F L Y F ISHING IN THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER 



the fish and the lesser the depth of water, the 

 greater and wider the scattering will be. 



Security, with them, seems to lie in the relative 

 depth of the pools, as the step of the angler dis- 

 turbs them only in a foot or two of water. A 

 black bass lying in a hole five feet deep, close to the 

 bank, is undisturbed by any ordinary concussion. 



Again, any concussion originating in or upon the 

 bed of the river or below the bass does not appear 

 to disturb them. This was verified by Mendy one 

 day in the case of a large bass, which he saw lying 

 motionless within a foot of a stake to which the 

 camp boat was tied. The water was about four 

 feet deep. Mendy struck several successive hard 

 blows upon the top of the stake, which protruded 

 about two feet out of the water, without causing 

 a flirt of the fin in the fish below. 



Our anglers at once concluded that the bass 

 could not hear the noise made by their footsteps 

 upon the bed of the river when they were wading 

 in the stream, and as the jolly fins (" jolly for the 

 fins," parenthesized Gills) could not hear their con- 

 versation originating out of the water, they in- 

 dulged in social chat and pleasantries whenever 

 inclined, taking care, however, to be always on the 

 safe sid,e, by not becoming too boisterous in their 

 discussions or hilarity. 



' Boys," said Mendy, on one occasion, " what 

 fools these bait-fishers are to put their comfort in 



103 



