Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1875-10-16

Ouo vi Iuc euItUTb Vi the hlCH-
mond Dispatch, is out on a pleas
ure tour, and from long letter TO
his paper, we make the following
extract in regard to his bass fish
ing experience on the South
Branch:
/ want to tell you about the
sport had last Tuesday catching
bass in the south branch of the
Potomac. / fear you will think /
have fish on the brain. There is
no doubt about having them on
the stomach but your g. & +. G..
can sympathiZe with me in my
fishy propensities. By the way, /
am sorry to have missed him in
Stanton the other day. / hear
that he henored my sanctum sane
forum with q visit, and as his
visits are in some respects like
those of the angels / count myself
extremely unfortunate in having
been absent. But about those bass;
had dlverged from the railroad
at Green Springs and was making
a detour Of forty miles by stage to
this place, when at R0mney l fell
In with an old college friend. a
disciple of Isaac Walton. His ac-
counts of the glorious fishing six
miles down the river beguiled nae
to q day from my work and max
ing an early start that beautiful
morning We were upon the ground
or rather the water in good time,
where we found an old fisherman
with the rods and reels and a buc-
ket Of minnows in his boat wait
ing for us, and without delay we
proceeded to business. This was
none of your tame saltwater fish,
ing, such as / was inveigled into
down al Old Point, a few days
ago, with a piece Of crab for your
bait, and nothing to do but drop
your line over the boats side, wait
for a sluggish croaker to hang
himself On the hook, and then lift
him into the boat. We had to
angle here for the gamest fish that
swims in fresh water, ana as cum
ming rs he is plucky. You've got
to hook your minnOw by tine nose
so that he can swim aboutactively
and entice the bass in the chase.
When he has fully made up
his mind that there is no
hoax about that minnow, he
darts from his ambush, be-
hind some rock or hidden snag.
seizes the bait and makes off with
it, drawing out your line with a
whiz of the reel that IS music to
the tisherman's ear. But let him
have the line till he turns the min
now to swallow it headforemost,
for Mr.. Bass is choice in the way
he swallows his dinner, and does
not like to have fms and scales 60
ing down his throat the wrong
way; then give a smart jerk and
you have got him, if you manage
right. And if he's three or four
FOUNDER, the fun has just begun
He rushes up the stream, then back
again. to the right and to the left,
making your line sing as it cuts
through the water; then he rises
to the surface and takes q survey
of the situation, dives again to the
bottom, and again, with sudden
movement, throws himself high in
the air, shaking himselfin the fran
tic effort to escape. But keep a
taut line, gradually draw him in
till broken down and conquered,
he lies painting on the surface OF
the water alongside the boat, fish
worthy of your hook.
Imagine repetition of the scene
have but poorly described eve"y
fifteen or twenty minutes during
the day-that is when the wind is
right, and the water is right. anu
the fish are Of the same mind AS
yourself-and you will have some
thing like a correct idea of bass
fishing in the South Branch, and
understand the nature of the at
traction which draws paaties of an
glers 225 miles from Wheeling to
this place every October. On the
present occasion we fished with a
short intermission. when we ate
fish, till it grew dark, and carried
homo a beautiful string, the lsrg-
est weighing three and a half
pounds; and il the boast of your
correspondent that though this was
his first experience in catching
bass, he took the largest caught
that day.
|. Intending TO compliment a lady