The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-08-11
z ABOUT FISH.

y man VINO loves TO nSn : eltHeI d lazy
man or a philosopher. Sometimes he j
both. They say that there Is IN every
man a lingering of the savage, and that
occasionally he wishes to throw off the
restraints which society imposes and get
as near to nature as possible. In al
nest every community there are men who
periodically feel it in their blood that they
must go "a fishing" Their wives can tell
VIXEN the fever Is coming on by symptoms
as well marked as when mothers know
that their children are golng TO have the
measles. 1t takes a mighty good" woman
to be the wife OF a man who loves to
fish, unless indeed she likes also 20 throw
the line and catch the finny tribe.
Fishermen, like poets, are born, not
Unless he has the fisherman instILct-un-
less the compulsion within him constralns
him to go a-fshing'-he Will never be
come a disciple of Isaak Walton. He may
indeed, learn how to catch an nWary fish
now and then, just as a man who Is
not a poet may make a few rhymes But
unless he is born a fisherman he will
never have luck Some orators tell IL
that there is no such thing as luck-that
'luck's a fool: pluck's a hero" That
maxim has no reference to fishing. There
is everything in being born to luck IL
fishing. Observe two men on the side OF
a creek. They wear the same sort OF
clothes, they use the same kind OF hook
and line and dig their bait at the Same
place. An ordinary observer could not
detect the divine afflatus' that rests or
the born fisherman. But it IS there. He
will catch fish without trouble, and plenty
of them, while his companion will get
nary a bite" The explanation? Ono
is a fisherman born; the other is not
There is no other explanation among men
We may find one In the Fisherman
Paradise, but not on this mundane sphere
What is the most delicious fish found IL
North Carolina waters and where is the
best place to fish? Whether considered
economically, aesthetically, financially, o.
from the standpoint of sport or pleasure
that j. Il momentous question-one to-
great for one editor or any other one mar
10 presume to pass upon, for lsaai
Walton says: Angling may be SAID t.
be like the mathematics, hat it can neve
be fully learned; at least not SO fully bu
that there will still be more new expert
ments LETT for the trial OF other men tina
succeed US"
The fishing industry of North Caro-
lima, considering only the com
mercial value of those caught b.
men who make fishing a trade-amount.
to $1,316,0 900 dollars every year. And it i
a growing industry. But this Is the small.
est portion of its financial value. There
is no way of even approximately estimat
ing the money value of the hundreds o
thousands of, fish that make up an i'm
portant article of food in the many home!
in North Carolina. There is no diet more
palatable. more satisfying, and more nour.
ishing than the various kinds of fish tina
are caught in North Carolina waters, from
the mountain trout on The Roam to the
Spanish mackerel at Morehead. One o
the reasons why North Carolina folks art
so brainy and so wise is that they partak'
Of large quantities of brain foolish. l
is a happy omen that, co-existent will
the educational revival, we are having I
now revival of stOckinp orr waters anC
mill ponds with fish-providing, so t,
speak, more brains to take in the new
instruction that better schools are i'm
parting.
Elsewhere we print the views Of variou
experts on the best fish in North Caroline
and the best place to fish. There ar
many opinions. I'm a multitude OF 0 III
sellers there is wisdom" 1t will be. OBJ
served that most of those who write Civ
the preference to fish in the waters nea
their home, showing that today as l.
Bible times men believe that the water
Of their own country are superior to thos
Of any other section. The conversion o
Capt. ). A. ASne, q nallVc OIL New f1dH
over county, to the Mountain Trout Schoo
of Thought is viewed with great regre
by his associates who tished with him IL
the Cape Fear when they we're bare-foote'
boys.
We AVE still other letters that canno
be printed. The mooted question Is de
stined to be debated long, not only in thi
paper-the forum where North Carolin
ians interchange opinions upon all import
ant topics-but likewise on every lake
river, stream, sound and fish pond i
North Carolina. Let us hope that the re
8 suit will be that North C%arolinias will ca
more fish and therefore have clearer heads
And let US all have more respect for tn
fishermen who is represented by Isaa'
Walton as saving.