The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-10-01
MILLPOND FlSHERMAN'S
FIRST SALT WATER BASS


are small! and run one way all the
time. Unrll the day OF this adventure
he had never seen bigger body of
water than millpond, nor had he
ever caught a fish that was as large
as his hand.
Scale fish, in Hanks native section
were about as rare as gold coins on a
church contribution plate. The stand
ard fish was little finger cat, black
and despicable in the purview OF the
coast fisherman: but Hank and his
friends back home thought catching
them was rare sport. and that they
were really game" fish.
Hank was a fisherman at heart
When he came to the city to take a
position" in one Of the stores he con.
tinually Dragged about how he used to
'yank 'em out and what fine ones
they were. The boys stood Hanks
palaver for time. until they got tired
of it, and then they resolved to show
him what real fishing" was like That
is how it came about that party was
made up to go for channel bass off
Bloody Point, with Hank as the guest
Of honor.
Conditions apparently favorable for
bass. Wind. weather aGd tide We're
precisely right, and the bait was fine
and fresh enough to tempt The appe-
ttc Of fisherman. much less a fish
But there WAS noting doii.y in the line
of scale fish. Channel catfish and
ga!ftopsails and s'Hgarcps there
were i'll plenty, but never the sign
Of a scale In half an hour the bot
tom 81 he boat VAS covered with eats
and s.i.igarccs Usually these de.
spised critters" are killed and
thrown overheard as soon as caught.
but Hank, as the guest OF honor, and
knowing only catfish. was proud Of the
big gaff-topsails and wanted TO count
the catch.
AS the other fellows We're proposing
to pull up the klllick and go home,
Robbins got 4 strike. and it was a
heavy one Now, Robbins is a hand
line man and does not believe in play.
ing his fish He wants to see the
quarry landed in the shortest possible
space Of time. Whats the use
foolin', says Robbins; you come
alter the fish, Why not gct en- anL
go?'
When Robbins got the strike there.
fore, the line came in hand olti hand
and in a jiify 4 great fIoural,ring
shape Of silver and dr,sh iuAr as a
mans body. and half his legs. VAS
pounding on the gnnwale aud beating
the green water into heavy show
or that fell over the whole boats
crew.
Hank was electrified With a cry
like Il wild Indian. he sprang from his
seat upon the thwart, grabbed the big
fish around the throat, lifted it in.
board and went down with 1t among
the catfish and stingarees
nN VI tut Vnktu
on in literal fear and trembling There
were no less than forty of the sea
devils Of the poisonous spines in the
bottom of the boat. and there was that
blithering idiot from the millponds
writhing and wrestling and twisting
with a forty-pOund sea bass right in
the midst of them! II seemed inevita.
BILE that Hank must be filmed" but
the more the men shouted to him the
wilder Hank raved in his delirium Of
the kill. Hes plumb crazy said
Little Finky. the skipper.
As quickly as he could manage it
without sticking Hank with the knife
Robbins cut the tish's throat In two
minutes more it was still.
Then Hank got up. He was as
white rs ghost There was not the
color Of blood in his lips. His cheeks
we're like chalk. his eyes we're CLASSY
and his knees were shaking. Totter-
ing astern. he collapsed. with head
and arms over the gunway.
Il knowcd IT," said Little Finky:
hes got 1t good and hard, in a dozen
places: the blamed cejit! Serves him
right. Whatje bring a millponner on
salt water fer, anyhow"
Jaw. cut that" growled Robbins.
Cant YOU see the mans in great
suffering? Get the peroxide while We
and the other boys strip his clothes
off and find the punctures."
No sooner said than done The
shippers had got almost down TO ma.
ture when Hank revived enough to
say in Il weak voice;
Lyavo mo alena. yoa dang FOOLS.
amt hit nor s,uuE nor u9jain'; jus
swallowed my chaw of tobacco"
And that was the size of it. The
Providence that protects little chill
dren and imbcciles and drunken men
had steered that "millponner" safely
and unscathed through what appeared
to be hopeless array of catfish and
stingaree spines while he wrestled