The sun., 1916-09-17
FRESH WATER TIGER
CLEVER STRATBCIST
Maskinonge a Leaper: but
Angler Can Discourage
Jumping.
ITS FIGHTING QUALITIES
~ CTO

Ye gods and li;tle fishes! Here am
I Just back from a brief rest from bust
ness cares. and on reading he inter-
esting page on Sunday find I am
bound to pose again ms a critic In order
to keep up the reputation Of my nom
de plume.
Some OF your good readers have said
that in order to get a rise out OF ma
ture Factor" Il IL necessary to write
some article in which appears an in
accuracy or error regarding game fish.
or any nature fake.
Therefore. BY the great horn spoon
suppose II In incumbent upon me to
get after that good fellow Kit Clarke
FOR his article on Sunday. II was n
good one and decidedly interesting and
] am sure Kit Clarke IL such a good
sportsman that I do not want him to
get In that class OF dreamers who get
writing so much that they fall away
from truism.
My feeling Is that those who are ex-
perienced and capable of giving reports
must use extra care not to mlslead the
many novices constantly Joining the
ranks of this great sport. Therefore.
unless a man is thoroughly .mbued with
knowledge OF the exact subject or species
upon which he is writing he should look
carefully to his expressions. and I am
sure will never feel a bit unkindIy TO
an honest critic. For my part I well
come any criticism or any question re-
garding statements I may make. for any
OF us will at times inadvertently nc
subject to misconception.
with this rambling prelude my OBJ
lection to Kit Clarke's article is chiefly
where he intimates that lunge will not
break water except In the Eagle Chain.
or at any rate in certain fishing grounds
which he mentions having tiled.
Lunge Will Leap Everywhere.
l have always tried to impress upon
fishermen that gameness is a matter Of
blood or breed. even though individuals
may vary considerably. For instance.
the wall-eye pike. also called the Sus-
%ouehanna salmon. the pike-perch and
various other names. 10 a hard bottom.
clean fish and most excellent for the
table.
1t il a voracious feeder. appears TO
have plenty Of power and yet wherever
found. In river or lake. In every section
II lacks ganIeness. Garneness Is si.2ply
not a characteristic of that fish. and !
take him "a merely one example.
Though the small mouth and the big
mouth bass are very s.n:.!a: n appear
ance, the small mouth bass is known by
all logical and experienced anglers To bo
Infinitely gamer. He will try longer and
try harder. n this has been proved In
all waters where the two fish are found
together or otherwise. The big. mouth
bass makes a spectacular fight. gives
great fun to a vast number OF fishermen.
n Is q mos. valuable asset to the
fraternity. but he never Is equal 20 the
small mouth bass In gameness. which
means that he will not continue to neht
and struggle as the small mouth will.
even though his tactics are similar while
they last.
A leghorn rooster Is an active bird
and has the ability to fight as we'll a.
a thoroughbred gamecock. but Of course
he won't stick to II, while the gamcness
Of the latter will be shown, regardless
OF the climate. &c. in which the two
birds may be bred.
The turtle dove. although swift. will
never have the gameness or character.
istics Of the sparrow hawk. and so wher-
ever a certain species lives and thrives
II will exhibit more or less the natural
traits. and ! will say, begging Mr..
Clarke's pardon for contradicting him.
that lunge will leap from the water and
FItuN0 tuCth Sou ~ Atot Rtsa
bulldog fashion which he SO ably
quotes in the st. Lawrence River. In
Chautauuua Lake and ! think in every
water which Is their habitat.
Manipulation Discourages Jumping
1t must be remembered. however. that
large fish OF any species are apt to be
less active and anxious to reach deep
water. Big muskies, when caught. as Ii
usually the case. along a shoal. especial
ly where a weed bed grows. will in
stead Of taking refuge in the weeds
where they would almost invariably get
away from the angler. generally rush
right down the shoal for deeper water
and they oftentimes will not leap at all.
Furthermore. 1t depends very much
where they are hooked as to their tao
tics and also how they are handled.
A skilful angler. fearing to lose a
good fish. can often by proper manipula-
ton discourage his jumping. will
! make the assertion that a lunge II
caught In really shallow water would
come out of water almost as often az a
salmon from a few cases I have seen.
II they cannot 60 down they VIII surely
come up.
| have noted from long experience that
when a lunge il hooked In certain ways
he will almost invariably come flying out
Of the water, even where there Is deep
water near by.
once saw a great fellow hooked of
a shoal near very deep water. where one
would not ms a rule expect a strike. This
fish was Just under five feet In length.
and when he struck stood still. as they so
often do, for q second, 80 that the angler
thought he was on the bottom. The next
moment he broke high In the air. and l
know OF no more inspiring or thrilling
sight than a lunge under these circum-
stances.
The enormous head. fairly bristling
with teeth, the mouth and gills dis
tended to an almost unbelievable ca
pacity as HI violently shakes his head
until the spoon rattles against his Jaw.
and then goes down in a great splash
and spray on his rush.
No Mean strategists.
In this particular case which memory
calls to mind. when landed he had bent
the hook out straight, as the angler had
played him too hard. and another good
rush would have unquestionably pulled
the barb out. Had I not been quick In
assisting to put him In the boat my
friend would have lost him. and he now
adorns the wall In his billiard room and
Is his great pride.
But as a rule a ~ or & foot lunge will
not break clearly above the water that
way II there IL deep water In which he
can fight. but he will do so otherwise and
he will very often come up part out OF
water and viciously shake that terrific
head. But as stated It depends some
what upon how he Is hooked and upor