The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-11-12
FROG NOT
GOOD BAIT
Why Bailey Failed to Catch
tha RaR9
the Bass

| IN hand in demonstrating how much
| le knows about the angling art. lie
\ inds the greatest pleasure in casting
the Elusive fly that now and then
tempts some incautious black bass to
it's undoing
The drought now partially disturbed
by recent falls of rain, greatly inter
fered with Mr.. Bailey's indulgence in
the pastime, there being more work in
it than he could find water sufficient
to compensate for, the walking mile
or two between pools and ripples on
the intervening spaces of dry and
stony river bed being exasperating as
well.
IF some one would only get up an
attachment to rod that would throw
the fly and land the fish" said he in a
contemplative mood, as he mopped his
brow and gazed down the river a mile
at 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. If 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
a chance. He gave boy a quarter to
get him couple of dozen young
frogs. They We're nice little green fell
lows, two inches long He bought the
biggest dobber he could find
1t had a goose quill through it and
was all painted green, green as the
frogs We're. 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 II goes out Of sight when a fish
seizes the bait and rushes away
with it.
Mr.. Bailey shouldered his fish-pole
and went down to the river, found a
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 miniature green island in the
water
The man who still fishes for bass
or any other fish must be well stocked
with patience. 1t may be an hour be-
fore fish inclined to take the risk of
the bait comes along to take 1t, 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 a safe estimate to mt
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.
utes. Mr.. Bailey hailed him as to his
bait, intending to bride the urchin into
supplying him with some of the same
kind
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 it was gum.
basted funny that he Didn't get anv
bites. but he didn't believe in pulling
up his hook every little while to see ,
what was the matter, and 40 he SAT
and waited.
I'll get whalloper when one does |
grab that bait!" said he. "A four.
FOUNDER, I shouldn't wonder"
The sun was getting well along he
hind the hills over in the west, Bailey |
began to show that he was disguised |
with this bait fishing for bass. The
boy had caught all the bass he wanted !
and gone home. Supper time was
drawing nigh.
"Jeeswizzled If I'm going to lose nv
supper for all the bass there is he.
tween here and Havre de Grace" said
he. four Founders and ALL"
Then he got up and pulled in his
line. When he lifted the big green
dobber from the water he was amazed I
to see no line hanging beneath IL
Then a second later it was a wonder
that the green dobber and everything /
else within hearing of that SPOT didn',
turn blue. Mr.. Bailey was emittine .
language
Costly perched on the big green
doboer, nesting against the quill sat .
the little green frog. The little green
frog had become tired, too, waiting for
a fish to come along and take il ana I
II had come up out of the waterv I
depths and climbed on the green doh