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Parlous Times in Angling

THESE be parlous times in angling. When William King, in the seventeenth century, with as much prophecy as humor, wrote:

"His hook he baited with a dragon's tail And sat upon a rock and bobbed for whale,"

he builded better than he knew. And if Job had lived in the twentieth century, the query: "Canst thou draw out Leviathan with an hook?" would be answered in the affirmative; also, it would be demonstrated that "He maketh the deep to boil like a pot," at Fort Myers and Catalina.

The shades of Walton and Cotton, of Sir Humphrey Davy and "Christopher North," and of our own Dr. Bethune and Thaddeus Norris, could they "revisit the glimpses of the moon," would view with wonder and silent sorrow the tendency of many anglers of the present day toward strenuosity, abandoning the verdure-clad stream, with its warbling birds and fragrant blossoms, for the hissing steam launch and vile-smelling motor boat in pursuit of leaping tuna and silver king. It goes without saying, however, that considered as a sport, fishing for these jumbos is highly exciting and capable of infusing unbounded enthusiasm, but it can hardly be called angling.

The Ethics of Sport

In the ethics of sport it may be questioned if there is not more real pleasure, and at the same time a manifestation of a higher plane of sportsmanship, in the pursuit of woodcock, snipe, quail or grouse with well-trained bird-dogs, than in still-hunting moose, elk or deer. In the former case the bird is flushed and given a chance for life, while in the latter case the quarry is killed "as an ox goeth to the slaughter."

Black Bass returning to water after leaping. (See page 15.)

So in fishing a like comparison is possible—fly-fishing for salmon, black bass, trout, or grayling as against fishing for tarpon and tuna, which are worthless when killed except as food for sharks. In the first case the angler's skill, and his knowledge of its habits, are pitted against the wiles of the fish, with but a weak and slender snell of silkworm fiber between its capture or escape, while in the case of the leviathans mentioned, they are handicapped by being hooked in the gullet, and by towing a boat in their struggle for freedom. But comparisons are always odious. While the choice between the "gentle" art and strenuous fishing is certainly a question of taste, it may depend somewhat on the length of one's purse.

Black Bass Fishing

Black-bass fishing! These are words to conjure with. What pleasurable emotions they call up! To the superannuated angler the words are fraught with retrospective reflections of the keenest enjoyment, while they cause the soul of the new hand to become obsessed with pleasures yet to come—pleasures rendered brighter by the rosy tint of anticipation.

The Love of Angling

With the first blossoms of spring the thoughts of many men, both old and young, turn lightly to love—the love of angling. And as the leaves unfold, and the birds begin their wooing, and the streams become clear, the premonitory symptoms of the affection are manifested in a rummaging of drawers and lockers for fly-books and tackle boxes, and the critical examination of rods and reels, and in the testing of lines and leaders. These preliminaries are the inevitable harbingers of the advent of the angling season, when black bass are leaping gayly from the waters after their enforced hibernation in the gloom and seclusion of the deep pools.

And when the encroachment of age or rheumatism forbids wading the stream, one can still sit in a boat on a quiet lake and enjoy to the full the delight and fascination of "bass fishing." What farmer's boy in the Middle West does not look forward to a Saturday when the ground is too wet to plow or plant, when he can repair to the creek or pond with his rude tackle and realize his fond dreams of fishing for black bass! And when such a day arrives, as it is sure to do, how he hurries through the chores, and with what sanguine hope he digs for angle-worms in the garden, or nets crawfish or minnows in the brook, each one good for at least one "sockdolager" of a bass. For it sometimes happens that a bass will take a wriggling earth-worm or a "soft craw" when it will not deign to notice the choicest minnow or the most cunningly devised artificial fly.

Youthful Ambition

And the country lad always knows just where an old "whopper" of a bronze-back black bass has his lair beneath the roots of a big tree, or under the ledge of a moss-grown rock. To do future battle with such an one has engrossed his thoughts by day and his dreams by night, ever since the Christmas tree for him bore such fruit as a linen line, a red and green float and a dozen fishhooks.

"A Riband in the Cap of Youth"

The triumphal march of a Roman warrior, with captives chained to his chariot wheels, entering the gates of the Eternal City with a blare of trumpets and the applause of the multitude, was an event to fill his soul with just pride—but it descends to the level of vainglory and mediocrity when compared with the swelling heart of the lad as he enters the farmhouse kitchen with two or three old "lunkers" of black bass strung on a willow withe. Many times during his homeward march had he halted to admire the scale armor and spiny crests of his captive knights!

From a color sketch by Sherman F. Denton.

Large Mouth Black Bass. (Micropterus salmoides.)

And then to an appreciative audience he relates, in a graphic manner, how this one seized a minnow, and that one a crawfish, and the other one a hellgramite—and how often each one leaped from the water, and how high it jumped—and how the "ellum" rod bent and twisted as the large one tried to regain the hole under the big rock—and how the good line cut the water in curving reaches and straight lines as another one forged toward the sunken roots of the old sycamore. And then came the climax, as, with pride and regret struggling for mastery, and "suiting the action to the word and the word to the action," he tells again the old, old story of how the biggest of all, a regular "snolligoster," shook out the hook and got away!

In the years to come, will that lad exult over the capture of a mighty tuna or giant tarpon with as much genuine joy and enthusiasm as over that string of bass? Well, hardly. And as the boy is father to the man, and as we are all but children of larger growth, the black-bass angler never outlives that love and enthusiasm of his younger days—younger only as reckoned by the lapse of years.

In Olden Time

Although the black bass, as a game fish, has come into his own only during the last two or three decades, black-bass fishing is older than the Federal Union. The quaint old naturalist, William Bartram, the "grandfather of American ornithology," in 1764, described, minutely, "bobbing" for black bass in Florida, there, as in all the Southern States, called "trout"—a name bestowed by the English colonists owing to its gameness. While black-bass fishing is comparatively a recent sport in the Eastern States, it was practiced in Kentucky, Tennessee and southern Ohio before the end of the eighteenth century. In 1805 George Snyder, the inventor of the Kentucky reel, was president of the Bourbon County Angling Club at Paris, Kentucky. Fly-fishing was practiced as early as 1840 on the Elkhorn and Kentucky rivers by Mr. J. L. Sage and others. His click reel, made by himself, is now in my possession; and George Snyder's own reel, made in 1810, a small brass multiplying reel running on garnet jewels, is still in the possession of his grandson at Louisville.

Appearance and Habits

The black bass is now an acknowledged peer among game fishes, and taking him by and large excels them all, weight for weight. The generic term black bass, as here used, includes both the large-mouth bass and the small-mouth bass. The two species are as much alike as two peas in a pod, the most striking difference between them being that one has a larger mouth and larger scales than the other. When subject to the same conditions and environment, they are equal in game qualities. The habits of the two species are similar, though the large-mouth bass is more at home in ponds and weedy waters than the small-mouth bass, which prefers running streams and clear lakes. Their natural food is crawfish, for which their wide mouths and brush-like teeth are well adapted, though they do not object to an occasional minnow or small frog.

Now and Then

Owing to the wide distribution of black bass, fishing for it is universal. It is no less enjoyed by the rustic youth with peeled sapling rod and crawfish bait than by the artistic angler with slender wand and fairy-like flies. While black-bass fishing was known and practiced in the Ohio Valley from the earliest years of the nineteenth century, as just stated, our angling books for three-fourths of the century contained but little, if anything, about the black bass, as they were mostly compilations from English authors. The only exception were the books of Robert B. Roosevelt, an uncle of the President, who fished for black bass in Canada about 1860. At the present day there are more articles of fishing tackle made especially for black bass than for all other game fishes combined. This is proof that it is the most popular and, all things considered, the best game fish of America.

The Charm of Angling

Salmon fishing, the grandest sport in the curriculum of angling, is now an expensive luxury. There is but little free water readily accessible, for all the best pools are in the possession of wealthy clubs. The bold leap of the salmon, when hooked, the exciting play of the fish on the rod, and the successful gaffing, are as so many stanzas of an epic poem. Trout fishing is a summer idyl. The angler wades the merry stream while the leaves whisper and rustle overhead, the birds chirp and sing, the insects drone and hum, the cool breeze fans his cheek, as he casts his feathery lures, hither and yon, in eager expectation of a rise.

From a color sketch by Sherman F. Denton.

Small Mouth Black Bass. (Micropterus dolomieu.)

Black-bass fishing combines, in a measure, the heroic potentialities of salmon fishing with the charms of trout fishing. The leap of the bass is no less exciting than that of the salmon, and is oftener repeated, while in stream fishing the pastoral features of trout fishing are experienced and enjoyed.

The Leap of Fishes

The leap of a hooked fish is always an exciting episode to the angler with red blood in his veins—exciting because as an offset to its probable capture there is the very possible contingency of its escape by throwing out the hook, or by breaking away. So with each leap of the bass the hopes and fears of the angler are constantly exercised, while his pulses quicken and his enthusiasm is aroused. Game fishes often leap a few inches above the surface in play, or to catch a low-flying insect; but when hooked they vault to a height commensurate with their agility and muscular ability. They do not leap so high, however, as is commonly supposed.

Vaulting Ambition

A tarpon will leap six feet high, but the cero, or Florida kingfish, will leap higher, for it is the greatest vaulter of them all. The ladyfish executes a series of short, whirling leaps that puzzle the eye to follow—it is the gamest fish for its size in salt water. The leap of the flying-fish is sustained for a long distance by its wing-like pectoral fins, on the principle of the aëroplane, though its sole motive power is probably derived from its tail before leaving the water. The salt-water mullet is an expert jumper, leaping often in play, but when pursued by an enemy its leaps are higher and longer than would be expected from its size. The brook trout, pike, and mascalonge seldom leap when hooked, though the steelhead trout and grayling both leap nearly as often as the black bass in their efforts to dislodge the hook. The leap of the salmon is a long, graceful curve, as it heads up stream. Once, while playing my first salmon, on the Restigouche, many years ago, my taut line was leading straight down the stream, when I caught sight of a salmon over my shoulder and above me, leaping from the surface, which, to my surprise, proved to be my hooked fish—the line making a long detour in the swift water.

Leap of the Black Bass

I have heard many anglers declare that a black bass could leap five feet high, when as a matter of fact they leap but a few inches, usually, and occasionally one, or at most three feet, though I think two feet nearer the limit. By an examination of Mr. A. Radcliffe Dugmore's photograph, reproduced herewith, it will readily be seen that the leaps are not very high ones. A black bass is in the air but a second or two, and to catch him in the act as Mr. Dugmore has done must be considered a wonderful achievement. The picture shows the bass returning to the water, with either the head or the shoulders at, or beneath, the surface, while the displaced water at his point of emergence still shows plainly—standing up, as it were. This proves that the bass regains the surface as soon as the displaced water, or rather before the upheaved water finds its level, which could not be the case were the leaps three or four feet high.

Why the Bass Leaps

Why does a hooked bass leap from the water? This question is sometimes raised, though the answer is plain. He leaps into the air to endeavor to dislodge the hook; this he tries to do by violently shaking his body, with widely extended jaws. He does not "shake his head," as is often said, for having no flexible neck, his head can only be thrown from side to side by the violent contortions of his body, often using the water as a fulcrum, when he appears to be standing on his tail. A dog or a cat will shake its head vigorously to eject some offending substance from the mouth, and a bass does the same thing; but as he cannot shake his body to the extent required beneath the surface, owing to the resistance of the water, he leaps above it. And if he succeeds in throwing out the hook he disappears beneath the surface and is seen no more; his object in leaping has been accomplished.

Usually, it is only surface-feeding fishes that leap when hooked. Bottom-feeding fishes bore toward the bottom or struggle in mid-water. Every fish has its characteristic way of resisting capture, but any fish is more easily subdued if kept on the surface by the skill of the angler and the use of good and trustworthy tackle.

Their Way with a Bait

The manner of taking a bait also varies considerably with different fishes; and the character of their teeth is a good guide to what they feed on. For instance, the cunner and sheepshead are expert bait stealers. With their incisor teeth their habit is to pinch off barnacles and other mollusks from their attachment to rocks and old timbers, and so they nip off the clam or crab bait from the hook with but little disturbance. A trout takes a fly or bait with a vigorous snap, without investigation as to its nature, and a black bass does much the same, giving immediate and unmistakable notice to the angler that there is "something doing."

Breeding Habits

The black bass is one of the few fishes that protects its eggs and young. It forms its nest on gravelly or rocky shoals or shallows, usually, but when such situations are not available, clay or mud bottom, or the roots of aquatic plants are utilized, especially by the large-mouth bass. During incubation the eggs are guarded and tended by the parent fish, and hatch in ten days or two weeks, the fry remaining on the nest, guarded by the male fish, for several days, when they disperse to find suitable hiding places, feeding on minute organisms that abound in all natural waters.

Spawning Season

The spawning season of the black bass varies considerably, owing to its extensive range and consequent variation in the temperature of waters. In Florida and the extreme South it is as early as March or April, in the Middle West in May or June, and at the northern limit of its distribution as late as July. Owing to this variation, laws to protect the species during the breeding season must vary accordingly. As the brooding fish are easily taken from their nests with snare, jig or spear, the laws for their protection should be rigidly enforced, otherwise a pond or small lake might soon be depleted where the poacher is much in evidence.

Size and Weight

The large-mouth bass grows to a maximum weight of six to eight pounds in Northern waters, where it hibernates, but in Florida and the Gulf States, where it is active all the year, it grows much larger, in Florida to twenty pounds in rare cases. The small-mouth bass has a maximum weight of five or six pounds, though several have been recorded of fully ten pounds, from a lake near Glens Falls, N. Y. As usual with most other game fishes, the largest bass, as a rule, are taken with bait. For instance, the heaviest I ever took in Florida on the artificial fly weighed fourteen pounds, and with bait, twenty pounds. In Northern waters the heaviest catch with the fly, of small-mouth bass, seldom exceeds three pounds—usually from one to two pounds, and for large-mouth bass a pound or two more, while with bait larger fish of both species may be taken.

Season for Fishing

Owing to the variable conditions mentioned the season for black-bass fishing varies likewise in different sections of the country. Thus, both bait- and fly-fishing are practiced in Florida during winter. In the Middle West—Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Missouri, etc.—bait-fishing is available in the early spring, and fly-fishing as well as bait-fishing in mid-summer and fall. In the Northern States and Canada both bait- and fly-fishing are at their best during late summer and the fall months.

Distribution

The original habitats of the black bass, either of one or both species, were the hydrographic basins of the St. Lawrence, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Only the large-mouth existed in the seaboard streams of the South Atlantic and Gulf States. By transplantation the black bass is now a resident of every state in the Union. It will thrive in any water the temperature of which runs up to sixty-five degrees or more in summer. It is one of the best fishes to introduce to new waters where the proper conditions exist, but should never, for obvious reasons, be planted in the same waters with any species of trout.

Increase in New Waters

As instances of new waters in which its increase was rapid, the Delaware, Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers may be mentioned. In 1854 thirty small-mouth bass, about six inches long, were taken from a creek near Wheeling, W. Va., and placed in the Potomac near Cumberland, Md. From this small plant the entire river above the Great Falls, and all its tributaries, became well stocked, and has afforded fine fishing for years.

Commercial Fishing

In former years the black bass was quite an important commercial fish in the Middle West, but since the enactment of laws prohibiting seining and net-fishing of streams it is not often seen in the markets, and then it is mostly from private ponds. In the States of Washington and Utah, however, where it was planted in some rather large lakes years ago, the markets are pretty well supplied with this delicious fish, for, barring the lake whitefish, it is the best food-fish of fresh waters. Owing to the well known improvidence of market fishermen it would be well to prohibit its sale entirely in all sections of the country when taken from public waters.

Propagation

Owing to the desirability of the black bass for stocking waters, the demand for both private and public streams and ponds is far in excess of the supply. Undoubtedly the best plan for stocking is that of planting adult fish, as already alluded to. But owing to the difficulty of obtaining adult fish, the energies of fish culturists have for years been directed to a solution of the question of supply. So far, however, their efforts have been but partially successful.

Character of Eggs

The eggs of the salmon, trout, grayling, shad, whitefish, etc., can be stripped from the fish, can be separated and manipulated as easily as so much shot, and made to respond readily to fish-cultural methods. But the eggs of the black bass are enveloped in a gelatinous mass that precludes stripping, and their separation is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Consequently any attempt at their incubation by the usual hatchery methods would prove futile.

Pond Culture

The only feasible and successful plan is that of pond culture. Of this there are several methods. One either allows the bass to proceed with their parental cares in a natural manner; or early separates the parent fish from the young fry, which are then fed and reared to the desired age for planting. The United States Bureau of Fisheries and several of the individual states pursue this plan, and supply the fry to applicants free of charge.

Millions Saved

There are certain bayous and depressions along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and other streams in that section which are overflowed during high water. When the water recedes many black bass and other fishes are left in the bayous, which would eventually perish upon the drying up of the water. It is the practice of the National and several state fish commissions to seine out the fish and transfer them to suitable waters, or to applicants, free of expense. In this way many waters are stocked and millions of fish saved that would otherwise perish.

Fly Fishing

The black bass rises to the artificial fly as readily as the trout or grayling, if fished for intelligently. The trout takes the fly at or near the surface, while it should be allowed to sink a few inches at nearly every cast for black bass, the same as for grayling. As to flies, any of the hackles, brown, black or gray, are enticing to bass, and such winged flies as Montreal, polka, professor, coachman, silver doctor and a dozen others are very taking on most waters. The most important rules for fly-fishing, or casting the minnow, are to cast a straight line, keep it taut, and to strike on sight or touch of the fish; that is when the swirl is seen near the fly, or when the fish is felt. Striking is simply a slight turning of the rod hand while keeping the line very taut. But more important than all other rules is to keep out of sight of the fish. The flies should be lightly cast, and by slight tremulous motions made to simulate the struggles of a live insect, and then allowed to sink a few inches or a foot. From five o'clock in the afternoon until dusk is usually the best time for fly-fishing.

Bait Fishing

The best natural bait is the minnow—a shiner, chub, or the young of almost any fish, which is well adapted for either casting, trolling or still-fishing. In waters where it abounds the crawfish is a good bait, especially the shedders or soft craws, to be used only for still-fishing. The hellgramite, the larva of the corydalis fly, in its native waters, is also successful for still-fishing. A small frog is a capital bait on weedy waters, where it is usually cast overhead with a very short and stiff rod. Grasshoppers and crickets are sometimes employed with a fly-rod in lieu of artificial flies, and with good results. The salt-water shrimp, where it is available, near the coasts, is also a good bait for still-fishing. Cut-bait is also sometimes useful.

Artificial Bait

In the absence of natural bait a spoon or spinner, with a single hook—and more than one should not be used by the humane angler—is well adapted for casting or trolling. It should be remembered that all baits, of whatever kind, should be kept in motion. A dead minnow answers as well as a live one for casting or trolling, but should be alive for still-fishing. With crawfish, worms, shrimps or hellgramites a float should be employed to keep them from touching the bottom.

Bait-Casting

In casting the minnow it should be hooked through the lips, and reeled in slowly after each cast to imitate the motions of a live one as much as possible. A spoon or spinner should be reeled in much faster in order to cause it to revolve freely. The most effective way of casting, either with minnow or spoon, is by the underhand method; nearly as long, and more delicate casts can be made as by the overhead cast with short, stiff rod. The mechanics of fly- or bait-casting can hardly be expressed in words or explained without diagrams or cuts. The best plan for beginners is to accompany an old hand to the stream and witness the practical demonstration of the art.

Fishing Rods

A trout fly-rod answers just as well for black bass, with a weight of from five to eight ounces, according to the material and plan of construction, and whether employed by an expert or a tyro. The rod for minnow casting, or indeed for any method of bait-fishing, should be from eight to eight and a half feet long and from seven to eight ounces in weight, as larger fish are taken with bait. For casting the frog in weedy waters a short, stiff rod of five or six feet is used by many. A few words in reference to the origin of this short rod may not be amiss, especially as I wish to make it a matter of record.

The Short Bait-Casting Rod

At the time of the Chicago Fair, in 1893, my old friend, James M. Clark, a good angler, was superintendent of the fishing-tackle department of a large sporting goods house in that city. He informed me that he had devised a rod especially intended for casting a frog for black bass and pike on certain weedy waters not far from Chicago.

The said rod was made by reducing the regular eight-and-one-fourth-foot Henshall rod to six feet, and it soon became popular on the waters mentioned, for by casting overhead, instead of underhand, more accurate line shots could be made into the small open spaces. As the weedy character of the waters rendered the proper playing of a bass difficult or ineffectual, the short, stiff rod proved itself capable of rapidly reeling in the fish, willy nilly. Of course the pleasure of playing a fish in a workmanlike manner, as in open water, would be lost, to say nothing of denying the fish a chance for its life by depriving it of a fair field and no favor—the only sportsmanlike way.

Casting Baits

Eventually the short rod and overhead cast became popular at casting tournaments, where it was also demonstrated that by reducing its length to five and even four feet longer casts were possible. Unfortunately the use of this very short and stiff rod was extended to practical fishing, and with its use was evolved a number of casting baits that out-herod anything yet produced in the way of objectionable artificial baits. They are huge, clumsy creations of wood or metal, of an elliptical form or otherwise, and bristle with from three to five triangles of cheap hooks; they are painted in a fantastic manner, and most of them are also equipped with wings or propellers.

Twin Evils

The extremely short tournament tool of five feet, called by courtesy a rod, when employed in angling, and the cruel and murderous casting baits with twelve to fifteen hooks, are, in my opinion, twin evils which should be tabooed by every fair-minded and humane angler. So far as the short rod itself is concerned, I have always commended its use for tournament work, but I do not favor it for open-water fishing, for reasons already given. This use of it is a matter for the consideration of those who choose to employ it. For myself, I have always found the eight-foot rod and horizontal, underhand cast equal to all emergencies of fishing for black bass, pike and mascalonge. In overhead casting the bait is started on its flight from a height of ten or twelve feet, and necessarily makes quite a splash when it strikes the water. On the other hand, with the horizontal cast the minnow is projected to the desired spot with very little disturbance.

Lines and Hooks

The only line that fulfills all requirements for fly-fishing as to weight and smoothness of finish is one of enameled, braided silk, either level or tapered. For casting the minnow the smallest size of braided, undressed silk is the only one to use with satisfaction. For trolling or still-fishing a larger size may be employed, or a flax line of the smallest caliber.

Among the many patterns of fishhooks the Sproat is the best and the O'Shaughnessy next, as being strong, well-tempered and reliable, and of practicable shape. The modern eyed-hooks, if of the best quality, can be used for both bait-fishing and fly-tying. Sizes of hooks for bait-fishing in Northern waters, Nos. 1 and 2; for Florida, Nos. 1–0 and 2–0; for artificial flies, Nos. 2 to 6.