PENNSYLVANIA \\ j, it NovemberJlg4l PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER OFFICIAL STATE VOL. XIV-No. 11 PUBLICATION NOVEMBER, 1945 OFFICIAL STATE PUBLICATION CX3 PUBLISHED MONTHLY EDWARD MARTIN Governor by the PENNSYLVANIA BOARD OF FISH COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA COMMISSIONERS BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS Publication Office: J. Horace McFarland Co., CHARLES A. FRENCH Crescent and Mulberry Streets, Harrisburg, Pa. Commissioner of Fisheries Executive and Editorial Offices: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Board of Fish Com­ missioners, Harrisburg, Pa. MEMBERS OF BOARD 10 cents a copy—50 cents a year CHARLES A. FRENCH, Chairma.. Ellwood City JOHN L. NEIGER EDITED BY— Scranton J. ALLEN BARBETT, Lecturer Pennsylvania Fish Commission JOSEPH M. CRITCHFIELD Confluence South Office Building, Harrisburg CLIFFORD J. WELSH • Erie NOTE J. FRED McKEAN Subscriptions to the PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER New Kensington should be addressed to the Editor. Submit fee either by check or money order payable to the Common­ MILTON L. PEEK wealth of Pennsylvania. Stamps not acceptable. Radnor Individuals sending cash do so at their own risk. CHARLES A. MENSCH Bellefonte PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER welcomes contribu­ tions and photos of catches from its readers. Proper EDGAR W. NICHOLSON credit will be given to contributors. Philadelphia II. R. STACKHOUSE Secretary to Board All contributions returned if accompanied by first class postage. Entered as Second Class matter at the Post Office C. B. BULLEB of Harrisburg, Pa., under act of March 3, 1873. Chief Fish Culturist, Bellefonte Cp IMPORTANT—The Editor should be notified immediately of change in subscriber's address. Please give old and new addresses. Permission to reprint will be granted provided proper credit notice is given. PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER VOL. XIV—No. 11 NOVEMBER, 1945 COVER CASTING—A REFLECTION! By IKE WALTON Seventh prize winner in nation-wide photo contest conducted by SOUTH BEND BAIT COMPANY, South Bend, Indiana. Photo courtesy of South Bend—A Name Famous In Fishing. EDITORIAL In This Issue: THE DIE-HARD By JOHN W. KORDA "Day Is Dying In The West"! Just as all good things must come to an end—just as night o'ertakes HELLGRAMMITES the daytime—so too, must the open season for fishing come to an end. By PAUL Q. TULENKO November 31st and the mantle of "closed season" falls on fishing in Pennsylvania. ALONG THE PERKIOMEN Soon Mother Nature will paint the outdoors in raiments of "Winter- (A Poem) Wonderland." Ice and snow reflect myriads of soft blending By G. EARLE THOMPSON beauty. From the North the wind will blow, no time for fish'n and children will listen—to hear sleigh bells in the snow. THE LITTLE FROGS BUT the program of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission will go By DON BLAIR merrily along. Trout, brook, brown and rainbow will be stripped of their spawn. Nested eggs will hatch and millions of baby fish will be carefully nourished until the warm breath of Spring when they will A. PENNSYLVANIAN SHOWS 'EM be placed in outdoor ponds to grow. HOW TO CATCH FISH IN THE SEA By WILLIAM BOYD A breathing spell, as it were. Just four and one-half months of "time7 . 1945 has been a remarkable year. Fishing was good with some of the HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE finest catches in the history of our sport. From all over Pennsylvania FISHING FRONTS (Pictorial) came hundreds of photos of prize creels, creels we were most happy to publish in the columns of the ANGLER—keep them coming! FOR BETTER HUNTING— In these last fleeting moments we wish you the best of luck—but hurry, AND FISHING for—"Day Is Dying In The West—Touching Heaven And Earth To By R. H. Hood Rest." —THE PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER TACKLE TERMINOLOGY FISH COMMISSION HONOR ROLL 2 PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER NOVEMBER THE DIE-HARD By JOHN W. KORDA AMERICAN AND CANADIAN FIRST SERIAL RIGHTS "Ho, ho!" chuckled Judge. "A die-hard. 'Judge.' We still call him Judge although he's a One'll get you two you don't even get one over banker now. And this is Bill. We sometimes two pounds." call him 'Stuffy.' " "I'll take ten of that," snapped Fred. "He's a taxidermist," he added unnecessarily. "Care to make it more?" goaded Judge. "But where on earth did you get that—that "Careful now, Fred," interposed Bill. "You monster?" know they haven't been biting anywhere for "Well," said Jim, handing the fish to Bill who weeks. Personally, I don't think there's another had the scales, "it's a long story, but I'll try to bass the size of Judge's in the river for twenty make it short. You see, I wasn't having much miles. If / couldn't snag one," he added modestly luck all day. Just a couple of little ones. So I "they just ain't there." kept going upstream until I came to that swampy John W. Korda "He probably got his in a fish market," said part. You know, around the big bend?" Fred. They nodded. "Sour grapes, Freddie. You just waited too "Well, after I got past there, I went up the long. The early bird gets the worm, you know. bank and cut through the woods until I came to Yessir, that six and a half pounder is going to a place where a sign said: 'Private Property— RED WHITCOMB turned a disapproving make me champ this year. It's leading in the No Trespassing.' " eye on "Judge" Foley. To tell the truth, F county up until tonight. Pretty good. A hundred "That'll be old Angus' place," said Bill. Fred was a little nettled by his friend's compla­ dollars from the contest and fifty from you. No, "What the heck did you go in there for?" de­ cency. Judge sat there sprawled at his ease, his now it's sixty. Picture and story in the "Weekly'— manded Judge. chair tipped back against the wall, his feet on the I'll be famous. This sleepy town will have some­ "It didn't say 'positively,' and anyway I don't work bench. thing to talk about." believe in signs like that," explained Jim. "Tell you what, Fred," he said, "I'll give you a "No, no. I mean why did you go in there? "He probably caught that bass in a fish trap," chance to crawl out. If you want to, that is." For what reason?" "That's very nice of you, I'm sure," replied said Fred to Bill. Fred as he watched Bill Withers repair a broken "I'll tell you what, Freddie," continued Judge, fly rod. The back room of Bill's combination "to make it easy on you Saturday night when you sporting goods, hardware, and taxidermist shop come here to pay off, I'll bring the eats. Can't was a favorite meeting place of the three. expect the loser to pay for everything. Let's see, "Let Bill decide," said Judge. "Put down there'll be five of us." your tools a minute, Bill, and answer this fair "Five?" and square." "Sure. You and I and Bill. And, of course, a Bill raised his bald head and set the damaged couple of newspaper boys I know. Why, Freddie, fly rod at Judge's feet. you wouldn't deprive me of a little write-up. "Man to man now, what chance has Fred to And my picture in the paper. Oh yes, and my six win ?" and a half pound beauty that Bill mounted so "Why, none if you say so," agreed Bill. And nice for me. Make it about nine and—what on he winked a mild blue eye at Fred. earth . .?" "Well, then," Judge pulled off the cap of an­ With an explosion of sound the screen door other bottle, "I'll let you crawl out of it, Fred. burst, open and a head poked through. On account of we're such old friends I'll let you "Unk! Uncle Fred. Aunt Liz said I'd find you off easy. Bight now. But you better take my here. Wait till you see what I've got." offer quick. I may change my mind by the time I The head withdrew. A moment later a car finish this bottle." door slammed. Then the screen door was rudely "That shouldn't be long," said Fred, and he thrust open once more and in came the biggest, mumbled something that made Bill smile. the fattest, the most gorgeous hunk of black bass "Oh, but there's a catch to it," said Judge those three startled pairs of eyes had ever wit­ coming up for air. "There's just a little for­ nessed. It hung there, huge and pot-bellied, mality first. Yessir . ." He paused. "All you while the figure that held it made no comment. have to do is admit before witnesses, like well, Dark green overlaid with a metallic sheen, its "Oh. It was a short cut, and besides I thought say John Toomey—or anyone else on the 'Au­ color had not yet faded. It was fresh-looking and I saw a lake." burn Center Weekly' will do—admit that I'm lifelike. From the broad, powerful tail to the "A lake? Why, there's no lake around here, the better fisherman. Just for the record, you gaping jaw, its every line proclaimed savage Jim," said Fred. "What made you think there know. There's—" fighting spirit. was a lake in there?" "Why you old goat!" exploded Fred. "You "I saw it from a tree." The three friends in the taxidermist's workshop old white-headed, red-faced goat. You never "A tree? What on earth were you doing in a ! stared bugeyed.