Excerpt from The Catching of Unshelled Fish
Olive Green (Myrtle Reed)

6 But the real angler continues, regardless of the local sage. He who has heard the line sing suddenly out of his reel, and, after a hard-fought hour, scooped a six-pound black bass into the landing net, weary, but still "game," is not dismayed by bad luck. He who can cast a fly a hundred feet or more finds pleasure in that, if not in fishing. Whoever has taken in a muskellunge of any size will ever after troll patiently, even through masses of weed. Whoever has leaned over the side of a sailboat, peering down into the green, crystalline waters of the Gulf, and seen, twenty feet down, the shimmering sides of a fifteen-pound red grouper, firmly hooked and coming, will never turn over sleepily, for a last nap, when his door is almost broken in at 5 A. M.
What sort of tone does the author create by using the connotative effects of the word sage in paragraph 6?

A) The word "sage" is used primarily as a joke, gently mocking the fishing guide who cannot force fish to appear or guarantee good fishing to a paying customer.
B) Primarily, the author is creating a tone of awe or respect for the great wisdom and power that the sage, or fishing guide, holds in his mind.
C) The author is being highly critical, even condemning, of the ignorance of these so-called "sages" who can't help fisherman catch fish.
D) The word "sage" in this context has no connotative effect on the tone or meaning of this entire passage.