1.MWl|UBaBW|WllllWI «- m in » l])G %%\ Gciw^efl^l^ ^ y^eri^a MM ^ 'Z^ T^^ ^ *^ IN "f, 4 HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY Library of SAMUEL GARMAN 4k. ■^ 4 NOV \ 6 1928 ^A,v MORE ABOUT THE BLACK BASS BEING A sxjf»i^le:isient TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS BY JAMES A. HEXSHALL, M.D ^ttHij IXtustvixt^xX ROBERT CLARKE & CO CINCINNATI 1889 .^'H ' Copyright, 1889, BY JAMES A. HENSHALL. TO THE ANGLING GUILD OF AMERICA, FROM THE URCHIN WITH PIN- HOOK AND WILLOW WAND — THE STILL- FISHER WITH "peeled sapling" AND "cORk" — TO THE ARTISTIC FLY-FISHER WITH ROD AND CREEL. THIS BOOK IS FRATERNALLY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. The very flattering reception accorded to the Book of THE Black Bass, and the favorable notices and encomiums it has received from naturalists, and anglers, and the press, and its success as a literary enterprise (for all of which I am profoundly grateful), has induced and encouraged me to bring its subject-matter down to date. For obvious reasons, I have thought it best, beyond the correction of a few clerical and typographical errors, to let the original edition remain intact, and to issue the addi- tional matter in a separate volume in the form of a supple- ment or sequel — the supplemental chapters agreeing in number and caption with those in the original edition. The plan pursued in the original book, of illustrating the tools and tackle, by using cuts that have been especially pre- pared for manufacturers, to illustrate their specialities in that line, has been so much commended by anglers gener- ally, and has proved so desirable a feature, that it has been adhered to in the supplement. For the new portrait of myself, my publishers are alone responsible. It is an exact reproduction of an excellent photograph. JAMES A. HENSHALL. Cincinnati, December, 1888. (v) TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART FIRST. Terminology, Mokpiiology, and Physiology. CHAPTER I.— Scientific Histoky of the Black Bass— Nomen- clature settled — Linnsean specimens — Lacepede's, and Cuvier and Valenciennes' specimens — Identification by the author of t3-po specimens, ....... 11 CHAPTER IT.— Nomenclature and Morphology— Generic char- acterizations and specific descriptions of additional authors, 15 CHAPTER III.— General and Special Features of the Black Bass — Black Cass of Texas and Arkansas — Comparative Game Qualities — Opinions of Anglers, .... 29 CHAPTER IV.— Coloration of Black Bass— Coloration of Young- Cause of Changes of Coloration, .... 39 CH APTE 11 V. — Geographical Distribution— Original Habitat — Pres- ent Range — Transplantation in New Waters, . . 41 CH.VPTER VI. — Habits of Black Bass — Spawning and Hatching- Experiences in Bass-culture — Nest Building — Food and Growth — Food of Young and Adult — Hibernation, ... 48 CHAPTER VII. — Intelligence and Special Senses— Smell — Sight — Optics of Angling — Hearing, .... 50 CHAPTER VIII.— On Stocking Inland Waters with Black Bass — Transportation of Black Bass — Black Bass in England — In Germany — In Scotland — In Holland, ... 62 PART SECOND. Tools, Tackle, and Implements. CHAPTER IX. — Fishing Rods — Improvements in Rods — Henshall Rod — Dowel-Mortise Joint — Non-Dowel Joint — Power of Sta'idiird Henshall Rod— Rods of Various Makers — Fly Rods — Henshall Fly Rod— Steel Rods, ...... G9 CHAPTER X. — Fishing Reels — Improvements in Reels — Click Reels — Multiplying Reels — New Reels of Various Makers, . 88 CHAPTER XI.— Fishing Lines— New Lines for Bait-Fishing— Hen- shall Line — Lines for Fly-Fishing — Metal Center Lines, . 101 (vii) VIU TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIT.— Silkworm Gut — Experiments with American Silk- worm Gut — Native Silkworms — Leaders — Snells, or Snoods, 105 CHAPTER XIII.— Fish Hooks— Eyed Hooks— Numbering Hooks— Snelling and Tying Hooks, . . . . ,114 CHAPTER XIV.— Artificial Flies— Killing Flies— Table of Flies —Henshall's Flies— Fluttering Fly, .... 119 CHAPTER XV.— Artificial Baits— Evolution of Trolling Spoons- Triple Hook — Hammered Spoons — Artificial Minnows — Adjustable Fly Spoon — Artificial Mouse, . . . ,125 CHAPTER XVI.— Natural Baits— Nomenclature— Minnows, Cliubs, and Shiners, ....... 129 CHAPTER XVII. — Miscellaneous Implements — Fly Books — Leader Boxes — Landing Nets — Disgorgers and Extractors — Minnow Buckets— Anglers' Pliers— Rod Holder — Wading Shoes — Fishing Boats, ........ 131 PART THIRD. Angling and Fly-Fishing. CHAPTER XVIIl. — The Philosophy of Angling — Angling as an Art — Beauties and Love of Angling, . . . 159 CHAPTER XIX. — Conditions Governing the Biting of Fish — When Fishes Feed— Best Time for Angling, . . 162 CHAPTER XX.— The Black Bass as a Game Fish— Why the Brook Trout is Disappearing — The Survival of the Fittest — The Black Bass not Piscivorous — Comparison of Salmon, Trout, and Black Bass Fishing, ...... I6.5 CHAPTER XXL— Fly-Fishing— Fly-Fishing for Black Bass a Mod- ern Art— General Instructions — Advice— On Streams — On Lakes A Reminiscence, . . . . , .171 CHAPTER XXII.— Casting the Minnow— Capabilities of the Min- now-Casting Rod — Mascalonge — Red-Fish — Tarpon — Popularity uf Henshall Rod — Extraordinary Minnow-Casting, . . 181 CHAPTER XXIIL— Still-Fishing— Angling of our Boyhood— The Happy Still Fisher — A Retrospection, . . . ]85 CHAPTER XXIV.— Trolling— Trolling at Gogebic— Pot-Fishinc — Fishing for Count — Murderous Sportsmen, . . . ]90 CHAPTER XXV. — Skittering and Bobbing — Bobbing in Florida — A Tropical Scene — Justification of Trolling, Bobbing and Skittering, ....... 193 CHAPTER XXVI.— Concluding. Remarks— A Labor of Love— The Reward of Labor — The Last Cast, . , , , 195 PART I. TERMINOLOGY, MORPHOLOGY, AND PHYSIOLOGY. SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. CHAPTER I. SCIENTIFIC HISTORY OF THE BLACK BASS. I MAY be pardoned for referring to the fact that the restoration of Lacepede's names for the Black Bass species, as proposed by me, viz.: Miet'opterus dolomieu for the small- mouthed Bass, and Uicropterus saJmoides for the large- mouthed Bass, has been fully concurred in and adopted by the ichthyologists connected with the Smithsonian Institu- tion at Washington, the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, the Indiana University at Bloomington, and of other institutions. These names are, as Professor Goode says, " grounded upon a firm foundation of priority," and can not now be changed, unless older names should be discovered, which does not seem probable. In this connection, it is interesting to note that Linnaeus had two specimens of the large-mouthed Black Bass sent to him by Dr. Garden, of Charleston, S. C, some thirty years before Bosc sent his drawing and description of the (11) 12 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. same species to Lacepede ; but Linne failed to describe them. "Alexander Garden,* one of the earliest American natural- ists, was a physician, resident in Charleston, South Carolina, in the middle of the last century. He was an enthusiastic collector, and in constant correspondence with the great Swedish natural- ist, many of his letters, with the accompanying notes upon his collections, being preserved in the two volumes of Smith's ' Cor- respondence of Linnseus.' ' ' He was more especially a botanist, and his contributions to science in that department are fitly commemorated by the name Gardenia, applied by Linnaeus, in his honor, to the beauti- ful Cape Jessamine. He collected, also, reptiles and fishes, and was so careful and conscientious a preparator that almost all of the fishes sent by him to Sweden are still in existence, though the other fishes upon which Linne worked are in a much less sat- isfactory state of preservation, and most of them, indeed, have gone to destruction. "Garden's method was to skin half of the fish, leaving the vertical fins attached, to press it in a botanical press, varnish it, and glue it to a sheet of herbarium paper. "These specimens are preserved in the rooms of the Linnrean Society of London, in Burlington House, in connection with the Linnseau herbarium and library. "In the summer of 1883, by the courtesy of Dr. William Murie, librarian of the Linnsean Society, we were permitted to make a careful study of the Linnsean fishes, and especially of the American forms, which were, as has been remarked, almost all collected by Garden, and which were named and described by *0n the American Fishes in the Linnaean Collection. By G. Brown Qoode and Tarleton H. Bean. jn. Fishes K A. out 10 rows ; scales on the trunk comparatively large. Lingual teeth sometimes present. Dorsal fin very deeply notched. Coloration of the young dark-green above ; sides and below greenish-silvery ; a blackish stripe along the sides from 3 26 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. opercle to the middle of the caudal fin ; three dark oblique stripes across the cheeks and opercles ; below and above the lateral band some dark spots ; caudal fin pale at base, then blackisb, Avhifcish at tip ; belly white. As the fish grows older the black lateral band breaks up and grows fainter, and the color becomes more and more of a uniform pale, dull green, the back being darker ; a dark opercular blotch usually present. Head 3^; depth 3. D. X, 13 ; A. Ill, 11 ; scales 8-68-16. L. 1-2 feet. Rivers of the United States, from the Great Lakes and Red river of the North to Florida and Texas ; every-where abundant, preferring lakes, bayous, and sluggish waters. It grows to a larger size than the next species [if. dolomieii], and is readily distinguished by its coloration and the larger mouth and larger scales. Both species vary much with different waters." — (Jordan and Gilbert, Syn. Fishes N. A. <:BuU. U. S. Nat. 31ns., xvi, 484, 1882.) MiCROPTERUS SALMOiDES Jordan, 1882. — (Description same as the preceding.) — (Jordan, Fishes of Ohio. <^Geol. Siirv. Ohio, iv, 952, 1882.) MiCROPTERUS SALMOIDES Hay, 1882. — "An abundant fish every-where [Lower Mississippi Valley]. The young are found in every pond. ... I have never succeeded in finding in the South a specimen of the small-mouthed Black Bass, Micropte- rus dolomieu Lac."— (Hay, Bull. U. S. Fish Com., il, 64, 1882.) MiCROPTERUS SALMOIDES Bean, 1883. — "This species is gen- erally abundant and grows to a larger size than the small-mouthed Bass ; it is especially common west of the Alleghanies, and in the Southern States ; it is an important food-fish and affords consid- erable sport to anglers." — (Bean, Bull U. S. Nat. 3fi(s., xxvii, 446, 1883.) MiCROPTERUS SALMOIDES Goode, 18'(^domi)iatiny colors of body, wings and hackle are readily seen : NAME OF FLY. Montreal... Polka King of the WatfT.. Abbey Red Ibis Lord Baltimore Oconomowoc Queen of the Water Professor Ferguson... Oriole Grizzly King 8eth Green C'lachman Henshall White Miller Gray Drake , ... BODY. WINGS. Pved. Bed. Red. Red. Red. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. Black. Green. Green. Herl. Herl. White. Gray. Brown. Gray. Gray. Gray. Rod. Black. Brown. Gray. Gray. Brown. Yellow. Gray. Brown. White. Gray. White. Gray. HACKLE. Red. Ked. Rod. Rod. Red. Black. Dun. Red. Brown. Green. Black. Gray. R. d. Brown. White. Wiiite. White. ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 121 The above list embraces all of the flies that I use in Black Bass fishing, except the red, black, brown, gray, and yellow hackles. The last four in the table are especially useful on dark days, or toward evening. Most of the flies in the above table are general favorites, and in my own hands have all proved very killing. I merely mention them, to the exclusion of others, as a gen- eral guide, for each angler will soon adopt a few flies for his own fishing, none of which may have been mentioned above, but he Avill nevertheless continue to use them, and swear by them on all occasions ; and this is one of the glo- rious privileges of the art of angling. As a father naturally thinks his own children the best, smartest, and handsomest, I may be pardoned for placing in the above list — and strongly recommending as general flies — my Polka, Oriole, Oconomowoc, and Henshall, leaving to others the praise or condemnation due them. The for- mulie for their construction are as follows ; Polka. — Body, scarlet, with gold twist; hackle, red; wings, black with white spots (guinea fowl) ; tail, brown and white, mixed. Ono?t'. — Body, black, with gold tinsel; hackle, black; wangs, orange or yellow; tail, black and yellow, mixed. Oconomoivoc. — Body, creamy-yellow; hackle, white and dun (hairs from deer's tail) ; tail, ginger ; wings, cinnamon (woodcock). Senshall. — Body, peacock herl ; hackle, white hairs from deer's tail ; wings, gray (dove) ; tail, two fibers (green) from peacock's tail-feather. The Lord Baltimore fly originated with Prof. Alfred M. Mayer, of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. Its formula is as follows : 11 122 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. Lord Baltimore. — Body, orange ; hackle, tail and wings, black, with small upper wings of jungle-cock. Professor Mayer and I, being natives of Baltimore, and knowing that black and yellow formed a good and taking combination in an artificial fly, each designed, unknown to the other, a fly to embody these colors ; and as they are tlie heraldic colors of the State oF Maryland, and were the heraldic colors of Lord Baltimore, Professor Mayer aptly named his trout fly, "Lord Baltimore;" Avhile I designated my Black Bass fly. the "Oriole,"' from the Baltimore oriole, or hanging bird, which beautiful songster was named in honor of Lord Baltimore, as its colors were the same as his own — black and orange. I have been experimenting with a fly, of my own design- ing, for several seasons, that is as yet a puzzle to me. Sometimes it is the most killing fly I ever cast, the Bass rising to it madly Avlien they would notice no other fly ; but on other occasions it is not at all successful, the Bass re- fusing it altogether, alw.ays taking the other fly in the cast. I have not yet determined the most suitable conditions and occasions for using it, though I am inclined to think it best on cloudy days. It is constructed entirely of metallic colors, and I give its formiila in order that any one feeling an interest in it may try it : Golden Dustman. — Body, bronze (peacock lierl) ; hackle, golden yellow ; wings, bronze (wild turkey) ; tail, fibers from the crest of golden pheasant. Abbey & Imbrie have patented and manufacture what they call the " Fluttering Fly.'' It is made in the same patterns and in the same manner as the conventional fly, except that the hook is reversed ; that is, the tail of the fly is at the end of the shank, while the head is near the bend ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 123 Patent Fluttering Fly. (Abbey & Inibrie.) of the hook, or opposite to the point. A ghmee at the above illustration Avill explain this better than any descrip- tion. It Avill readily bo seen that when this fly is drawn through the water, the Avings and hackle, instead of closing, as in the ordinary fly, expand — which, it is claimed, gives it a fluttering, lifelike motion, similar to that of a strug;glins:, half-drowned insect. The barb being near the head of the fly, it is further claimed, is more likely to fasten the fish, as it is almost sure to be hooked if it touches the fly, I have used these flies, and like them very much, though I have not had experience enough with them to determine whether they are better, under any or all circumstances, than the ordinary fly. They are well worthy of a trial, and every progressive fly-fisher should add a few of his favorite flies, tied in this manner, to his fly-book. 124 SUPPLKMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE lii-ACK BAHS. Pearl Spoon Bait. (\Vm. Mills & Son.) h\ Hammered Spoon Bait. (Abbey & Imbrie.) Hammered Spoon Bait. (Thos. J. Conroy.) CHAPTER XV. ARTIFICIAL BAITS. Probably in no direction has there been more ingenuity disphiyed than in the production of artificial baits, such as trolling spoons, spinners, propellers and artificial minnows, frogs, Crustacea, insects and nondescripts. In trolling spoons the changes that have been rung upon the original oval metal spoon, with a single hook, have been, to say the least, remarkable ; and it is, indeed, surprising to see the number of forms that have been evolved from that simple implement. Every conceivable shape into which the old spoon could be cut, bent or twisted, and still have it revolve, has been resorted to ; and it has been fluted, hammered and corrugated ; and grooved, ribbed and perfo- rated ; embossed, painted and nickel-plated ; and doubled and trebled, and made to spin around floats and balls and metal minnows and flies, until the brain begins to whirl, and the eyes become dazed in their contemplation. Some are fearfully and 's^nderfully made, and are the most cruel and murderous-looking instruments of torture ever devised for the use of the followers of the meek and gentle Walton. The trolling spoon has its legitimate uses, Avhen it is properly made and judiciously employed. There are situ- ations where the small revolving spoon with a single hook can be cast with a light rod and still remain Avithin the pale of legitimate angling ; but there is never any excuse for using more than a uncjle hook. (125) 126 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. Why do manufacturers persist in aflfixing the triple hook, or triangle, to trolling spoons, when a single hook is so much more efficient, preferable and humane ? All triangles, double hooks and gangs are English abominations invented or devised by the devil, or his children, the pot-fishers, for pike fishing. There is nothing so effective as the single hook for any kind of fishing. The fish is more certain of being hooked, more certain of being landed, and if he breaks away does not have his mouth so torn and lacerated as by the villainous triple hook or gang. I have found dead Bass with the entire prcmaxillary bone (upper lip and jaw) torn off by these murderous implements. I never see or hear of an angler using or recommending a gang of three or more hooks for trolling the live minnow without setting; him down as a pot-fisher ; and all humane and genuine anglers — those who love fair play and use light and elegant tackle, should deprecate and discourage the cruel practice. Trolling Spoons. One of the most effective improvements in spoon-baits is the so-called "hammered" spoon. It is simply the old oval spoon Avith the convex surface " hammered " or pressed into polygonal depressions and ridges, presenting numerous facets for the play and sparkle of the light and sunshine when revolving. As made by Conroy, and Abbey & Imbrie, and Spalding Brothers, they can not be surpassed ; and if a single hook was attached instead of the triple hook or triangle, we could use them with a clear conscience. The Spaldings make their spoon with a lower section hammered and plain above. I have used the smallest size, No. 1, hav- ing the hammered section nickled and the plain section gilt. ARTIFICIAI> IJAITS. 127 with a single liook, on a fly-rod, in swift, tumbling waters, with jijood cffoct. There is n(nhin(r in tliis lino more beautiful than the pearl spoon; and it will always be a "spoon," for being made of shell it can never be bent or twisted into the fan- ciful forms of some of the metal ones. It is very effective as a lure, and the smallest sizes are well adapted for the fly-rod in broken waters. \^\\5 Fulton St., N. Y. MISCKLLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 141 Landing-Nets. There is no reason why the angler can not now be suited in landing-nets, for they are made in every style, from the simple wooden-bowed net to the more elaborate and port- able net-frames of Avhalebone, steel and brass. Mr. C. F. Orvis makes a very useful and meritorious net- frame, combining two handles, a long one and a short one, of bamboo, which are joined by a strong ferrule. The short handle is used in wading the stream and has a ring at the end for attaching a loop by which it can be fastened to a button on the coat or creel-strap. The long handle is for fishing from a boat or the bank. The rim of the net is a piece of flat steel, nickel-plated, and is readily attached to or detached from the handle ; when not in use it is in- serted into the long handle, which has a screw-cap at the end. Wm. Mills & Son have patented the " Dorsal Fin " net- ring and handle, which is a very compact and convenient tool. The net-ring is made of flexible metal, brass or nickel-plated, which, when released from its socket at the end of the handle, can be straightened and inserted into the hollow bamboo handle. The net can be carried in the creel or the pocket. The " Bailey " patent landing-net frame, sold by Thos. J. Conroy, is another example of the principle of carrying the net-ring in a hollow bamboo handle, and a glance at the illustration will show the method of attaching the ring to the handle. The ends of the spring-brass ring (A) have holes (a a) in them which are passed through slots in the ring holder and over the pins {b b), when the natural spring of the metal holds every thing firmly and securely. 142 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. fi S u 0) &D u o ^~^ M >> CO o ■r-t ^ fi a o CQ o Ti ^ 1— ; eS O X Ph ';; r— ( H M a 02 p:i MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. l43 DiSGORGERS AND EXTRACTORS. Ycry often a Bass, or it may be a pike, pickerel, or wall- cyo, is lux^kcd in the throat or gullet, and it is difficult to dislodtre tiie hook. In order to render this easy to do, and at the same time to prevent the fingers of the angler from being scratched or lacerated by the teeth of the tish, a dis- gorger becomes a A^ery useful tool. There are a number of ingeniously devised implements for the purpose. One of the best is Foard's patent fisb-hook extractor or disgorger, sold by Thos. J. Conroy. The directions for its employment are to use the end of the instrument corre- sponding to the size of the hook, draw the line taut, and run the instrument down into the bend of the hook ; then clasp the line against the side of the shaft, and push the whole down till the barb is disengaged, and the hook will come ovit with the instrument. Another tool for this purpose is sold by A. B. Shipley & Son. It has a V-shaped knife at one extremity for dis- lodging the hook, the other being a screw-driver, Avhile the shank of the instrument is a file. It is a very useful, con- venient and portable combination. The file is useful for touching up the point of the hook, while the screw-driver may be required for taking apart a refractory reel. Wm. Mills & Son have a disgorger with a long and stiff wire handle, the knife being a slotted tube, for admitting the snell, with the end of the tube ground to a sharp, cut- ting edge. There are a number of other forms in the market, but these are among the best. 144 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. koRCAcac-ca- (A. B. Shipley & Sou.) (Wm. Mills it Son.) MlSCKLl-AXEOUS IMl'LKMENTS. 145 Minnow-Buckets. The "Acme" minnow-bucket, of "Wm, Mills & Son, is substantially made of heavy tin and handsomely japanned. The inside pail of perforated tin can be removed and placed in the water, thus keeping the bait alive for an indefinite time ; it can be raised or lowered to allow the selection of a bait without wettino; the hand. The continuous flowino- of the water through the perforations, during transportation, has a tendency to aerate the Avater and keep the bait alive. A. B. Shipley & Son's double minnow-bucket is strongly and durably made and handsomely japanned and orna- mented. The inner pail is made of perforated tin, Avith plenty of space between it and the outer pail for a free cir- culation of the water. It has all the well-known advan- tages of the double pail. Rudolph's Patent Floating Minnow-Bucket. (A. G SpaMinj; it Uros ) Rudolph's floating minnow- pail, sold by A. G. Spalding & 13 146 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. Bros., is one of the best articles in this line. The inside pail is made of strong galvanized wire-cloth, and has an air chamber secured to the inside of the lid, bv means of which it Avill float at the surface of the water ; and when fishing from a boat it can be made fast by a string, and the use of the outside pail can be dispensed with. Hudolph's Patent Floating Minnow-Pocket. (A. G. Spalding c*c Bros.) The floating principle is also applied to a netted pocket, or minnow-bag, which is well adapted to the use of the angler when fishing a stream by wading. Or where there are two anglers in the same boat, each can have his minnow pocket at his own end of the boat, a convenience that Avill be appreciated by the social angler, who always wants a companion or two in his boat. The cuts show the minnow pocket ready for use, and folded. Angler's Pliers. A very useful little implement is shown below, combin- ing six different tools in one, namely : A, strong round- MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 147 Angler's Pliers. (Thos. J. Conroy.) nosed pliers ; 5, knife for splitting shot ; C, fine wire cut- ter ; D, strong wire cutter ; E, screw-driver ; F, reamer. They weigh only four ounces, and are made of the best steel and in the best manner, and will be found thoroughly reli- able. The cut is one half the size of the pliers. With this tool, a bit of string and a piece of wire, a broken rod or a disabled reel may be quickly remedied or repaired. It , should be carried in every angler's pocket. Rod Holder. This device is intended for trolling or still fishing, and enables the angler to dispense with the services of a boat- man. It can be fastened to either the gunwale, as in Fig. 2; or to a seat, as in Fig. 1. By means of the thumb- screw it can be adjusted to any angle or direction, as it works on a ball-and-socket joint. While the rod is held perfectly secure, it can be taken out or replaced in a mo- ment, whether the reel is below or above the grip. The crotches for the rod are covered with soft rubber, so that there is no mure liability of scratching or bruising it than 148 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. Fig. 1. Universal Rod Holder. (A. G. Spalding & Bros.) if held in the Imiul. It is made of malleable iron, neatly tinned, and is -well adapted for the purposes of its con- struction. Wading-Shoes. A good wading-shoe is a great desideratum for the stream fisher. While leather brogans are very comfortable, and answer the purpose admirably, it is necessary to take the best care of them in order that they may be kept soft and pliable ; a liberal application of castor oil, Avhile wet, is the best plan for accomplishing this result. Very few anglers, however, attend to this matter as they should, and are very loth to give the needed attention to leather wading-shoes when through fishing; consequently, when next needed they are as hard and stiff as a board. Conroy's Improved Wading-Shoes will be found to satisfy the averao;e ansrler better than leather shoes. Thev are strongly made of heavy canvas, dry quickly, and do not MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 149 Improved Canvas Wading-Shoes. (Thos. ,J. Couroy.) harden with drying. They are supplied ^vith soft hob-nails to prevent* slipping on rocks, and may be Avorn with or without wading stockings. Fishing-Boats. In Black Bass fishing on lakes, ponds, and broad deep rivers, a boat is a sine qua non, and a part of the angler's outfit that should receive that attention which its impor- tance demands. A good boat in every particular is a blessing and a comfort that can hardly be overestimated. As a rule, anglers, while employing none but the best tools and tackle, do not give the same thought and care to the boats they use. They are inclined to accept any thing in the shape of a boat that will float, and seem to have an idea that all boats are cranky and leaky, from the calm indifference with which they will sit for a day with wet 1.^0 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASb a 11 4^ 03 O pq be ^ M d a ci ^: » ^ '^ r\ *) iS -id u M 0 ? O ■* i-j OJ MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 151 feet, or the pliilosophic unconcern with which they will spend half their time in bailing out the water. In the first place, a boat for fishing should be safe and light, dry, and capable of being easily rowed or paddled ; and, in order to meet these requirements, considerable at- tention should be given to its model and construction. It should not be too long, and should have beam enough to give stability, but not so much as to render it logy. Of late years great attention has been given by builders to the construction of suitable small boats, for the angler and sportsman, at a moderate price, so that there is now no excuse for the employment of such death-traps as leaky scows and cranky, unsafe skiifs. I am aware that most anglers, who use boats, depend on hirinoj them at the usual fishino; resorts ; but that is no ex- cuse, for the amount usually paid for boat hire daring a fishing vacation would be more than ample for the purchase and freight charges of a good, safe, dry and comfortable boat. " Eureka " Fishing-Boat. R. J. Douglas & Co., of Waukegan, Illinois, who build any thing from a steam-launch or a sloop-yacht to a ten- pound canoe, have given much thought and attention to the building of fishing-boats at a moderate price, and have suc- ceeded in producing a very low-priced, yet Avell-modeled and desirable boat, one that an angler can afford to own who can spend but a few days in the year fishing. They are enabled to do this by building this style of boat in large numbers, and in employing on them the same work- men the year round. They have them on hand, always, so that they can be ordered by telegraph, and the angler can 152 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE ELACK BASS. '«k.j,!iij'' 'liiaiiiiiiii'"' MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 153 be supplied with a good boat, almost anywhere, within a few days after ordering. This style of boat they call "Eureka," and is made Avith either square or sharp stern, the former being the stiffest and best for angling. They are made in two sizes : 13 ft. x 36 in., or 15 ft. x 38 in., and 10 or 12 inches deep, and weigh about 100 and 110 pounds. They are built of bass- wood, pine, or white cedar, at twenty, twenty-five or thirty dollars. I have used a number of boats and canoes built by R. J. Douglas & Co., and can safely recommend their work, and particularly the " Eureka," for anglers. It is built as follows : Instead of keel, it has a ten-inch bottom board, f inch thick, which makes it perfectly flat on bottom, and it has five strakes on a side. The frames, stems and wales are of selected white oak, in all grades, and in basswood boats the bottom and first two strakes are of pine or cedar, and only the three upper strakes of basswood. The planking is f inch thick in clinkers, and J inch in carvel boats. The row- locks are of their own design and the sockets are fastened on with bolts so that they can not pull off. Instead of wood knees, they use a malleable iron brace from Avales to seat, which is also fastened on with stove-bolts. The boat is fitted Avith a good pair of ash oars and malleable iron rowlocks, is seated for three persons, and has three coats of paint on it. It makes a fine-looking, steady, strong and very serviceable boat for nearly all uses. Osgood's Portable Canvas Boat. If the angler wishes a portable boat, one that he can take in his buggy and drive to his favorite water near home, or pack in its box and ship by rail to any part of the country, 154 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. there is none that is so well known and so highly spoken of by sportsmen generally as Osgood's Portable Folding Can- vas Boat ; and it deserves all the praise bestowed upon it. It is as light as a birch-bark canoe, but stronger ; it will live in a sea where an ordinary Avooden skiff would be swamped. It has been in use for many years, and has with- stood the severest tests ; many improvem.ents have been added since it was first introduced. Mr. Osgood says : "As now made, it is as near perfect as it is possible to manu- facture it. The canvas is drawn smooth, and all the fittings work easily. It has a perfectly modeled flat bottom, which makes it very steady and staunch, and entirely free from the roll of other boats of the same size. No . danger of its tipping over. Any lady can row it, for it does not require one-half the strength to handle that a wooden boat does. It can be made ready for the water in five minutes, and no tools or ingenuity are required to set it u])." The above is a view of the boat in its compact or port- able form, showing boat folded, bottom-board, camp-stools, gunwale, stretcher and packing-chest ; oars and paddles are jointed, and pack in chest with boat. The materials used in its construction are first class throughout. It is made in several sizes from 8 ft. x 33 MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 155 inches, to 15 ft. x 3G inches, and Aveighs from twenty to seventy-five pounds, according to size, and the way it is fitted up. The best size for angling, for two persons, is 12 ft. X 83 inches, weighing with every thing complete fifty pounds. The price varies from thirty to fifty dollars, ac- cording to size. PART III. ANGLING AND FLY-FISHING. CHAPTER XVIIL THE PHILOSOPHY OF ANGLING. The art of angling, with the improvements and appli- ances thereunto pertaining, will not suffer by a comparison with the progress of any other out-door recreation. The love of angling increases with the lapse of years, for its love grows by what it feeds on. Wiser and more healthful and more humane sentiments now prevail among the guild than formerly, so that its prac- tice more nearly approaches and deserves its appellation of the " gentle art." Fishing for count, and the slaughter of the innocents, and the torturing of the fish, when caught, by a lingering death, now meet Avith the opprobrium of all true disciples of the craft, and have become abhorrent and despicable practices. The genuine angler " loves " angling for its own sake ; the pot-fisher " likes " /s/im^ for the spoils it brings, whether captured by the hook, spear or seine. The angler wending his way by the silvery stream, or resting upon its grassy banks, has an innate love for all his surroundings — the trees, the birds, the flowers — which be- come part and parcel of his pursuit ; become true and tried friends and allies without whom he could no more love his art, nor practice it, than the astronomer could view the heavens with pleasure on a cloudy, starless night. It is the love of the stream in its turnings and windings, its depths and its shallows, its overhanging branches and (159) 160 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. grassy slopes, that gives to tlie art of angling its chiefest charm, and presents the Bass or the trout to the angler in its true and proper setting of leaves and flowers and spark- ling; water. If it were otherwise he would find as much pleasure in fishing in the flume of the fish-culturist, or in viewing the fish in the fish-monger's stall. Truly, the stream and its surroundings are all in all to the angler. I am not much given to preaching, though I come of a race of preachers ; but I can not refrain from presenting to the reader the following eloquent similitude and beautiful comparison between the angler's stream and the stream of Life; showing the easy and natural transi- tion from the love of ansjling to the love of nature and nat- ure's God. I feel more like presenting it because it is an extract from a sermon of one (Rev. Dr. H.) who has both the love of God and the love of angling deeply engrafted in his heart : "Act, therefore, while the day calls. Live its life as if life were complete in it. Not that it contains all varieties of expe- rience, but so joins the days before and after as to make them one stream, which your spirit should wade cheerily as the trout • fisher wades his brook. " His brook is wild, because the trout love waters where boats can not follow them, nor even lumber logs roll free ; waters that twist and plunge, and shoot and eddy, with many a snag in the midst and fallen tree across. "And there the fisher seeks them by an instinct like their own — loving the bends that lock the pools, the shoals that embank the deep, the concealment of trackless woods, with their twilight noons and mystic noises, and every difficulty that teases him to more eager quest of his water-sprites. " When no upward flash meets his fly he reels his line in ex- THE rillLOSOl'UY OF ANGLING. 161 pcctation to give a merrior hum to the next tliroAv, and again to the next, until all expectations are fulfilled at once when his wrist tingles to the trout's jerk and swirl and jump. "And still that wrist tingles through casts that take no prize, until another capture renews its thrill. Broken leaders, snarled lines, torn garments, bruised limbs, do not spoil his hilarity, which feels the whole day's sjjort in every minute, the whole brook's beauty at every step. "And so with life. It is to be lived as a whole. Happiness comes from an energetic sense of its entire significance in every passing phase of it — in mystery, as giving value to knowledge — in failure, as the guage of success — in evil, as the condition of good, which indeed is but evil overcome, and without the evil could not be — and in all alike as strides and casts of the confi- dent soul, whose trout-stream from end to end is God. "And if by these the soul gains nought else, it gains immortal health ; fills its creel with secrets of infinite love and wisdom — Avisdom too loving to wish less than man's perfection — love too wise to spare any pain necessary to attain (rodlike end. Luck enough for time or eteruity. Nay, eternal sport in time." 14 CHAPTER XIX. CONDITIOXS WHICH GOVERN THE BITING OF FISH. After a careful reading of this chapter it would seem that there "was nothing to add to this very uncertain sub- ject; for we really know very little about it. We only know that when fishing a favorable locality where there are " thousands " of Black Bass, or even in small, circumscribed waters where there are certainly ".hundreds," we do well, by the most careful fishing, to secure a half-dozen or a score of fish, as the case may be, on the most propitious occa- sions. Why is it then that so few, out of so many, respond to the angler's fly or bait? It is best that it is so; but why is it so ? This is the query that naturally rises to the ang- ler's mind, especially after an unsuccessful day. I might answer this question by asking another : Why is it that the sportsman in a day's outing, with the best dogs, finds so few grouse or quail in comparison to the great numbers known to " use " in certain localities ? The inference is plain in either case, for self preservation is the first law of nature ; but while the sportsman is fully conscious of this, the angler is usually not so logical, be- cause he does not reflect upon the fact that the fish is as fully aware of his presence as the grouse or quail is of that of the sportsman and his dogs. Then again we should not expect to find all the fish on (162) CONDITIONS WHICH GOVERN THE BITING OF FISH. 163 the feed at the same time: if we did so avc "would have no cause to comphiin of their not rising or biting. In the struimle for existence amons; animals, including fishes, it is the majority that obtains enough to satisfy its -wants, and the minority only that docs not. Then it is from the minor- ity that we must look for the few that are likely to see and take our lure. Predacious fishes feed almost entirely at night, only the hungry ones, perhaps, that do so during the day ; and though we often take fish with their stomachs full, they are evi- dently still on the feed, for such food is usually in a fresh or undigested condition, showing that it has been recently swallowed. Predacious fishes are more active during the night, and, I believe, rest or sleep during the day, while the smaller fishes, as minnows, etc., are more active during daylight: for it is not unlikely that they seclude themselves, or keep in very shallow water, during the night, to prevent their be- ing swallowed by their larger and piscivorous congeners. As predacious fishes then feed mostly by night, we Avould naturally expect to find them at that time where their food was most plentiful ; and this is really the case, for I have ob- served that they were always near the shores or on the shal- lows at night, in water so shallow, in fact, that their dorsal fins were often out of the water. Any one Avho will take the trouble to proceed cautiously along the shores at night, with a lantern, can verify this statement. It is well known tliat the last few hours of daylight are the best for fly-fishing, which I account for by the fact that the fish are then approaching the shallows and shores in their nightly search for food ; and as they only rise to the 16-4 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. fly in comparatively shallow water, the conditions are thus more favorable for the fly-fisher. The hypothesis, then, that game fishes feed mostly at night and rest or sleep by day, and that it is only the few that failed to fully satisfy their appetites the night before that are apt to respond to the Aviles of the angler, is quite a reasonable one, and one that will account for most of the " bad luck " of the angler. CHAPTER XX. THE BLACK BASS AS A GAME FISH. Owing to mj admiration for the Black Bass as a game fish, and my championship of its cause for many years, and my efforts to place it in the front rank of game fishes, and my desire to have it placed in new waters, I am sometimes, thoughtlessly and unjustly, accused of being opposed to the brook-trout, and of advising the stocking of trout-streams with my "favorite" fish. Nothing can be further from the truth. I am utterly opposed to the introduction of Black Bass into waters in which there is the remotest chance for the brook-trout or rainbow-trout to thrive. I yield to no one in love and admiration for the brook-trout. I was perfectly familiar with it before I ever saw a Black Bass ; but I am not so blinded by prejudice but that I can share that love with the Black Bass, which for several reasons is des- tined to become the favorite game-fish of America. "My offending hath this extent, no more." Let us look this thing squarely in the face. I do not wish to disturb any one's preference, but I do want to dis- abuse the minds of anglers of all prejudice in the matter. The brook-trout must go. It has already gone from many streams, and is fiist disappearing from others. It is sad to contemplate the extinction of the " angler's pride" in pub- lic waters, but the stern fact remains that in this utilitarian age its days are numbered and its fate irrevocably sealed. (165) 166 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. As the red man disappears before the tread of the white man, the " living arrow " of the mountain streams goes with him. The trout is essentially a creature of the pine forests. Its natural home is in waters shaded by pine, balsam, spruce and hemlock, where the cold mountain brooks retain their low temperature, and the air is redolent with balsamic fra- rance ; where the natural food of the trout is produced in the greatest abundance, and where its breeding grounds are undisturbed. But the iron has entered its soul. As the buffalo disap- pears before the iron horse, the brook-trout vanishes before the axe of the lumberman. As the giants of the forest are laid low, and the rank and file decimated, and the wooden walls of the streams battered down, the hot, fiery sun leaps through the breaches, disclosing the most secret recesses of forest and stream to the bright glare of mid-day. The moisture of the earth is dissipated, the mosses and ferns become shriveled and dry, the wintergreen and partridge- berry, the ground pine and trailing arbutus struggle feebly for existence ; the Avaters decrease in size and increase in temperature, the conditions of the food supply and of the breeding grounds of the brook-trout are changed; it dete- riorates in size and numbers and vitality, until finally, in accordance with the immutable laws of nature and the great principle of the "survival of the fittest" (not the fittest from the angler's point of view, but the fittest to survive the changes and mutations consequent on the march of civilization), it disappears altogether. Much has been said about the " trout hog " in connec- tion with the decrease of the trout. But while he deserves all the odium and contempt heaped upon him by the honest THE BLACK BASS AS A GAME FISH. 167 angler, the result would be the same were the trout allowed undisturbed and peaceable possession of the streams, so far as the fish-hook is concerned, while the axe of the lumber- man continues to ring its death knell. Let us, then, cherish and foster and protect the crimson- spotted favorite of our youthful days as long as possible in public Avaters, and introduce the rainbow-trout, or the Dolly Varden, or some of the Pacific black-spotted trout, or the English brown trout, when he has disappeared ; and when all these succumb, then, and not till then, introduce the Black Bass. But let us give these cousins of the brook trout a fair trial first, and without prejudice. There are plenty of lakes, ponds and large streams in the Eastern States into which the Black Bass can be introduced without interfering Avith trout-waters. For many years to come brook-trout will be artificially cultivated, and the supply thus kept up in preserved waters by wealthy angling clubs ; but by the alteration of the na- tural conditions of their existence they Avill gradually de- crease in size and quality, until finally they will either cease to be or desrenerate to such a degree as to forfeit even this praiseworthy protection. I must dissent from the statement sometimes made that the Black Bass is the bluefish of fresh waters. The Black Bass is voracious — so are all game fishes — but not more so than the brook-trout. The character of a fish's teeth de- termines the nature of its food and the manner of its feed- ing. The bluefish has the most formidable array of teeth of any fish of its size — compressed, lancet-shaped, covered Avith enamel, and exceedingly strong and sharp, in fact, miniature shark teeth — Avhile the Black Bass has soft, small, brush-like teeth, incapable of wounding, and intended 168 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. only for holding its prey, ■\vliich is swallowed whole. The brook-trout has longer, stronger and sharper teeth than the Bass, and a large, long mouth, capable of swallowing a big- ger fish than a Black Bass of equal weight. The mouth of the Bass is very wide, for the purpose of taking in crawfish with their long and aggressive claw^s, and not, as supposed by some, for the SAvallowing of large fishes. The Black Bass gets the best of other game fishes, not by devouring the fishes themselves, but by devouring their food. For this reason, more than any other, they should not be intro- duced into the same waters with brook- trout. The pike or pickerel is the bluefish of fresh waters, and in dental ca- pacity and destructive possibilities is not far behind it. The brook-trout, I think, is the most beautiful of all fishes, as a fresh run salmon is the handsomest and most perfect in form. The salmon is a king, the brook trout a courtier, but the Black Bass, in his virescent cuirass and spiny crest, is a doughty warrior Avhose prowess none can gainsay. I have fished for brook-trout in the wilds of Canada, where a dozen would rise at every cast of the fly, and it would be a scramble as to which should get it— great lusty trout, from a half pound to two pounds in weight — but the black fly made life a burden by day, and the mosquito by night. The glory and beauty of the madly rushing stream breaking wildly over the great black rocks, and the quiet, glassy pools below reflecting the green spires of spruce and fir, availed nothing to the swollen eyelids and smarting brow. I have cast from early morn till dewy eve, on a good sal- mon stream in New Brunswick, for three days in succession Avithout a single rise. I have cast standing in a birch-bark THE BLACK BASS AS A GAME FISH. 169 canoe until both arras and legs were weary with tlie strain, and then rested by casting while sitting — but all in vain. The swift-flowing, crystal stream reflected back the fierce glare of the northern sun, and flowed on in silence toward the sea. The fir-clad hills rose boldly on either side, and stood in silent, solemn grandeur — for neither note of bird nor hum of bee disturbed the painful silence of the Cana- dian woods. At such times would flash on memory's mirror many a fair scene of limpid lake or rushing river, shadowed by cool, umbrageous trees, and vocal with myriads of voices — where the Black Bass rose responsive to the swish of the rod and dropping of the fly. Or, should the Bass be coy and shy, or loth to leave his lair beneath some root or shelv- ing rock — the melody of the birds, the tinkle of a cow-bell, the chirp of a cricket, the scudding of a squirrel, filled up the void and made full compensation. The true angler can find real pleasure in catching little sunfish, or silversides, if the stream and birds, and bees and butterflies do their part by him ; while the killing of large or many fish, even salmon or trout, in silence and solitude, may fail to fully satisfy him. I can find something beautiful pr interesting in every fish that swims. I have an abiding aff'ection for every one, from the lowly, naked bull-head, the humble scavenger of the waters, to the silver-spangled king who will not deign to soil his dainty lips with food during his sojourn in crystal streams, and I love the brook-trout best of all. But, as an angler, I can find more true enjoyment, more blessed peace, in wading some rushing, rocky stream, flecked by the shad- ows of overhanging elm and sycamore, while tossing the 15 170 SUPrLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. silken gage to the kniglit in Lincoln-green, my ears con- scious of the rippling laughter of the merry stream, the joyous matin of the "woodland thrush, the purring under- tone of the quivering leaves — my eyes catching glimpses of hill and meadow, wren and robin, bee and bittern, fern and flower, and my breath inhaling the sweet fragrance of upland clover and elder-blossom — I say I can find more true enjoyment in this — than paying court to the lordly salmon, or the lovely trout, in its stiff and silent demesne, with annointed face, gloved hands, and head swathed in gauze. If this be treason, my brother, make the most of it. I am content. It is my honest conviction. After killing every species of game-fish east of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to Florida, and a few in foreign lands, I find the knightly Bass and his tourney-field all sufficient. CHAPTER XXL FLY-FISHING. The literature of Black Bass fishing may truly be said to have been evolved during the past decade. Previous to this period very little mention was made of the two species of Black Bass by our angling authors, and that little was mis- leading, incorrect or glaringly false in most instances, and related, almost without exception, to bait fishing. Fly-fish- ing for Black Bass, although then practiced by a few ang- lers, was apparently unknown to writers on angling. In- deed, it was doubted by many, and denied by most anglers, that the Black Bass would rise to the artificial fly; but this, in my opinion, was due more to prejudice than to the result of actual experience, and viewed in the light of our present knowledge of the subject, this opinion is certainly strength- ened, if not confirmed. Up to that time the brook-trout was deservedly the pride and idol of the fly-fisher, and it was deemed heresy to cast the fly for any other fish, with the exception of the salmon. But while yielding to none in my love and admiration for the brook-trout, it is a pleasure for me to state that, in my opinion (based on a large experience), there are no waters inhabited by the Black Bass, large or small mouth, where it will not rise to the artificial fly at some season of the year, subject to certain states and conditions of the water, etc., and this is as much as can be said for the brook -trout, as all unprejudiced trout-fishers must admit. (171) 172 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. It is true that the Black Bass rises to the fly more freely and uniformly in some waters than in others, but this fact holds good also as to the brook-trout. And likewise is it a truism, that the largest fish, trout or Bass, do not, as a rule, take the artificial fly. Those Avho wish to lure the finny giants must perforce use bait or the trolling-spoon. This is a damaging admission to our piscatorial pride, but can- dor compels us to acknowledge the correctness of it, though we may find some guilty consolation or quasi-satisfaction in exhibiting the huge piscine trophies to our admiring and credulous friends with the usual remark : " Caught on the fly!" Seriously, it is entirely unnecessary, at this late day, to argue that the Black Bass will or Avill not rise to the arti- ficial fly. The fact is now known to many anglers, and con- ceded by others, that the Black Bass is a game-fish of high degree, and when of equal weight is the peer of the brook trout or salmon in fighting qualities, when proper tackle is employed, and will rise to the fly under the same favorable conditions. Practical Hints. In order to be successful in fly-fishing for Black Bass, the angler must know the waters to be fished, or be pos- sessed of that knowledge of the haunts and habits of the Bass that is born only of much experience. He must know when and where the fish are to be found at the difl"er- ent seasons of the year ; when they frequent deep, and when shallow water, for it is love's labor lost to cast the fly on deep, still reaches of water. In stream-fisliing, which is by far more preferable and enjoyable than lake or pond-fishing, it is only Avhen the Bass are on the shallows or on the rifiles that the fly-fisher FLY-FISHING. 173 will fill his creel, :uul on lakes when they frequent reefs, shoals, bai's, and the neighborhood of rushes and weed patches. These times are usually in the spring or early summer, and in autumn, for in midsummer the Bass retire to deep water, except in large, deep and cool lakes, when this season is often the best, as the water has then become of the right temperature to induce the fish to seek shallow feedino; crrounds. The habits of the brook-trout have been carefully studied by many generations of fly-fishers and naturalists, conse- quently the trout-fisher knows that during the summer months he will certainly find his quarry in the shallow streams, slowly but surely ascending toward their spawning grounds. He also knows that the bier trout has a local habitation under some root, or rock, or hollow bank, which he holds by right of possession, and defends as bravely as ever knight of old his feudal stronghold. He knows, fur- thermore, that he would be considered daft to whip the deepest pools of exposed water, or the mid-surface of deep lakes or ponds. So, when the Bass-fisher knows the habits of the Bass as well, there Avill be less speculation as to whether or not he will rise to the fly. The stream should always be waded, if practicable, and fished with the current, for it follows that wherever the angler can wade, the water is about right in depth for fly- fishintT. He should cast about him in a semi-circle, he being at the center and his casts being the radii, like the spokes of a wheel ; then, lengthening his cast, he can de- scribe the arc of a larger circle, and so cover all the water within reach (within forty or fifty feet), giving preference, of course, to the likeliest spots, as the eddies of bowlders or half-submerged rocks, near logs, driftwood, shoals, bars. 174 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. and under overhanging bushes and hollow banks, and over the shallow pools above and below rapids and riffles. After casting, the flies should be roved, skittered or danced over the surface by jerky or tremulous movements, to imitate, as nearly as may be, a living fly, and then be allowed to sink several inches below the surface and float away like a drowned insect to the extreme length of the line. On lakes, where there is no current, the flies should also be permitted to sink over likely spots at almost every cast. Lakes or deep ponds should be fished from a boat, keeping in the deeper water and casting inshore on the bars, shoals, reefs or ledges, or along the edges of rushes or weed patches. Sometimes rushes or tall weeds grow in pretty deep water, but nevertheless the Bass will usually be found near or among them, and sometimes near or under floating logs or drift; it is well to try all such places. It will be found that Bass rise to the fly more freely when the water is stirred or ruffled by a brisk breeze, and during the early morning hours and late in the evening ; about sun- set, or a little after, being the very best time on bright days. On cloudy days there is not much choice, as one hour is no more favorable than another, sunny days being always the best. The old rule of light-colored flies for dark days and to- ward evening, and dark flies for bright days, is a safe one to follow, the exceptions rather tending to prove the rule, which usually happen when the fish are well on the feed, and will take almost any fly off'ered ; thus it is frequently the case that dark flies will kill in the dusk of evening as well as the " Miller " or " Coachman."' It only remains now to say to the reader, as I have often FLY-FISIirXG. 175 said before, cast as skillfully as you can, but always delib- erately and carefully. Always keep a taut lino; strike quickly upon sight or touch, and play and land your fish in your own way, but get liini in the creel as quickly as you can Avith safety to your tackle ; kill your fish outright be- fore putting him in your basket; do notfish for count ; keep your temper ; and, above all things, remember first, last and all the time the most important rule in fly-fishing — keep out of sight of the fish if 3"ou Avould have him notice your flies. A Reminiscence. Toward the close of a day in the mild September, I was leisurely riding mv tired mare across the ford of a narrow rocky river that wound around the foot of a thickly-wooded clift", with here and there a pool in the shadow or a ripple in the sun, Avhile stretching away a mile or two across the fer- tile bottom lands were fields of waving; corn, fragrant clover, blue-grass and broad-leaved tobacco. Up the stream a hundred yards away, stood, leaning over the water, an old stone mill, whose lichen-covered walls and moss-grown roof proclaimed its hoary age. Its old wheel went rumbling on its merry round, mingling its regular, rhythmic plashing Avith the monotone of the tumbling, rush- ing Avaters of the dam. DoAvn the stream another hundred yards, an old-time, covered bridge, decrepid and gray, spanned the little river, casting cool and dark shadoAvs beneath and beloAV. The sun Avas sinking Ioav beyond the fields, flinging bars of yellow flame through the slender strips of fleecy clouds that stretched across the Avestern portal of the steel-blue skAT, lighting up the crimson of the ncAvly-dyed sumach on the cliif, flashing on the foaming Avaters of the falls, and fes- 176 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. tooning with golden streamers and silver ribbons the long, dank, green arms of the old water-wheel. Beneath the bridge a group of ruminating, sleek-coated cows stood whisking their tails in calm contentment, as the grateful stream laved their cloven feet and their breath ex- haled the odors of sweet cream, white clover and golden butter. As my mare drank deeply from the refreshing stream, I gazed upon the lovely scene, and thought that nowhere else in all the world but in this broad land of ours could such a a view be found. The sublime glories of the Alps ; the soft Italian skies ; the splendors of the Tropics ; the olive-crowned hills of Andalusia; the vine-clad slopes of the Riviera — all alike paled before this calm and peaceful, soul-filling, heart-satis- fying, homelike scene. But what was that ? — a bar of silvery sheen flashed for a moment in the sun and dropped back into the eddy behind yon huge gray boulder under the cliiT! I pretend to be surprised, but — pshaw ! how idle it is to attempt to deceive oneself. All the time that I was hollowly and falsely des- canting upon the matchless beauty of the stream and its surroundings, I, like an artful, double-tongued hypocrite, Avas watching for the very thing that occurred — the leap of a Bass ! Silently I rode my mare to the shade of the cliff, tied the reins to the convenient limb of a low-branching elm, unstrapped my umbrella from the saddle, and from its folds drew forth a fly-rod that had been artfully and surrepti tiously concealed there — another evidence of the insincer itv of man. From a corner of my pill-bags I brazenly took out a FLY-FISHING. 177 buckskin bag, in which was a small click-reel with its line of enameled silk. From a pocket of my professional coat I brought to the light of day what, ostensibly, purported to be a prescription book, but in reality was a book of flies ! How guilty I felt ! What an arrant humbug I was ! But there was no time for moralizing — I just heard the splash of another Bass ! I soon had rod and reel, line and leader together, and a " polka " and a " professor " were soon dancincr over the Avater to<>;ether ' I had stepped from bowlder to bowlder, in the shadow of the cliff, until I had reached a vantage point at the foot and edge of the riffle, with the sun in my face and broken water all around me. I knew of half a dozen deep holes and sheltered eddies within the length of my cast, from which I would be completely hidden by two jagged rocks that rose in front of me, half as high as my head. Then like a guilty thing I began casting in ever-widening circles — all the time pretending to watch the play of the sunshine on the water, or the blackbird that Avas drinking at the verge of the stream. Then I saw a swirl behind the gray bowlder — but pre- tended to be listening to a squirrel barking at me from the projecting limb of a hickory, Avhose glossy, green leaves were just touched with the faintest suspicion of old gold. Then I made another cast as straight as the maple boll behind me. The flies dropped just over and beyond the smooth, gray bowlder, and as they were drawn into its eddy the " polka" disappeared, and something seemed to lift the water just there for an instant, and then — what a lively staccato to that kingfisher's rattle ! But, bless my soul ! it is my reel that is giving so merry a hum ! I must stop that. Then, as I follow the erratic 178 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. flight of a dragon-fly across the stream, I can't help ob- serving mj strained line cutting like mad through the water, and as I look up at a crow flying overhead I see that my rod is bent, and strained and twisted, and altogether there seems to be something unusual going on in the Avater, and as I look — out into the sunshine with bristling fins and red, extended jaws there leaps a Bass ! Then I am kept busy leading my line away from jagged rocks in front, and can only do so by holding my rod at arm's length above my head. But now I have led the cap- tive into the deep pool below me, and near the cliff. Then I have leisure to look up at my squirrel, who, with a hick- ory nut in his paws is raining down the pieces of its hull in a green shower at the river's side, and — there leaps the Bass again ! — and again ! Then again the singing of the reel as he dives to the depths of the pool. Ah ! listen to the allegro of the mocking-bird atop of yonder beech, as he begins his sunset sonata — the click of my reel a castinet accompaniment — and now, while slowly reeling in the line, the andante of the glorious songster is poured out on the quivering air — and then the trio — the bird and Bass and I — and last of all the finale, as I drop the butt of the rod and the reel into my coat pocket, and hug my vertical rod, while lifting out the spent warrior in green and silver sheen, and quickly dispatching him, toss him among the ferns at the foot of the hickory, to the great displeasure of my squirrel, Avho scolds and scampers away with the nut in his cheek. Then, filling my pipe, the blue smoke ascends in curling wreaths and is borne away up the face of the cliff on the soft evening air, while the tinkle of a cow-bell and the hoot of an owl comes from the direction of the old bridge. FLY-FISHING. 179 But the sun is on the edge of the horizon, the fall is bathed in flame, the mill-wheel is hung with rubies, the be- lated crows caw loudly, and the " professor " and the "polka" are dancing on saffron and crimson foam to the strident strains of the cicada's fiddle. What, another rise ? Another Bass, perhaps ! No, it must have been a sw^allow dipping its wing. The gentle swish of the supple rod is music sweet as the "professor" and the "polka" follow each other, now in aerial flight, now along the shining water. Egad ! there' s no mistaking that tug ! The reel and the cicada now have it ! The line hisses through the water ! Look out for the sharp rock ! See that blundering bat ! Ah, what a leap ! — how he dashed the golden, crimson rain ! Again the duet— hike shrill cicada and the buzzing reel ! He breaks again, again falls back ! The rod is bending, surging through the air — and now the frogs pipe up — the sun is down — and, bless me ! here's another Bass! T step ashore, and string them on a willow wand. The mill-wheel has stopped ; the water tumbles over the fall witii a lonesome sound. The whippoorwill is calling from the cliff. The squirrel is in his nest. The mocking-bird has found his mate. The cows are lowing at the farmer's gate. My patient nag is neighing for her master. "All right, Jenny ! " I do not feel so guilty in the gloaming ; and as the first silent star appears, I stop at the little tumble down gate before the cabin of " Old Dave," who " cot de rheumatiz in de fresh' las' spring." " Hello ! Aunt Judy. How 's Uncle Dave ? " " Howdy, Doctah ! Lor' bress you, honey, de ole man's mitey po'ley — jist kin hobble roun', an' dat 's all. He 180 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS, 'lowed to 'gin cuttin' 'bacca fer Mars' Brack nex' week — but 'less he men's mitey fas' he won't cut more 'n a 'bacca wum kin chaw ! Don 't tink he 's long fer ole Kaintuck, no how ! " " Come here, Aunt Judy ; here's tAvo nice Bass for you — they '11 go nearly two pounds apiece. A gentleman fishing down at the river gave them to me as I came along. They '11 make a fine breakfast for you and Uncle Dave in the morning. Good night ! " And Jenny and I jogged along toward home, under the bright stars, at peace with all the world. CHAPTER XXII. CASTING THE MINNOW. The capabilities of the minnow-casting rod are equal to most of the possibilities of bait-fishing, as it has been my good fortune to prove on many occasions. To the unversed in the real art of angling it is simply wonderful to see what an amount of strain the little rod will successfully endure, and to witness the comparative ease with which exception- ably large fish are killed by one who knows the latent virtues of this little giant of a rod. Long ago, before every island boasted a summer cottage and a steam-launch, and when the Black Bass, or masca- longe, were to be found in almost every rock-bound, lily- fringed cove, the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence possessed attractions for the lover of the beautiful and the angler that is hard to realize at the present day. Such a time I remember well; and one day of that hal- cyon period isjuarked on the calendar of memory by a pure white stone that sometimes, when the fit of retrospection is on, shines out vividly in the "hollow down by the flare" in the bright coal fire in the grate, or in the log fire in camp. It was below Grenadier Island, in the shallower portion of the river, along the edges of the rushes, deer- tongue and water-lilies, that a dear friend (poor Dick ! he is dead now) and I were casting the minnow for Black Bass. On that lovely July morning I killed, on an ash and lancewood, (181) 182 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE ELACK BASS. eight-ounce rod, a mascalonge weighing thirty-two pounds, in twenty minutes. But, it is under the palms and live-oaks of Southern Florida that the angler is more likely to encounter finny giants that will test the strength and endurance of his tackle, and exercise to the full his stock of piscatorial skill and finesse. A few days after Christmas, in the winter of 1881, my wife and I were fishing in San Sebastian river (opposite Kane's cabin), a half mile above its confluence Avith Indian river. We had been up one of the branches of the river fishing for Black Bass, and I was using an eight-ounce, ash and lancewood Henshall rod, and ordinarv Black Bass tackle. On this occasion, and with this rod and tackle, I killed a redfish, or channel Bass, in twenty minutes, that weighed fully thirty-five pounds, though, as I did not weigh it, I called it thirty. It was a heavier and gamer fish than the mascalonge alluded to above ; and, as I have weighed a good many redfish running from twenty to forty pounds, I can certainly guess within five pounds of the Aveight of one within these liuiits. I was casting the minnow for Black Bass, on another oc- casion, up the St. Lucie river, in Southern Florida, and with the same rod and tackle just mentioned I hooked, killed and landed a tarpon of thirty-three pounds, in fifteen minutes I have, with the same, or similar rods and tackle, killed many pike, mascalonge, tarpon, groupers, salt-water trout, etc., between ten and twenty pounds, but merely mention the above instances to prove t)ic power of the minnow- casting Black Bass rod of eight ounces in Aveight and eight CASTING THE MINNOW. 183 ;iii(l a quarter feet in length, and this must be my excuse for alludinij; to them here. The introduction of this rod has no doubt done more than any thing else to popularize tliis style of fishings and we may now consider minnow-casting as not onl}^ firmly es- tablished, but as an orio-inal and American method of ang- ling that is peculiarly adapted to bait-fishing in our varied and extensive waters. As an instance of its popularity I might add that, during the past five years, I have seen it employed in the waters tributary to the Red river of the North, in the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin, in nearly all the Provinces of Canada, and in Florida, and in many waters between. I have also seen it in numerous instances made to apply as well to estuary or coast fishing. While minnow-casting for Black Bass is the most popu- lar method in vogue in the West, it is very gratifying to me to see the favor with which it has been received in the Eastern States, and the remarkable progress that has been made in that best of all modes of bait-fishing; for it must be remembered that Black Bass fishing north of the Poto- mac and east of the Alleghany mountains is of compara- tively recent origin, as it has not been many years since the Black Bass was introduced into eastern waters. As a member of the Committee of Arransrements of the tournaments of the National Rod and Reel Association, I succeeded in having a special contest for " casting the minnow for Black Bass " admitted in the programme of events at the tournament of 1884, when the longest cast, with a half-ounce sinker, was made by Professor Alfred M. Mayer, the same being 97 feet. At the subsequent tournaments the casting continually 184 SUPPKEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. improved, until at the last one, held in May, 1888, there were three gentlemen who cast upward of fifty yards ; and out of five casts made by Mr. A. F. Dresel, the successful competitor, three of them went beyond fifty yards, and one reached the extraordinary distance of 168 feet, 4 inches. The weisrht of sinker cast was one-half ounce. The rods used were about eight and a quarter feet long, and about nine ounces in weight. CHAPTER XXlir. STILL-FISHING. What angler's heart does not leap when he thinks of his boyish experiences in angling ! We were all " still-fishers " then. The boy who began fishing on a small trout stream, though, would not tarry long in one spot; he soon learned that lie must be a roving fisherman to fill his string. But the boy Avho began on " sunnies," or red-eyes, or " brim," or gudgeons, or even bull-heads or suckers, im- bibed his first lessons in the virtue of patience during his pin-feather days of angling. What finished, artistic fly-fisher but would gladly hark back to those golden days ! What a monument of patience he was, and what a fatalist as to luck, and what a firm be- liever in the secret, unwritten mysteries of the art, as he sat motionless on a rock, or perched upon a gnarled root, or lay prone upon a grassy bank, watching his float with all the eagerness and expectancy of a kingfisher on his dead branch, or an osprey on his cliff! And how well he knew every " hole," and every sub- merged rock, and every snag; and just " how deep " to place his float, and just how long to let it run before '• yanking " the fish or his hook into the limb overhead, or into the bush behind him ! And how well he knew every muskrat's run, and every kingfisher's perch, and every bank-swallow's hole ; and, though watching his " cork " never so intently, how he had 16 (185) 186 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. an eye for every Avater-snake, and turtle, and bull-frog that stirred within ten rods of him ! And when an unlucky muskrat, or kingfisher, or snake, or turtle, or frog showed itself, how he would lay a rock on the butt of his " pole," and start in quest of it ; and how these mammalian forays, and ornithic sallies, and reptilian assaults would rest him ; and with what renewed zest he would repair to his fishing, and with what consummate and enduring faith he would spit on his hook, and resume his waiting and watching ! Oh ! bright, sunny, golden days of youth ! How far — how very far we have traveled down the stream since then ! We may look back, and through the gaps in the trees, and over the low hills catch a sparkle of the stream behind and above us ; but, alas ! we can never go back — never return ! Our course is ever on, on — and down, down — and the stream is ever widening and growing deeper, until it will soon be lost in the great gulf of the unknown ! I have much sympathy, and great respect, if not down- right envy for the still-fisher. There is a juvenility, and a childish faith in his methods that arc totally unknown, or utterly lost to the blase old hand at fly-fishing, or minnow- casting. His tastes are ss simple, his expectations as great, his anticipations as easily satisfied, and his enjoyment as ample as in the pin-hook days of the best of us. He is, indeed, but a child of larger growth. His life may have been saddened with the experience of time — his hands hardened with years of toil — his heart seared with the inhumanity of man — but he still retains the innocence and freshness of his youth when seated at the waterside with the " peeled sapling " in his stifl^"ened hands STILL FISHING. 187 — the voice of the stream whispering in his ears — its moist breath stealing through his grizzled locks — and its rippling smile flashing on his tired eyes ! A Retrospection. An old negro house-servant and a bright-e^^ed, flaxen- haired boy of eight summers sat side by side under a mill- dam, fishing. The old man was engaged in earnest conver- sation, to which the lad was an eager listener, save when interrupted by the pulling out of a fish or the re-baiting of a hook : " Yas, Percy Lee, it's jist wasteful 'stravagance fer yo' papa to buy sich lavish, shiny fish-poles an' silver reel con- trapshuns dat run riot wid his money. All de fish in de Elkhorn wouldn't 'gin to pay intrust on 'em. He's de beat- enes' man for 'stravagance I eber see. " De bestes' fish-pole is de strettes' an' slimmes' ellum saplin' you kin fine ; cut in de fall in de lite ob de moon, an' peeled in de shade, an' put up in de lof ' nex' to de cabin chimbly all wintah. An' de Bass an' chan"l-cat won't know Avedder it cos' two cents or de price ob a year- lin' mule, case you yank 'em out so quick dey ain't got time to tink 'bout it." " Yes, but Uncle Enoch, papa don't like to yank 'em out so quickly." '' No, honey, an' dats' wat beats me. He jis' goes a- wadin' in de water — an' he'll done cotch his deff" o' rheuma- tiz one ob dese days — a-whippin' his little shiny switch, an' a-flippin' his fiddle-string line wid little teenty fedder-flies, an' de Bass cotch holt, an' ben' an' twis' de little pole, an' run off wid de line — an' Mars' Dick wind 'em up agin, an' de Bass pull out de line agin, an' jump out to see wat 1-88 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. gwine to happen nex', an' dey hav' mo' fun dan a bag full o' monkeys at de circus." " But papa says he used to fish with cane poles and min- nows, Uncle Enoch." " Yas, Percy Lee, wen Mars' Dick was a little lam', jis' like yo'self, he use' to sot in dis same place wid me, an' laws-o'marcy wat gorms o' Bass, an' new-lites', an' chan'l cats we use' to snek out ! But aft-a-wile he growed up an' den he marri'd Mis' Alice, an' dat quile