The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-13
The WORM HAS ITS USES
FISH ARE NEEDED AND
TROUT SCORN THE Fly.
Says the Pike County Fisher.
man. Neither Will DO n Some New
Halt Must Re Sought II the Frying
Pan Is Empty and Men Are Hungry.

Pan Is Empty and Men Are Hungry.
MILFORD, Pa. June 1.-THE person
who goes a-fishing possessed of the d
that it is not good angling form to seek
anything but brook trout, the small mouth
black bass, or others of the royal game
fish class, and that in fishing for those
he must not even be suspected of pitting
against them anything but the artificial
fly alone, may return home satisfied that
he is a true sportsman, but he will some-
times miss heaps OF fish, said a PIX
county fisherman of the old school.
THAT fly fishing. whether it Ia for
trout or bass, is the very poesy of angling.
calling for the exercise of the finest artts-
tic sense and skill, is beyond all question.
but when a party is in camp there come
times when fish are more to be desired
than poetry and art. Unless the feeling
of scorn for the angleworm or other bait
isn't general in the camp there. will be
times a-plenty when the fish will be a'scarce
article indeed.
Especially is this true Of black bass.
One day this game and generally vora-
cious fish will rise to your fiieswith eager
ness and grace. The next day you may
try every fly you have in your book and
the BASS will pay no more attention to
them than il there wasn't such a thing as
a bass in the water. Then il you aTe a
soorner of all lures but the fly you will
return with nothing to make the smell
of bass in the frying pan.
THE day wasn't the BASIS day for
frisking with things on the surface, not
even natural things and alive. 1t was
the day when the bass was out for some
other sort of food, and one or the other
of the scorned bats would surely have
tempted its palate.
~No one knows what a black bass will
take one day after another, and the only
way he can find out is by experimenting
on him; and the man,who fishes for bass
only with the fly should remember that
it requires just as much skill TO be sue
cessful in angling with bait for that many
sided fl \ as it does in fly fishing, a a
great deal more study and observation.
Brook trout are queer too. but moi
as much 30 as black bass. Some days
trout will refuse the fly. no matter what
kin d is offered to it. but will take the
angle worm with avidity. Other days
the trout will favor the fly, any kind, but
never entirely ignores the worm. Large
brook trout that have dealt ~soornfully
with the flies Of the most expert angler
day after day, turned their lordly bacAs
on the wriggling angle worm and even
ignored the presence among them OF the
lively and tempting minnow, l have
known TO surrender readily and promptly
to fat white wood grubs presented to them
in an artistic way. Trout know what they
want, and they want what they want when
-The angle worm is the natural bait
OF the brook trout. The very large trout
are the only sort that refuse it h~abitualiy.
except early in the season, when they
The largest native brook trout OF which
there ia any record hereabout, where some
of the largest of these royal fish have
been in times gone by brought in. was
taken on an angle worm. 1t weighed
four pounds and over. It was caugh a
the Delaware at the mouth OF the Sawkill
Creek at Milford. -
in deep pools there are often large
and wise old trout that very rarely -osn
be induced to take the fly. and then only
at twilight Of a muggy day, or sometimes
by moonlight, when now and then a trout
will rise to a white miller. They per-
sistently refuse the angle worm. II has
been my experience with such veteran
denizens that unless they can be brought
to hook thus by a white miller or temptea
by a lively minnow you might as well
give up ali hope of taking any of those
big overwhelmingly.
Before the mouth OF the Vandermark
Creek at this village was changed from
it's original location by a Hood there was
just such a pool in the Delaware river
where the creek Joined 1t, and one time
four Of these big veteran trout had their
home in it. Nobody could catch them
with hook and line. at least no one ever
had caught any of them until n time a
New York professional man OF VIDE lame
and an expert trout fisherman came 70
Milford. l told him about the big trout
in the pool at the mouth OF Vandermark
Creek. just at shutdown n warm june
afternoon | went with him to see him Try
his skill on them.
He made fifty casts or more WITHOUT
tempting a fish to a rise. He was onIthe
point of reeling in his line and going baok
to his hotel in disgust when | called his
attention to a whirling crown OF foam on
the pool, a long cast away. He presently
succeeded in dropping his white miller
squarely on it. A flash, a shower OF pr3ken
foam, and | knew hat at least one OF those
veteran trout had met it's master.
: How that fish did struggle to free
itself! Now %plunging down to the bottom,
then darting to the surface and actually
leaning above 1.-THE nTst ana only uine
| ever saw a brook trout use u tactics
in frantic efforts to escape. II was twenty
minutes, it seemed to me. after Its mis-
taken rise when it surrendered to the
cruel dexterity Of its captor and yielded
up its life.
Looks to me pretty nearly a three
FOUNDER said ]. as the prize lay on the
grass, plump. savory, brilliant. and &C
t proved to be. All the skill of this ex-
pert failed to tempt another OF the
group to his hook.
aThe remaining three were in the poo
at s o'clock on the morning the angler
left Milford for New York. They were
not there at half past 8. Delmonico wal
still at Fourteenth street and Fifth ave
nue. in those days. If any one had FOL
lowed the trail OF those three big trout
il would have led him to that famed corner,
where at 8 o'clock that evening the pro-
fessional gentleman and some merry
! friends OF his dined upon them. with all
that such implies.
a 1Well, III tell o | hesitated first
when he cautiously suggested it, but
: then it occurred to me that those bis
trout were Of no possible Use 20 anybody,
a lying there scorning all overtures Tor fun
! and going to waste. Anyhow. argued
= lust as like as not some one would crazy
bait 'em some day, and that would bt
infamous, So-but all i did was to gel
the copper wire and 60 along with hin
in the boat at s o'clock that morning
He did the rest. Didn't I hate to sec those
luscious trout 20 away from home without