Show Black Bass Are Queer Q ee Whims That Flo Hows n of s Esh in In hn a in Circle c Eiver Biver Now New York Sun Sun The river in Oklahoma that runs up uphill uphill uphill hill which which an on item in the Sun Sun told about said a a man man abounding in hi lr lore of or the Susquehanna valley valle so odd after all aU as a river rIer that th t chases itself around in a circle cIr le what the Susquehanna river does at au an island up Wyalusing W way The Susquehanna is full os as Islands and they divide the stream Into runny many and curious channels and the th most m cu curious cu curious rious of ot them all is the one that circles s around this particular island The Tho river between the Ahe main land and the easten shore shor of or the island flows along with a strong current and most of it continues on down in normal flow At Atthe Atthe Atthe the southern extremity of oj the island nd though apportion of ot the water swerves swerves off to the west and continues in hi that direction the entire width w of the island feet Then it turns up stream and flows along the west side of the island and turns again at the north end heading east It keeps k ps that course around nd the north end and at the eastern eastern side be becomes becomes becomes comes part of at the down stream stream current again The current that acts in this eccentric eccentrIc eccentric way Is never more more than ten feet reet In width It is so go o decided that a a person In fn Ina Ina a skiff keeping within it Ina may pass round and round the Island Indefinite ly without using his oars to propel the tho boat The Susquehanna is the greatest black bass water Crater I 1 know of and around that island is sone one of ot the surest places in the river to hook big fellows fellows It Is the lazy l zy fishermans place to fish He have haye to hands to his oars and as he goes goes round and round the island the rocky shelters and lurking places for bass that abound In just the right spots provide him himm with ideal sport An odd feature of ot bass bass fishing there however I 1 have hae noticed more than once I In the forenoon foreseen the bass will bite freely in the water between the island and the mainland but will not notice your our fly fl or minnow in the channel ch on o othe n the other side of the Island Then In Inthe inthe the afternoon not a fish will take your you our r hook in the tha min main channel waters while e be tIl and andrea ready 1 for it on the e side of ot the Island where the current curren t turns up stream At other times rev lag In the operation In the forenoon the they y will bite only on the west side of or the th e island reserving the afternoon for tak taking takIng ing In the hook on the other side Just rust why the black bla bass should act ac t In that peculiar way wa I never ne er could could fig th figure thure ure out but Susquehanna river ricer black bloc Y bass are proverbially proverb aUy whimsical and YI I suppose that this is 1 only one one of their the it j i whims hims It is Js on a par with the way black bass act at Girtys falls faUs and in inthe inthe inthe the Singing Rocks waters I t The Singing Rocks are near Wyalusing sing and had local fame for years The Tho late John Boyle OReilly ORell gave them wider fame In his story stor of his canoe trip down the Susquehanna These rocks are near the shore and lie submerged sub submerged submerged merged They The give gle forth musical sounds of varying cadence as the water beats upon them anywhere Black bass were introduced introduced Into the river many years ago and und with the exception ex exception exception of the waters of the thc Singing Rocks there a spot along alon the they the have not been taken It seems that thit they simply wont bite anywhere re within the sound of the weird music of those rocks and fishermen with the influence of the old time traditions upon upen them declare that the bass are charmed harmed by the music of the rocks Into entire obliviousness of ot otan anything an else and hence it is utterly useless to offer otTer them any an lure lureAs lureAs lureAs As proof of this Captain George Swope one of the tells teUs of Q Qan I an an experience he had once with a Singing Sing Singing SingIng ing Rocks black bass hass The captain could see the bass lying bing at the within a ge of ot a sunken log lOb and evidently eu within goad go d hearing of ot the soothing music the rocks were were sending along at the touch of the thc swift waters The IH fish was a a big sped specimen specimen men and the th captain wanted him After fishing for tor the bass bas three days das with all kinds of flies bait balt and trolls without getting g a rise and every examination ex examination examination of the water showing the big fish still lying at the side sid of the log head up stream with barely barl a fin mow moving mo big ing to show that he was alive aUve the captain cap captain tain resolved to get the bass away awa from there and see s e what effect a J situation apart from the sound oU 1 of the t Singing rocks music would have So the captain and his two boys bo s net netted netted netted ted the bass and carried it in a wash ash boiler of water down the river liver a mile and turned it into a pond The moment they got out of ot the round sound of o tilt the Sins Sing Ing rocks that bass bacs began to t o take roke k no notice notice notice tice of at things and the way he e made the water boil in the was a a sight to see The spell of the rocks and nd their music was broken the captain declared and from that moment he had hall hopes of having hoeing some fun with w that big bass after atter alL aiL The bass bad had been in the improvised pond a couple of days and then the captain went out to see about paring bavins that fun It began with the captains first cast The bass took the fly tI and andor Tor or a good quarter of an hour put up a h fight light such as no bass b s had given the captain before It was more than a r The queerness of othe the bass at Girtys falls takes a form contrariness of In bit Ing more persistent and arid staple than even even that of the bass in the waters that chase themselves about that little island up the rivera river a few miles further Girtys falls taUs is a regular torrent that sweeps through an opening pening in a reef that stretches across the west channel of the river above Halifax Pa Po This reef is such a i formidable pile of rocks that only In time of high flood is it submerged From the beginning of the black bass season season until its close fishermen of ot all sizes and ages fill every available space on this reef reet fish Ing with all sorts and conditions of tackle and bait Glancing along the front of that reef and that array arm of fishermen fish one will see seea seea a bass in m the air every minute in the th day da And while In the reaches reach of water wate r above aboe that reef rec lie the very er biggest of big bass not a hook is ventured there th thereto ro roto to tempt any an of ot them at any time dur ing ine the day for every fisherman for fo r miles around knows that those big bass wont w wont nt be tempted by anything that may be offered them Not at any an time during the day da but when night comes end and nd the moon moon shines or pitch darkness prevails then those big bass above the reef are areno areno areno no longer scorners of the lure but are as eager for tor It as w a s they the weir Wet shy sh of I it during lurIng the day da But from be low the reef where all day the bass bas s were biting not one will take the hook after atter I Girtys Girt s reef extends from the west western western ern em border of an island which at that I end is a large area area aJea of water flags and I bulrushes through which no boat can pass and down the west shore of that island half halt a mile below b low the reef as if jf i ito f to make amends for the contrariness of ot o othe f the day da and night nl ht bass of the reef and Its upper waters the bass basor and big ones too bite wen well both during the day and 1 night emphasizing still lUll further further the th P whimsicality of Susquehanna river rive r black bass I The Tile Susquehanna river is queer anyhow It has fountain heads in i n Maryland West Virginia Pennsylva Pennsylvania nia and New Ne York Its waters all ul ultimately ulI I empty empt into Chesapeake bay ba baI I but they the rise ris within almost alm st speaking distance of ot waters that U at flOw flew Into the th e I Gulf Gult of Mexico Lake Ontario Dela Delaware Delaware Delaware ware bay ba and New York bay |