Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-02-25
BASS ARE KNOWING FISH
Too Wise to Bite Whenever Bait Is
DEMONSTRATIONS is Keen
By JAMES NEvIN

did you, Mr.. Angler, ever do any
fishing for bass in clear water lake,
such as Little Trout Lake in Villas
county, where you could look down
in the water and see your bait at some
Is or 20 feet in depth and see from Is
to 20 bass standing back watching the
bait on the hook, the eyes of the fish
sparkling like diamonds in the water,
and making no effort or attempt to
take the bait but watch the perch nib
bling at it. At last perch would make
quick move for the bait and then a
bass would make rush and get it.
The bass got jealous of the perch and
did not want them to have it. Seeing
all this sends thrill through fellow
who is a close observer of the habits
of fish.
"Black bass and carp are the most
knowing of any variety of fish that
/ know of. Was it ever your good
fortune to drive up to lake in the
north woods with boat on a wagon
and while the men were unloading the
boat and making preparations to get
ready to do some fishing on the lake,
for you to get ready and go down to
the waters edge and cast a hook in
the water and the first cast land a
bass? If you cast a second or third
time, you will invariably get fish. If
Captain Vance, who is the best black
bass fisherman that know was along,
he would eXclaim, "The fish are at
home" With great glee you get into
the boat, and commence fishing and
for an hour or more you do not get
strike of fish. 1t makes you think
that the fish in the lake have a wire
less under the water and have been
notified that there is an enemy within
their gates and to beware. 1t may
be that you will only catch two or
| three fish during the balance of the
day. Small black bass will protect
| their nests after the eggs are layed
and until fry are Matched, keeping
| away all intruders more than any
other variety of fish.
Bass "GO Over Top
"Out in the open water in a lake or
| pond you get seine around a lot of
bass or carp, and it makes no differ
ence whether the bass or carp are
large or small fish of few months
| old, as soon as they can feel the
effects of the net in any way they will
make an effort to go over the top of
the net. During still, calm weather
you cannot get a bass or carp to
| lead into a fyke or pound net. If a
| good wind comes up the fish will start
and go with the wind and if any of
them strike the lead of the net they
| will follow the lead into the trap.
Unless the bass are taken from the
trap or pound net within very short
time after the wind goes down, they
/ will gradually find the mouth of the
tunnel of the net and work their way
to freedom. Whitefish will also find
their way out of pound net.
BASS in ponds become so tame that
they will come and take frogs or other
| food from ones hands if held close
to the water and jump after every
| frog that is thrown into the water. At
the same time put the frog on a hook
at the end of fish line and cast the
same into the pond, seven times out of
ten they will not touch it as they see
the line attached to the bait.N
Il have seen many statements about
ringing bell and how the fish will
come to where they hear the bell. l
take no stock in his. Fish will fol-
low you around the pond expeeting-yo you
to throw some feed to them. Stand
back from the pond so that the fish
cannot see you and you can ring the
bell until doom's day and they will
pay no attention to it.
Often Fish Shun Bait
"You can go to a pool, where there
are many trout and you may be able
to catch few or dozen fish from
the pool when they will get wise and
quit biting. Instinct tells them they
must quit taking the bait that is
cast to them or they will be caught
as they see others have been taken
from the pool 1 have seen good live
bait placed in among several large
pike and muskellunge and go away
for several hours and the fish did not
touch them. Then again. ] have seen
the bait let down among fish and lines
made fast for the night, and not a fish
would take it during the night. Fish
will hang around certain place,
where it is customary to feed them
If fish are fed at certain time of the
day where it is customary for them
to be fed if they are scattered over the
pond, they make an effort to get close
1
ing time, to get their food.
Fish at times like to have a day
off for celebration and go on dress
parade. Most everybody knows who is
interested in catching fish as a bust
ness in the larger lakes, that fish will
gather in schools and make pilgrim
ages from one section of the lake to
another. Perch and pike will form
1 aaff
parade by going around the lake in a
column not more than two feet wide,
and | have seen a column of perch in
my judgment half-mile long in slow
movement and lined up like regiment
OF men. This is often seen with the
perch in the Fox River. Pike have
been known to parade and where there
are great numbers of them they will
form columns of some four feet wide,
all lined up in close formation with
most of the large fish on the outside
like lot of commanding officers, with
the smaller fish in the center of
column. This has been seen in Ka-
waguesaga Lake.
| Spawn in Same Place
Near my boyhood home salmon en-
tefed three streams to spawn during
the fall of the year, from Lake Ontario
the streams were about thirty miles
apart. They were Duffin's Creek, Will
mot's Creek and Monroe's Creek near
Grafton, Ontario. On the Wilmot
Creek there was fish hatchery. We
used to trap the salmon that came
up the Grafton Stream and the Duffin
Creek to get the eggs and transfer
them to the hatchery at Newcastle to
be Matched. What fish were spawned
at the three different places were
marked before they were liberated, to
return to the sea, as all fresh water
salmon after ascending the rivers to