Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-09-22
GOSllNGS AS FISH BAIT.


Remarkable Experience Of st. Louis
Sportsman-How to Catch Bass.
A letter from St Louis gentleman, who
has been for some time up at Green Lake,
Wis, has just been received here, and it con-
tains the account of fishing exploit that is
remarkable. II went out early the other
evening"" writes the gentleman, ''in the
hopes of encountering some of the famous
pickerel of this resort when they were just
coming up from their messy beds after
morsel for breakfast. | trolled for half a
mile without strike. l was passing farm
house, in front OF which were an old goose
and a lot of goslings a month or so old. They
were swimming around, dipping down under
the water, and chattering away in high glee.
Just as | was opposite them there was a
splash and one of the goslings disap-
peared Almost instantly another one
went in the same way, the mother
goose never seeming to heed their
absence. l thought it strange, and pulled
over toward the flock, but before | reached
them three more were pulled under the
water | stopped rowing close to the spot
where the fowls had disappeared, and
watched from close range to see if could
discover what agent was at work destroying
the farmers goslings. One of the little fel-
| lows was separated from the other three, for
that's all that were left. was close to the
single gosling, watching him, when l saw a
monstrous black bass shoot through the wa
ter, grab the bird had my eye on, and give
the water a fiirt with his tail as be disap-
peared with his breakfast. Before the sur
face had become calm or my astonishment
| hol tbn. -
the gosling brood were in the capacious maws
of the hungry bass.
by this time the old goose, who had been
TRANQUILITY swimming about, began to think
that something was wrong, and when no
little ones came at her call she became
frantic stood right there for some time,
expecting that some audacious bass would
walk off with the old goose but they didn't
Il went up to the farm house, told the fate
of the goslings, and was met with no express
sions of surprise
That's no uncommon thing said the far
mer. IN bet I've lost thousand young
geese just in that way. | thought those were
too big for bass bait. keep my young geese
in pond back of the house until they get
big enough to take care of themselves, as |
thought the ones you saw gobbled up WERE
''An idea struck me, and l bargained with
the farmer for three goslings from the pond
back of the house | would fool the bass.
He soon came in with three nice, downy little
fellows, and | took one, tied my line about
the center Of his body, and fastened gang
of hooks under the goslings's breast so they
hung down about three inches. Then took
a long rod from the boat attached the line
and gently dropped the swimming bait into
) the water. The little gosling swan around
for about half a minute, when there was a
rush, tug at the line, and had my hungry
fish safely hooked. 1t was a whopper, and il
took me twenty minutes to bring him up t.
the boat. The bass had struck the hooks, a.
. intended, before he reached the gosling
, and l succeeded in landing thirty-one biz
l bass with my three before they were used up
They were the biggest bass ever saw be
: fore, averaging trile over six pound
apiece, one of them weighing nine and
= quarter pounds When go after bass nov
; you may be sure go with goslings for bait
) ST. Louis Globe-D Democrat