The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-22
Small Mouthed Black Bass Is the
Camest Fish in American Waters
Affords Great Sport When
caught with Fly and II
Light Tackle =. Fighting
Tactics Always the Same
.--Leaps, Rushes and ~
Sulks Until Worn Out

Wins OnQl w Orn Out
liz steadily for two or three sec
onds when there was a sudden
I&4I change in the note. caused by
accelerated motion. Then there
was break in the water eighty feet from
the canoe, and a two. and-one-half pound
black bass leaped two feet into the air.
Lower the tip of your rod 1 almost
shouted as, the fish broke the surface of
the stream. but Betty's lessons had not
Deen In vain. and the tip was down before
had uttered the word rod"
This happened while / was lazily padding
near the mouth of small river that emptied
into Lake Superior. near Michipocoten.
The river is bowlder- bedded. granite
Danked stream, and is famous for its fish
ing Our Ojibway Indian guide had gone to
the village for supplies. and Betty and 1
were exploring the river in the hope of
hndlng good trout stream which we had
been told was only few miles from camp.
Two hours padding brought us to the
mouth OF creek about the size of Pleas
ant run at Irvington, but carrying much
more water. Trees sheltered its banks
and / could see several stretches of deep
water. or what appeared to be pools AS 1
landing and making an investigation, L
saw a fish leap from the water after a
brown butterfly that was Swimming over
the surface
That looks 'bassy,'" said to Betty.
Perhaps Il was a trout" was the reply,
-and this may be the stream the guide
spoke Of"
Seemed TO De too heavy for a trout It's
leap and splash were the leap and splash of
bass. We will try for 1t with a brown
tackle, and proceeded to tie fly on the
six-foot leader Betty was using.
Hettys rod was six-ounce split bam-
loo. nine and half feet long. The reel
was light nonmultiplier., provided with
brake. which she preferred, because check
Ing the line with the thumb sometimes
burned that useful member of the hand
Betty has improved wonderfully in fiycast-
Ing since her first lessons In Pleasant run
and Sugar creek and still days she often
puts out the fly fifty to sixty feet.
Cast toward that bowlder" L suggest
ed. as she took the rod and stood up in
the canoe. The canoe was large and had
little difficulty in steadying it. When with
In fifty feet of the bowldar she cast. and
the ny dropped lightly into the water that
was swirling below the glacial-ground
"A
tapered silk line began to move slowly. In
five seconds 1t was cutting the water and
the reel was singing the song that is sweet
er music TO the fisherman than Beethoven
symphony. Suddenly the fish leaped and
showed it's colors. 1t was bass and evil
IDENTIFY was well hooked for it could not
shake the deceptive barbed fly out of its
mouth.
Betty recovered ten feet of line before
the fish made another dash. and reeled up
twenty feet more as l padded in the di-
rection the bass was moving.
Another rush and another leap followed
then the drag on the line seemingly began
TO tell and the fish permitted itself to be
grasped the landing net, however. the fish
rushed away with greater force than it had
r his that Betty Ioosened the T Brake and
nearly one hundred feet of line ran out
bare the reel The brake was applied
again, and there was another leap, fol-
lowed by two-minute sulk in the deep
water below the bowlder. Finally the taut
line began to slacken and Betty reeled in
A few short rushes were made. but Betty
guided the fish to the side of the canoe
where l put the landing net under it and
moafhed 0 BASS Weishins two T pounds and
nine ounces, and had required eleven min
ntes to kill"
test. She prefers catch or land" but
Betty Is now hyfisherwoman. for she uses
not object to the rest of the fyfsherman' !
scientific vocabulary, of which kill Is q
part
Some fishermen will say there is nothing
new strange in Betty's experience in the
waters OF the Michipocoten region-that
they have had the same experience II
White river. Therefore, 1 wish to stat,
that the incident has been related merely
for the reason that IT is not out of the
ordinary. The small-mouthed black has:
fights In the same way. whether it inhabit:
the lakes. and rivers of Canada or the
streams of Indiana, New York or the Car
olinas. IL may vary III color and sometime:
slightly in shape. but IL never varies in il.
f1ghtfng tactics. These tactics are as i'm
mutable as the proverbial laws of tn,
Medes and Persians of old. When hooked
fast. the small-mouthed bass (nlicropteru:
dolemieu) rushes, leaps and suks unit
worn out Sometimes its leaps fewe
than at other times. because of environ
main force. but If given opportunity il
water free from distractions, the small
mouthed black bass will invariably seel
freedom by leaping and will get it If tn,
fisherman be not on guard. Often an incl
or two of slack line-failure to dip tn,
tip of the rod soon enough-will enable tn,
dsh to escape. Here is j. A. Henshail,
tribute to the game king of American
HE is plucky. game, brave, unyieldin,
20 the last. when hooked. He has tn,
arrowy rush and vigor OF a trout, the un
firing strength and bold leap of a salmon
while he mas a system of fighting tactic.
peculiarly his own. i consider him, incl
for inch. and pound for pound, the games
fish that swims.
Occasionally the large-mouthed black bas
(1lfcropterus salmcides). when found il
running water. exhibits the same gamenes
as it's small-mouthed cousin, but general,
IL lacks the dash and vim of the small
mouth. / have caught both kinds in tn
little lakes OF northern Indiana among tn,
islands IN the straits of Mackinac and il
Canadian rivers. and usually was able 4
tell before l the fish whether I ma,
hooked a small or large mouth. The larg
mouth frequently leaps like its cousin. bu
when caught with minnows in northern In
diana lakes IL generally contents itself witt
rushing and sulking. and IL surrenders, al
q rule, In half the time required TO wear on
a small mouth.
There few large-mouthed black bas
IN White river. / have caught only one an,
that ten years ago. l was wading an,
casting In the river the mouth o
White Lick. below Brooklyn. when strucl
q fish that threatened to carry away m,
line before IL stopped rushing / was Il
water up TO my thighs, and endeavore,
TO reach shallower place where
could handle my rod 10 better ad
vantage. but stepped into a hole and los
my balance. / retained a grip on the rod
H.