The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-22
MOBILE WATERS 5 PARADISE FOR ! THE FISHERMAN
From Fighting Tarpon To l,> Willy Bass, All Are N Found


 the belly of the whale for three days and nights without food or water. At i the end of the third day the whale spat ] Jonah up and onto the sands of the seashore.
 Now, on the sun-baked and parched l hills of Palestine, back in the Biblical days, men used to gather from afar and near to hear recited this story, which was handed down by followers of ! the sea.
 As a fish story, it took first rank There was none better. It might easily have taken a place in the thousand and one tales of the Arabian Knights.
 Scribes of today recognize the Jonah episode as the greatest of all fish stories. It is seldom a writer attempts a. 3better.
 However, the Trade Review" would not be complete without story of fish ing in and around Mobile. So here 1 goes Mobiles annual fish story-but, mind you, its true one.
 By way of preface, it should be noted that Mobile is the first port of entry to the worlds greatest and most i widely known fishing waters. Fisher l men from all sections of the country ! flock here annually to try their luck, and to the luck they've found may be l attributed the prestige the waters have gained.
 Man From Birmingham
 sThere was the man from Birming ham, who caught the seven-foot tarpon. This gentleman, an ordinary-looking fel- low, who laid no claims to knowledge of the nimrod sport, came to Mobile in tde summer of 1907, during the panic. He rented a motor boat and went sml konI nH hoI along, just as any fisherman would, and wore his old clothes. Down on the wharf they paid little heed to him. It was just another man gone out to That night as the long shadows of evening had fell and this fisherman from Birmingham dragged in the big Tess catch in the history of the bay, they opened their eyes down on the wharf. And until this day they will tell you about that tarpon fish with much joy, will those longshoremen and fikhing smack operators, and with no little shaking of the head.
 sTarpon is the silvery king of the salt water fish and is found around Dauphin, Petit Bois and other islands along the Alabama shore, and ln the Lower Mobile bay. The tarpon feed IEDN aDOuL LuG llLcI OA uAJ SN SAS 1US terspart of October. Live mullet for rnAfly was used as bait for this fish, but of recent years fishermen have found trailing with spoons, "tarpor- inep and other artificial lure the most successful mode of catching the tarpon.
 There are several fishing clubs near the. city, among them the Alba club on Dog river, seven miles out, and the Gulf Fishing and Hunting club, nearby on the same stream; the Coden Hunt ing. and Fishing club and the Pecan Bunting and Fishing club.
 Clubs Well Equipped
 sprhese clubs are well equipped with everything for. the comfort and joy Of the fishermen, and not only are used by local. sportsmen but by hundreds Of tourists, who come here to fish from all parts of the country.
 Both clubs cooperate with the state iepartment of conservation, strictly prohibiting fishing in spawning season. Recently, Steele Partridge, secretary Of the, Alba cluby asked of the department and was given 30,000 black bass which were planted in the waters of Dog riV- CT and it's tributaries.
 There is nothing more fascinating than to know you have a striped bass.
 
 the local clubs, on the end of your line. This is the largest, most power ful and gamest of fish, excepting the tarpon. It goes up the rivers and bay oJis in spring to spawn and appar- entity does not feed on the way up, but from the middle of June to the last of August, when returning to salt water, affords great sport for the fisherman with rod, reel and artificial bait. The angler who handles one weighing from 10 to 40 pounds, before he lands 1t, will know he has had fight on his hands.
 sChicasabouge, just opposite the city limits of Mobile; Dog river, Halls Mill creek, Cedar creek, Nigger lake and Escatawpa river, Fish river and Bon Sacour river abound with black bass, known as the green shrimp" They are caught best with shrimp bait, live minnows and other artificial lure. The black bass is not only game fish and asjoy to the sportsman, but is one of the best of the food fishes.
 lGetting into the bay, the fisherman finds the Spanish mackerel. It mi grates to the Alabama coast from the Caribbean sea in early July and con tinues here until late in September. It 1Ht Ou0 OI tue uOSJ ulSulS pIAASu OA bAO migratory species, both for its game ness and its food qualities.
 Speckled trout, known along the At lahtic coast as "squeteague," furnishes good fishing in the bays, inlets and around the islands at all times of the year. This is also a game fish and good eating. It ranges in weight from two to six pounds.
 Red fish, or channel bass" is one of the year around reliable species. They: are caught in salt and brackish waters. The larger fish, locally, are called "bull redfish," and grow as large as 20 pounds. They travel in immense schools in late fall and early winter Aafamous fishing place for the chan nel bass, is the mouth of the Dog river.
 Blackfish, locally called flasher" is one of the best table fish for it's size caught in the salt waters of this region. In summer it is found near the surface, basking in the shade of some drifting object, where 1t can be detected by the sunlight flashing from its polished side. The fisherman goes hunting for them in skit or power boat. Once located, a shillful cast in the vicinity of the loaf ers with shrimp or cut bait, usually brings him forth and once hooked the fishsputs, up a good fight for his weight, which is between 10 and 25- pounds.
 Eheephead is one of the most es- teemed of food fishes of the salt or brackish waters along the coast. It feeds upon molusks and is usually found around old billings or wreckage covered with barnacles. Oysters, fid- dlers or shrimp is the best bait. A sr6au, strong hook, a tight line and ~ A.. 4 l.