The herald., 1917-05-10
DASS IN STREAMS.

tAht' vi -t..lI'.~h tl.-l CT II t'-l water
For his size and weight he puts uD as
snappy a tight as any fisherman could
wish for. Take a smal-mUuth bass
in swift-runninr stream and it will
be case Of matching your knowledge
of the fishing game with his keenly
developed instinct, and at that. you
have to keep your eyes open or he will
slip one over on you and break for
other waters.
As TO main strength the bass, for its
| size. carries a larger package of that
stuff than any other fish. Often when
hooked it will plunge to the bottom
| and stick there to q fare-yoU-weu.
Nothing can bulge him except your
strength against his husky muscular
! development and this puts a heavy
| strain on your tackle that often shows
| up weak point in your equipment
and it's "gOOd-by" bass. At times you
VIII think that the bass has edged into
a rocky Creyice and has proppcd his
| strong fms against the sides to give
him leverage and believe me he has
sense enough TO do il. He is wise
enough TO dart around submerged
rocks ana saw line or gut leader on
the ragged edges and make his get
away.
One Of His Many Tricks.
One of his stock tricks is to watch
your line and the moment he gets a
little slack. up out of the water he |
jumps and gives a shake that would /,
make fairsized ''muskie" turn green |
with envy. This is not merely a
shake OF the head as practiced by
other game fish. but a strong jerky
shake that brings into play all the
muscles OF his body. He does not stop
at one Jump, but will leap repeatedly
into the air. each time giving a mas
ter shake of his husky body. After
the first leap you may think you have
lost him and start Keeling in, when 20
feet away from his first flop up he
comes again. This is his method OF
showing an amateur how a well de-
velOped bass loosens a hook from his
mouth, and unless you reel in that
slack mighty quick. Buck, he will
sure show you.
On His Way Upstream.
The bass is always on the move up
stream. which is likely caused by the
scarcity of natural food in the lower
waters. He has no love for rapids or
rifles and is seldom if ever found in
them. but in the quieter waters at the
lower end Of rapids or in the eddies
IN either side he is right at homo. AL
.houGh he does not like the rougher.
'wifter waters of the rapids and rifles.
lie Will often dash into their frothy |
'dge in pursuit Of minnOwS, returning |
It once to the quieter water. The bass
will also dash into very shallow water |
.fter some of the small fry, often in
rater so low that his dorsal fin will I
'e entirely out Of the water, returning,
owever, instantly to the deeper water +
With his catch. In his upstream mi |.
ration he will often loaf in pools be- |
DIV the rOugher shallower water of the r
ltfes until rainy weather raises the l
'ater. making swimming better for 6;
i'm. Right after high water makes
COR fishing in most cases. as the bass
ave gone up stream to new localities n
nd the new feeding grounds are gen. M
rally alive with eats carried down by Al
70 current and this gives him a period
easy feeding. AS a rule the bass
most Of their feeding in the shall 4
WIS or below rifles. going to the deep st
)ols for rest and digestion of his u,
verified feedbag, at which time it is 10
Try difficult to coax him with any lure sh
: bait. .
Sports in the Moonlight. =,
On moonlight night the bass can J.,
seen jumping up out of the water, Ia,
wing a general good time, just like H..
bunch of kids in the old "swimmin' ,r
lie They are good night feeders ~,
ID are generally close to the surface
that time. That they come to the ,,,.
RACE at night was shown to me in a -,
rikins manner a few years ago. 49,,
lille frogging one night above a riff H..
5 in the MahOning river in eastern ha
ITO was slowly rowing across the
Ter when something Topped into the Ia,
at behind me. After a few excited T,,
'ments of considerable activity the -,
pper proved to be ga pound large ~,
'uth bass, and the following night in WV
actically the same spot, bass. larger w,
half pound, Topped into the boat '"'
lie the wife was plotting a bunch of
fragettes on hunt for a mess of fU
gs. Later / flshed this stretch OF
ter with q moonlight mascot wob- Vic
r and caught quite a few strings Of
3 bass, particularly fine thought
such civilized" waters.
Bass fishing in the streams, rivers +
lakes VIII be better each year, as min,
steady stocking of all civilized wa Ack
and the rapid increase of the fish will
well as the adaptability Of the large. hat
nth to all waters means good bass ERIN
ing. which is keen sport for any, and
= plHiE. Van
Eller With Cincinnati Reds. enh,