Caught Unprepared 



it, when suddenly it was jerked down, and I barely had 

 time to grab it before it went overboard. Then the 

 fight was on! 



The outfit was never intended for that kind of fish- 

 ing, and you can imagine the problem confronting me 

 handling a big bass with a short pole and about 

 seven feet of line. Still after about ten minutes of 

 the most intense work I ever endured, I got the fish 

 up to the side of the boat, only to discover that my 

 Sunday scruples had caused me to leave my landing 

 net with my other casting tackle safe in the cottage! 

 I held the pole high up into the air, and decided to at- 

 tempt the old fisherman's trick of lifting him out by 

 the eyes (by thumb and forefinger). I can safely 

 state it was the largest bass that I have ever hooked, 

 or seen hooked, apparently measuring well in excess 

 of twenty inches, with an exceptionally wide back. 

 Mr. Bass took exceptions to my methods of landing 

 him, however, and with one final effort completely 

 straightened out the hook and took French leave. Al- 

 though the perch were still biting, I pulled up my an- 

 chor and made for shore. I was too " sick " to fish 

 any more. Since that day I have never essayed to 

 fish without taking the outfit with me, but I have not 

 been able to land a bass that weighed over three and 

 one-half pounds. I'll keep on trying though maybe 

 Opportunity will knock again. I'm an optimist. 



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