The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-14
Tales
By Fly Fishermen

"Fly-fishermen sometimes have queer ex-
periences." said Mahlon d. Butler. local
manager of the Western Union Telegraph
Company. Fish are not the only things
that strike at imitation flies. 1 have
heard of birds. frogs, turtles and water
snakes being caught by fiy-casters, and
once hooked a bunch of feathers from the
American bird of freedom.
''was it on the Fourth of July. and did
the eagle scream?" asked a brother fly
fisherman.
Neither" said Mr.. Butler. with a with
ering expression. as he turned towards the
Doubling Thomas II was fishing in the
Tippecanoe river. below Monticello. ] was
not celebrating. Bass were not rising free
ly and / had grown tired of casting with
out getting strike. Across the river oh
rock there was an eagle that had not
moved for half an hour. had been wonder
ing when it would fly. but it didn't seem
to mind me or others Of the party. Finally
/ determined to have some fun with the
big bird. Horace Comstock was near by
and L suggested to him that we might
amuse ourselves by casting at his feathered
majesty. He rowed me to within one hun
dred feet of the rock on which the eagle
was standing and / made several casts
without disturbing it. Although the fly
dropped within few feet of it, the eagle
didn't seem to care, but when the boat APP
preached the shore. the big bird arose slow
ly. spreading out its great wings majesti-
cally and began to leisurely fly away. Then
L made another cast There was slight
arly he line Gc4ra fel.
fly at the end of the LEADER reached the
eagle. A bunch of feathers fell lazily TO
the ground, but the big bird sailed on, not
turning it's head TO see what had pricked
its plumage. AS i reeled up my line
speculated on what might have happened
had the hook concealed in the fly caught
in the tough skin Of the eagle, instead Of
scraping off the feathers. My line and rod
were strong enough to stand the strain of
a six-pound bass and the leverage which
the water gives a fighting fish, but 1 am
too rusty in mathematics to figure
out what the strain would be on
a silk line and an eight-ounce
cedar rod If the king Of birds, with its i'm
mense spread of wings. were attached"
HOOKEDA "BULLBAT."
''Your story reminds me-" said Mr.. Ro-
Gus, "of an incident that happened at
Broad Ripple some years ago. John L.
Brush, myself and others were casting for
bass with varied success. About dusk
'bullbats' 0he common name given to the
goat sucker or gnat hawk) began to sweep
through the air In search Of insects. They
were plenty that evening and seemingly
very hungry. Some one in the party-I
q, ;.,l- a. A. Il
before the fly reached the water the line
started to run off the reel as if it were
fastened to a three-year-old bass. Mr..
Brush checked the speed with his thumb.
and something fell into the water.
Well what do you think of that?' the
surprised fisherman exclaimed, as his line
became taut.
Hooked a bass in midair? asked the
funny man of the party.
:. No. replied Mr.. Brush. as he reeled
In. Struck a bird that mistook my imita-
ton white miller for the real thing
Sure enough he had caught bird. Its
wings beat the water as it was drawn to-
wards the boat, but it could not rise and
was safely landed without the use of a net.
Examination showed that 1t was a 'bullbat'
accidentally or while trying TO gulp down
the fly could not be determined"
Il had similar experience while casting
for trout in Canada a few years ago." said
Mr.. Fontinalis. Swallows were numer.
Gus. and my fly struck one on the back
Before could check the reel the swallow
had flown away with about fifty feet OF
line. 1t was a lively, strenuous little bird
but the hook was fast in its skin and the
weight of the line caused it to fall into
the water. Then / pulled the bird ashore
and released it, but it so badly fright.
ened and lacerated 1t died in few min.
utes."
CAUGHT A SNAKE
II never hooked a bird" said Mr. Thymal
lus. but once had a lively tussle with 9
water moccasin that was three feet and 9
| half long. I was fishing in the upper Tip
pecanoe river, in Kosciusko county. made
long cast towards a patch Of lily-pads
where 1 thought bass might be lurking
There was a commotion in the water q
| moment after the fly struck il, and reeleC
in rapidly, knowing that IL 1 had hooked q
bass it was policy to get the fish away froir
the lily-pads into clear water as quick as
when 1 saw a snake coming towards me a.
If 1t meant business. realized there haC
| been a mistake somewhere. but there wa:
no time to explain to his snakeship. didn
want the reptile, but it seemingly desired
| my acquaintance.
| Jack said 1 TO my companion, hur
riedly, take an oar and hit the thing befor,
1t reaches the boat
THE thin edge of the oar nearly cut thu
snake in two. 1t ceased its sinuous, bellicos,
movements, and 1 dragged it to the side o.
the boat. 1t was hooked just back OF tn,
head, indicating that the fly had struck 1
accidentally. rather than that the snake
had attempted to catch the fly. 1t is possible
! the snake might have mistaken the fly q
was Lord Baltimore) for a small frog o.
a minEow. but after reflection ! rejected
this idea improbable. The water mecca
sin is the most pugnacious OF all our North
| @=-----
er with whom I have come In contact
narrow and elongated, with deep-set eyes
/ close together As no murderer has bee,