The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-11-10
OLD BILL MEYER
SPILLS THE BEANS
Tells Secret Of How He Caught
All the Black Bass of Green
wood Lake.
COULDN'T GET MORE BAIT
ny SILENT SAM.

or however he chooses to express the
calculation Of how he managed to catch
all the bass out of Greenwood Lake. III
there are enough bass left to spawn
next year Il isn't Bits fault.
We were trolling along the edge OF
the sunken island for wall eyed pike
when he announced his determination to
quit the game. i've got to get back
and look after things" he said.
II thought you were going to stay up
here and plug for bass till the lake
froze over?" l said.
Whats the use%' he demanded. Il
can't get any more bait"
Knowing him TO be a devotee of the
plug, a Decker by day and luminous
Kalamazoo by night. knowing him to
express contempt for the festive frog,
the humble night walker. the hoary he'll
granite and the modest crawfish. j mar
yelled at his regretful reference to the
lack of bait. Then deliberately and
with malice aforethought he spilled the
beans. Still. you never can tell. Many
great public benefactor has shared
his secret with the world simply be-
cause he realized that he couldn't get
any more bait.
Stranger in Strange Land.
And thereby hangs n tale but It
must unfold itself in logical sequence
When Bill and his family first took the
bungalow in the Birch Cove early In the
season Bill was a stranger in a strange
land He didn't know the water. but
he had a casting rod, free running reel.
a Decker by day and a luminous kala-
rnazoo by night; moreover he had a
pair OF keen eyes and trick OF smelling
a bass forty feet under water. SO II
wasn't long before he found EN-.
And he found most of 'em in the dark.
Not that he neglected the Decker by
day. Far from It. From sunrise till
sunset he would automatically cast and
reel. "Just to sort OF keep my hand
in" he would explain. NO use getting
rusty. Just killing time till DARK.
Then from the time It got dark until
the sun popped up over Sweeze Hunters
farm house way up on top of the Tux
edo Mountain, he would automatically
cast and reel. In spite Of what he said
about having to go back to Ridsewood
and look after things, my private opin-
ion Is that he went back TO get some
sleep.
THAT luminous Kalamazoo or yours
must be some plug" I said one morning
as I watched him distributing what
looked like boatload Of live bass
among the neighbors.
"Sure is" grinned Bill. 7 thought
detected just the suspicion OF deliber-
ately twitched eyel!d as he said 1t. How
ever, wasn't quite sure. So the next
night | thought I'd try little luminous
plugging myself and repaired to Bits
favorite haunt over the weeds in the
East Arm. There ! found him, and
was almost on top of him In the dark
haf IN Inn ~ TIa Fhnlad In
faster than ever saw him work plug
before, and ! noted him cut his line with
a knife and stick something In his
/ pocket.
Gust SpearinE Lightnin' Bugs"
We worked the weeds together fol
two hours after that, and although the
phosphorescent glow Of our luminous
plugs fairly Illuminated the landscape
neither OF us had a strike. who's the
JONAH" growled Bill. II got nine be-
fore you butted in"
Several evenings after that as l was
returning from the post office In the
dusk saw Bill cropping about under the
birches surrounding his bungalow. He
seemed TO be engrossed in the infantile
game of catching frehies. whats the
answer" I demanded.
On, just spearlHE rev ISHlIH
bugs" he said. Again thought 7 de-
tected Just the suspicion OF a deliber-
ately twitched eyelid. my daughter is
studying insect life" he explained, and
she wants few specimens
"Oh. papa" I heard a voice murnrur
from the darkness OF the porch. This
! was followed by suppressed g.ggles from
the same direction.
Well. it was none of my business, so
went home. But | couldn't help think
Ing about II. IL the meantime Bill con
tinued his nocturnal fishing. and the
water In the lake kept getting lower and
lower
While the rest Of the residents damned
the East Jersey Water Company for eN-
ercising its prerogative to draw the
water from the lake [ couldn't help
! specializing as 0 whether the vast guam
titles of bass Bin Meyer was lifting
| from their native habitat didn't have
considerable to do with the water going
down. There is no combating the law
of ply sizes.
II wasn't until couple OF days before
he left for RidGewood to get some sleep
and while We were trolling for the afore-
| said wall eyed pike that Bill gave me
the true inwardness of that deliberately
twitched eyelid.
Luminous Plug CamounnRe.
We were fishing from the same boat
that day, and neither OF us cared for
pike fishing anyway; hence the bean
splitting episode, To go back to the he
ginning. BIN told me he was going home
because he couldn't get any more bait.
what BATE" ! asked.
"Lightnin' bugs" said Bill. There
was heavy frost one night last week
and | haven't seen firehy since
Come again." I said.
And then he told me- The luminous
Kalamazoo had been a blind, hit OF
camouflage, His night bait for bass had
consisted of isrenies. What I called him
wouldn't pass the censor, but he took
! II In good part. for had the presence
OF mind TO smile when | said it, All
he said was. IN show YOU how it's
DONE" and reaching into his tackle box
he produced a most wonderful casting
| lure.
Structurally II was simply glass
medicine vial tightly corlSed. This was
| encased I'm n harness Of lightweight
wire to which were attached two treble
hooks. The cork. although fitting the
neck OF the vital tightly, was carved
with a downward curve.
That's the boy that got en-" said
, BIZ proudly. And now that can't get
any more lightnin' bugs don't care who
knows IT, There's the best plug ever
invented, and ! suppose | could get a
patent on 1t and make enough money 10
keep me In coal all winter IL ! didn't