712 
FOREST AND STREAM 
December, 1918 
as bronzed as old ones. I have occasion¬ 
ally caught a red-fish as brilliantly silver 
as a tarpon or the silver of a striped bass, 
but it has always been in deep water. I 
have caught them as large as six or seven 
pounds, black spot on tail, but no dark or 
bronze coloring. 
While a large hook is best when fishing 
for reds, I have at times caught them up 
to say eleven pounds on smallest hooks 
used for pig fish (hog fish of Atlantic). 
Knowing the hook would stand no strain 
I gave the red line; his mouth is tough, 
so hook is not likely to come loose, and he 
being a quarter horse will tire himself 
till he will come in on gentlest pressure in 
reeling in. 
Most of the fishing at this season is in 
shallow water, the reds feeding at edge of 
grass in bays or bayous; later, at first cold 
snap, he hunts deep water, say twenty feet, 
if he can find it in the tidal bayous or goes 
up even to fresh water. We catch them 
all winter. Up to about eight pounds it is 
a good fish for cooking in any way you 
may fancy. I think broiling or frying 
best to two pounds in weight. Baked or 
boiled best way for larger. After fifteen 
pounds we do not consider them edible. 
I have caught them up to thirty-odd 
pounds. Surf fishing for reds is very poor 
here; there was a time years ago when it 
was the best in the world. Our waters are 
fished out. Of all the fish that I know 
about, the red-fish should be propagated 
with least trouble and expense to replen¬ 
ish ; but nine-tenths of Texas Congress¬ 
men are not from the coast, and we have 
failed to get a salt water hatchery from the 
Federal Government, and the coast coun¬ 
try is hopelessly in minority as to a State 
hatchery. All Atlantic coast fishermen are 
really interested, for if we quadruple the 
supply in the Gulf, the overflow to surf of 
Atlantic shores will be increased. 
I would like to know whether the “king 
fish” Mr. Hulit mentions, incidentally, in 
his article, is not what we call in the Gulf 
“whiting,” and what we called on Chesa¬ 
peake Bay, in my boyhood days, “sea mul¬ 
let.” 
In my Chesapeake Bay days I never saw 
a “sheepshead” under two pounds. We 
have a world of little quarter pound ones 
and our largest about five pounds; on the 
Atlantic coast they grow to fifteen or over. 
Is there any reason to think that they 
spawn in Atlantic waters as far north as 
Virginia? 
G. E. Mann. 
Your very welcome and interesting let¬ 
ter was referred to Mr. Hulit and his com¬ 
ment follows: 
Mr. Mann’s observations on the " Chan¬ 
nel Bass” are in almost every detail cor¬ 
roborative of my own as made in South¬ 
ern waters. The king fish I was < writing 
of is the fish known as the "Gulf whiting” 
or “surf whiting” in the South, and around 
the Chesapeake as "sea mink” or "sea 
mullet.” 
There is no record of the sheepshead 
spawning in any of the more Northern 
waters. As they are known to be extreme¬ 
ly sensitive to chill in the water, it is fair 
to presume that their spawning habitat is 
much below the Virginia capes. 
Leonard Hulit. 
MORE ABOUT WOODCOCK 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
HAVE noticed that the woodcock has 
been getting a little attention in your 
columns lately and thought I would chip 
in my bit. 
Yes, brother, those little long-billed tur¬ 
keys are actually the well-known game bird 
and I wish to state that the man who said 
they would consume their weight in worms 
each day was only guessing—they would 
starve if that was all they got. Those 
little shavers posed for their picture in 
May and had not yet learned to eat. I 
had to open their mouths and put the 
worms in, but once started they could swal¬ 
low any size worm. It was not long, how¬ 
ever, before they learned to probe around 
in a pan for their dinner and never did I 
go back and find a worm left. They shed 
the down in about two weeks, but did 
The baby woodcocks in May 
July found them grown so big 
not get fully feathered out for two more. 
When it became so dry that they could 
not get the worms I would hear them 
cheeping and I must say they had some 
cheep, just like a chick’s, only much louder. 
Then I would have to dig for them and 
they would follow around and pick up 
worms as long as I would dig. 
The picture of the single bird will give 
you an idea of how fast they grow. This 
one was snapped on the first of July and 
measured just twenty inches across the 
wings. I’m willing to bet he was among 
the first of his kind to go into a photo¬ 
graph gallery. 
I expect they will soon migrate and so 
have placed on the right leg of each a tiny 
band bearing the legend “L. S. C., 1918.” 
If any of you fellows get one, I would like 
to hear from you. 
Leon S. Clark, Burghill, Ohio. 
THE ART OF QUIETNESS 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
HE habit of choosing a text is strong 
upon me, nevertheless, the one I am 
going to quote is as true as gospel. I was 
about to leave the cabin for an excursion 
to my favorite stream when my wife called 
out, “Have you your book?” In my basket 
were flies, leaders, reel, landing net, and 
“The Ubiquitous Pipe,” while in my pocket 
a copy of Emerson’s essays. 
This was the first adventure “astream” 
with a book. It will not be my last. It 
was a day long to be remembered. I 
breathed clear air, looked on refreshing 
visions of glory and delight. After land¬ 
ing my fifth trout I sat down and opened 
the book, and almost the first line read 
was, “Every rational creature has all na¬ 
ture for his dowry and estate. It is his, if 
he will.” 
What gateway leads to a vital knowledge 
of Nature? There is but one. Be still, 
and Know! I was taught a great lesson 
that afternoon, and it was this, that if one 
would learn anything about Nature and 
her ways, one must master the art of quiet¬ 
ness. To the noisy fisherman, the forest 
will present an absolutely blank page. Go 
into the silent woods if you like, but be 
assured of this, its secrets will never be 
revealed to you unless you study to be 
quiet. There is no lesson we more urgent¬ 
ly need to learn these days, for we live in 
a busy and distracting time. Quietness ! 
This, too, is the lesson the hills would 
teach. They towered above me as I read, 
and seemed to ask the question, “Have you 
won life’s laughter? Is it right for you to 
be content with the valleys?” It were well 
for us to consider the influence of the hills 
on the civilization of the world. They have 
been the nurseries of heroism and strength 
—physical and moral. From the hills of 
Siberia came the early Turanians who dis¬ 
placed the stagnant barbarism of Asia. The 
mountains of Central Africa have given us 
the granaries of the Nile delta. The Alle- 
ghanies make the Ohio, the Rockies the 
Missouri valleys. Rejoicing in the valleys, 
let us remember the mountains made them 
possible. The hills have the power of rul¬ 
ing the mind. They affect our thought. 
They overawe us with power and appeal to 
our reverence. 
What did it matter if I only came back 
with fifteen trout? It is not all fishing to 
fish, and I was well content. 
Rev. Dr. James A. Fraser, Stapleton, N. Y. 
FLORIDA FORECASTS 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
UCKS are coming down onto the Gulf 
in goodly numbers already; sprigs and 
teal for the most part thus far and a few 
saw-bills—red-breasted mergansers. Quail 
and turkeys have raised well and are plen¬ 
tiful. The bass, sheepshead and salt water 
trout, weakfish, are plentiful and good 
catches have been made. Commercial fish¬ 
ing is mostly for mullet at this season. 
“Osceola,” St. Marks, Florida. 
