Denizens of the Deep 
The Angling Urge is as Old as History and There is Good 
Sport to be Had on the Windswept Sea 
T is several years since the writer 
took a hand at the healthy and ex- 
citing sport of angling for marine 
fishes down the Cholera Banks and the 
boat trips were doubly enjoyable with 
such an ardent and skillful companion 
as Fred A. Bishop—the jovial Presi- 
dent of the Iron Steamboat Co. 
Standing on the upper deck it was 
and still is an unforgetable sight to 
witness the powerful casting of the half 
pound sinker and bait by the old 
timers, with their stiff rods and enor- 
mous wooden reels. If the hauling in 
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A cc!lored devotee. 
722 
> success. 
Written and Illustrated by 
LOUIS RHEAD 
of big fish begins to sag, some two hun- 
dred lusty throats in various tones— 
deep or squeaky—yell out to the pilot 
“Move de boat.” 
The command is obeyed by the man 
at the wheel and soon the clanging 
chain lifts up the anchor and away we 
go to another favored spot to have the 
deck once more strewn with kicking 
fish. To those unfamiliar with bank 
fishing the game fishes vary according 
to season. Winter fishing furnishes 
cod, ling, hake and whiting along with 
a host of undesired dog fish and skate. 
A thirty—even forty pound codfish is 
not an uncommon occurrence; the other 
species run from one to four pounds. 
Summer fishes are much more varied— 
seabass, blackfish or tautaug, fluke, sea 
porgies and several others. Surface or 
migratory fishes such as weakfish, blue- 
fish, striped bass, and mackerel are 
caught nearer shore by another 
method. 
Many of the passengers who buy 
tickets for these trips are of foreign 
birth, mostly American-Germans and 
Italians; quite a number of women 
also take a hand, perhaps to make 
the ethics of good manners more ap- 
parent. Every one of these hundred 
or more fishermen ply their rod on 
an equal basis; should the amateur 
cast his line across his neighbors 
that individual silently moves over; if 
it happens again and again, his placid 
face changes to an angry stare or per- 
haps he advises the bungler to take the 
lower deck and fish with a hand line, 
under the boat. 
beet are experts in deepsea as in 
trout fishing and these old hands 
never fail either in size or quantity. 
You may ask “how do they do it?” 
when sea fishing is not supposed to 
be a fine art. All fishing requires the 
best tackle. It also requires that you 
know many things about the fish you 
capture. The cod is not a savage biter; 
the right twist to imbed the hook, done 
at the right time and skillful handling 
after being hooked are matters of 
experience and the only way for 
Some strike the fish too 
soon or too hard, other just the op- 
posite. Blackfish or tautaug give an 
unmistakable bite, yet, because of the 
peculiar bony mouth, they are diffi- 
cult to hook, especially if the bait is 
fiddler crab. Sea bass act similarly to 
fresh water bass. You know it is a 
bass by its vigorous bite and it makes 
a most palatable dish besides its gami- 
ness. To the salt water angler it is a 
prize indeed especially if of good size. 
dice many smaller boats starting 
from Sheepshead Bay, Canarsie and 
Wreck Lead and other places are well 
filled all summer long. The day’s out- 
ing is very delightful when the weather 
(Continued on page 756) 

A three pounder. 
