Milford chronicle., 1934-09-14
DELAWARE ROADS
ARE ATTRACTING
MANY TOURISTS
[Continurd from FirIt Pagrl

easily be figured that around ST.
S04. .45O was spent for boat hire
alone. in addition to this. with an
average load of eight fishermen to a
boat 1t would mean at least 144 1850
fishermen who have tried the waters
of the Delaware Bay this year. and
with an average expenditure of five
dollars each for meals, rooms and
other necessities they are compelled
to purchase, the amount of money
they leave with the business men of
the State would run close to a mil
lion dollars.
The boats used for fishing run
from around thirty foOters to some
as large as So feet in length with a
beam of 16 foot and which carry as
many as fifty passengers. Nearly all
of the boats are now equipped with
cabins and the majority carry from
eight to ten fishermen, the remain
der carrying from twenty to thirty
fishermen to a trip. Most OF the
boats rent for ten dollars a trip re-
gardless of how many fishermen go
along but the larger ones are char
tered for as much as twenty five to
thirty dollars; there are the week
day prices, on Saturdays. Sundays
and holidays the rates are higher.
However. the captains of the beats
we'll earn the prices they charge.
their boats must be kept clean and
in the best possible running cOndi-
tiOn, bait and lines must be furnish
ell and more important they must
be familiar with the best fishing
grounds, where the fish can be
found at certain tides and in GER
tain kinds OF weather.
Fifteen years ago most of the
fishermen used hand lines but today
nearly ninety per cent use the rod
and reel and only few old timers
use the throw out line and "dipsey."
In fishing, most boats go to the sec
tiCn or grounds" until lrck is
found, then the boat is anchored un-
iii the sport is over when another
spot is chosen. This year the fish
lave been very plentiful in most
ary location and the fishing season
wL.ch began about the fifteenth OF
May and will continue until the last
of October has been a plentiful cne.
Captains Of the boats give full
credit to the good roads for bring
ing the fishermen here and declare
that the increase in boat charters
has been almost double th"t of for
mer years before the building of the
dual highways and the opening Of
the roads into Pennsylvania from
so many points.
The fishing season began very
auspiciously this year with large
catches of channel bass in May.
running from 40 to as high as 65
pounds in weight and has been fol-
lowed by good runs of croakers and
sea trout, sometimes called weak
fish. These have run from to
pounds and the average catch of
boats have been around 300 fish to
a party.
All of our fishing ports have far
ed very well this year ard have
been favored over very many of the |
New Jersey ports because of their |
proximity to the fishing grounds.
Lines can generally be cast in a |
very few minutes after the start as
they have no long creeks or streams
TO travel but arrive where the fish |
are biting in a very short time. |
Bowers Beach fishermen, perhaps |
the favorite spot for visitors, declare !
that from 80 to 100 boats are oper-
ating out of their village and that |
most of them make two trips a day, |
an early morning trip. and a late
afternoon trip. AS high as 1000 fish
ermen have been taken out in one |
day with four schoOners operating,
which carry from 35 to so in par
ty although the smaller boats car
rying from eight to ten are in great |
demand.
Not only are the boat owners |
pleased with this season but they |
are even expecting a better season !
next year and are already planning |
a series of daily bulletins to he ad-
Vertised in the papers regarding the
amount of fish being caught, the |
size and the tides. This advertising |
will be done by a cooperative asso-
citation and will be used in Della
ware and Pennsylvania papers pro-
perly located. They are asking tor
several things from the State and
Government to help them
do more business and point to the /
amount OF money brought into the
State as a reason for some of this
work to be done. One of their re-
luests is that illuminated signs be
placed on the DUPONT Highway di-
ecting the traveller to the fishing
ports. They declaEe that many OF
their customers travel at night TO
be ready for the early morning fish
ing and that with the present lack
Of lighted signs, many of them now
become lost and drive consider
able distance past the turns TO the
ishing ports. in many instances ar
irving too late to take up their
charters and to find that after wait
ng an hour or so, their boat has
gone out with another party.
At Bowers Beach and at Little
Treek, the fishermen are all unani-
nous in asking that the Federal
construct jetties at the
Mouth OF the harbors to prevent the
storms from filling 1t with sand and
o keep the beaches from washing
lway. They are especially unani-
nous in opposing a ruI1or., that a
fifty cent tax. is to be charged every
isherman. from other states who
lrive here for the salt waters fish,
ng. They point out that should a