The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-08-10

For all | know the fish on the hook
may be a young lady bass and the big
one her beau Pull in closer to the
boat and maybe we can tell more about
it..
Il reels in almost all my line and
gets the fish within six feet of the
boat Still the big fellow followed right
along. Every now and then he'd swim
right up close to the fish on the hook
and rub his nose against its nose. Then
he'd swim alongside of it and seem to
caress it with its fins.
Say says 'Murph,' amt that the
most loving expression you ever seen
on a fishs face?
"And not a blamed one Of us laughs!
FINALLY Uncle Jimmy starts out to
try to catch the free bass. He throws
in nice green frog, just the right size
and as lively as a cricket. The frog
lands within two inches of the big
bass nose, and the way it kicked and
swum along through the water must
have been most appetizing to a fish,
but that bass never paid the slightest
attention to it. Uncle Jimmy let's his
frog drift back until it brushes the
bass IN the nose with its hind legs, and
then the fish simply pushed it aside
and came swimming along beside its
captured mate He fooled along four
or five minutes trying to interest the
bass in frog legs, but never succeeded
at all Then he reels in, takes off the
frog, and puts on a phantom minnow.
1t was a brand new phantom, green and
silver, with darker fins and a mighty
pretty bait, but it didn't work any bet.
ter than the frog The big bass would
have nothing to do with it.
Every now and then I'd give the
bass on my line a jerk through the
water, and every time the big fellow
would start up like a fash and follow
it. My fish was hooked lightly in the
upper jaw and there was piece Of pork
rind which was using for bait sticking
out OF one side of it's mouth. AS
watched the two fish coming along
through the water l suddenly saw that
the big fellow had also noticed that
pork rind. He swan up close to his
mate and made a savage clip at the
projecting pork rind with his jaws. He
caught it, too, and then proceeded to
shoot around and through himself
almost out Of the water
'Bgosh! You've got EN- both
hc0ked!' yelled Murph
1 thought l had too, and started to
reel hard, but just as fMurph was
reaching for the pair of them with his
landing net the big chap shook the
piece of pork out of his mouth and
lay off a couple Of feet, still within
six feet of the boat, and watching US
with both eyes. All this time, you
know, they were both on the top Of
the water.
Try him with piece Of pork rind,
1 called to Uncle Jimmy. That's what
he seems to like
Uncle Jimmy put nice brown piece
of pork, with a white belly, on his
spoon and let it drop almost into the
jaws Of the big bass. But he never
even smelt Of it,
" :B'gosh' said 'Murph, that big fell
Ter was just trying to get his wife loose
when he took our bait
And it certainly did look that way.
Uncle Jimmy is nice, gentle, tender
hearted little man. and he was begin
ming to be touched by this example Of
loves devotion.
Through the furnace, unshrinking,
thy steps III pursue,
And shield thee, and save thee, or
perish there, too
caught him quoting and there was
something shiny in his eye.
Say, judge, he said, Tets let EN-
so. It's too much like breaking up a
happy home to suit me-.
q was willing for the devotion of
that big bass, whether it was maternal
or uxorious, was certainly extremely
touching.
I'm going to let it CO. I says to
| 'Murph,' bat he stopped me.
No use, he says. That old girl
on your hook has been dragging
through the water too long. She's fair
drowned by this time
"But l reeled her up to the boat and
(Murph' lifted her with the landing
net 1t was a female bass all right.
Then we looked to see what had bs-
come of the big fellow He had dis
appeared.
That's about where 1 saw him
last, l says, and makes a little cast
with my empty spoon. 1t no sooner
hit tie water than up he come, boiling,
and fairly swallowed the book, spoon,
and swivels and all. Then | expected a