Evening star., 1904-04-29
FISH NOT EARLY RISERS
AND IT'S NOT THE EARLY ANG-
LER THAT CATCHES EN-.
They Are Addicted to Late Suppers and
Don't Like to Go Home TIL
After Midnight.

From the New York Sun.
'The angler who turns out of his bed at
an unseemly hour in the morning In order
to get to fishing by daylight is following
rule old as the art of angling. but a false
rule" said an observant brother of the
angle.
"All game fish are night feeders. This Is
particularly true Of trout and black bass.
The fishermen of Lake Keuka, In this state.
are well aware of 1t. and their biggest
catches of the biggest bass are made be-
tween dark and midnight.
Amy one who has ever sat by some alder
skirted pool on a trout stream as night
began to fall knows what lively change
comes over its surface with the passing of
day. He might have sat there an hour or
more. and seen no disturbance of the placid
surface Of the pool. save the occasional
ruffling by a passing breeze.
But with the darkening of 1t by the
evening shades. what a transformation he
sees. First. a bulbous lifting Of the water
near one edge Of the pool. perhaps where
the alders hang lowest that bulging bit of
surface instantly breaking into tinkiing
splash, and fading away in widening
ripples. This movement Is quickly fol-
lowed by similar one, here there and yon-
der, until the gathering darkness hides
them from his view; but the splash and
tinkling Of them continuing tell him that
they are still disturbing the sometime quiet
Of the pool.
Insects.
ssThe listener If a skilled angler. would
know what had brought about this change
In the aspect of the pool He would know
that with the coming of evening the wing
ed and creeping insects that appear only
at night had left their daytime hiding
places and were abroad. hosts of them fall
Ing into or afmlessly alighting on the
water or crawling into 1t, and that the
trout which had been lying low In the
depths of the pool had aroused 10 their
royal feeding time.
I .'If he could see or hear what was passing
every other where along the stream he
would discover the same busy scene at
every pool and reach of water. Ana II he
should remain at the side of the stream
until midnight he would hear the musical
commotion continued.
..Then it would begin to grow less and
less until within an hour only the waters s
own music would be heard. The time for
FEEDING Is past, the time for rest and sleep
has come, and the trout have retired to
their haunts beneath the roots and rocks
and overhanging banks. surfeited, and no
tempting lure could induce them to dash
upon it.
Game Fish Sleep Late.
..The person who has seen the transfor-
mat tion that takes place in trout pool at
evening will sit in vain to see 1t disturbed
again by trout rising to passing food be-
fore o'clock next morning. Game fish are
rarely astir before that hour in the morn
ing. as I have demonstrated by years Of
close observation. So when l hear the
angler crawling out of his comfortable bed
an hour or So before day, and, regardless
of breakfast. or. at best, hastily gorging
cold bite. hurrying away to be the first on
the brook or lake. in the belief that day
break is the time of all times to catch fish,
smile and turn over, enjoy an hour or two
OF that Incompatible early morning sleep,
get up and eat good breakfast, and go