The Washington times., 1938-05-11


festive board that no denizen Of
fresh or salt water calling can
excel.
During the past few days,
striped bass have been school
ing almost under Little Falls,
the dead-end Of tide water in
the Potomac. Many fine catches
have been made in the deep
water down as far as Hams
Point, but the upper river, at
this writing. seems to be the
favored grounds.
With the water in its present
exceptionally clear condition, the
idea is to cast a fairly long dis
tance from boat. RockfiSh are
q scary lot and their seeing dis
tance is compared to that of an
eagle. Noise is an anglers enemy
when rock fishing, for the strip
ers are easily frightened. Seren-
ity is the word to success. Many
anglers, well versed in the ways
Of this clan, never do their fish
ing over the weekend in the
upper Potomac, claiming there's
too much noisy water traffic.
METHOD OF BATTING
These pan-sized fish are being
taken almost exclusively on
bloodworms, but occasionally a
hetter-than-average rock will fall
to the lot of a herring-side-b e-baited
hook. The record fish down to
date weighed in at six pounds
and was taken by Chester Slim"
Mullen, whose lure was a belly
strip of a herring.
BloodwormS should be used as
a whole when batting for rocks,
and the mode of procedure dill
fers vastly from the ordinary
ways of perching when the worm
is cut up in sections. The proper
method is to hold the worm py
the tail, head down, and let the
blood or red fluid rush to the
head. Insert the hook about an
inch from the tail and then
thread the hook to about a half
inch of the head. Be careful not
to nuncture the bag of blood at
the head, for this is the attrac-
tion par excellence that will
bring the rock to hook.
OF course, therell be a million
and one small perch ready to
nounce upon the alluring lure,
SO keep the bait in motion. Per-
chance an ill-mannered rock may
push his way through the grass
conbers and take the worm,
with a rush to give battle that
is really thrilling.
Now is pan-rock fishing time,
10 take advantage Of the oppor-
tunity while conditions are ideal:
Tomorrow may bring some OF
the elements that will spoil the
paStime for a spell.
Tonight at 8 o'clock, the local
chapter of the Izaak Walton
League Of America will hold its
regular monthly meeting in the
Raleigh Hotel. and all anglers.
whether affiliated or unattached
are urgently requested to at
tend, We are informed that the
program will be fast-moving, with
a likelihood of several members
of Congress being on hand, pos
sibly one Of whom will make a
short talk. The members OF the
Bethesda Chevy Chase Chapter
have been given a special invita-
ton to attend. .
After the meeting is completed
in the Raleigh, adjournment will
be made to the TranS-Llx
Theater, where Manager Roland
Robbins has arranged for q spe-
cial showing of number Of fine
films on sporting, fishing and
hunting topics. There will be
door prizes, and the cocktail
tables will be in place for the
accommodation of early arrivals
and visitors. Door prizes are
donated by the Sport Center and
the Hugh Reilly Company. Tick
cts for the movie show may be
obtained through this column for
25 cents, which are good for the
entire show, including both the
regular features and the sports
men films. -'.s
II you're going over to the
Honga River location, there's
one very important point to re-
member. The draw in the bridge
that spans the river does not
open until 6 a. m, and closes
promptly at 6 p. m. for the night.
One party left SolomonS before
daybreak last Sunday and when
they reached the other side they
found the draw closed. No per-
suaSion on their part could get
the attendant to open up until
the appointed hour. Don't be
too early a bird in the morning,
or prolong your roosting in the
evening.
Wachapreague gets the call.
Tom Kinney, Curtis Curtain,
Lawrence Boswell and Otis Law
renee left last evening for Vir-
ginia'S famous fishing grounds.
Herring have been schooling
now for the past two days. II
you're inclined toward snagging,
now Is the time. tomorrow may
be Just another day.