The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-06-03
SPORTS
LANDS Il BIG BASS
And Then Finds That They Are All
the Same Fish.
P. S. NELSON'S STRANGE CATCH
Experience as Which Demon Strates
EtHsacity of the Bass and HIS
~ Capacity for Frogs.


the past few weeks, this seasons crop OF
fish stories for time seemed likely to
be a failure. Reports from several dis
tricts, however, indicate that the harvest
will be more than usually heavy.
Amsag the specimens thus far received
In the Market, none has excited more ad-
miration and envy than that brought back
from Clearwater Lake this week by P. S.
Nelson, deputy clerk of the municipal
court. "Pete" can fish just as we'll as he
can shoot. and he can relate an ,anecdoteN
as we'll as he can do either, but his lates&
achievement has surpassed the widest
hopes of his closest friends. "Pete's' mar
rative runs thus:
"You know have not been fishing this
season until week ago Sunday. AS the
game laws did not permit the
and as I do not care particularly about
catching pickerel, thought I would walt
until that time before starting on any
angling expeditions.
1.-TWO weeks ago, however, the longing to
feel the tug of a big fish on the line grew
to great to be resisted. So I was away
bright and early Sunday for Clearwater
Lake You see, 1 had figured it out that
no one could blame ne for catching bass
If l put them back into the water, and II
] threw out a frog, and some big pass
happened to take the bait instead of a
pickerel, how could prevent it? I would
have to land him before I could get him
off the hook, wouldn't /? And really,
don't fish for the sake of the fish, but just
! for the sport of catching them.
! "Of course some fellows wouldn't be
satisfied unless they could bring the
! string back to town to show to the rest,
! of the boys. but 1 am not that kind of a
fisherman / simply fish for She amuse-
ment, you understand, and I don't care
whether the public thinks had any luck
! or not.
Hooks a Three Founder.
'Well, I was out on the lake in good
season, and sure enough, within ten min
utes I had hooked a dandy. He gave me
an awful fight for fifteen minutes, and
when 1 finally brought him into the boat
and weighed him on pair of scales had
brought along with me, he showed exact
ly three pounds and five ounces.
II felt that that kind of sport was
worth while. even if you did have to throw
the fish back into the water again. put
on another frog, and rowed around for
some time, but didn't strike another bass,
until happened to drift back to the same
place where had hooked my first one.
where had got the first boy, another COB
bled the frog. Then there was second
splendid fight. It took all the strength
i had, and all my knowledge Of bass fish
ing to get that one landed, and when I
finally had him in the boat, he weighed
almost the same as the other one three
pounds, five ounces and a half.
Then I. began to think had struck the
home of the original black bass. I
thought maybe If I fshed long enough, I
could get the father to the family, and
knew from the size of his children that
the patriarch himself must be whopper.
I went around the lake casting, but pretty
soon was back at the same old place.
It was a. lucky spot, all right, fol- on my
first cast I hooked a third monster. He
put up longer fight than any of the
others, but I got him after twenty min
utes of the hardest kind of work, and he
weighed just exactly three pounds and
six ounces.
Leviathnn Number -Four.
''Well, thought that was pretty good
spot, and I decided to stay right where I
was. I put frog No: 4 on the hook, and
again on the first cast I caught a levia-
than. He didn't make quite so hard a
struggle as some of the others, but he
gave me plenty to do before I had him
safely landed in the boat, and the scales
which were pair of my own, and very
accurate, gave mis- weight at three pounds,
six ounces and half.
! WELL for four or five hours I did moth
Ing but put on frogs, make cast, land a
big fellow, throw him back into the water
after weighing him, and get ready for an
other. They were all big ones, too; all
! Just about the size of the first one. After
a while, however, they ceased to make
such hard fights as they had at first, and
the last ones hardly gave me any sport
at all. They would just take the hook
swallow the frog, tug a few times and
then let me pull them up into the boat
"Fishing for sport. as I remarked.
didn't like that particularly. 1 wanted
them to make a fight, but was establish.
ing record, and I was satisfied to ex.
pend few frogs, just to see how many
Q, bass could get. 5:s
Number IA Looks Familiar.
but finally when the fourteenth showed
over the side of the boat, Thought there
was sort of familiar look about him
He weighed three pounds and twelv.
ounces, but in spite of the seven ounce
difference in weight 1 could almost per
suade myself that he was the same one
had caught first, Still that couldn't be
either, because the first boy was fast ans
lively as they make them, while this fel
low was fat and lazy, and hadn't bit O
game in him.
Then a thought struck me, and I JUS
initials on the scales of that bass.
could hardly believe my suspicion wa
correct, because it seemed too incredible
but I was determined to give it a. fai
test s
I threw him back into tine water an
putting on ny fifteenth frog, made an
other cast. In an instant there was
big bass on the hook, and in less than
minute I had him in the boat. There
plain as day, on his scales, were the in
itials had scratched a couple of min
utes before. All the time l thought
was catching a different fish, was jus
he oking the same one over and owe
again. ..... r .~-..- .t.. II
Caught Him Twenty-seven Times
II just stayed there, then, until ha
caught that same bass in all twenty seve
times, and thrown him back again eac
time. Then he refused to bite again, an
] reeled up my line and rowed in. I don
know whether he had simply had enoug
frogs for one meal, or whether he foun
the tWenty-seventh too much and die
from apoplexy. The first time I hooke
him he was strong, fresh, and game a
a pebble and weighed three pounds an
five ounces, but the last time he wa
heavy. gorged with frogs, and weighe
four pounds, two ounces and a half. Til
thirteen ounces and half increase jus
accounted for twenty-seve frogs at ha,
an ounce a-iece.
"Brrt what do YOU think of the wfsdol