When The Fish Begin To Bite

When the warm creeps in the water, and the worms begin to crawl,

And the birds begin to chirp round the brook and waterfall;

When the toads begin to holler and the turtles come in sight,

That is when the season opens and the fish begin to bite.

When the man housed in his office in the noisy, bustling town

Feels that awful itchy feeling from his stockings to his crown;

When he slams his bulky ledger and “vamooses” in the night,

That is when the fever’s got him, and the fish begin to bite.

When the robins cheery carol comes across the balmy breeze,

And the boy along the millstream creeps beneath the budding trees;

When he drops his hook so gently where the little shiners skite,

There is joy within his bosom when the fish begin to bite.

When the landlord in the country advertises “board and rooms”,

With his rivers full of fishes and his fields full of perfumes;

When he writes his house is airy and mosquitoless at night,

That is when the city empties and the “fish” begin to bite.

April 28, 1901

Pub. in Leslies Weekly

     June 15, 1901

skite - to move quickly or hurriedly (dialect)