The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-11-02
RAINFALL HURTS
PLUG BASS FISHING
Jinx Of 1919 Causes Disap-
pointment to Anglers
Throughout Country.
By SILENT SAM.

SO far as bass fishing in general is
concerned. ami taking bass on the plug
| In particular, the season of 1919 will
go down in history as a foozle. The fact
must be admitted throughout the length
and breadth of the land, in every locality
where the gamy black and his large
mouthed cousin the Oswego have lured
countless thousands of hopeful anglers
to their doom of disappointment.
Why? What's the solution? Who can
dope out the mystery. Don't all speak
at once. and above all don't spring local
conditions in framing up an alibi.
There's nothing local about It It's
chronic wherever bass water exists.
chronic at least in SO far as the season
of 1919 Is concerned.
! My attention was called to II gradu-
ally at Greenwood Lake, where from the
| time the season opens on June 10 until
ice drives me to cover 1 manage to put
| in part of nearly every day on the
water. using plugs by preference. al
though I am not sufficiently prejud'ced
against live bait to spurn 1t If that's
| the only way to ge tthe bass. Still, in
the name of true sportsmanship / pre-
| fer to use a plug, just as l prefer to
take my brook trout with a fly IL the
trout consent to be taken that way.
Greenwood Lake Conditions.
The bass season at Greenwood Lake
opened poorly and Is closing worse All
! accepted traditions have been upset
The water this year has never been SO
free from the accumulation OF pollen
from aquatic plants. o condition known
as working" or described in even more
homely phraseology. And yet the bass
refused to rise.
/ In the shallow arms of the lake no
| floating beds of weed intermtxed with
scum rendered plug casting a vexation.
And yet the bass ignored the plug. In
other years when these unwelcome con-
ditions have existed contrary to all the
rules of the game the bass fishing has
been pretty close to Its best, or at least
It has not been adversely affected.
My reason for discounting local con-
| ditions in inviting suggestions as to why
| the bass fishing in general has been so
| poor is due to the fact that my early
| season impression was that II was poor
| only in the water was fishing. Green
wood Lake contributes its water,
| through the agency of the East Jersey
| Wtaer Company, to supply y the cities
lying In the Passaic Valley \ and when
the water ceases going over the dam
into the Wanaque River it Is drawn
through n gate.
With n dry summer this great draught
| OF water lowers the lake very percepti-
| bly,, and this Is noticeable especially in
the autumn. But this year. with great
excess OF rainfall general, indeed. all
over the country. the lake Of which
speak has been abnormaily high all sum-
mer. and is now at least four feet above
normal.
In addition to this high water the
IL. L. L.. o.. lad Nuftt6
bait fish Great schools Of sinners may
be seen ripping the surface when the
water Is calm, and at times the bass
charge through these schools swapping
almost like bluefish going through a
school of menhaden. AS consequence
they have been gorged to repletion. This,
however, need not necessarily explain
their Indifference to a plug, for / con-
; tend that bass does not strike plug
because OF hunger. bat through either
curiosity or anger. So we shall have to
look for someN other explanation where
plug casting is concerned.
Although, as l said before, my i'm
preston early in the season was that
local conditions might be responsible. !
began to hear similar reports from else
where. A Philadelphia friend spent a
solid month in Maine going from lake
TO lake in a touring car, and wrote me
| tnat ne naun taken NAH u uo1ch ouSs
a most accomplished angler, too, and
one who knew his country by years OF
experience. In September my brother
with two friends chartered cruiser at
Clayton in the Thousand Islands and
went up into the Bay OF Quinte. Dis
; gusted at getting no muscallunge and
scarcely any bass, they came back to
try the more civilized waters of Thou
sand Islands, but to little avail. Their
only explanation was high water. COM
bined with a preponderance Of live bal,
: everywhere. strangely enough the same
condition prevailing here at home
, Sinners and Black Bass.
And in this connection / was talking
) the other day with a veteran guide and
boatman who has spent his entire life
on Greenwood Lake. He had just fin
!. ished drawing bait with his seine
. "'Tain't much use" he drawled Don't
stand TO reason that bass Is goin
: out Of his way to jump at one O. them
, when he kin swim through a. whole
school with his mouth open an git a
bellyful. Twenty-Five years ago. wher