August, 1918 
FOREST AND STREAM 
473 
him again “settin.” Upon asking him how 
much I was in his debt, he first ejected a 
stream of tobacco juice through about six 
feet of space and to his credit made a 
bullseye of the spittoon. “Well,” he ex¬ 
claimed, “seein’ as you was disturbed a 
mite durin’ the night, a dollar and a half’ 
s’nuff.” This was the longest speech he 
had made during my stay and as he took 
the money he lapsed into his former atti¬ 
tude. He did not say good bye, nor did I. 
T HE next resort below Barnegat City, 
of much interest to the angler is Har¬ 
vey’s Cedars. Here perhaps as much 
rest and solid comfort is to be obtained as 
at any spot on the coast which caters to the 
sporting fraternity. A most commodious 
hotel in all particulars is within eight min- 
nutes walk of the beach and as long as the 
present proprietor remains, the sportsman, 
be he shooting or fishing, is assured of 
every creature comfort as well as the most 
genial treatment from both the proprietor 
and his wife. It is a pleasure to say that 
owing to her cordiality and care of the 
patrons many of the anglers take their 
wives along where care free they can fish 
or rest to their hearts content. There are 
but few places along the coast where bet¬ 
ter fishing is to be had and has been so 
recognized for many years. Channel bass, 
weakfish and bluefish are usually to be 
taken there if these fish are anywhere pres¬ 
ent along the coast. 
Surf City, Ship’s Bottom, Holgate and 
Beach Haven are all recognized as good 
grounds and may be reached by the Tuck- 
erton R. R., being under control of the 
Pennsylvania system. After the points 
mentioned comes New Inlet, this is fast 
becoming the Mecca of the enthusiast. Its 
name arises from the fact that some twen¬ 
ty years ago the sea cut through the beach 
into what is Egg Harbor Bay and has since 
maintained a perfect channel way, greater 
than the old inlet which is some miles 
farther south. Its one serious drawback 
is its inaccessability. The nearest point by 
train is Beach Haven from where a boat 
must be taken for seven miles. This is 
the only present method of approach. At 
the journey’s end there is not a trace of 
civilization—nothing but a small harbor 
light maintained by the government at the 
edge of the sand dunes. But; when once 
there, conditions are met with unequalled 
on the entire coast. No matter if the wind 
be blowing a gale from any of the points 
of the compass, fishing can be done from 
some one of the other points. 
The inlet proper is perhaps three-quar¬ 
ters of a mile in width and maintains a 
depth of at least fifty feet within easy cast¬ 
ing distance from the beach. The peculiar 
action of the current creates what is termed 
a “tide rip” which sets in from one di¬ 
rection at flood tide and the exact opposite 
at ebb, so, no matter what the condition or 
the stage of the tide, good fishing is to be 
had. It can be said of a surety, when fish 
are along the New Jersey coast they are at 
New Inlet. 
O'cean City and Corson’s Inlet are both 
good places at certain seasons and at both 
places accommodations can be had for in¬ 
dividual or family. They are visited each 
season by multitudes of fishermen. An- 
glesea and Somers Point also have their 
attractions and are much frequented. Being 
easy of access, they are popular. 
While the grounds to the north, such as 
Montauk and Block Island, are most ex¬ 
cellent, they are rather exclusive and do 
not furnish the freemasonry which exists 
among fishermen along the more southern 
waters of the Atlantic coast. 
CRAB BAIT ON THE BLACK BASS MENU 
WHEN ALL OTHER BAITS FAIL TO BRING THE LORDLY BRONZEBACK TO THE 
HOOK IT IS A SIGN THAT HE WANTS CRAB MEAT AND NOTHING ELSE WILL DO 
By GEORGE GILBERT 
W HEN a small mouth black bass 
wants crab meat he wants—crab 
meat. Nothing else will do. And 
then is the time when the one who has 
crab meat on his bait menu makes a goodly 
catch, for bass do not play with crab bait 
as they do with frogs or little bullheads at 
times. They strike crab bait—swallow it— 
and then the fun begins. By crab bait, of 
course, I mean the fresh water crab often 
known as crawfish. 
The hackneyed proverb of the French in 
regard to cooking a hare says: “First catch 
your hare.” So let us first catch our crab. 
The fresh water crab is in all the fresh 
waters of this country, but in large creeks 
and rivers and lakes he is not plentiful in 
any one spot. Why is this? The crab 
dearly loves to eat crab meat and when 
he can he keeps away from his fellows. 
In wide waters fear of each other is 
stronger than their appetite. But in small 
creeks, with their little rifts alternating 
with placid pools, crabs are forced to live 
close together. Even then each one bur¬ 
rows out a hiding place under a stone or 
root and woe to the crab, smaller than he, 
who comes close to such a lurking place, 
for he never will live to grow up. 
Almost all of the best bass rivers of the 
United States are fed by just such small 
creeks. Some time when your helgram- 
ites, bullheads, lampreys, frogs (whisper 
this: even nightwalkers) fail to bring the 
lordly bronze-backers to the hook, you may 
come upon a well-satisfied farmer, fishing 
with long yellow bamboo pole and who 
will say, in answer to an inquiry as to the 
kind of bait in use bv him: 
“Crabs.” 
If he will sell you some crabs, your 
.roubles will be at an end. If not, find 
out where he went for his and or where 
the nearest creek is and go after them. 
You need no tools. Take your largest 
pail and get enough clean, fresh eel grass 
to fill the pail half full. Take no river 
water in the pail, as you should put the 
crabs at first into water from their own 
creek. Arrived at the creek, follow it up 
until you come to a small pool, where the 
water is not over knee-deep. It is useless 
to chase crabs in large, deep pools. Then 
put into the pail about enough water to fill 
it one-third. 
Put the pail down and then go to the 
lower end of the small, shallow pool and 
place stones across the outlet, forming a 
dam. Chink smaller gravel into the inter¬ 
stices between the larger stones. Do the 
same at the top of the pool. 
Now go all over the pool, beginning at 
the bottom and working up, and remove 
every large stone in it, leaving only the 
gravel. Here and there you should corner 
a crab as you work. The others will keep 
getting under the remaining large stones. 
Make sure everything is stirred up, to rout 
them out of their cubbyholes. Finally, get 
a stubby stick and go all about the pool, 
scraping the bottom, roiling it up. Then 
go out onto the bank and sit down until 
the current clears away the roil. Pres¬ 
ently as the water settles, you will see a 
few crabs, perhaps more. Go after them 
quietly, patiently. And always remember 
that when you grab at a crab you generally 
miss him. Keep your hand poised so you 
can put it down back of him, as nine times 
out of ten he makes his darts backward. 
A DOZEN crabs to a pool is a fair aver¬ 
age. It will take half an hour to 
“crab” a pool or two. Small and 
medium sized crabs make the best baits. 
The big hard-backers are only taken by 
the very largest bass and should be kept 
off the hook, unless you are in a hole where 
big fellows are known to be. And the big 
fellows should be placed in a separate pail 
as soon as you get back to the river, as 
they are apt, in the narrow quarters of 
their captivity, to kill all the small ones. 
Never put crabs with any other bait, as 
the crabs will nip the other bait to death. 
One crab, carelessly put into a pail con¬ 
taining fifty bullheads, minnows or frogs, 
will kill every one of them in a few hours. 
Never try to take two or more days’ sup¬ 
ply of crab bait with you at a time. Crabs 
die soon in a pail or baitbox and a dead 
crab is of no use on the hook. 
When you have a crab on your hook, 
keep it in motion. Otherwise it will get 
under a stone or root. 
When you have a large crab on, let the 
bass run well before striking. The bass 
first takes the crab in the 'front part of his 
mouth and runs. When he has run a bit 
he stops, gets the crab between the hard 
plates on the top of his tongue and the 
roof of his month and crushes him and 
then swallows the pulped mass before he 
starts off again. A quick strike is very 
apt to pull the bait out without hooking 
the fish. 
Very small crabs make excellent bait for 
rock bass, perch, crappies, sunfish and 
other good panfish that we do not brag 
of catching, but that go well in the pan— 
and the hungry fisherman’s mouth. 
