Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1894-06-15
THE BLACK BASS.
He is TUE WtsEsr FISH Thar SwrMs
AND HARp TO CArcn


The Nsw York World gives the fol
lowing descriptive account OF the
manner in which tho black bass is
enticed from his native launts:
Tbe wisest fish that swims in
American waters is tho black b,ss.
There is II certain dignity about hin
that commands admiration, while
every experienced angler has learned
to hold his prudence aud sagacity in
wholesome respect. Above all lie is
magnificent fighter, and when hook
ell never fails to make splendid
battle for liberty and life. The blacl,
bass season is now apen.
1t you are looking for bass in n
lake you must pick out au u, Ell where
the bottom is clean aud stony-the
larger tho rocks the better From
twelve to twenty feet of water is
about the right depth, for the bass
loves free running grounds us well
as convenient hiding places.
A running streum will present n
variety of characteristics if it be II
natural habitation of the bass Shal
low water tumb.ing over pebbles,
well shaded pools, small torrents
which lash themselves iuto foam,
stretches of placid surface and ample
depth, rocky mud muddy bottom III.
ternating, deep holes, secluded cor.
ners protected by high bapks and
overhanging trees-these are tho fea
lures of which an over changing su,
cession constitutes an. ideal bass
stream.
You cannot learn such a stream in
day. You must know tho favorite
liaunts of the bass and, what is equal
iy important, tho approaches thereto.
For if you como upon him obtrusive.
ly his suspicious will at once be
aroused aud you will utterly fail to
coax him into "biting." Ho may
chow alarm and dart like lightning to
regions unknown, or ho may edgo off
with calm disduin and quietly ignore
every temptation of bnit or fly. Ho
hns no confidence whatever in tho
good intentions of any human being.
So you must como upon lin in am
bush, keeping your personality
strictly in the background, for if be
once sees you "the jig is up The
writer has walked all along the high
bunk of such stream us hus been
described, and has seen drove of
iino fellows weighing from two to
iour pounds each, moving in SLOW,
stately procession over stony bot.
tom Ill four or five feet of water.
Then he has stel ped buck from their
view, walked up stream zoo feet, en-
tered the water softly and wadcd
with the utmost caution toward tho
coveted prizes, throwing bait or fly
forty feet ahead, without getting II
strike. They had seen him on the
bank and immediately made up their
minds that mischief WAS in Inc mir.
When he returned to his former post
of observation On tho high bnnk they
we're swimming about in the same
place with unruflled tranquility.
To capture the black bass, then,
you must fool him This is much
easier on a cloudy day than in bright
sunlight. The first requisite is to
keep out of sight. A bush, or n
fence. or tree. or = growth of tail
grass may prove sufficient for con
cealment while fishing from the bank.
Throw your buit gently, whether it
be minnow. frog. crnwtlsh, Telegram
ite or grasshopper. Let it strlKe ns
nearly us possible in the right place
the first tlIne, for too muny casts in
rapid succession may create IL dis
turbance fatal to success.
II there is swift current imnedi
ately above the ground where you
think your prize is lurking, throw
your baited hook hook there and let
it float down. If your intended vic.
tim is feeding he will not fail to dis
cover the proffsred morsol, and if he
likes its looks 'fie will take it.
The bait must be alive, and MS
rule nothing is better than vigor
GUS club minnow. 1t should be hook
ed through the front edges of the
lips, 80 that it may swim about free.
ly. A hellgramite SHOULD be hooked
ulrectly through the body midway
between head and tail in order that
he may squirIu with some senblance
to nature. A crawfsh should be
hooked through the tail, MS that is
where the bass seize him. Hook Il
frog through the hind leg and you
will not hamper his natural mode of
locOmotion.
Remember that bait that looks
and acts like nature is above all
things essential. Grasshoppers seem
to furnish an exception. You can i'm
pale three on four of them on your
hook in oil sorts of positions, and
tie disorderly mass OF heads, legs,
wings and bodies will prove very
tenpting-if your fish happens to be
in a mood for grasshoppers.
For the bass always knows what
he wants. His appetite is variable,