FISH MEETS CANNY ANGLER 99 



the surface; spoons of brass and glittering 

 silver. Once when a toothsome frog hit the 

 surface and lay kicking there, Old Black 

 Bass felt the hunger urge to strike. But 

 a Voice of caution stayed him. 



But the great angler was clever. He 

 drew in the rejected lure and changed it 

 for a plain hook. This plain hook he in- 

 serted just behind the dorsal fin of a slender 

 shiner. He threw both far to one side, and 

 by clever leading made the minnow swim in 

 a circle about him, but far out. 



Old Black Bass had been waiting for 

 another plug to strike and be drawn straight 

 in. Hanging expectant, he was startled by 

 the till-then-unnoticed approach of this 

 venturesome shiner. It annoyed him to be 

 interrupted. More in annoyance than 

 hunger he struck, caught the hapless 

 minnow and gobbled him down only to 

 feel a quick decisive jerk, and a sharp stab 

 of pain in his throat. A thin, hard line sawed 

 his mouth and he closed his teeth on it. 

 But the gut leader would not part. 



Immediately he dashed to surface and 

 leaped high, his great head shaking sav- 

 agely. But still the pull shoreward. He 



