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DOWN ON THE TALLAPOOSA Quaint Equipment of a Southern Disciple of ofIzaak Izaak Walton No Bait but Lure of ofCornbread Cornbread Instead Away do n in the western part of Georgia born jinild the iffrci tfiloreil hills of the Saludas sluu gislily flows the historic Tallapoosa River In its tortuous course it seems to be in no hurry to reach its junction with the noble Alabama River of which it is an important affluent affluentThrough Through dense almost impenetrable catiebrakos anil copse emvalled environments it meanders si ¬ lently and gloomily Within its somber waters abide a variety cf fishes and serpents the mud catfish the bass the perch and the sucker as also the snapping turtle and occasionally a water moc ¬ casin But little angling is done except by the negroes and the deep shady pools afford to the disciples of Walton unending amusement ami rec ¬ reation reationWhile While loitering in a nearby village luadini the Crackers scienceward I accepted the invitation of a neighboring planter on a bright December after ¬ noon to inveigle the unwary cf the finny tribe with hool and line I was accustomed to angling and was considered an adept in snaring the catfish and other game fishes but could never succeed in hooking the sueker suekerMy My companion professed to lie skilled in landing this eccentric Pices and as I was anxious to learn the modus operand I gladly joined him in the sport So transferred in an old creaking buggy drawn by a phlegmatic specimen of long ears we tarried beside an umbrageuos beech and a deep reservoir and prepared for action I was much sur ¬ prised at the equipment disclosed which was so different from anything I had ever seen I always used in fishing a single barbed hook covered with a tempting bait and a sinker to guugc the depth Here was displayed a trio of hooks tightly bound together at obtuse angles and stranger than all concealed by no bait But there was a lure which consisted of a piece of cornbread closely pressed into a compact ball around the line directly above the suspended hooks Xo sinker was used The long flexible cane rod was securely stuck into the bank and supported by a forked stick for I was quietly informed that a rod held in hand with the inevitable quaking of line never caught any suck ¬ ers ersFinally Finally well established for business with line drawn taut a dreamy silence followed when the line was seen to quiver Im getting a bite my friend quietly exclaimed Now watch me land him I watched lie placed a foot upon the end of the rod in the ground to insure a solid leverage Then a hand above the fork and below the rod and gave a quick vigorous jerk One of the hooks caught the fish in the gills as it was absorbing the bait and there was a startling sur ¬ prise A fast and furious disturbance of waters followed by a Comaiichc yell from me that ensured the exit of every fish in the proximity A short useless struggle and the victim a good four pounder was quickly lifted on terra finna Frank M Vancil in Sports Afield
