142 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[AtjCt, 18, 1892. 



LEARNING A BETTER WAY. 



Aftbb. making preparations for a month's vacation 

 and getting together rods, reels, iiies, etc., my wife and 

 I left Washington, via Washington & Ohio E. R., arriv- 

 ing at Eound Hill, Va., at noon. Here we found tha.t the 

 stage would not leave for Castleman'a Ferry until the 

 next day, so I hired a private conveyance by which we 

 reached Uastleman's in time for stipxjer. After leaving 

 Round Hill the road passes through a very good agricul- 

 tural strip of land before reaching the foot of the Blue 

 Ridge Mountains; continuing along the pike and up the 

 mountain the village of SnickersviOe is reached, a 

 quaint old town situated in Snicker's Clap. Passing the 

 village the summit of the mountain is soon gained and the 

 descent on the other side is greeted by a vision that will 

 not soon be forgotten. The little valley lying below, 

 about one mile distant, and that beautiful little Shenan- 

 doah River appearing as a silvery thread here and there, 

 as it winds around low hills and heavily wooded country, 

 and what makes it yet more attractive to the lover of rod 

 and reel is the knowledge that its waters abound with that 

 gamy and most wiry fish, the small mouthed black bass. 



The old Castleman homestead is situated about 200yd8. 

 west of the river, on a very high hill, and directly over- 

 looks the valley where many a sportsman and summer 

 tourist enjoys the excellent fishing, good living and the 

 hospitality of an old Virginiau family. My first question 

 on arrival was, "How are the bass biting?" "Biting very 

 good to the spoon," was the answer. Not having pro- 

 vided myself with a spoon, you can imagine my feelings. 

 However, after a good bath, a good dinner and a pipe on 

 the broad veranda, from which we could see the flow of 

 the beautiful river below, and w atch it as it rushed and 

 foamed over short rapids and then glide along througli 

 its snake-like path to take another plunge a few hundred 

 yards further on, I felt as if I could overcome my chagrin 

 at not having a spoon. Soon the sun disaiipeared and we 

 passed the time away in conversation. Bass were quite 

 plentiful I was told; suckers, pike and sunfish were also 

 numerous. Being thus assured of good fishing, we retired 

 for the night. 



At daylight we were awakened by the crying of two 

 pea fowls, which were on hand each morning, making the 

 use of an alarm clock quite unnecessary and saving me 

 considerable trouble, as I did not have to bother oiling 

 and winding the birds. After breakfast I was soon on 

 the way to the river, taking with me an old pair of pants, 

 shoes, shirt and broad-brimmed hat. Having reached 

 the river, changed my clothes and carefully hiding with 

 grass the garments just put aside to circumvent any mis- 

 chievous small hoys who might be near, I waded in waist 

 deep, and tying a fly to my three-foot leader was ready 

 for business. What to. do next T hardly knew, as I had 

 never fished with the fly before and had not even seen 

 them used. I naturally wanted to be alone, and alone I 

 was. Pulling off about fifteen feet of line, and getting.it 

 well behind me, I brought the rod overhand with a swoop 

 that would have done credit to a professional baseball 

 pitcher. . The movement reminded me of thro wing a mud 

 ball with a limber stick. The fly described a ciicle hav- 

 ing a radius of say 22ft. and was stopped by an over- 

 hanging willow branch, the hook burying itself in a small 

 branch, causing the rod to bend nearly double. I soon 

 had the branch in hand, hook extracted, and a position 

 far enough from shore to prevent another hanging. 

 Looking around to make doubly sure that I had no audi- 

 ence, and being encouraged by the pleasant sight of a 

 bass breaking water at frequent intervals to secure an 

 unlucky fly or bug, I faced down stream and attempted 

 another cast, throwing the fly, right, left, forward and 

 back; in fact, lashing the water all around me within a 

 40 foot circle. Every time in recovering the line that 

 hook would make straight for my head, keeping me 

 dodging to the four points of the compass, and fearing 

 every minute that a surgical operation might become 

 necessary before I took my first bass with the fly. Talk 

 about bard work with a 26oz. rod, an 8oz. reel, and my 

 lunch tied between my shoulders, with the thermometer 

 at 90. It would be hard to tell what portion of the 

 human anatomy was the wetter, that in or out of the 

 water. Wading down stream and keeping this acrobatic 

 like performance up for three-quarters of an hour without 

 any success, I finally came to the conclusion that it was 

 time for a smoke and a rest; the smoke, too, might bring 

 a change of luck. 



If there hadn't been fish there, all around me, I might 

 have consoled myself with the thought that my opera- 

 tions had been carried on in an intelligent and knowing 

 manner; but the evidence was all against me. Suiting 

 the action to the word, I stuck the butt of the rod between 

 my legs, and just as I struck a match (and I didn't do it 

 on the heel of my shoe eithfr) my rod gave a jerk and 

 the reel began to hum. Grabbing my rod , I was soon 

 convinced that the fish was well hooked, and I gave him 

 the butt as I had often read of parties doing in FOREST 

 AND STEEA3I, and reeling in as fast as possible I soon 

 found that it wouldn't do, as there was entirely too much 

 strain on my tackle; therefore I gave him a little more 

 line. I had fine sport watching and feeling the line cut 

 the water from left to right, now coming directly to me 

 and giving me all I could do to keep the line taut, then 

 nearly doubling the rod as he made great eftorts to get 

 away. Knowing that 61bs. bass had been caught in the 

 vicinity, I imagined that there must he a ten-pounder on 

 the other end of my line. Now for the first time he 

 breaks water, throwing himself fully 18in. in the clear, 

 and what a beauty, not a ten-pounder, but about 21bs. 

 After playing him for several minutes and getting him 

 pretty well tired out, I tried to get him in. Not having 

 a net I was at a loss to know how the feat was to be 

 accomplished without the risk of losing the fish. Gradu- 

 ally working my way to shore, making a grand rush over 

 the last ten feet, I succeeded in safely landing a 1 Jib?. 

 bas3. I pinned him down with both hands and knees, 

 and soon had a stout cord through his mouth. The hook, 

 which was firmly fixed in the upper jiw, was soon ex- 

 tracted, and washing the bass thorougnly I laid him on 

 the srrass, lit my pipe and sat there admiring the beauty 

 as he lay gasping for life. Having sf cnrely fastened the 

 stringer to my pants, I again waded in to try for the bass 

 that were still breaking water every few minutes. I had 

 scarcely gotten the line into good play, when another 

 bass struck. Feeling very much elated over the first 

 capture there was little doubt in my mind that the second 

 would be very easy to effect ; but in my haste to secure 

 the prize I caused bim to at once break water, and while 

 in the air he did the triple forward and. back double sum- 



mersauln act and disappeared. To make matters worse, 

 my lunch came untied and got a thorough soaking be- 

 fore I could regain it. Spreading it out on a flat project- 

 ing rock to dry, I, too, took a sun bath. If any of you 

 have ever eaten water-soaked lunches you can sympa- 

 thize with me. 



Having spent a good half hour in drying and trying to 

 eat that lunch, I went into the stream again. Close to a 

 small rJlfle, in water knee deep, I had a strike and landed 

 a sunfish or tobacco box, as they are here called. Before 

 leaving the spot 1 hooked and landed three more, and was 

 surprised to find how readily they took the fly. Snarting 

 for the house and while following a narrow trail, I could 

 hear the splash of hungry bass as they jumped for their 

 prey and I could not withstand the temptation to go back 

 several times and try for them. Finally, when near the 

 starting place, 1 saw signs of a large bass. Wading 

 slowl}^ out and casting the fly as best 1 could I managed 

 to hook myself in the seat of the pants. The hook was 

 soon cut out, and casting from right to left I soon saw a 

 rush and for an instant it seemed as though my hook had 

 caught in the limb of a tree; but no, it was a bass, and a 

 big one. too, as I knew when he started down stream. I 

 followed and gave out line as fast as I could, fearing that 

 I would lose my tip or line, and worst of all, the fish, if I 

 attempted to hold my ground and rely on science of 

 manipulation. The bass soon lured me into a trap in the 

 form of several large boulders, which were hidden from 

 view by about one foot of water. Gradually the fish 

 worked his way in and around the stones, and the thin 

 silk line not being strong enough to stand the sawing 

 motion against the sharp-edged rocks, soon parted. I 

 saw the bass as he made a dart down stream, taking my 

 fly and about eight feet of line with him. This was 

 tough luck for a beginner, and, gentle reader?, you will 

 sympathize with me when I tell you that the stiing hold- 

 ing my whole day's catch had worked loose in the fx- 

 citoment attending" the play of the departed bass and was 

 perhaps drifting a half mile down stream before I dis- 

 covered the loss. Their loss is all I did discover, never 

 heard of the fish since. I was mad clean through, and 

 getting into my clothes I started up the hill toward the 

 house. 



Passing a blacksmith's shop where a half dozen idlers 

 were attending the shoeing of one horse, I was hailed 

 with a query as to the whereabouts of all my bass. Hav- 

 ing trutnfuUy explained to them that I had caught one 

 bass and four sunfish they all laughed. One of the party 

 snid, "1 am going after bass to-morrow; come and go 

 along and 1 will show you how to hook bass." I crossed 

 the road and entered the shop with the intention of tell- 

 ing them what I thought of them, but they were so good 

 natured about their jokes that it put me in good humor 

 also. T made arrangements to accompany two of them 

 fishing early the next morning. On my way to the bouse, 

 tu-ed and hungry, I debated what would be best to tell 

 them. If I told them that I had caught some fisb but 

 that they all got away it would raise a laugh, so I con- 

 cluded to say that I hadn't caught any. 



Reaching the house there they all were, the ladies 

 reading and tbe men lounging around waiting for the 

 supiser bell to ring. "Hello, I see you are not loaded 

 down with fish," says one. "I thought you were going to 

 have bass for supper," said another. So it went the 

 rounds, when one gentleman more observing than the 

 others discovered fisli scales on my hands. Then they all 

 began to search me, saying that I had caught a fi^h. One 

 insisted it must be in my moutb, others turned my vest 

 pockets inside out, looking in my watch pocket, and in 

 short did many little annoying things. Supper was soon 

 announced, after which w^e adjourned to the veranda to 

 take a smoke. A party of us made arrangements to go 

 gigging the following night. Having set my alarm clock, 

 which 1 always take with me on such trips, I turned in. 



Five o'clock rolled around very soon, it seemed, and I 

 was up and dressing. Hurrying down stairs I found 

 breakfa.=st and a good lunch waiting for me, and was soon 

 at the appointed place of meeting. Starting off without 

 delay we walked along down the river for about one-half 

 mile to a point my companion styled the starting. 

 These men were familiar with the section, being old 

 residents, and were good fishermen, I was determined to 

 take their advice and try to learn something. 



The signs were favorable for good sport my guides said. 

 Reaching a pretty little spot under some" overhanging 

 willows and grape vines, we changed om- clothes; an old 

 pair of pants, an undershirt, a pair of hob-naiied shoes 

 and a broad-brimmed hat was all that was required. We 

 were soon in the water, three abreast, and casting down 

 stream. I always considered it necessary to keep quiet 

 when wading, but ray friends, Horace and .loe, on the 

 contrary kept up a continual noise, singing. Whistling and 

 hallooing as we went along. I felt sure that they would 

 drive all of the fish out of the river. To my query as to 

 the efi'ect of snch noise, they answered that it would have 

 no effect whatever. Being the taUest of tbe three, my 

 position was in the middle, in the deepest water, oftPU 

 ranging from my waist to the shoulders. Joe hooked and 

 landed the first bass; two minutes later Horace followed 

 suit, landing a |lb. bass. 



It being the first time I had ever seen a fly cast I was 

 spell-bound for the time being and thought it one of the 

 prettiest sights 1 had ever looked at. Being about 6:30 

 A. M., the air was fresh and pleasant, counteracting the 

 heat from the water, which was very warm at that time 

 of the year, and the river looking exceptionally pretty 

 that morning, with its banks overhanging with rich foli- 

 age; beyond all it was pleasure to watch my companions 

 casting the fly, as they did it to perfection. At no time 

 did the fly seem to reach 4 or ,5 ft, above the water, with 

 40 or 50ft. of line out. The line would seem to pass over 

 their shoulders within a few inches of theii- heads and 

 touch the water at the full length of the line with hardly 

 a ripple. It was especially pretty to see one or the other 

 approach near an overhanging tree, with its branches 

 touching the water, where you could almost count on one 

 or two bass lurking around a sunken log or half hidden 

 boulder, shielded from the rays of the sun. There is in 

 most every case an openina: in the branches and into this 

 space they would put the dy without touching a leaf, and 

 on an average of two times out of five they would be re- 

 warded by hooking a fine bass. 



While watching them with intense interest, holding 

 the rod over my shoudler with tbe line trailed straight 

 out by the swift current, I was surprised by the fudden 

 whir of my reel. My companions being near, called to 

 me to give him ^the butt, which T did by bracing myself 



and pointing my tip up stream. As my rod began to 

 double they called to me to give him line, which I pro- 

 ceeded to do until there was none left and I had to follow 

 on down stream, when I found out to my disgust that a 

 drift log passing had fastened itself to my hook. Having 

 out about 75ft, of line and following as fast as possible, 

 taking in all the line I possibly could, Horace told me to 

 make shore at my left as there was deep water below. 

 I promptly started, but the log being lai-ge and heavy 

 would not be guided so easily. Being then in water up 

 to my shoulders and not being willing to lose my only 

 line, I decided to swim a distance of about 150yds. to 

 shoal water at the edge of a small rapids. As ill luck 

 would have it the log got there first, and over the rapids 

 it went parting the line at the leader. Putting to shore 

 I soon had on anew leader and flies and joined the party, 

 who now had five nice bass. 



Having decided to cross th*i river and fish the other 

 side, which was better, we joined hands and started 

 across the edge of the rapids. The bottom was very 

 rough and the water waist deep, but we managed to get 

 over all right, and we at once resumed our fishmg. This 

 time 1 was near shore. Coming to a log that was barely 

 covered with water, I cast my fly a few inches on the 

 opposite side of the log, when there was a rush and a 

 whirl, and my first bass for that morning was hooked. 

 In about five minutes I had him on my string. Casting 

 again exactly in the same place I had another strifee, and 

 hooked my second bass and had some fun with him. 

 Horace and Joe stood close by coaching me. The water 

 being perfectly clear, we could see every movement of 

 the fish when reeled up close. He was finally landed 

 and proved to be a fine specimen, weighing l^lbs. 



Being thus encouraged, and with a promise of better 

 fishing grounds below, we strung out and started casting 

 again. This time I was in the middlp, and only a few 

 minutes elapsed when I hooked Joe in the collar and 

 came very near treating Horace in the same way. Then 

 the boys decided to give me a wider berth. By this time 

 we could see bass breaking water all around us, and not 

 getting many strikes we decided to change our fl es to 

 ones of a more yellowish hue. This change had a good 

 I effect, for as soon as Horace cast he had a strike, and 

 fastened and landed a li pound bass in two minutep, 

 while almost at the same time Joe hooked and landf d hia 

 fish. By this time we came to rapids again, and, the 

 water being too deep below on that side, we decided to 

 eat our lunch and then cross over and fish below where the 

 water was shallow. 



Under the grateful shade o^ some sycamore trees we ate 

 our lunch, smoked our pipes and watched our ten bass as 

 they plashed around in the water. One thing I learned 

 of my companions, which has proved of very much im- 

 portance to me, and that was now to strmg bass or any 

 other kind of fish. Instead of stringing them througb 

 the gills, and drowning them in a very short lime, as 1 

 had been in the habit of doing, they cut them und^r the 

 lower jaw, back and under the large mugcle forming the 

 lower part of the mouth, which is formed of very tbin 

 skin. By stringing them this way they will not only Lve 

 hours while in the water, but a day or more. Being 

 ready to start again, we attempted to cross the rapid in 

 single file, Horace first, myself about 25ft. behind, and 

 Joe bringing up the rear. The water was a little less than 

 waist deep and coming down with a rush. 



When near the opposite shore Horace told me to look 

 behind, and turning around quickly I beheld a very 

 funny and ridiculous sight. There was Joe, who had 

 stej)ped on a loose reck and lost bis balance, making 

 rapid progress down stream in tbe ^hape of a ball, first 

 his head and then his heels being in sight. He continued 

 on in this way for a number of revolutions before regain- 

 ing a foothold. It was a sorry sight to see him continue 

 his march shoreward, his fishing-rod broken, to which 

 he heW manfully, hat gone and blood running down the 

 side of his bead, which was slightly cut by the sharp 

 edge of a rock. The first word uttered by him was, 

 ' Thank the Lard, I ate my lunch," To his as well as to 

 our surprise his fish were still fastened to him. 



All hands being again on terra firma, we set to work 

 splicing and wrapping Joe's rod, which was soon in work- 

 ing order again. Beine ready once more to proceed, Joe 

 noticed a yellowish tint in the water, which we fcund 

 out to be mud, my companions claiming that there must 

 have been rain up the country the night before. Tbe 

 muddy water they said often confines itself to one side of 

 the river, not mixing with that of the other side for s( v- 

 eral hours. So hurrying down stream for some distance 

 we crossed over and found the water perfectly clear, 

 there being a distinct line near the middle; one sid^" was 

 now clear and the other was so muddy that we could not 

 see six inches below the surface. Not losing any time we 

 went to work with a will. It seemed as though the 

 muddy water had the effect of driving the ba^s over to 

 the clear side of the rivtr and we had good fishing for 

 about three hours, Joe catching altogether thirteen b iss, 

 Horace eleven, and I eight bass and a sunfish. As the 

 water was getting muddy on our side, and having had 

 glory enough for one day, we decided to start for home. 

 Taking up our line of march we followed in single file a 

 narrow trail along the banks of the river. When about 

 half way home Horace proposed that we go to a pond 

 about 100yds. to our left and try to catch some bullfrogs. 

 Joe and I bping in for it we were lanon there. The pond 

 was, say, 100x50yds. in size and full of lilies, grass, etc. 

 Bringing our rods and flies into operation, we soon bad 

 five large bullfrogs. 



Tired, hungry and hot, we again took up our line of 

 march toward home. Leaving the banks of the river, we 

 took the road leading past the smithj'. There were sev- 

 eral of the same parties at the shop who had guyed me 

 the day before. They now came out to congratulatf me. 



At the house, as on the previous evening, the folks 

 were all congregated enjoying the cool breezes. I walked 

 up with tbe au- of a loro. My eight baas, one sunfish and 

 three bullfrogs, as they lay on the green grass, made a 

 sight to gladden the heart and satisfy the soul of any 

 man, woman or child who has the slightest inclination 

 for such sport. It is needless to say that we had fish and 

 frogs for supper, and fish for breakfast. My better half 

 was the only lady that we could induce to partake of 

 the frogs, 



I can cast the fly now more gracefully and with better 

 ffPect, at the same time those two days of my first fly- 

 fishing will linger in my memory until I enter that sphere 

 where fly-fishing is unknown, Clipf. 



Washington, D..C. 



