n ketch fish, but
that ain't so. That old story about the little boy with the pin-hook who
ketched all the fish, while the gentleman with the modern improvements,
who stood alongside of him, kep' throwin' out his beautiful flies and
never got nothin', is a pure lie. The fancy chaps, who must have
ev'rythin' jist so, gen'rally gits fish. But for all that, I don't like
their way of fishin', and I take no stock in it myself. I've been
fishin', on and off, ever since I was a little boy, and I've caught nigh
every kind there is, from the big jew-fish and cavalyoes down South, to
the trout and minnies round about here. But when I ketch a fish, the
first thing I do is to try to git him on the hook, and the next thing is
to git him out of the water jist as soon as I kin. I don't put in no
time worryin' him. There's only two animals in the world that likes to
worry smaller creeturs a good while afore they kill 'em; one is the cat,
and the other is what they call the game fisherman. This kind of a
feller never goes after no fish that don't mind being ketched. He goes
fur them kinds that loves their home in the water and hates most to
leave it, and he makes it jist as hard fur 'em as he kin. What the game
fisher likes is the smallest kind of a hook, the thinnest line, and a
fish that it takes a good while to weaken. The longer the weak'nin'
business kin be spun out, the more the sport. The idee is to let the
fish think there's a chance fur him to git away. That's jist like the
cat with her mouse. She lets the little creetur hop off, but the minnit
he gits fur enough away, she jumps on him and jabs him with her claws,
and then, if there's any game left in him, she lets him try again. Of
course the game fisher could have a strong line and a stout pole and git
his fish in a good sight quicker, if he wanted to, but that wouldn't be
sport. He couldn't give him the butt and spin him out, and reel him in,
and let him jump and run till his pluck is clean worn out. Now, I likes
to git my fish ashore with all the pluck in 'em. It makes 'em taste
better. And as fur fun, I'll be bound I've had jist as much of that, and
more, too, than most of these fellers who are so dreadful anxious to
have everythin' jist right, and think they can't go fishin' till they've
spent enough money to buy a suit of Sunday clothes. As a gen'ral rule
they're a solemn lot, and work pretty hard at their fun. When I work I
want to be paid fur it, and when I go in fur fun