The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-05-01
FISH ARE NOT EARLY RISERS,
And It's Not the EARLY Angler THAT
Catches 'Em.

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 a rule as old as the art Of
angling. but false rule" said an OBJ
servant brother of the angle.
All game fish are night feeders.
This is particularly true of trout and
black bass. The fishermen of Lake
heuka, in this state, are we'll aware Of
1t and their biggest catches of the big
gest bass are made between dark and
midnight.
Amy one who has ever set by some
alder skirted pool on 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 dis
turbance of the placid surface of the
pool, save the occasional rufffing by n
passing breeze.
But with the Gardening of it by the
evening shades, what a transformation
he sees First a dubious lifting of tile
water near one edge of the pool, per-
haps where the alders hang lowest. that
bulging bit of surface instantly break
ing into tinkling splash, and fading
away in widening ripples.
This movement is quickly followed
by similar ones. here, there, and yon-
DER until the gathering darkness hides
them from his view; but the splash and
linking of them continuing tell him
that they are still disturbing the some-
time quiet of the pool.
The 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 winged and creeping in
sects that appear only at night had
left their daytime hiding places and
were abroad, hosts of them falling into
or aimlessly alighting on the water or
crawling into ii, and that the troIIt
which had been lying low in the depths
feeding time e-'
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. And if he should remain at
the side of the stream until midnight
ne would hear the musical commotion
continued
Then it would begin to grow less
ana less, until within an hour only the
waters 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 he
meath the roots and rocks and over
hanging banks, surfeited, and no
tempting lure could induce them to
dash upon it.
The person who has seen the trans
formation that takes place in a trout
pool at evening will sit in vain to see
1t disturbed again by trout rising to
passing food before o'clock next
morning. Game fish are rarely astir
before that hour in the morning. as
have demonstrated by years of close
observation.
so when / hear the angler crawling
out of his comfortable bed an hour or
so before day, and, regardless of
breakfast, or, at best, hastily gorging
a cold bite. hurrying away to be the
first on the brook or lake, in the belief
that daybreak is the time of all times
to catch fish, / smile and turn over.
enjoy an hour or two Of that incom-
parable early morning sleep. get up
and eat good breakfast. and go out
to deliver 10 the trout or bass. which
are Just then themselves getting up,
the lure the like OF which they haven't
known that the early angler has been
vainly trying to give them for the past
three hours.
THE early bird may catch the worm,
but 1t isn't the early angler that
catches the fish: so unless you have
to get up early because your fishing
ground lies at distance. stay abed
like other folks, take your regular
breakfast and then by the time you
get to fishing the fish will be ready for
theirs"