Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-24

at oyster, which is closest to
the fishing area, but guides
are necessary, at least until o
newcomer learns the grounds.
As for accommodations,
there are motels and tourist
places along the main high
way, but Oyster itself offers
little.
Live Bait Used
Most Of the fishing is now
being done with live bait.
Early in June I sat with Pee
wee McWilliams, an expert
guide, under the bridge at
Bahia Honda in the Florida
Keys drifting live mullet for
tarpon. The method was the
same as we are using OF
oyster.
Another Florida favorite is
casting plugs with light tackle.
This also has been tried and
a few fish hooked, but none
boated. The Virginia tarpon
are coy, shy and reluctant to
take q bait. It remains to be
seen whether they can be
coaxed into hitting plugs more
readily.
Trolling also was tried but
it was found that the sound of
an cupboard would frighten Of
the tarpon within 100 yards.
Thus floating live bait with q
bobber on the line Just above
a 6 or 8-foot leader has become
accepted.
So far the tarpon have bitten
on whole squid and what live
bait could be obtained such as.
trout, spot, white perch and
even a black will (smal sea
basS). Whole soft crabs might
coax a strike.
The bobber is necessary be-
cause a drifted bait will go for
the sometimes shallow bottom,
collecting quantities Of weed,
or becoming q target for rays
or sharks
TarpOn Widespread
The tidal marshes and flats
extend for miles and tarpon
are known to be concentrated
lat several points besides Gull
Marsh Channel where recent
fishing has been centered. The
first tarpon, taken by Rogers
in 1855, was boated In South
Bay and the second, by an
unidentified angler, in Magothy
Bay.
The fish may range as far
as Chincoteague. Capt. Stanley
(Mac) burlington told me he
has heard of tarpon ripping
up commercial nets there. At
Ocean City, Capt. Josh Bunting
said what obviously was a tar
pom was hooked some time ago
in the inlet and broke free
after jumping several times.
Rogers puts the tarpon fish
ing ahead of any other avail
able along the coast, including
marlin fishing. "All the action
is out of small outboardS,
usually" he says, with the
angler at close grips with the
fish and no captain or mate
to boat it."
Rogers, a champion surf cast
er, has pioneered othter fish,
ing, including catching the first
channel bass at Hatteras by
casting from a moored boat in
side the inlet-a quite uncon-
ventional method.
Holds Striped Bass Record
Vice president of the Tide
water Anglers Club, he holds
the Virginia record for striped
bass, a 44-pound. 10-ounce fish
caught in 1857 of a Virginia
Beach pier.
The veteran angler thinks
there are other fertile fields for
developing sport fishing on the
Eastern Shore. Surf angling,
he says, is undeveloped and
there may be excellent casting
/ for both sea trout and channel
bass on the bay side of the PEN
insula.
A struggling rockfish is picked
up occasionally by channel
bass fishermen in the surf and
inlets on the ocean side, which
indicates that the stripers
school past this area. Rogers
thinks this also could be de-
veloped.
Cold Water Hampers Fishing
Cold water has hampered the
fishing generally this summer
as it has all along the coast.
Fishing for gray trout. for