The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1872-11-02
Experience OF an Amateur Fisherman il,
Long Island Sound.
From Wilkes Spirit. |

VI u;ilScC 10 inc eyes anV cars Oh M
neishbors, to say nothing OF my own,
got hite--a vigorous. impctuouS, un
mistakahlc bass bite. at once triet
to recall the thousand and one rule
of conduct for sucl, occasions which
S---n had instillcl into me. ..Don't
give him any slack was the one thai
first occurred, and tried to put it i,
force, but to my utter CONSERVATION
S--n yelled out, s'Iet him run -
| Now this WAS very Inconsistent and
contradictory, but obey orders ii you
break owners was my motto, SO did
let him run. That ia the last news l
have OF that fish, but think it is like.
ly he is welt and happy. if his month
| has healed.
| However, Il bite is something, and
the eNhi!eratins effect lasts for hours.
Meanwhile S--n keeps hauling in
bass after bass with an elegance and
GOODNESS that nrc eNasperin. to It'd
and myself. By-and-hy Cd gets a
bite and looscs his fish, ut which am
secretly pleased, but publicly con,,ole
with him, and suggest that next time
he give the fish .'no slack"
All ofa sudden i tremendous Jerk
and whiz take me all aback although, |
have been awaiting for hours for that
event. The fish pulls like Il horse, the,
| rod bends, the reel wl,izzes, Cd
dance. like Il mailman; the chunincr
! grabs his gaff and dances round, too;
S--n shouts out some dozen or fifteen
different directions about s.Slac!<. =" "lct
him run" "check him. "hoid your
| rod up,' "run back and also sillo,s
round in II frantic manner. know
nothing more except that my line sud-
denly came back without amy hook,
and they told me it was all my fault
They told me turned as white as II
sheet when that ,niscre:,nt bass got
away, and believe it. The wonder is
didn't turn blue.
The worst Of the joke is, that S-n
caught that very same bass aftcrwar,l,
with my hook in his mouth and six
bad enough to have another man catch
your fish, but when nc comes 70 catch
ing you tackle for you, too, it's too a.-
gravating for endurance.
then resolved to give no further
heed to anything on land, to evolve
out OF my own inner consciousness a
means OF pcrsuadin. my fish to como
ashore, to pay strict attention to bass,
ana n0t listen to S----n, df anybody
else. Cd resolved So, too, and got
Il fish close into the surf, but in an nm
guarded moment he answered 81,
with, ''wh" is b"ssny this here bass ~
and away went the liberated bass rx-
ulting.
l WAS now prepared to conquer, and
did. y smart pull at my line was met
with cool resistance enough to fix the
hook. Away went the bass sc:,ward,
with no great strain ON the line, and
before itc had gone one hundred feet
=
Hpon me. Gently but firmly ( checked
his run, and t" my intense yr;ttitic.
ton he stopped some distance north of
the Hcrmudas. M1,nti,nc the shout
ing the capcring, the advice giving was
going on behind me; but | rcsoIutcly
shut my ears and kept my eyes ON my
line and the erect dorsal fin of the fish
Sometimes he would stop quite still.
This was very trying, as feared he
was planning some new trick which !
didn't know how to meet. Then Off he
would dart toward Il rock, or ,lp the
beach, or in shore, or straight out.
First it ScciHedn ifho was playing mo;
then he began to act ns if he WAS tt little
tired, until ut last the delicious reality
became apparent that I was playing
him. Hc Gods! What II happy mo-
mcnt How I thrilled with fear of
losing him rs he came hoatin" in on
top of Il wave, looking us ii he would
say: Please lot me go just this once;
never, never will steal your mcnha-
den again''-with pity as the gait
pierced his Sitvcry side, and with rxul-
tation us he lay ga>pin@ on the SAINT
-cithtccn pounds OF gnod, solid, gen
uinc striped bass.
We had Il week of such sport ITS this.
G--tl began his string with Il thirty
two poundcr; and thus wc both became
experienced bass fishermen. IT j. not
necessary TO state how many we took
nor to give the weight of all. Suffice
it to say that S---n caught six to our
one, and hrw he did it is more than l
can say. Ono day, however, go, the
advantage of him. After ,ishin. all
the afternoon l got the only fish and be-
cause il weighed only s! pound Er cali
eel il a ''Sand digger said it was no
bass at all, shouldn't count it, &c. He
also wanted t" go home. viii Nr.
Gcnio e. Scott please explain wlta, Il
'tsand digger is, and why people VII"
don't catch them want to go h"I,,r:'
Learning will accumulate wonderful
~ you add a little every day. DO
,,nt >yoif fo,. 1nuv ,r.rifi # l,.js,IrI