I would not permit without a resentful protest an expression of doubt as
to my good and regular standing in the best and most respectable circle
of fishermen. I am as jealous as a man can be of the fair fame of the
fraternity; and I am unyielding in my insistence upon the exclusion of
the unworthy from its membership. I also accept without demur all the
traditions of the order, provided that they have been always in the
keeping of the faithful, and carefully protected against all
discrediting incidents. In addition to all this, my faculty of credence
has been so cultivated and strengthened that I yield without question
implicit and unquestioning belief to every fishing story--provided
always that it is told by a fisherman of good repute, and on his own
responsibility. This is especially a matter of loyalty and principle
with me, for I am not only convinced that the usefulness and perhaps the
perpetuity of the order of Free and Accepted Fishermen depends upon a
bland and trustful credulity in the intercourse of its members with each
other, but I have constantly in mind the golden rule of our craft, which
commands us to believe as we would be believed.
I have not made this profession of faith in a spirit of vainglorious
conceit, but by way of indicating the standpoint from which I shall
venture to comment on some weaknesses which afflict our brotherhood, and
as a reminder that the place I have earned among my associates should in
fairness and decency protect me from the least accusation of
censoriousness or purposeless faultfinding.
I do not propose to make charges of wickedness and wrong-doing, which
call for such radical corrective treatment as might imperil the peace
and brotherly love of our organization. It is rather my intention mildly
to criticise some affectations and pretenses which I believe have grown
out of overtraining among fishermen, or have resulted from too much
elaboration of method and refinement of theory.
These affectations and pretenses are, unfortunately, accompaniments of a
high grade of fishing skill; and in certain influential quarters they
are not only excused but openly and stoutly justified. I cannot,
therefore, expect my characterization of them as faults and weaknesses
to pass unchallenged; but I hope that in discharging the duty I have
undertaken I shall not incur the unfriendship of any considerable number
of my fishing brethren.
It has often occurred to me that the very noticeable and increasing
tendency toward effeminate attenuation and aesthetic standards among
anglers of an advanced type, is calculated to bring about a substitution
of scientific display with rod and reel for the plain, downright,
common-sense enjoyment of fishing. This would be a distinct and
lamentable loss, resulting in the elimination to a great extent of
individual initiative, and the disregard of the inherent distinction
between good and bad fishermen, as measured by natural aptitude and
practical results.
As in an organized commonwealth neither the highest nor the lowest
elements of its people constitute its best strength and reliance, so in
the fraternity of fishermen neither the lowest hangers-on and intruders,
nor the highest theorists who would make fishing a scientific exercise
instead of a manly, recreative pursuit, make up the supporting and
defensive power of the organization. It is the middle class in the
community of fishermen, those who fish sensibly and decently, though
they may be oblivious to the advantages of carrying fishing refinements
far beyond the exigencies of catching fish, upon whom we must depend for
the promotion and protection of the practical interests of the
brotherhood.
It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that the zeal and enthusiasm
of this valuable section of our membership should not be imperiled by
subjecting them to the humiliating consciousness that their sterling
fishing qualities are held in only patronizing toleration by those in
the fraternity who gratuitously assume fictitious and unjustifiable
superiority.
I shall attempt to locate the responsibility for the affectations and
pretenses I have mentioned, not only in vindication of our sincere and
well-intentioned rank and file, but for another reason, which concerns
the peace of mind and comfort of every member of the organization in his
relationship with the outside world. The fact that we are in a manner
separated from the common mass of mankind naturally arouses the
unfriendly jealousy of those beyond the pale of the brotherhood; and
fishing--the fundamental object and purpose of our union--is in many
quarters decried as an absurd exertion or a frivolous waste of time. In
such circumstances we cannot be charged with a surrender of independence
if we attempt by a frank statement to deprive these ill-natured critics
of all excuse for attacking our entire body on account of faults and
weaknesses for which only a small minority is responsible.
Bluntly stated, the affectations and pretenses which I have in mind, and
which in my opinion threaten to bring injury upon our noble pursuit,
grow out of the undue prominence and exaggerated superiority claimed for
fly-casting for trout. I hasten to say for myself and on behalf of all
well-conditioned fishermen that we are not inclined to disparage in the
least the delightful exhilaration of the sudden rise and strike, nor
the pleasurable exercise of skill and deft manipulation afforded by this
method of fishing. We have no desire to disturb by a discordant dissent
the extravagant praise awarded to the trout when he is called the
wariest of his tribe, "the speckled beauty," the aristocratic gentleman
among fish, and the most toothsome of his species. At the same time, we
of the unpretentious sort of fishermen are not obliged to forget that
often the trout will refuse to rise or strike and will wait on the
bottom for food like any plebeian fish, that he is frequently unwary and
stupid enough to be lured to his death by casts of the fly that are no
better than the most awkward flings, that notwithstanding his fine dress
and aristocratic bearing it is not unusual to find him in very low
company, that this gentleman among fish is a willing and shameless
cannibal, and that his toothsomeness, not extraordinary at best, is
probably more dependent than that of most fish upon his surroundings.
While our knowledge of these things does not exact from us an
independent protest against constantly repeated praise of the qualities
of trout and of fly-casting as a means of taking them, it perhaps
adds to the spirit and emphasis of our dissent when we are told
that fly-casting for trout is the only style of fishing worthy of
cultivation, and that no other method ought to be undertaken by a true
fisherman. This is one of the deplorable fishing affectations and
pretenses which the sensible rank and file of the fraternity ought
openly to expose and repudiate. Our irritation is greatly increased when
we recall the fact that every one of these super-refined fly-casting
dictators, when he fails to allure trout by his most scientific casts,
will chase grasshoppers to the point of profuse perspiration, and turn
over logs and stones with feverish anxiety in quest of worms and grubs,
if haply he can with these save himself from empty-handedness. Neither
his fine theories nor his exclusive faith in fly-casting so develops his
self-denying heroism that he will turn his back upon fat and lazy trout
that will not rise.
We hear a great deal about long casts and the wonderful skill they
require. To cast a fly well certainly demands dexterity and careful
practice. It is a matter of nice manipulation, and a slight variation in
execution is often apt to settle the question of success or failure in
results. It is, besides, the most showy of all fishing accomplishments,
and taken all together it is worth the best efforts and ambition of any
fisherman. Inasmuch, however, as the tremendously long casts we hear of
are merely exhibition performances and of but little if any practical
use in the actual taking of fish, their exploitation may be classed
among the rather harmless fishing affectations. There is a very
different degree of rankness in the claim sometimes made that an expert
caster can effectively send his fly on its distant mission by a motion
of his forearm alone, while all above the elbow is strapped to his side.
We take no risk in saying that such a thing was never done on a fishing
excursion, and that the proposition in all its aspects is the baldest
kind of a pretense.
As becomes a consistent member of the fraternity of fishermen, I have
carefully avoided unfriendly accusation in dealing with a branch of
fishing enthusiastically preferred by a considerable contingent of my
associates. If, in lamenting the faddishness that has grown up about it,
plain language has been used, I have nevertheless been as tolerant as
the situation permits. No attempt has been made to gain the applause of
pin-hook-and-sapling fishermen, nor to give the least comfort to those
who are fishermen only in their own conceit, and whose coarse-handed
awkwardness, even with the most approved tackle, leads them to be
incurably envious of all those who fish well.
It is not pleasant to criticise, even in a mild way, anything that
genuine fishermen may do--especially when their faults result from
over-zealous attachment to one of the most prominent and attractive
features of our craft's pursuit. It is, therefore, a relief to pass from
the field of criticism, and in the best of humor, to set against the
claim of exclusive merit made in behalf of fly-casting for trout the
delights and compensations of black-bass fishing. I am sure I shall
be seconded in this by a very large body of fishermen in the best of
standing. It is manifestly proper also to select for this competition
with trout casting a kind of fishing which presents a contrast in being
uninfluenced by any affectations or by a particle of manufactured and
fictitious inflation.
In speaking of black bass I am not dealing with the large-mouthed
variety that are found in both Northern and Southern waters, and which
grow in the latter to a very large size, but only with the small-mouthed
family inhabiting the streams or lakes and ponds of the North, and which
are large when they reach four pounds in weight. I consider these, when
found in natural and favorable surroundings, more uncertain, whimsical
and wary in biting, and more strong, resolute and resourceful when
hooked, than any other fish ordinarily caught in fresh waters. They will
in some localities and at certain seasons rise to a fly; but this cannot
be relied upon. They can sometimes also be taken by trolling; but this
is very often not successful, and is at best a second-class style of
fishing. On the whole it is best and most satisfactory to attempt their
capture by still fishing with bait.
To those with experience this will not suggest angling of a tame and
unruffled sort; and if those without experience have such an estimate of
it they are most decidedly reckoning without their host. As teachers of
patience in fishing, black bass are at the head of the list. They are
so whimsical that the angler never knows whether on a certain day they
will take small live fish, worms, frogs, crickets, grasshoppers,
crawfish or some other outlandish bait; and he soon learns that in the
most favorable conditions of wind and weather they will frequently
refuse to touch bait of any kind. In their intercourse with fishermen,
especially those in the early stages of proficiency, they are the most
aggravating and profanity-provoking animal that swims in fresh water.
Whether they will bite or not at any particular time we must freely
concede is exclusively their own affair; but having decided this
question against the fishermen, nothing but inherent and tantalizing
meanness can account for the manner in which a black bass will even then
rush for the bait, and after actually mouthing it will turn about and
insultingly whack it with his tail. An angler who has seen this
performance finds, in his desire to make things even with such
unmannerly wretches, a motive in addition to all others for a relentless
pursuit of the bass family.
Another and more encouraging stage in bass fishing is reached when
biting seems to be the order of the day. It must not be supposed,
however, that thereupon the angler's troubles and perplexities are over,
or that nothing stands in the way of an easy and satisfying catch.
Experience in this kind of fishing never fails to teach that it is one
thing to induce these cunning fellows to take the bait, and quite
another to accomplish their capture. It is absolutely necessary in this
stage of the proceedings that the deliberation and gingerly touch of the
fish be matched by the deliberation and care on the part of the
fisherman at the butt of the rod; and the strike on his part must not be
too much hastened, lest he fail to lodge his hook in a good holding
place. Even if he succeeds in well hooking his fish he cannot
confidently expect a certain capture. In point of fact the tension and
anxiety of the work in hand begins at that very instant.
Ordinarily when a bass is struck with the hook, if he is in surroundings
favorable to his activity, he at once enters upon a series of acrobatic
performances which, during their continuance, keep the fisherman in a
state of acute suspense. While he rushes away from and toward and around
and under the boat, and while he is leaping from the water and turning
somersaults with ugly shakes of his head, in efforts to dislodge the
hook, there is at the other end of the outfit a fisherman, tortured by
the fear of infirmity lurking somewhere in his tackle, and wrought to
the point of distress by the thought of a light hook hold in the fish's
jaw, and its liability to tear out in the struggle. If in the midst of
it all a sudden release of pull and a straightening of his rod give the
signal that the bass has won the battle, the vanquished angler has,
after a short period of bad behavior and language, the questionable
satisfaction of attempting to solve a forever unsolvable problem, by
studying how his defeat might have been avoided if he had managed
differently.
No such perplexing question, however, is presented to the bass fisherman
who lands his fish. He complacently regards his triumph as the natural
and expected result of steadiness and skill, and excludes from his
thoughts all shadow of doubt concerning the complete correctness of his
procedure in every detail.
My expressed design to place fishing for black bass with bait in
competition with fly-casting for trout will, I hope, be considered a
justification for the details I have given of bass fishing. It commends
itself in every feature to the sporting instincts of all genuine
anglers; and it is because I do not hope to altogether correct the
"Affectations and Pretenses of Fishing" that I have felt constrained to
rally those who should love angling for bass--to the end that at least a
good-natured division may be established within our fraternity between
an ornamental and pretense-breeding method and one which cultivates
skill, stimulates the best fishing traits, and remains untouched by any
form of affectation.