Macon beacon., 1917-04-27
BASS IN STREAMS.

\
snappy a fight as any fisherman coul'
wish for. Take q small-mouth bas
in a swift-running stream and 1t will
be case of matching your knowledg,
Of the fishing game with his keenl!
developed instinct, and at that, yo,
have to keep your eyes open or he will
slip one over on you and break fol
other waters.
AS to main strength the bass, for itl
size, carries a larger package Of tha
stun than any other fish, Often wher
hooked 1t will plunge to the bottom
and stick there to q 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 fms 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.
0he 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 shake that would
make fair-sized "muskie" turn green
with envy. This is not merely q
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 reeling in, when 20
feet away from his first flop up he
comes again. This Is his method of
showing an amateur how a we'll 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 II 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-
ow the rougher shallower water Of the
'iff1es until rainy weather raises the
water, making swimming better for
lin. Right after high water makes
,oor fishing in most cases, as the bass
AVE gone up stream to new localities
md the new feeding grounds are gen.
rally alive with eats carried down by
he current and this gives him a period
4 easy feeding. AS a rule the bass
% most Of their feeding in the shal.
ows or below rifles, going to the deep
ools for rest and digestion of his
verified feedbag, at which time It is
cry difficult to coax him with any lure
r bait.
Sports In the Moonlight.
On a moonlight night the bass can {
Q seen Jumping up out Of the water,
aving a general good time, Just like
bunch OF kids in the old "swimmin' I
ole." They are good night feeders S
nd are generally close to the surface
that time. That they come to the /
lrface at night was shown to me in a {
riking manner a few years ago. '
lille frogging one night above riff. f
IS In the Mahoning river in eastern q
hio was slowly rowing across the h
yer when something Topped into the t
'at behind me. After a few excited 4
oments Of considerable activity the
'pper proved to be 81 pound large
outh bass, and the following night in
actically the same spot, a bass, larger 81
half a pound, Topped into the boat y
hile the wife was piloting bunch of n
1ragettes on hunt for a mess of n
ogs. Later / fished this stretch of fl
tier with a moonlight mascot wob- T
or and caught quite few strings of b
% bass, particularly fine l thought a
such "civilized" waters. nj
Bass fishing in the streams, rivers g.
d lakes will be better each year, as 0,
steady stocking of all civilized wa m
9 and the rapid increase Of the fish 81
we'll as the adaptability of the large al
'uth to all waters means good bass in
hing, which is keen sport for any. pe
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