The sun., 1903-08-17
BLUEFISH OR BLACK R,sS,
An AdmIrer and Defender of the lat,.,
Tells Something AbDnt Him.

Tells Something ADont Him.
To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN--Sir, wm
YOU permit another angler. not n flsherman
to reply TO the communication of "Buo
nsh. printed on your editorial page lns,
Sunday? "l
The real question is Which ia tho hprdor
10 take on black bass rod and tackle-a bn.-
fish OF seven pounds or a black bass of th,
same weight?
Inc contestants are uneQually matched
a bluefsh OF seven pounds is in the very
prime or life. not over years old. while /,
black bass Of that weight is passe, somewhere
from 10 to 20 years old
Then. again. the bluefish is to hc takon
casting in Slick" which means down ,ho
tide, and nine times out of ten the tide has
the lower stratum of wind and consequentlv
the sea, with II. In such case you've got ia
retrieve your fish against tide. sea and wind
TO say nothing of the superior density Of sol,
water.
Where the black bass lives there is no tide
and in lakes no current and the contest be-
tween man and fish is more even
Ihe writer has caught many hundred.
of black bass in his day and been in at the
death" Of thousands. but never saw one that
weighed seven nor even six pounds eScept
in the papers and the mouths OF guides who
had one caught in their boat day befor.
yesterday. Not that he argues there are
no such ish. but he believes thnt the great
majority OF suCn fish swell wsibly" out of
the water.
Curious as 1t may seem. the writer has never
caught nor seen slnall-mOuthed black bass
weighing over four pounds He went quite
out OF his way one day a year ago to see one
and when he clapped his optics on it IL was
an Oswego with mouth like the floosac
tunnel
The writer believes. Furthermore that th.
black bass in in the prime OF life at four
pounds. From that time he ages, takes on
the rushes or a hole under the alders and no
longer pursues his prey but turks for il, His
spirit, however, ia still willing though th"
green frog against his nose or troll a particI-
larly seductive bait before him hc will take il,
but, from my knowledge of some of the an
glers who have thus taken seven Founders,
have lost ur-pounder every time.
Again. In what water does "Bluefsh"
want the black bass caught? The writer has
caught them in any waters and is ready to
assert that four-poundor caught in Green
wood, HopatconR, Tuxedo or such lakes,
won't put up the fight OF a two-pounder in
makes all the difference IN the world. Take
even a pickerel caught in the warm lake
water, and you can tie 1t around your neck;
hs Sss Sorth and will ss ss rs ps, S
down down its back, it's 20 stifr and hard ~
nods IhTs thar se SGiqm sa f. tx to es
light tackle. An eel weighing over nve
pounds once took the writer's bait, that had
been oarelessy allowed to sink too deep. and
for while his line might as well have been
tied to u fence stake. but there was no fun in
that.
But in that same water I've taken black
bass Of from one to four pounds and, TO have
one of the latter run in on you. break some
three feet or so out Of the water, erect his
dorsal fn until It looks to you like four-foot
shot eyes and~-shake your hook out of his
mTTlR' TnlR Of bluenshl Why IT'S better to have
hooked and lost than never 10 have struck
Such is the pertinacity OF the black bass,
however, that it's dollars to douEhnuts he'll
take your bait again within two minutes, and
him no slack, you may take him, but you've
got to give him the floor for while and he'll
waltz. chassez, two-step. and side;step, and
you We had value for your money, But when
you've got him in the boat "a delicate opera
tion. by the way. for II you make a ialse touch
tall your leader parts and IT'S good day to
you,l he is a FOUNDER sure enough.
Your chum lyou should always have onel
To make certain you get the little spring
scale out and-only scant four pounds. by
lingo!
FOUNDER Of him. Lay him on a sheet Of brown
paper and with a pencil draw his outline
from his nose to his midship section. then
ak Inches or more, according to the weight
required, and pass your pencil from his mid
ship section aft and around him to the point
opposite, then lift the fish and carefully JON
tie sections With your pencil. Put on the
dorsai. ventral and other Ans. making them
Look az they did TO you when he jumped at
you, and nothing remains but to write the
It is astonishing. the comfort you'll derive
from that sheet OF paper when you get back
There's no doubling IL, you know. for
the paper with some Of the scales
still sticking to it always be sure OF the
scalss) and. even if they doubt. they won't
Get that flask out of the basket, Tom: We
have one on the Ash W. j. L. ID.
RIVERSIDE, Conn. Aug. IL.