Bass, Pike, Perch, and OthersHenshall, James A. (James Alexander)
Science
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others
Henshall, James A. (James Alexander)
Fishes; Fishing
I have had good sport with the yellow-bass on St. Francis River in
Arkansas, and at the head of the Yazoo Pass, in Mississippi, with the
same tackle and by similar methods as recommended for the white-bass on
a prior page. As with the two black-basses and the two crappies, the
white-bass and yellow-bass having similar habits and kindred tastes, the
same tackle and the same modes of angling are as well suited for one as
for the other. This will apply to both fly-fishing and bait-fishing.
I was once, one autumn, with a party on a river steam yacht on the lower
Mississippi when geese, ducks, deer, and turkeys were more plentiful
than they are now. Up the St. Francis River, in the "sunk lands" of
Arkansas, the yacht was moored at Cow Bayou, near a steep clay bluff, on
the top of which was a dilapidated tent occupied by a young man and his
wife, who were building a shanty boat in which to float down to sunnier
climes for the winter, as the man was "nigh gone" with consumption. One
morning I was out early fishing for yellow-bass after a rainy night. As
I was landing a fish I saw the woman at the top of the bluff, looking
for a way down to the yacht. She was quite a fresh and comely-looking
woman, too. She started down very carefully, for the wet clay was quite
slippery. I became interested to see how she would succeed. Suddenly her
bare feet slipped from under her, and she came down with a rush, her one
garment, as I soon discovered, an old calico gown, slipping back over
her head, disclosing her nude form, which appeared very white in
contrast to the red clay. Then I looked the other way just as she
flopped over from a prone to a supine position. When she reached the
river side she looked like a sculptor's model in clay. She quietly
adjusted her gown as if nothing unusual had occurred, and asked: "Has
you-uns got any matches? We-uns' matches all got wet in the drizzle last
night, and I want to cook my old man's breakfus." I pulled ashore and
handed her my matchbox, and scarcely knowing what to say, I remarked.
"You had better change your dress before you cook breakfast." She
replied, "I hain't got another one."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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