Sportsmen Make Merry as Fall Season Begins. . . Bears Killed in Great Dismal Swamp by Newland Hunters; Small Game Unusually Plentiful; Fishermen Report Exceptionally Good Luck
The fall hunting and fishing season is under way now. All over this section, devotees of the gun and rod are out daily in quest of such game as they are permitted to bag.
Quail and other small game are unusually abundant this year, sportsmen agree. It is not at all unusual for a motorist driving along almost any road hereabout to run across a large covey of quail—partridges, as they are called in the vernacular.
Rabbits are plentiful and the queer bark of the squirrel may be hear most anywhere in the woods if one is patiently quiet for a while.
In Newland they are hunting bear these days with much success. Three are reported to have been bagged in the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp in that second last week.
Deer hunters, however, have met with little or no success.
All of which brings to mind a tale told by Game Warden Ben Emmett, of this city, of a little incident in T. D. Jones’ store in Newland not so very long ago. Mr. Emmett had dropped in just as a resident of the community was relating a thrilling story of having killed a large buck. The season on deer hunting had not opened then.
“Do you know who I am?” Mr. Emmett inquired, as the other finished his tale. The slayer of the buck replied negatively.
“I’m the game warden of Pasquotank County,” Mr. Emmett announced dramatically.
That floored the narrator—but only for a moment.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked, in his turn. Mr. Emmett had to admit that the pleasure of acquaintanceship was not his. “Who are you?” he queried.
“I’m the biggest liar you’ve ever seen,” the stranger replied.
On a fishing trip in Crooked Creek and other winding tributaries of North River Friday Jess L. Pritchard and A. F. Toxey, two of this city’s most expert anglers, caught 30 pike and bass yesterday, the bass ranging as large as 4 ½ pounds. They hung their catch in the window of Mr. Pritchard’s store, which is a gathering place for sportsmen here.
George Twiddy and Dr. W. A. Peters also went fishing Friday, trying their luck in Newbegun Creek, about eight miles south of this city—a favorite spot with Waltonians. They made a fair catch and went down to Mr. Pritchard’s store that night to tell about it.
Upon seeing the unusual catch which Messrs. Pritchard and Toxey had made, they ar said to have closed up like clams and walked silently away into the night.
Trolling for rockfish in Pasquotank River is a new sport in these parts, just being tried out this season—and with remarkable success. Mr. Pritchard relates that Dr. William Parker and John Outlaw went out for a little while the other morning, an came back with 19 nice rock, ranging in weight from 1 to 4 pounds.
The fishermen use a “squid,” dragging it behind a motorboat with a long line. For the information of the uninitiated, a “squid” is a bit of bright metal with a hook attached. It is said to be highly favored by inexperienced rock as an article of diet and many Elizabeth City fishermen are trying it out. The best catches are reported as having been made along the shore near the Country Club, and on the opposite side of the Pasquotank in that vicinity.
Dr. Zenas Fearing and H. B. Sedberry, proprietor of Sedberry’s Drug Store, returned Friday night from a week’s vacation trip to Oregon Inlet. They reported a highly enjoyable time, stating that they caught about 50 large trout, averaging about 6 pounds apiece. They hinted that a few beach birds perished while they were in that part of the country, though Mr. Sedberry was reluctant to venture an opinion as to whether their demise was from natural causes or otherwise, in view of some uncertainty on the part as to the game laws relating to them.
From page 4 of The Daily Advance, Elizabeth City, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 9, 1926
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