424 FOREST AND STREAM JULY, 1918 
TAKING BASS ON CRAWFISH 
Editor Forest and Stream'. 
I have never read in Forest and Stream 
anything relative to the taking of black 
bass on craw fish or soft shelled crabs as 
they are commonly called. Inasmuch as 
this is one of their principal articles of 
food it seems strange so little has been 
written about them. I have examined the 
contents of the stomachs of a great many 
bass and have seldom failed to find crabs 
in them, mostly hard shelled ones, at all 
times during the fishing season. 
As my fishing experience has been lim¬ 
ited to one stream and its tributaries, that 
is, French Creek at and in the vicinity of 
Saegerstown, Pa., it may be possible that 
the soft shell crabs do not abound in other 
streams. In French Creek they are to be 
found from the latter part of May until 
as late as November. There seems to be 
two species which shed their shells at dif¬ 
ferent times. From May until September 
one can find them in the larger streams 
along the banks in shallow water, and 
mostly under large flat stones, this variety 
being a dark red or reddish brown color 
when soft. During September and October 
the best place to find soft ones is in the 
small brooks. They vary in color from a 
very light brown to a light gray or slate 
color. Locally they are called clay or white 
crabs. 
Crabs are designated by the small boys 
as mushies, softies and peelers, according 
to their degree of softness. A “mushy” is 
one that has just shed its shell and is lit¬ 
erally as soft as mush. A “softy” is one 
that has shed probably several hours before 
caught, and although soft the shell has 
started to form. While a “peeler” is one 
that has not yet shed, but the skin that will 
be the new shell has formed underneath 
the old shell, which has become loose and 
can be easily removed. 
I have never known the time that a 
mushy would fail to get a strike if cast 
into waters containing small mouthed bass. 
Probably one reason that so few people 
fish with crabs is the fact that it is so hard 
to hook the fish after he has struck, owing 
to the fact that the crab on account of be¬ 
ing soft comes off the hook very easily. I 
have had the best success by using a large 
hook, and striking while the fish is making 
the first run. One should strike hard with 
a firm pull but without jerking. The crab 
should be hooked by starting the point of 
the hook underneath the tail and bringing 
it out just back of the last two legs. Some 
fisherman use a small hook and allow the 
bass to swallow the bait, but just as many 
will be taken the other way, as they often 
take out a lot of line and then drop the bait. 
To get one bass out of every three strikes 
on this kind of bait is a fair average, but 
if you have good soft crabs you will get a 
great many strikes. I caught over thirty 
bass in one week in August using crabs for 
bait, none less than ten inches in length 
JTIOM 
NO 
and most of them over twelve inches. 
In addition to bass there are pike and 
wall eyed pike in French Creek. There are 
also calico bass or crappies, as they are 
called locally, which are taken in great 
numbers. 
D. C. Collom, Penna. 
“HOW BIG IS A TROUT?” 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
It was about thirty-five years ago that 
Mr. Frank Marble, of Boston, came out 
from a fishing region to Mrs. Abbot’s 
hotel at the foot of Umbagog Lake. Does 
anyone remember this much liked house 
with a rough painting or drawing, of a 
trout on its door, done by the famous 
artist, Mr. Walter Brackett—and also well 
known and liked because of Mrs. Abbott’s 
never equalled corn cakes? 
Mr. Marble brought with him a brook 
trout so large that those who saw it might 
almost have exclaimed “there ain’Jt no 
such animal!” As I recall it, the fish 
weighed eight or nine pounds. When re¬ 
cently I related this to several fishermen 
friends, I was so laughed at and so jeered 
at that I took a back seat only remarking 
that I would try to substantiate my story. 
My friends aver that no brook trout 
was ever known to weigh over two or 
three pounds; they also deny that the 
brook trout (salmo fontinalis) has the 
square tail. Can you help me in this dis¬ 
cussion? Especially as to this remark¬ 
able catch of Mr. Marble. I will add that 
my late husband, Mr. William E. Skillings, 
of Boston and of Bethel, Maine, was one 
of the most widely known sportsmen with 
both rod and gun of his day, and was a 
frequent contributor and always a sub¬ 
scriber to Forest and Stream. 
Mas. K. D. Skillings, Mass. 
[A large trout caught by a Mr. Marble 
in 1879 is mentioned in the article “How 
Big is a Trout?” which appeared in the 
June Forest and Stream. Editors.] 
WHAT LURES FOR CHANNEL CATS 
Editor Forest and Stream'. 
I am a reader of Forest and Stream 
and note the interesting reading about 
fishing, but I never see anything about 
how to catch channel cats, and what kinds 
of lure the fishermen use. I use liver and 
steak, but not with any good luck. Will 
you kindly mention some that can be used 
with good results; any information will 
be appreciated. W. Mustard, Texas. 
H. C. S., Dallas, Texas: 
I have read with great interest Mr. 
Rhead’s article on “Trout Insects for Early 
Fly Fishing,” and being a novice looking to 
this sport for recreation, will you kindly 
answer through your Seneca’s Answer Col¬ 
umn, advising what is meant by Dry Fly 
and Wet Fly fishing? Your answer will be 
appreciated. 
Ans.—In dry fly fishing, as the name indi¬ 
cates, the fly is kept dry; that is, it is cast 
so as to float on the surface of the water 
for an instant, and is not allowed to sink. 
Dry flies are made in more or less perfect 
imitations of natural insects, and the ones 
chosen at any particular time are the imi¬ 
tations of the ones on which the trout are 
seen to be feeding. They are supposed to 
deceive the fish, who does not suspect that 
they are other than the real insect, and are 
so manipulated by the caster as to complete 
this deception. 
The psychology of the wet fly is not com¬ 
pletely understood. It is fished wet, that is, 
as bait, and often times the most successful 
flies do not resemble any insects that ever 
flew. They may excite the trout’s curiosity 
or his pugnacity, or he may simply be 
hungry and “take a chance.” 
The dry fly method of casting is more 
finished and appeals to many sportsmen, 
but the wet fly will never entirely disappear 
so long as it catches the fish. 
E. L. R., Hamburg, New Jersey: 
As I am a reader of your magazine, 
Forest and Stream, I will appreciate your 
reply to some questions. The large mouth 
bass in Jersey has got my goat. I live near 
a large lake that contains many, and I 
have tried a large number of baits, but they 
will not take anything. The water in this 
lake is real dark and varies considerably 
in depth. Take in the latter part of Au¬ 
gust, the bass are constantly jumping up, 
about sunset until dark. Can you tell me 
what they do this for, are they feeding? 
If they are, what are they feeding on? 
Would they take flies; if so, what kind of 
flies would you advise me to get, and what 
are good bucktail flies for bait? What 
time of year do they take the flies best? 
Ans.—Relative to the large mouth black 
bass that you are unable to catch, both the 
large and small, mouth black bass are very 
uncertain and whimsical fish. As a gen¬ 
eral rule early in the season, they take arti¬ 
ficial minnows best, and later in the sea¬ 
son, try minnows, frogs and angle worms. 
In August and September you will have 
best success with flies. 
The bass that you see jumping at sunset 
are feeding upon small insects that are 
flying upon the water. Sometimes you will 
see them chasing schools of minnows along 
the shore. From time to time you will find 
articles in Forest and Stream on bass fish¬ 
ing, but the main advice we can give you 
is keep constantly at it and study condi¬ 
tions carefully, trying all kinds of bait. 
