Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-08-22
SEGH AT LARGE
The Fish Never
Had 1t So Good
Bv MORRIS SlEGEE

THE APPOINTMENT WAS FOR 4:45-in IN" ~o-n-
ing, yet No would rise and shine that early
to look for job which wasn't what after. Fish
ing was the name of the game for us.
Wheeler Johnson Francis Siam and Oscar Eklund,
the primary pScatory perpetrators, reported difficulty
greeting the clock Not l. stayed up all night pas
time normally reserve for more rewardng ventures
than fishing
Our man outdoors Johnson was tour guide, self
appointed For him was challenge The poop said he
a big deal at Deale This his chance to show
it. He wisely brought along Ekund fishing fend from
the Veterans Administration, in case he might need
support.
He did.
Our man indoors Siam, presumably was along for
the same purpose was outdoor convivialty However
the thin one turned out be the Frank Buck OF the
briny He converted Chesapeake Bay into the Lana OF
Pleasant Fishing. For him. not us.
WE WERE TO RENDEZVOUS aboard Capt jim
ShupeS Eileen ILL., sleek veteran of the rocksh patrol
at We didn't make it, Locating Stanns hdeout in
Arlington was difficult than finding fish
The trip almost came cropper there. Siam had a
tale of To head off inundation during Tuesdays
monsoon he spent much Of the early evening digging
trench 1t beaut Only mistake. His wife COM
planned that he dug it out the wrong way.
She insisted in the usual implauSibe way wives insist
during transforms that the only way to escape drowning
to convert the downhill torrent uphill
This naturally put the do-ityourself excavator in
good moodfor fishing. Or anything except ditchdggng
lie spaced the trench MS developed ne was
right His house is still standing, difficult to locate per-
hapS, but upright nevertheless.
THE TRENCH WAS ONLY one of Fearless Franks
problems the of the big expedition In the after
he detected several sprgS of nut grass ntratng
into his lawn He about to carry out the death
tence for the unwaned intruder when wiley again inter-
vened She liked it. Like the house. the grass is still
there, too.
Finally it was onward to Deale, where the rockfsh
hod <ha oy1fo
of the bay were plentiful "Who knows?" he chortled
I'VE might have a record haul"
One hour later the record still intact So the
Bays rockfiSh population The skipper had conned u.s.
but not the rock. johnson, who writes about fishing
having trouble fishing well he writes These
fish obviously hadn't been reading mans stuff They
refused to cooperate.
Suddenly felt tug at the end of my line jerked
once twice and third time The rod now was in half
circle This had to be either the biggest fish in Chesapeake
Bay Walter Haght, who unreiably reported last
seen in the vicinity Of the Tidal Basin
1t neither. had caught bottom, one Of several
such miScalcuations.
The more I fished the more became convinced that
fishing not baseball needs bigger strike The rock
were so contemptuous Of my ability they quick
pitching me.
MEANWHILE, sTANN AND EKLUND were getting
weary hauling In fish johnson had merely become
arm-weary. So had l.
At Gas Johnson after threatening to editorially
expose every uncooperative species in the bay finally
shared rockish Three minutes later he had another
I remained shut out for more minutes, until a
friendly fish surrendered meeky Two minutes later had
deadlocked johnson. Our private head-tohead match
was tied at two apiece.
Wheeler attempted to claim toad, which would have
given him the lead Better restaurants toads under
the of SQUADS" he said at is decacy" The
toad returned his natural habitat and the struggle
ended at two apiece. to-man fshoff arranged
The date uncertain Only the site has been determined
In the $40 million Federal aquarium
foray netted 48 rock including the four by john
son and me- it was expensive 1t amounted to $18
each for two fish whose total weight less than four
pounds.