Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-09
A SPORTSMAN WITH IDEAS.
Ernest Wolf Stepped From the Beaten
Path and Got q Big Trout.

Ernest Wolf Stepped From the Beaten
Path and Got q Big Trout.
From the New York Sun.
Ernest Wolf, administration clerk in the
| surrogate's office. is a sportsman, and one
| who has ideas of his own about sport. He
has guns. He has tackle. He has rubber
boots. He has canvas suits. But he has
| no dog.
| II wouldn't mind paying six shillings or
| dollar for dog, says Mr.. Wolf, but
| hate to pay s. for brass collar to put on
| him.
So he humps along on his sporting career
| without dog but it doesn't make a bit of
| difference to him. He gets there just the
same.
| There's no use for a dog when you go
| fishing" he says, land my experience has
| been that when you go hunting the dog
| scares all the game away. I sicked dog
| on a deer once and the dog couldn't come
| any ways near catching it, and a man that
| stood somewhere along where the deer
| ran had to shoot it it would have got
| away"
MIR. Wolf does most of his sporting up
| in the Adirondacks, in the Paul Smith
''But, pshawr says Mr.. Wolf. Half the
| folks that go up there and make pig
| show about doing things don't know any
| thing at ali about how to be SportSmen
They've got no ideas. They're not original.
1 guess l showed 'em few things when l
| was up there last season. They're taking
| yet about the way caught the big trout.
l wouldn't have caught that trout If 1 had
kept in the beaten path of sport the way
| and the trout had to surrender.
| Everybody had been trying to get that
trout for a good while, for he was big
| fellow. 1 guess more than thousand diff
| ferent kinds of flies had been tried on him.
| but he turned up his nose at them all. 1
chucked couple O dozen at him myself:
h,rf ha iS6o infp nj nf INV f
1 hadn't had ideas I'll bet hundred that
that trout d be up there yet just as sassy
| and impudent as ever.
| Zone day l sat down and thought. You
| may know that 1 must have been deter
| mined when I sat down and thought, for
my vacation was short, and it takes good
| deal Of time to think. A man on his vaca-
| ton hates to waste much time in thinking.
| But 1 was determined, and l sat down.
| 1t isn't flies that trout wants says I,
| its worms. And I'll just step out of the
beaten path and feed him some
| $50 1 got a good stiff fish pole and a
| strong line and hook and dug some worms.
But want to tell you this wasn't the only
idea got hold of while was sitting down
| and thinking.
Wild ducks feed on trout the worst
| way says l. They eat whole schools of
| trout. This is the trout season.. says /,
and consequently this must be the season
| for wild ducks
1T isn't at all likely that any one ever
| thought of that before. This beaten path
in sport. tell you. 1 will play hob with it
| yet.
So says I, what's the matter with me
fetching down few ducks while I'm get
ting that big trout? Nothing says |.
little thing like that needn't worry
sportsman with ideas. l had a ten-bore
had that ten-bore shotgun for, but had
it. and 1 loaded both barrels with duck
shot Some queer folks might say: Well.
if you didn't have any ducking gun, what
!
know there's lots O. folks that'd ask just
such foolish question as that? Now;
| not have loaded that ten-bore shotgun
with 'em, then, could I? Well. that's what
! had that duck shot for, if anybody should
| interrogate you on the subject!
| well, / loaded my gun. took my worms
and my tackle, and went out to get the
trout, and incidentally some ducks. 1 sat
with the incest, latest, wgglingest COB of
worms that ever a trout had the chance of
his life to set his teeth in. 1 held my gun
| in my lap. and kept one eye peeled for
ducks and the other one on guard so I'd be
ready to yank the big trout when he came
and got the worms. Quite little time
went by. and no ducks came down to eat
trout and no trout came up to eat worms.
| Cant be, can it, says /, that some
duck has come along here and tackled the
big trout? If one has. Eow'm going to
| know whether the duck swallowed the
trout or the trout swallowed the duck? If
the duck swallowed the trout, he'll have all
| he wants to eat for couple of days, and
won't be along this way today so 1 can
| shoot him. If the trout has swallowed the
duck, the chances are that he won't have
any appetite for worms today, and 1 won't
get the trout This is an unforeseen d.
lemma" says l.
| Il concluded to fill my pipe and sit down
and think it over. 1 stood my gun against
a tree right behind me and set my pole. l
| was just ramning the tobacco in my pipe
when up and down my pole began to bob.
and swish. swash. through the water went
the line. Then 1 knew that the duck hadn't
| swallowed the trout, and that if the trout
! had swallowed the duck his appetite
| still good for worms. / grabbed the pole.
| The pole was strong, the line was strong.
the hook was strong and l was strong. l
| just laid back and gave yank that would
| have raised stump out by its roots. And
1T raised that trout, you beti The big fell
low sailed up in the air almost to the top of
| loose from the hook. He would have come
plumb down into the water again, and I'd
have lost him after all, if hadn't gone out
after ducks well trout. AS 1 yanked
| the trout out, I tumbled over backward
| My elbow something struck the hammers
of my gun and set them Off Lord! You
should have heard that report! Both bar
rels went off. For a few seconds there was
| a loud pattering of trout meat, considerably
minced, upon me, and on all sides of me.
| Then the troutS head pumped down near
| me. My duck shot hadn't reduced the head
lin any way and it was gasping yet, and
| the eyes glazing. But they soon got over
it. 1 looked around among the scattered
remnants of the trout to if 1 could find
| any duck feathers or bones, but there was
none, SO 1 concluded that the trout hadn't
swallowed the duck.
Now, maybe 1 wasn't proud to carry
that trout head in and show folks what
| could be done by a sportsman who was
bold enough to step out of the beaten path.
And they all felt sheepish enough, 1 tell
| you! All the guides agreed, judging from
the size of the head, that the trout couldn't
| have weighed less than eight pounds. 1
gave the big head to guide 1 knew. He
afterward gave it to somebody who had it
mounted somehow, and it's in his collection
| somewhere now.
| 1.-THE trouble with sportsmen nowadays
! is" says Mr.. Wolf, ''they have no ideas
and spend too much money for dog bis
| cult"