The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-20
POET STEBBINS, ANGLER.
THE RLICK BASS or LAKE EBUEl
nose To mrs MARVELLOU = LURE.
" Fncky" Griswoid OF Old gteuhen TIED
che Fly-It Was Part OF = Joke Iavented
bv Jimmy nrnke-The Muse IL BeinE
NNooed nv "Stahp 10 Ceiehrnte Hia Victory

railroad ana n llhe OF bleatnDOhtS, 10 now WTcst-
ling with the muse, determined to compel from
II such living verso as II has never yet permit
ted sven hs gcnious to got rid OF. Many tlmes
and oft tho divine aflatus has toyed with Stvb-
bins, but now 1t has come down and, in the Lam
guage OF Paoky Griswold, took him by the
neck" Packy Griswold. late instructor to the
llammondsport Try-to-catch-black- bass Club.
but at present razor back
OF the Wild Swan, Wild Goose. aud Wild Duck
club of Hyde county. n. c.. is now in HYDE
county attending to his duties. Before no de-
parted he called to bid Poet Stebbins eood-by.
Sorry. packy," the poet whistloh down the
tube, but l can't be disturbed now. l am
writing a poem-en epic"
WA that you that bowed down the tube,
Steb p asked packy.
ut was;' the poet blew dovn again.
"Well." said packy. ut may be an epioso
poem you're writin', but 1t don't smell like
epicac. II smells more like Tom Rlnr"
And Packy departed. Indignant. mutteringi
"Epirao pocmsl Guess 1t Is, after all, for II
makes rue sickl"
so Packy went of to North Carolina. and
Stebbins resumed his wrestlo with the muse.
The necessity for this heroic tussle originated
thus:
There is no place on the wide earth where one
can sit down and witness such phenomena Of
memory as he can be confronted with any day
within the precincts of old Steuben. The
capacity of the memory of the AVERAGE aged
dweller in old Steuben for reaching back into
the dim vIstas Of the past and digging up mar
velluus things ia not equalled anywhere.
But even this elastic and peerless MEM
DRY hHlts when II tries to recall what
time Bun Point showed its frowning
front forward and split ono end Of the fair
lake now known as Keuka into such shape that
on t1a II, ~ II ahnIpa nm az an nnraFfain tatfnr
Y. The Steuben county memory hates to own
up that It runs against q snag when 1t tries to
fix that date. but excuses and ~justiles itself by
the fact that Bluff Point isn't In old Steuben,
but in Yates county.
I'VE amt expected TO recollect things that
happened down in Yates" said one champion
OF Steuben county memory. If Blufi Point
had happened in old Stoobon we'd o told you all
about it,"
But 1t doesn't matter what time Blum Point
bifurcated Lake heuka. The bifurcation is
there, aud one result of 1t is the west branch OF
the lake. On the west shore Of this branch.
only a mile or so from the main water, is the
handsome cottage of James A. Drake of Corn
ing. James \. Drake Is President of the First
National Bank OF Corning. He spends his sum
rners at his cottage on Lake keuka. His HERES
hon steam yacht Madge is one of the fastest
ever built BY that famous designer. The owner
OF this yacht Is popular. and Is Familiarity and
aticctlunately known as Jimmy Drake. There
are black bass in Lake Keuku. Lots of 'em. Big
oues, too. j. "A. brakes great delight Is to
fish for black bass, AID his ambition l. to catch
moro Than any on, Use. Tie poet Stebbins is q
Gloss friend OF Jimmy Drake. One of tho most
beautiful traits OF the uoet Stebbins's character
is THAI, while he thinks lie is O great fisherman.
he can't fish Il little bit. When he was a boy,
before roesy claimed him for its own and he
lived on CuuAadaigua Lake, he had the COB
bledy-Gudgeon habit, but that isn't fishing.
The gobbicuy -Eudgeon is indigenous to Canaan
6aigua Lake, and resembles what ono might
imagine an ~iucipient sea serpent to be. IL
ones Imagination, being naturally vivid,
were stimulated by app!ejack distributed
with a free hand. The Iobbledy- gudgeon
habit is Simply putting out set llnes baited to
kidnap this pisco-opLide denizen of Canaan
daigua Lake-the denizen's mission being to en-
rich certain soils in that vicinage which nature
has left iacom .lete. But eobbiedv -gudgeoning
isn't fishing. according to the ideas OF the Lake
keuka country. and it is an open secret that
Poei Stobtlus can't fish. But folks wouldn't for
tho wor!G put a stumbling block AS big as =
straw IN the way of his thinking that he can.
Hatnuondspprt IL something like ten milee
from tho lIraks cottage, but distance didn't
hinder the news from coming IN daily this sea-
caught OF tie size and in the numbers that Jim
my l!raEe WAS hauling in, at hight, especially.
LACK bass in Lake KeuNa have . trick OF
man with moro avidity than they tackle bait
IN the dAytIme. Nowhere else are black bass
ThiCc hooS In uniyersll use is not much
larger than the delicate brook trout fly HOOK:
For night fishing bit of red feather is attached
fishes near the shore with great success. Thus
fishing, the news kept coming Of Jimmy brakes
success beyond every other fisherman. The
poet S%teUblno. LaSiinG for the time let the muse
t.tf TIA rR'Enf trains lanah with ora from
keuSa's vine-clGd hills. were getting away on
time. smiled at this news, Of Jimmy brakes
fcssare and Knock the Drake record tsillSSoor, as
he expressed it in impromptu Orphic rhyme
HE Beat n III
WA? Himi
ON, walt TIL you hear my line a. swishin'.
So by and by Stebbins went out to give
rtythinic swish TO his line as became q poet and
one who also thought he could Ash. He swlshed.
II The night winds OF fair Kepka could untold q
tale, no doubt they would whisper that he also
swashed. Let him have tho benefit Of the doubt.
END sa{ tAat he only swlshed-fo for he swished in
l.S Of further success OF Jimmy Drake. Night
after nlEtt tho post Slebbins swisned. Night
after might he s"ished in yam. Morning after
morHIn. cane the news OF many two and three
pnulGers inat could not resist the skill Of
Then one day this successful rpor,sman came
W to tnmmondsport on his yacnt Madge. He
forIhwitn s,ousht out Packy IiFiswoid; , s,o,
"NSf f''s, HSs w. 81 "H'' NANN |NNS
can, A,n. Wen give him a theme for n poem.
VA fool him, and he'll dash oil u poem on
Low tuatus Fails or something of that sort
Tie me Il iy on the biggest hook YOU can get"
80 l'acky, being an adept at such, tied him
tho iy. The hook was three inches and u
quarter IN length. the bHrbed curve an inch In
spr,"i, The body OF the lily was half an inch
through, made Of u wrepp.nE, OF coarse red
twt1r. The feathers were red aud blue and
black. a Total length OF four inches ana a half,
md L 81 idth Of three inches. This was all tied
to a r'.eIl Of stout Wrapping Irvine. No such
are FOR FISH WAS ever conceived before. much
lees made.
When PackY GrlsWold delivered that amsz-
tug Iure to his co-Conspirator DRAKE, tho latter
siuRtcd.
"On." said he. That's great. That'd scare
n inAA-cating shark into fits! Say, Packy! II
sou sre the surfaceof Lake keuka covered with
dead black bass some morning SNOW tiat Stcb
has trlod this nj on 'em the night before, and 1t
frlghtened EN- al to death. Maybe this won't
gave SOB u theme! Oh, Hp!'
Then jimmy Drake took tho fly TO poet Steb-
bins, vino luOhpd upon IL with much alarm.
"Sleb," said Jimmy. don't be afraid of II.
TINS is. tho secret Of my success with bass. |
wouldn't give II way to any other person on
earth. ! discovered IL. This one Is tho only ono
pACrUt mine. in BHisIeuce IL is IOurS. lO CatQh