Evening star., 1936-08-09

~OME dIueIll llSIltIfIleil nave Dteu
passing up one of the most in
teresting angles of the sport;
that is. frog hunting with the fly.
When a person has taken his fishing
as seriously as have. he learns from
experience that practically every small
bird, or animal, that feeds on insects
will snap up the artificial fly as readily
as will the hungriest bass. Many a
time, bat or nighthawk has swooped
down in the dusk to snatch my fly as
it sailed high on the backcast. Like
wise. lizards and ground-squirrels have
charged it recklessly, without the
least suspicion of it's artifciality. Is it
any wonder, then, that MIR. Bullfrog
strikes at it. and by doing so. pro-
vides us with brand new sport?
Quite often l have trudged for
miles, only to discover that fishing
conditions were unfavorable. And it
was on such an occasion that I first
gave my attention to the croaking
troubadours of the water-world.
A bit uncertain, at first, I cast my
fly before huge jumbo that was
sitting straddlewise on hly-pad. But
he had seen me from the corner of his
eye, and. ignoring my temptation.
lunged back into the water. tried it
again on another. this time from a
greater distance, and was amazed with
the result. MIR Frog leaped at the
colorful speck, devoured it while in
midair, and, after short struggle,
was hauled in.
For me, that initial strike meant
no more wasted hours beside streams,
when fishing conditions were not what
they should be! 1t also meant that l
had discovered new and novel sport,
a sport that is almost as interesting
as bass fishing: namely, frog hunting
with the fly!
remembered my frog hunting ex-
periences. back in the old days, when
! waded through the waters Of creek
at all hours of the night. employed
every method under the sun: catching
them with my hands, shooting them
with a % rifle. trapping them, and
wooing them into my clutches as care
fully as one would WOO a shy maiden.
If had only known, then, of the rod
and the fly!
In the beginning. thought they
would strike only at red flies. but
experience has proved that color has
nothing to do with it. Nor has the
time of day. Ordinarily. when the
frogs are sitting up on the moss, or
along the banks, they will strike at
any fly, regardless of the hour, pro-
vided that the fisherman has not come
too close. But remember that: Not
too close! For, even when in striking
mood, they will ignore all offerings, If
closely pressed. 1t is only in the head
waters of remote streams and lakes,
where generations of frogs have never
seen man, that one can 60 as close
to them as he desires.
One summer day, friend and l
wandered down a moss-laden stream
all morning. taking frogs on the fly.
The frogs were not along the banks.
but, instead, were on the moss farther
out toward midstream. Their green
bodies blended so cleverly with the
background that we overlooked many
of them until our intrusion sent them
skit-skatting across the moss into open
water.
Just before noon we were wading
in water that was almost waist deep,
when Cal looked ahead and said:
"Wait! Isn't that a big bulger right
in front of you?"
The frog was so cleverly concealed
that it took me full minute to spot
him. Nothing was showing but his
eyes. He had come up beneath the
moss and simply pushed it aside, so
that he could stick his head up far
enough to see. And he was a big one,