Evening star., 1927-04-03

The annual run of Spring Ash to
the swift waters of the Potomac River
above Georgetown are about due, and
come in the following order: White
perch. herring, shad and rock fish or
striped bass.
White perch Is one of the few ma
tive fishes that lives equally we'll in
fresh or salt water. Its real home
is chiefly in brackisn tidal waters. but
il goes up river beyond all trace Of
salinity, and often becomes land
locked in strictly fresh ponds, where II
breeds for considerable periods. On
the other hand, this fish Is taken in
abundance about costal islands where
conditions are altogether those or the
salt sea.
White perch have been kept in
tanks for long periods, either Iresh
or salt, but the best results have been
obtained in tanks supplied with brack.
ish water, specimens living 10 years
and longer and reaching length OF
10 to II inches
The white perch is good eating. 1t
can be caught with the following bats:
Shrimp. nlinnows, young cells. small
crabs or any of its natural foods.
Perch also rise to the fly. especially In
fresh waters, and put up game nght
when hooked. They spawn soon after
the Ice leaves. anu G0l1JlhuF3 LII eaDOAN
two months. Females have been taken
with eggs as late as June 10.
The herring, which are snagged by
the thousands in the Potomac River,
are distributed throughout the entire
North Atlantic Ocean. and Is prob
ably the most important food nsh In
the world. IT claims as members or
the family, sardine, alewive. shad and
the Menhaden. A. Is not as popular
on this side Of the Atlantic on the
American dinner tables as in Europe,
where 1t forms a staple diet Tor mil
lions
In our waters it is widely taken
mated that the annual catch is in the
neighborhood of 10000, 100000, UH-
like most fish, II is particularly fne-
favored at spawning time. The food
OF the herring consists of red feed
and shrimp. They are, in turn, at
tackled by list of enemies ranging
from whale, Dorpoise and seal to cod.
dogffsh and squid. The life history OF
the herring never has been complete
ly worked out. The known facts IN
dieate that 1t lives in deep water of
the coasts. coming inshore to spawn.
The number Of eggs laid by female
ranges from 10000 to so 600, 1t Is said.
The shad, the next i'm line of Spring
visitors by the water route TO the swift
waters of the Potomac. is a member
of the herring family, spending the
Spring months in the rivers. where 1t
spawns, and the rest of the time in
deep sea waters. On our coast 1t en-
ters all rivers between st. Johns in
Florida and the st. John in New Bruins
wick.
The young fry, hatched out in the
rivers, stay until the temperature of
the water falls below 60 degrees in the
Autumn, and then go out to sea and
are not seen again until they return TO
spawn, which is believed to be when
they are or 4 years old. During the
spawning season the mature shad
seems to take no food at all. Their
Young feed on small crustaceanS and
inset larvae until they go out to sea.
They are very prolific fish, yielding
as high as $50, 900 eggs season. The
shad sometimes attains length of
more than 2 feet and a weight of IA
pounds, but the average weight has
been falling until it is now probably
under pounds. Its meat is very rich
in flavor and the roe is considered by
many as more delicious than that of
the shad. Because of the fact that it
is not within reach of fishermen ex-
cept at the spawning season 1t is
especially liable to extinction by over
fishing, and were it not artificially
propagated it now would rarely ap-
pear on the American dinner table.
Last, but by no means least. is the
rockfish or striped bass. This game
fish has a range reaching from the st.
Lawrence in Canada, to Mobile Bay.
Ala. but In commercial quantity is
most common between Long Island
and Cape HatterMs. 1t ascends fresh
water to spawn. and II particularly
common In hracNish water In bays md