May 17, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
627 
The Bass are Gettin’ Wise. 
BY JOSEPH CAVVTHORN. 
I’ve thought it out for many days 
And here’s the way I size 
The fishin’ situation up— 
The bass are gettin’ wise. 
Each man has got some theory 
Why the fishin’ is so poor. 
“The seinin’ in the rivers,” or 
“They hain’t along the shore”; 
But all that talk is “moonshine”; 
No use to swear and cuss, 
The whole thing in a nutshell is 
The bass are on to us. 
There’s plenty of ’em out there 
And just "twixt me and you. 
From the looks of Seger’s bass list 
They’re goin’ to stay there, too. 
They say they’re gettin’ scarcer. 
But put that talk in hock 
For there’s no one ’round these diggin’s 
That’s depletin’ of the stock. 
And that don’t happen often. 
For a bass’ strike, b’jove 
Is just about as scarce 
As draught beer in Ocean Grove. 
The bass are gettin’ wise, boys. 
They’ve got it down so fine 
They know we’re on the beach before 
We even wet a line. 
Before a riggin’ settles 
They could tell, if they was asked. 
The name, and age, and address 
Of the man what made the cast. 
You’d hear ’em say, “Look out, boys! 
Jim Gentle’s on the beach; 
He’s always on the job 
So we’d best keep out of reach.” 
“And here’s our old friend Scotty, 
With his fierce, determined look. 
I’ll bet he’d tear our heads off 
If he got us on his hook.” 
The bass all kind of snicker 
When Jim Edge’s bait appears; 
JOSEPH CAWTHORN ON BEACH AT ASBURY PARK. 
It stands to reason, don’t it. 
That a fish ’ll live and learn 
Just like any other critter? 
I wouldn’t give a dern 
If old man Neptune stepped ashore, 
I’d look him in the eyes. 
And tell him to his whiskers 
That the bass are gettin’ wise. 
It ust to be a striped bass ’ud 
Come along our shore 
And jump at every temptin’ 
Piece of shedder that he saw. , 
But now the varmint’s foxy; 
He snooks around instead. 
And makes sure it isn’t fastened 
To a four-ounce chunk of lead. 
Them fish that’s swimmin’ out there 
FTas seen their parents caught. 
And pulled out through the breakers 
No matter how they fought; 
They’ve learned a lesson from it 
And studied up the rules. 
For fish have educations 
That’s why they go in schools. 
If you saw your old father 
Go to take a little bite, 
Get yanked clear oft his feet and pulled 
Completely out of sight. 
Do you reckon that you’d try it? 
Well I’ll bet you thirty cents 
That you wouldn’t—that’s providin’ 
That of course jmu’ve got fish sense. 
I s’pose that there is times 
That a bass gets care'.ess-like 
And grabs at somethin’ temptin’ 
And then we get a strike. 
He ain’t helped thin their numbers 
For many, many years. 
And if Jim hooked a big one 
He’d never see a fin; 
For it’s dollars to a doughnut 
The bass ’ud pull him in. 
They all know Billy Applegate— 
Bass, kingfish, dog and skate; 
Bill tears the whole durned beach up 
When he slings in a bait. 
Lloyd Marshall, Burton, Barto, 
Rube Norris, Tom O’Brien— 
As patient bunch of anglers 
As ever heaved a line. 
And dear old Captain Fenimore— 
It seems I’d walk a mile 
To watch him beach a striper 
And then just see him smile. 
There’s ex-Mayor Charley Atkins, 
A fisherman for fair. 
And didn’t Charley used to 
Horse ’em in when he was mayor. 
But that’s before they learned so much 
And got our ways down pat, 
So Charley’s long suit now is 
Catchin’ drum at Barnegat. 
The bass have got us buffaloed 
And at fishin’ all us bucks 
Have got as good a chance as 
Charley Cook has shootin’ ducks. 
John Seger’s got the right idea. 
That old yarn fits him fine 
’Bout the man that owned the restaurant 
.And went somewhere’s else to dine. 
Well, that’s the way John dopes it, 
Gocd luck to him I wish 
He sells bait to all us “pinheads” 
Then goes south and catches fish. 
Now here’s some good advice, boys. 
Bear in mind it comes from he 
\\ ho’s worn his right-hand thumb off 
Easin’, shedders out to sea. 
Let’s all go dig some sandbugs 
For a shady bank we’ll make 
And we’ll each take home a good big mess 
Of catfish from the lake. 
North Shore Casting Club. 
Chicago, III., May 4 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Jupiter Pluviiis, our friend of three 
years, assisted us as usual in our opening event 
of the 1913 season (darn his hide, I wish he 
would cut us off of his visiting list), with a re¬ 
sult that we had to cast in a gale of wind with 
occasional showers. 
While the subjoined scores are not at all up 
to our usual standard, under the circumstances 
the work was good, and the salmon scores show 
that the National record will go by the board 
this season. We have set our mark for this 
season at 150 feet, and we will reach it without 
doubt. 
The scores: 
T. 
A. Forsyth. 
^/4-ounce, 
Accuracy. 
Accuracy, 
Fly. 
Salmon 
Fly — Ft. 
99 5-15 
135 
G. 
D. Lyon. 
. 97.4 
H. 
F. Kepler. 
.... 96.3 
0 . 
H. 
J. Waters. 
P. Anderson. 
.... 98.1 
W. 
J. Marshall. 
.... 91.1 
E 
Sauermann . 
.... 82.2 
A. 
B. Paulson. 
.... 97.0 
L. 
Goodwin . 
. 98.4 
W. 
Liddell . 
98 11-15 
c. 
M. Ercanbrock... 
.... 98.3 
c. 
0 . Dorchester. 
. 96.3 
98 12-15 
iss 
E. 
Lambert. 
. 96.8 
98 3-15 
F. 
E. Church . 
98 
G. 
Visitors: 
S. Eldred. 
. 97.8 
A. 
A. Urich. 
. 92.6 
C. 
Loes . 
. 96.2 
G. 
Gray . 
. 96.8 
C. D. Dorchester, Sec'y-Treas. 
Tuxedo Fishing Notes. 
Tuxedo Park, N. Y., May 10. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: The results of the first week’s 
fishing at Tuxedo has given great promise of an 
unusually successful angling season. The trout 
fishing in the brooks is excellent, and nearly 
every member of the club has returned with 
overfiowing creel. The hatch of flies on both 
stream and lake has been heavy and the fish 
seem gorged with insect life of various kinds. 
At the club boat house, where the majority 
of fishing parties land, there has been recorded 
for the week, 170 ouananiche, 21 steelhead trout 
and 4 Chinook salmon. As the steelheads have 
only just finished spawning by the last of April, 
they do not, as a rule, take hold to any extent 
until June, and last season most of the chinook 
salmon were taken during September. Silver 
soldiers, nickle, pearl and white enamel spoons, 
rigged with single hooks and baited with angle 
worms have all proved taking lures. Fly-fishing 
on the lake as yet has been rather slow, but with 
the ne.xt hatch of Ephemeridie, good sport shall 
no doubt be enjoyed by those who love light 
tackle. W. M. Keil. 
The Salmon’s Leap. 
A s.ALjroN can leap to a height of 20 feet. 
This has been demonstrated by the Fishery 
Commissioners of Norway, who. by means of 
standards erected below waterfalls, have meas¬ 
ured the leaps of this agile fish.—Angler’s News. 
