Ellsworth American., 1909-06-16
ANGLERS. BELIEFS.
ommon Superssitions Why Fish Will
and Mont Bite


As Tor bite ysz wait
EtSe Ssh cc1tsnHe wssy
The7 spit . 7oa ssas oasf-
known and understood Of living things
preyed upon by man, anglers are the
most sapersslfioas of sportsnseu. Not
outstanding the fscs that the fishing
f fraternity includes some Of the most iateI-
B lectaal of zaea. Il Is sale TO assert that
ih--e is nos one be be scientist, professor.
Z minister or statesman. who docs not cher
( ish belief IN one or more pet onsens zizas
or theories. having no foundation in fact
swear not, qaoth izssk Walton, as
( long age a. 1870, -siest you catch no fish !"
The same saying. modernixs<f into --don :
crss, or ths flsh woa't bite, restrzins the
exasper&tsd expiefires OF many sn angler
I to-day. Tue oSasrwise sstute Uncle Izssk
was fun OF quaint and comicsi ideas about
+ be had Inherited from sngiers Of stilI
earlier SsS. lie believed ihst the species
! pickerel had no birth such as is common
10 ether ashes, but evoiveSi from fungus
deposit on flags and reeds growing in
wafer. He qaot@d Piiny as an authority,
who sysrred that fishes have well-
6eveIopeo s~rss Of hearing and coaIa be
taught to snswsr 10 their naua@s.
The argument among sagler- as to
whethsr or nos fishes can hear has con-
tinGe6 siEses ths days of the ancisn:
RoInsns, and IS stiu unsettled. 2 zen among
ssientisgs. a majority Of students Eow
affirm ;hss the iahs bisnts OF the water.
can hear 30 sound originating outside the
element in which they live, but this affects
no insist that no one shall sing. whistle
or converse in a tone above q whisper
while fishing.
when the wind is IN the south
/ 1t blows the bait in the fishes mouth
/ has been a saying implicitly believed for
/ centuries. without it having had ORG
insliy, or since, any real foundation.
s.Is you De an honest angler may the
east wind never blow shen you 60 a-fish-
ing said izask Walton, and, as the sout b
wind has been considered particularly
fsvors Die to catching fish, 50 is the eastern
l.!
Dou ptless the saws had their origin in tne
tact that fair weather usually obtains
when the wind Is south. and it 10 there
fore better time to fish; while stormy,
raw and unpleasant weather usually ac-
companies an east wind. Fishes are un-
coubsediy affected by changes in weather
{ and temperature, but they care not ios
j - gxk. ss,G.
+ 50 there is breeze. For fishes dearly love
breeze AMI the consequent lively ripple
+ upon the surface OF the water.
On . sultry morning, hen the air is
still ana oppressive. body of water, no
matter how dsnsely populated by fsh, lies
still and unbroken. After dawn breaks
/ and the sunrise breeze strikes the water,
depths, arouse themselves, rush TO the
surface and tumble about in the r.ppies in
! an abandonment OF sport.
.Wh@n the dogwood blooms in the
! spring the fishing season has come, " is g
saw universally credited Many a small
boy. restraining xith difficulty his SPRING
/ time impotence welcomes with whoops of
Zke- k0c AEcA Gltr bitssSAAA. VI tlt QOE-
wood tree in the pasture. Il Is scarcely
worth while to remark that the .-scaiy
denizen OF the deep is not up in botany.
ana could by no possibility be Influenced
Dy the advance of any particular species
of vegetation, especially highland tree.
There is class OF anglers who swallow
with singular avitity any statement con-
q - =
1 favor. Such as these have acquired an
amusing doctrine concerning the in
| ausnce ofthe moon upon fishes. and regu-
/ late their piscatorisi excursions according
4 70 luns's phases The sign Of the zodiac
l believed to De most favora ole TO good
4 sport with the rod is the sign of the
/ pisces- or the twin fishes, into which the
moon passes for two or more days each
month. The anglers who are students of
/ the almanac watch this phase. and with
the exultant announcement that ..the sign
Is right, HE them to the riverside conf
| dent Of success.
Many anglers who sco1 at the dogwood
| saying express conviction that fishes are
| peculiarly susceptible to the flavor of sasa-
4 "a ass AOStf aAiN .Aahy al
tiously fastens bit of that shrub in the
stream above where he is fishing. imagin-
/ ing that its favor will be carried down
with the current and stimulate the appe-
tite OF fishes in his vicinity.
There is minute water beetle. black,
energetic and excitable, which frequents in
droves the still coyes OF waterways. This
( insect is commonly known TO the small
/ boy as the '.lucky bug, and he is firmly
convinced that the approach of one of
/ these TO his floating s-bobber'' is a sure
( sign Of '.biten soon to come. And the
belief IS not confined exclusively 10 the
small boy.
I Another frequenter OF the waterways
and marshes, the dragon fy-known TO
/ young America as the ''snake doctor"- is
supposed TO be the ha-binger of misfor-
tune. II one ofthese persists in alighting