414 
[May 25, 1895. 
WHY DO HOOKED FISH L-EAP? 
! Frankfort. Ky., May 13. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Please put my "affidavy" alongside of "Kingfisher's" in 
the matter of response to Dr. Ellzy's statement that fish 
only leap from the water through fright when hooked. 
Why can't a fish have instinct for self preservation as 
well as a fox or a deer or a squirrel, and resort to ex- 
pedients to save its life? Fright may be the original pre- 
disposing cause that induces such expedient, but the 
action is not a mere blind, unreasoning, frantic move- 
ment, such as Dr. Ellzy intimates. 1 have seen bass over 
and over again thrust their heads out of the water, and 
with open mouth shake their jaws as "savigerously" as 
Dr. Ellzy could wish, until it seemed they would dislocate 
the muscles of the bass anatomy in the effort to dislodge 
the hook. They would come to the surface after fighting 
below its line without avail, and standing on their tails, 
as it were, open their mouths and shake as a terrier some- 
times shakes a rat in the attempt to remove the cruel 
barb, and sometimes it went flying through the air and 
the line came back limp and with a scornful slackness 
that gave a sinking feeling to the heart. 
There was no doubt about the object and purpose of 
this shaking— no more than to doubt there was a bass at 
the end of the line that wanted to get back to his accus- 
tomed haunts. The shaking was not a mere physical con- 
tortion, without instinct, performed en route during the 
leap in a spasm of fright; but the bass did it premedita- 
tedly, with a mature forethought, by exposing a part of 
its body above the surface, using the water as a fulcrum 
and the free air as room to do business in. 
A small-mouth black bass is one of the gamest of game 
fish, and there's no telling what he is capable of when the 
mood strikes his brain. Last summer, when'fishing near 
Alpena, Mich., in company with C. 0. Farr, of Frankfort, 
Ky., I hooked a 4^-pound black bass that performed the 
double act of first standing on his head on top of the water 
and then reversing, standing on his tail, in the desperate 
struggle to get away— which he didn't. 
At another time, as heretofore related in FOREST AND 
Stream, I saw one leap from the watpr and strike dead a 
butterfly that was winging its zigzag flight across the sur- 
face. Oh! they are darlings— the dear, daring and deli- 
cious small-mouth black bass. Look in his eye when he 
is in the midst of his efforts to get from your silken chain, 
and you'll see the devil there as plainly as ever you saw it 
glare from the optic of the royal maskinonge. 
As for the catfish, they don't do things that way. I 
have caught hundreds of them— mud cat, yellow cat, blue 
cat, channel cat, shovel cat — and I never saw one leap 
from the water in fright or from any other cause. They 
fight beneath the surface, and generally rely on main 
strength and awkwardness, coupled with a certain amount 
of stupid stubbornness, to get loose from the hook. The 
big ones will often go to the bottom and sulk, and no 
amount of persuasion outside of a sharp prod will induce 
them to move. 
Old Lish McOurdy once caught a catfish with hook and 
line below Lock No. 4, on Kentucky River, that weighed 
close to 100 pounds; but to tire him out, he had often to 
stir him from the bottom with a long pole to keep him on 
the move. 
My knowledge of the black bass is "a condition and not 
a theory," as is that of dear old "Kingfisher," my comrade 
of many seasons in wrestling with this gallant warrior of 
the waters, but 1 much fear that with Dr. Ellzy it is a 
"theory" and not a "condition." 1 Old Sam. 
FISHING ON THE NICHN A BOTANY. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Up in the extreme northwest corner of the State of 
Missouri there is a quiet, unassuming little river called 
the Nichnabotany. For years it flowed on in quiet and 
peace, finally emptying into the Missouri River a few 
miles north of the city of St. Joseph; the last twenty -five 
or thirty miles of its course parallel to its burly neighbor 
and is separated from it only by a narrow strip of land 
One day, however, the ever restless and uneasy Missouri 
took a notion to change the scene of its operations, so 
taking a sudden shoot into the State of Missouri, it cut 
the little Nichnabotany off, giving it a new outlet some 
twenty-eight miles north of its former mouth. Whether 
this may or may not have been satisfactory to all parties 
concerned, the fact remains that it left a fully developed 
river bed with no visible occupation or means of support 
Ordinarily, the old bed would have dried up and that 
would have been the end of it— not so with "Nichny" 
however; it quietly went to work, closed the old outlet 
with sand, gathered to itself a number of cold springs 
and kept right on doing business at the old stand. With 
the outlet dammed up, the water deepened and formed a 
long, narrow lake of clear, cold and sparkling water 
twenty-eight miles long, fifty yards wide and with an 
average depth of about twenty feet. Whether it should 
be called river, lake or bayou, no one seems to know or 
care. They just call it the ' 'Nichny" and let it go at that. 
The many natural advantages it possesses make it an 
ideal fishing water. What with the fish left there when 
its character was changed and the fry since planted bv 
the State Commissioners, it is fast coming into prominence 
as a desirable resort for anglers, and with proper care and 
attention will be second to none in this section of the 
country. 
In the matter of protection it has every advantage.. 
The banks are lined with trees and, as the water increased 
in depth, those nearest the water were overflowed and 
killed, gradually falling and being blown into the stream. 
The network of treetops, limbs and stumps puts an effectual 
barrier between the finny tribes and the vandals with 
seines, and the majority of those owning land along the 
banks are alive to the importance of its fish supply. They 
will not themselves indulge in illegal or wanton destruc- 
tion, or permit others to do so knowingly. 
I understand that dynamite and set nets have been used 
to a small extent, and I know from my own observation 
that trot and set lines are used. The only thing caught 
on the latter, however, they claim, is channel catfish. 
It contains quite a variety of fish— black bass (large- 
mouth variety), croppie, pickerel, sheepshead (locally 
called drum), blue and channel catfish, and I understand 
that recently the Commissioners have planted a large 
number of wall-eyed pike and rainbow trout. None of 
the latter two have been seen since planting, but I have 
no doubt they are taking on avoirdupois in some part of 
the stream and will be heard from in good time. 
For two or three seasons past I had heard rumors more 
or less vague of this place, and had determined to investi- 
gate for myself at the first opportunity; and therefore, 
when my friend, Robert Lorton, suggested to me the 
other day that it was fishing time, and that he had heard 
that the fish were biting on the "Nichny," it didn't take 
me long to get ready. I just took my Bethabara in one 
hand and my tackle box in the other, and together we 
started for the depot, with Langdon, Mo., as our objec- 
tive point. 
One P. M. found us at our objective point, and, after a 
hurried dinner, rods were put together, a boatman hunted 
up, and off we started in search of the bronzed-back war- 
riors, as some of the brotherhood put it. Several parties 
from St. Joe and other towns were on the stream and re- 
ported indifferent success. Friend Lorton, however, is 
the Christopher Columbus of this stream, and knows 
every spot in which a bass can bide. Inside of fifteen 
minutes he had hooked a bass that tried the timber of his 
rod, and the skill acquired by many years of practice. 
Shortly after this, something tried to steal my nice new 
hook and the pretty little green frog that was kicking for 
joy on the point of it. First it got mixed up in a log jam, 
and when I carefully and with infinite pains extricated it 
from that, it hunted up a submerged tree top and tied my 
line into all sorts of complicated knots. 
It at last consented to move, under the boat, however, 
and with such suddenness that in the shock my tip broke 
in half. Then there was grief — with a broken rod and a 
strong pull I finally got the gentleman to the surface and 
within reach of the landing net. It proved to be a 
channel cat of 51bs. weight. How is that for the much 
despised catfish? 
After landing this fish I sat down to rest and repair 
damages. With the aid of my jack-knife and a piece of 
line I managed to splice the broken joint together and 
went to work again. 
Our outing was brief, only twenty-four hours, for 
Brother Lorton had to return to his business and I to 
mine. But short as was our stay, we returned to the city 
infinitely refreshed, and I convinced that the Nichny was 
a spot well worth revisiting. Our catch, while not large, 
was enough to satisfy all reasonable mortals: seventy 
bass running from f to 3flbs. each, and a few channel 
cats and sheepsheads. 
While on this trip I tried a lure that was new to me. 
Our supply of live frogs was limited and I tried a frog 
made of rubber, and the results were thoroughly satis- 
factory in every way, W. R. H. 
JEWFISH AND TARPON TACKLE. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The big fish at the Pass have been biting freely all win- 
ter, and in the last month some especially fine catches 
have been made. Tarpon and jewfish, or the black sea 
bass, have come up into the shallow waters in immense 
numbers. A few weeks ago thirteen tarpon were caught 
in one haul of a seine; and to top the thing off, seiners at 
Corpus Christi Pass caught a jewfish that weighed l,0151bs. 
That is no "fish story" either, but can be proven for the 
benefit of any doubting Thomas. 
The real fishing with rod and reel, trolling for tarpon, 
has been excellent. Monday Messrs. Albert Maverick, A. 
W. Houston, Reagan Houston and P. H. Swearingen re- 
turned from the Pass with a score of five tarpon, not 
speaking of smaller fish'. A. W. Houston and Reagan 
Houston each captured two and Mr. Swearingen one. Mr. 
Maverick hooked a large one, oue of the biggest ever seen 
to leap from the water here. He ran out with the 200yds. 
of line and kept right on going, taking hook, line and a 
piece of Mr. Maverick's thumb with him. 
Week before last 26 jewfish, from 801bs. up to 300, were 
caught at the Pass, principally on hand lines. 
Such news as this gives me the fever, and you may be 
sure that as soon as possible I will be down there on a 
vacation. 
Monday I received a letter from Ode Wilson, which I 
inclose with this, and if there had been any doubt about 
my going before, it all vanished when I read it. Of course 
I don't agree exactly with Ode's ideas of a correct jewfish 
tackle, and I am going to try to get him to make a trial of 
200yds. of 21-thread linen. Following is the letter: 
"Aransas Pass, Tex., May 12.— Dear Friend: Yours 
of the 8th received several days ago. Glad to hear that 
you are coming down. Yes, I have the sloop Iola for the 
season; also the Edith, which is in first-class order and as 
fast as any boat on the bay. She can carry eight or ten 
persons, but has camping room for three or four. The 
Iola has camping room for eight or ten. I charge $3 a day 
for the Edith and $5 for the Iola. I carried out on 
the Edith yesterday twenty-two people to a boat race off 
Wilson Island 
"About the fishing tackle — you know what a .good tar- 
pon outfit consists of; and in regard to the jewfish tackle, 
I have been trying all the spring to get a reel large 
enough for the purpose, but have failed. I sent to New 
York for the largest reel I saw advertised, but find it 
entirely too small for the common cotton line that I 
have to use for the jewfish. The idea of the coiled 
spring is very good: that is, if you could get a spring 
small and long enough to recoil about 100ft. of good big 
line; but I believe that the best tackle for this big fish 
would be just the same as a tarpon outfit, only about 
five times as heavy and stout as the largest tarpon outfit. 
"I have hooked several jewfish that I could not 
handle on account of not having long enough line and 
not being able to pay the line out with a good., strong 
tension. The fish, wlipn he finds himself hooked, goes 
off so fast that it would burn my hands to hold even 
ttie tension on the line that my common cotton lines 
would hold. By this you will be able to get my idea of 
a jewfish outfit. 
"I consider the jewfish a very game fish, and he makes 
a good fight until he is pulled into shoal water, when he 
gives up, 'and is easy to handle except for his immense 
weight of from 50 to l,0001bs. The jewfish's main fight 
is his first long strong pull, which he makes just as soon 
as he is hooked, and-I have my first fish to lose after break- 
ing this first pull. After that they make several more 
rushes, but not nearly as strong as the first. This is why 
I would recommend the extra heavy rod, reel and line. I 
will also use a cork on the line, just the same shape as a 
common fish cork, only about 5in. in diameter and about 
15in. long. These I have already made and tried, and 
found to be a success. I landed a 1001b. jewfish the other 
day with one of these corks on my line, and I tell you it 
was fun to see the big cork bob. He bit like a perch two 
or three times, and then the big cork went down to stay. 
I was out in a skiff and the big cork stood off about 50ft. 
in about 20ft. of watey. I was in no hurry about landing 
him, as I knew the big cork would keep up the slack of the 
line bo that the fish could not get the hook out of his 
mouth, and I could tell by the pull that he was no 500- 
pounder, so I just played him about until I got ready to 
take him in. 
"There have been more jewfish caught at the Pass this; 
spring than common, twenty-eight in one week were re- 
ported; but the catch early in the season is always small 
fish, ranging from 50 to 200lbs., but the big fellows will 
be biting by the time you come down. The 1,015-pounder 
that was caught at Corpus Christi Pass was caught in a;, 
seine. 
"Now, if you can get 300 or 400ft. of good stout linen, 
line |in. in diameter, and two good reels that will tak& 
150ft. of that line, I will pay my part of the cost, and 
when you come down we will give the big jewfish a trial. 
And this outfit will be just the thing for the tarpon, we 
will only have to change the hooks. 
"Write me when you are coming and I will be ready 
for your trip, and in the meantime if you find the kind of 
tackle that I speak of let me know. Yours, 
"O. S. Wilson." 
If some Forest and Stream reader can tell me where 
to get some such tackle for my friend I will appreciate it. 
And then if some of those same readers would like to 
spend the month of July as comfortably as though they 
were in the mountains, and with no mosquitoes to bother 
them, they might join our party. As for myself, I can 
hardly wait. Will M. S. 
San Antonio, Tex. 
THE FLORIDA FREEZE AND FISHING. 
Roxbury, Mass., May 13.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Having seen no account of the remarkable winter in 
Florida and its effect on the winter's fishing, it occurs to 
me that it might interest your readers to know what the 
Florida freeze did. 
With some friends I left St. Augustine, Dec. 11, on my 
naphtha yacht to cruise around the coast of Florida to< 
Charlotte Harbor, Taking the inside route through Ma- 
tanzas River and out into the Atlantic tn Mosquito Inlet,, 
and then through the Hillsboro River to Mosquito Lagoon,, 
through Haulover Canal to Indian River and down 
Indian River to Jupiter Inlet, we passed though a 'most 
lovely winter climate; and through from New Smyrna to> 
Rockledge, the fine orange country; then through the' 
pineapple plantations to Lake Worth. Passing out of 
Jupiter Inlet we ran out into the Atlantic to Biscayne' 
Biy. We arrived here just before the freeze of Dec. 28.. 
At Miami and Cocoanut Grove the thermometer went io> 
27° above zero— a most unusual freeze. All tender vege- 
tation was killed, but not the cocoanuts nor any trees,, 
At Cocoanut Grove the day after the f reeze I saw mem 
and boys scooping up kingfish, Spanish mackerel and 
other varieties with scoop nets — the fish being so chilled 
that they could not swim. We could not quite under- 
stand why they did not work into deeper water. 
As we passed down Biscayne Bay by the inside route, 
we saw dead and dying fish all along— sharks, tarpon, cat- 
fish, Spanish mackerel and all sorts of smaller fish; this 
continued all the way to Florida Bj,y. As we rounded 
Cape Sable we still saw some floating." 
At Marco, on the west coast of Florida, we saw many of 
the same variety and some mullet, jewfish, mangrove 
snappers, cavalli and ravelli. It was the same in the 
Colloosahatchie River and Charlotte Harbor. 
On Jan. 27, four weeks after the first freeze, we were 
up the Myakka River— which runs into Charlotte Harbor — 
and this is the record in our log book: "Jan. 27 — Tried 
tarpon fishing at the old pool. In passing up the river to. 
the pool we passed thousands of dead fish, some large tar- 
pon, many small oneB. Saw ten tarpon lying in one heap, 
with scales all on. The shores were lined with bones and 
hundreds of whole fish; and this after a month since the- 
freeze in December. There are thousands of buzzards and 1 
vultures, eagles and crows, feeding on them. Even the: 
catfish seem to be all killed. 
"The stench was so great it was very uncomfortable 
staying here. This river seems to have suffered more than 
any place we have visited— possibly because it is shoal 
and runs nearly north to south, and as the norther 
which brought down the cold had a clean sweep, and blew 
the water out of the stream. It was almost beyond belief 
that such a sight could be possible. 
"We shot some yellow leg snipe, but they were so lean 
and poor that they were hardly fit to eat. The small 
shrimps and sand worms were no doubt all lulled, so they 
had no food. The only fish which seemed to escape in 
this river were the mullet. We saw no dead ones. They 
are rich in oil and no doubt not so easily chilled." 
The tarpon season was not so good as usual, and the- 
winter continuing so cold seemed to keep this fish in or 
near the Gulf. The fishing seems likely to change next 
year to the inlets and to a different manner — no more 
bottom fishing, some say. Myakka. 
Fishing with Minnows. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
As I devour the contents of the paper and puff away 
at my friend— a pipe— I read that "Jay Pee" wishes in- 
formation as to the "best way to hook a minnow to insure 
living on the hook." I do not give a great deal of time to 
sport, but 1 think I have hooked about as many minnows 
on hooks during the. time I have to spare as most men — 
around here, at any rate. 
My way is: Never keep a minnow in the hand or out 
of water longer than necessary. I use the finest hooks I 
can procure and always attached to gut. Hook the min- 
nows about the center, just below the back fin, and be 
sure not to touch backbone with hook. By hooking thus 
the minnow will balance on hook, will live longer, swim 
around more actively, and if a fish takes the minnow the 
fish is almost sure to be well hooked. 
I have tried hooking minnows by the tail, the head, 
and by inserting hook in the mouth, through the gills, and 
then slightly in belly ; but I prefer to pass the hook through 
the back, just below the fin. I always use live bait; don't 
care for fly, spoon or phantom minnow, and detest the 
use of worms. 
I was glad to hear of E. Hough's way of keeping min- 
nows while traveling. My way has been to have two 
pails — where I could not procure fresh water — both pail 
