April, 1921 
FOREST AND STREAM 
171 
They strip a few feet of line from 
reel and holding same loosely in left 
hand they never let the bass run, but 
just as soon as he takes up this slack 
line and tightens upon the line they 
strike. 
It is a common experience to hear a 
friend angler say: “Well, I missed 
that strike — I didn’t let him run long 
enough,” and perhaps the next strike 
he also missed but this time he says: 
“I let that fellow go too long.” 
Personally, I am of the opinion that 
more strikes are missed by trying to set 
the hook too soon then by letting the 
fish go too long, although I am con- 
vinced many good bass are lost by al- 
lowing them to have the bait too long. 
But my friends before mentioned 
can’t see the object in waiting 'and they 
strike their fish soon after he strikes. 
They hook the minnow in belly near 
anal fin, using a small hook. 
Do you think with the average size 
minnow, stripping a few feet of line 
from reel and letting the bass take that 
up and waiting only long enough for 
him to make the line taut, is better 
then letting him run the reel until he 
stops, and then starts again and with 
thumb firmly against the spool you at- 
tempt to set the hook? 
C. A. Roarks, M. D., Indiana. 
Dr. C. A. Roark’s letter of inquiry in 
relation to the taking of the black bass 
opens up many lines of thought and 
has been the theme of many very thor- 
ough discussions. 
As his inquiry is only in relation to 
“still fishing” it is proper that that 
policy alone should be discussed. 
A rod of 8% feet and weighing 6 to 
7 ounces is, in our judgment, particu- 
larly when used with reel below hand, 
a very inadequate proposition. 
A rod of say 6% feet weighing a trifle 
more would be much more satisfactory 
and be far more deadly to the bronze 
back warrior of lake and stream, inas- 
much as it has decidedly more backbone 
to set the hook in the hard mouth of the 
fish. It is to be supposed that a float is 
used and that together with the weight 
of line and bait makes considerable of 
a drag on so light a tip as the one first 
mentioned. 
One of the most satisfactory rods that 
we have ever used is constructed as fol- 
lows: tip, 4 feet; stock piece, 3 feet, 
with reel-seat above hand and sufficient 
length below the reel to extend well to 
the elbow. This makes a rod easily con- 
trolled as well as being restful to the 
hand and weighs a trifle above 8 ounces. 
The reel is always under full control 
when this type of rod is used and al- 
ways blocked with the thumb. Also, 
the rather awkward manner of getting 
to the reel below the hand is avoided. 
The Doctor writes that the minnow 
is hooked in the belly and near the anal 
fin, using a small hook. When using 
minnows we always hook them either 
through the lips or just under the dor- 
sal fin, being careful not to allow the 
hook to touch the vertebrae, in which 
case the minnow would be paralyzed. 
Hooked in either of these ways the min- 
now will live a long time and will swim 
about freely. 
In this manner of fishing we use a 
small barrel float, just big enough to 
make the float balance at the surface, 
so that when the bass strikes there will 
not be any drag to alarm him or cause 
suspicion. If the minnow is lively the 
float will frequently be taken under by 
its movements but will almost immedi- 
ately come to the surface again. There 
is of necessity some slack line vohen fish- 
ing in this manner so that when the 
strike comes all the allowance neces- 
sary is to permit the fish to straighten 
out the line so it becomes just taut and 
then strike. With bait hooked as de- 
scribed the fish is sure to have it well in 
its mouth; and with a 3-0 Carlisle or 
New York trout hook in use, if the 
strike is made while the fish is still run- 
ning, almost every strike ivill mean a 
hooked fish. [EDITORS.] 
Devil fish harpooned by Hunt 
SONG BIRDS IN THE SAHARA 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
T HE last thing one would associate 
with the Sahara — that arid waste 
of desolation — would be song-birds. Yet 
we have the word of a French traveler, 
namely, Eugene Fromentin, author of 
“Hite dans le Sahara,” that he encount- 
ered there, resident and in full song, no 
less exponents of “bel canto” than the 
lark and the redbreast. Let me trans- 
late his words, which are full of charm: 
“But in the middle of this pale scene, 
among the gray wormwood and the salty 
k’taf, skylark mount and sing; — and 
the skylarks of France: the same figure, 
the same plumage and the same sonor- 
ous song. They are the crested species 
which do not unite in flocks but live 
in solitary couples, as we often see them 
in fallow and pasture lands. They sing 
at a period when all the other birds fall 
silent, and at the most peaceful hours of 
the day, that is to say, in the evening, 
a little before sunset. The robin red- 
breasts, other songsters of Autumn, re- 
ply to them from the tops of the leafless 
almond trees, and these two voices ex- 
press with a strange sweetness, all the 
sadness of October. The one is melodic 
and resembles a little tearful song; the 
other is a phrase in four notes, profound 
and passionate. Dear birds, which re- 
mind me of all that I love in my distant 
country, what do they do here, I ask, in 
the middle of the Sahara, and for whom 
do they sing, in the neighborhood of 
scorpions and vipers? Who knows? 
Allah! Akbar! God is great and the 
most great.” 
It is indeed strange that those birds 
should- choose to dwell in the desert, 
when a flight of a few hundred miles 
would have brought them to fresh ver- 
dure, temperate airs and shining waters. 
Frank Moonan, New York. 
FISHING FOR DEVIL-FISH 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
S TORIES of giant devil-fish of trop- 
ical waters famed in tales as guar- 
dians of Spanish treasure galleons, lost 
in the days of the Spanish Main, have 
brought Hunt Phelan, of Memphis, 
Phelan in Petit Bois Pass, Miss. 
Tennessee, lawmaker and southern 
sportsman, to the gulf coast for many 
years. Disregarding the leaping tar- 
pon and lesser game fish, Mr. Phelan 
has patrolled the waters of the Missis- 
sippi Sound for weeks each year, 
searching assidiously for devil-fish. 
Recently, off Coden, he harpooned, out- 
fought and landed one weighing over 
two thousand pounds. 
Since the passing of big game in this 
country many daring sportsmen have 
turned to the sea for the excitement of 
the chase and for many years have 
made annual pilgrimages to the South 
Atlantic and South Pacific coasts, en- 
gaging in the oftimes perilous sport of 
fighting devil-fish. Mr. Phelan is one 
of the pioneers in this pastime in the 
Gulf waters. Though his kill was only 
half the size of the largest of its kind 
on record, he is elated with his success 
and is planning the organization and 
establishment of a club at Coden for 
big game fishermen. 
Having lost at various times no less 
than two dozen harpoons and manila 
cables in unsuccessful contests with 
devil fish and having twice had to race 
his power boat to evade the furious 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 191) 
