Aug. 13, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
359 
Re-entries.—Several members having recently 
taken too many re-entries-—which causes both 
confusion and delay—the secretary will in the 
future have his index score cards on the ground, 
and members having any doubt as to their right 
to re-entries will kindly apply to him for infor¬ 
mation. Where members cast re-entries to which 
they are not entitled, the last re-entry is counted 
out. A. D. Whitby, Sec’y. 
The Rod and Reel on Salt Water. 
V.—The Kingfish. 
Perhaps none of the fauna of creation is sub¬ 
ject to such confusing nomenclature as our fishes. 
Particularly is this true of numerous varieties of 
our coast line tribes. 
With many, the old Indian names remain and 
scientific classification is but little regarded. A 
State may furnish a half dozen different names, 
each being the local one for the same species. 
Perhaps there is none of our coast and estuary 
fishes to which the above more particularly ap¬ 
plies than to the kingfish, eagerly sought by all 
as he is, whether at the market stall or by the 
angler. He is bought and caught under more 
titles than seems quite reasonable. “Tomcod” he 
is on the Connecticut coast; “kingfish” in New 
York and Northern New Jersey; “barb” at Bar- 
negat; “sea mink” in and near the Chesapeake, 
and "black mullet” in the Carolines. Further 
south he is often taken and confused with the 
"surf whiting,” a closely allied species. But in 
his praise be it said, no matter what the appel¬ 
lation be, his toothsomeness is not affected there¬ 
by; neither is his battle to the death on the rod 
decreased. 
The kingfish ranges from the Massachusetts 
coast south to Florida and may be met with in 
all the tidal streams intervening between the 
above points where good channel ways are main¬ 
tained. 
It goes much in schools, and when one is taken 
others may confidently be looked for. Along 
the entire New Jersey coast it is a prime favorite 
with the surf angler, and of this class of fishing 
modern methods leave but* little to be desired. 
The reels of to-day are superb and rods and 
lines seem to have reached perfection. We are 
considering now the high grade goods, not the 
bargain counter variety palmed off as just the 
thing by the clerk of incompetence who perhaps 
has never seen a game fish taken. Such mer¬ 
chandise may possibly have its uses, but it has 
not in the subject under consideration. 
While ichthyologists confess that but little is 
known of the time and place of spawning of the 
kingfish, still the close observation of more than 
a quarter of a century convinces me that about 
May 20 the gravid fish approach our coast and 
spawn in the bays and rivers of this latitude, as 
I have found many of the young fish two to four 
inches long during the months of September and 
October. The kingfish is most cleanly in its 
habits, and it is undoubtedly only in unpolluted 
waters that it makes its spawning home, as it is 
only in such streams as are not affected by sew¬ 
age or other deleterious substances that I have 
met with the young fish. 
A curious feature of common knowledge to 
the obsefv'ant is that at least eight out of ten 
fish taken on the hook in the early season are 
females, a peculiarity not met with in any other 
variety of fish with which I am familiar. 
Whether the females are so greatly in excess 
of the males in point of numbers or not must 
of course be left to conjecture. 
In the surf the kingfish is what is known as 
an inshore feeder, nosing along the bars and 
points of beach in quest of food which consists 
of small Crustacea such as shrimp, the almost 
numberless varieties of snails, sea bugs, etc., any 
of which may be successfully used as bait. But 
undoubtedly the two best baits are shedder crab 
and blood worms or white worms, as they are 
frequently called. 
The kingfish bites well day or night and can 
be taken during all conditions of the tide, but 
if the best conditions are sought—and your true 
angler is not content with less than the best— 
then let me say be on hand just as day is 
A 56-FOUND CHANNEL BASS. 
Taken at Forked River Beach, New Jersey, by Fred 
Brower, in 1907. 
breaking, and when the tide is on the flood, se¬ 
lect a point where the bar is within easy casting 
distance, which can be told by the long line of 
white foam and the churned condition of the 
waters. 
To get the most enjoyment from the sport the 
tackle must be as light as is at all consistent 
with the size of the fish to be taken; the rod just 
stiff enough to put the bait out. Under ordinary 
conditions of the sea one and a half ounces of 
lead is sufficient. A fifteen-thread special line, a 
1/0 multiplying reel and a two-ply or at most a 
three-ply leader not more than fifteen inches in 
length should be used. A brass box. swivel is 
essential, into the same eye of which the line 
and leader should be fastened. The other eye is 
for the sinker line, which should not be more 
than six inches in length. Thus arranged the 
line and leader are in direct communication, and 
the least touch on the hook can be instantly felt. 
Now as to the hook. I have tried every make 
and all sizes and find that the 2/0 high grade 
sproat is the most desirable. Being short from 
point to bend, it is readdy taken into the pecu¬ 
liarly formed mouth of the kingfish and always 1 
holds well. Thus equipped and bait out to the 
desired point, the line must be kept taut and the 
angler keenly alert, for the readiness with which 
a kingfish can steal a bait is really astonishing. 
Accustomed as they are to wrenching loose their 
food from its fastenings, the strike of the king¬ 
fish is most peculiar, and once felt is never for¬ 
gotten or mistaken for other varieties, being a 
nervous twitching, sharp and rapid as thought. 
As he rarely if ever hooks himself, the angler 
must at the instant of touch strike firmly, but 
not too hard, and if the quarry be hooked, a 
battle such as few other fish of from one to two 
and a half pounds in weight are capable of pro¬ 
ducing will be the result. If the quest be earn¬ 
estly pursued, the pastime is of a high order 
and the gastronomic’s reward is great. As the 
tide increases, the casting should be shortened, 
as the fish move inshore with the waters, until 
at full tide they feed directly at the foot of the 
sand. I have taken hundreds of them just back 
of the swell as it breaks on the beach and with¬ 
in ten feet of the sand. 
In river and bay fishing much the same con¬ 
ditions prevail as to time of day, but the tackle 
should be lighter. A good black bass bait rod 
is now in order; in fact, a bass rig throughout 
is all that is needed, except as to the hook as 
above described. Use only lead enough to carry 
the bait to the bottom and when practicable, fish 
outside the channel just a little off the deepqst 
water. 
This advice applies particularly to night fish¬ 
ing, as kingfish feed much on the flats at night, 
and if quiet in the boat is maintained, good re¬ 
sults are to be obtained from this method. If 
an oyster reef can be located, fishing near it is 
recommended, as it is a familiar sight to old 
oyster men to see a school of kingfish fighting 
for a chance at worms and other food as the 
oysters are removed. It is perhaps in this 
method of fishing that the kingfish appears at 
his best, as the tackle, being so much lighter than 
the surf rig, the battle is just so much more 
royal. It is really surprising how determined is 
the resistance this fish makes on light tackle in 
a good tide way, and when boated he is no less 
a prize. Beautiful in contour and coloring, he 
must ever rank with the choicest of our table 
fishes and is outrivaled only by the Spanish 
mackerel and pompano in the estimation of^the 
epicure. His presence is ever welcomed by the 
angler, and as years go by. if the present dimi¬ 
nution of our coast line fishes continues, the king¬ 
fish will become a rare tit-bit at the table and 
a rare prize to him who loves the contemplative 
man's recreation on the sweeping tideway or at 
the edge of the murmuring sea. 
Leonard Hulit. 
Anglers’ Club of Milwaukee. 
Milwaukee, Wis., July 22.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Following are the scores made at the 
contest held Wednesday, July 20: 
M. A. Beck . 
Alb. Lahmann . 
A. Bingenheimer . 
Harry Mullen . 
%-ounce. 
. 98 12-15 
. 98 8-15 
. 98 14-15 
. 98 5-15 
. 98 1-15 
%-ounce. 
98 9-15 
98 9-15 
98 6-15 
98 2-15 
97 12-15’ 
Chas. Rhine . 
W. Lathrop . 
. 97 2-15 
. 94 14-15 
97 10-15 
96 13-15 
98 5-15 
C. L. Tolfson. 
G. C. Schoenlaub. 
Harry Lewis . 
97 8-15 
96 9-15 
95 4-15 
C. L. Tolfson, Sec’y. 
