1 lie nuivu iwvmui nwi^uwu, 11. v.# auuiwii/i rnuui iot iviv — - —o- -- . X-Ray Vision, Angler's Curse By JIM DEAN I've always thought that it would be nice to have X-ray vision so that I could see where fish are and what they're doing when they're ignoring my efforts t6 catch them. Early in March, during that warm spell, I got my wish. It has been my experience that bluegills, shellcrackers and crappies can be easily caught in ponds on a flyrod and sinking flies during the early spring, even when the fish are not yet bedding. Ultralight spinning lures also work very well, and bass are on the prowl, big ones. I've had such consistent success using flyrods and ultralight during the spring that I was ill prepared for failure. When I arrived at the pond, conditions looked perfect. The asr temperature was hovering around 80, the pond was clear, and I could see signs of fish moung in the shallows. A school of good-sized bluegills hung near the surface beside th>* boat house, clearly visible as 'hfv soaked up the sun. ! began fishing with a sinking black ant, but halfway around • I pond 1 hadn't had a strike. Strange, I thought, maybe I'm sh .g in the wrong places. ! paddled to the opposite shore, facing the sun, and began to fish. Because of the angle of the sun, I could easily see several feet into the water. Bluegills were lolling near the lop clustered in small groups over the shallows. I could see erappies hanging near the stumps. One school of crappiea swam past near the surface. There was no doubt that I'd found the fish. The rest, I thought, would be easy. It wasn't. Every time I made a cast anywhere near a group of bluegills, they flushed like a covey of quail. Normally, they're drawn to a fly like a magnet, but not this time. I picked up my ultralight rod and began to cast to the crappiea. They also flushed. Even when I cast beyond stumps and brought the lure back past the fish, they often spooked. Occasionally, one would follow the lure for a short distance, then turn away. It was maddening, especially since some of the fish were quite large. I went back to my flyrod and tied on a 12-foot leader tapered to a very fine tippet. Then I tied on a delicate, unweighted wet fly thinking that I could cast this near the fish without spooking them. I managed to catch two or three bluegills, but most still scattered every time , I cast. I began to concentrate on some small bass that I could see swimming in the shallows. After casting an ultralight lure to at least a dozen fish, I managed to catch only two-both of them very small. The others darted away. Still determined, I moved away from the banks and located a school of erappies hanging aoout three incnes under the surface over open water. At first, they spooked also, but by making long casts beyond and to one side of them, and using a tiny, jointed minnow, I managed to catch three before the school disappeared. Late in the afternoon, when the sun left the water and I could no longer see the fish, I caught several more bluegills. They were still spooky, but not quite so skittish as before. wo«W be easy to say that the water »as too clear, but I'm not sure that this was the whole problem. I've caught fish in clear water plenty of times. Perhaps they felt vulnerable while lying so close to the surface, but again, I'm not sure. The lack of insect life on the water may nave also oeen a factor. Later in the spring, panfish are accustomed to seeing insects drop into the water. Perhaps, it was a combination of these factors, and yet I've had good luck many times under similar conditions early in the spring. I doubt if I will ever really know why I had poor luck. Had I been unable to see the fish, I might not have become so discouraged. Some days, there just don't seem to be any answers, and I suppose that's one of the charms of fishing. A day like this makes it intriguing. I did reach one conclusion, however. I've decided that X-ray vision may be highly overrated. Senior Citizens Hold Meeting The Golden Years Senior Citizens Club met at the home of Mrs. Willie G. Kearney, club president, on March 10. The devotional period was conducted by Mrs. Rhoda Russell, chaplain, and was concluded with a reading, "He Maketh No Mistakes," by Mrs. Kearney. Following the business session members presented canned goods and/or money to Mrs. Rhoda Russell whose home an4 practically all contents were destroyed by a recent fire. All members enjoyed the hospitality period with Mesdames Veatrice Davis and Emily Hudgins. Forests supplied not only food for colonial tables, but also wood for the tables and the eating utensils. Big Wooden plates, called trenchers, were used. Thrifty settlers made them two sided: when the main course was finished, the trencher was turned over to the "pie" side. Many plates today are made from products from the wood based chemical industry. The Public Record v CLASSIFIED AOS DIAL • SIMM I CtasaiHed Advertising dad eight ectti par ward, with a miaimni charge oC (1.00.