418 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept, io, 1910. 
If the reader will trace the coast line on the 
map of New Jersey, he will find a diminutive 
speck marked “Harvey’s Cedars,’’ lying in that 
stretch of sand below Barnegat light which ex¬ 
tends for many miles between the bay and ocean. 
It is at this point, which can be reached by the 
Central Railroad of New Jersey or the Penn¬ 
sylvania Railroad to Barnegat Pier, and thence 
down the bay by launch or yacht, that the chan¬ 
nel bass fishermen gather and enjoy their 
pastime, while provided with the home comforts 
of the excellent hotels maintained principally for 
anglers, and kept open late in the season to 
accommodate the craft. 
As if to more particularly emphasize the never- 
ending eccentricities of fish life, the channel bass 
is abundant in proper season at Cape May, 
Anglesea, and all points up to and around 
Barnegat Inlet, and takes the hook readily at all 
the above points; but there its thoughts apparent¬ 
ly turn to other matters, as it is comparatively 
rare that one is hooked north of the latter point, 
although it is well known that they traverse oui 
entire coast and enter Long Island Sound, as 
they are frequently taken in the Sound nets, and 
occasionally one is hooked at sea while the fisher¬ 
men are seeking other fish. 
The channel bass is almost exclusively a bot¬ 
tom feeder and lives on clams, shrimp, crabs and 
all Crustacea of bay and ocean. While the skim¬ 
mer clam is at all times a good bait, the sheddei 
crab is beyond question the most killing one, 
and can be depended on at all seasons, lhey 
will, however, take menhaden bait, and at times 
strike at a bluefish squid while trolling. 
The method of fishing employed at all points 
is much the same as in striped bass fishing. The 
tackle must be the best procurable. A stout surf 
rod constructed as described in former articles. 
The reel should, however, be 3-0 or 4-0 in size, 
and of the highest quality, with a 24-thread 
special laid line 300 yards in length and a 4-ply 
gut leader two to three feet long. The hook 
should be hand forged. O’Shaughnessy 7-0 or 8-0 
in size, and should be fitted with a German 
silver or piano wire snood, as if the bait be taken 
deeply, the cobblestone-like grinders of the chan¬ 
nel bass can almost instantly sever a gut snell, 
no matter how many strands it may contain. 
Thus equipped, the angler seeks his favorite 
point as the tide is beginning to flow, and with 
a liberal bait casts as far as possible, his aim 
being to get beyond or outside the bar, for, as a 
rule, the channel bass does not feed close inshore. 
Many anglers use wading” suits all in one piece 
and wade out as far as possible, making their 
casts from that point, but the continual buffeting 
of the waves makes it tiresome work, and to 
obviate such measures narrow piers have been 
constructed at Harvey’s Cedars upon which 
the angler can stand and make his casts; but 
when the fish is hooked a return must be made 
to the beach and the contest finished there. 
Patience, that prime requisite of the fisherman, 
is here required. An hour, a day—a week indeed 
—may elapse and no success crown the most 
patient endeavors. Again, within a few minutes 
the heavy tug at the end of the line lying so far 
out to sea may give warning that connection has 
been made with the lightning express of the 
ocean, and which side will win in the coming 
struggle is only conjecture. Setting the hook 
firmly in the jaw the moment the bait is well 
taken, the angler prepares for the rush the 
quarry at once gives upon finding itself in bond¬ 
age. Away he goes seaward like a meteor, 200, 
300, perhaps 500 feet of line is out, and still he 
is going; will he never stop? The reel is fairly 
humming as it gives out the speeding line. Un¬ 
successful in freeing himself in this mad rush, he 
tries another measure. A long circle is trans- 
scribed in which the angler has rapid work to do 
in keeping taut the line as it is released, but the 
dragging line and heavy sinker are tiring to the 
victim, and in desperation he drops to the bot¬ 
tom, inert. To allow this is not the angler’s pur¬ 
pose, as it gives rest to his game. By a suc¬ 
cession of tugs on the rod the fish is provoked 
to another rush. This time in all probability the 
surface of the water is selected, and in plain 
view the bronze streak cuts from wave to wave, 
throwing thousands of watery diamonds into the 
air as the fish lashes furiously with his tail. 
Steady now, my friend of rod and reel; lose not, 
for a moment, your presence of mind. The 
struggle is hardly yet begun; what though the 
ball of your thumb is a white blister, raised there 
by the swift running line, one false move and 
you are out of the game. The line must not be 
allowed to snarl on reel or foul on tip or guide, 
or it will be parted like pack thread, no matter 
how strong it may be. 
And so the battle is fought to a finish. An 
hour, perhaps more, is frequently required to 
exhaust and beach this bulldog of the sea. and 
when the assisting hand reaches down and grasps 
the leader to lay the exhausted prize on the 
beach for the almost equally exhausted angler, 
it is frequently a half mile or more from the 
spot where the fish was hooked. 
When fresh from the water few fish are more 
beautiful than the channel bass. They possess an 
iridescent splendor most difficult to describe. 
While none but the smaller fish are made use of 
by the fishermen, the larger ones are not per¬ 
mitted to go to waste but are shipped gratis to 
the charitable institutions of Philadelphia, the 
railroad company kindly carrying them freight 
free. 
And what a jolly time is had by those who 
pursue this superb sport! Care-free for the 
nonce, they enter into a spirit of good-natured 
rivalry as to size, numbers and points of en¬ 
durance on the beach. And woe betide the un¬ 
fortunate who makes a fluke in battling with, or 
beaching his fish; he becomes at once the butt of 
raillery, which makes it difficult to obey the in¬ 
junction, “look pleasant.” 
Thousands of men who annually spend large 
sums of money in pursuit of salmon and other 
fish in distant waters, if once they should taste 
the joys of channel bass fishing, would vote it 
noble sport and eagerly practice it. 
Leonard Hulit. 
Fly-Casting in Australia. 
London, Aug. 10 . —Editor Forest and Stream: 
A correspondent from Sydney, Australia, sends 
me the following interesting account of a fly¬ 
casting tournament which recently took place in 
that district. 
The account leads one to consider whether the 
old country has not something to learn from its 
offspring, over sea. Dry fly-casting, the fly to be 
cast three times in the air before each essay, with 
a single-handed trout rod. 
In the first round the results were: 
Ft. In. Ft. In. 
D. Solomon . 55 8 H. K. Anderson.. 98 9% 
Dr. A. J. Brady... G1 2 Dr. H. Maitland.. 98 9y 2 
C. H. Gorrick_ 71 2 H. I. Ackland__ 85 1 
In the second round nearly all did better. The 
best figures were: 
Ft. .In. Ft. In, 
Dr. S. Brandon... 70 5 C. H. Gorrick. 90 6 % 
Dr. S. H. Hughes 70 2 H. K. Anderson.. 102 0 
H. K. Anderson’s dry-cast is the record for 
Australia, and probably would be the record any¬ 
where else; but my correspondent informs me 
that dry-fly distance events are unrecorded over 
here at present. 
The tournament was continued the following 
Saturday by casting under a forward obstacle, 
also unrecorded here. The competitors stood 
upon a punt and cast under a bar twelve feet 
wide and six feet from the water, placed thirty 
feet from the punt. 
The results in the first round were: 
Ft. In. Ft. In. 
VV. E. Wilson. 59 11 I. Scoular 62 S 
Dr. A. I. Brady.. 59 4 Dr. H. Maitland. 77 8 
C. H. Gorrick. 62 1 H. K. Anderson.. 81 7 
or 51ft. 7in. past the obstacle. 
This \vas wonderful work, and H. K. Ander¬ 
son’s cast was not beaten in the second round. 
The winner used an English tournament rod and 
heavy line, which he “shot” for perhaps twenty- 
five feet. The performance is a very good one 
and beats K. K. Anderson’s own best of last year 
by three feet. Mr. I. W. Bradshaw was the 
judge. River Wandle. 
Fishing in West Virginia. 
Terra Alta, W. Va., Aug. 25 . —Editor Forest 
and Stream: Bass fishing is at its height in the 
Cheat, Potomac, Greenbrier and other rivers. 
While the trout season does not officially close 
until Sept. 1, anglers have turned their attention 
to bass fishing and the trout streams are having 
a rest. However, a good catch or two has been 
reported recently. 
A. W. Thompson, of Baltimore, came out last 
week with his charming wife for two days’ fish¬ 
ing. Mr. Thompson, who is a keen sportsman, 
has been compelled to cut his fishing short this 
year because of the responsibility of overseeing 
the expenditure of $50,000,000 in improvements 
of the B. & O., of which he is chief engineer. 
Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were the guests of Mr. 
and Mrs. O. C. Crane while here, and spent the 
first day fishing on Lake Terra Alta for bass. 
It was one of the days when for no apparent rea¬ 
son the bass simply refuse to strike. 
The next morning they went in Mr. Crane’s 
automobile to Wolfe Creek for trout. The first 
pool gave up three nice ones, and long before 
noon they had enough for lunch, which was pre¬ 
pared on the bank of the stream. In the evening 
the trout again took the fly and a dozen were 
taken back to Baltimore in Mr. Thompson’s 
private car. New interest was created in the 
fishing and hunting possibilities of this moun¬ 
tain country by the enthusiasm of Mr. and Mrs. 
Thompson. “You have everything needed to 
furnish the best trout fishing in America,” the 
chief engineer said. “All you have to do is 
stock and protect the streams and forests. I 
never saw a more beautiful creek than Wolfe, 
with its crystal clear and ice cold water, and 
the wild, dainty beauty of its waterfalls and the 
grandeur of the towering mountains around it 
are more attractive than any I have seen in 
many years. Why, I tell you, you don’t know 
what you’ve got. Protect your game and fish. 
