The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-24
CLUB FISHING
IN NOVEMBER
BY A. v. DOCKERY.

I prefer TO call the fish by the fanil-
lar old name rather than bass which
is all we'll enough for the fisher who
delights TO blow over the game.
1t is club in Virginia and North
Carolina, and trout" in South Caro-
lima and further south. but black bass
amongst talkative people.
/ got ont of bed at the sleepy hour
Of five o'clock and caught the 6 a. m.
train for knightdale.
The pond. a private one. it situated
about 500 yards from the little town
1t is a little, lovely, deep, black water
pond about two acres in extent: sur
rounded by woodland. at the head OF
a narrow branch. There are gently
sloping hills on either side and it is
as picturesque a little dell as | have
even seen. Moreover it is far enough
away from ~Querulous inhabitants for
one to enjoy the gio m even when
the sport is not gay
IT is also An old pond. something
near a hundred years Of age. There
is a dirt dam with roadway across
it, and the pine trees along both
| sides Of the dam are so large tina l
could not make hands meet while
embracing one Of them-that is evil
dence, in itself, Of some age. This
dam is there to stay, and once fixed
with trees and their roots. neither
musk rats nor human beings can
bother the dam.
Sherman's army. which spent a day
or two in the neighborhood. tried To
cut it for the fish, but they did not
have time. Years ago there was a
mill by this dam-sight, a genuine old
style OvershOt, one Of those wheels OF
wonderful poiSe hat took a real
Wheelright to construct and only d
few bucketsfull of water TO make into
motion. The only sign of a mill now
I 10 r. e fVyn all r pnr n hnr 4~A2 ,rarI.
down the branch.
Those wonderfully cheap water
wheels and mills have gone out OF
fashion; they belonged to a lazy age
and an innocent people.
Yesterday was raw even stripped OF
its accompaniment, a cold northeast
wind. a veritable harbinger Of empty
sport. One could not reasonably ex-
pect a fish to bite with such a biting
wind, but l had the dope and was
out for the day. It was cold. sure, and
often l would walk and suck my fing-
ers to keep warm or partially so. l
thought about building a fire when it
was too late.
had never tried to catch a club in
November, and ] always like to learn
something new about fish.
My were not the best
small silverfsh-a sluggish carp
which played badly. perch like, CO.
ing laZily around and around instead
of starting out in different directions
like our Incompatible round branch
minnoW.
I began fishing shallow, knowing
{ my quarry feeds at or near the top.
at least in temperate weather.
; Until dinner time I had no sign %
: anything going on under water.
: After lunch I changed my tactics,
fishing deeper. stretched the cork W
? to seven feet, and got my lure down
amongst the nobility.
l l had a showdown, and / lost my
:. minnow. / flung in again, al an old
! boat landing place, got a salutation,
? wore my fish out, and landed a two
I FOUNDER. This gave me heart.
There is no boat on the pond and
[ the banks are fringed with alders
: bamboo brlars and everything else
[ that could get in the way: so that i
z would be next to impossible tt land a
' big fish. l do not like bank fshine
. anyhow. there is no sport in yanking &
fish right out Of the water as if fol
meat
= Another minnow started in but wa.
: lost in casting through a bush.
Z l got another strike. and after play
y ing my fish the best I could, worrie(
: him out only to lose him in Hftinl
over the bushes.
u Changing my location for a log tina
: led out into the water for a clear cast
! | got a dead stick to help me walk tn.
log. a feat ! was always weak in, anc
started, rod in one hand and stick il
the other. At the right time the sticl
n broke and in jumping TO save tota
immersion. | landed in water kne'
deep and quit the log.
Back to the bushes, I lost two min
noWs in succession in the cast. becam'
ratified. fshed badly, and lost thre,
/ other nice fish in trying to land then
IS over or through the buses.
l. Cetainly / was cold and wet, tn
% vino kept blowing. and with five Q
IS six in the bucket actual
u fishing an hour by the sun. va
o simply disguised with my lack o
style.
% One fish: but as / to
= TREND on the train, l would walk te
miles any day to catch a o
~ "chub.' from a boat; and | am onl
of 81 years old