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

Sc0Cla mlgnC not nave WOll
That the tuna is said tt
the harbor and hurtled 1t mer-
rily into q fleet Of herring
meters, swapping one and cree
ating havoc with the rest, Is
beside the point.
II back in the early sos thte
Townsend brothers hadn't ex-
perimented with a slim billfish
that swarmed the Jack Spot
"a miles at sea, Ocean City,
Nd, might not have become
the white marlin capital Of
the world"
If as late as last March, two
well-known Washington an
glers, Jim ODonnell. jr,, and
Jack Snyder, hadn't ventured
off Hatteras, it wouldn't have
been known that bluefln tuna
could be caught there at that
time of year.
Endless List
If Claude Rogers of Virginia
Beach hadn't heard Of the
silver herring" that were tear
ing up commercial fishermen's
nets, he wouldn't have pio-
neered tarpon fishing on Vir-
ginia's Eastern Shore.
1f-and the list is endless.
Such are the frontiers that
make saltwater angling so
fascinating. Aside from the
vast areas around the world
still to be exploited by the
sports fisherman, the Atlantic
Coast itself and even Chesa-
peake Bay offer a constant
challenge.
One of the most interesting
nearby areas is Virginia's East
ern Shore. stretching from
Cape Charles to Chincoteague.
1t is one of the most fertile
fishing grounds and yet one of
the most "unfished."
In the preceding article we
told how tarpon fishing is
slowly developing on the East
ern Shore. The fish arrive in
quantity in late June and stay
into September. There may be
a time when the sport will draw
thousands of fishermen.
Fourth TarpOn Caught
We also told how the third
tarpon known to be taken on
rod and reel in that area was
caught. Since then the fourth
has been taken. Bill Draper
Of Hopewell, Va, boosted a
64l2 pound tarpon last week
on 14-pound test line after a
Commute fight.
Diapers tarpon swallowed a
live jumbo spot and carried
his boat a half mile from where
1t had been hooked. Rogers,
director of Virginia's Salt Wa
ter fishing Tournament, hooked
one on squid but lost it.
Rogers companion, Fred Ed
wards, also of Virginia Beach,
hooked two. one on a live white
perch and one on squid, but
lost them both, which is some
consolation for the fact that I
also lost a giant tarpon on my
visit to the grounds of Oyster,
Va.
Barriers to the development
Of the sport are two:
Shortage Of guides and short
age of accommodations. To
these might be added a third,
shortage of live bait.
The Wachapreague Hotel,
some miles UP the Eastern
Shore from Oyster. is at present
the only tarpon fishing head
quarters. Dabney Sandidge is
its manager.
New Piers Built
New piers and parking areas
were built this year, and gas
and diesel pumps and a marine
supply house are planned. Eight
charter boats berth there, being
booked out of the hotel for
marlin, dolphin, king mackerel.
blue and bonito fishing offshore
and channel bass, founders
and other bottom fish inshore.
One or two of the captains
have been taking parties to the
tarpon grounds and as the
demand increases doubtless
others will join. Some native
guides also may be obtained
to take outboarders through
the maze Of channels and over
the tTeacherous fats which
emerge as mud banks and
sand bars at low tide. They
abound in oyster beds which
can rip UP the bottom Of an
unwary outboarder.
There are launching sites
for small boats at Wacha-
preague, nearby Quinby and