The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-14
FINE SPORT FOR ANGLERS.
Discarding the MinnOW and the Vulgar
Crawfish for the Artificial Fly.
Indianapolis Fishermen Who Prefer the More
Skillful Methods-Facts About Black
Bass-A Poets Glowing Picture.

the parasites that attached themselves while the
bass were nesting. The river bass is here spok-
en- of particularly, as the true angler at this
season will seek him in preference to his more
sluggish brother of the lake. The true angler
will fish for the bass as for the trout, with an
artificial fly, and he who has once escaped
the thralldom Of bait fishing will be ex-
ceedingly loath to ever return to it.
Wishing continues until in the fail when the
dead leaves drop into the water. This, of course,
renders fly fishing impossible. The trout has a
volumnous literature, while the poets who are to
sing the praises Of the bass have not yet tuned
their Tyres. There are no trout in Indiana ex
cept where they have been placed i'll ponds. The
temperature of our waters is too high. They
cannot exist in water exceeding SO degrees Fair
enheit In Indiana the temperature frequently
runs up to 80 degrees.
AS game fish the bass will rank with any
fish in the world, ounce for ounce, and inch for
inch The testimony of such authorities as
DR.. J. Fl. Henshall author of ''The Book of the
Black Bass. and numerous contributors OF the
Forest and Stream, American Angler and other
sporting journals is conclusive on this point.
So far as game fishes are concerned the only
game fish in Indiana is the black bass. There
is fish in the Ohio, Wabash and
Kankakee rivers which is miscalled salmon
It is not a salmon at all, but pike
perch, sometimes called wall-eyed pike 1t is
no more salmon than a bass is trout as it is
called in the Southern States. A game fish is d
surface feeder, and, as a consequence, rise to
the artificial fly. But all fish that rise to the
fly are not game fish. Clubs, sunfsh, and the
redeye will som etimes rise to the fly.
The poet Thomson. in his Seasons" gives fine
description Of fly fishing, one that will be readily
recognized by the angler. 1t is of the trout, but
equally applicable to the bass:
Just in the dubious point. where with the pool
Is mixed the trembling stream, or where it bois
Around the stone, or from the hollow'd bank,
Reverted plays in undulatng fow
There throw, nice.judging. the deusive fly;
And, as you lead it round in artful curve,
With eye attentive mark the springing game
But should you lure
From his dark haunt, beneath the tangled roots
Of pendant trees, the monarch of the brook
Behooves you then to ply your finest art.
Long time he, following cautious, scans the fly,
And oft attempts to seze it, but oft
The dimped water speaks his jealous fear.
At last, while happy DER the shaded sun
Passes cloud he, desperate takes the death
With sullen plunge. At once he darts along
Deep-struck, and runs out all the heightened line,
Then seeks the farthest ooze the sheltering weed,
The cavern'd bank, his old secure abode;
And flies aloft, and founces round the pool,
Indignant of the guile. With yielding hand,
That feels him still, yet to his furious course
Gives way, you now retire, following now
Across the stream exhaust his idle rage,
Till floating broad upon his breathless side,
And to his fate abandoned, to the shore
You gaily drag your interesting prize.
There are two varieties of the black bass and
when found in the same waters one is equally as
game as the other, though there is an impression
among anglers that the small mouthed black
bass is gamier than his big mouthed brother. 1t
is true the large mouthed bass prefers the slug
gsh water, slack water above dams and old beds
of rivers and when found in such places the
fish is more sluggish. He is gifted above all his
kindred, as he has more names than any other
fish on the face of the earth. No man need try
to give all of them. He is called the Oswego
bass grass bass white bass green bass. striped
bass bayou bass and by many more names,
among them being called the trout in
the Southern States. 1t was long
mooted question whether or not the black bass
would rise to the fly. 1t was vehemently de-
MED by some authorities considered highly re-
spectacle. But it has been satisfactorily demon
trated that he does rise, and does it with vigor
and determination that put him in the front
rank among game fishes. The black bass is a
Mississippi valley fish. He is not found on the
Pacific coast, nor was he known east Of the Ale
gheny mountains until about twenty years ago,
when taken over the mountains in the tank of
an engine and liberated in the headwaters of
the Potomac The Potomac now abounds in
bass. The bigmouthed bass is found down
South, but not the small mouthed The
~.
Lawrence. Like all fish he improves
both as to gamy qualities and edibility.
The black bass of Lake Pepin are considered
the perfection of the gen US: he certainly is not
eXcelled
Anglers who employ the artificial fly in fish
ing for trout or bass are disposed to use too
many different kinds. Cholmondeley Pennell
for long time fish commissioner of England
the Seth Green Of Great Britain, restricts him
self to three different kinds of flies There is a
set of fishermen who think they ought to have a
different fly for every day in the season, and
every hour in the day. These are the dilettanti
of the rod The middle ground is probably the
proper one. A moderately well assorted fly
book is all that is necessary Many collect flies
like connoisseurs in brc-a- brac. The flies used
in bass -fshing are almost invariably of pro-
nounced colors. The best flies for the waters of
central and northern Indiana are the scarlet
ibis (the Royal Coachman is a variation of it,
but about the same thing; the white miller, in
its variations, different colored bodies brown
and black planners, sometimes enormously called
hackles. The Lord Baltimore is good fly. 1t
has black wings black hackle, orange body and
jungle cock shoulders Then there is yellow
butterfly With these flies and their variations
one has all that are necessary, though it might
not be amiss to have in ones fly book a. few
Fergusons, few Holbertons and few Pages.
The last named differ from the ordinary scarlet
ibis in having either wood duck or guineafeather
shoulders
Most Of the flies used by Indiana fishermen
are ulucn TOO large, Delng tleu, as rule on TWO
large hooks There is no need of anything larger
than No. sproat hook.
Fly-fshing for bass in this vicinity is compare
lively recent Alex G. Jameson, of this city,
was probably the first to tempt the black bass
from his lair with colored silk and feathers,
about the year 1870. Among the earliest anglers
with the fly may be mentioned Prof Ora Pearson,
DR.. Levi Wood Capt Hamilton Mccoy, DR.. P.
G. G. Hunt and Mahlon d. Butler. Later on
came Frank L. Holiday, Frank p. Woollen and
George Griffin. Ignatius Brown, Dr. j. G. Par
sons, Leslie Norton and Harvey Drew are among
the enthusiastic hy-fshermen.
1t requires considerable skill to lay out great
length Of line with nothing weightier than an
artificial fly at the end. Hubert S. Jameson
was, perhaps. able to lay out more feet than al
most anyone hereabouts. Prof. Pearson lays
out line beautifully. lie has, beside q tireless
nnires trimming like that given to SWordSman.