494 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. 16,1905. 
[ S A Morning^s Bluefishing. 
BY WILLIS BRUCE DOWD. 
The season of 1905 was a very poor one for bluefish 
in the vicinity of New York. Old fishermen said they 
had not known anything like it in twenty years. At last, 
however, in the early days of October, word got around 
that the blues were running off Sandy Hook, and fisher- 
men flocked in that direction day after day. One boat 
that put out from Sheepshead Bay came back with eighty 
blues, and although they were small, 2 and 3-pound- 
ers, this was enough to tempt other persons to try their 
luck at the royal sport of the sea. 
One party consisted of four — Yentzen, who owned the 
Perry Belmont, an old but sturdy single-master that was 
doubtless christened when the young man of that name 
represented a Long Island district in Congress back in 
the eighties; Fred Bundy, a youth of eighteen, whose 
life .had been spent around his father’s fish and oyster 
dock, and who was an able seaman; Joe Black, a sleepy 
individual, with three days’ growth of light hair on his 
dirty face, and one other, who shall be nameless. They 
were at Yantzen’s restaurant, having breakfast of bread, 
raspberry jam, butter and coffee, at 3:30 in the morn- 
ing, and they enjoyed that meal. Yentzen said they 
would get no more to eat until their return. The 
weather was cool but clear, and tliere was only a fairish 
breeze blowing. Never did the stars shine so brightly; 
Venus, Jupiter and other planets shone like lustrous 
diamonds among the myriad of smaller lights which 
dotted the firmament. 
At 3 :45 the party were aboard the Perry Belmont, 
which lay in the channel of Sheepshead Bay, and the 
small boat in which they had rowed out from the dock 
was moored to a floating buoy. They did not take a 
trailer that day. A few seconds later Yentzen got his 
naphtha engine going, and the boat pointed toward the 
inlet, for the open sea and the fish. 
To the astonishment of at least one of the party Yent- 
zen expressed considerable anxiety as to his ability to 
get out without running aground. The tide was going 
out, but it seemed to the “other one” that there was 
ample water for the craft, which did not draw over three 
feet. So he expressed surprise, but Yentzen came back 
at him with the remark that it was hard to steer in the 
dark, and that there were some shallow places ahead 
which were dangerous. 
“Pshaw !” said the “nameless one,” “I know this chan- 
nel so well I could steer it blindfolded.” 
“Maybe,” replied Yentzen, “but you and Fred look 
sharp and pass the word back to> me every second or so, 
or we’ll be aground.” 
Now, Fred and the “other one” were standing forward 
at the foot of the mast, and they were saying to each 
other what an easy thing it was to follow that channel; 
so they smiled when they heard Yentzen’s outcry against 
a possible mishap. Every few minutes they agreed as 
to the next course and one of the other sang out, “Keep 
her off !” or “A little inshore !” as the case required. 
At length they came to the inlet, and the narrowest 
part of the channel, where the outlook saw that Yentzen 
was steering too close inshore. Then both simultan- 
eously cried out “Keep her off !” but it was too late ; the 
boat’s bottom scraped something; her bow mounted up, 
and she was fast on the bar. 
“There !” shouted Yentzen, shutting off his power, “I 
told you we might have trouble. Now we’ve got it. Be 
quick with the poles for a shove off, for the tide is fast 
going out, and she’ll be harder to move every minute.” 
There were a few minutes of intense action, poles 
shoved into the sand, grunts, pushes, positions changed, 
but all to no purpose. 
“We are stuck,” Yentzen said in despair. “It’s no use, 
we are stuck.” 
“O, I don’t know,” said the “other one,” “1 am no 
sailor, but I’ll bet we’ll get off.” 
His courage seemed to stimulate the brains of the boys, 
who pulled off their shoes and stockings and were over 
the boat’s bow into the water in less than a minute. 
There was not over a foot and a half of water where 
they stood, but five feet away, and under the boat’s mid- 
dle and stern, there were fathoms. All knew that, and 
“Nameless” reasoned that the pressure of the tide at the 
rear was equal to a lot of horsepower. So at his sug- 
gestion Yentzen and he put the poles over the port side 
and pushed with alt their might, while the boys gave 
a lift with their brawny arms, and the Belmont was off. 
“Lookout, there, boys,” Yentzen said, “get aboard 
quick. You’ll be in three fathoms of water in another 
second.” 
So they clambered aboard with the agility of monkeys, 
and after a few more soundings with the poles they 
helped Yentzen get the boat into the ocean water, and 
the party were at last fairly started on their journey to 
the Jersey coast. The wind freshened from the west 
after they arrived outside, so that they made poor head- 
way with the naphtha engine alone. The mainsail was 
run up when they reached a pcir.t opposite the Man- 
hattan Hotel, and, looking at his Avatch at that mom.ent 
“Nameless” noticed that it was 5 o’clock. 
He was surprised to find that at this hour the sun was 
not up. Day was breaking, however, and soon a bright 
orange color illumined the east, foretelling the rising 
of the sun, and a golden sheen glimmered on the rolling 
ocean. It was a beautiful sight. And when at length a 
big blood red globe seemed to emerge from the waters 
in the far horizon “Nameless” remarked to Yentzen, 
“That looks more like a balloon than the sun.” So it 
did, but not for long. The bright rays soon came flash- 
ing toward the boat, the stars all disappeared, and the 
miracle of the creation of another day had been wrought 
before their eyes. 
They headed for the Atlantic Highlands, across Ged- 
ney’s Channel, but the wind from the west had grown 
so strong and the sea so rough by this time that the craft 
began to roll uncomfortably and progress was not good. 
Besides, the outrunning tide was so .swift that it made 
the steering difficult. At length Yentzen determined to 
set a bobjib to steady the boat and send her forward. He 
did so, and then she sped on her way delightfully. 
Soon they caught sight of two schooners far to wind- 
ward, but heading across the Belmont’s bow. Their 
sails looked charming in the early morning light. 
“What are they, Yent?” asked Fred Bundy, who was 
at the helm. 
“Fire Island boats,” said Yentzen, who did not seem 
to notice the familiar abbreviation of his name by the 
boy. “Nameless” noticed it, however, and Yentzen saw 
that he did. 
“I’ve known that boy since the day he was born,” 
Yentzen said in explanation. “In fact, I won a cigar 
on him when he was born — by his coming a boy — and I 
brought him up. You’re one of my boys, ain’t you, 
Fred?” 
“Guess I am, Yent,” said Fred, rather dryly. He was 
a solemn chap. 
They kept a straight course, almost directly south, 
across the channel where they saw three Government 
dredging vessels at work, making a deeper passageway 
for the ocean liners, and they srav also many vessels, 
steamers, schooners and one full-rigged ship going to 
or coming from the great harbor of New York Then 
they ran afoul of a line of tugs towing scows, going 
seaward, and they had to change their course, and run 
westward close to a towline, until they found a chance 
to go between a scow and the next approaching tug. 
This accomplished, they headed again south, and by 7 
o’clock they had traversed eighteen miles and arrived at 
the appointed place. They rvere now in the shelter of 
the Highlands of New Jersey, and the water was quieter 
but still there was enough chop to make the men aboard 
realize that they were not on a pond. 
“Is this a good sea for the fish?” “Nameless” asked 
Yentzen. i 
“Fine,” he said, “we’ll get ’em, sure.” 
To the surprise of the other men, Yentzen “fished” 
out some bottles, one of which contained about a gill of 
whiskey, and the others sarsaparilla. 
“Better take a little,” he said, “to keep the chill off.” 
The boys took only sarsaparilla, but the captain and 
the “other one” took a little rye with sarsaparilla for 
a “chaser,” and the “medicine” was good. 
Yentzen now fixed a trolling pole on each side of the 
boat, and attached lines and squids, and ran two other 
lines over the stern, and so the party were ready for 
their sport. 
“Look sharp for gulls, now,” said Yentzen; “we 
likely won’t get any' fish till we find the gulls.” 
“What have gulls to do with bluefish?” asked “Name- 
less” of him. 
“A whole lot,” he answered, “Nature is a wonder- 
ful system of things going together. The big fish 
chase the little ones, and these go to the surface trying 
to escape, and then the gulls get them.” 
“It sounds reasonable,” Black said. It was the only 
time he spoke during the trip. His unshaven face made 
him shy. ; 
“It is a fact,” Yentzen added; “of course, you can 
sometimes make a catch without the gulls, but the best 
sport is where the birds are.” 
They spied a considerable number of gulls hovering 
over the water two miles north of the Highlands light- 
and about two miles north of the Highlands light- 
house; so they headed for them. 
“No good,” said Yentzen, when they approached 
them; “they don’t act right.” 
“How should they act?” Fred Bundy asked. 
“Go up and down, feeding,” he said, “They are 
simply loafing, waiting for something to turn up.” 
This was discouraging, but they sailed up and down 
the coast for several miles without any better en- 
couragement. They saw two rowboats come up the 
coast, from the direction of Seabright, and cast anchor 
not far from where the gulls were hovering when they 
first discovered them. 
“Those fellows are going to net for the fish,” said 
Yentzen. “They are regular fishermen, and they know 
the fish are here.” Still, Yentzen’s party caught 
nothing, and they saw only a few gulls every now and 
then which were as often sitting idly on the water as 
otherwise, waiting for something to turn up. The 
monotony of sailing up and down was broken the 
appearance of more boats on the horizon. Yentzen 
soon recognized the first one that appeared, although 
she was a full mile away. 
“That’s Ike Willard,” he Cried; “he's after the blues, 
too; heard about ’em yesterday.” 
Sure enough, it was Ike Willard. He hove down 
upon the Belmont and inquired what luck, as others did 
by and bjq and when Yentzen replied “none,” he began 
tacking in and out, up and down, as others were doing, 
in quest of the fish. 
The eyesight of “Nameless’’ had always been par- 
ticularly good, and he got . a glimpse, as they sailed 
northward, of a vast number of gulls far ahead of the 
Belmont. He told Yentzen about it, and although 
neither he nor the boys could see the birds at first, he 
held on in the direction of them, and soon saw them. 
“There are the fish,” he said. Indeed, if his sign 
meant anything the fish were certainly there, for the 
number of gulls was legion, and they were acting 
“right” into the bargain. Anybody could tell that they 
were feeding. 
“Sport ahead, boys,” said Yentzen.- But somehow, 
he seemed disappointed, he kept looking and looking, 
first on one side, and then the other, then ahead, for 
some sign or token which did not appear. At length, 
however, he shoved the helm hard aport, and said iru 
bated breath, “Gee whiz! Look at them fish!” 
Close on the starboard side was a sight to baffle- 
descritpion, somethings the like of which “Nameless” i 
never saw or heard of before. For as much space as 
a hundred yards square the surface of the water seemed 
to be converted into a fountain. The fish were so 
numerous, and were splashing so furiously that they’ 
gave the water that appearance. The men were amazed; 
and greatly wrought up by the spectacle. ' 
In another moment, they were among them, and Ike; 
Willard not far off; there was quick tugging at the 
squids, and when the four hauled in their lines, they ; 
had one blue and two bonitos. One blue escaped. 
“Now jig,” said Yentzen. So they stood on deck,' 
jerking the lines and the bright squids at the end of; 
them, through the water, and in a moment more they : 
were hauling up weakfish, weighing from six to eight ; 
pounds each. The water was alive with them; one could- 
see them plainly, and they were as hungry and as daring , 
as wolves. It was afterward discovered that those- 
caught had not fed that morning. In five minutes 
enough fish were caught to satisfy the most ambitious' 
amateurs, and a variety very unusual in one school. 
Even Yentzen said he had never known bluefish,: 
bonitos and weaks to be traveling together in that 
fashion. That five minutes was the limit of their catch- .. 
ing except that they picked up two more small blues 
half an hour later, while trolling. But they had, all 
told, a fine catch ; and, by a strange coincidence, as 
they learned afterward, Ike Willard and his men got 
the same number as themselves. 
After the time of excitement and catching, Yentzen - 
surprised his fellow spoilsmen by producing some ham 
and cheese sandwiches and more liquids. When re- 
minded that he had said in the early morning that there' 
would be no more to eat till the party’s return, he 
grinned and said that a fisherman could fib, fish and 
have fun all in one day. 
It being now about noon, and no more fish appear-’ 
ing. the Belmont was headed toward Sandy Hook,! 
where more gulls seemed to be hovering. The party 
aboard then got a fine illustration of the skill of the' 
gunners of our army. They were target practicing at 1 
the Sandy Hook barracks. Every few minutes a shell went 
shrieking through the air — an explosion was heard, and | 
almost simultaneously a spout of water shot up from | 
the ocean showing where the missile had struck. Each | 
shell was fired close inshore, safely out of reach of any j 
boat, but the distance was several miles, and Fred j 
Bundy said that as the Belmont was not armored, and .1 
as there was no guarantee the gunners might not ] 
shoot wild, he thought .the path of prudence lay to- j 
ward home. “All right,” said Yentzen, “as there ain’t j 
any more fish, we might’s well have no trouble.” || 
So he headed for- home, arriving at 2 P. M. I 
The Dominating Carp. 
Fourth Paper. 
Evanston, 111 ., Dec. 7 . — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Subjoined I present an excerpt taken from the Chicago 
Daily News of the 6th inst., which I am positive will 
prove an item of interest to those interested in pre- 
venting the entire destruction of our magnificent game 
and edible fishes in the great lakes of the Northwest. .. 
The article, which was a special telegram, says: ■ 
“Two fleets of fishing boats, carryiny between 85,000 
pounds of fresh-water fish, nearly all carp, marketed ■ 
their catch in Tazewell county this week. The big 
increase in the fisheries industry of Illinois is demon- j 
strated by the enormous catches recorded weekly. t 
“A Bloomington firm of professional fishermen who i 
make a comfortable living' from the waters of the ’ 
Illinois River, brought in 45,000 pounds of the catch, - 
getting this immense weight in a single haul. They 
received $600 from a Avholesale dealer for the entire 
catch, a profitable return for three days’ work for six j 
men. The catch was made near Henry, 111 . One ship- ‘ 
ment of six carloads left Tazewell county for the east - 
this week, the bulk of the fish going to the New York ; 
market. The fish were packed in ice alive and sent out 
in freight cars. 
"Veteran fishermen say that the carp can not be ex- 
renninated, and despite tlie enormous amount taken 
otit of the Illinois river each year they arc said to 1)C 
increasing in numbers. The people of central Illim.iis i 
are too fastidious to enjoy carp and not many of the . 
fish are eaten here. Bass and croppy arc the favorites 1 
in this section, but in the east the demand for carp 
appears to outweigh that of the salt-water fish. 
“The catch of carp in 1905 promises to break all , 
previous records. In a few weeks the principal dealers 
will prepare an estimate for the information of tbe 
Illinois fish commission, giving the amount they paid, 
out to the fishermen along the Illinois River. In 1904 
the amount was slightly in excess of $i,oco,ooo. It Is 
believed that the figure for this year will be fully one- ■ 
third greater at least. Two thousand five hundred 
persons make their living by fishing along the .Illinois ; 
River and their catch will aggregate about 4,000.000 
pounds for the year, of which seven-eighths is carp.” ; 
The above is emphatic evidence which Avay the carp^ 
is singing its lullabies on the fluvial highway of the 
Illinois. They are so multitudinous that they crowd 
that river like the salmon did the Columbia a decade 
or two -ago. Its banks at that t.ipie during the-spawn-i 
ing season were crowded with the dying, and the dead 
