Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-01


money trying to induce MEM
bers of the finny tribe to take
IL the bait and lures offered them
in Chesapeake Bay last Sum-
u1er perhaps overlooked good bet IN
not turning their attention to the
waters Of the lower Potomac.
From time to time during the fish-
inC season reports reached us OF good
catches of rockflsh around Piney Point
and Tall Timbers. just last week .
party of three anglers who live at
waldorf, Md, landed IT rock of Piney
Point near st. Georges Island for =
total weight of 173 pounds. Six or
the fish weighed between IA ana 10
pounds. The men, James Price, Leon
ard Orem and John Reese, landed all
their fish in a little more than an
hours time, and report that they had
great sport all during the Summer.
Next year. no doubt, many anglers. dis
appointed with fishing conditions III
the bay, will be seen on the lower Po-
tomac trolling for the striped game
sters.
All Southern Maryland roads are III
good condition for motorists, and 1t
takes Just a little more time to reach
these fishing grounds than 1t does to
get to the nearest places along the bay.
Every angler realizes that fishing in
the bay is getting worse each year,
and that unless something is done 81
curb purse netting and the other evils
surrounding fish in those waters, fish
ing there soon will be but memory.
The majority of anglers are looking
for new fishing grounds and, front
reports reaching us, it appears the
lower Potomac is the place. But
anglers must realize that even the salt
water fish must be protected and that
= in mi n
there just as much as in fresh-Water
streams for the large and small mouth
bass.
There are too many anglers who
want to return with as many FISH as
they possibly can. Today every angler
asks the question How many did you
catch" This should be changed 10
What was your largest fish" AS
previously stated in this column, big
catch of fish is a nuisance. When
you finally get them home you have
to call up your friends and ask them
if they would like to have some fish,
and often the reply is, Are they
A mans family cannot use more
than four or five, unless they are very
small. and if they are small they should
have been returned to the water. Thou
year and allowed to die in the boat,
and the angler who caught them knew
he would have no use for them at
the time he hooked the fish. II sta
tistics could be compiled showing the
money expended each year by anglers
and the number of fish caught 1t GER
tainly would make interesting reading,
and we venture to say that some
anglers paid as high as SIS a pound
for their fish.
Several weeks ago big catches of fish,
principally rock, were reported being
| landed along the eastern shore of
Chesapeake Bay. Several remarkably
good catches were made and the pic
lures were published, showing good big
catches. These published reports caused
many anglers to cross the bay in quest
of these fighting striped gamesters, the
rockfish. For two or three days the
| fish furnished excellent sport for the
anglers. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
| of one week the fish were feeding and
attacking anything crossing their paths.
| On Wednesday of the same week the
! fish were to be seen breaking water and
/ playing around on the surface; but
would not take anything offered.
| Just why is this? The chief reason
| fish bite is that they desire food. There
are some instances when fish take the
| bait when they are not feeding. The
! fighting spirit of some species causes
them to strike at anything. Feeding, to
| some extent, is governed by temperature
| changes, and it is we'll known that fish
are more or less inactive when the
water temperature is low, as they re-
| quire little food at such times.
Fish do not feed throughout the day
so the time of day, like weather condi-
tions, has much to do with their feed
ing habits. Frequently they gorge
themselves with food which lasts them
for day or two. While there are times
when fish are we'll fed on certain kind
of food another kind would be more en-
ticing. The angler, heretofore, must
change lures with the view of finding
one that will be accepted and bring re-
suits. Ia
That Ash do ST bite is not always
] evidence that tfgre are none in the