Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1909-01-06
frog NOT
GOOD BAIT
Why Bailey Failed 70 ostch
the Bass

vi nand IN demonstrating now mucl
he knows about tie angling art HI
hnds the greatest pleasure in castin,
the ilidsiye fly that now and thel
tempts some incautious black bass Il
its undoing
The drought, now partially disturbed
by recent falls of rain, greatly inter
fered with Mr.. Bai,ey's indulgence IL
he raS;ime, there being more work IL
it than he could find water sufficien
Ito compensate for, the walking a mile
or two between pools and ripples or
the intervening spaces of dry and
stony river bed being exasperating as
we'll
III some one would only get up an
attachment to a rod that would throw
the fly and land the fish," said he, in a
contemplative mood, as he mopped his
brow aAd gazed down the river a mile
at a spash of water almost boiling in
the sun, he would make an independ.
ent fortune. I'd get one right away
and go OUT somewhere and get a
whole lot of big bass right away
Attachment be swizzled," said Dea-
con Bird Galloway, who fishes some
himself nights for bullheads. why
don't you put good-sized dobber
on your line, get some nice young
| frogs for bait and go out and still fish
for your bass? With that tackle and
bait you can just sit down in the shade
and read novels while you wait for
EN- to lure the bass up to snatch the
handicapped frog. That is, If you
want to keep on sticking to bass fish
Ing. II you want to have some real
fishing. though, get some night walk
ing fish worms and come along with
me tonight and haul in bullheads.
Angler Bailey doesn't believe in bait
fishing. and he scorns bullheads, but
he did want some bass so he said he
would give. the frog and dobber scheme
chance. He gave a boy quarter to
get him a couple of dozen young
frogs. They were nice little green fell
lows, two inches long. He bought the
biggest dobber he could find.
1t had goose quill through II and
was all painted green, green as the
frogs were A dobber is pear
shaped piece of light wood that floats
in the water, the line passing through
the quill. The dobber keeps the bait
In proper position in the water and
down 1t goes out of sight when fish
seizes the bait and rushes away
with it.
Mr.. Bailey shoHldered his fish-pole
q mr. nj 4 80
big area of water, sat down in the
shade of tree, put lively frog care
fully on his hook and chucked the bait |
in the water. The frog went to the
bottom or as near it as the dobber |
would let It, and the dobber looked /
like a miniature green island in the
water.
The man who still fishes for bass
or any other fish must be we'll stocked
with patience. 1t may be an hour be-
fore fish inclined to take the risk of
the bait comes along to take it. but
the angler is in constant and pleasur-
able expectation of any moment see-
Ing the dobber go under, and that sus-
tains him during the wait. Three bites
an hour may be safe estimate to put
on the results of the average efforts
OF the still fisherman and his bait, but
sometimes they come much faster.
Half an hour went by. No bite had
come to patient Mr. Bailey. A small
boy, standing up to his knees in the
water on the opposite side of that pool,
was pulling in bass every ten min
ties. Mr.. Bailey hailed him as to his
bait, intending to bribe the urchin into
supplying him with some of the same
1ind
What are you fishing with, Bub?'
Bailey asked
Frogs" the boy yelled back as
soon as he had safely landed another
big bass he had hooked.
Angler Bailey thought 1t was gum
pasted funny that he didn't get any
bites, but he didn't believe in pulling
Up his hook every little while to see
What was the matter. and so he sat
md waited.
III get a whalloper when one does
,rab that bait!" said he. "a four
l shouldn't wonder"
The sun was getting well along be-
lind the hills over in the west. Bailey IA
'egan to show that he was disguised !,
With this bait fishing for bass. The
10Y had caught all the bass he wanted
nd gone home. Supper time was
rawing nigh.
"Jeeswrzzled II I'm going to lose my
upper for all the bass there is be-
ween here and Havre de Grace" said
e. "four-pounders and ALL"
Then he got up and pulled in his
me. When he lifted the big green
obber from the water he was amazed
0 see no line hanging beneath 1t.
hen a second later it was a wonder
hat the green dobber and everything
lse within hearing Of that spot didn't
urn blue. Mr.. Bailey was emitting
anguage.
Costly perched on the big green
obber, nesting against the Quill. sat
he little green frog. The little green
rog Had become tired, too, waiting for
fish to come along and take it, and
had come up out of the wateiy
epths and climbed on the green dob
er to rest.