The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-07
Fish Stories

cles met at stated periods 10 compare notes
| and swap fishing stories The club was ex-
| elusive, in that it did not welcome per-
sons who fished with pole" instead Of
| a rod" or who tortured live minnow by
using 1t as a lure instead Of attempting
to deceive the fish with an imitation fly;
| they were barred unless they promised to
reform. Persons who impaled frogs. craw-
| fish or angle worms on fish hooks were
unanimously black balled: they were con-
| sidered hopeless cases.
Among the honorary members Of the club
were General Benjamin Harrison. then
| President Of the United States, and General
| Lew Wallace. of 'Ben-Hur' fame. On the
| active membership list were Mahlon ID.
Butler. General George F. McGinnis, Fl.
| s. New, Francis T. Holiday, Judge Bryon
X. Elliott, Ignatius Brown, Jesse III. Blair,
| A. w. Hatch. C. l.. Hanford. the late
! Colonel c. s. Willard and others whose
names cannot be recalled.
While the primary object of the club was
| to create a sentiment in favor OF fishing
with imitation flies. as being more artistic
| and humane its members did much to ad-
vance the interests of sportsmen generally
| by assisting in Furnishing violators of the
statutes and in securing wise amedments
| to the game and fish laws. Fly casting
| tournaments also were held at Broad Cut.
below the aqueduct which aroused good
deal of interest In scientific angling. Like
tournaments are now features Of every
| sportsmen's exhibition throughout the
| country.
| Since the club passed out Of existence
few of its members have occasionally
met by chance Such informal gatherings
are sometimes prolific of good fish stories
always true, for Indianapolis fly fisher
man ever knowingly egaggerates the size
of his catch or Of the fish that Struck,
but missed the business end Of the fly. The
Indianapolis fly caster can tell two-pound
bass from a four-pounder without the aid
of scales, and if he ever mixes his figures
on weights it is simply case Of inadvert-
ency.
LOCAL FISH sToRY-TELLERs.
Seven members of the club who recently
returned from fishing trips met last week
at a social gathering and related their ex-
periences for an hour or more. All are too
modest to permit the use of their names.
but their friends probably will recognize
them as Messrs. Rocus, Thymallus, Fon-
tinalis, Esox. Muskellunge, Salmo and
Perca. Mr.. Rocus thinks the bass is the
|
CRAWLING has no equal, Mr.. Fontinalis up
holds the trout, Mr.. Esox goes after big
pike, Mr.. Muskellunge likes to struggle
with a forty-pound muskallonge or mas
kinonge, which, he says, is a corruption OF
his own name. Mr.. Salmo knows a stream
in the Canadian wilds where the priced
salmon takes the fly with avidity and
rushes and sulks until it wears out the
If xyha he
red-bellied perch in America are to be
found. He usually spends a few weeks
each summer somewhere about the Straits
Of Mackinac generally among THE Shows"
"a group of little islands off the southern
coast of the northern peninsula of Mich
igan where the waters of Lake Huron
mingle with those of the straits.
Mr.. Esox, who spent month in wiscon-
sin with Mr.. Muskellunge, said the sports
men of that State are incensed over the fish
lies told by Chcagoans. ut is not a case
Of jealousy" said Mr.. Esox. No Badger
has the temerity to attempt to cope with
any Sucker in the fsh-story business. He
has not had the necessary training. The
wind blows in Wisconsin, but 1t has not
the Windy City effect. Everything Chi
cagoan is of such generous proportions that
|
even fish story-admitted to the city
would be reproach. / met two fishermen
from Chicago at q Wisconsin lake this
two weeks Of effort was a four-pounc
pickerel. A few days after they returned
home another party of Chicagoans came t.
the lake. They were acquaintances Of the
pickerel catchers and had been told by the
| he had ~
muskellunge. the largest weighing forty.
nine pounds. The new arrivals wouldn't be-
lieve that a four-peund pickerel had grown
in imagination to forty-nine-pound mus
kellunge. because they had seen the mount
ed head of the fish. Finally I convinced
them that their friends were Ananias-like
by introducing them to the man that sole
the mounted head.
A WISCONSIN LEGEND.
There is legend that is often heard II
Wisconsin to the effect that a fisherman
of that State once tried to compete witt
Chicagoan in telling fish stories. HI
was sitting in the family room of a farm
house. with his arm resting on a table
On the table was the family Bible. one o
the old-style clasped books. As the Wis
consin man concluded yarn that eclipse,
point by striking the table with his fist
The Bible unclasped and flew open. TIL
story teller turned his head. glanced a
the Bible, and this is what he saw: A
liars shall have their portion, etc. 70
are all familiar with the verse. The ma
never exaggerated again. 1t is said he be
came a revivalist and preached SO effec
lively on the sin of falsehood that no resi-
dent of the Badger State now ever think
of telling anything but the truth about tn
fish he catches
''Tll vouch for that" said Mr.. Mus
kellunge. THE people of Wisconsin ar
extremely sensitive on the fish-tale ques
tion w. L. Woodward, of La Crosse.
member of the Legislature, is endeavorin
to put a ban on Chicago fish stories. II
has prepared a bill which he will intro
duce this winter. Under IL no Chicag
Ananias can victimize his friends. 1t pre-
vides that every fish caught by amateur