The sun., 1918-07-07
FROG, FRIEND OF
THE HUMAN RACE
4 Plea to Black Bass Anglers
to Preserve This Use
full Creature.
.LUGS BRING SUCCESS
BY KEOKUK.

am inspired to issue a call to anglers
Who have discarded the frog as a
ure to come forward and help create a
movement by lending their moral sup
rort for the preservation Of this useful
| -reature.
Come on, you who have hardened to
ne better impulses Of your nature, tell
Is why you stopped and SO inspire 9TH
ers to hit the trail" and presently
many OF us followers Of the rod, line
md reel may be recorded In these col
INNS as "frogless anglers"
As an encouragement. I am going to
tell my own little story and will begin
by saying that I greatly enjoy casting
flies for bass, but on my fishing excur-
sions rarely am able to crafty this
inclination, because at the lakes l visit
conditions Of wind and weather are not
always favorable to that style OF
angling. therefore my efforts are mostly
centred on short rod casting.
1t was in 1909, up in the inland lake
districts Of Ontario, that I received my
first awakening while trolling for pike.
A man and his son fshed near by. The
man baited his spoon hook in this fash
ion He took live frog, ran one Of the
prongs OF the triple hook through the
head. Then he drew UP one OF the hind
| legs and hooked It through the knee
Joint on the second prong. Following
his example, baited In the same man
ner.
Now, this mans son was a long, lean,
freckled faced youth Of nineteen. homely
and awkward, and dare say his educa-
ton went no further than simple read
ing and writing. All his life had been
cNaD< m on, In kaa "a ryp and he
had never been farther than twenty
miles from his backwoods home.
He was a quiet boy. never had any
thing to say to any one. never speaking
| excepting when spoken to. He was.
however, a great listener. The old man
and myself hooked on our live frogs
without any thought OF what Mr.. Frog
felt or thought of our treatment OF him.
/ noticed though that the ungainly
youth killed his frog before impaling 1t,
and for a while I gave 1t no thought.
but as he kept on repeating this opera
ton. il set me to thinking and 1 found
myself moralizing thus: Here" said l
| to myself, lis a nice bit for contempla-
ton. You are in boat with youth
| who teaches a lesson, teaches something
| you have never learned. and that is the
terrible cruelty TO the frog and to other
living things in the name OF sport
afterward learned the utter need
lessness Of using any bait at all on
spoon hooks when trolling for pike
therefore all the frogs used were an
actual sacrifice.
A few years later when I determined
to go in for bass fishing exclusively
Through fly casting and short rod cast
ing), was assured by experienced
ANGLERS that the most satisfactory re-
suits could only be obtained by using
live frogs since they were the natural
food Of the bass
As wanted to catch bass and so
acquire knowledge OF their ways ana
hiding places l reluctantly allowed my
self to be persuaded into sinking m!
needle pointed barbed hook through tn
head OF the squrming, helpless little
, frogs and then cast them until life was
! extinguished.
II was not long before / was considered
by others as being expert in catching
bass with such live bait but by and by
this very success began to pail on me II
had become too easy OF Accomplishment.
and besides l was gradually being
prompted by an accusing conscience until
l could no longer endure the sight OF the
little paws and legs striving nightly to
| tear out the torturing instrument OF
pain.
| Conscience Torments.
Then / began the practice OF killing
the frogs before employing them as Ash
| lures, and after experimenting with vari-
Gus styles OF hooks l discovered / could
catch as many bass on dead frogs as
formerly could with live ones.
In time this also grew stale. but never
once did that still, small voice within
cease to torment with such questions as
"Whyfore? What's the user
Each piteous vocal sound which burst
from the agonized , quivering frog whose
head l was beating against the gun
whale Of the boat seemed to echo and
reecho with why? Why? Why?" And
for verity-why, indeed.
Why destroy this valuable little crea-
ture, so important in the economy OF
nature. this faithful and interchangeable
friend OF the agriculturlst this harmless
warbler who breaks the awe and dread
full stiffness of the night?
To myself asked: Would you impale
a live bird on your hook and use it as a
bait? Would you deprive II OF its life
and then so employ it? The frog is as
! valuable as is the bird. Then why use
the poor little frog in that manner"
Now all this may on the part OF the
unthinking provoke contemptuous
smile, but kindly take note of the fact
=
or brown black spotted varieties com
monty called leopard frogs" and they
are generally to be found doing good
service In the grasses OF the pasture OF
in the fields of hay or grain.
Because the water frogs. which are
the natural food of the bass and OF nc
economic value to the farm are so diff.
cult to capture, not many OF them are
used by the angler as bait. This variety
Is plain green back with yellow belly
and also Is used by man as an article OF
| food.
Upon finishing the reading OF a book
about frogs and meditatng over the
matter l promised myself to part com.
pany with them so far as fishing was
concerned, and | am glad TO state have
! found quite n few Hn~'e"e WIFI
likewise when their value was under
stood.
Success With ARTIFICIAL Bats.
then took up casting of artificial
bats, especially the surface and sub
surface wooden plugs, and the more sue
cess attained the more ! gradually dis
armed the triple hooks on those STYLES
| until all that remained was one exposed
! nOint which ha