July, 1911 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
249 
Fly-fishing for pickerel 
fish in the bay, ranging from six to ten pounds each. These 
fellows go into the bay apparently for soft crabs, and are 
seldom taken except in the marine grass or along its edges 
on flats. To get them requires the strongest casting rod, a 
long hook baited with soft crab, tied on with thread. Those 
who angle for them tow out a skiff to the fishing grounds. 
The skiff is anchored in a channel adjoining the marine 
meadow, and casts are made both into the grass and along 
its edges. The angler is satisfied to get one of these giants 
in a day, but some have had the luck occasionally to land 
a dozen of them. Most of the day is monotonous, but all 
monotony is off when a big fellow takes hold. He will then 
show more tricks for getting away than all the other species 
of fish combined, besides having the special protection of 
weak gills, which easily tear apart, releasing the hook, and 
en account of which he is named weakfish. 
Bluefish require only a trolling line on Barnegat Bay, 
trailed behind a cat boat or motor boat, which the captain 
supplies to each of his fares. They enter the bay only oc- 
casionally, usually on full moons. Their presence is known 
to the whole bay by the actions of the boats always in the 
inlet. Activity of boats there is visible all over the bay, and 
can only be caused by a school of bluefish entering with flood 
tide. Their presence far up in the channels in the bay is 
always detected in the mornings, if they come in on a night 
tide, by the boats going to the angling grounds. Bluefish 
always “‘break’’— that is, cavort about in the water, jumping 
ose j Se 
The pickerel has got him 
out and throwing up white spray that may be seen at a dis- 
tance. When boats are noted darting back and forth in a 
school, most of the anchored craft abandon their weak- 
fishing and hurry to the chase. ‘‘Chumming”’ for bluefish is 
not practiced in Barnegat Bay, as there are no menhaden 
boats there from which to obtain oil fish. For that reason 
bluefish chummers go to Great South Bay, on Long Island, 
when menhaden bait only is to be had. Several bushels of 
oil fish are taken on board, ground up in a machine, so that 
a stream of chum constantly runs overboard. Anglers sit 
on the rear of the boat and let their lines run with the tide 
carrying the chum, the hooks baited with cut-up menhaden. 
Great South Bay has no crabs, and Barnegat Bay no men- 
haden. The former freezes in winter to such a depth as to 
destroy the crab spawn. There are no, or few, menhaden 
to be had in Barnegat Bay, because there are no oil factories 
within a hundred miles of it to induce their capture. 
The premier angling of Barnegat Bay is for striped bass, 
which few except the wealthy indulge in. This species in 
salt-water bays are caught only with blood worms, costing 
from $1 to $2 per hundred. The worms are threaded on a 
spinner hook and trolled behind a row boat, with rod and 
reel. Men of wealth get after them almost exclusively, 
having big motor or house boats, big sloop or schooner 
yachts. The striped bass are caught only in narrow, unnay- 
igable and nearly closed-up channels, running through ma- 
rine meadows, where the grass tops just show at low tide. 
awe 
Casting for drum fish from the beach 
