The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-05-10
BASS IN STREAMS.

| reasons for giving the black bass the
title Of "gamest fish of fresh water"
| For his size and weight he puts up as
snappy fight as any fisherman could
wish for. Take small-mouth bass
in a swift-running 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 larger package Of that
stuff than any other fish. Often when
hooked it will plunge to the bottom
and stick there to fare-you-well.
| 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 a weak point in your equipment
and it's "good-by" bass. At times you
| will think that the bass has edged into
a rocky crevice and has propped his
strong fins against the sides to give
him leverage, and believe me he has
sense enough to do it. He is wise
enough to dart around submerged
rocks and 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 a fair-sized "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 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
on either side he is right at home. AL
though he does not like the rougher,
swifter waters of the rapids and rifles,
he will often dash into their frothy
edge in pursuit of minnows, returning
at once to the quieter water. The bass
will also dash into very shallow water
after some of the small fry, often in
water SO low that his dorsal fin will
be entirely out of the water, returning,
however, instantly to the deeper water
with his catch. In his upstream mi
grafton he will often loaf in pools be-
low the rougher shallower water Of the
rifles until rainy weather raises the
water, making swimming better for
him. Right after high water makes
poor fishing in most cases, as the bass
have gone UP stream to new localities
and the new feeding grounds are gen.
orally alive with eats carried down by
the current and this gives him period
of easy feeding. AS rule the bass
do most of their feeding in the shall
lows or below rifles, going to the deep
pools for rest and digestion of his
overfilled feedbag, at which time it is
very difficult to coax him with any lure
or bait.
Sports in the Moonlight.
On a moonlight night the bass can
be seen jumping up out of the water,
having a general good time, just like
a bunch of kids IN the old "swimmin'
hole" They are good night feeders
and are generally close to the surface
at that time. That they come to the
surface at night was shown to me in a
striking manner few years ago.
While frogging one night above riff
fies in the Mahoning river in eastern
Ohio I was slowly rowing across the
river when something Topped into the
boat behind me. After few excited
moments of considerable activity the
topper proved to be 34 pound large
mouth bass, and the following night in
practically the same spot, a bass, larger
by half pound, Topped into the boat
while the wife was plotting bunch OF
suffragettes on hunt for mess OF
frogs. Later / fshed this stretch or
water with a moonlight mascot wob-
bier and caught quite few strings OF
fine bass, particularly fine I thought
for such Civilized" waters.
Bass fishing in the streams, rivers
and lakes will be better each year, as
the steady stocking of all civilized wa
tiers and the rapid increase of the fish
as well as the adaptability Of the large
mouth to all waters means good bass
Aching which is a keen sport for any