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Show JIM RHODYPj Fish Noises YOU DID not know fish were vocal? Well, well. They are found in schools, aren't they? How can they do .things In Schools unless un-less they c(h communicate? The drum fishes drum, the conger eel barks, the puffers, pigfishes and others grunt; in fact the roncos are called "grunts;" the singing fish (midshipman) sings, the sea robin screams, and the oldwife chatters like a gossiping "old wife." Before proceeding further, in case you are doubtful, let us see what Brian Curtis Cur-tis says in his fascinating Book entitled en-titled "The Life Story of the Fish." We quote: "We definitely know that some fish use the air-bladder to make noises with. Best known is the weak-fish weak-fish (seatrout) and its allies. It has a peculiar muscle by which it can set the air-bladder into vibration vibra-tion and produce sound. The male only possesses this muscle, and the male only can make the sound from which we judge that it has something to do with mating. Into the all pervading hush of the subsurface sub-surface ocean, untroubled by the rush of winds, undisturbed by the war of waves, beyond the reach of man-made noises, the weakfish sends his call for a mate, and it is so loud that it has been heard six feet above the water when the fish is fifty feet under water." Certain species make noises by grating together the upper and lower low-er teeth (In the throat.) Puffers or swellfish make a noise by rubbing together the upper and lower jaws. Rafinesque, in 1899, described the fresh water sheepshead, or fresh water drum, and has this to say about its vocal talents: "A remarkable remark-able peculiarity of this fish consists con-sists in the strange grunting noise which it produces, and from which I have derived its specific name. It is intermediate between the dumb grunt of a hog and the single croaking croak-ing noise of the bull frog: that grunt is only repeated at intervals and not in quick succession. Every navigator navi-gator of the Ohio River is well acquainted ac-quainted with it, as they often come under the boats to enjoy their shade in summer and frequently make their noises." Most salt water anglers are familiar fa-miliar with the croaker, or hardhead, hard-head, of the Chesapeake Bay, and have heard the croaking noise they make when thrown on the bottom of the boat; the spot also can be heard. And our channel bass gets its alias from the noise it emits the red drum. Both the drum and the croaker give forth sounds in and out of the water. Some black drum were kept in the New York Aquarium Aquari-um for years, and could be heard all over the building. AAA Record Mako i ' V': : Aksel Wichfield, the nation's peerless Blue Marlin angler, is shown here at Bikini surveying his new Atlantic record Mako Shark, which weighed 845 pounds. Aksel, when he looked at this leviathan while fishing for blue marlin, probably felt the way the average trout fisherman fish-erman feels when a carp gets on his line. However, noting the size of the fish, he kept it on and boated him to find he had a new record. A year ago Aksel took the world's record blue marlin which weighed 742 pounds. Both fish were taken on a 39-thread, lOS-pound-test Cortland's Cort-land's Supcrcutty linen line. AAA The nuthatch builds its nest in the decayed trunks of trees, so that its young may eat the insects thai flourish in this habitat. AAA DDT & Fish Fish that eat insects killed by DDT may die, get the tremors or gorge themselves without harm, S3ys the U. S. Fish and Wildlife service. It all depends on the condition con-dition of the fish before they get the insects whether or not they are killed. Strong, well-fed fish suffer least. When DDT was sprayed in an emulsion of oil, the damage was greater than when DDT was suspended sus-pended in water for the spraying. |