102 



RECREA TION. 



the water ; and I have the head of one, 

 taken in May, 1893, near Rome City, In- 

 diana, that weighed nine pounds. That, 

 however, was an exception. In 1870, 

 a comrade and I brought from the 

 Tippecanoe a string of bass, 31 in 

 number, the average weight of which 

 was 4.3<£ pounds. These were selected 

 from a much larger number that we had 

 caught in a two weeks campaign. 



In the winter season bass unquestion- 

 ably hibernate, burying themselves in 

 the deep mud, in the crevices of a rocky 

 bottom, under sunken logs, etc. This is 

 proven by the fact that they are seldom, 

 if ever, caught in the winter season, either 

 through the ice or otherwise. As cold 

 weather approaches they are found in 

 the deep holes and deeper waters, and 

 as the freezing and ice making comes on 

 they disappear entirely. 



With this amount of knowledge of the 

 habits, growth and peculiarities of bass, 

 the successful angler will select for 

 still fishing some projecting point or bar 

 in the river. The mouth of a small creek 

 is a good place and if the water is deep 

 and if in close proximity to boulders or 

 shelving rocks, so much the better. In 

 fishing from the shore, try to get a posi- 

 tion where your person is hidden from 

 the fish. Make your approach to the 

 bank as quietly as possible and both be- 

 fore and after casting your bait into the 

 water maintain silence. 



When fishing from a boat select a 

 place having the above characteristics. 

 If a tree has fallen into the water, the 

 top is a favorite hiding place for them. 

 Where a rippling current subsides into 

 deep still water is another good place. 

 Let your bait float over the ripples into 

 the deep still water and there you will 

 nearly always get a strike. 



In bass fishing, as in oratory, much 

 depends on action. Your bait should be 

 kept constantly in motion. I have no- 

 ticed a bass watching my minnow with- 

 out any demonstration, while it was still 

 and motionless, and the instant I moved 

 it the bass seized it and was victimized. 



In fishing from a boat, on the river, 

 where there is a moderate current, you 

 should let the boat float and cast line 

 and bait as far ahead as possible, that 

 your bait may be taken before the boat 

 is in sight of the fish, using your oar 

 only to give direction to the boat. While 

 drifting in this way there should be as 

 few motions in the boat as possible. 

 Getting up, changing seats, throwing the 

 arms about, etc., tend to alarm the fish. 

 Bass fishermen sometimes parade along 

 the bank of the stream, or frolic around 

 in the boat as though bass were deaf 

 and blind. This is all wrong. A bass 

 must be very hungry to take your bait 

 after being disturbed ; yet he will some- 

 times follow the bait clear up to the 

 boat. They do many other queer things 

 that can only be explained by assuming 

 that they are hungry. 



As a rule those who rail at bass and 

 decry bass fishing, are the men whose 

 awkward and unsportsmanlike per- 

 formances make it almost impossible for 

 them to catch a game fish of any kind. 

 The accomplished and expert bass an- 

 glers are few and far between, and 

 when you find one you find a quiet, 

 genial, intelligent person who is not given 

 to catching fish "with his mouth." My 

 experience has been that the most 

 gamey and strongest fish are caught in 

 running waters. My catches in Put-in- 

 Bay, although of good size, have gener- 

 ally proven sluggish and tame, compared 

 with fish of the same sizes in the 

 Tippecanoe and Kankakee rivers. Our 

 best season for bass fishing, in Indiana, 

 is in June, and again from September 

 15th until cold weather, the fall season 

 being much the longer and usually 

 much the better. 



Among our best baits are the shiner, 

 chub and sucker minnows, the helgram- 

 ite, the soft crayfish and the small 

 frog. Some good catches are made with 

 artificial and spoon bait. Fly fishing 

 for bass is becoming more popular every 

 year. 



For good bass fishing come to Indiana. 



