price.
The charge for motor boats is quite
different from this section. Five dol
lars is charged for the first person
and 81 for each additional member of
party.
Tall Timbers is another place
that has been called to the attention
of this column. 1t is an automobile
colony on. the Potomac River, on the
Maryland side, near Piney Point and
opposite Ragged Point Light.
/ Last Sunday. notwithstanding the
rough weather, this place took on it's
first real spring flavor, the following