The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-11-29

upwards TO twenty POUNDS.
To match ones skill against tn,
pickerel. often referred to as pix
or jack. he must first find tn
haunts of the chained clan. vi
into some creek or cove. where tn
grasses are thickest, he win b,
found at home always ready to Civ,
battle. The winter months ar
always ideal for the scrapper. HI
is seldom fished for during the sum
mer period for his value as fooC
fish is below par, the. meat beini
strong and coarse.
There is belief among man!
pike fishermen that the fighter
sheds his teeth during the month
Of August, but the Bureau o.
Fisheries knows nothing of thu
sore-mouth period.
I The late Dixie Carroll said
"About the middle Of August the
musky loses his teeth and his
mouth is in such shape that II
VAhSS SOulSIAAA6 AA6hIy 066A0NOe
Ing to arouse enough anger t
make him forsel his sore molar'
and strike.
September tenth Of last season
examined three musky caught
on that day, and In the mouth Of
each was . new set of sharp
edged teeth, firmly set, while,
hanging loosely in the back, were
still the remains Of old teeth,
which had not entirely parted
company with their owner"
EeIs are caught throughout the
twelve months and make fine
meat for the table, their flesh being
firm and free from so many trou
blesome bones.
The life history Of our cells was
anybody's guess and nobody
knowledge up until last year, when
Doctor Schmidt, Danish zoologist,
competed q tl1ree-year- research.
rs Doctor Schmidt says the cells Of
Europe leave fresh water when
they reach maturity and head
across the Atlantic to small area
Of the ocean about $500 miles
southwest from the English chan
mel. There they spawn, and from
there the young cells begin 9
Journey to the inland waters OF
Europe which takes them three
years to accomplish.
{ To the same breeding ground
comes q variety Of American eel,
whose young make their way 70
the inland waters Of the United
States and Canada. The adult
eels. having spawned, never leave
the sea.
Doctor Schmidt found that the
further he sailed southwest from
England the smaller the young ellf
became. They were also increasing
~ numerous. He found the spawn
ing beds about 1000 feet below tbs
surface.
The eggs are laid in spring ant
early summer; the larvae, as they
grow during the first summer, slow
" move UP toward the surface. A
year later they are in mid-Atlantic
and the summer after that they are
off the coasts Of Europe.
For ten months following this
third summer the larvae, now
grown to the elvers, take no food
ct all. They live on their fat and
persistently make their way up thu
rivers All this time they are un
dergoing a physical change which
adapts them for fresh water life
This process Is a wonderful
instance Of life forces which impel
the eel, fish we regard as q
slUggard, TO an extraordinary ex-
pemditure of energy for the re-
production Of its kind.
But perhaps the most remark
able feature Of the cells life history
ID the certain instinct which starts
the European eel toward the con
dnent of his inheritance and which
impels the American eel no less
unerringly in the direction Of his
Doctor Schmit has sometimes scoop
ed up larvae Of the two species in
The same net.
Should that impulse be disobeye6
the young eel would perish. II
the European larvae turned toward
this coast, with more than three
years of organic development still
before it, it would reach the river
mouths before that development
was complete.
The majority of local fishermen
never wet their lines until the re.
port reaches them that the white
perch have started to run and that
Is generally the last week in March
From then on until the middle OF
May the river is dotted with boats
from the Aqueduct to the Chain
bridge. Many fine catches are
made and it Is nothing unusual
20 see fishing parties with large
numbers Of pound perch. There q
no fish that swims in the Potomac
that is more eagerly sought for the
table in the spring than this early
arrival.
The most ferocious fish for his
size, the yellow perch, has many
admirers among the fishing fra.
ternity and they are Of the opin
ion that this flnny tribe should he