There wasn't time, but there was no mistaking Blow's enthu- 

 siasm. He and his fellow members will go bass fishing at the 

 drop of a hint. 



Over in Montgomery the citizens make a game of pond seek- 

 ing. With new ponds springing up month by month, they hunt 

 ponds like gold hunters looking for rich gravel, and when a 

 man makes a strike he tries to keep the location to himself. 



Some ponds have a third kind of fish called the shellcracker, 

 known also as the strawberry bream, identified by its yellow 

 breast and red band on the edge of the "ear." Since shellcrackers 

 feed on the bottom and can only be caught there, usually with 

 worms, they complement the bass and bream. 



While Alabama probably has more fun-producing ponds 

 than any other state, her fish culturists figure that they're just 

 started. Swingle estimates that there are 140,000 pond sites in 

 the state. 



Alabama wouldn't have you think that her only fishing 

 resource is the cultivated and fertilized pond. Down in Mobile 

 Bay there are deep-sea derbies specializing in tarpon. Salt-water 

 striped bass are found not only along the Gulf shore but as far 

 inland as the dams below lakes Jordan and Martin, almost in 

 the center of the state. 



In the TVA lakes on the northern border of the state are 

 smallmouth, white bass, perch, and other fresh-water varieties. 

 In the rivers "jugging" for catfish is popular, and one Alabaman 

 points out that fertilized water from ponds, overflowing into 

 the rivers, has helped grow oversized fish everywhere, among 

 them a "cat" weighing 157 pounds, and a record bluegill going 

 4 pounds 6 ounces. 



Many Alabamans also recommend exploring the cypress 

 swamps for the grindle, which they call the "most underrated 

 game fish in America." Similar in appearance to the dogfish, 

 the grindle is so strong that some fishermen insist that a hickory 

 limb is the only safe rod to use on him. 



In Alabama waters are found pickerel, crappies, sturgeon, and 

 a host of lesser varieties in addition to those listed. Taken 

 together, they all add up to sport. 



