Evening star., 1925-06-28

| ASKED WHAT luck or Wn2t tney w
assured, they were after either rock
A number of parties have been made
up to try their luck with the small
mouth bass in the upper Potomac and
in the Shenandoah. Now Is the time
to angle for these gamesters, because
when the water gets too hot they
become sluggish. The Spring and Fall
is the best time for small-mouth bass;
although, of course, many are caught
during the hot days of July and
August.
| Another sporting goods store has
| joined the ranks Of those providing
mad toms and Virginia fishing licenses
The National Military and sports Shop
now Is handling Virginia licenses for
anglers and also has a supply Of mad
toms. The charge for these little
wild cats" is $1:25 dozen. The mad
tom Is one Of the best haits for the
small-mouth bass for two reasons
| first. the, bass like them and attack
| them viciously, and, secondly. they are
a hardy little fish and can be cast
| many times before they die. The sil-
YER smelt also is a good bait for these
fish, but they die quickly and great
care and attention must be- given
to keep them alive en- route to your
IaVOfite HSnlng 8foun0S.
As has been the case in past fishing
| seasons, the lower Potomac around
Rock Point has been late In announc.
ing good fishing. But F. x. Stone.
| street informed this column that last
| week things In the fishing line had
begun to take on a different aspect
| He says fishing Is getting better
every day now and peelers and soft
| crabs are at last showing up" There
| are plenty. of crabs farther down
the Potomac, between Rock Point and
| Point Lookout, but, like the fish, they
are late in arriving in the vicinity OF
| Rock Point.
Last week, at Rock Point. w. w.
| Connors. J. T. keenan,, G.. J. Grom-
| met, j. H. Simmons and c. c. Griggs
caught 65 fine fish right in front of
the hotel in the early morning before
breakfast, and six Of these were rock.
| fish
Fishing at other salt water places
continues to be good, bad and indif.
ferent. One party will return and re.
port that 1t had good sport and caught
great number of fish. Another will
say that they caught only an eel, and
still another will report only q few
hardhead and some spot.
There Is no doubt that saltwater
hsh this Spring are not so numerous
as in past years, at least not as yet
The croakers, or hardheads. have beer
making up in size what they lack In
numbers, and the larger hardheads
furnish excellent sport.
Local anglers and those of Mary
land are greatly interested in the out
come OF the pending controversy OF
| the Maryland State warden with the
f1shpot owners in the upper Potomac
area.
In his answer to the plea Of the fish
pot people. who obtained a writ of in
y Junction against the action Of the
State warden restraining him from
destroying the f1shpots, Attorney Gen
eral Robinson charges the operation
OF ffshpots violates the laws of the
States Of Maryland, Virginia and West
Virginia, based on an agreement made
in 1875. While the attorney general
admitted in his answer that the out
lawing Of flshpots by the Maryland
| legislatures of 1910 and 1924 was no,
Virginia, he maintained that the State
game department does not depend or
these laws to support removal OF
these illegal devices.
The attorney general declared it is
the duty of the State game warden .tc
have the fishpots removed. 1t will bt
interesting to all fishermen to know
that the attorney general has en-
tered demurrer to the entire peti
ton OF the owners Of the fishpots, or
the ground Of insuf1ciency in law and
deficiency In substance. The injunc
ton suit to restrain the game warder
was filed at Hagerstown, Nd, b,
Jacob M. Mtddlekauf and four others
Andy Rawlings, one of the ok
faithful at Chesapeake Beach, de
must have affected the size of tn.
fish, as never before In the history O.
fishing at the beach has there been 81
many wee spot nibbhng and takins
the hook. Some keen humor Is en-
Joyed by the fishermen along the raj
on the long pier when one of tn,
patient seekers for the hardheat
strike reels In his long stretch OF lin,
to find dangling on the end spo
hardly large enough to dignity th,
title Of bait.
DIR. BarstOw and Ed Bailey hav,
paid numerous visits to Chesapeak,
Beach In the past couph Of weeks
ana they are at a loss to explain tn,
very light catches. The former de
clares that 1t is waiting proposition
at the best, and more than ever al
enort that requires the closest stud,
OF all the conditions of wind, tide, etc
Capt. Bailey says very little, but i
following all the signs. He think
that the fish will come along whe,
the conditions are right. The ques
ton ds. Just when are conditions
right?"
On Of the chief reasons, in the opin
ion Of this column, for the scarcit,
OF 1sh In the Potomac around Wash
ington is the pollution of the water
There is mo doubt that the water,
of the Georgetown channel are beinii