South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-03-21

Gong nSning sure thlng.
That's what you hear as soon as it
warns up a little. Everybody you
meet asks you that question about
the time the tail end of the winter
kicks in. The spirit of old Izaak
Walton is in the air. We hear the
honk of the wild goose in its north
ward flight and the robins begin 10
hop about in the parks. Every
thing says live, and our pulse quick
ems to the call of the big outdoors.
We have been counting the days for
the past few weeks as they slowly
yes very slowly pS>sed by waiting
for this time when we can again
visit the "favorite place" the charm
/ of which we feel nature has left
nothing undOne to add pleasure to
the true lover of the great outdoors.
once more we overhaul our tackle
and joint up our rods 10 get the
feel, although we have done the
same thing a dozen times before,
and when you see a man fussing
over his fishing tackle you can feel
sure he has been stung by the bug
all right His is "A hopeless case,
though easy TO diagnose, for it's
form OF insanity known as 'finny
flue" Cure? l know of none but
most of us afflicted with this trou-
bic know when and where TO get re
lief
was asked the question the other
day why 1t is that a fisherman when
telling of his prowesS afield natural
ly has "A tendency To exaggerate. To
most OF them comparative minnow
becomes a huge fish, and the aver
age bass is little less than a whale.
Even those most scrupulous in the
ordinary walks of life, when they
capture "a hsh weighing three
pounds and one ounce are apt to let
their conscience stretch enough to
cover the odd l 5 ounces and call 1t
tOur-pounder. A fish storys a
fish story no matter when it hap
pened. Of course, as time passes
the story gets a little older and in
cidentally the fish may get much
longer. All anglers know and /
mink they will all admit that the
longer a hsh remains out OF water
the shorter 1t shrinks. but did You
ever heard OF "a fish shrinking any
in the stories which are told about
il. l never did. A fish always gains
in length as time passes. Leave
that TO the man who caught il.
Now, what is the reason OF this
almost universal prevalence OF mag
Indication in the stories OF fishermen
when il is so seldom 10 be met with
in the other branches If recreation
affected by sportsmen? Who ever
heard of "a duck hunter coming in
with a duck that weighed nine two
and a half pounds. relating to his
friends thai his kill weighed nine
pounds # il weighed an ounce. or
who ever heard of a ball player tell
ing his friends that ne batted q
home run that went "a mile bcrond
the ball grounds And ye this is
what we have 60 stand in the way
of braggadoCio from our fishermen,
young and old alike. Is here an
undiscovered principle In hooks and
I lines. and rods. and reels and lilies
that leads their owners tongue in
10 ways that are dark? OR does
some peculiar oCor invest the an
slers hip which being absorbed by
the fisherman. render HIM for the
time being Obvious 10 all COnsid-
crations would YOU tie 10 the soar
inE spirit of the angler who sits on
the river $lnk all day and never
gets a bite by the rules which goF-
crn a witness under oath before a
court of justice Would YOU bring
the hshcrman's lonely soul down To
the level of steel yards and meas
I uring tapes.
What plain practical people pre-
fer 10 consider preyaricatlon. is to
the angler merely recognized
dSherman's license. and his euthus-
iasm is too great 10 coldly calou-
late by tables of weights and meas
ures like grOvellug scientists and
E rr0Uar@ facts bp1faxne his ~ NJ
les thoroughly and they do not harm
his fellowman. who not thOroughly
imbued with his spirit smiles az his
enthusiasm. Angling Is the only
sport that does not pail upon a man
as enthusiastic than the younger
one, and its quiet. soothing infiu-
7 ences interrupted by the sudden eX-
citement OF hooking "a large fish
I makes him keenly alive 10 impress
sions which may later be magnifed