The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1903-09-11
VERY INTELLIGENT FISH.
gravate the Angler Beyond
Endurance.

"At a resort in the Delaware valley
where have been this season." said
New York man, according to the Sun,
"a bridge spans the river between Penn
sylvania and New Jersey. 1t is quite
high above the water, which is more
than six feet deep on the lower side OF
the bridge. but so clear that the bottom
Is plainly seen by any one standing on
the bridge. And something else that is
plainly seen and which takes daily Wis
itors to the spot is the collection of edu-
Gated black bass that inhabit that water
After black bass were put into the
Delaware years ago the water below this
bridge was the first spot that gave proof
that the experiment of stocking the river
was success. A four-pound bass was
taken from one of the pools, and for
years the bridge was a favorite fishing
place for anglers who were expert
enough to handle black bass so it could
be raised all that distance from the
water to the bridge floor. Many bass are
caught there yet.
But some seasons ago an angler
made discovery that explained why
so many of the big bass that could be
seen swimming so aggravatingly about
in the deep pools below the bridge could
not be induced to take bait of any kind
This angler had fished long and patient
ly for these big fellows. Every once in
a while bass that had evidently just
come up the river from somewhere
would take his hook with rush. He no.
ticed that all the while he was playing
such a fish the bass that plainly had
their home in that water would lie of
on the outer edges of the pool, working
their gills slowly and with no apparent
concern in what was going on, but
watching it just the same.
None of these bass would take any
bait he might offer them. They would
come up to it, apparently smell of it,
swim around it two or three times and
then back away and pay no more atten-
ton to it. At last, disguised with this
scorning of his lures and skill, he reeled
in his line and prepared to go home. The
bait he had on was stone catfish. He
took it from the hook and dropped it
into the water. He glanced after it as it
fell, and he saw big bass come up to it,
Inspect it a moment, swim around it
three times and then seize and swallow
It.
"The angler supposed that the ca
PRECIOUS bass had concluded to go to
biting, and he rugged up and began to
fish again. The bass treated his bait
just as they had done before, and by and
by he gave it up and reeled in again. He
threw his bait into the water after re-
moving it from the hook, just as he had
done before, and another bass inspected
1t, swan around it two or three times
and promptly swallowed it. Then the
angler tossed bait into the water several
times, each time to see it dealt with in
the same way by the bass. He again
tried them with similar bats on hook
and line, and they rejected them in their
previous manner, invariably swimming
around the bait at various depths Of
water.
Then the angler figured it out to his
own satisfaction, and to the satisfaction
Of every one else, that the bass had some
how discovered that any morsel that
came toward them that had line fol-
lowing it was there with hostile intent,
and that, consequently the wise fish had
taken to making sure by close inspection
whether tempting looking minnow or
crab. or whatever it might be that was
playing about near them, had such an
attachment to it. and not only by close
inspection. but by the test of swimming
q oh co Gnn ro}
escape detection"