Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-10
ROD AND STREAM
BY PERRY MILLER

bass were being offered for sale in this
city last Saturday weighing less than
five ounces, a violation of the District
fish laws, it is expected that the bill
prohibiting the sale of these game fish
in the District will meet with the
hearty approval of the Commissioners.
The Tidal Basin project of planting
bass in those waters had another good
week, more than 1000 of adult large
mouth bass having been liberated in
them new home. Some of the incest
looking bass it ever has been the privi-
lege of the writer to see were planted,
several hundred of them weighing
over three pounds.
| Last Friday the writer took Glen c.
Leach of the Bureau of Fisheries
down the river to see just how the
ing-picture machine was carried along
and movies of the operation We're
taken under the personal supervision
of Maj. Harry S. Kimberly OF the
Smithsonian Institution,
Despite the cold weather, which
seemed to get colder as the party
reached the river bank, Mr.. Leach
donned pair of hip boots, and the
most casual observer could tell that
he knew just what he wanted to do
and how to do it. Owing to the
strong northwest winds of the last
couple Of days, and also the tide, the
water was very low and necessitated
walk of some IS yards from the
shore through soft mud and ice.
Leach waded right through 1t and into
water as deep as his boots would
allow. His friends were much per.
turbed when they saw him apparently
sinking deeper in the mud. He, how
ever, apparently knew his business
well, because before attempting to
take a step toward shore when his
work of supervising the transferring
of bass into the containers was fin
ished, he slowly raised first one foot
and then the other out of the mud.
Upon reaching the shore he was
asked If he had not been afraid of
sinking in the mud and getting wet,
but he replied that he had been in
much more precarious positions many
times, although admitting that a man
unfamiliar with such conditions would
surely have fallen into the icy cold
water.
Project Assured of Success.
1t now can be said that the Tidal
Basin project is an assured success.
Every objective has been attained, and
by the middle of next week all the
fish will have been planted. the number
being close to 5000. When the season
starts up next Spring, anglers will
have some merry battles with these
game fish, especially with the larger
ones, great many weighing close to
pounds being among those planted
this Winter.
There is only one thing more to be
done, and that is to have Col. Grant
see that a small fee is charged for the
privilege of fishing in the basin. Com
missioner O'Malley and Mr.. Leach
both are of the opinion that that is
the only way in which the project can
be made a continued success. This
revenue will be set aside to buy bass
to take the place Of those caught by
the anglers. If fishing is permitted
next season from rowboats, naturally
| more bass will be caught and more
| will have to be planted. 1t is no easy
matter to obtain these bass, and they
cost a lot of money when purchased
| by the thousands. The fee method
seems to be the one and only way to
keep the project moving in the right
way.