The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1912-09-26
.MILLP0ND FISHERMAN's
FIRST SALT WATER BASS


section of the state, where the streams
are small and run one way all the
time. Until the day Of this adventure
he had never seen bigger body OF
water than O millpond, nor had he
ever caught fish that was as large
as his hand.
Scale fish, in Hanks native section
were about as rare as gold coins on q
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 q fisherman at heart
When he came to the city to take q
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 1t, and then they resolved to show
him what real fishing was like. That
Is how 1t came about that party was
made up to go for channel bass OF
Bloody Point, with Hank as the guest
Of honor.
Conditions apparently favorable for
bass. Wind, weather and tide were
precisely right, and the bait was fine
and fresh enough to tempt the appe-
tite Of fisherman, much less fish.
But there was noting doing in the line
of scale fish. Channel catfish and
gaff-topsails and stingarees there
were in plenty, but never the sign
of scale. In half an hour the bot
tom of the boat was covered with cats
and stingarees. Usually these de-
spised CRITTERS" are killed and
thrown overheard as soon as caught,
knowing only catfish, was proud Of the
big gaff-topsails and wanted to count
the catch.
AS the other fellows were proposing
to pull up the killick and go home,
Robbins got strike, and 1t was
heavy one. Now, Robbins Is 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
after the fish; why not get 'em and
goY
When Robbins got the strike, there
fore, the line came in hand over hand,
and in a jiffy great tioundering
shape of silver and drab, long as
mans body, and half his legs, was
roupd{oo IN fba c,,nuata ard hoottn~
the green water into heavy show
er that fell over the whole boats
crew.
Hank was electrified. With q cry
like 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.
The balance of the company looked
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 forty-pound sea bass right in
the midst of them! 1t seemed inevita-
BILE that Hank must be "finned," but
the more the men shouted to him the
wilder Hank raved in his delirium of
the kill. He's plumb crazy said
Little Finky, the skipper
AS quickly as he could manage 1t
without sticking Hank with the knife
Robbins cut the fish's throat. In two
minutes more it was still
Then Hank got up. He was as
white as ghost. There was not the
color of blood in his lips. His cheeks
were like chalk. his eyes were CLASSY
and his knees were shaking. Totter-
ing astern, he collapsed, with head
and arms over the gunway.
II knowed It," said Little Finky;
"he's got it good and hard, in dozen
places; the blamed eejit! Serves him
right. What'je bring a millponner on
salt water fer, anyhow"
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
strippers had got almost down to ma
ture when Hank revived enough to
say in a weak voice:
Leave me alone, you dang fools. I
amt bit nor stung nor nothin'; just
swallowed my chaw of tobacco"
And that was the size of 1t. The
Provid1.is se that protects little chill
dren and imbeciles 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
with the big bass.