Evening star., 1936-08-23
Bluefish on Bay

Continued From First Page.)
plenty and fights considerably less.
Not so good, the black drum.
EOR the men who like sporting
angle to their fishing, the weak
fish and the bluefish are tops. The
weakfish come into the bay early in
the year. well ahead of the blues,
whom they don't like little bit.
They catch trout in the bay running
up to 10 pounds and more, but most
of 'em run between 2 and pounds
Good eating, too. and they command a
good price on the market. The trout
is a weak fellow. but not in a scrap.
The name "weakfish" probably comes
from the weak construction Of his
mouth. If you hook big one, you'd
better have landing net handy. for
more often than not the flimsy mouth
will pull the hook right through by
the weight of the fish alone. A pretty
fish, the trout-dabbled with blue and
gray spots. striped and altogether a
sporting character.
OF the better sporting fish. the COL
loquially named rockfish, elsewhere
known as the striped bass, Is one of
the most sought-after fellows in the
bay. The rock is anadromous, which
means that he likes brackish water
and vii, swim into fresh water to
spawn. But he likes salt water. too.
The inlets, river mouths and coves
are his favorite spots, and he Is caught
trolling with spinner or still fishing
with a whole soft crab for bait. Big
rock are landed in Chesapeake Bay,
but they can't legally be taken home.
| The State of Maryland. which has
Jurisdiction over most of Chesapeake
Bay waters, imposes maximum limit
of Is pounds on rockfish catches.
Just now Washington anglers are hav-
ing loads of fun with small rock around
Cedar Point and Cove Point, near
Solomons Island. These little fellows.
running from ! to 3 pounds. give
plenty of sport on light tackle. But
the red-hot fishing spots, from the
angle of the Washington fisherman.
are Tall Timbers and Piney Point.
Down by the famous rockpile more
big rock are landed in q week than
at any other spot in a year. They
run good size, are caught without
lead, which permits good scrap, and,
boy, are they good to eat - baked,
broiled or fried?
The aristocrat Of the bay Is the
bluefish, the finest fighter and the
best eating fish of the lot. He will
be at his best for the next month and
half, until frost hits the waters
of the bay and he vanishes out into
the ocean, probably heading for
Southern waters at the call Of one
of those mysterious fish urges.
GET into a school of feeding blues
~ some day-big fellows-and en-
Joy the fishing Of lifetime. I don't
mean fishing for meat, for that isn't
sportsmanship. But when the blues
are up, feeding on top of the water
on the shiny silversides or the alewives
or fatback they like so well. no man
will have better sport. Literally the
bluefish, when he is feeding, will hit
anything white that moves through
the water.
Give the bluefish the bulk and
weight of the marlin swordf1sh and ]
doubt If one ever would be landed
with rod and reel. A l0-pound blue
land many of that weight are taken)
is the scrappiest, toughest. roughest
customer any fisherman ever hooked
He never quits, he never stops boring
and jumping, If unhampered BY Q
heavy sinker, and even in the boat
beware his teeth.
One day, of Poplar Island, We hac
boatman who insisted on tuckine
the landed fish under his arm while
dehooking 'em. Those blues literally
ate his shirt of his back. They tool
huge chunks out Of the shirt with
their sharp teeth.
Cumming is the favored method
of enticing blues to the boat wher
they are not schooling" It's messy
business at best, but 1t does catch
blues. The boatman chops up
bushel or so of alewives in q meat
grinder and drops the greasy. oily
residue overheard in tideway. The
bluefish follow the chum line up ane
grab at the baited hook. But plenty
of blues are caught by trolling ir
Chesapeake Bay. with spoons featner'
and spinning lures. They will take
ANYTHING that moves when they are ir
biting mood.
On their early migrations into tn
bay. and late in September and il
early October, when they are school
ing. the blues run big. Nine and tei
Founders are not unknown and six ant
seven Founders are common. In be-
tween-just now--the bay Is full
what are locally called "tailors,"
snapper blues, ranging from ~
pounds to 3 pounds in weight. SOM
day they'll be big fellows, but ever
at that weight they are scrapper
from start to finish. You catch 'ern
if you are lucky enough to run into
school, almost anywhere In the bay
The gulls will tell you where they are
WHEN blues are feeding on tor
w chopping up the silversides o
menhaden with their sharp teeth, tn
gulls follow them to pick up what
left. And the gulls have an uncann
faculty of finding them. You'll swes
there isn't gull In sight within n,ilei
but when the blues hit the top, there7
be q regular gull convention within
five minutes. Sharp-eyed fellow
these gulls, and the best fish finder
Of them all. ..-