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 Playing- a ' ' Double 
 
THE FINE ART 
 OF FISHING 
 
 BY 
 
 SAMUEL G. CAMP 
 
 Author of 
 "Fishing Kits and Equipment' 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 From Photographs by the Author 
 
 ' The ansler considers his sport as a fine art, of which merely 
 to obtain fish is but a small part. . . It is the way the thing 
 is done.'' 
 
 H. P. Wells in " Fly-Pods and Fly Tackle." 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 MCMXI 
 
6V^^ 
 
 t^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Copyright, 1911, by 
 
 OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England 
 
 All rishts reserved 
 
 CCI.A2S0814 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 The present volume is intended to supplement with 
 notes on our common game fish and the practical use 
 of the fly- and bait-casting rod in casting and in fishing 
 the description of fiy- and bait-casting tackle contained 
 in the writer's previous book, "Fishing Kits and Equip- 
 ment"; in other words, to discuss the methods of fly- 
 fishing and bait-casting and other angling ways and 
 means, as distinguished from the exclusive question of 
 tackle. Every angler knows that good tackle is half 
 the battle — and only half. 
 
 Secondarily, it is hoped that the reproductions of the 
 photographs may, at least, suggest the part which, with 
 little difficulty and at no very great expense, the camera 
 may be made to play in the angler's days on stream and 
 lake. 
 
 The greater part of the following text and photo- 
 graphs have appeared in Outing, Recreation, and Coun- 
 try Life in America. The author's thanks are hereby 
 tendered the publishers of those periodicals for permis- 
 sion to use the material in the present form. 
 
 SAMUEL G. CAMP. 
 Canaan^ Connecticut. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 The Brook Trout and the Fly-caster. ... i 
 
 The Lure of the Trout Pools i 
 
 The Brook Trout 3 
 
 Fly-tackle 7 
 
 Stream Fly-fishing in General 14 
 
 Some Brook Trout Eccentricities 20 
 
 Fly-fishing for Brown and Rainbow Trout 24 
 
 The Brown Trout 24 
 
 The Rainbow Trout 34 
 
 Fly-fishing the Mountain Brook, the 
 
 Pools, and Still- waters 38 
 
 Small Stream Fishing 39 
 
 Fishing the Pools and Still-waters 46 
 
 Dry-fly Fishing 52 
 
 Fly-casting and Fly-fishing 56 
 
 How to Improve your Fly-casting 57 
 
 How to Fish the Flies 65 
 
 The Bait-caster and the Sweet-water 
 
 Basses 73 
 
 The Natural History of the Black Bass. ... 74 
 
 Bait-casting Tackle 79 
 
 Casting from the Reel 83 
 
 Some Practical Suggestions 85 
 
 When the Bloom is off the Water 87 
 
 vii 
 
vlii CONTENTS (Continued) 
 
 Page 
 
 The Namaycush, the Mascalonge, and 
 
 Others 95 
 
 Deep-trolling for the Great Lakes Trout. . 96 
 
 The Mascalonge, Pike, and Pickerel 106 
 
 The Ouananiche and Land-locked Salmon.. 112 
 
 Fine and Far-off Fishing and Other Mat- 
 
 ters 119 
 
 Fishing Fine and Far Off 119 
 
 Casting for Accuracy, Delicacy, and Distance 126 
 
 How to Improve the Fly-rod 130 
 
 Strip-casting for Black Bass 136 
 
 Prospecting with a Casting Rod 145 
 
 On the Trail of the Black Bass 145 
 
 Fishing New Waters I47 
 
 Casts at Random with Unexpected Rises. . 155 
 
 The Wideawake Angler 155 
 
 Game Fish in Winter 159 
 
 In a Fishing Camp 165 
 
 Canoe vs. Waders 167 
 
 Landing Net and Gaff 169 
 
 The Trolling and Casting Spoon 172 
 
 The Way of a Trout with a Flv 174 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Playing a ''Double" Frontispiece 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 ''Where the Stream Foams Down in a 
 
 White, Out-bending Ribbon" . . . . 12 
 The Brown Trout Seeks the Swiftest 
 
 Water 28 
 
 What Will They Take To-day? . ... 42 
 
 "Accuracy is the Thing" 58 
 
 The Best Way to Cast is "Cross Current" . 68 
 "Pound for Pound and Inch for Inch, the 
 Black Bass is the Gamest Fish that 
 
 Swims" 74 
 
 The Bait-caster 90 
 
 Fishing Fine and Far Off 120 
 
 First Aid to Injured Tackle 140 
 
 It Is Not All of Fishing to Fish . . . .158 
 Good Rainbow Water 174 
 
 IX 
 
THE BROOK TROUT AND 
 THE FLY-CASTER 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE BROOK TROUT AND THE 
 FLY-CASTER 
 
 FLY-FISHING for the speckled brook trout 
 has a hold upon its votaries such as no other 
 outdoor sport can boast. The interest of your 
 simon-pure fly-fisherman in his pastime is more than a 
 mere matter of the open season, it is lasting and ever 
 present. He is a crank on the subject 
 The Lure ^^^ proud of the title. If you disagree 
 
 in ^ T> 1 with him as to the status of the sport he 
 Trout Pools. .„ , .. , . . , 
 
 wili declme to argue the question with 
 
 you — ignorance so colossal as yours is not to be met 
 
 with arguments. He is simply sorry for you. And 
 
 yet, no matter what may be your opinion of fly-casting 
 
 as a sport, you cannot but envy him. The reasons for 
 
 this supreme contentment and enviable absorption are, 
 
 however, although of the very best, somewhat difficult 
 
 of explanation to the uninitiated. 
 
2 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 Of course, to a certain extent, one can describe the 
 typical trout stream. It is not a large stream; rather, 
 a big brook or little river. Its banks are pleasantly 
 wooded, with here and there a small clearing where 
 one time some logging job extended to the water's edge. 
 Alternately there are hurrying, turbulent rapids or 
 shallow, clear, swift-running rifHes and deep, opaque 
 pools whose surfaces reflect the pines and hemlocks and 
 in whose depths the aldermen of the river repose In 
 dignified Inertia. Occasionally there are falls where the 
 stream foams down many feet In a graceful, white, out- 
 bending ribbon. And again there are long, still reaches 
 where the current Is scarcely perceptible and where, If 
 you would land a trout, you must Indeed cast *'iine and 
 far off." 
 
 But no word-picture of the characteristics of the 
 trout stream portrays In the slightest degree the charac- 
 teristics of that same stream from the fly-fisherman's 
 point of view. While he is fully aware of the natural 
 beauties of the stream, the angler Is apt to regard It more 
 or less technically. And In this technicality of view- 
 point, difficult In Itself to define, lies the still greater 
 diflficulty of explaining the true relation of the stream 
 to the stream fisherman. 
 
 One can also describe the fly-caster's tackle; the 
 graceful, resilient split-bamboo; the delicate yet, when 
 well selected, steel-strong lines and leaders; and the 
 various flies, each having its special connotation for the 
 experienced fly-caster. But these comprise merely the 
 mechanical part of the game. The operation of cast- 
 ing the fly may also be explained, but this, too. Is purely 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 3 
 
 mechanical. However, in the skilful handling of fine 
 tackle lies a large part of the angler's enjoyment. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that fly-fishing has its chief 
 and most easily defined excuse in the existence of a cer- 
 tain game fish — Salvelinus fontinalis, the 
 The Brook gpgckled brook trout. Here, indeed, is 
 
 Trout. something tangible, a thing which may 
 be taken in the hand — first catch your trout — and looked 
 upon. No one seeing a freshly caught brook trout 
 would say that it was other than a thing of beauty. Its 
 delicate, vari-colored resplendency Is not equaled by any 
 living thing. The tarpon — Silver King of Southern 
 waters — the Atlantic and Pacific salmons, the ouana- 
 niche and land-locked salmon, and the grayling com- 
 prise practically all the other game fishes, excepting 
 the various other forms of brook trout, which may be 
 said to possess both beauty of form and coloration. 
 
 It cannot be denied that these fish are justifiably 
 praised, but it is generally conceded that the red-spotted 
 brook trout has nothing to fear from their competition. 
 Of the Western trout, the rainbows, cutthroats, and 
 steelheads, the rainbow, Sahno irideus, is the Eastern 
 brook trout's nearest competitor — and that is praise 
 enough for the rainbow. So here is one good reason, at 
 least, why fly-fishing for trout is considered by many the 
 very best of all sports. 
 
 But, after all, the lure of the trout pools is a thing 
 intangible, elusive, which cannot be cr^^stallized into so 
 many words, or geometrically demonstrated. If you 
 would solve its mysteries, would truly fathom the fas- 
 cination of "the reek of the split-bamboo," you must 
 
4 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 hit the trail to a good trout stream, with fly-rod and 
 camera, and there your desire will find its fulfilment — 
 if you are the right sort; otherwise, otherwise. 
 
 While the Eastern brook trout is undoubtedly in 
 coloration the most beautiful of all game fishes, in for- 
 mation, especially as regards very large 
 Coloration ^ ^ ^r ^u , 
 
 P m ^ trout or, say, three pounds or over, its 
 of Trout. ... 1 t ^ ^,1 
 
 position is not so clearly hrst. The male 
 
 trout of this weight, however finely marked with var- 
 ious tints of blue, crimson, and gold, tends dangerously 
 to aldermanic girth and, with his usual under-shot and 
 cruel lower jaw. Is rather a creature to respect for 
 gameness and fighting-blood than to admire artistically. 
 
 The quality of coloration in the brook trout, too, is 
 dependent to a great extent upon the immediate sur- 
 roundings affected by the fish. That this is a matter of 
 protective coloration should go without gainsaying. In 
 very dark waters, well shaded and with muddy or dark- 
 ly colored bottom, the brook trout is sympathetically 
 of subdued coloration, sometimes almost black — a very 
 dark purple. On the other hand, in clear streams run- 
 ning over white gravel or pebbly beds, the trout are 
 lightly tinted and often have a golden luster or sheen 
 that is unequaled for beauty. The wise men tell us 
 that variation of color in brook trout is caused by the 
 light acting through the nerves of the eye upon certain 
 color glands. It is also dependent to a certain extent 
 upon the natural food most common to the stream, 
 trout which have an abundance of insect food being the 
 most brilliant in coloration as well as the largest. 
 
 To catch trout with the fly it is not at all necessary 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 5 
 
 to know that, as a matter of scientific fact, the brook 
 
 trouf is not a trout but a charr. Briefly, 
 
 ine Brook ^g regards the Sabnonidae, the books of 
 
 p, authority recognize the salmon trout and 
 
 the charr trout, the distinction being 
 founded upon the fact that the charrs have no teeth 
 upon the front of the bone in the roof of the mouth, the 
 contrary being the case with the salmon trout. Of the 
 charrs those most familiar to the angler are the Great 
 Lakes trout, Cristivomer namaycush, the ''Namaycush," 
 and fontinaliSj Salvelinus meaning "little charr." In 
 this connection it might be well to say that the trout of 
 British angling literature is not our common native 
 trout but the brown trout, Sal mo far to, now pretty 
 generally introduced into this country and a true trout, 
 not a charr. 
 
 The brook trout, although found in many lakes, is 
 essentially a creature of running waters highly aerated 
 
 and of low temperature, sixty-five degrees 
 
 The Brook being about the highest temperature con- 
 
 TT sistent with their continued existence and 
 
 w^elfare. So, in a way, the speckled trout 
 is a neighbor of the ruffed grouse, the white-tailed deer, 
 and the gray squirrel, living in forest and woodland 
 streams, spring born and fed, where the water, running 
 between wooded banks, is shaded and cool, and the 
 many waterfalls and rocky riffles afford air in abun- 
 dance. 
 
 The appeal of trout fly-fishing to the sportsman is 
 due in great part to the mere fact that "going to the 
 woods" is inseparably connected with the best of the 
 
6 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 sport. The man who for a day, or many days, wades 
 down a secluded trout stream, not so Intent upon his 
 cast of flies as to fail in observation of his surroundings, 
 or to miss the many chance meetings with the furred 
 and feathered forest dwellers so frequently offered the 
 angler who has the faculty of seeing, is never dissatisfied 
 with his "luck" ; his days upon the stream, be the creel 
 light or heavy, the Red Gods propitious or otherwise, 
 are always the most pleasant of memories, to be dreamed 
 again by the winter fireside and repeated at the earliest 
 opportunity. 
 
 About the spawning habits of trout, it may be that 
 some time when walking through the woods in the au- 
 tumn, possibly hunting ruffed grouse or 
 spawning ^^^^ yQ^ ^m come upon some little 
 Habits. ' \ Tr J J 
 
 mountam stream. It you ever do and 
 
 will take the pains to look for them, you may see some 
 very fine trout In that Inconsequential rivulet. In Oc- 
 tober and November, the temperature of the water 
 having Its Influence over the exact time, the brook 
 trout may be found at the headwaters of the streams 
 and up the little "feeder" brooks where the spawning 
 takes place. The female constructs the nest, brushing 
 away the sand and gravel with nose and tail so as to 
 form a slight depression In the stream bed, and the eggs 
 are deposited therein. The male trout, at this time of 
 exceptionally high and brilliant coloration, Is In constant 
 attendance. The brook trout, however, unlike the black 
 bass, when the spawning is completed gives the nest no 
 further attention. Under natural conditions, as dis- 
 tinguished from fish cultural results, only a very small 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 7 
 
 percentage of the eggs are hatched, possiblj^ at best, 
 five per cent. The time of incubation is from sixty to 
 ninety days. 
 
 Under favorable circumstances it takes about three 
 years to make a pound trout, but the extent of the 
 waters inhabited and the abundance or 
 J^°^ lack of food therein — also the nature of 
 
 ' the food supply — have great influence in 
 determining the rate of growth of brook trout. As 
 above noted they thrive best upon insect food. The 
 range of the brook trout is quite extensive ; for instance, 
 they may be found in nearly all of the United States, 
 although they are not indigenous to all of the States 
 whose waters they now inhabit. As to the numbers in 
 which they may be found in any given locality, it is 
 well, when planning a fishing trip, to remember that 
 often, as Henry Guy Carleton has said, the brook trout 
 exists only "in the clear, cold, running prospectus of a 
 hotel charging $4 a day." 
 
 Fly-tackle 
 
 The tackle for trout fly-fishing has been developed to 
 a point of excellence where further improvement, save 
 in unimportant details, seems impossible. The rods, 
 reels, lines, and flies now specially made for the fly- 
 caster are certainly things of beauty and, if carefully 
 treated, practically permanent joys. The matter of 
 tackle selection for brook trout fly-fishing is a very sim- 
 ple affair — to the man who knows. But the man who 
 does not know is quite capable of going to considerable 
 
8 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 expense for a museum of tackle curiosities the collective 
 intent of which would be difficult to determine. 
 
 Herein it will be possible to state only with the ut- 
 most brevity compatible with clearness the essential tools 
 and tackle of the fly-caster. For a more detailed trea- 
 tise on fly-tackle and general equipment the reader is 
 referred to "Fishing Kits and Equipment" by the pres- 
 ent writer. Many years of stream use and experiment 
 have shown that only certain tools are suited to effective 
 and satisfactory — and sportsmanlike — fly-casting. In 
 the following the suitability of the outfit to stream wad- 
 ing and fly-fishing in an average trout stream is primar ■ 
 ily considered. 
 
 To the absolute exclusion of every other material the 
 
 fly-rod should be of split-bamboo. The split-cane rod 
 
 alone has the necessary speed and resili- 
 
 e y-roa. ^^^^ which are imperative for effective 
 and comfortable fly-casting and fly-fishing. Solid wood 
 rods of either lancewood, greenheart, or bethabara are 
 very much slower in action than the split-bamboo, and 
 the steel rod is not at all to be considered. It should 
 be said, however, that in the cheaper grades the split- 
 bamboo rod is inferior to the solid wood rod of equal 
 price. The angler should select a fly-rod of either 
 medium or, if the purse is a fairly long one, the very 
 best grade. A good fly-rod is worth every cent you pay 
 for it — and more ; also it should be said that good tackle 
 of any sort is not only its own reward but is absolutely 
 essential if you would have the best of the sport. 
 Shoddy tackle conduces to careless work on the stream 
 and consequently to poor success. On the other hand, 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 9 
 
 good tackle tends to Interest one in its proper handling, 
 both in casting and also in fishing the flies, and as a 
 result the angler finds his interest and success increas- 
 ing rather than otherwise. 
 
 Choice must be made between the six-strip and eight- 
 strip rods, the split-bamboo rod being made from tri- 
 angular strips — usually six or eight — rent from the 
 natural cane and cemented and bound together. Expert 
 opinion favors the six-strip fly-rod. 
 
 If the angler is to have but one rod probably ten feet 
 is the best length, but any length from nine to ten feet 
 is generally satisfactory. It depends a great deal upon 
 the character of the waters to be fished. For small 
 brooks the shorter rod is preferable, but for big, rough 
 streams where long casting must be done and large 
 trout handled in swift water the ten-foot rod is best. 
 
 Be sure to have the ferrules and reel-seat of the rod 
 of German silver. This material Is stronger, cleaner, 
 and more serviceable than nickeled brass. The hand- 
 grasp should be of the sort known In the tackle trade as 
 "solid cork," not a mere sheathing of composition- 
 cork over a wooden form. For fly-casting the reel- 
 seat must be below the hand-grasp. The guides of the 
 rod should by all means be of the pattern known as 
 English ''snake" guides, and their material should be 
 steel or German silver, the former being most suitable 
 because the line will not wear grooves in them as in 
 the softer German silver. 
 
 Select a rod that bends equally from handgrasp to 
 tip-end, one that balances well — Is not either tip or 
 butt heavy — and is not too limber or whippy. The 
 
lo THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 whippy rod is a poor caster and one with which it Is 
 difficult to hook and play a fish properly. Fly-rods 
 from nine to ten feet In length should weigh from five 
 to six and a quarter ounces. 
 
 The only reel for fly-casting is a simple single-action 
 click reel. Because of its construction It is free from 
 line-fouling, wherein It differs much 
 The Single- from the multipliers when used In fly- 
 action Reel, casting. Multiplying reels have an out- 
 standing balance-handle which continu- 
 ally interferes with the line when the latter Is used In 
 the proper way for casting the fly. The single-action 
 reel has a protecting-band around the side plate, within 
 which the handle revolves, thus almost entirely obviat- 
 ing line-fouling. The one-hundred yard reel is a very 
 good size, and hard rubber and German silver In com- 
 bination are serviceable and satisfactory reel materials. 
 The larger sizes of the single-action reels must be used 
 to hold the necessary amount of enameled line. 
 
 The next requisite is twenty-five yards of water- 
 proof enameled silk line. For the nine-foot rod a line 
 of size F is right; for the ten-foot rod, 
 The Right gj^-g |?^ Nq attempt should be made to 
 
 •r., , . use any other sort of line. The enameled 
 
 Fly-casting. ,. / , , . , j 
 
 Ime alone has the weight and smoothness 
 
 necessary for good casting ; it will not foul by wrapping 
 around the rod. Good casting Is impossible when us- 
 ing a light line on a heavy rod or vice versa. In fly- 
 casting the reel should be used underneath the rod with 
 the handle to the right. 
 
 Quite naturally two of the most important items in a 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER ii 
 
 fly-fishing outfit are the fly-book and its contents. To se- 
 lect intelligently the flies upon which your 
 Trout Flies, success or non-success will very greatly 
 depend it is necessary to take into consid- 
 eration a number of facts known to be generally ap- 
 plicable. As a general rule avoid brilliant flies; flies 
 of subdued coloration, except in wilderness streams 
 where the trout will take anything, are practically the 
 only successful ones. Upon very dark days, or when 
 the water is slightly flooded and discolored, they should 
 be lighter in color and somewhat larger than those used 
 when both weather and water are clear. 
 
 Flies of numbers eight, ten, and twelve, are gener- 
 ally the best, number eight being the most universally 
 effective, although late in the season, or at any time 
 when the stream is very low and clear, numbers ten and 
 twelve and occasionally even smaller are to be pre- 
 ferred. Personally I would be satisfied with the fol- 
 lowing trout flies in good quantity and range of sizes: 
 coachman, grizzly king, cowdung, Cahill, Beaverkill, 
 queen of the water, brown hackle, Montreal, and 
 March brown. 
 
 A great deal depends upon the hooks on which the 
 flies are dressed. The Sproat hook, all things consid- 
 ered, is much the best. Above all things avoid cheap 
 flies; they are flimsily tied upon hooks of poor quality 
 and are far more deceiving to the tyro fly-fisher than 
 to the brook trout. It is a very good plan to use the 
 coachman, a consistently successful fly at all times and 
 seasons, for your end fly. The white wing of this fly 
 is easily seen in broken water, and sometimes when 
 
12 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 using small, dark colored flies in the rapids it is almost 
 impossible to tell just where the cast is. A good strong 
 fly-book to hold at least four dozen flies is necessary. 
 
 In addition to the flies named above the angler plan- 
 ning a trip to the famous trout waters of Maine and 
 Canada, the Rangeleys, the Nepigon, and other lakes 
 and large streams should add to his collection the 
 Parmachene belle (first tied by Henry P. Wells, the 
 writer of that best of all fly-fishing books, "Fly-rods 
 and Fly-tackle," with a special view to use in Maine 
 waters) and the silver doctor upon hooks of larger 
 sizes than those above suggested; it should be stated, 
 however, that even in wilderness streams flies dressed 
 on small hooks are often the only successful ones. The 
 last named flies are also good for sea trout and ouana- 
 niche. 
 
 Latterly American anglers are taking up to some ex- 
 tent the English method of dry-fly casting, using a float- 
 ing fly which is always cast dry and fished upon the 
 surface of the water — a very eflPective method for fish- 
 ing still-waters and large, quiet pools. It does not seem 
 advisable to discuss dry-fly fishing at this point, since 
 we are now speaking only generally of fly-fishing 
 methods. Dry-fly fishing is an extremely specialized 
 form of the sport and is described in a later chapter on 
 "Fishing the Pools and Still-waters." 
 
 Other fly-fishing requisites are leaders, leader box, 
 creel, landing net, and waders. On the trout fly-rod 
 leaders longer than six feet should not generally be used 
 on account of the danger of reeling the leader knot 
 through the tip-guide and thus locking the line fast. 
 
Where the Stream Foams Down in a White, 
 Out-bending Ribbon" 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 13 
 
 The six-foot leader is best for three flies; when using 
 two flies, the preferable number, a five- 
 
 ^^i?5^ Trout fQQ^. leader is sufficiently long. Select the 
 Fishing . , ''J- . . " -ru 
 
 Duffle ^^^^ known as medium trout. Ihe 
 
 choice of leaders, however, is intimately 
 connected, both as to length and caliber, with the stage 
 of water and weather conditions. Longer and finer 
 leaders must be used over low, clear water than when 
 fishing the stream under normal conditions. Leaders 
 must never be used when dry and brittle and must 
 first be soaked in water to render them pliable ; for this 
 purpose the angler should carry two or three leaders in 
 a nickel leader box between layers of wet felt. 
 
 A nine-pound creel, with "new style" shoulder sling 
 leaving the casting arm free, is most suited to average 
 trout fishing in streams. In the matter of waders it 
 may be said that for general purposes light-weight hip- 
 boots are about as good as any. Late in the season it 
 is the best plan to do without waders and wear regular 
 wading shoes, with canvas leggings, or any pair of shoes 
 with small slits cut in them to let out the water. Light- 
 weight knee-high hunting boots are very satisfactory 
 for this purpose ; they should be well oiled. Hob-nails 
 not too many, too hard, or too large, are advantageous 
 when wading very rocky streams. 
 
 A small landing net which may be slung over the 
 shoulder by an elastic cord, or fitted with a catch so 
 that it may be hung on a button or ring on the front of 
 the coat, should always be carried; the angler who 
 religiously packs a landing net will far less frequently 
 tell the familiar story of the "whale" that "got away." 
 
14 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 To be sure, a landing net is more or less of a nuisance 
 in the brush, but it should be considered as a very nec- 
 essary evil. Late in the season fly-medicine or "dope" 
 is a necessary item; frequently, as I have said else- 
 where, it spells the difference between fly-fishing and 
 mere fly-fighting. A canvas, khaki, or duxbak hunting 
 coat because of its many pockets is handiest for trout 
 fishing wear and very durable. The waterproof qual- 
 ity of the duxbak material is especially desirable. 
 
 Stream Fly-fishing in General 
 
 The typical trout stream of the woodlands or wil- 
 derness, as intimated above, is a thing of infinite variety. 
 Swift-running, shallow riffles deepen and increase in 
 swiftness, forming strong, turbulent rapids. These are 
 succeeded by falls, and at the foot are dark, quiet pools. 
 Now one comes upon some long, still reach where there 
 is little or no current; and again he finds the stream 
 combining riffle and quiet water in a manner difficult 
 to describe. 
 
 The stream bed is also subject to constant variation. 
 Although in most trout streams gravel bottom predom- 
 inates, yet there will be many places where it will be 
 merely sand, possibly large boulders lying close together, 
 or perhaps the bottom will be weedy. You know there 
 are trout in the stream — ^but where? Are they in the 
 riffles, rapids, or pools ? What is the nature of the stream 
 bottom for which they may have some passing prefer- 
 ence? Obviously the solution is a matter of natural 
 history — the habits of the brook trout. 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 15 
 
 The brook trout is essentially a creature of varied 
 moods and tenses. He is here to-day; gone to-morrow. 
 To-day he favors some certain fly, to-morrow another 
 and quite different insect. At one time he is lively and 
 playful; at another sluggish and sulky. To an uncer- 
 tain degree only can his actions be forecasted. But, 
 although he is eccentric, and many of his actions are 
 exceptions to all rules, several facts are generally true 
 of him. Given the proper outfit and competent skill in 
 its use, there remains for the fly-fisherman only the ne- 
 cessity of compassing as far as may be these general 
 truths about trout. 
 
 In October or November trout ascend to the headwa- 
 ters of the streams for the purpose of spawning. Then 
 they drift gradually back to lower wa- 
 
 _,. ^. y ters, and early spring finds them in the 
 pools and deeper portions of the stream. 
 At this time the water is usually bank-high and full of 
 *'snow-broth." Even after the snow has disappeared 
 from the immediate vicinity of the river snow-water is 
 still running, for in the deep mountain ravines from 
 which the little ''feeder" brooks flow down ice and 
 snow remain until the season is well advanced. Thus 
 early in the season trout are torpid and when hooked 
 show little or no spirit. As soon as the river is fairly 
 clear they will take bait, and this is the most successful 
 way of fishing for them at this time. 
 
 If you insist on fly-fishing you can hope for only 
 moderate returns. The trout are ground-feeding and 
 rise to the surface with the utmost reluctance. One 
 method of fly-fishing under these conditions is to use a 
 
i6 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 silver doctor or some other brilliantly colored fly and 
 fish it well beneath the surface. The shining, silver 
 body of this fly has a minnow-like glitter when drawn 
 through the water that will sometimes induce a fish to 
 strike. But, all things considered, it is far better to 
 depend on your bait-box, or, if you are a fly-fishing pur- 
 ist, to stay at home. Most of us consider it a sacred 
 duty to wet a line on the opening day or as soon there- 
 after as possible. This duty fulfilled, we are content 
 to await the more favorable conditions which prevail in 
 May and June. 
 
 When the stream has resumed its normal level and 
 clarity and the water has been warmed by the spring 
 
 _,. , sunshine, the fly-fishing is at its best. In- 
 
 Mid-season ,., . , , , i , 
 
 Fishinp" ^^^^ ^^ "^^ abundant on the banks 
 
 and over the surface of the water. The 
 fish are in the riflles and rapids, having deserted the 
 deeper pools and reaches. Also, they are constantly 
 foraging and their taste in the matter of insects, both 
 natural and artificial, is much more catholic than later 
 in the season. Other things being equal, the fly-fisher- 
 man is now in his glory and should have no difficulty 
 in making a good score. 
 
 Then comes the late spring and summer fishing. 
 Now, indeed, must one cast fine and far-oflF. Low and 
 
 clear water prevails. The hot sun for 
 
 -,. - . weeks has beaten on the stream, and the 
 
 Fishing. , . , , , . , , . 
 
 trout, seekmg the cool water which their 
 
 nature demands, are again in the deeper waters, about 
 
 the spring-holes, and generally farther up-stream than 
 
 theretofore. You may find the lower portions of the 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 17 
 
 stream practically trout deserted. A good place to cast, 
 at this time, is where some little mountain brook empties 
 into the river. Fishing in the early morning and late 
 afternoon is the most resultful. In the cool of the even- 
 ing the trout work out from their day-time lairs and 
 may be found feeding in the riffles. 
 
 With the above generalities as a basis we can now 
 
 consider with more detail certain special aspects of the 
 
 trout problem. In trout fishing, as in 
 
 Where to many other things, it is a good plan to 
 rp make haste slowly. One can never tell 
 
 with certainty just where the fish may 
 be lying. Until you have arrived at some reasonable 
 conclusion on this point, fish all the water. Try the 
 little, shallow ripples near the banks. Wet the flies In 
 every part of the riffles and rapids. When you come to 
 a pool fish all of it from the head, then go around and 
 fish all of it from below. Do not neglect the little 
 eddies around boulders and half-submerged trees. Many 
 times the best fish are taken in the most unlikely places. 
 
 Where the stream has fretted away the soil so as to 
 form a hiding place beneath the overhanging bank, 
 watch out for the "big one." Proceeding in this man- 
 ner, you will soon discover the nature of the places 
 where the majority of the fish are lying, and if your 
 time Is limited you can pass by those which seem least 
 productive. On some days most of the trout will be 
 found In the riffles; on others the riffles are deserted by 
 all save the smallest fry and you will strike most of 
 your trout in the deeper rapids or the pools. 
 
 In the experimental stage of the day's fishing It Is 
 
i8 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 well also to determine as quickly as possible which 
 p . method of presenting the flies seems to 
 
 Experimfnts.^^ "'^'^ P°P^^^^ ^^^.^ ^^^ .^'^- ^^ ^^^ 
 customary method of casting, that is, 
 
 keeping the flies well up on the surface, does not pro- 
 duce sufficiently satisfactory results, try the submerged 
 fly. A variation in the method frequently spells the 
 difference between success and failure. I have often 
 made good baskets of trout by fishing the flies from six 
 inches to a foot underneath the surface, when, at the 
 same time, it was impossible to induce a strike by ortho- 
 dox surface fishing. 
 
 Trout habits are in great measure a matter of local- 
 ity. If you are to fish a stream that is new to you, by 
 all means get into communication, if possible, with 
 some local angler and believe all that he tells you. If 
 he is the right kind of a sportsman he will save you 
 many hours which might otherwise be spent in un- 
 successful experimenting. 
 
 Down-stream fishing is best adapted to the swift cur- 
 rent of most American trout streams, although where 
 the stream is quiet it may properly, and 
 
 sometimes to better advantage, be fished 
 xlints. K j> T • 11 
 
 up. l^arge, quiet pools and extensive 
 
 still-waters may properly first be whipped at the lower 
 
 part and then from the head. It is not at all necessary 
 
 to be early on the stream; there are more natural flies 
 
 on the water after the sun has been up for a time and 
 
 consequently the trout are then more likely to rise to 
 
 the artificials. Early in the season a bright day is no 
 
 disadvantage, rather the opposite ; but later, in the latter 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 19 
 
 part of June and in summer, an overcast day Is far the 
 best. 
 
 Other things being equal, the angler who Is most 
 skilled in striking his fish will have a much heavier 
 creel than the one less proficient In this respect. To 
 connect consistently with rising trout demands cool 
 nerves and the quickest of eyes and wrist. The strike 
 must come at just the proper time and with just the 
 proper degree of force. The too strenuous strike will 
 tear the hook away from the fish. 
 
 It is a better fault to strike too quickly than too late. 
 If you strike too quickly the trout will be missed clean 
 and not pricked, and will often rise again, but If the 
 strike is delayed and the fish has the chance to mouth the 
 fly he will instantly eject It and will certainly not rise 
 again. Strike with the wrist only at the first suspicion 
 of a rising fish — you can hardly strike too quickly — and 
 with a degree of force In proportion to your tackle and 
 the trout; large trout should be struck good and hard. 
 In the rapids trout will often hook themselves; It Is 
 when fishing the still pools and reaches of quiet water 
 that skilled striking Is at a premium. 
 
 Do not hurry about landing the fish. Let him run, 
 always keeping a taut line and steering him away from 
 the danger spots, until he is pretty well played out ; then 
 lead him to the landing net In some quiet side eddy, or 
 beach him on some sloping bar. When using the net 
 have It submerged and lead the fish over It. To do 
 this effectively you should be down-stream from the fish 
 so that the current will float the fish over the net in- 
 stead of away from it. 
 
20 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 Always line your creel with wet moss or ferns to 
 keep the trout fresh and looking as if newly caught. 
 
 Always kill your fish immediately after taking him 
 off the hook, and when you are wading the rapids it is 
 a wise plan to kill him before you take him off. Me- 
 dium-sized trout may be killed easily by inserting the 
 forefinger or thumb in the mouth and bending the head 
 sharply backward. 
 
 That the brook trout is most eccentric in its habits Is 
 
 generally conceded. Whether it Is more finicky than 
 
 the black bass is a question, for this fish, 
 
 Brook 1 rout ^jg^^ -g famous for its uncertainties. The 
 
 man who "knows all about trout" does 
 
 not exist, although you have probably met 
 
 him. Long experience in trout fishing, both with fly 
 
 and bait, is conducive to a deeply rooted belief that the 
 
 brook trout will most certainly not "stay put." When 
 
 you think you have pinned him down as to some phase 
 
 of character or habit, your next fishing trip is quite apt 
 
 to result In a complete reversal of opinion as to that 
 
 same characteristic. 
 
 Experts agree to disagree, and arguments concerning 
 fontinalis are unending and profitable only in that 
 they serve to sustain angling interest. Not only is there 
 confusion as to these matters of character and habit, 
 but the scientists meet with more difficulty In dealing 
 with the Salmonidae than with any other group of 
 game fishes. With elusive ease and supreme indiffer- 
 ence the trout refuse to be classified and Ichthyologically 
 tagged. As to this, however, the fisherman need not 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 21 
 
 concern himself over-much, since he has his own 
 troubles. 
 
 In stream fishing, for instance, it frequently happens 
 that after a run of good luck the fish suddenly cease 
 rising and are apparently down to stay. The angler 
 who faces this situation is usually hopelessly at sea. The 
 question of what to do obstinately remains unanswered. 
 It may be that some temporary hatch of flies upon 
 which the trout have been feeding has ceased. It may 
 be that that particular stretch of water is temporarily 
 deserted by the trout for some unknown reason. Per- 
 haps this portion of the river is permanently avoided 
 by the fish. Explanations and theories buzz merrily in 
 the angler's brain, and finally he "goes it blind." 
 
 At every few casts he changes flies. He tries both 
 surface and submerged fishing. Without avail he em- 
 ploys every fly-fishing artifice known to him. At last, 
 when he is discouraged and about to take the rod down, 
 he gets a rise and a trout. Then another candidate ap- 
 pears and is elected to the creel. Exactly what has hap- 
 pened the angler does not know, and, since the fish are 
 again on the rise, he cares little until home again and 
 in conversation with some fellow fisherman the occur- 
 rence is brought up for argument and thoroughly sifted. 
 Generally some sufficiently plausible explanation is con- 
 cocted and confidently relied upon until a similar state 
 of affairs arises on a subsequent trip and the pet theory 
 suffers a compound fracture. 
 
 One of the most exasperating of trout habits is that 
 of rising short. When the fish are in this mood the 
 angler's character suffers in inverse ratio to his capac- 
 
22 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 ity for patient endurance under much adversity. 
 Whether It Is a matter for congratulation that when 
 the trout are rising short they are generally rising pretty 
 freely Is a question. Certainly the more short rises you 
 have, with consequent failures to hook the fish, the 
 more you are Inclined to wax exceeding wroth and feel 
 like smashing things. But this free rising of the fish, 
 even under these conditions, generally results In a cap- 
 ture now and then, and for this reason It should prob- 
 ably be considered a good rather than an evil. 
 
 When the fish are acting In this manner the angler 
 is at first Inclined to believe that he Is striking too 
 quickly and jerking the flies away. But If he steadies 
 down and strikes more deliberately, he soon discovers 
 that the fault Is with the fish. To increase his discom- 
 fiture It generally happens that the trout strikes just 
 closely enough to result in being pricked and lost. 
 
 So far as the writer knows there is no remedy. It is 
 simply to be endured. The exact mental bias of a brook 
 trout when he Is determined to rise short has been var- 
 iously conjectured, but Is still to be definitely decided. 
 It has been claimed that he is merely playful; that he 
 desires to maim the insect for future reference, or, per- 
 haps for the fun of the cruelty ; also, that he rises purely 
 out of curiosity and without Intention or desire to take 
 the lure. Any of these theories is probable, plausible, 
 and possible, and the angler may take his choice with 
 the certainty that whichever of them he may elect tc 
 rely upon may be easily proved conclusively — and with 
 equal ease absolutely discredited. 
 
 Probably the most heartrending situation with which 
 
BROOK TROUT AND FLY-CASTER 23 
 
 the trout fly-fisherman Is now and again confronted is 
 when the trout are jumping continually, feeding upon 
 some certain fly, or, it may be, in play. At such times 
 the angler's desire to obtain a few * 'specimens" of the 
 brook trout Is greatly Increased by the sight of the leap- 
 ing fish, while at the same time, If he is an experienced 
 angler, he Is fully aware of the fact that no possible 
 conditions could be more unpropitious for success. Very 
 rarely it will happen that If the trout are rising to some 
 natural fly the angler can make a killing by hitting upon 
 the most approximate artificial. It seldom occurs. The 
 right fly, somehow, is hardly ever In the fly-book. Here 
 again the angler realizes his utter helplessness, and very 
 acutely. 
 
 The whys and wherefores of the brook trout are In- 
 numerable and as unsolvable as numerous. To the 
 sportsman they are a never-ending source of interest and 
 of difficulty. The wise angler will thank Heaven each 
 time he creels a trout — It may be the very last one. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 FLY-FISHING FOR BROWN AND 
 RAINBOW TROUT 
 
 WHEN the Eastern angler speaks of fly-fish- 
 ing for trout the speckled brook trout, 
 Salve linus fontinalis, is always implied ; but 
 while it is true that, fortunately, the red-spotted trout 
 is still the most common resident of our streams, yet in 
 many streams fontinalis now shares the water with one 
 or both of two other good game fishes, the brown trout 
 and the rainbow trout, Salnio fario and Sahno irideus 
 respectively. Of the two the brown trout is the m.ore 
 common and it is well for the fly-caster to know some- 
 thing about its nature and habits and the most suitable 
 tackle and methods for fly-fishing for brown trout; 
 also he should kno^ the facts of a similar nature re- 
 garding the rainbow. 
 
 The Brown Trout 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that the brown trout had 
 been a resident of many of our streams for a good many 
 years, to be exact since 1882, it seems that among an- 
 glers in general exact information concerning this trout 
 
 24 
 
BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT 25 
 
 is rather difficult to find. To one who has had the 
 opportunity and privilege of taking this fish in goodly 
 numbers the dissertations, opinions, disputes, and theo- 
 ries of fishermen who have not enjoyed a close acquaint- 
 ance with Sal mo farioj but are ever ready to discuss 
 the subject, are somewhat amusing. 
 
 To cite a concrete example: Recently a reasonably 
 proficient angler, journeying from one of our larger 
 cities to a trout stream which the writer has fished 
 times almost innumerable, brought home with him a 
 number of strange, outlandish fish all very sizable. The 
 angler stated to an admiring audience of friends that the 
 fish had fought like tigers, that he had had the time of 
 his life, etc., etc. — but what were they? Briefly, the 
 fish were imagined to be of every sort except the right 
 one, and some of the guesses were particularly wild 
 and humorous. The fish were simply brown trout. 
 
 It is the purpose of this chapter to state some of the 
 
 facts known to many anglers about the brown trout 
 
 Fontinalis ^"^' '^^ would seem, quite unknown to 
 
 vs. many others, possibly to the majority. 
 
 Fario. First, however, the writer would recall 
 
 the somewhat trite fact that comparisons are always 
 
 and inevitably odious. Wherefore, one might suggest 
 
 that our native trout be left out of the discussion. For 
 
 some reason unknown to the present writer, anglers 
 
 are prone at the very mention of the brown trout to 
 
 consider the entire question one of comparison between 
 
 the brown and the native, naturally to the detriment of 
 
 the former; fontinalis vs. fario has been argued times 
 
 without number. 
 
26 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 The discussion is futile. Rightly, there can be no 
 question as regards the respective sporting qualities of 
 the two. Our native trout, the speckled brook trout, is 
 clearly in a class by itself. No other trout, or any 
 other game fish, has ever been or ever will be so well 
 beloved by sportsmen. So let us consider the brown 
 trout strictly on its own merits and not as an actual or 
 even possible rival of our red-spotted charr. 
 
 The German or brown trout was first planted in 
 
 American waters, as above noted, in 1882, the eggs 
 
 coming from Germany and England. 
 
 Urigin in Yot some time thereafter the fish were 
 .A.mcric3. 
 
 propagated and planted by the United 
 
 States Bureau of Fisheries, but at the present time fry 
 or fingerlings can only be obtained from private hatch- 
 eries. The Federal Bureau ceased distributing the 
 brown trout for reasons which will appear later. Be- 
 fore the cessation of propagation, however, the range 
 of the brown trout had attained large proportions, and 
 they are now to be found in very many of our trout 
 streams both East and West. 
 
 The brown trout is a true trout, a salmon trout, and 
 
 not a charr, in which it differs from our native trout. 
 
 If you are a good angler and kill your 
 
 The Brown fjgj^ immediately after landing them — 
 
 irou a which, as suggested in the preceding 
 
 True Trout. . ' 1 , j • .1 t 
 
 chapter, can best be done m the case or 
 
 trout of moderate size by inserting the forefinger in the 
 mouth of the fish and bending the head sharply back- 
 ward — you will have reason to note very "sharply" an 
 anatomical difference between the mouth of a salmon 
 
BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT 27 
 
 trout and that of a charr. The brown trout has teeth 
 in no uncertain quantity or degree' of penetration on 
 the front of the bone in the roof of the mouth. These 
 are lacking in the charr. It should be said also that 
 the presence of this efficient dental weapon at once 
 marks the brown trout as a fish killer. 
 
 A good many years a,go I caught my firjc brown 
 trout, a rather small specimen, and although at the 
 . time I did not know the exact nature of 
 
 the fish, it was evident at once that it 
 was no very close relative of our common trout — simply 
 because the fish had very appreciable scales. The scales 
 of our native trout, although they exist, are micro- 
 scopic. Those of the brown trout are easily seen. The 
 coloration of the brown trout is quite different from 
 that of any other trout either native, rainbow, or any 
 of the Western species. The color scheme is best 
 described by William C. Harris, as follows: 
 
 "The brown trout is, in American waters, rather 
 slimmer in build than our American red-spotted trout, 
 with a larger and more pointed head. The back is 
 dark green covered with well-defined black spots, and 
 the dorsal fin has both black and bright red or ver- 
 milion spots ; the adipose, or fatty fin, is also beautifully 
 decorated with three red spots. Below the lateral line 
 the coloration is of a yellowish cast with a greenish sil- 
 very background. The tail, or caudal fin, is square, and 
 on its edges there is a reddish stripe; the other fins are 
 orange in color, the ventral and anal having a white 
 stripe on the under edge shaded with deep orange; the 
 head, the under part of which is yellow, and the glll 
 
^ 
 
 28 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 covers are covered with dark spots; the belly is pure 
 white, above which is a deep yellow hue." 
 
 The back of the brown trout is not marbled, or ver- 
 miculated, as in the case of fontinalis. The coloration 
 is quite as susceptible to change due to environment as 
 that of the native trout. The most beautiful specimens 
 are those living in fast water, unshaded, and running 
 over gravel bottom. Such fish are extremely brilliant 
 in coloration, with vivid red spots and a very beautiful 
 golden luster. Others, living in slow, deep, shaded 
 water with dark bottom, are dull in coloration. The 
 spawning period and habits are practically those of the 
 native trout. 
 
 The brown trout is the trout of our English brother 
 
 anglers and is the fish either particularly referred to 
 
 or implied as a matter of course in the 
 
 The Brown English literature of fly-fishing. Over 
 
 Trout and ^^^^^ ^j^^ pursuit of the trout— the Brit- 
 
 the Dry-fly. . , , , . , 
 
 isher takes his sport rather more serious- 
 ly than does the Yankee — has been reduced to an exact 
 science, at least to such a degree of exactness as the 
 nature of the sport permits. The outcome of this de- 
 termined onslaught upon the ranks of the brown trout 
 is seen in the resultant English method of dry-fly fish- 
 ing, latterly coming into some prominence in this coun- 
 try. A single dry or floating fly is used, and cast only 
 — in case the angler is a dry-fly purist, that is, in the 
 last stages of the disease — to a rising trout. The arti- 
 ficials mostly in use are exact imitations of the preva- 
 lent insect life of the stream. 
 
 The reports of American anglers who have experi- 
 
The Bait-caster 
 
1 
 
BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT 29 
 
 merited with the dry-fly on home waters are not, on the 
 whole, over-enthusiastic, although in individual cases 
 some very remarkable successes have been recorded. 
 The paucity of results may be due, although I have 
 never seen it suggested, to the characteristic difference 
 between the native and the brown trout. The dry-fly 
 method has been evolved almost purely as a means of 
 taking the latter, and it seems not unreasonable that 
 an effective method for taking the one should fail some- 
 what in the case of the other. Dry-fly fishing should 
 be entirely successful on any suitable American stream 
 abounding in brown trout, for, although there are 
 slight variations of habit between the brown trout of 
 British and those of American streams, they are not of 
 such a degree or nature as to render it probable that a 
 method so successful on the other side should be much 
 less effective here. But the water must be suitable; 
 that is, not too swift and broken. 
 
 Purely as a sporting proposition the brown trout is 
 
 a decided success. In other words, he puts up a good 
 
 fight. There are marked differences, 
 
 -^ ° .. . ^ however, between the way a brown 
 * trout conducts himself when taking a fly 
 and thereafter and the behavior of the native. Especi- 
 ally noteworthy is the fact that very often the brown 
 trout will leap on a slack line. Artists who illustrate 
 the sportsmen's periodicals are fond of picturing the 
 brook trout leaping high in the air with all the ease 
 and athletic ability of the small-mouthed black bass, 
 the Atlantic salmon, or the tarpon, but the observant 
 and experienced reader, although he may condone the 
 
30 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 matter as merely poetic or artistic license, knows full 
 well that the thing Is a pure nature fake. 
 
 The brook trout, unless fairly yanked from the wa- 
 ter by too strenuous rod work, so seldom that one can 
 almost say positively never leaps from the water. In 
 rare Instances he may leap upon a slack line, but the 
 general rule is quite the other way. The brook trout 
 does not belong to that class of game fishes which may 
 be called the leapers, but the brown trout may rightly 
 be thus classified. The leap of the brown In the effort 
 to rid himself of the hook Is very much like that of the 
 black bass, a spectacular and vicious shaking of the 
 entire body in the air. I once struck a good rise of 
 brown trout, taking six In almost that number of casts, 
 running from a half to one pound, and every one of 
 them jumped one or more times. 
 
 There is .an Impression that the brown trout rises 
 reluctantly to the artificial fly. Nothing could be more 
 erroneous. They are very free risers when conditions 
 are at all favorable — quite as much so as the native 
 trout. The fight of the brown trout is not as fast, as 
 electric, as that of the native trout, but when In good 
 condition the brownie Is a very bulldog for tenacity, 
 making a prolonged and decided objection to coming to 
 the net. In fact, sometimes it Is pretty hard to tell 
 just when he Is "all in" — it is a very hard fish to tire 
 entirely out. Frequently when you have a brown trout 
 of good fighting size almost at the edge of your land- 
 ing net he will apparently acquire an entirely new lease 
 of life and fight his way back to mid-stream. 
 
 As a general thing you will have little trouble in 
 
BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT 31 
 
 hooking a large brown trout when he rises to the fly. 
 . Striking is often quite unnecessary, for 
 
 ^* they take the fly in a very vicious and 
 emphatic manner. A good many times the brown trout 
 will leap from the water and take the fly on his down- 
 ward flight. Usually the native does not show him- 
 self to any extent unless he misses the fly, when he will 
 sometimes shoot straight up in the air. Of course, not 
 every brown trout, or every speckled trout will con- 
 duct himself in this manner and in strict accordance 
 with the general rules; the above states merely the gen- 
 eral course of action of the two under normal condi- 
 tions. 
 
 The brown trout should never be planted in a stream 
 
 inhabited by native trout unless the conditions are such 
 
 that the natives are few and small and 
 
 Planting stocking with them does not materially 
 
 rp . improve the situation. The brown is a 
 Trout. ^ , . 1 . 
 
 very fast grower and attams a large size, 
 
 the increase being estimated at about one pound a year. 
 Owing to the piscivorous nature of the brown trout 
 and their larger size, natives and browns do not do well 
 together, the former eventually yielding the stream to 
 the foreigners. Disregard or ignorance of this fact 
 when the brown trout was first introduced into this 
 country is responsible in great part for the prejudice 
 against them. But in streams no longer favorable to 
 fontinalis, and there are many such due to logging oper- 
 ations, pollution, etc., the brown trout, by nature a hard- 
 ier fish than our native charr, will still thrive, and such 
 streams may be made to furnish good sport and a valu- 
 
32 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 able food supply by stocking with brown trout. From 
 imber operations results a rise in temperature in streams 
 flowing through the afFected tract. The brown trout 
 thrives in water of a temperature that would be almost 
 prohibitive to the existence of the native. 
 
 Very light tackle should not be used when fishing a 
 
 stream wholly or partially inhabited by brown trout. 
 
 The writer has seen many brownies 
 
 iacKle tor weighing from two to three pounds, two 
 
 rp , fish weighing over four pounds each, and 
 
 there are well authenticated captures of 
 
 brown trout up to the vicinity of seven pounds. As 
 
 noted below, the brown trout, when conditions are 
 
 favorable, is a fast-water fish and even with reasonably 
 
 strong though sportsmanlike tackle, the chances are 
 
 very much in favor of the fish. The outfit should be 
 
 strong throughout. A ten-foot six-ounce fly-rod is well 
 
 suited to the game, and the leader particularly should 
 
 be strong and of the finest quality. 
 
 For wet-fly fishing any of the accepted trout flies, 
 the choice being governed by the usual rules in regard 
 to fly selection for the speckled trout, are effective, with 
 a possible preference for the hackles; the gray hackle 
 with red body is a particularly good brown trout fly. 
 Large sized flies, on number six and four hooks, are 
 occasionally very effective in deep, fast water. Refer- 
 ence has been made above to the utilization of dry- 
 flies for fishing the pools and still-waters. As in the 
 case of the brook trout the largest fish will most often 
 be found in the pools. Many of the American stock 
 trout flies may now be had dressed in dry-fly fashion, 
 
BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT 33 
 
 flies such as the Beaverkill, March brown, etc. A land- 
 ing net is always a necessary and important factor on 
 a brown trout water. 
 
 There seems to be a popular impression that the 
 brown trout is essentially and by preference an inhabi- 
 tant of slow, sluggish water. While it 
 The Brownie jg ^^ut that the larger specimens are 
 a Fast-water ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^^ -^ ^^^ p^^j^ ^^^ 
 
 risn. , . r 1 
 
 deeper portions or the stream, commg to 
 
 the shallows to feed at night — even as the native trout 
 
 — it is still a fact that average fish, from a half-pound 
 
 up to two pounds and a half, are most often found in 
 
 the most broken, swift, and rocky water which the 
 
 stream affords. 
 
 A peculiar fact, and one well worth noting, is that 
 
 in such a reach of white water, the brown trout is very 
 
 apt to lie on the upstream side of a bould- 
 
 A Practical gj. j-^ther than in the lee below it, as 
 
 IS ing ^rould be generallv true of the native 
 Hint. rr-, ,. ' <■ , . f 
 
 trout. 1 he discovery or this tact, very 
 
 seldom true of the native trout, has been worth many 
 good brown trout to the writer. The flies should be 
 worked cross-current from three to six inches above and 
 along the line where the water lips the boulder. 
 
 The known presence of large trout in the stream 
 lends an interest to a day's fly-fishing quite unknown 
 when the angler is whipping a stream 
 ^^ . from which nothing over a half-pound 
 
 P^^^^'l^Tt^ is liable to be taken. A stream inhabited 
 by brown trout has always this interest- 
 ing possibility, while, unfortunately, the same cannot be 
 
34 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 said of the great majority of streams in which are native 
 trout alone. Personally the writer confesses to a genuine 
 admiration for the brown trout — with the conviction 
 that he is not alone in this opinion, and also with the 
 knowledge that many anglers have no use whatever for 
 the brown trout — and, while still maintaining that our 
 native brook trout is an unrivaled game fish, he is will- 
 ing to give the devil his due ; in other words, to declare 
 that the brown trout is a game fish worth any angler's 
 consideration and skill. 
 
 The Rainbow Trout 
 
 The rainbow trout, Sal mo irideus, is far less com- 
 mon to Eastern trout streams than the brown trout ; in 
 the West the rainbow is indigenous to many streams. 
 This is a true trout, a salmon trout and not a charr 
 and, in fact, has more points in common with the brown 
 trout than with the Eastern brook. It is a black-spotted 
 trout ; as in the case of the brown it will live in water 
 of a higher temperature than will the native; it is 
 famous for leaping when hooked, and is a faster grower 
 than the native trout. 
 
 For some unknown reason stocking trout streams 
 
 with rainbow fry or fingerlings is successful only in 
 
 isolated cases. The common impression 
 
 Stocking seems to be that the rainbows, if circum- 
 
 -, . , Stances permit, desert the shallow water 
 
 Rainbows. r ^ i 
 
 of the average trout stream and run 
 
 down into deeper rivers and lakes. Whatever may be 
 
 the reason, it is a fact that although many streams have 
 
 been stocked with rainbows onlv a few of them are ever 
 
BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT 35 
 
 taken on the rod and after a season or two they disap- 
 pear entirely. But in some cases stocking with them 
 has been entirely successful and the streams wherein 
 they may be found afford some of the finest of fly- 
 fishing. 
 
 As a game fish there is no harder fighter than the 
 rainbow. Almost invariably its first act when hooked 
 
 is to leap high from the water ; then fol- 
 %r r'^^^ lows a prolonged, fast-fought resistance 
 
 sufficient to tax the skill of the most ex- 
 pert angler. The rainbow is a faster fighter than the 
 brown trout, its quickness of movement resembling more 
 the action of the native trout. The writer, however, 
 has cause to remember his first rainbow for the reason 
 that the fish did not leap — for good and sufficient rea- 
 sons. Fishing at the confluence of two trout streams in 
 very fast water where the currents of the two streams 
 struggled for mastery, I hooked and after a running 
 fight landed about a hundred yards downstream from 
 that point a double consisting of a three-quarter pound 
 rainbow and a native trout of one pound and a half. 
 The native was taken on the end fly, a coachman, and 
 the rainbow on the dropper, a Beaverkill. In this case 
 the larger trout undoubtedly forced the fighting and 
 held down the rainbow so that it was impossible for him 
 to go into the air. Since then I have had numerous 
 opportunities to admire the leaping and other sporting 
 qualities of the rainbow. 
 
 As to the distinctive coloration of the rainbow, Will- 
 iam C. Harris whose writings, both as a practical an- 
 gler and ichthyologist, on the natural history of game 
 
36 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 fish are authoritative and whom I have quoted above In 
 
 connection w^Ith the brow^n trout, says: 
 
 Coloration *'There are one species and five subspec- 
 
 ^^. \ ^ ies of the rainbows, the typical form being 
 Rainbow. , , • , ^ r» 
 
 known as the rambow or Coast Range 
 
 trout (Salmo irideus, specific name from the Latin, 'a 
 rainbow'). It is a large, robust, short, and deep fish, 
 growing to a weight of thirteen pounds In the William- 
 son River, and up to thirty pounds when sea-run. The 
 head is short, somewhat convex, and 'obtusely ridged 
 above'; mouth slightly smaller than In other trout, and 
 the ej^es are somewhat larger; the teeth on the roof of 
 the mouth are in two irregular series; the tail fin is 
 slightly forked, the body, sides, and ventral fins irregu- 
 larly but profusely marked with black spots, those on 
 the tail being smaller than those on the body and on 
 other fins. 
 
 "The coloration Is bluish above and whitish on the 
 sides, which also. In both sexes, have a broad lateral 
 band with reddish blotches, the sea-run specimens being 
 plain silvery. If an angler chances to catch a rainbow 
 In Eastern waters, It will probably be where the East- 
 ern brook trout Is also found, and the 'red-sides' can eas- 
 ily be distinguished from It by the lateral band, more or 
 less reddish, always on the sides of both sexes, and by 
 the presence of numerous black irregular spots located 
 on the body, head, and fins; those on the caudal fin 
 being somewhat smaller than the spots elsewhere. The 
 brook trout (fontinalis) has red spots; the rainbows do 
 not have them." 
 
BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT 37 
 
 The above description says that the rainbow is a 
 "deep" fish, and that the ''mouth is somewhat smaller 
 than in other trout." Deep, here, Is another way of 
 saying narrow — the rainbow is very thin through the 
 body, taking a half-pound specimen as an example — and 
 it should be said also that the mouth is noticeably 
 smaller than that of either the brown or native. While 
 there is no room for argument as to the fighting quali- 
 ties of the rainbow, in the writer's opinion and that of 
 many other anglers the rainbow as an edible fish is not 
 equal to either the native brook or brown trout. An- 
 other noticeable thing about the rainbow is the quick- 
 ness with which the coloration fades after the fish is 
 taken from the water; In a very short time the lateral 
 band, the "rainbow," will almost entirely disappear, 
 leaving only a faint suggestion of Its natural beauty. 
 
 The rainbow is a very free riser to the artificial fly, 
 
 apparently less discriminating in this respect than either 
 
 ^ , , native or brown trout. Any of the well- 
 
 Xackle 
 
 known fly patterns will be successful. In 
 
 general the tackle advised for brown trout Is equally 
 
 suitable for fly-fishing for rainbows. The rainbow 
 
 always seeks the swift water, grows to a larger size 
 
 than the native trout, the rate of growth being about 
 
 the same as that of the brown trout, and reasonably 
 
 strong and efficient tackle Is always best for heavy fish 
 
 In heavy water. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 FLY-FISHING THE MOUNTAIN BROOK, 
 THE POOLS, AND STILL-WATERS 
 
 QUITE recently at the Upper Dam, Rangeley 
 Lakes, Maine, "the place, of all others in the 
 world, where the lunacy of angling may be 
 seen in its incurable stage," a genuine brook trout, 
 fontinalis, weighing twelve and a half pounds was cap- 
 tured. This trout, authenticated beyond doubt, was 
 not taken by an angler but by some hatchery men for 
 spawning purposes. At the same place, in the fall of 
 1908, a brook trout scaling nine pounds seven ounces 
 was taken on the fly by Mr. Raymond S. Parrish, of 
 Montville, Connecticut. 
 
 Some little time ago, at the biennial session of the 
 General Assembly of a certain State, a bill came up 
 for consideration making seven inches the length of 
 trout to be legally retained. Whereupon the Honor- 
 able Member from — but that might identify the State 
 — at any rate,, the Honorable Member arose and, with 
 tears in his eyes, protested that in his county, although 
 there were several trout streams, many trout, and a 
 well-established Industry devoted to their capture, there 
 
 38 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 39 
 
 was not at that time in that county, or ever had been 
 at any time in that county, a trout measuring seven 
 inches. Wherefore the injustice of such a measure 
 was palpable, etc., etc. The bill did not pass. 
 
 Trout fishing may mean one thing and it may mean 
 another. It is a fact that in many parts of Vermont, 
 Massachusetts, Connecticut, and other States, trout 
 fishing such as that described by the Honorable Mem- 
 ber is the rule and not the exception. 
 
 Small Stream Fly-fishing 
 
 Where average fishing may be had it is a very poor 
 
 plan, one finely calculated to spoil sport, to fish the 
 
 small mountain streams. These little 
 
 Do not Fish brooks act as ''feeders" for the larger 
 
 the Feeder ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ In ^he fall the 
 
 Brook. f 1 1 J 
 
 trout of the larger streams ascend 
 
 these little brooks to spawn and the little trout 
 remain in them from the fry to the fingerling 
 stage when they seek the deeper and more ex- 
 tensive streams. "Skinning" the small brooks merely 
 means that the stock in the larger ones will surely de- 
 teriorate in numbers and in size, and eventually poor 
 fishing or none at all will be the rule. 
 
 But if the small feeder brooks are religiously pro- 
 tected, the stocking of the larger streams is more or 
 less automatic, no matter how hard these may be fished ; 
 this is especially true where the feeder brooks are 
 stocked by the State or by individuals. It is manifestly 
 futile to stock the small brooks and at the same time 
 allow them to be fished. And stocking is most success- 
 
40 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 ful where the fry or fingerlings are planted In the 
 
 tributary brooks where they are free from the large 
 
 trout and the generally strenuous life of the river. 
 
 But where little brooks and small mountain trout 
 
 are the rule and heavier fishing need not be taken Into 
 
 consideration, fly-fishing for the little 
 
 *^ ' charrs of the mountain streams Is a leglt- 
 mate Sport. . , , i r , , 
 
 imate sport — and not a hair bad one. 
 
 With trout fishing as, In fact, with any sport of the 
 rod and gun, particularly In these days when light 
 creels and hunting-coat pockets are the rule — the law 
 In most localities jealously looking out for this — and 
 the camera plays so Important a part In field sports, 
 the country to be fished or hunted, whether attractive 
 or commonplace, Is a primary consideration. It would 
 be difficult to find a more pleasant field of action than 
 that afforded by the typical mountain trout stream. 
 
 When you go fishing for mountain trout you seek the 
 country of the ruffed grouse, the woodcock, the gray 
 squirrel, and the white-tailed deer; 
 Where the ^^{thal, a somewhat strenuous country. 
 rp J . Following the brook you pass through 
 
 deep ravines strewn with green and 
 moss-grown rocks, steep, slippery, moist, and prolific 
 of mosquitoes, tumbles, tackle smash-ups — and trout. 
 You work through little alder swamps, almost Impene- 
 trable tangles where there Is nothing to see but the 
 work ahead and nothing to do but do It — and catch 
 trout. But, however difficult may be the local habita- 
 tion of the mountain trout, It Is sure to have the virtues 
 of picturesqueness and freedom from monotony and to 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 41 
 
 offer many opportunities for the camera as well as the 
 rod. 
 
 Working quietly along the little stream you will 
 sometimes flush a "partridge" and will often hear them 
 drumming. Later in the spring a woodcock will per- 
 haps get up within rod's length of you and whistle 
 away over the tops of the alders. Where deer are at 
 all common you will see their tracks along the brook 
 and, if you are at all lucky — and quiet — you may even 
 see the trail-makers. Incidents of this sort, with fair 
 success with the little fly-rod, will surely serve to make 
 your day on the stream a pleasant one. In such streams 
 a trout weighing half a pound is a monster, and the 
 average is considerably less than that. But sport with 
 any game fish is largely a matter of the tackle used, 
 and presumably you will use light tackle. 
 
 The little trout of the mountain streams, unless in 
 
 very secluded brooks which have been fished little or 
 
 not at ail, are not in the least foolish or 
 
 _ uneducated. Anglers are wont to as- 
 
 Trout. . ^ , . . . . , , 
 
 sociate extreme sophistication with the 
 
 two-pounders of the big rivers. When considering the 
 typical mountain trout it is well to remember that with 
 them size is small indication of age or degree of educa- 
 tion. The size of brook trout is a matter of range ex- 
 tent and food supply, and the trout of the little brooks 
 of the hill country are small because the food supply is 
 limited, the "swim" is limited, and the little fellows 
 have to work hard for a living. So the eight-incher of 
 the narrow, shallow, and rapid mountain stream may 
 be as highly educated as the two-pound brown trout 
 
42 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 which, In a more extensive stream, rises only to the fly 
 cast "dry and cocked." At any rate, if you find a well- 
 worn angler's path along the little stream you will have 
 to use some finesse and no little patience and ingenuity 
 to make a very heavy showing. 
 
 Fly-fishing for mountain trout has Its technique 
 equally with the sport on larger streams and weightier 
 fish. The primary essential for success 
 Mountain ^^^ ^ ^^^ -^ jj i ^ tackle— the very light- 
 Stream Fly- 1,, . . r\ 
 rp , , est. i:^ly-castmg m any true sense oi the 
 
 words is out of the question because of 
 the confined and brushy nature of the stream. So the 
 tackle need not be selected with a view to casting any 
 considerable distance ; this permits the use, since weight 
 is unnecessary, of a small caliber line. An enameled 
 line, size G, Is exactly the thing. This may properly 
 be used on a little four-ounce fly-rod eight feet In 
 length or thereabouts. A very small single-action reel, 
 the smaller the better, should be used, since It will not 
 foul In the brush as often as a larger one. 
 
 A very good plan Is to wind on an additional guide 
 between each pair of guides on the rod when much 
 brush fishing Is to be done. This will keep the line 
 close to the rod at every point and there w^Ill not be 
 loops of slack to become fouled continually In the brush. 
 The thing to aim for In the entire outfit Is the elimina- 
 tion of loose ends. The leader should be short and fine, 
 so that the flies may be reeled In close to the rod tip 
 when landing a trout through the brush. 
 
 Under normal conditions flies and bait are about 
 equally successful for small brook fishing. While it is 
 
1 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 43 
 
 a fact that real flj'-fishing or rather fly-casting. Is pre- 
 cluded by the nature of the stream, still the mountain 
 brook is no place for the duffer with a fly-rod. Indeed, 
 a small stream of this sort requires a deftness, skill, 
 and versatility of expedients in handling rod, line, and 
 flies that is unknown on the larger streams in the open 
 where free casting is the rule. The problem is to get 
 the flies out from twenty to thirty feet without casting 
 in the usual manner, and it is not always an easy one. 
 
 Small flies of modest colors are best, such as the 
 coachman, cowdung, Cahill, Beaverkill, and other gray 
 and brown winged flies, and also the various hackles. 
 The smallest sizes should be used, tens and twelves, 
 and even at times the midge flies. More than two 
 flies should never be used, and one is better. As a 
 matter of fact it is seldom that more than one fly can 
 be laid on the water and fished properly, owing to the 
 difficulty of casting and the smallness of the stream, 
 and tw^o flies, also, are just twice as apt to get fouled 
 as one. If tw^o are used they should be attached to the 
 leader quite close together so that both may be fished 
 at the same time in the smallest pools. 
 
 The angler will save himself much trouble and an- 
 noyance by forgetting to bring a landing net. The use 
 of a net on small trout is at best of questionable pro- 
 priety or necessity — something like using a ten-gauge 
 on rail — and on the brushy mountain stream It Is the 
 most versatile trouble maker you can have along. A 
 very playful little trick of the net fitted with an elastic 
 cord Is to catch on a branch, stay behind you to the elas- 
 tic limit of the cord when you move along, then break 
 
44 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 loose and snap forward into the small of your back 
 with considerable velocity and no little penetration. 
 The smashing effect, however, is usually upon the net 
 ultimately. Instead of the net carry a little pocket-axe ; 
 it is far more useful. 
 
 Possibly the greatest factor for success in this sort 
 of fishing is the faculty of going slowly, never hurry- 
 ing by places which look a little difficult 
 
 M fli^H^ ^^ ^^^ ^"^ consequently have probably 
 been neglected by other anglers, and 
 carefully fishing out all fishable water. Here and 
 there, in little clearings and where the stream widens 
 out, you can make short casts in the usual manner; in 
 other places the flies may be got out by simply swing- 
 ing them over the water as you would cast a "a garden 
 hackle." Often the only way of getting out the flies 
 is to make a "snap cast," using a line about the length 
 of your rod, grasping the end fly between the thumb 
 and forefinger of the left hand, pulling straight back so 
 as to get a good bend in the rod, and then releasing the 
 line — always avoiding the possibility of hooking your- 
 self in the fingers. In this manner very accurate casts 
 may be made after a little practice. 
 
 When a trout is hooked, if the banks are so brushy 
 that you cannot beach him or swing — not throw — him 
 out, the fish should be slowly reeled in up to the leader- 
 knot, taking pains not to reel this knot through the tip 
 guide and thus fouling the line, and then brought 
 in through the brush by pulling the rod toward you 
 down low. Many trout will be lost by attempting to 
 land them in this way and it should only be used as a 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 45 
 
 last resort in the worst and most brushy places. Move 
 slowly and quietly, keep as far back from the brook 
 as possible without using too long a line and thus 
 inviting disaster, and use deliberation in the choice of 
 methods for the various little pools, falls, and riffles. 
 The first cast is the one that counts. 
 
 When brush fishing a good point to remember is 
 not to strike upward but backward or toward you. 
 If you strike upward a miss always means a hang-up, 
 but if you strike by quickly moving the rod toward 
 you and keeping it low down, this will happen far less 
 frequently. An effective method is to strike not with 
 the rod but by quickly pulling in the line through the 
 guides with the left hand. The two-handed fly-caster 
 who habitually uses the slack-line cast becomes very 
 expert at striking small trout in brushy streams in this 
 manner. 
 
 As a general thing you will not often find trout 
 
 much over a quarter of a pound in the average small 
 
 mountain stream; but conditions vary 
 
 Exceptional ^^j occasionally you will take or see 
 
 Streams. , . , . , 
 
 taken trout weighmg a pound or 
 
 more. Many small brooks, although not very wide, 
 
 may be comparatively deep. Those flowing through 
 
 meadow lands and with sandy or muddy bottoms are 
 
 apt to be of this sort; possibly the brook may not be 
 
 over six feet wide, but there will be many places where 
 
 the depth is from three to five feet with fine trout 
 
 shelters hollowed out beneath the banks. 
 
 There is a brook of this sort, well-known to the 
 
 writer, which flows partly in Connecticut and partly 
 
46 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 in Massachusetts. Its average width is not over iive 
 feet and the stream bed is black mud. Mostly it flows 
 through an alder swamp, with here and there a very 
 little open fishing in old slashings. Anglers who have 
 *'sand" enough to fish this brook through the swamp — 
 football is child's play in comparison — show baskets of 
 trout that would drive the average angler crazy. 
 Many times the creels show from a dozen to twenty 
 trout, not a single one less than a pound, and running 
 from that up to two pounds and a half. This is not 
 a fish story alleged but one experienced. 
 
 In view of this it is a good plan to find out from 
 local anglers whether the stream you are to fish has a 
 reputation for an occasional large trout and outfit ac- 
 cordingly. It is rather disconcerting, to say the least, 
 when you are sure that a quarter of a pound is the 
 limit for the stream, to have a pound fish roll up to 
 your flies — and a rattled fisherman means a lost fish. 
 
 Fishing the Pools and Still-waters 
 
 Although fly-casting consists for the most part of 
 
 fast-water fishing, yet in nearly every stream there are 
 
 many deep, still pools and often long 
 
 The Brook j-eaches of still-water wherein are resident 
 
 Trout of the ^, i ^ . ^ r .u • a • 
 
 o^-ii J. the very largest trout or the river. Aris- 
 
 Still- waters. . , . . , . , , . 
 
 tocratic seclusion is theirs, and their 
 
 rule is absolute. Quietly the activities of the pool go 
 on about them. At times a muskrat or mink stems 
 silently the still surface of the waters. Nervous king- 
 fishers perch momentarily on overhanging branches 
 and then, rattling, seek other vantage points. Insect 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 47 
 
 life is abundant about the pool, from brilliant butter- 
 flies to invisible midges. At times a kindergarten of 
 foolish minnows ventures into the sacred precincts; 
 scattered, with some lost and many wounded, they dart 
 away before the onslaught of the weighty residents. 
 Thus living at ease, with much good eating which 
 comes to them quite independently of effort on their 
 part, serene in the knowledge of their superior strength 
 and size, the brook trout of the still-waters wax ever 
 mightier and, from the angler's viewpoint, more de- 
 sirable. 
 
 Dark-skinned fish, these, from long residence in 
 deep water well shaded, and in shape chunky and full- 
 bellied. Dignified and deliberate of mien are they and 
 of temperament highly suspicious, for the reward of 
 the easy life of the pool is won by those individuals 
 only who are best fitted to survive. Once they too 
 free-lanced in the rifliles and rapids with others of 
 their kind, seeking daily sustenance at the risk of divers 
 sudden deaths. In time, however, they assumed for- 
 midable proportions and became themselves the lords 
 of the stream. To this distinction they arrived only 
 by exceptionally good fortune and unusual self-pro- 
 tective abilities. It would seem, then, that the angler 
 who would successfully match his skill against the 
 sagacity of these veterans must depend largely upon 
 strategy and the ability to suit tackle to occasion. 
 
 In the riffles and rapids no extraordinary skill is 
 needed to lend life-like motion to the flies. Once the 
 cast is made and the flies have alighted upon the water 
 in the desired spot, they are caught by the eddies and 
 
48 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 drifted here and there in almost exact imitation of half- 
 drowned, struggling insects. In the still- 
 Casting waters it is different. Here life must be 
 Over Pools, imparted to the flies by skilful handling 
 of rod and line; and, too, more care 
 must be taken in the actual casting, that is, the flies 
 must be dropped upon the water with all possible gen- 
 tleness. A cast which in all probability would be a 
 successful one in broken water might cause the flies 
 to impact on the glassy surface of the pool with a 
 splash quite sufficient to prevent any hope of a rise in 
 the immediate vicinity. 
 
 The primary necessity for a successful cast over quiet 
 water is that it be made gently. Then comes the ne- 
 cessity of so handling the tackle that the line shall not 
 become slack; that the flies shall stay well up on the 
 surface and appear alive ; and that immediate advantage 
 may be taken of a strike. Here again working the line 
 with the left hand, stripping it through the guides, 
 solves the problem. In this way the flies are under full 
 control. Also your rod need not be raised much from 
 a line parallel with the water, and when, as sometimes 
 happens, a fish rises when the flies are close to you, the 
 rod is in a position to handle the strike — which is not 
 the case when it is pointing to the exact center of the 
 high heavens. 
 
 As a rule the brook trout of the still-waters strikes 
 
 slowly, in a manner quite different from the voracious 
 
 dash of his brothers of the rapids. Leis- 
 
 °* urely he rises to the surface and sucks 
 
 in the fly, natural or artificial, and with equal delibera- 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 49 
 
 tion returns to his lair. It is necessary to strike at the 
 psychological moment. The tendency is to strike too 
 quickly, a better fault than to strike too late. If the 
 rise is missed, it is well not to re-cast immediately, but 
 to rest the pool for a few moments, a matter, by the 
 way, requiring no little self-restraint in case the rising 
 fish is a large one. 
 
 Should the pool be a small one it is probable that 
 one trout only is resident. But if the pool is spacious, 
 with many submerged logs and rocks, 
 r' aying ana ^[^\^ shady caves beneath overhanging 
 °* banks, or other ambushes beloved by 
 trout, it is quite probable that several fish are located 
 there. If jou would land more than one of them j^ou 
 must be careful to land that one quietly and with the 
 least possible disturbance. Restrict his play to the limit 
 of tackle safety and beach or net him without noise. 
 If you are successful in this the pool may yield a brace 
 or two of good fish. At times casting from the head of 
 the pool raises no fish, but if you go around and cast 
 from below you will often cause one to change his 
 mind. Every pool is best fished from both above and 
 below. 
 
 In the matter of flies the residents of the pool are 
 discriminating in the highest degree. Day and night 
 myriads of insects swarm over the still 
 w^aters. Grasshoppers and crickets sui- 
 cide continually from the bank ; grubs drop down from 
 the trees; the riffles and rapids deposit a varied menu 
 in the temporary resting place of the pool. As a con- 
 sequence of this glut of good things the fish are apt to 
 
50 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 be reluctant in rising and must be skilfully teased. The 
 taking qualities of the sunken and dry-fly should not 
 be forgotten as successful variations of the orthodox 
 method of casting. The dry-fly, although not suitable 
 for fast water, can often be used to advantage when 
 fishing the pool. Also patience and still more patience 
 is necessary when trying conclusions with the wise 
 ones of the quiet water. 
 
 Taught in the school of experience the danger of 
 strange insects, in the daytime the residents of the pool 
 
 are wary when the silk and feathered 
 Pslignt imitations flutter over the water. But 
 ^* at dusk and in the moonlight this 
 natural shyness seems to depart in some degree and such 
 times are propitious ones for the fly-caster. In a way 
 this seems to be taking an unfair advantage over the 
 fish and, too, the trout do not fight as strongly under 
 these conditions. However, if it is a case of night fish- 
 ing or bacon for breakfast, the sporting ethics of the 
 matter may properly be disregarded. Although sub- 
 versive of the general axiom of light flies for dark days 
 and dark ones for light days, it is a fact that in night 
 fishing a soberly colored fly is sometimes more taking 
 than one lighter in coloration. If the white miller fails 
 to attract, try the black gnat. 
 
 The angler who customarily fishes a stream wherein 
 there are many wide pools likely to harbor large trout 
 
 should select his outfit with the greatest 
 Utner -^j^ view to fishing for the larger 
 
 Tackle. . 
 
 trout and allowing the small fry to stay 
 
 in the water. In other words, the angler should make 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL- WATERS 51 
 
 the big trout the chief object of the day's fishing and 
 not have his tackle suited only to small fish. One 
 reason why the "big one" so often gets away is because 
 trout fishing to many anglers means merely the taking 
 of numerous young fish little better than fingerlings 
 and when a trout of good fighting size takes hold of 
 the tackle he easily tears it apart. Of course, if the 
 chance of striking a really good fish is very remote, as 
 when fishing the smallest streams, it is best to use the 
 very lightest tackle, for therein lies the sport of taking 
 the smaller trout. 
 
 Strong tackle, suited to fairly large trout, is far from 
 implying coarse tackle. Coarse tackle in trout fishing 
 is of almost no use save on very exceptional occasions. 
 The brook trout is by nature one of the wariest of 
 game fish and in most localities has in addition a very 
 thorough education in angling affairs. Strong tackle 
 is not necessarily coarse, but to obtain it of a quality 
 good enough to embody both strength and fineness as 
 regards caliber and material it is necessary to use judg- 
 ment in its selection and to pay the price. It may be 
 noted here, although not enlarged upon, that coarse 
 tackle is not always strong tackle. The distinction 
 between tackle too coarse and that which is suitable, 
 although easily recognized in concrete cases by both 
 fish and fishermen, is difficult to set down in so many 
 words. Frequently it may be a matter of inch-thou- 
 sandths and the micrometer caliper. 
 
52 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 Dry-fly Fishing 
 
 It is In connection with pool and stlU-water fishing 
 that the use of the dry-fly can most appropriately be 
 considered. It Is not at all probable that dry-fly fishing 
 will ever reach In this country the popularity It has 
 attained In England; the average of stream conditions 
 is against It. Fishing vi^Ith the dry-fly is by no means 
 a new thing and a few American anglers have practiced 
 it for a good many years. Recently, however, much 
 greater interest has been taken In the subject than 
 formerly and for that reason it seems best to include 
 here a brief description of the dry-fly caster's methods. 
 
 The following notes on dry-fly fishing — which the 
 present writer could not hope to equal in comprehen- 
 siveness, clearness, and brevity — were written by Mr. 
 Alfred Herbert, of Kenilworth, England, and pub- 
 lished In Forest and Stream for June 15, 1907. In the 
 opinion of the writer it Is the very best short descrip- 
 tion of dry-fly methods ever printed, and for that 
 reason I take the liberty of quoting, in part, as follows : 
 
 ''In this style of fishing we Invariably fish up stream, 
 and In our clear waters here we are able to see the trout 
 distinctly. The angler looks out for a fish which is 
 actually rising and feeding on the natural floating 
 Insect. This, of course, only happens when there Is a 
 rise of flies on the water. On some days there will be 
 very little, if any, rise of insects, and consequently very 
 few fish to be caught; at other times, in favorable 
 weather, rises may be more or less continuous during 
 the day, but the best part of the rise usually concentrates 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 53 
 
 itself into short periods, the best time being generally 
 between eleven and three o'clock in the spring, while 
 later in the year there is often a good evening rise after 
 sundown, if the weather is warm and the atmosphere 
 free from mist. 
 
 ''When a feeding fish is seen, the angler's object is 
 to get as near to him from below as possible without 
 scaring the fish. This necessitates a good deal of 
 progression after the manner of the serpent, it being 
 essential above all things to keep low. The fly chosen 
 should be as near as possible a reproduction of the 
 natural insect on the water. The line, which is of 
 plaited silk, dressed in linseed oil under the air pump, 
 is carefully greased, preferably with red deer fat, but 
 vaseline or hard mutton suet answers equally well. 
 The object of greasing the line is to insure that it shall 
 float lightly on the surface of the water. If not greased 
 — no matter how well it may be dressed — it soon tends 
 to be waterlogged, and in this condition sinks below the 
 surface of the water when drawn in, dragging the fly 
 with it under the water and thus soaking the latter. 
 
 "The line we use here is generally fairly heavy and 
 preferably tapers to a fine point. Only one fly is used 
 in this style of fishing. The fly itself is lightly touched 
 with a spot of odorless paraffin from the small bottle 
 which is carried on one's waistcoat button. After 
 anointing the fly with paraffin, I find it well to absorb 
 the excess paraffin on a dry handkerchief; then by 
 making a few false casts in the air the fly is further 
 dried, and nothing but a minute suspicion of paraffin 
 remains on the fly; otherwise any excess of the paraffin 
 
54 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 forms a film on the water, which Is distinctly and detri- 
 mentally visible to the fish. 
 
 ** Having now got within easy range of the rising 
 fish, the angler's object is to drop the fly about two or 
 three feet above him, so that it shall come down in a 
 natural position, with Its wings erect (or 'cocked,' as we 
 call it). It should fall on the water quite lightly, and 
 the least splash of the line is fatal, the fish in these 
 waters apparently having eyes all over as well as In 
 their heads. It is important that the fly should travel 
 at precisely the same pace as other natural flies which 
 are floating freely on the water, otherwise a ripple or 
 drag Is set up, and our fish will not look at a fly which 
 has the slightest suspicion of drag. 
 
 "Drag is very diflicult to overcome under some con- 
 ditions; it is caused by the stream running faster in 
 some parts than in others ; for Instance, If one is casting 
 across a river, and the water In the center is running 
 faster than at the side on which the fly falls, 
 the pull of the current on the line tends to draw the fly 
 faster than the water around it, and this sets up 'posi- 
 tive drag.' If, on the other hand, owing to the con- 
 formation of the stream, the water is running more 
 rapidly at the side where the fly falls than it is In the 
 center where the line falls, then the line will hold 
 back the fly and set up drag of another kind — 'negative 
 drag.' 
 
 "If all these various difficulties are overcome, and if 
 the fly happens to appeal to the fish as a suitable morsel, 
 it Is taken, often with a great show of confidence. The 
 subsequent proceedings are exciting, but are, of course, 
 
BROOKS, POOLS, STILL-WATERS 55 
 
 quite familiar. . . . The conditions that are 
 most favorable to dry-fly fishing are, first of all, that the 
 surface of the water should be smooth enough to enable 
 the fly to float and to enable the angler to see It; sec- 
 ondly, that the fish be actually feeding, obviously on 
 some floating Insect. Under these conditions I believe 
 the dry-fly will kill fish on any river; but of course In 
 rapid streams, where the surface Is broken up by rocks 
 and the current Is strong, the conditions are undoubt- 
 edly entirely against the dry-fly fisherman. 
 
 "The great attraction of dry-fly fishing Is the actual 
 seeing of the individual fish, the stalking for him, and 
 his ultimate capture; In fact, you see the whole per- 
 formance and fish consciously for one Individual trout, 
 whereas In the wet-fly system (which, of course. Is also 
 largely used In England), one casts simply Into a likely 
 piece of water and hopes for the best. . . . " 
 
 In addition to the above It remains only to be said 
 that to use the dry-fly method It Is not absolutely imper- 
 ative to cast to a visibly rising fish, for If he chooses the 
 angler may fish all the water as In wet-fly fishing. It 
 should also be noted that while the majority of dry-flies 
 used In England are close Imitations of the Insect life 
 of the streams other flies which are sometimes used 
 successfully are not exact imitations but rather of the 
 sort known as "fancy." 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 
 
 IT Is quite possible for an angler to take a good 
 many brook trout without being an expert fly-cas- 
 ter. Mere mechanical proficiency in casting is by 
 no means the most important factor in resultful fly- 
 fishing. A good many other things, such as knowledge 
 of trout haunts and habits and what Is fishable water, 
 have weight in deciding the success or non-success of 
 the angler's day on the stream. 
 
 But notwithstanding the fact that fly-casting is not 
 all of fly-fishing, it is very well for the angler to be 
 able to cast better than the other fellow; given two 
 anglers of equal stream experience and like knowledge 
 of brook trout characteristics, the better caster will 
 assuredly make the better showing. The very poor 
 caster, too, no matter how wise he may be In general 
 angling affairs, will certainly offset his superior theoreti- 
 cal knowledge by his awkwardness In practical fishing. 
 Also, apart from the application of fly-casting to fly- 
 fishing, it Is a fact that mere fly-casting Is good sport — 
 witness the popularity of tournament casting. The man 
 who has acquired some cxpertness In casting the fly 
 gets a great deal of pleasure from this alone. 
 
 S6 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 57 
 
 Most of the written treatises in books and magazines 
 on how to cast with the fly-rod, while as a whole cor- 
 rect, fail somewhat in their purpose because the authors, 
 in treating the entire subject of rod handling, do not 
 place sufficient emphasis on certain particular phases 
 of the matter. Good fly-casting is dependent upon 
 close attention to a number of individual details, some 
 more important than others, but each of such import- 
 ance that if any one of them is neglected the results 
 are not of the best. With long practice observance of 
 these details becomes automatic, but the beginner must 
 keep them firmly fixed in his mind. The following is 
 not an attempt to teach fly-casting, but merely to em- 
 phasize certain details which, at first glance, may have 
 seemed inconsiderable and consequently may not have 
 been strictly observed. 
 
 How to Improve Your Fly-casting 
 
 In the first place let us consider the apparently unim- 
 portant question of how to hold the rod, i.e., the posi- 
 tion of the rod hand on the handgrasp. Nine out of 
 ten beginners at fly-casting would say immediately that, 
 provided the caster does not drop the rod, the method 
 of holding is immaterial. Now the veteran fly-caster 
 and the books on fly-fishing will tell you that the proper 
 way to hold the rod is to have the thumb of the rod 
 hand extended along the upper surface of the handgrasp 
 and not bent around it. There must be some reason 
 for this opinion and advice of the experts, and there is 
 a very good one. In fact, there are two reasons. 
 
58 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 Good fly-casting, whether considered from the stand- 
 point of accuracy, delicacy, or distance, depends on 
 getting your wrist into the cast. If you make it a prac- 
 tice to grasp the rod as above indicated, with the thumb 
 lying straight along the top of the handgrasp, you will 
 soon find that you are getting your wrist into the cast 
 to a much greater extent than ever before. And when 
 you once find out what a great difference this makes, 
 you will know why, perhaps, your casting theretofore 
 has not been eminently satisfactory or proficient. 
 
 If you cast practically at arm's length, as you will 
 often see done, delivering the line with a sweeping 
 
 motion of the entire arm from the shoul- ' 
 ^*C ^^t^*"^^"^ der, of what use to you is a finely con- 
 ^* structed fly-rod, made especially with a 
 view to the utmost speed and resilience? Straight-arm 
 casting fails entirely in putting the rod itself to work; 
 the arm motion does it all — and very poorly. But once 
 get the wrist into the cast and you will find the rod, 
 if it is a good one, bending from handgrasp to tip-end 
 and, as a result, the line jumping away as if sent for. 
 
 Again, this method of holding the rod results in a 
 greater ability to cast accurately. The rod is under 
 perfect control and the direction of the 
 An Aid to ^^g^^ under favorable conditions, will 
 deviate very slightly from the point aimed 
 for. Target shooting with a rifle and casting with a fly- 
 rod are similar in that both, quite naturally, require aim. 
 With the thumb pointing along the handgrasp proper 
 initial aim is instinctive and the rod is guided in the 
 right direction throughout the cast. 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 59 
 
 Another very important point is not to carry the rod 
 
 too far back on the back cast. This fault simply means 
 
 that too long a time will elapse between 
 
 The Back ^^^ forward and back casts and that the 
 
 line will become dead in the rear of the 
 
 caster. On the back cast the rod should go but slightly 
 
 beyond the perpendicular; this will keep the line high 
 
 in the air — the object to be attained — where it will 
 
 respond at once to a correctly timed forward cast. The 
 
 line must be kept alive throughout the period covered 
 
 by the forward and back casts, and nothing is more apt 
 
 to kill a cast than letting the rod go too far back. You 
 
 will occasionally see fly-casters carry the rod so far to 
 
 the rear that the line actually falls on the water behind 
 
 them. 
 
 Try to get a high back cast. When the tip of the 
 rod, in the arc described by the rod in the back cast, 
 reaches a point just over your head, stop the rod; the 
 momentum and bend of the rod will then carry it to 
 just about the right position for starting the forward 
 cast. 
 
 And now about starting the forward and back casts : 
 
 the chief mistake made by beginners in starting the 
 
 back cast is in starting it too easily. 
 Timing the y^^^^ ^^^^^ Uf^ ^^^ U^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ 
 
 with a strong, snappy, backward wrist 
 motion, so that it will have sufficient speed to straighten 
 out behind you before beginning to fall toward the 
 water. This, too, will help in attaining the high back 
 cast mentioned above. Do not delay starting the back 
 
6o THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 cast too long; begin it when the flies are well away 
 from you. 
 
 In the paragraph above I have suggested waiting 
 for the line to straighten out behind the caster on the 
 back cast, that is, before beginning the forward cast. 
 Instantaneous photographs of expert casters, however, 
 show that in actual practice the line does not entirely 
 straighten out in the rear before the forward cast is 
 started ; that, in fact, there is a considerable loop at the 
 end of the line which straightens out just after the 
 caster begins the forward cast. The theory of this is 
 quite plain. If, when casting a rather long line, you 
 wait until the line becomes quite straight behind you, 
 you wait just long enough for the line to lose its life. 
 The forward cast, then, should be started when the line, 
 having passed to the rear of the caster, first begins to 
 pull appreciably on the rod. 
 
 On the other hand, do not start the forward cast too 
 quickly, because this is liable to snap off the end fly. 
 Correct timing of the forward cast is one of the greatest 
 factors in clean-cut casting. Do not start the forward 
 cast too strenuously. The speed of the rod when pass- 
 ing through the arc of the forward cast should be 
 greater toward the finish. At the end of the forward 
 cast the rod should be a little above parallel with the 
 watero 
 
 In the matter of rod handling, then, the chief points 
 for the fly-caster to observe, as regards primarily the 
 overhead cast, are these: To hold the rod with the 
 thumb extended along the upper surface of the hand- 
 grasp; not to carry the rod too far back on the back 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 6i 
 
 cast; not to delay the back cast too long, and to start 
 it forcefully; to start the forward cast when the line 
 first begins to pull on the rod, and to start it rather 
 easily and finish strongly ; and, finally, not to allow the 
 rod to go too far down toward the water at the end of 
 the forward cast. 
 
 We come now to a very important factor in good 
 
 fly-casting, one which, it seems to the writer, is never 
 
 sufficiently emphasized — indeed, is usu- 
 
 Two-handed ^^^ entirely disregarded— in the written 
 
 Casting. . ' . T r 
 
 ° treatises on ny-castmg. 1 refer to the 
 
 matter and manner of using the left hand, taking it for 
 
 granted that the caster is right-handed, to manipulate 
 
 the line ; the reader will please consider everything said 
 
 in reference thereto as written in capitals. 
 
 Briefly, the caster should grasp the line with his left 
 hand, between the reel and the first guide, and all 
 paying out and retrieving of the line, either when 
 casting, fishing the flies, or playing a trout, should be 
 with the left hand. The advantages of this method of 
 line handling are manifold, and ability to perform it 
 skilfully is of the utmost importance. A loop of line 
 of reasonable length, not so long as to invite fouling, 
 should alwaj^s be maintained between the reel and the 
 first guide so that at the end of the forward cast (when 
 the hold of the left hand on the line is slightly relaxed) 
 this loop will shoot out through the rod guides, thereby 
 adding a number of feet to the cast. Casting at any 
 thing over moderate distances can only be done by this 
 method. 
 
 Learning to use the left hand in the above manner 
 
62 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 when casting Is one of the most difficult things In fly- 
 casting, particularly If you have become accustomed to 
 one-handed casting, but It Is certainly worth the 
 trouble of acquiring It; in fact, its advantages and 
 applications in various directions both In casting 
 and fishing the flies are so numerous that they can 
 merely be suggested at this point. Particular reference 
 Is made elsewhere to certain situations wherein the two- 
 handed fly-caster has every advantage over the caster 
 whose education has not progressed thus far. In the 
 writer's opinion and, It may safely be said, in the opin- 
 ion of every man who has done much fly-fishing, the 
 one thing above all others Is to learn how to handle the 
 line with j^our left hand. 
 
 Following the above suggestions should certainly 
 result in adding a number of feet to your average cast- 
 ing without any determined effort to gain 
 
 IS ance vs. (jjs^-^j^ce^ jj^ f^^^i- ^j^g gaining of distance 
 
 by mere muscle should be studiously 
 avoided if for no other reason than that very long cast- 
 ing Is usually very poor fishing, except, of course, where 
 reaching out Is absolutely necessary on account of 
 natural conditions. The chronic distance caster gener- 
 ally overcasts his water, neglecting good water near- 
 by for the sake of seeing his flies come down far-off. 
 There is a certain satisfaction in this without doubt, but 
 it Is not good fly-fishing. Strenuous effort is not at all 
 necessary for reasonable distance fishing casts; tourna- 
 ment casting is another thing. If you can succeed in 
 getting the true science of casting down to a fine point, 
 the harmonious action of wrist, rod, and line, everything 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 63 
 
 done just right and at just the right time, it will sur- 
 prise you how easily the flies may be sent for compara- 
 tively long distances. Accuracy is the thing to strive 
 for. 
 
 The overhead cast is the foundation of all fly-casting : 
 other casts, such as the wind cast and the side cast, 
 
 being merely variations to meet weather 
 Other Ca^ts 
 v ^^*''** conditions or the natural formation of 
 
 the stream. As a matter of fact, the wind and side 
 casts, employed against the wind or when the danger 
 of hanging-up precludes the overhead cast, are used 
 quite as much as the overhead, especially the side cast 
 which is a very efficient and practical fishing method. 
 This latter cast, too, it is claimed, is the one best 
 adapted to laying down a dry-fly cocked and dry upon 
 the water, and is recommended to the dry-fly caster 
 above all others. The fly-caster who is reasonably pro- 
 ficient with the overhead cast can pick up the wind and 
 side casts very easily. 
 
 The wind cast is decidedly not a pretty one, but in a 
 
 strong wind, blowing directly toward the caster, it is 
 
 the only method which will get out the 
 
 -r-rr. , ^ Ai^s any reasonable distance. Much 
 
 Wind Cast. A .u a:- - . 
 
 accuracy under the conditions is not 
 
 practicable, and any degree of delicacy in dropping the 
 
 flies impossible and unnecessary, for the ruflled surface 
 
 of the water hides any fault in this direction. 
 
 The back cast is made in the usual manner — the wind 
 
 cast is an overhead cast — but the forward cast is a 
 
 strong downward chopping motion, moving the rod 
 
 hand outward and downward, with a quick, strong snap 
 
64 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 of the wrist, and the rod should come down closer to 
 the water than in the usual overhead cast. The wind 
 cast will put out the line a fair fishing distance under 
 very adverse conditions, but it is tiring and particularly- 
 hard on a light fly-rod. However, it is well worth 
 knowing. It sometimes happens that trout will be 
 found rising very freely on a windy, blustering day, 
 even when they have shown no interest in the artificials 
 under presumably more favorable conditions. Using 
 this cast you will have fair success when the other 
 fellow is climbing trees after his flies or sitting behind 
 a fence waiting for the wind to go down — and the 
 wind never goes down. 
 
 In the side cast the rod travels back In the back cast 
 parallel with the water and not far above the waist-line ; 
 the rod hand must be kept down low 
 y^ with the back of the hand toward the 
 
 water. The line should be thrown back- 
 ward traveling three or four feet above the surface of 
 the stream, and the forward cast must be started 
 quickly and timed correctly, since the line has only a 
 little distance to fall before striking the water. The 
 latter contingency should be avoided for several reasons, 
 and of these not the least important Is that you are 
 liable to rise a trout when the flies strike behind you — 
 a very disconcerting situation and one liable to result 
 in a smash-up. I have seen this happen several times. 
 
 The side cast should always be used where over- 
 hanging branches invite a hang-up even when by taking 
 chances and using the overhead cast you might gain 
 greater distance. Under such conditions It Is better to 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 65 
 
 move up slowly and quietly, or, if necessary, get out of 
 the stream and still-hunt your trout from the bank. A 
 hang-up with the consequent maneuvers to get free 
 always spoils sport in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 How to Fish the Flies 
 
 The one thing which definitely distinguishes the fl)^- 
 fishing beginner from the fly-fishing veteran is the man- 
 ner in which the cast of flies is handled. If, with some 
 fl3-fishing experience to make your judgment com- 
 petent, you follow the veteran fly-caster as he wades 
 down the stream, you will see that always the flies 
 alight where they will do the most good, that the man- 
 ner of handling the cast varies with the w^ater and 
 other conditions, that the cast passes over every bit 
 of likely water, and that always the flies are fished with 
 malice aforethought and with little or nothing of the 
 chuck-and-chance-it about the process. 
 
 But if you choose to share as a spectator — quite the 
 best waj^ — the varied fortunes and misfortunes of the 
 fly-casting novice on the stream, you will see another 
 sort of fishing. Ever5^thing is haphazard and without 
 definite plan; good water and poor are fished out with 
 equal futility; in fact, the novice, provided he can get 
 the flies out on the water, somehow, anyhow, or any- 
 where, and again retrieve them, is satisfied that he is 
 fly-fishing and damns the stream as trout deserted when, 
 in consequence of his methods, or rather, lack of meth- 
 od, the results are nil. To put it in another way: The 
 manner in which the flies are fished distinguishes the 
 
66 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 fly-fisherman from the mere fly-caster, whether or no 
 the fly-caster, as such, be expert or otherwise. 
 
 As in selecting a fly-rod one is rather more apt to 
 consider primarily its casting qualities than its suitability 
 to playing and landing trout, so is one prone when 
 speaking of fly-fishing to consider rather the act of 
 casting the flies than the ways of fishing them. As a 
 matter of practical angling, however, one of the chief 
 functions of the fly-rod is the playing and landing of 
 trout ; and casting the fly, apart from tournament work, 
 is a mere mechanical preliminary to fishing the flies. 
 Fly-fishing begins when the flies are on the water. 
 Ability to cast well cannot be over-rated, but fishing the 
 flies is even more important. 
 
 To fish the flies properly one must know what is 
 
 fishable water — "where the trout hide" — after which 
 
 correct manipulation of the flies is the 
 
 Fishable important factor. The stream localities 
 
 Water. 
 
 especially favored by the trout vary con- 
 siderably as regards their natural characteristics with 
 different streams and, also, with the different species of 
 trout — brook, brown, or rainbow. Also the time of 
 year, as noted in the preceding chapter, whether early 
 or late in the season, determines to quite an extent 
 where the most trout will be found. Knowledge of 
 brook trout habits and an acquaintance with the stream 
 gained by whipping it a good many times will show the 
 angler which is the fishable water in any given stream. 
 
 The manner in which to handle the cast of flies is, 
 however, more or less a matter of conjecture, immediate 
 results from various ways of fishing the cast determining 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 67 
 
 very often for the time being the manner most effective. 
 
 It is a fact that the angler who becomes w^edded to one 
 
 waj^ and sticks to that way through thick 
 
 Versatility ^j-^j thin, no matter what the time of 
 
 T-'i n ^' year, condition of water, or character 
 Fly-fishing, -^ ', . .,. 
 
 of the stream, will catch trout, but 
 
 the angler who chooses to be versatile in his methods 
 will catch more. 
 
 Books on fly-fishing usually dismiss the subject of 
 how to fish the flies with the brief and apparently satis- 
 factory advice: Imitate as closely as pos- 
 Imitation of ^-^^^^ ^^^ ^^^-^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^.^^ .^^^^^^^ 
 
 Nature. ^, . . . , , , . 
 
 (Ji course, imitation or the natural in- 
 sect is the thing to strive for, but — just how do you go 
 about it? The result of this advice is that the novice, 
 with the very best intentions, generally skips, twitches, 
 and flutters the flies about on the water, sometimes 
 making them skip gaily up-stream against a sixty-mile 
 current, all in the fond belief that he is imitating nature 
 to the limit. In the opinion of the writer, founded 
 upon a fair success in trout fly-fishing due probably 
 more than anything else to avoiding this sort of nature 
 fake, no worse way of handling the cast can possibly be 
 employed. 
 
 Do not skip the flies about over the water. Exact 
 imitation of nature in trout fly-fishing is most closely 
 approached by dry-fly methods; and twitching and flut- 
 tering the flies forms no part of the science of drj^-fly 
 fishing. By all means, eschew dragging the flies up- 
 stream against sixty-mile currents because, as a matter 
 of fact, the natural insect would, of course, be going 
 the other way at "current rates." 
 
68 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 In the opinion of experienced fly-casters the most 
 successful method of casting and fishing the flies is at 
 
 right angles to the stream, cross-current, 
 ine Uross- allowing the flies to sweep along down- 
 Current Cast. • 1 .1 . .u A ' 
 
 stream with the current over the desir- 
 able places, always taking pains to have a fairly taut 
 line. Usually the slightly submerged fly is the most 
 effective. This method it would seem is, in a way, a 
 compromise between the up-stream and down-stream 
 methods. 
 
 The caster who uses this method should employ the 
 slack-line cast, described above in this chapter, draw- 
 ing in the line gradually through the rod guides with 
 the left hand as the flies work around and down-stream 
 in order to maintain a taut line. The course traveled 
 by the flies is practically a quarter-circle from a point in 
 front of the caster to one directly below him and down- 
 stream. They are then lifted and another cast made 
 from a stand lower down. Care should be taken that 
 the leader and flies float fairly straight, that is, the 
 leader should not be bent so that the end fly tails along 
 too far behind the dropper. A taut line, watching the 
 effect of the current and holding the rod pretty well 
 up, will obviate this. 
 
 The extent to which the flies should be submerged 
 varies with the weather and water conditions, and also 
 
 with the temporary likes and dislikes of 
 
 '^^^f^Fl" ^^^ ^^^^^* ^" ^ slightly flooded and 
 
 ^ ^* discolored stream, or early in the season, 
 
 or on a very windy day, or in very rough, broken 
 
 water, the chances are that the considerably submerged 
 
The Best Way to Cast is "Cross Current 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 69 
 
 fly will be the most effective. Fishing in this manner, 
 when the flies get well away from you, you will possibly 
 not see the rising trout but must strike by the "feel"; 
 it is very difficult and a matter of much practice to 
 hook a fish under these circumstances. Often you will 
 not know that the trout has struck and when you lift 
 the flies for the back cast you will merely prick him 
 and roll him over in the water. It goes without saying 
 that the feelings of both parties to this transaction are 
 considerably hurt. 
 
 But with practice and the emploj^ment of constant 
 vigilance it becomes possible for the angler to hook his 
 
 fish ''sight unseen" with fair regularity. 
 Striking Un- j^ f^^^^ ^^^ fly-caster develops a sort of 
 seen Irout. , . , ... n , . , 
 
 second-sight which tells him when to 
 
 strike even when occasionally he has not felt the fish or 
 even seen the flash of the trout in the water. As a 
 general thing fewer strikes will be missed if they come 
 when the cast is carrying around and down-stream and 
 before the line straightens out below the angler. It is 
 always well to re-cast immediately as soon as the line 
 straightens out directly down-stream, and not to allow 
 the flies to play around In the swift current at the end 
 of a taut line. A trout striking under these conditions 
 is seldom hooked securely, and the force of the water 
 helps him to tear away before you can get things Into 
 proper shape to play with him. Fishing a deeply sub- 
 merged fly is not very desirable from a sporting point 
 of view and the method should only be employed as a 
 last resort, when It Is often very effective. 
 
 Under normal conditions, with clear and fairly 
 
70 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 smooth water and on calm days, the flies should be only 
 slightly submerged — in fact, should be 
 ^_,.^^ ^^^ fished quite on the surface, sinking only 
 to the extent caused by their weight. 
 This may be attained by always keeping the point of 
 the rod well up and taking care to strip in the line with 
 the proper rapidity. If the line becomes too slack or 
 the rod point drops too low the flies will become 
 drowned at once. They should as far as possible be 
 allowed to follow the natural trend of the current, just 
 as a derelict insect would float, following through the 
 eddies and whirls without noticeable restraint from the 
 line. You may be sure that trout know where to lie 
 in the stream in order to intercept insects floating down 
 with the current ; and that if your flies follow the natu- 
 ral course of the current in a natural manner, they will 
 pass over the majority of the best "lies" in a way calcu- 
 lated to produce results. 
 
 A very foxy cast is to drop your flies on a patch of 
 
 floating foam. Do not immediately drag the flies 
 
 through the foam but allow them to lie 
 
 ^ ^^ upon and float with it, exactly as the 
 Last. , . , . , . 
 
 natural msect caught m this manner 
 
 would do, finally sinking through. Foam patches col- 
 lect numbers of insects and the trout know this. 
 
 The method of casting above described, at right 
 
 angles to the current, is the one to tie to ; it is the best 
 
 way to fish the flies under almost all con- 
 
 „. ?? ditions. But, of course, there are times 
 
 and places when and where this method 
 
 is impracticable. Often it is impossible to reach a 
 
FLY-CASTING AND FLY-FISHING 71 
 
 proper stand from which to cast cross-current ; and, too, 
 the method naturally requires a current to carry the 
 flies. This last precludes the use of the cross-current 
 cast over pools and still-waters. 
 
 In places of this sort it is necessary to impart natural 
 action to the flies by manipulation of the rod and line, 
 but anything in the nature of fussiness or too obvious 
 motion should be avoided. The cast should be made 
 lightly and the flies allowed to remain for a moment 
 where they alight and then withdrawn a little and 
 quietly. Over pools and still-waters it is best not to 
 allow them to remain in one spot too long ; that is, they 
 should not be dragged any considerable distance from 
 the point where they first fell. It is better to cast fre- 
 quently, relying upon repeated casts to cover the pool 
 thoroughly. 
 
 A very important thing is to be careful always about 
 the first cast you make over any likely spot. The ten- 
 dency, even with experienced fly-casters 
 The l^irst ^^^ know better, is to make this first 
 cast rather carelessly and as a sort of 
 experiment. Consequently a good fish is often raised 
 and lost on account of the angler's not being ready for 
 him. As a general thing — every fly-fishing rule has its 
 numerous exceptions — a trout that is in a rising mood 
 will come for the first or second cast, and it is rather 
 more apt to come for the first than the second. In view 
 of this always make the first cast over any new place 
 fully prepared for trouble. If the trout rises when you 
 are only at half-attention and is missed, or is pricked 
 and lost, the chances are numerous that you have seen 
 
72 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 the last of him — a pricked trout never comes to the fly 
 again. 
 
 Another thing — before you cast over any difficult 
 
 place where the current is very swift, or the banks 
 
 rocky and steep, or the water too deep 
 
 Casting over ^^ wade, always look over the situation 
 
 p, and make up j^our mind just where is 
 
 the best place to land a fish under the 
 circumstances and how one may best be handled; then 
 pick your place to cast from accordingly. Then when 
 you strike a good-sized trout you will not be rattled 
 about what to do next but will be ready to go right 
 after him. If you are unprepared and merely hang 
 on to the fish while you are trying to decide what to 
 do with him the chances are that he will tear away or 
 foul you before you can make up your mind. Often 
 you will see anglers casting from places where it would 
 be simply impossible for them to save a trout if one 
 were hooked. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE BAIT-CASTER AND THE SWEET- 
 WATER BASSES 
 
 SOME years ago Dr. James A. Henshall, whose 
 name is so intimately and favorably connected 
 with the sporting and natural history of the 
 sweet-water basses, stated that the black bass — "inch 
 for inch and pound for pound the gamest fish that 
 swims" — would eventually become the 
 ait-casting leading game fish of America. It may be 
 in General. <• t • , , , . , 
 
 saiely said that at the present time the 
 
 truth of this statement is quite evident. Fly-fishing for 
 trout and casting for bass, barring stream fishing with 
 flies where the two methods are closely approximate, 
 are very different propositions; but comparisons 
 are always odious and we will not here argue 
 the case of the Brook Trout vs. the Black Bass. It is 
 probably a fact that an impartial jury of anglers im- 
 paneled from the country at large would bring in a 
 verdict in favor of the defendant — the black bass. An 
 enthusiastic bass fisherman, whom the writer met one 
 day at his camp on the shore of a little lake in the 
 Berkshires, summed up the matter to the satisfaction of 
 
 73 
 
74 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 all present in this way: "I like to fish for brook trout," 
 he said, "but I prefer to catch black bass." 
 
 More than anything else the introduction of the 
 short bait-casting rod and the general taking up by 
 anglers of casting from the free-running reel has served 
 to popularize the black bass and bass fishing. Bait-cast- 
 ing from the reel is an inherently interesting angling 
 method and in time will supersede among anglers any 
 other form or forms of bass fishing. At the present time 
 the method, while in very general use, cannot be said 
 to be universal in any such degree as fly-casting for 
 trout is generally practiced. But that it will eventually 
 become the generally accepted and universally ac- 
 credited form of sportsmanlike bass fishing now seems 
 a certainty. 
 
 The Natural History of the Black Bass 
 
 You must know something of the habits of the black 
 bass to fish for him successfully, and this is particularly 
 true in the case of the devotee of bait-casting. Given 
 a lake or stream with bass therein, something more is 
 necessary than merely getting into a boat or a pair of 
 waders, selecting some spot that looks sufficiently wee, 
 and then casting for "general results." The small and 
 large-mouth bass spawn during the months of May and 
 June, the exact time depending upon the temperature. 
 In water of a comparatively high temperature the 
 spawning period is prior to that in waters lower in 
 temperature, and in rivers the bass spawn earlier than 
 in lakes and ponds. The nest is guarded by the male 
 fish, and for some time after the eggs have hatched the 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 75 
 
 male parent guards the young fish. Small-mouths 
 choose a gravelly bottom for building the nest, but the 
 large-mouths sometimes do not discriminate in this 
 regard. The spawning takes place in the shallows, and 
 for some time thereafter, during the first days of the 
 open season, the bass remain in moderately shallow 
 water. At this time the bait-caster should fish on the 
 surface. 
 
 When lake-fishing, parallel the shore in your boat or 
 canoe, casting shoreward to the edge of the weeds, in 
 the shade of overhanging rocks, about 
 ^. y lily-pads and submerged trees and places 
 ^' of like nature. Find out where the bars 
 are in the lake you are fishing and cast in to the edge 
 of these. If the bar is a large one, forming an expan- 
 sive shallow place, perhaps, as often occurs, well out 
 in the middle of the lake, fish the whole of it. If you 
 are fishing waters new to you, get some local angler 
 or guide to locate the various bars. Once located you 
 should take their bearings very carefully so that you can 
 find them again. Looking for a lost bar in a big lake 
 is an almost hopeless undertaking. 
 
 Thus early in the season the water will be fairly 
 clear of weeds and the angler can cast close in-shore 
 without fouling the tackle. In quiet bays where there 
 are lily-pads and flags, and the bottom has a tendency 
 to be muddy, you will find the large-mouths. Off 
 sandy bars and where gravel bottom predominates, or 
 where the bottom is rocky, you may expect to find the 
 small-mouth bass. The two often co-exist in the same 
 pond or lake, and when caught you can easily differen- 
 
76 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 tiate them by observing the relative position of the 
 angle of the jaw and the eye. In the large-mouth the 
 angle of the jaw Is perceptibly to the rear of the eye; in 
 the small-mouth It Is exactly underneath. 
 
 As the season advances the bass work out Into deeper 
 
 and cooler water. Now, except early or late in the 
 
 day, when the fish may be feeding in the 
 
 Rummer shallows, the bait-caster should use an 
 °* under-water bait. Locate the spring- 
 holes, for at this time the bass, particularly the small- 
 mouths, congregate about these; If there are shady 
 places along-shore, where the water Is of fair depth, try 
 your luck there. For much success at this season you 
 must go down to the fish. If you find the bait you arc 
 using is not successful put on lead and the chances are 
 it will make a difference. An ordinary spoon is a good 
 lure for this purpose. When leaded it sinks rapidly and 
 if not reeled in too quickly, travels at a good depth. A 
 small dipsey sinker is the best to use. 
 
 It is a mistake to rely wholly, as do some bait-casters, 
 upon some form of surface bait. There are times, when, 
 as every fly-fisherman has reason to know, trout and 
 bass are not in a rising mood. As your boat moves 
 along the shore you should whip the places which 
 appear promising very thoroughly. One or two casts 
 are sufficient for any one spot, but the next cast should 
 not be more than three or four feet away. Sometimes 
 a bass will only strike the bait when it is cast very 
 close to him. This is particularly the case when the 
 fish are lying close in-shore among the weeds and 
 rushes. 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 77 
 
 During September and October the water is gradu- 
 ally cooling and the bass are again to be found to quite 
 an extent in the shallows. Most of the 
 
 Autumn summer weed growths are dying down, 
 ^* the clouding effect of the summer "work- 
 ing" has passed away, and the water is now pure and 
 clear. All things considered, this is the best time for 
 bass fishing, especially for the bait-caster. New life 
 seems to have been imparted to the bass and they will 
 rise freely and strike the bait with emphasis. At this 
 time, during the early fall, surface fishing is generally 
 very successful and the admirer of the floating bait for 
 bass may safely give his preference full rein. 
 
 For stream fishing the above methods should be modi- 
 fied to suit the occasion. Wade wherever possible or, if 
 the stream is too deep for this, use a canoe 
 
 •J^^7^^ — ^^^ ^^^^ craft for river work. In 
 °' streams small-mouths "use" about the 
 edges of rifts and rapids and in the pools at the foot 
 of rapids; they are fond of lying in the lee of sunken 
 logs where there is a gentle current and underneath 
 shelving banks; j^ou will often find them lying close to 
 the banks underneath overhanging trees or brush and 
 among submerged tree-roots from which the river has 
 fretted the soil away. If there are large-mouths in the 
 stream cast in the quiet coves where there are lily-pads 
 and rushes and in the still, weedy reaches of the river. 
 
 During the middle of the day, unless it is cloudy and 
 dark, casting for bass is usually love's labor lost; even 
 on cloudy days, when conditions appear most favorable, 
 fishing at this time is apt to be unsuccessful. However, 
 
78 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 when the weather is unseasonably cold, the mid-day 
 fishing is sometimes the best. The early 
 
 weat er morning hours are the most fruitful in 
 almost all waters, and the late afternoon 
 and evening fishing is, other things being equal, always 
 good. Under normal conditions bass feed principally 
 early and late in the day. In the summer time, how- 
 ever, during the full moon, when the nights are still and 
 almost day-bright, the bass feed during the night, and 
 day-time fishing is usually very poor. 
 
 For a good fishing day it is by no means essential 
 that the sky be overcast. A gray day is a good fishing 
 day undoubtedly, but, in the writer's opinion, a bright, 
 snappy day, with a good ripple on the water, is quite 
 as likely to yield results. A bright, still day in the sum- 
 mer time, when the weather is hot, is no fishing day 
 for the bait-caster. Deep-trolling with live bait is 
 about the only practicable method under such condi- 
 tions. After the long continuance of a certain sort of 
 weather, either bright or dark, dry or rainy, the fishing 
 often falls ofE and then any change is one for the better. 
 
 Minor weather changes are not liable to affect the 
 river bass fishing greatly. Running water, the varying 
 conformation of the banks and stream bottom, the fact 
 that due to the many turns and bends of the river the 
 wind affects in a different way different portions of the 
 stream, these and other factors combine to keep the 
 fishing fairly good under nearly all conditions. The 
 stream bass angler, however, has to pay for his immun- 
 ity from certain nuisances affecting the lake fisherman 
 in the susceptibility of the stream to sudden rises 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 79 
 
 caused either by local rains or rains nearer the head- 
 waters. When the rise is on and before the water has 
 become too high and discolored is a propitious time ; it is, 
 however, something in the nature of a psychological 
 moment, for although the fishing may be very good 
 while it lasts, it lasts but a short time. Then it is a 
 case of waiting for the stream to go down. 
 
 The black bass, either the large- or small-mouth, is 
 one of the most erratic of game fishes. Bass fishermen 
 
 of long experience generally come to the 
 
 Bass Habits conclusion that, no matter how well ac- 
 
 j .. quainted one may be with the waters 
 
 fished and the customary habits and habi- 
 tats of the bass therein, it is impossible for one to fore- 
 cast with any certainty where the bass may be found 
 or what sort of food or bait they may at any time 
 prefer. In general bass habits are in great measure a 
 m.atter of locality. Not only will a bass taken from a 
 certain lake differ appreciably in coloration, and some- 
 times slightly in formation, from one taken from a lake 
 closely adjacent, but in the contrasted waters the habits 
 of the fish will differ considerably. As above suggested 
 you cannot do better, when about to fish new waters, 
 than to rely upon the guidance of a resident angler. It 
 is possible that you may know more about bass fishing 
 than he does, but he will know more about the bass in 
 that particular lake than do you. 
 
 The Tackle for Bait-casting 
 
 First-class sport in angling for any game fish is 
 essentially a matter of the tackle and methods employed. 
 
8o THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 As noted above the present great and increasing interest 
 in the black bass and in fishing for him may be attrib- 
 uted largely to the introduction and very general 
 adoption of the short bait-casting rod. Fly-fishing for 
 black bass, since by far the greater part of bass angling 
 is done in lakes — and lake fly-fishing for bass is not apt 
 to be very productive — is difficult to find of a quality 
 good enough to hold the angler's interest permanently. 
 Where good fly-fishing for bass in running water may 
 be had, that method would properly be preferred to 
 bait-casting by the expert with the fly-rod. Barring 
 this, bait-casting with the short casting rod and free- 
 running reel is the most intrinsically interesting of all 
 bass fishing methods and one calculated to afford rea- 
 sonable sport under almost all conditions. 
 
 The writer has elsewhere discussed bait-casting tackle 
 at some length ("Fishing Kits and Equipment"), but in 
 view of the fact that the required tackle and the cor- 
 rect way of casting with it are not nearly as well un- 
 derstood among anglers in general as the tackle and 
 methods for fly-casting, it seems best to include here a 
 few notes on the casting rod, the casting reel and other 
 bait-casting equipment, together with suggestions m 
 regard to the use of the rod in casting. 
 
 The typical modern short casting rod, as distinguished 
 from the old style and longer casting rods of which the 
 well-known "Henshall" rod may be 
 ■*■ ^^ . taken as an example, and which the 
 ^ , ^ short rods have largely superseded, va- 
 ries in length for practical fishing pur- 
 poses from five and a half to six feet. For distance 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 8i 
 
 tournament casting, shorter rods are sometimes used. 
 The essential difference in the use of the short rod and 
 that of the long is that the short rod is employed almost 
 exclusively to cast artificial baits, spoons, singlehook 
 fly-spoons, artificial minnows, and pork-rind baits of 
 various descriptions, and to cast them largely w^ith the 
 overhead cast; while the longer rod is best adapted for 
 the live minnow with the side cast. Overhead casting 
 is not practicable with rods much over six feet in 
 length. When fishing it is very advantageous to be 
 able to employ the overhead and side casts at will ; also, 
 at the present time, the tendency among bait-casters Is 
 very strongly toward the use of artificial baits. 
 
 When selecting the bait-casting rod the angler should 
 consider, in addition to the casting qualities of the rod, 
 its suitability to playing and landing fish. Within 
 reason the shorter rods are better suited to long casting, 
 say the rod of five to five and a half feet. But the 
 caster who employs a rod of this length, surely sacrifices 
 efficiency in handling his fish. As a general rule the 
 longer the rod the more control you have over a hooked 
 fish, also the more certain you are of hooking a rising 
 fish. But to still retain good casting qualities in the 
 rod and the ability to use it for both styles of casting, 
 side and overhead, the rod must not be much over six 
 feet; all things considered, the six-foot rod is the best 
 for all general bait-casting purposes. Its material 
 should, for light fishing, be split-bamboo. For heavy 
 fishing in weedy lakes and deep, swift rivers a sturdy 
 rod of bethabara or greenheart is more serviceable. 
 
 The guides of the rod must allow free-running of 
 
82 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 the line with the least possible friction and for this 
 reason should be fairly large. German silver trumpet 
 guides are very good ones for the purpose, and to in- 
 crease the ease of casting and lessen line-wear from 
 friction it is well to have agate hand and tip guides, 
 since it is at these points that the most friction occurs. 
 The very best way to fit the rod in the matter of guides 
 is to use narrow raised agates throughout, although 
 this is rather expensive. The reel-seat must, of course, 
 be above the handgrasp, and all rod mountings should 
 preferably be of German silver. 
 
 Bait-casting can be done only with a quadruple inulti- 
 
 plying reel. It should be rather long in the barrel as 
 
 compared with the diameter of the side 
 
 The Casting pistes. The size may be either eighty or 
 
 , T • one hundred yards. A very good one — a 
 
 and Line. . , . . \^, , 
 
 cheap castmg reel is impossible — may be 
 
 had for seven dollars and upwards. The position of 
 
 the reel on the rod is on top of the rod with the handle 
 
 to the right, and the rod is never to be turned so that 
 
 the reel is underneath. 
 
 As for the line it must be of undressed silk, no water- 
 proofing or enameling; it must also be of small caliber, 
 size G being the most used. No line save an undressed 
 one of small size can be used for casting from the reel. 
 
 As noted above the present tendency of anglers in the 
 
 matter of baits for bass is to use artificial ones almost 
 
 entirely. There are a great many of 
 
 Artihcial ^j^^^^ j^^j^g ^^ ^^i^ market, but only a few 
 Baits. , , . , . 1 
 
 or them are either practical or sports- 
 manlike. The beginner at bait-casting will do well to 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 83 
 
 use one of the floating baits; when he gets into trouble 
 with the reel, as he most assuredly will, the bait will not 
 go to the bottom with the probability of getting fast 
 when the angler is picking out the tangle. The float- 
 ing baits induce a great many strikes. Personally I use 
 a small bucktail spoon a great deal, and the small spin- 
 ners fitted with single-hook bass, flies are very satisfac- 
 tory; with these last a quarter-ounce dipsey sinker 
 should be used. Pork-rind baits are usually very suc- 
 cessful and these the angler may cut himself or they 
 may be had in preserved form from the tackle dealers. 
 The pork-rind bait is best used on a small white enam- 
 eled spoon. The various artificial minnows are much 
 used and very successful lures for bait-casting. 
 
 Casting from the Reel 
 There are two methods of casting from the reel, the 
 side cast and the overhead cast. The side cast is the 
 easier one to negotiate and the beginner will do well 
 at first to confine his attention to this. First, the bait, 
 spoon or artificial minnow, is reeled up to within about 
 six inches of the tip guide. The rod, then, pointing 
 appreciably downward below the waistline, is swung 
 at arm's length to the rear of the caster and then 
 brought forward with a steady sweeping motion. Up 
 to the point when the line is to be released and allowed 
 to run out through the guides as a result of the momen- 
 tum of the swinging rod, the thumb of the rod hand is 
 kept firmly clamped on the line wound on the reel- 
 spool. When the swing of the rod has reached a point 
 where the line when released will shoot out in the 
 
84 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 desired direction for the cast, the pressure of the thumb 
 on the reel is slightly, not entirely, released ; while the 
 line is running out the thumb is constantly pressed very 
 gently on the revolving reel-spool, as otherwise the reel 
 will revolve faster than the line pays out through the 
 guides and a backlash will result. 
 
 The whole philosophy of the thing is in educating the 
 thumb to regulate the reel speed and out-running of the 
 line. Finally, when the cast has been made and the line 
 is being reeled in, care must be taken to wind it evenly 
 on the reel. Of course, at the end of the cast when the 
 bait reaches the water the rod is shifted from the right 
 hand to the left so that the right hand may be used on 
 the reel handle. So, for winding the line evenly on the 
 reel spool in the retrieve, guide it with the thumb of 
 the left hand, grasping the rod above the reel with that 
 hand. Casts of from sixty to eighty feet are quite suf- 
 ficient for good fishing. 
 
 In the overhead cast the rod is brought directly back 
 over the shoulder, taking care not to allow it to go too 
 far down behind, and then swung quickly forward. 
 Otherwise the principles are the same as for the side 
 cast. The overhead cast should be started rather 
 slowly, increasing in force, and the line released when 
 the rod tip is about over the caster's head. The rod 
 should be so held that when the line is running out the 
 side plates of the reel are parallel with the water, with 
 the handle-bar on top. 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 85 
 
 Some Practical Suggestions 
 
 When bait-casting for bass with an artificial bait, 
 unless you reel in so quickly that the line is practically 
 taut, the fish must be struck much as In fly-fishing. It 
 sometimes happens, of course, that the bass will strike 
 hard enough to hook himself even on a slack line, but 
 more often the opposite is the case. The strike in bait- 
 casting is one of the things which must be learned when 
 taking up this method of fishing. Primarily it differs 
 from the strike in fly-fishing in that it is made with the 
 left hand, that is, if the caster is right-handed. The 
 education of the left hand to this work is a matter of 
 much practice and naturally the length of time taken 
 to learn it depends upon the skill of the angler in get- 
 ting the fish to strike as well as upon the natural adapt- 
 ability of the angler to learning new methods of tackle 
 handling. It is quite possible for an angler to be an 
 expert fly-caster and still be unable to educate his 
 thumb to bait-casting. 
 
 When casting toward a fixed point where a bass may 
 be located, such as a patch of lily pads or rushes, or 
 the edge of a bar, the strike of the bass may be expected 
 at the instant the bait strikes the water. For this 
 reason the angler should be careful to start the retrieve 
 at once. When a bass strikes In this manner he usually 
 hooks himself if the line Is at all taut. Sometimes a 
 bass will see the bait when It Is still moving through the 
 air and will follow Its course to the point of contact 
 with the water, when he will strike it. But even under 
 these circumstances It is best to set the hook in the fish, 
 although the strike need not be strenuous. 
 
86 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 In the writer's experience more bass are raised and 
 hooked at the moment the lure strikes the water, or 
 almost immediately thereafter, than when the bait is 
 being reeled or trolled in. Certainly a good bait-caster 
 can kill more bass by casting any certain artificial bait 
 than the fisherman who trolls the same bait. It is the 
 motion and impact of the bait upon the water which 
 arouses the fighting blood of the bass and causes him 
 to rise and strike. 
 
 Bass as a rule strike an artificial lure from the rear. 
 Of course, when the bait is cast to one side of the fish, 
 he takes advantage of the fact that the shortest distance 
 between two points is a straight line and strikes from 
 the side. But when the bait is being reeled in a bass 
 most often comes to it from the rear. It is for this 
 reason that moderately slow reeling is always most 
 successful. If the lure is moving at too great speed 
 short rises are apt to occur, and if the bass is slightly 
 pricked it is not at all probable that he will come again. 
 Pickerel, it should be noted, almost invariably strike 
 from the side, and here again slow reeling is of import- 
 ance, for a clean miss frequently results when the bait 
 is moving too fast. 
 
 When a bass is fastened at the end of a long cast the 
 tendency of the angler is to hurry him in to the boat, 
 where he can be played to more advantage. This often 
 results in the loss of the fish. It should be remembered 
 that a quadruple multiplying reel is of lightning speed, 
 and consequently fast cranking is not only unnecessary 
 but risky. When fishing in very weedy waters, how- 
 ever, it is often a case of speedy reeling or the loss of 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND- BASSES 87 
 
 the fish in the weeds. Here the situation offers only a 
 choice of evils, and the balance of advantage is probably 
 on the side of fast reeling. A bass can imbed himself 
 in a mass of weeds in an unappreciable moment, and 
 you will then often lose not only fish but tackle. As a 
 general rule, however, avoid trying to lead a big fish 
 until he shows an inclination for being led. 
 
 It sometimes happens, although rarely, that a bass 
 will follow the bait until it is almost up to the boat 
 before he strikes it. This is a situation productive of 
 several different kinds of disasters, unless the angler 
 keeps his wits about him. If the rod is perpendicular, 
 or nearly so, at the moment the bass strikes, a smashed 
 tip is liable to result if any attempt is made to set the 
 hook. The chances are that the bass has hooked him- 
 self and he should be slacked instead of struck and only 
 slightly restrained until he is in a position where he can 
 be played advantageously. 
 
 Naturally it is impossible to state any invariable rule 
 as to how, when, or where a bass will strike. Individ- 
 ual fish act differently under like circumstances and 
 bass in different waters vary much in habits. As in 
 trout fly-fishing it is the often unexpected manner in 
 which the bass makes known his presence that affords 
 one of the principal attractions of the sport. 
 
 When the Bloom is OH the Water 
 
 Other things being equal, the question of when to 
 
 go is quite as important to the sportsman, especially the 
 
 angler, as the question of where to go. No matter how 
 
 well the sportsman may be outfitted in the matter of 
 
88 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 tackle and experience and how wisely and well he may 
 have chosen the locality for the sport he desires, If the 
 question of the proper time to go, the season of the year 
 in its relation to the habits of the game, is not duly con- 
 sidered the trip may result in absolute failure. This is 
 particularly true as regards selecting the time for a 
 bass fishing trip. 
 
 In most States the open season for black bass Is a 
 very long one, much longer than for brook trout. As 
 a general thing the law protects the bass only during 
 the spawning season, say for a period of two months, 
 all the rest of the year being open season. May and 
 June are the usual close months, and at any other time 
 the bass may be legally taken. But, notwithstanding 
 the length of the open season, the character of the black 
 bass 'and his habits are such that the occasions distinctly 
 favorable for bass fishing are not numerous or of long 
 duration. Undoubtedly the black bass Is the most 
 fished for of any American game fish, and, undoubtedly, 
 in proportion to the number of fishermen, the annual 
 catch is the smallest. This is because not every man 
 who packs a fishing rod is an angler ; and it is also due 
 to the fact that the black bass is, above all, the great 
 American "vacation" game fish, sought for very largely 
 as a mere Incident of the summer vacation, the number 
 of men to whom the bass fishing Is really a chief object 
 being comparatively small; although, of course, among 
 anglers, there are many who favor bass fishing above 
 all forms of the sport. 
 
 Generally speaking, summer fishing for black bass is 
 not overproductlve. This is due to a number of causes 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 89 
 
 but principally to the fact that at this time the fish are 
 in very deep water. August, especially, 'is a very poor 
 month; a succession of still, sultry days and nights is 
 the usual thing for almost the entire month. By day 
 the lake or river lies quiet and glassy in the blazing 
 heat of the sun, and often the nights in the full of the 
 moon are nearly day-light. As a consequence the bass 
 seek the coolness to be found only in the deepest water 
 and are distinctly off their feed. Successful bass fish- 
 ing under such conditions should not be expected, and 
 yet it is probably a fact that more bass fishing is done 
 in August than in any other month. August is the 
 generally accepted and duly accredited American vaca- 
 tion month. The summer bass angler who confines his 
 fishing to the early morning hours, and again from sun- 
 down until dark, when the bass run into the shallows to 
 some extent, will sometimes have fairly good sport. 
 The bait-caster, especially, fishing early and late, may 
 have fair success. But, however much bass fishing is 
 done in the summer time, the angling at this time is 
 not really satisfactory. 
 
 There are two periods in the year when bass fishing 
 is at its best, and neither of them is of long durati6n. 
 Weather being favorable, the first two or three weeks 
 of the open season, when the bass are still generally in 
 the rather shallow water, is a very good time to select 
 for a bass fishing trip. Bait-casting and fly-fishing may 
 then be depended upon for making good catches of 
 either large- or small-mouthed bass; the bait-caster 
 will make good scores with either surface or sinking 
 lures, and the fly-caster, fishing in streams known to 
 
90 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 furnish good bass fly-fishing, should have no trouble in 
 connecting with a satisfactory catch. But, as noted, 
 this favorable time is rather short, the bass soon moving 
 into deep water with the coming of the true summer 
 weather. Follow then some six or seven weeks, the 
 good old summer time, when bass angling is at its 
 worst and the vacation fisherman at his best. And then 
 comes the best time of all the year for bass fishing, the 
 first few weeks in the fall, while the weather still holds 
 comparatively warm, but the water has grown some- 
 what cooler. 
 
 At some time during the summer, the exact time dif- 
 fering with the locality, every bass lake begins to 
 "work" or "bloom"; that is, the aquatic vegetation 
 growing upon the lake bottom has reached maturity 
 and begins to throw off seeds. In a short time the 
 water takes on a milky appearance, is almost opaque, 
 and filled with floating particles. Naturally fishing is 
 at a standstill. Prior to this time also almost every lake 
 becomes very weedy, the weeds eventually reaching the 
 surface of the water along shore in the shallows and 
 often coming within a foot or two of the surface in 
 water from fifteen to twenty feet deep. 
 
 This makes the bass fishing rather more like raking 
 hay than angling, and fishing at this time, especially 
 bait- or fly-casting, is productive principally of smashed 
 tackle and lost tempers. Later in the season, however, 
 the lakes cease working, and the water clears; the 
 weeds, too, die down considerably. With weather clear 
 and just cool enough to be pleasant, the conditions 
 generally prevailing in the early fall, with water also 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 91 
 
 clear and sufficiently cool to bring the bass again into 
 the shallows, It would appear that the first weeks of 
 autumn, "when the bloom Is off the water," are a 
 pretty good time to go bass fishing — In fact, the very 
 best. 
 
 To the writer It seems that, above all other methods 
 of angling for black bass, balt-casting Is to be preferred 
 both for sport and results In fall fishing for bass. In 
 both lakes and streams, the bass, both the large- and 
 small-mouth, as above noted, are now In the shallower 
 portions of lake and stream, on the bars and In the 
 riffles, a condition decidedly favorable for bait-casting, 
 particularly so to the bait-caster who prefers the use of 
 the various top-water baits. With the coming of cool 
 water the fish gain a new lease of life, an accession of 
 activity and pugnacity, and are not at all the same fish 
 which, In the tepid water and sultry atmosphere of 
 July and August, required lengthy and super-skilful 
 teasing to make them rise. The bait-caster may con- 
 fidently rely for success upon any of the accepted cast- 
 ing baits, either surface or sinking, and the ordinary 
 trolling spoon or single-hook fly-spoon, used in the same 
 manner, are very successful in the fall months. The 
 angler should look for his fish along the shelving lake 
 shores and on the bars, and, in the streams, on point, 
 bar, or in the riffles. 
 
 In the matter of tackle, before starting out for a bass 
 fishing trip in the fall, the angler who has done more 
 or less fishing during the summer should carefully test 
 his casting line. With the best of care, It has been the 
 writer's experience that the unwaterproofed bait-cast- 
 
92 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 ing line of small caliber which has been in use since 
 the opening of the bass season is not to be trusted when 
 the season is nearing its end. It should be carefully 
 tested and the weaker portions broken off until you have 
 a length of good, strong line, or a visit to the tackle 
 dealer is rendered imperative. 
 
 A weak line is not only conducive to lost fish, but 
 is also an expensive luxury in the matter of snapping 
 off baits. Also, the mental poise of the angler who 
 realizes at one and the same instant that he has on the 
 largest bass he ever saw, and that he has him on a rotten 
 line, is not at all conducive to the calm and strategic 
 handling of a large fish. As a general rule it is well to 
 strengthen the tackle at all points for fall bass fishing, 
 for at this time one is more apt to make connections 
 with large bass than at any time during the season. 
 
 Although the preference of some anglers would cer- 
 tainly be for bait-casting, it is not to be understood that 
 fly-fishing is at a discount in the autumn. The con- 
 trary is true. But the fly-caster should choose for the 
 scene of action some well-known bass river, rather than 
 a lake. As a general rule, with, of course, the usual 
 exceptions necessary to prove it, fly-fishing for bass in 
 lakes is not ordinarily a success. It is much better to 
 select some wadable river where you can go about it in 
 the same manner as trout flj^-fishing is usually done. A 
 canoe cruise on some good river, with bass fly-fishing 
 as its object, in the fine weather prevailing in September 
 and October, is a form of sport hard to equal. Since 
 bait-casting is equally effective in either lake or river, 
 
BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 93 
 
 the canoeist may, If he chooses, depend upon his bait- 
 casting rod for both *'grub" and sport. 
 
 The fly-caster who has done most of his casting when 
 wading would do well to practice casting from a canoe 
 before starting out on a canoeing trip having for its 
 object bass fly-fishing. A fact not generally recognized 
 is that fly-casting when wading and fly-casting from a 
 canoe are two very different propositions — you have 
 only to try It once to admit this. It does not here seem 
 advisable to discuss the technicalities of fly-casting from 
 a boat or canoe; it should be noted, however, that one 
 of the most important things is, when a cast has been 
 made and In the retrieve, to keep a taut line from 
 water to rod tip by stripping in the line through the 
 guides with the left hand. It Is also a good plan not 
 to use your trout fly-rod, unless it is a very strong one, 
 for bass fishing. The fine little trout rod, adapted to 
 fly-casting In small streams. Is ineffective and certain 
 to be damaged if used much for bass fishing. The 
 analogy between handling a quarter-pound brook trout 
 and a two-pound small-mouthed bass Is not at all too 
 close for comfort. 
 
 The angler planning a trip for the fall months should 
 remember that, while the days are sure to be comfort- 
 ably warm, the nights are apt to be uncomfortably 
 cool, and he should add to his summer camp kit, divers 
 sweaters, blankets, etc. Also the fact that at this time 
 It is permissible to kill waterfowl and upland game 
 should not be overlooked, and a small-bore rifle or a 
 shotgun, the former preferable from the canoeist's 
 point of view, may add acceptably to the bill of fare. 
 
94 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 The camera, too, should be taken along, for although 
 one may not record the beautiful color schemes of an 
 autumn day, one can still make better photographs 
 than in mid-summer. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE NAMAYCUSH, THE MASCALONGE 
 AND OTHERS 
 
 THE Great Lakes trout or namaycush trout, 
 Cristivojner natnaycushj and the mascalonge, 
 Esox masquinongy , are the "big game" fishes of 
 the sweet-water angler. Of the two the mascalonge is 
 undoubtedly the better game fish but, unfortunately, 
 far less widely distributed than the lake trout. The 
 mascalonge also, as a surface fish, that is, for the most 
 part inhabiting the fairly shallow water along-shore 
 in the vicinity of the weed beds, may be fished for with 
 more sportsmanlike tackle and methods than are practi- 
 cable in the case of the namaycush, the latter being es- 
 sentially a deep-water fish. Fishing for "lakers," how- 
 ever, when done rightly, is far from being poor sport; 
 but the angler to get any appreciable results must know 
 his fish and the way to fish for them. Lake trout fish- 
 ing is quite unlike any other form of angling. Many 
 lakes and ponds containing lake trout in abundance 
 have been fished for years by anglers for bass, pike, or 
 pickerel without so much as a strike from a laker. 
 
 95 
 
96 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 Deep-trolling for the Great Lakes Trout ^ 
 
 The angler for black bass or brook trout, or, for that 
 matter, the canoeist or hunter — anyone who elects the 
 
 early fall for his outing — would do well 
 Autumn ^^ include among the possibilities of his 
 
 trip a try for lake trout. The necessary 
 additions to the general outfit are not at all bulky or 
 numerous, and where good fishing for lake trout may 
 be had — and this is the case in numerous localities, par- 
 ticularly in Maine, Canada, the Adirondacks, the Berk- 
 shires, and many other regions identified with the sports 
 of hunting and fishing — the results are such as to ren- 
 der the trouble of selecting and carrying the requisite 
 tackle quite inconsiderable; moreover, while of a very 
 special sort, the tackle for lakers is a matter of little 
 expense. 
 
 The range of the Great Lakes trout, the name having 
 reference to the Great Lakes and not, as some anglers 
 
 and angling writers seem to understand 
 ° * it, to the size of the fish, is given by 
 Jordan and Evermann as follows: "The namaycush 
 trout is found in most large lakes from New Brunswick 
 and Maine westward throughout the Great Lakes 
 region and to Vancouver Island, thence northward to 
 Northern Alaska, Hudson Bay, and Labrador. It is 
 known from Henry Lake in Idaho and elsewhere in the 
 headwaters of the Columbia. It is known also from 
 the Fraser River basin, from Vancouver Island, and 
 various places in Alaska." 
 
 The lake trout is so highly and justly appreciated as 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 97 
 
 a food and game fish that it is now artificially propa- 
 gated by both Federal and State hatcheries and the 
 range has accordingly increased far beyond its original 
 limits. Stocking waters with lake trout is usually very 
 successful and few if any failures to obtain results are 
 reported. In every case known to the writer where 
 the stocking was carefully and intelligently done the 
 results have been entirely satisfactory. The lake trout 
 is a hardy fish and its growth is fast, especially when 
 planted in lakes not previously having these fish, since 
 in such waters food is very abundant. 
 
 It is a noteworthy fact that many of the "big trout" 
 stories industriously circulated every year, particularly 
 
 fish tales from M^ine and Canada, are 
 iMg 1 rout founded upon the more or less skilful and 
 
 authentic capture of a good-sized lake 
 trout on trolling tackle and not upon the taking of a 
 brook trout, fontinalis, on the fly. Of course, in the 
 waters of Maine and Canada, some very large brook 
 trout are taken quite frequently by fly-fishermen, trout 
 running from three to six pounds and, far less fre- 
 quently, heavier than that. 
 
 Anglers who specialize on lake trout fishing con- 
 sider a six-pound fish a small one. Anglers who spe- 
 cialize on fly-fishing for brook trout, it goes without 
 saying, do not consider a six-pound fish a small one. 
 Consequently, if you are a worthy and hard-working 
 fly-caster with, as yet, a two-pound trout as j^our record 
 fish, do not be unduly shocked when a friend reputedly 
 not over-skilful in angling affairs writes you from the 
 North Woods that he has captured an "eight-pound 
 
98 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 trout." In every case where the catch is simply hazily 
 reported as "a trout" it is well to examine the facts 
 before bestowing possibly unearned laurels. In some 
 localities the lake trout is called "togue," and In others 
 it Is variously known as 'lunge" (very easy to confuse 
 with the mascalonge), "tulade," ''gray trout," "Macki- 
 naw," "laker," and "salmon trout." The lake trout 
 should never be called a "salmon trout" for the reason 
 stated in the following paragraph. 
 
 The lake trout is a charr, not a salmon trout, having 
 
 the characteristic lack of teeth on the front of the bone 
 
 in the roof of the mouth, this being the 
 
 e JNamay- j^Qg^ striking difference in formation be- 
 
 cush a Charr. , , , , i 
 
 tween the charr and the salmon trout. 
 
 The lake trout is a charr, a large and coarse one to be 
 sure, when compared with the more familiar and finer- 
 grained speckled brook trout, but, nevertheless, a charr. 
 If your trout has teeth on both the front and rear of 
 the roof of the mouth it is a salmon trout; if only on 
 the rear of the mouth it is a charr. 
 
 Occasionally the lake trout attains a very large size, 
 
 sometimes over one hundred pounds; but thirty pounds 
 
 may be safely stated as the heaviest fish 
 
 Average ^^^ angler may hope for. Lake trout 
 weighing between twelve and twenty- 
 five pounds are taken quite commonly where the fishing 
 is ordinarily good, but the average weight of fish taken 
 by anglers is in the vicinity of eight pounds. 
 
 The head and mouth of the namaycush are, pro- 
 portionately, quite large, and the head is depressed, that 
 is, rather flat. The tail Is deeply forked. In colora- 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 99 
 
 tlon it is ordinarily a rather dark gray, marked pro- 
 fusely with spots of a lighter tinge. The 
 formation j^^^j jg marbled, or vermiculated, like 
 
 ^ 1 ^. the back of the brook trout. Occasionally 
 Coloration. , , 1 , -n 1 , ,. 1 
 
 the spots on the body will show a reddish 
 
 shade. Generally speaking, the lake trout is a handsome 
 and w^ell-formed game fish, the larger specimens having 
 length in proportion to girth. A fifteen- or sixteen- 
 pound fish will measure about thirty-tw^o inches. 
 
 It is said that the lake trout early in the spring 
 comes into the shallows for a period of a few daj'S 
 
 when it may be taken on ordinary light 
 . tackle. However this may be — and the 
 
 writer is inclined to believe that this 
 period must be very short indeed and that in some lakes 
 it does not occur at all — angling for lakers is done 
 almost entirely by deep-trolling. Also it is a fact that 
 the early season excursion of the namaycush to the sur- 
 face waters is quite apt to take place before fishing for 
 them may be done legally. In lakes where early fishing 
 for lakers on the surface and in the shallows is an 
 accomplished fact they may be taken on the fly as well 
 as by trolling. Successful surface fishing is, however, 
 a pretty rare thing, and it does not seem advisable to 
 consider it here to any extent. For trolling heavy bass 
 tackle will answer the purpose; and for fly-fishing a 
 fly-rod suited to large stream and bass fly-fishing, say 
 a ten-foot, seven-ounce rod, will be right. On this rod 
 you should use forty yards of enameled line, size E, on 
 a single-action reel. Flies dressed on sproat hooks 
 numbers six and four will be sufficiently large, and 
 
loo THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 good flies for lake trout are: royal coachman, Parma- 
 chene belle, Montreal, and silver doctor. 
 
 The lake trout is essentially a deep-water game fish, 
 habitually seeking the very deepest portions of its habi- 
 tat. It should be trolled for, therefore, 
 
 ^.^f^ in water running from fifty to one hun- 
 dred feet or over in depth, preferably 
 where the bottom is rocky, and off rocky reefs extend- 
 ing down into deep water. This being the case, it is 
 not difficult to understand why anglers for bass and 
 other fish never strike a namaycush, and also why tackle 
 of a very specialized sort must be used in lake trout 
 fishing. In mid-summer another good place to "work" 
 is in the vicinity of the spring-holes. Almost every lake 
 has its resident fisherman or fishermen — gentlemen of 
 infinite leisure and obscure habits who "live off the 
 lake" by fishing and guiding — who, for a suitable 
 stipend, will reveal to you the geography of the lake 
 bottom as regards its bars, reefs, spring-holes, etc., mat- 
 ters of the utmost importance to the angler for lake 
 trout. 
 
 As for the practical side of deep-trolling, the matter 
 
 of tackle, there are two methods in general use. You 
 
 can use either a hand-line with a heavy 
 
 '^^ vi ^^ sinker or you can employ a metal line, 
 which sinks sufficiently deep by its own 
 weight, on a fairly heavy trolling rod. The former 
 method is distinctly the less sportsmanlike and desir- 
 able. The latter method, only recently introduced, 
 makes a much better sport of lake trout fishing than it 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS loi 
 
 has ever been before. In detail the tackle for these two 
 methods of fishing is as follows: 
 
 For trolling with the hand-line — in which manner it 
 IS to be regretted the greater share of lake trout fishing 
 IS still done — jou will need a twisted linen line of 
 twenty-one or twenty-four threads at least two hun- 
 dred feet in length. The line, it should be stated, must 
 be of rather large caliber in order to prevent its cutting 
 the hands when in use. Cut off eighteen or twenty feet 
 of the line at one end and tie in a triple action or "three- 
 way" swivel at the point of cutting. To the third 
 swivel tie about fifteen feet of line somewhat weaker 
 than the main line ; this is for the sinker and it must be 
 weaker than the main line so that if the sinker is fouled 
 the sinker line will break rather than the main line. 
 
 Use a swiveled dipsey sinker of four to eight ounces 
 according to the depth of water. The bait and ar- 
 rangement of hook or hooks will be the same as for 
 use on a metal line and will be discussed in a later 
 paragraph. It is a good plan to tie the sinker to the 
 line in such a manner that when the fish has been led 
 in close enough to the boat the sinker line may be taken 
 into the boat and the sinker instantly and easily removed 
 from the line by a single pull. Any simple jam-knot 
 will make this possible. 
 
 The better method of deep-trolling consists in using 
 fifty to one hundred yards of braided copper wire line 
 
 , _ , on a trolling rod of suitable weight and 
 
 Metal Line. , • . t i • • j • 
 
 dimensions. In this way you avoid using 
 
 the heavy sinker — a thorough spoil-sport — necessary 
 with the linen line as the weight of the metal line sinks 
 
I02 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 it sufficiently deep. This line is made of a number of 
 fine strands of copper wire braided over a silk core 
 and should not be confused with the inferior solid cop- 
 per wire lines. The braided copper line spools well 
 on the reel, does not easily kink, and even if the latter 
 does occur is not liable to part at the kink, no one of 
 which things may be said for the ordinary solid copper 
 line. Braided copper line may be had in fifty-yard 
 spools and in two sizes, E and F, of which the smaller 
 is the best to use in lakes of moderate depth. Size E 
 should be used in very deep waters. 
 
 A reel is made and sold generally by the tackle deal- 
 ers that is particularly adapted to deep-trolling with 
 
 copper lines of the sort described above. 
 
 This reel is single action and supplied 
 with a strong, reliable, and easily manipulated drag; 
 it is made of metal and is of large diameter in order 
 that each revolution of the spindle may take up a good 
 quantity of line. With solid copper lines — inferior, as 
 above stated, to those of braided copper — large wooden 
 reels, the same as used in commoner forms of salt- 
 water fishing, are generally used. The metal reel 
 described in this paragraph is far superior to the wooden 
 reel and should by all means be employed for the sort 
 of angling under discussion. Of course, any reel of 
 large size, either double- or quadruple-multiplying, may 
 be used. These last, however, if large enough to hold 
 seventy-five to one hundred yards of size F braided cop- 
 per line and of good quality, are rather expensive. The 
 single-action metal reel recommended herein is quite 
 Inexpensive and also quite good enough for the purpose, 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 103 
 
 it being taken for granted that deep-trolling, in all 
 probability, will be indulged in only occasionally as a 
 foil to your fly- or bait-casting. 
 
 In the matter of the rod any good trolling rod with 
 a stiff backbone will answer the purpose. Its length 
 may be from seven to eight and a quar- 
 ter feet, and its material bethabara, split- 
 bamboo, or steel. The lancewood rod is excepted be- 
 cause this material is apt to be too whippy. The reel- 
 seat should be above the handgrasp. The guides of the 
 rod should be fairly large to allow the line to run 
 freely. German silver trumpet guides are the best for 
 the purpose. The rod should weigh from eight to nine 
 ounces and, as noted, should have considerable back- 
 bone in order to handle the heavy metal line, without 
 strain. A "Henshall" casting rod in bethabara or 
 split-bamboo and weighing eight or nine ounces will be 
 a very good one for the purpose. 
 
 The leader and arrangement of hooks and bait are 
 the same in both methods of deep-trolling with either 
 linen or copper lines. Leaders of fine 
 steel wire are used to some extent, but 
 are hardly necessary. A leader of either double- or 
 triple-twisted gut is quite strong enough for the pur- 
 pose and is preferable in a good many waj^s to one of 
 metal. To each end of the leader should be attached 
 a clew-spring swivel for connection with the line and 
 the trolling gang or artificial bait. One or two extra 
 leaders should be carried in a soak-box. 
 
 For use with the natural minnow regular lake trout 
 trolling gangs are sold by the tackle dealers consisting 
 
I04 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 generally of three burrs or triple hooks and a lip-hook 
 
 on gut. This number of hooks is neither 
 
 atura imperative or sportsmanlike and, at 
 Baits. . . 1 1 1 
 
 most, It IS best to use not more than the 
 
 lip-hook and one treble. The gang should be tied on 
 double gut. The natural minnow is the very best bait 
 for lakers, and the minnows should be large, from five 
 to seven inches in length. Brook "shiners" are the 
 most effective. Sometimes when it is difficult to obtain 
 minnows large enough small suckers are used, but these 
 are not ordinarily very successful. I have even known 
 of small brook trout being sacrificed for the purpose of 
 trolling for lakers. It seems hardly necessary to con- 
 demn this. 
 
 In some localities it is difficult to obtain minnows in 
 sufficient quantity or large enough for lake trout troll- 
 ing and in such case resort may be had 
 
 Artificial ^Q various artificial baits. Artificial baits 
 are not as successful with the namaycush 
 as the natural minnow, but many good lakers are taken 
 on them. One of the best artificials for lake trout is 
 known as the "silver soldier." This is a minnow made 
 of German silver, simply a flat, curved piece of metal 
 cut in minnow-shape and fitted with a single hook. A 
 number of trolling spoons are adapted to lake trout 
 fishing and the best of these are the ones which do not 
 revolve in the manner of the orthodox trolling spoon 
 but play from side to side when drawn through the 
 water. When deep-trolling it is often impracticable 
 to keep the boat moving fast enough to get sufficient 
 spin on the ordinary trolling spoon. It is also practi- 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 105 
 
 cable to use the wooden bait-casting minnows or phan- 
 toms. Fairly large trolling spoons should be used. 
 
 A very necessary item in the kit of the angler for 
 lake trout is a good strong gaff. The smaller trout, 
 
 from four to six pounds, may be safely 
 
 landed in a large landing net, if the 
 frame and handle of the net are strong and the net 
 itself strongly woven and firmly attached to the frame, 
 but for the larger fish a gaff is practically imperative. 
 On one lake where the writer trolled for lakers the local 
 talent used frog spears in place of gaffs — four-pronged 
 affairs something like a small pitchfork. It was some- 
 what amusing and rather exciting to listen to the 
 ensuing conversation in case a poorly hooked trout was 
 knocked off the hook when the fisherman jabbed him 
 with the "grains" and the weapon failed to hold. On 
 no account use one of the murderous "patent" spring 
 gaffs. If it is desired to mount the fish as a trophy the 
 gaf? should not be used. The best alternative in case 
 neither net or gaff is at hand and if the fish is a large 
 one, is to shoot it through the head with a twenty-two 
 pistol or rifle. 
 
 Deep-trolling requires one man at the oars and an- 
 other to handle the rod. The boat should alwaj^s move 
 
 slowly in order that the line may run 
 mcticai sufficiently deep and the progress of the 
 
 boat should be at an even pace. When 
 trolling with the hand-line the angler should, from time 
 to time, "feel bottom" with the sinker to be certain that 
 he is fishing in the proper depth of water. As above 
 noted the trolling should be done along the deep chan- 
 
io6 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 nels, over spring-holes, and where the bottom is rocky. 
 
 When a fish is struck it should not be hurried into 
 the boat but played in gradually. As a usual thing, 
 particularly when a hand-line is used, the lake trout 
 will do most of his fighting after being brought within 
 sight of the boat. It will then make swift rushes from 
 side to side or again bore steadily down into deep 
 water. At such times line should be freely given the 
 trout, not reeling in again until the fish stops running 
 or sounding. The fish should never be landed until it 
 is thoroughly played to a finish — a namaycush of good 
 size if prematurely taken into the boat while it is still 
 full of fight will make things exceedingly interesting for 
 the occupants of the craft. 
 
 The method of deep-trolling with metal lines, with 
 certain variations of tackle to suit the occasion, may be 
 used for other game fishes than the namaycush in the 
 summer months when the hot weather has driven most 
 of them to the deep water — and used with success. 
 
 The Mascalonge, Pike, and Pickerel 
 
 Of the pike family {Esocidae) three members claim 
 the attention of anglers, namely, the mascalonge, Esox 
 masquinongy, the pike, Esox Iticius, and the Eastern 
 pickerel, Esox reticidattis. In England, pike fishing is 
 far more popular than in America. Of the three fishes 
 mentioned the mascalonge is the only one which receives 
 the serious attention of the American angler, and even 
 this fine game fish, owing to its somewhat restricted 
 range, is well-known and regularly fished for by com- 
 paratively few anglers. Probably the most accessible 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 107 
 
 place for the Eastern angler who wishes to have a try 
 at the mascalonge is Chautauqua Lake in New York 
 where the unspotted mascalonge, Esox ohiensis, is some- 
 what abundant. 
 
 Undoubtedly were it not for the black bass, a game 
 fish unknown to the English angler, fishing for the 
 various members of the pike family, particularly the 
 mascalonge and Great Lakes pike, would be far more 
 popular in this country and more seriously undertaken, 
 quite as much so as in England. As a matter of fact, 
 the mascalonge, of course, the pike, and even the pickerel 
 are worthy of any angler's steel. But the extensive 
 range of the large- and small-mouthed black bass, and 
 their undoubted game qualities, to say nothing of the 
 various species of brook trout, serve to relegate the pike 
 and pickerel to the class of less-desirables, while the 
 comparative scarcity and inaccessibility of good masca- 
 longe waters tend to keep this fish — by many considered 
 the gamest and the finest fish of American fresh-waters 
 — in the background. 
 
 Although individually the most important members 
 of the pike family differ greatly, treated collectively, 
 their habits are much the same. All are shoal-water 
 fishes, "using" principally in the weed beds along-shore 
 and on the bars of lake or river; all are habitually and 
 most destructively piscivorous, always seeking whom 
 they may devour. Owing to the similarity of habits 
 angling for mascalonge, pike, or pickerel differs intrin- 
 sically more in means than in ways — the methods em- 
 ployed are quite similar, the tackle varying to suit the 
 occasion and the quarry. 
 
io8 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 Scientific details concerning the range, formation, 
 coloration, and other matters dealing with the natural 
 history of the pike family, have been very fully given in 
 almost every angling book, w^hile the more practical 
 phase of the subject, the question of methods and tackle, 
 has not been so completely treated. For this reason it 
 would seem well to confine the present discussion prin- 
 cipally to the wa5^s and means of fishing for the masca- 
 longe and its lesser relatives in preference to rehearsing 
 again the already thoroughly detailed nature and life 
 histories of the game fishes mentioned. 
 
 For either mascalonge, pike, or pickerel — it seems a 
 little improper to thus class the pickerel, or, for that 
 matter, the pike, with the mascalonge, but the fact 
 remains that they are ^'birds'' of the same feather — 
 still-fishing is little done by those who understand the 
 game. It is far better to fish exclusively by casting or 
 trolling. The boat, when trolling, should be worked 
 so that the bait, either artificial or natural, plaj^s along 
 from three to six or eight feet outside the line of weeds 
 or rushes, and It Is not necessary that the spoon or 
 minnow be fished at any considerable depth ; surface or 
 near-surface fishing is the rule with any of these fish as 
 they will all rise freely on seeing the bait. 
 
 When casting, the boat should travel parallel with 
 the margin of the weed beds, from forty to eighty feet 
 away — It depends somewhat upon the skill of the caster 
 and the method of casting — and the bait should be cast 
 in so as to fall at the proper distance from the weeds, 
 taking pains not to cast so far in as to become fouled 
 in the weeds or so far away from them as to render it 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 109 
 
 problematical whether the fish will see the bait. In 
 either case as soon as a fish is hooked the boatman should 
 make it a point to keep the boat in deep water; the fish 
 should alwa3^s be played away from the weeds. 
 
 Mascalonge weighing over twenty pounds have been 
 taken on five-ounce split-cane bass-casting rods, using a 
 small caliber bait-casting line and a light quadruple 
 multiplying reel with a small sized single-hook casting 
 spoon for the lure. On the other hand mascalonge 
 anglers, as a rule, do not belong to the light-tackle brig- 
 ade; hand-lines or heavy steel rods equipped with line, 
 reel, and spoon correspondingly large and weighty seem 
 to be the rule. The average angler, possessing average 
 skill in tackle-handling and an average sense of the due 
 proportions of things, together with a modicum of in- 
 sight as to the difference between angling and pot-fish- 
 ing, will do well to strike a happy medium. 
 
 For either casting or trolling for mascalonge a good 
 grade split-bamboo rod, from seven to eight feet three 
 Inches in length, weighing from eight to nine ounces, 
 will answer the purpose, alwaj's provided it is handled 
 with the necessary dexterity. The rod should be 
 equipped with trumpet guides of German silver, or steel 
 wire guides, using preferably agates for the hand- and 
 tip-guides; the reel-seat, having one of the numerous 
 forms of locking attachments, must be above the hand- 
 grasp. 
 
 For trolling, a double-multiplying reel should be used 
 as it has more winding-in power than a quadruple mul- 
 tiplier, but for casting a four-multiplier is, of course, 
 Imperative. The trolling line may well be water- 
 
no THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 proofed, but for casting an undressed line must be used, 
 size E or F for mascalonge and large pike, size G for 
 pickerel. For pickerel the rods, reels, and lines used 
 for bass bait-casting and trolling are right. 
 
 Baits of exceedingly various sorts are used for masca- 
 longe and pike, minnows natural and artificial, frogs, 
 spoons, and spinners, and some of the floating baits for 
 bass, the last made larger and stronger for mascalonge 
 fishing, but the most effective are a large natural min- 
 now or a common trolling spoon size four or five. A 
 steel wire leader should always be used. Gimp leaders 
 rot inside and will smash without warning visible to 
 the angler. In case a spinning bait is used, such as the 
 Archer spinner with minnow, frog, or pork-rind, use a 
 swivel gang composed of six or eight medium sized 
 bronze barrel swivels, or a trolling ''keel" or "coin" 
 sinker, the last being a round, flat sinker the size and 
 shape of a five-cent piece which, when bent on the line, 
 forms a keel that effectually prevents the line from 
 twisting and kinking. Another device to prevent line- 
 kinking is known as the "Pilot" ; this may be used also 
 to cause the bait to run at will on the surface or con- 
 siderably submerged. 
 
 As both mascalonge and pike are very large fish it 
 is necessary to use a ga.fi in landing them. If the 
 writer is not greatly mistaken he has more than once 
 seen the common pickerel, fairly large as these fish run 
 on the average, leap on a practically slack line, although 
 tactics of this sort are not ordinarily ascribed to this 
 fish. It is fairly well known that the mascalonge is a 
 "jumper from Jumperville." Sportsmen are apt to dis- 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS m 
 
 agree as to the proper rod move to make when a game 
 fish takes the air. The preponderance of experience 
 and advice suggests the advisability of slightly low^ering 
 the rod tip. Usually, unless the angler is very cool and 
 also a rapid thinker with a very swift reaction from 
 brain to hand, the fish, salmon, black bass, or musky as 
 the case may be, is back in the water before the angler 
 makes any counter play at all. However, it is always 
 best to ease a leaping fish back into the water by 
 slightly lowering the tip. When a fish leaps far away 
 from the boat, lowering the tip is perfectly useless as 
 there is ahvays a long belly in the line and the move- 
 ment of the rod does not carry through. 
 
 Anglers often find it difficult correctly to differen- 
 tiate a large pike from a mascalonge (in some cases, 
 possibly, because the wish is father to the thought), or, 
 say, an unusually large pickerel from a pike. The 
 following key, quoted from Dr. James A. Henshall, 
 will afford the means of rightly identifying and dis- 
 tinguishing the most fished-for members of the pi^e 
 family. 
 
 ''The mascalonge has the upper part of both the 
 cheeks and gill-covers scaly, while the lower half of 
 both cheeks and gill-covers is naked ; it has from seven- 
 teen to nineteen branchiostegal rays (the branchiostegals 
 are the rays on the under side of the gill-cover, that, like 
 the ribs of an umbrella, assist in opening and closing 
 it during breathing). Its coloration is of a uniform 
 grayish hue, or when marked with spots or bars they 
 are always of a much darker color or shade than the 
 ground color. 
 
112 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 "The pike has the cheeks entirely scaly, but only the 
 upper part of the gill-cover, the lower half being naked ; 
 it has from fourteen to sixteen branchiostegal rays; its 
 coloration is a bluish or greenish gray, with elon- 
 gated or bean-shaped spots covering the sides, which 
 are always of a lighter hue than the ground color. 
 
 "The Eastern or reticulated pickerel has both the 
 cheeks and gill-covers entirely covered with scales; it 
 has from fourteen to sixteen branchiostegal rays; its 
 coloration is shades of green, with sides of golden lus- 
 ter, and marked with dark reticulations, mostly hori- 
 zontal. It is rarely or never found west of the Alle- 
 ghanies." 
 
 The Ouananiche and Land-locked Salmon 
 
 The Atlantic salmon, Sal mo salar, has two land- 
 locked relatives, the "land-locked salmon" proper, 
 Salmo sehago, and the ouananiche, Sahno ouananiche. 
 Many experienced anglers believe that there is no 
 essential difference between the Sebago salmon and the 
 ouananiche, or between these two and the sea salmon. 
 However this may be — and the authorities, Jordan and 
 Evermann, who some years ago thus classified them 
 ("for the present") have not as yet published a con- 
 trary opinion — it is not of extreme importance to the 
 angler; the fact remains that both the land-locked sal- 
 mon and the ouananiche are, as game fishes, in the very 
 first flight. 
 
 The land-locked salmon is found in many of the 
 lakes of Maine and by fish cultural operations its 
 range is constantly increasing. It was originally de- 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 113 
 
 scribed from Sebago Lake. Fly-fishing for land-locked 
 salmon may be had at Grand Lake Stream in Maine, 
 and, for the ouananiche, at the Grand Decharge of the 
 Saguenay River which flows from Lake St. John, Pro- 
 vince of Quebec, Canada. In Grand Lake, other 
 Maine lakes, and in Lake St. John the fishing is chiefly 
 done by trolling. 
 
 For either fly-casting or trolling for land-locks and 
 ouananiche heavy trout tackle is suitable, although 
 where the fish run large a grilse rod may be used. 
 Land-locked salmon taken by trolling in lakes weigh 
 from eight to twenty pounds. Those taken by fly-fish- 
 ing in streams, as in Grand Lake Stream and at the 
 Grand Decharge, average two pounds and seldom range 
 over five. Small sized salmon flies are generally used. 
 Latterly, at Grand Lake Stream, dry-fly fishing for 
 land-locks has been tried successfully when the wet- 
 fly fishing with the larger flies has been below par. 
 
 The following narrative of the capture of a land- 
 locked salmon on fly-tackle at Grand Lake (by the 
 present writer considered the very best *'fish story" he 
 has ever had the pleasure of reading — for which reason 
 the somewhat lengthy quotation is, perhaps, pardon- 
 able), written by Mr. Henry Wysham Lanier and 
 published in The Outing Magazine, July, 1903, under 
 the title of ''The Gamest Fish That Swims," will 
 afford the best possible idea of the character of the 
 land-locked salmon, when taken in running water, or 
 of the ouananiche, and of the tackle and methods em- 
 ployed. The reader particularly interested in the land- 
 locked salmon and the ouananiche, should not fail to 
 
114 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 read the entire article of which only a small part Is here 
 quoted. 
 
 " 'Now, den, just give two, tree cast in de cunal 
 first,' said Peter the Dane. 
 
 "It was half-past five of a June morning — June by 
 the calendar, early April by the cold blast that swept 
 down out of the north across the lake. Peter had put 
 together the stiff five-and-a-half ounce bamboo, care- 
 fully soaked out a six-foot single leader, and rigged up 
 a cast of a Jock Scott and a professor on number five 
 Sproat hooks. On the reel were seventy-five yards of 
 waterproof silk line, size E, as the rod had plenty of 
 backbone and casting In such a wind needed all the 
 helps possible. 
 
 ''I stepped up to the canal, a thirty-foot runway 
 from the lake which once fed the abandoned saw-mill, 
 and cast down the gently eddying stream. When I had 
 gotten out thirty or forty feet of line, working the flies 
 lightly across the surface as they swung with the cur- 
 rent, Peter grunted approval. 
 
 " 'I gass you do ahl right. We go out In de cunoe.* 
 
 "I may not have mentioned the fact that Peter Is a 
 guide of unusual Intelligence; his knowledge of lures 
 and of the baffling habits of the Sahnonidae Is unex- 
 celled ; nor Is his horizon, by any means, bounded by 
 fish. We stepped simultaneously Into the canoe and 
 into an atmosphere of good fellowship. 
 
 "A few strokes of the paddle sent us out to the line 
 of triangular log cribs marking the hundred-yard limit 
 above the dam, within which only fly-fishing Is per- 
 mitted ; and, tying up to a buoy in eight or ten feet 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 115 
 
 of water, we swung around with the wind to a north 
 and south position not more than fifty yards from the 
 tumbledown dock that lined the shore along the head 
 of the canal. 
 
 "The lately risen sun shone brightly, except when 
 a mass of gray-white clouds drove across it; the waves 
 tossed the little cedar canoe airily up and down; on 
 the rising shore the fresh green of the white-stemmed 
 birches stood out sharply against the dark spruce trees, 
 the feathery blue-green of the pines, and the rusty 
 yellow-green of the young cedars and alders. A wild 
 duck and her fluffy brood paddled about furtively be- 
 neath the bushes fringing the shore two hundred yards 
 away; in the cleared spaces on the bank sleek robins, 
 with aldermanic vests of red and Inquisitive yellow 
 beaks, hopped about among the buttercups and daisies 
 and wild roses ; while a song-sparrow poured out a full- 
 throated trill from a neighboring fence-post. 
 
 "It must be confessed, however, that these beauties 
 of nature, the Indian's shack cresting the bare hill, the 
 group of little, unpainted dwelling houses, and the 
 dozen forlorn, uniform, empty gray cabins where once 
 lived the workers In the deserted tannery — even the 
 sky-plercing brick chimney itself, such a strange sight 
 in the deep woods — made but a vague Impression upon 
 my senses. For when Piscator has been casting flies In 
 Imagination only, for eleven months from a revolving 
 office chair, he Is not to be diverted by such trifles from 
 his first lust of fish. 
 
 "I began to cast out toward the shore, tip well down 
 to the water each time on account of the wind. After 
 
ii6 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 covering the leeward semi-circle fifteen or twenty times, 
 my inexperience fancied that region tested of salmon; 
 no trout or bass fisherman would have bothered with it 
 longer ; but since Peter made no sign I kept on casting. 
 When the inevitable slackness of interest had drawn my 
 eyes to the two canoes by the outlet, the occupants of 
 which were switching away as industriously as my- 
 self, something happened — and heart came into mouth 
 with a leap; for as the flies jiggled in over the tossing 
 water there was a boil and swirl by the dropper, not 
 twenty-five feet away, and a simultaneous exclamation 
 from behind: 'Don't leave it; cast again. Dat excite 
 him when de fly come again.' 
 
 "Shortening the cast, I sent the flies hastily and 
 awkwardly ten feet beyond the danger signal. Hardly 
 had they begun to come in when there was a sudden 
 commotion ; an instinctive 'strike' met a line taut and 
 suddenly endowed with life; and the little rod bowed 
 its acknowledgments at the meeting. 
 
 "First came a mad rush to one side, and after giving 
 the mysterious visitor all the line that had been stripped 
 with the left hand, I snubbed him, in order to have a 
 feel of him. The result was immediate and surprising. 
 Three feet into the air came a twenty-inch bow of sil- 
 ver, flashing in the morning sun as the salmon tried to 
 shake himself free. Down went the tip, but, with the 
 training of the black bass fisherman, I tried to cant 
 him to one side and upset him before he could shake 
 himself. 
 
 "'Don't do dat!' called watchful Peter. *De sal- 
 mon mout' is tender. You can't treat him lak black 
 
NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 117 
 
 bass. Drop de tip straight toward him and den tighten 
 up de instant he touch de water.' 
 
 "As he spoke, out came his royal highness again, and 
 the rod dropped to greet him, for that spring and lash- 
 ing out against a taut line must mean either a lost fish 
 or a broken tip. 
 
 " 'A good fish,' said Peter the Dane. 'T'ree pound 
 strong.' 
 
 ''And indeed it was the strongest three pounds the 
 little rod had ever tried conclusions with. Hardly 
 had he touched the water and the pressure been resumed 
 when he was into the air once more, so far away that 
 the eye almost refused to believe it the same fish. 
 When he reached the surface this time he danced ten 
 feet away on his tail, disappeared with a swoop that 
 set the reel to singing a valkyr's shriek, and was out 
 twice more in rapid succession, somersaulting till the 
 air seemed full of salmon. 
 
 "These acrobatic displays and the continued strain 
 of the sturdy bamboo were taking the edge off his fierce- 
 ness. A dozen feet of the line came onto the reel before 
 he fairly realized any compulsion. 'What, done al- 
 ready?' But at that instant the reel handle began to 
 revolve the other way and no other answer was needed. 
 Around the canoe he dashed, the line cutting through 
 the water with that swish so dear to the heart of the 
 angler. A little snubbing brought him up for the fifth 
 leap, and then followed darts and rushes in every direc- 
 tion, and savage tugs and shakes and borings down- 
 ward, and circus-like gallops round and round, while 
 
ii8 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 his burnished sides sent up old gold flashes through the 
 clear but dark-colored water. 
 
 " 'Keep de butt down,' cautioned mj^ mentor. 'Don't 
 never give him straight rod excep' when he jump, and 
 den put strain on him again right off,' and Peter 
 leaned toward me, almost whispering In his anxiety. 
 
 "There had been considerable strain on him already, 
 judging from the feel of my wrist, but I let him have 
 the full curve, and in a few minutes more this began to 
 take effect. Slowly reeling In and fighting for every 
 yard, the fish was brought within ten feet of the canoe ; 
 then the sight of us and the net started him off again, 
 and It was all to do over. Gradually he was forced 
 toward us, swinging In and out time after time, till at 
 last he lay for a breathless instant within three feet of 
 the gunwale, getting up courage for another spurt. 
 With a dexterous sweep, Peter brought the landing net 
 up behind — and his salmonship's next wild struggles 
 were against its meshes in the bottom of the canoe. 
 
 "It was a beautiful creature that threw Itself fran- 
 tically about, flopping from side to side, bending double 
 and lashing out with surprising strength, and springing 
 violently Into the air, net and all. About twenty inches 
 long, stocky and well-rounded, but perfectly propor- 
 tioned, with savage head and jaws, he seemed built for 
 doughty deeds and the strenuous life. His back was a 
 rich velvety green, lustrous from the glistening water 
 and covered with half-concealed black spots. This 
 color gradually shaded Into a lighter tint, merging at 
 the median line Into a silvery coat that gleamed rose- 
 ate and Iridescent in the sunlight." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING AND OTHER 
 MATTERS 
 
 FISHING "fine and far-off" is a phrase rather 
 over-worked in the literature of fly-casting and, 
 moreover, one v^hich w^e somev^hat rarely see 
 put into actual practice on stream or lake. The rarity 
 of really fine and far-off fishing— the words being ap- 
 plicable only to fly-fishing, and more especially to the 
 act of casting the fly— is easily explained. Far casting 
 demands the best of skill and tackle, and fine fishing, 
 in addition to the requirements of light leaders and 
 small flies, calls for extreme accuracy and delicacy in 
 laying down leader and flies far-off on the water. To 
 attain to fine and far casting and fly-fishing the angler 
 must have the best of rods, a line entirely suited to 
 being cast by that rod, leader and fly-snells working 
 well together and both in keeping with the line in use ; 
 also there is requisite the skill in casting resulting from 
 long practice and, it must be admitted, natural ability 
 in that direction. Expert fly-casting is natural to some 
 men just as skilful wing-shooting is to others. So we 
 do not see very much fishing fine and far-off. 
 
 119 
 
I20 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 The everyday fly-fisherman contents himself with 
 short-distance casting and does not sufficiently refine 
 his tackle to make far-casting possible, even if his wrist 
 were equal to the occasion. And quite often the man 
 who owns the finest and most expensive rods, rods 
 made with the utmost manual skill for the express 
 purpose of better-than-average fly-casting, fishes with 
 bait. It is not often that we find an angler whose 
 tackle, skill, stream knowledge, and experience are 
 adequate to the sort of casting and fishing under dis- 
 cussion. And yet at some time on every trout stream, 
 and on some streams at all times, fine and far-casting 
 are imperative for success; and it would seem that no 
 enthusiastic fly-caster should rest satisfied with his 
 tackle and methods until both have been brought to 
 the point where long and delicate casting is within his 
 power. With a view to italicizing the fact that skilled 
 rod handling and discriminating tackle selection have 
 their sure reward, certain times and places are noted 
 in the following paragraphs where and when casting 
 fine and far-off is either advantageous or imperative. 
 
 Generally speaking, the time when a long line and 
 delicate leader and flies are most in demand is in the 
 late spring and summer; not always, of course, even at 
 this time, because the stream is frequently replenished 
 by rains. But when very low and crystal clear water 
 prevails, when a gut leader of average caliber looks on 
 the surface of the water or beneath it like the Atlantic 
 cable, and when the brook trout, poised in the shallow 
 riffles, seem to see the angler for half a mile, then the 
 man who can compass reasonable, not tournament, long- 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 121 
 
 distance casts, and who understands and appreciates the 
 killing qualities of the ephemeral leader and the almost 
 infinitesimal fly is in his element. And who would 
 deny that one trout taken under such conditions, by vir- 
 tue of skilled casting and fine tackle, is worth vastly 
 more than a dozen taken by chuck-and-chance-it short- 
 line casting under easier circumstances? 
 
 It should, however, be said that the long cast, under 
 dry weather conditions. If the angler will keep himself 
 out of sight. Is not so Important as the use of small 
 flies and fine leaders. A friend of the writer's is a very 
 successful low-water fisherman, and yet I do not think 
 that he ever put out over forty feet of line In his life; 
 but when the stage of the water and the shyness of the 
 trout require It he invariably uses midge flies and the 
 finest of fine leaders, In the emploj'ment of which he 
 Is passing skilful — and keeps out of sight. I have seen 
 this angler fish through a meadow where no brush 
 screened the brook, behind two other fly-casters, and 
 come out with several good fish when the two men 
 who preceded him took nothing. Progress for the most 
 part on *'hands and knees," a fine and long leader, and 
 midge flies did the trick; and, by the way, something 
 besides pile-driver methods are necessary If you would 
 rise, strike, and land a good trout on a midge. Fre- 
 quently, however, keeping out of sight is impossible, or 
 a matter of too much difficulty, and then long casting 
 Is the only thing. 
 
 In summer, during the day, pool fishing Is very apt 
 to be productive. Then the trout haunt the deep, dark 
 pools, well shaded, or the reaches of equally peaceful 
 
122 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 and shady still-waters. To fish such a place with suc- 
 cess demands every bit of skill even the 
 
 bummer veteran fly-caster can command ; to the 
 ^'beginner such places are sloughs of 
 despond rather than likely trout pools. On still days 
 the surface of the pool, unruffled by any breeze, is so 
 smooth and quiet that the disturbance of a natural 
 insect falling upon it is very appreciable ; when the am- 
 bitious but unskilled fly-caster drops his cast of flies 
 thereon the result is simply a tidal wave. 
 
 It is small wonder that the average angler passes up 
 the quiet pools and still-waters as unproductive — they 
 are so except to the man who through years of stream 
 experience and by virtue of superior casting and tackle 
 can really fish fine and far-off. For such a man the 
 pools and still-waters hold prizes well worth the utmost 
 exercise of his skill, for of all stream localities it is well 
 known that the deep pool and the dark still-water are 
 most apt to shelter Leviathan. Small flies, light lead- 
 ers, and long, light casting are the requisites for summer 
 pool fishing. There is one thing more: Keep out of 
 sight. Pool fishing in general and the use of dry-flies in 
 connection therewith have been discussed elsewhere. 
 
 Apart from summer fly-fishing, under dry weather 
 
 conditions, several other situations will occur to the 
 
 experienced angler as calling for a long 
 
 Fishmg the ^[^^ ^^d accurate and delicate handling. 
 
 Swift Pool. ^ . ^ ^ 1 ru- 
 
 I o revert tor a moment to pool hshmg. 
 
 It may be said that a large pool, in the average rocky 
 and forest-margined trout stream, at all times requires 
 far-casting if you would get the most out of it — mean- 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 123 
 
 ing possibly a three-pounder. Starting to cast with 
 two things in mind, that many times the pool is best 
 fished up-stream and that, other things being equal, a 
 short line is always safest, the angler will cover all 
 available water with a moderate length of line, and 
 then, picking out some vantage-point where the back 
 cast may be made with the greatest assurance that It 
 will not hang-up, he will whip the far-off places where 
 his stream experience hints that a trout may be lying. 
 
 The angler of limited casting ability is distinctly 
 handicapped when it comes to fishing a large pool. 
 Furthermore it is a fact that the ability to get out a 
 long line, although with entire lack of delicacy, and 
 though the flies hit the water as if shot from a rifle. Is 
 far better than not to be able to handle anything but a 
 short line; for, many times, the character of the pool 
 will be such that distance and fair accuracy are the only 
 requisites. In a pool of broken, swirling w^ater, foam- 
 covered and swift, it makes little difference whether 
 the flies come down lightly or not. When fishing this 
 sort of water the submerged fly is the proper thing, 
 and the situation demands only the ability, by strong- 
 arm methods or in any other way, to get out the line 
 far enough. 
 
 Fly-fishing for trout is usually and properly asso- 
 ciated with swift and rocky streams. We are told by 
 the scientists that the nature of the brook 
 
 Fishing trout requires highly aerated water such 
 
 c,^ ^^ as the typical trout stream with its al- 
 
 StreamS. . -m -■, 1 r n rr ^ 
 
 ternatmg riffles, rapids, and falls artords. 
 But the experienced fly-caster can doubtless remember 
 
124 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 the time when his flies were cast over the waters of some 
 sluggish, dark-bottomed stream, almost currentless, and 
 cast, possibly, with success. It is a fact that trout 
 streams of this sort are quite common, and usually the 
 trout therein are uncommonly large, although they may 
 not be very numerous. Such streams are many times 
 found in swamps or running through cleared fields 
 adjacent to swampy lowlands. Here again fine and 
 far casting is at a premium. 
 
 Usually such streams are suited to fly-casting only 
 where they run through clearings and meadow lands, 
 where the banks afford no ambush and the surface of 
 the water is smooth and quiet. It is necessary to stand 
 well away from the bank and swing a long line to reach 
 the best of the water without alarming the fish, and the 
 flies and leader must fall "straight" and without the 
 suspicion of a splash. Over water of this sort the 
 retrieve should be made slowly, even, at times, allow- 
 ing the flies to become wholly submerged ; otherwise 
 there is too much fuss made on the water in bringing 
 in the fly. 
 
 Casting from a canoe or boat over the quiet waters 
 of a lake is another situation calling for expert hand- 
 ling of rod and line. Except on extra- 
 CastingfromQj.jjj^ occasions the angler who, 
 
 a Canoe. . , . j . , i . 
 
 withm reason and without negiectmg 
 
 good water more easily fished, can cast farthest from 
 the boat will be most successful. Here, as in all long- 
 distance casting, the thing to remember is not to carry 
 the rod too far backward on the back cast. The rod, 
 as before noted, should not go back much beyond the 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 125 
 
 perpendicular; the thing to aim for is a high back cast. 
 
 Successful fly-casting fine and far-off requires, how- 
 ever, something more than the ability to get out a long 
 line and lay it down straight and softly. 
 
 Striking n^^Q angler must be able to strike his 
 J . ^ trout without over-many misses and 
 
 also to play him, both at the end of a 
 long line. Consistently successful striking at long dis- 
 tances is, in addition to the usual requirements of quick 
 eye and snappy wrist, purely dependent upon a taut 
 line. An actually taut line, however, is not possible 
 when distance casting; more or less sag is bound to 
 occur in proportion to the rate at which the line is 
 stripped in and the backward motion of the rod. Strik- 
 ing, when a long line is out, should therefore be done 
 with more force, quicker than when using a short line. 
 The backward motion of the rod must first take up 
 the slack line before sufficient draw is imparted to the 
 hook to set it firmly. 
 
 Fly-fishing fine and far-off is a pretty difficult game 
 to play successfully — a game of skill purely and one, 
 moreover, at w^hich every fly-fisherman should strive to 
 become expert — in spite of the fact that in this respect 
 the expression ''many are called but few are chosen" 
 holds true as well as in any other branch of sport in 
 which the highest form of skill and greatest amount of 
 experience are required. 
 
126 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 Fly- and Bait-casting for Accuracy, Delicacy, 
 and Distance 
 
 These are terms which, while very familiar to tour- 
 nament fly- and bait-casters, are seldom heard among 
 anglers In general. However this may be, with the 
 possible exception of distance — and that this at times 
 is also very necessary has been pointed out — the success 
 of the bait- or fly-caster in actual fishing Is greatly de- 
 pendent upon the degree of skill to which he has at- 
 tained In regard to these three casting requisites. 
 
 The fisherman who can only approximately reach 
 the spot where he desires to place a bait, or who so 
 handles a cast of flies that they drop two 
 ^' or three feet away from the point aimed 
 for is distinctly handicapped. In both black bass and 
 trout fishing absolute accuracy, that Is, accuracy as 
 far as It may reasonably be attained, Is a necessity for 
 the very simple reason that both bass and trout are so 
 constituted that very frequently they will only strike 
 a fly or bait when It is presented to them In a certain 
 way and In a certain spot. The angler for large- 
 mouthed bass, when fishing along a patch of water 
 weeds or rushes, has ample opportunity to verify this 
 statement. He finds that If the bait drops too far away 
 from the rushes or too close to them the bass will not 
 rise. For success the bait must be cast so as to strike 
 the water at a certain distance from the weeds, and 
 the allowance for deviation is very slight. 
 
 Frequently when bass fishing you will see a bass jump 
 within casting distance from the canoe. Then, If you 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 127 
 
 can immediately drop your bait plump in the middle 
 of the widening circle of ripples, the bass is generally 
 yours. But if your bait strikes only somewhere near 
 the place the chances are that the fish will stay in the 
 water. Also it is often necessary when the bass are 
 lying in the weeds to cast the bait into the small open- 
 ings of clear water that are found here and there. This, 
 of course, is when the weeds have grown so as to reach 
 the surface of the water, a condition which prevails 
 very generally during the summer. However, since 
 under these conditions it is most often necessary for 
 safety in landing the fish to use a rather short line, 
 accuracy in this particular instance is not difficult. 
 
 In fly-fishing for trout accuracy is even more imper- 
 ative than in bait-casting. Time and time again the 
 writer has experimented in regard to this. It is an 
 absolute fact that at times a trout will not rise if the 
 fly varies only a matter of a very few inches from where 
 he wants it. The fish will rise when the fly reaches a 
 certain spot; if it varies almost infinitesimally — say 
 three inches — the fish will stay down. But it is not 
 only in this regard that accuracy in casting is desirable. 
 The banks of most of our best trout streams are more 
 or less, generally more, wooded and brush-grown and 
 overhanging branches must continually be taken into 
 consideration. The man who lacks accurate control 
 over his line both in the forward and back casts is 
 always in hot water, although he may be fishing "the 
 icy waters of a mountain trout brook." 
 
 Delicacy in bait-casting is a thing attained only with 
 much practice. An artificial minnow or spoon, with 
 
128 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 from seventy-five to a hundred feet of line out, is bound 
 to hit the water with considerable force. 
 '^' Strange as it may seem, this as a rule 
 does not alarm the fish. But in fishing very shal- 
 low water along-shore, or in reedy river coves where 
 the water is not deep, care must be taken in this par- 
 ticular. If you succeed in starting the minnow toward 
 the rod just before or at the instant it strikes the water, 
 reasonable delicacy results. A great many bait-casters 
 are careless in this regard with the natural consequence 
 that their success is not phenomenal. If, at the end of 
 the cast, the bait lies for an instant motionless and dead 
 on the water, a bass whose interest has been aroused 
 to the point of striking will usually change his mind. I 
 have, however, several times seen bass strike a bait 
 floating "dead" on the surface while the angler was 
 arguing with his reel the question whether a backlash 
 is merely a misfortune or an actual calamity. This, of 
 course, is very exceptional ; the motion of the lure is the 
 factor that brings the strikes. 
 
 In fly-casting, delicacy to a certain degree is not 
 difficult of attainment. Beyond that certain degree, 
 with which no fly-caster should be satisfied, it is a mat- 
 ter of no little difficulty and requires years of stream 
 experience and practice. When fishing the clear, shal- 
 low riflrles of small streams the flies must drop on the 
 water with the lightness of the proverbial thistle-down. 
 If you fail in this you will see the trout in that vicinity 
 disappear with uniform celerity. It is when casting a 
 long line that the veteran fly-caster, by the ease with 
 which he causes the flies to alight straight, delicately. 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 129 
 
 and far-off, shows his title to the degree of Master of 
 Angling. An equal degree of skill should be the goal 
 of every fly-caster. 
 
 A rising motion of the rod just before the flies are 
 about to alight will cause them to land quietly. This 
 motion of the rod, however, must not be sudden or 
 jerky, but must be graduated with nicety; otherwise the 
 process simply results in ''snapping the whip" and the 
 flies will strike the water with even more than ordinary 
 force. Another factor in casting for delicacy is to aim 
 not at the exact spot on the water where the flies should 
 alight but at a point in the air four or five feet above 
 the spot. This will cause leader and flies to straighten 
 out in the air, lose in a measure the propulsive force of 
 the cast, and fall with all necessary delicacy. 
 
 Distance in both fly- and bait-casting, although at 
 
 times very necessary, is generally of less importance 
 
 than accuracy and delicacy. It is an 
 
 111 C^3 Tl f^ f^ 
 
 angling axiom that the more line you 
 have out the better are your chances for failing to hook 
 a rising fish, or, if the fish is struck, of eventually losing 
 him. It Is always advisable to use the shortest line 
 permissible under the circumstances. By so doing ac- 
 curacy and delicacy are more easily and surely attained, 
 you have more control over the strike, and instant con- 
 trol over a fish w^hen struck. 
 
 The chief advantage of distance comes when, owing 
 to the natural conformation of the pond or stream, or 
 to the extreme shyness of the fish, lengthening out Is 
 rendered imperative. The practice of distance casting 
 Is, however, of distinct advantage, for the reason that 
 
I30 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 the man who can skilfully handle a long line can still 
 more skilfully handle a short one. The angler should, 
 nevertheless, never allovvr the obsession of distance to 
 get the better of him. Unless you have a very natural 
 aptitude, gaining distance Is rather a slow process. It 
 is much better to confine yourself to the correct hand- 
 ling of moderate casts and let distance take care of 
 itself. In due time a fairly long line comes automatic- 
 ally. 
 
 How to Improve the Fly-rod 
 
 Satisfactory fly-casting under any conditions exacts 
 the finest possible adjustment of tackle in every way; 
 but, chiefly, the rod must be a good one and its furni- 
 ture capable of giving the results which the caster 
 desires. If your casting to-date is not as good as it 
 should be it is quite possible that the rod is at fault. 
 It might be suggested that before you make up your 
 mind that you are a born duffer at the game you first 
 make sure that the tools you have been using are suited 
 to it. A good fly-rod need not be expensive, while, at 
 the same time, it cannot be cheap. Granted that the 
 material is of fairly good quality, it may be said that 
 effective .casting depends greatly upon the style of 
 guides, the balance, the method of winding, etc., things 
 which to a certain extent may be regulated at will 
 without going to the expense of a new rod. Buying a 
 fly-rod Is always a pleasure but sometimes, unfortu- 
 nately, the state of the money market Is prohibitive. 
 
 If originally the rod was a good one as regards 
 material, of carefully selected and assembled cane if the 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 131 
 
 rod is a split-bamboo, or of well-seasoned bethabara, 
 lancewood, or greenheart if a solid-wood, almost any old 
 rod may be made pretty nearly as good as new — in many 
 cases much better than new — by its owner, who, more- 
 over, need not be a mechanical genius or the proprietor 
 of a machine shop. Ingenuity, elbow-grease, a few 
 simple tools, and chiefly a knowledge of what consti- 
 tutes a good fly-rod are practically the only essentials. 
 Furthermore, if you have not the time or do not care 
 to do these things yourself it will be of advantage to 
 5^ou to be able to tell the professional rod maker exactly 
 the things you wish done. 
 
 Often a rod will show a quality of whippiness which 
 was not suspected when the rod was purchased. Pro- 
 vided you are not an advocate of the 
 "6 W ^PPy whippy rod — there are such and they are 
 more to be pitied than censured — with 
 the knowledge that you have on your hands an unsatis- 
 factory tool comes the realization of the necessity of a 
 new rod or a radical improvement in the present one. 
 The extent of the change necessary is dependent upon 
 the degree of softness with which the rod is afflicted. 
 The rod repairer in this particular instance, if the 
 rod is only slightly whippy, will remove all the wind- 
 ings and replace them at closer intervals; or, possibly, 
 the addition of new windings between those already on 
 the rod will do just as well. The average fly-rod is 
 wound at intervals of slightly over an inch. Windings 
 at only one-half inch will stiffen the rod appreciably. 
 If, however, in the opinion of the repairer, the extreme 
 softness of the rod demands more radical treatment 
 
132 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 resort may be had to amputation. In the case of the 
 average fly-rod, consisting of three joints and from nine 
 to ten feet long, at least one inch should be removed 
 from each joint; to further insure successful results it 
 might be well to put on additional windings. The re- 
 sulting difference In the action of the rod Is very great, 
 while the loss of weight Is so slight as to be negligible. 
 
 In this connection It should be added that winding 
 the rod entirely from end to end, called solid winding, 
 should not be done. At first glance, considering the 
 fact that additional windings stiffen the rod, one would 
 naturally conclude that the solid wound rod is a very 
 stiff one. This Is not the case, however. Solid wound 
 rods tend to be soft rather than otherwise and the 
 method is not approved or followed by the best rod 
 makers. 
 
 The angler whose ambition lies along the line of 
 distance casting will find that he can easily lengthen out 
 his average casting by replacing the ring- 
 er .^ and-keeper guides with which his rod Is 
 Guides. ^,.11 1 J 
 ntted with the now more popular and 
 
 far more efficient English snake guides. The old- 
 fashioned ring-and-keeper guides are not very well 
 adapted to shooting the line, the loosely working ring 
 and its generally small aperture causing too much fric- 
 tion. The snake guide, as in the case of much fly-tackle, 
 Is an English Idea. Their stability and line shooting 
 adaptability are far In advance of the ring guides, and, 
 moreover, the snake guides measurably facilitate strlng- 
 Ing-up the rod and are less liable to become bent out 
 of shape. Of the snake guides those of steel are best. 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 133 
 
 German silver is also a good material but inferior to 
 steel for the reason that it is softer and the line soon 
 wears grooves in the guides. If you wish to go a bit 
 farther, with the idea of having the rod thoroughly 
 modern and efficient in the matter of guides, fit it with 
 offset agate tip guide and raised agate hand guide. 
 Then if you do not do good casting, you certainly can- 
 not, provided the rod itself is fairly good, "blame the 
 gun." 
 
 If the rod is heavy in hand, it may be made a sweeter 
 rod to handle by removing the solid metal reel-seat in 
 favor of plain reel-bands; if the hand- 
 Butt and grasp is of wood or celluloid a further 
 r> J reduction in weight may be effected by 
 
 fitting a solid cork grasp. On general 
 principles any rod which has a handgrasp of cork sheath- 
 ing over a shaped core of wood may be made a much 
 better rod by the substitution of a solid cork grasp in 
 place of the cheaper and far less durable and desirable 
 grasp of thin cork over wood. The solid cork grasp is 
 made of a number of disks of solid cork fitted over a 
 core. 
 
 On the other hand, the top-heavy rod may be made 
 to balance much better by simply using on it a heavier 
 reel. The slightly top-heavy rod is not objectionable 
 to a good many anglers, and often a rod of this sort is 
 a very strong caster. The famous Castle Connell sal- 
 mon rods are made on this principle. Such a rod is, 
 however, apt to be tiring in long continued casting, and 
 the average angler prefers a well balanced rod just as 
 a rifleman desires this quality in his weapon. 
 
134 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 If the rod is too stiff there is only one thing to do 
 unless you are an expert rod maker, and barring a trip 
 to the professional rod repairer, and that 
 ^ is: Use a heavy line. The chances are 
 
 that if the rod does not weigh over five 
 ounces a level line, size E, will bring out all the action 
 desirable, while a line of size F or G may fail entirely 
 to do so. The suitability of the line to the rod upon 
 which it is used is a matter which many anglers do not 
 sufficiently consider. To state the extreme, the fly-cas- 
 ter who uses on a three-and-a-half-ounce fly-rod a line 
 of size E and the caster who uses on a ten-foot seven- 
 ounce rod a line of size G will find that good casting 
 with such ill-assorted tackle is impossible. 
 
 A heavy line is too burdensome for the featherweight 
 fly-rod ; in fact, if the angler is inclined to be heavy- 
 handed, it is quite possible for him to smash the rod by 
 attempting to use a too heavy line upon it. Similarly, 
 a fairly long cast, using a very light line on a compara- 
 tively heavy rod, is not possible; the line must have 
 sufficient weight to carry it through the air in response 
 to force of the cast. But in the case of a very stiff rod, 
 the weight of a heavy line will produce much more snap 
 and bend in the rod, and although the combination 
 makes the work rather strenuous, still it is very efficient. 
 It is hardly necessary to state that such an outfit would, 
 however, be very poorly adapted to small stream work. 
 
 The repair of smashed rods does not properly come 
 under the subject we are discussing — it is fairly obvious 
 that any smashed rod, when repaired, is considerably 
 improved — but the best way to cure a rod that has ac- 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 135 
 
 quired a more or less decided "set" may properly be 
 noted. The set may be the result of 
 The Way strain or warp, the first due to over- 
 ly, J burdening the rod in some way and the 
 a Fly-rod. , ^ • 1 • u • u 
 
 last to poor material — m which case a 
 
 permanent cure can hardly be effected — or to negli- 
 gence. This is a case where an ounce of prevention is 
 sometimes worth six ounces of good fly-rod, and before 
 noting the method of correction it might be well to set 
 down a few golden rules about the way not to use a 
 fly-rod. 
 
 In the first place since the fly-rod forms our subject — 
 although most of these suggestions are equally applicable 
 to fishing rods in general — it should be said that the 
 split-cane rod is peculiarly, often fatally, susceptible to 
 dampness, and that consequently every precaution 
 should be taken in this regard. In camp it should be 
 taken down and put in the case over-night and cer- 
 tainly should never be left lying on the ground for any 
 length of time. It is quite possible to put a fine split- 
 bamboo fly-rod temporarily or even permanently out of 
 commission by allowing it to lie out over-night on the 
 ground. Again, to avoid warp, the rod when assembled 
 should never be leaned against a support in such a 
 manner as to bend it. If left for a sufficient length of 
 time, not necessarily a very long time, leaning in this 
 way the bend will become permanent. Similarly, when 
 the rod is unjointed, the individual joints should not 
 be leaned against a support in the manner noted, for 
 the same reason. 
 
 The remedy and the method of prevention for warp 
 
136 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 or set are quite similar. The rod which has acquired 
 a set should be hung up by the tip with 
 '^r^^ "^^^^jf y a weight attached to the butt, provided 
 the set runs through the entire rod; if 
 only one joint is affected this should be treated in the 
 same manner. By way of prevention when the rod is 
 to be unused for a long time, as during the winter 
 months, suspending each joint separately, or at least 
 the tip and middle joints, is by far the best way of 
 storing it. If you have a rod and gun cabinet it is 
 exactly suited to the purpose. When the rod is sus- 
 pended merely as a matter of precaution it is unneces- 
 sary to use a weight. 
 
 The man who makes his own rods certainly derives 
 more pleasure from their use than does the angler who 
 uses a readj^-made rod — this in spite of the fact that the 
 professionally made rod will always be the better one 
 unless the amateur maker is very expert indeed. In due 
 proportion, there is more sport in handling a rod the 
 efficiency of which is partly due to your own tinkering 
 than in using one upon which you have no claim for 
 improvements. 
 
 Strip-casting for Black Bass 
 
 If you have never learned bait-casting for black bass 
 and for any reason do not care to take up that method, 
 a very good substitute and a very efficient angling 
 method may be found in strip-casting. It may be said 
 with truth, also, that at times strip-casting is more ef- 
 ficient than casting from the reel, whether or not you 
 have mastered the use of the short bait-casting rod and 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 137 
 
 the quadruple casting reel. Variet)^, too, is the spice of 
 angling, and often a change to the fly-rod — which is 
 used for strip-casting — is quite welcome after continued 
 use of the orthodox short casting rod. 
 
 Strip-casting for bass is adapted to both river and 
 lake fishing, and either natural or artificial baits may 
 be used. Since the advent of the numerous and gen- 
 erally very successful artificial baits as the result of the 
 popularity of bait-casting, these are most used. The 
 chances are that in order to take up strip-casting you 
 will have to buy very little extra tackle — that is, if you 
 are a fly-caster. 
 
 The fly-rod is used for strip-casting because, to obtain 
 the best results, the reel-seat must be below the hand- 
 _ grasp. The rod should not be less than 
 
 ten feet in length — for strip-casting 
 purely, a ten-and-a-half-foot rod is none too long, but 
 you will probably wish to use a rod which may also 
 be utilized for fly-casting. As the cast is made by 
 shooting the line through the guides of the rod, these 
 should be of a style which will allow free-running of 
 the line. 
 
 A fly-rod to be specially used for strip-casting would 
 be best rigged in the matter of guides by using fairly 
 large caliber German silver trumpet guides with agate 
 hand and tip guides. If your fly-rod is fitted with 
 "snake" guides, these will answer the purpose. The 
 addition of the agate guides is very desirable in either 
 case. A bass fly-rod weighing from seven to eight 
 ounces is best adapted to strip-casting, but any trout 
 fly-rod having sufficient backbone may be used. 
 
138 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 The reel may be either a single-action or a double- 
 multiplier; the quadruple reel may also be used, but for 
 certain reasons, such as lack of balance on 
 the fly-rod and greater liability of line 
 fouling, is not as well adapted to strip-casting as the 
 reels mentioned. As a matter of fact the reel is not 
 necessarily used to any extent in strip-casting except to 
 hold the line. The single-action reel, all things con- 
 sidered, is the best. 
 
 There is considerable leeway in the matter of the sort 
 of line to use. Strip-casting bears a closer analogy to 
 . bait-casting than to fly-casting in that the 
 
 line is caused to shoot out through the 
 guides by the swing of the rod and principally by the 
 weight of the bait in use. It differs from fly-casting in 
 that the weight of the bait, rather than of the line and 
 the swing of the rod, is the chief factor in getting out 
 the line. It naturally follows that a line having weight 
 is not absolutely necessarj" as for fly-casting. 
 
 On the whole the best line to use is a rather small 
 caliber enameled fly-casting line, say size G or F. This 
 will render freely and smoothly through the rod guides 
 and Is much more durable and less liable to foul by 
 wrapping around the rod than an unwaterproofed bait- 
 casting line. For average bass fishing twenty-five yards 
 of good quality size F enameled line used on a one- 
 hundred-yard single-action reel will best answer the 
 reel and line requirements for strip-casting. 
 
 The method of casting is very simple and yet, to 
 acquire expertness and the very best results, no little 
 practice and experience are required. Before going on 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 139 
 
 to speak of the baits to use and the general course of 
 
 action of the strip-caster when on the bass grounds it 
 
 would, perhaps, be best to settle the 
 
 ±low to question of how to use rod, reel, and line 
 
 in strip-casting. This method is almost 
 
 exclusively employed when fishing from a boat or canoe 
 
 — seldom while wading, or from the bank of a river or 
 
 the lake shore. 
 
 The reel and line should be rigged on the rod as for 
 fly-casting; that is, the reel underneath with the handle 
 to the right. A short gut leader may be used if desired 
 or one of fine steel or copper if pickerel or pike are 
 abundant where your bass fishing is done. Very heavy 
 baits, either artificial or natural, should not be used, as 
 the work will be too strenuous for the fly-rod unless it 
 is a very heavy and stiff one. 
 
 Assemble rod, reel, and line and have about six or 
 eight feet of line from the tip of the rod. Now strip 
 from the reel several feet of line, allowing the coils to 
 lie in the bottom of the boat. Always be careful to lay 
 it down so that it will not tangle and foul during the 
 cast. A new enameled line which shows a tendency to 
 coil tightly should be well straightened by rubbing down 
 with deer fat or some other line dressing before at- 
 tempting to use it for strip-casting. 
 
 The knack lies largely in educating the left hand to 
 manipulate the line correctly. As in the practice of 
 many fly-casters, the left hand grasps the line between 
 the reel and the first guide and is used to control the 
 rendition and retrieve of the line during and after the 
 cast. If it is your custom to handle the line thus when 
 
I40 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 fly-casting, you will not have to learn It; otherwise, 
 although a limited proficiency may be quickly acquired, 
 it will pay you to practice this phase of strip-casting 
 faithfully; its importance is equal to that of thumbing 
 the reel in bait-casting. During the cast the outrunning 
 line must be subject to exactly the proper control, must 
 run out neither too fast or too slow, or the line will 
 foul at the first rod guide. 
 
 Having stripped the line from the reel, and controll- 
 ing it as above indicated with the left hand, presuming 
 that you are casting from right to left, carry the rod to 
 your right and slightly to the rear, pointing a little 
 downward toward the w^ater, and then swing it smartly 
 to the left across the body and slightly upward. When, 
 during the swing of the rod, the rod tip points in the 
 direction you wish to cast — as a matter of fact, just a 
 little before that point — release the hold of the left 
 hand on the line sufficiently to allow it to run out 
 through the fingers. Do not release it entirely, as this 
 will feed the line to the first rod guide faster than it 
 will run through and a tangle will result. The cast 
 is quite similar to the side cast in bait-casting from the 
 reel. 
 
 The cast being completed, that Is, the bait having 
 reached the water at the desired point, the line Is re- 
 trieved by stripping It In through the guides with the 
 left hand, taking pains to lay the coils down evenly on 
 the bottom of the boat as In the preliminary stripping 
 from the reel. The line should be stripped in at a 
 moderate rate of speed, rather faster with artificial 
 lures than with natural, In order to impart lifelike 
 
m,r ^ s ^^^ -"^ilH^'' 
 
 First Aid to Injured Tackle 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 141 
 
 motion to the bait, and care should be taken to have the 
 line and rod always under control, so that immediate 
 advantage may be taken of a strike. 
 
 The importance of a taut line should not be over- 
 looked. After hooking a bass the fish is, of course, 
 played "by hand" rather than from the 
 eep a ut ^^^^^ unless an extra long run takes out 
 all the free line. This should not be 
 considered a disadvantage, for, as a matter of fact, the 
 very best and safest way to play a fish is by this method ; 
 that is, by controlling the giving and taking of line with 
 the left hand independently of the reel. 
 
 Light artificial baits are the best to use, such lures as 
 small trolling spoons, fly-spinners, bucktail spoons, etc. ; 
 light-weight floating baits and pork rinds 
 "T^^^^ on small white enameled spoons are also 
 very successful. Fly-spoons made in tan- 
 dem style and used in connection with bass flies of 
 well-known patterns, scarlet ibis, Parmachene belle, 
 Montreal, coachman, Henshall, silver doctor, and 
 others, are very pleasant baits to use and, moreover, 
 quite acceptable to the bass; with these should go a 
 small dipsey sinker. Fly-spoons of this sort are made 
 in a great variety of styles and in several degrees of 
 desirability; those with piano wire shanks and without 
 swivels are the best. 
 
 The most successful methods for the strip-caster to 
 
 adopt when on the bass grounds are very similar to 
 
 those used in bait-casting. Casting from 
 
 ^ ° ^* a canoe or boat, the angler should work 
 
 around the lake shore, casting in toward the rushes and 
 
142 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 lily pads and along the margin of the aquatic vegeta- 
 tion of the lake, and also over and along rocky or sandy 
 bars, about spring-holes, at the inlet or outlet of the 
 lake, and other similar places where the black bass 
 "uses." 
 
 Necessary items in the outfit not mentioned above 
 
 are a small tackle box and a landing net. The latter 
 
 will save many large bass which would 
 
 Jr , , Otherwise be lost by bungling attempts 
 
 to get them into the boat — a six-ounce 
 
 fly-rod is a mighty poor tool with which to "derrick" 
 
 a four-pound bass. 
 
 A modification of strip-casting — -or possibly fly-cast- 
 ing, as it is difficult to determine which method is most 
 closely approximated — exists in the use 
 2^^?^^^^ of small, light fly-spoons in connection 
 
 ^. " with single-hook bass flies (these fly- 
 castmg. ^ • n 1 1 
 
 spoons are practically the same as those 
 
 mentioned for use in strip-casting, but the smallest sizes 
 should be used) on ordinary fly-casting tackle. 
 
 In running water fly-casting for black bass Is on a 
 par, both as a sport and as regards its practicality, with 
 fly-fishing for brook trout. Both the small- and large- 
 mouth bass rise freely to the artificial fly when it is 
 properly presented and under the right conditions, the 
 large-mouth having the reputation of being generally 
 the most willing to inspect the feathers. But the right 
 conditions for bass fly-fishing unfortunately do not 
 prevail In many parts of the country, running water of 
 the proper depth for fly-casting and wading wherein 
 bass, either large- or small-mouthed, exist In sufficient 
 
FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 143 
 
 numbers to warrant good sport with the fly-rod Is very 
 difficult to find except in certain favored localities. 
 
 Usually the bass streams are deep and sluggish, ne- 
 cessitating the boat and the casting rod, or else, if the 
 streams are rapid and shallow, the brook trout is the 
 principal game fish found therein. Fly-fishing for bass 
 in lakes also — well authenticated exceptions duly noted 
 and filed for future and practical reference — is noto- 
 riously unremunerative. 
 
 However, by using the customary outfit for fly-cast- 
 ing, casting in very much the same way and using a 
 small, feather-weight fly-spoon, the angler can have 
 fairly good sport with the fly-rod and the black bass un- 
 der any normal angling conditions. You must, however, 
 be a pretty good fly-caster — know how to use your left 
 hand as well as your right in casting the fly or fly-spin- 
 ner and how to "shoot" your line at the finish of the 
 forward cast — and you must also use a fly-spoon that 
 is suited to the business in hand. 
 
 There is one manufacturer who makes a specialty of 
 this sort of tackle, and, as is often the case, the product 
 of this specialist is measurably In advance of the "just 
 as good" offered by other makers of tackle In general. 
 Since there is little or no trade competition in regard 
 to these fly-spoons and the author therefore is not liable 
 to be accused of odious comparison or entire lack of 
 intelligence about fishing tackle, it might be well to say 
 for the accurate information of the reader that the fly- 
 spinners mentioned are known as the Hlldebrandts. 
 
 It Is necessary that the spoon blades be very light and 
 thin ; that heavy swivels, or for that matter any swivels 
 at all, be avoided ; and that the bass flies used with the 
 
144 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 spinners be well tied and true to pattern and dressed 
 on the best grade of hooks. Any fly-spoon which 
 answers the above requirements will do, others will not. 
 
 The fly-spoons made in tandem style, that is, with 
 two small spoon blades leading the fly, may be especi- 
 ally recommended both for strip-casting proper and 
 also for use on the fly-rod for casting as with the fly. 
 As above suggested only the lightest and smallest spin- 
 ners should be used for casting as In fly-fishing. When 
 ready for the back cast, in this last style of casting, do 
 not snap the spinner out of the water, but lift it out 
 easily. The former method is apt to result disastrously 
 in several ways. Single-hook bucktall spinners and also 
 a similar fly-spinner known as the fox squirrel tail are 
 very successful lures for strip-casting and small spoon 
 casting with the fly-rod. 
 
 Any of the lighter weight surface baits such as are 
 used in bait-casting are also good for strip-casting. It 
 would appear that under certain conditions the black 
 bass favors a floating bait; quite often they will rise to 
 the surface and strike a floating lure when under-water 
 fishing is barren of results. The floating baits are also 
 the most practical and saving of tackle, fish, and temper 
 when fishing very weedy lakes, casting among the lily 
 pads and rushes, and In all places where under-water 
 fishing is liable to result in fouling the tackle either in 
 casting or after a bass is hooked. As a general rule, 
 a bass which strikes a floating bait will fight close to 
 the surface, seldom going down to any considerable 
 depth, and the wise angler, either bait- or strip-caster, 
 fishing where the bottom Is badly obstructed will do 
 well to remember this. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PROSPECTING WITH A CASTING ROD 
 
 On the Trail of the Black Bass 
 
 IT is a fact well known to students of human nature 
 and angling, that a fisherman will often turn his 
 back on good fishing near at hand for the sake of 
 trying his luck on little, inconsequential ponds and 
 rivers which no one ever heard of particularly but are 
 darkly rumored to *'swarm" with huge bass. Sometimes 
 you do, indeed, catch a few bass; oftener you do not. 
 Always you put in many hours of hard work tramping 
 the woods, swinging a paddle or pulling the oars, and 
 at the end of the trip invariably "Never Again" is your 
 slogan. 
 
 Some little time thereafter, running over in your 
 mind the various events of your latest prospecting fiasco, 
 you realize that, after all, you have had a mighty good 
 time; that it is not all of bass fishing to kill bass; and 
 that on these little prospecting tours you experience to 
 the fullest extent all of the things which make fishing 
 really worth while — although you do not catch even 
 one small bass. 
 
 145 
 
146 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 The call of strange waters, little ponds "way off" in 
 the woods, the upper reaches of rivers as yet unexploited 
 by anglers, is practically irresistible. For a time, when 
 camping out, the fishing is within easy reach from the 
 camp. Then, no matter how fine may be the sport at 
 the home-camp, a side trip on the chance of connecting 
 with an imaginary record fish, or finding some purely 
 hypothetical lake is always In order. The rightly 
 constructed angler Is an indefatigable explorer, although 
 at least half the time and from the strictly practical 
 point of view the object of his explorations is some- 
 what vague. It Is manifestly foolish to leave first-class 
 fishing for the merely supposititious sport afforded by 
 some little known and possibly non-existent lake or 
 river, but we all do It. 
 
 Just why a man will tear his way through the woods 
 for days in order to reach a place where ''the hand of 
 man has never set foot," which, after all, is quite like 
 any other place, is difficult to comprehend. And the 
 mental status of the angler who pulls, pushes, and pad- 
 dles a canoe and half a ton of excess baggage and fishing 
 tackle up a river for the express purpose of wetting his 
 line "farther up" than anyone else has ever been crazy 
 enough to fish Is, to say the least, unstable if not dan- 
 gerous. Of course the reason is usually the suppositi- 
 tious larger fish and better fish In the presumably un- 
 fished waters. But the world Is already pretty small 
 and annually growing smaller, and every angler knows, 
 or has reason to know that at the present stage of the 
 game all the best fishing waters are neither lost, strayed, 
 or stolen ; their locations are definitely known and duly 
 
PROSPECTING -147 
 
 recorded in the railroad guide-books. This is from the 
 common-sense point of view — which, of course, should 
 be entirely disregarded as it has no bearing on the 
 matter. 
 
 Just so long, however, as the old saw that it is not 
 all of fishing to catch fish holds true, anglers will 
 continue to chase the will o' the wisp of better fishing, 
 or bigger fish, "farther up" or "farther in," anywhere, 
 in fact, except where you are, always provided the place 
 is sufficiently inaccessible. Inaccessibility of location 
 makes a sporting proposition of any little old mud- 
 bottomed pond that has nothing in it but bull-frogs, 
 bull-heads, and possibly three or four slab-sided pick- 
 erel. Any duly accredited angler will risk his neck to 
 fish such a place as this; and when, naturally, the trip 
 turns out a brilliant failure, although he may protest 
 strenuously against his "luck," way down in his heart 
 he knows that he has got exactly what he went for 
 — whatever that may be — and that, really, he Is quite 
 ready to do it all over again. 
 
 Fishing New Waters 
 
 Prospecting for black bass has, however, its practical 
 side. To fish new waters successfully one should be 
 pretty well acquainted with the habits of the bass in 
 order to judge rightly as to their probable haunts and 
 habits under the local conditions; and although certain 
 phases of this subject have been discussed elsewhere, a 
 review of the matters of this sort most pertinent from 
 the present view-point, together with other facts knowl- 
 edge of which will help the angler when prospecting 
 
148 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 new waters, will serve to emphasize their importance. 
 Whenever possible it is well to call in the aid of some 
 of the local talent, professional or otherwise, with a 
 view to locating the game without loss of time. The 
 black bass is a peculiar and undependable animal; even 
 in ponds closely adjacent the habits and, to a slight 
 extent, the color and formation of the bass respectively 
 therein will differ. Particularly is there liable to be 
 a difference in the kind of bait most favored. In one 
 pond nothing but the natural baits, minnows, frogs, etc., 
 will produce results; in another natural baits are of no 
 use whatever while the various artificials — or, more 
 frequently, one particular artificial — are at a premium. 
 
 Quite naturally the habits of the bass in any given 
 lake are to a great extent dependent upon the character 
 of the lake itself; that is, if bass habits are dependent 
 upon anything but the own sweet will of Mr. Bass in 
 person, to which latter theory the writer is sometimes 
 strongly inclined. Thus in shallow, weedy lakes the 
 bass will be found feeding at quite different times from 
 those in deep, clear water ponds with rocky bottoms; 
 and, of course, as regards waters having these character- 
 istics, it is probable that in the shallower, weedy water 
 you will find the large-mouthed bass, and in the deeper 
 and rocky bottomed lake the small-mouth. 
 
 Also, from season to season, in the same lake, you are 
 likely to find the old feeding grounds deserted and 
 catch pretty nearly all your bass in new places, these 
 new places being productive all through the season, while 
 other spots, to all appearances quite as good, will yield 
 nothing. All through the season, every day, you will 
 
PROSPECTING 149 
 
 take a bass or two off a certain patch of weeds or 
 rushes, another at the point of an old tree fallen in the 
 water, and in a number of other places which become 
 well known to j^ou. Eventually you "go the rounds" 
 visiting these spots in rotation and seldom fishing the 
 rest of the lake. But, in all probability, the next season 
 you will have to start out prospecting again, to learn 
 anew where the bass are living. 
 
 In view of these things it should be manifest that the 
 angler when visiting new waters in search of bass is 
 playing against heavy odds, particularly if his time is 
 limited and the lake is a large one. Some time ago the 
 writer and a friend — to say nothing of two excessively 
 heavy pack baskets, two phenomenally weighty rifles, 
 and two ridiculously ponderous oars — packed through 
 the woods to a lake "swarming with large, gamey black 
 bass." Arriving at the lake a little after noon we found 
 the boat we had expected to use swamped in six feet 
 of water and impossible to raise — the moral is obvious. 
 So we prospected for a craft and found one, a fine little 
 boat that leaked not a drop and floated like a duck and, 
 wonder of wonders, was not locked. Later we learned 
 that this was the only other boat on the lake. This 
 craft we promptly requisitioned — and the morality of 
 this is not so obvious. 
 
 While eating our lunch we visually prospected the 
 lake, looking for the best fishing water; apparently it 
 was all about equally good and very good. All around 
 the lake shore were fine patches of weeds, lily pads, and 
 rushes ; here and there large boulders showed above the 
 surface, indicating fine rocky bars ; and many large pine 
 
I50 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 trees had tipped over into the water affording ideal bass 
 shelters. We knew that our time was limited and that 
 much depended upon how and where we decided to 
 fish. However, it all looked so favorable that we de- 
 cided that if we fished around the south shore we would 
 have all the bass we could carry on the long tramp 
 home. 
 
 So, until dewy eve, we fished around the south shore 
 — ^without even a strike. A few days thereafter we 
 learned that on the next day two anglers fished the 
 north shore, using bait-casting tackle quite similar to 
 our own, and had the finest kind of luck. This shows 
 the seamy side of bass prospecting. 
 
 If it is impracticable to summon the aid of a local 
 angler or guide and time is no object, as when, for 
 instance, you are going into camp on the lake, it is a 
 very good plan to do your first fishing by prospecting 
 with a trolling line. Trolling from the rod is always 
 an effective method for taking bass and in this way, 
 working slowly around the shores on the lookout for 
 bars and other bass habitats, j^ou soon learn the lay of 
 the water. The places w^here you have a strike or 
 catch a bass should be carefully noted by reference to 
 some landmark on the lake shore. Then when you get 
 out the casting tackle and are ready for the real busi- 
 ness of the trip, you will know pretty nearly where to 
 fish. 
 
 The most propitious places for bass vary considerably 
 with the time of year and even with the time of day. 
 Thus the wise prospector early in the season will look 
 for the fish well in-shore among the weeds and rushes 
 
PROSPECTING 151 
 
 and on the edges of rocky or sandy bars; in streams on 
 the riffles and generally in the more shallow water. 
 Fishing off bars, or on them, is almost always successful 
 and the angler should take pains to spot every bar in 
 the stream or lake. 
 
 As the season progresses and the bass seeking cooler 
 waters move out into the deeper portions of the lake 
 the angler must follow them. Casting over the bars 
 and shallows at this time is only successful very early 
 and late in the day when the bass are feeding in-shore. 
 The dissimilarity of taste in the matter of natural and 
 artificial baits shown by bass in even closely adjacent 
 lakes, alluded to above, should be borne in mind by the 
 angler fishing new waters. 
 
 The present tendency of bass fishermen, especially 
 bait-casters, is strongly toward the almost exclusive use 
 of artificial baits; from the standpoint of the practical 
 angler, who uses bait natural or artificial as the circum- 
 stances seem to warrant, the exclusive use of spoons, 
 artificial minnows, and surface baits, to the absolute 
 exclusion of natural bait in any form, is not desirable. 
 When fair success may be had with the artificial baits — 
 even although at the same time heavier results could be 
 had with natural bait — the use of the artificials is 
 cleaner, simpler, and preferable. But fanatical adher- 
 ence to the artificial baits, for any reason whatever, 
 when the natural is evidently and exclusively preferred 
 by the bass is difficult to justify. 
 
 The prospector for bass, then, should not bring in an 
 adverse decision in regard to any certain pond or lake 
 until a variety of baits have been tried and the bass 
 
152 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 found wanting, and even then It is quite possible that 
 they wanted something else. The angler who favors 
 the small-mouth bass, discrediting the merit of the large- 
 mouth, should prospect only in certain places, while 
 the angler who is satisfied with any sort of bass has a 
 much larger field to cover. 
 
 It is not merely a bookish theory that the small-mouth 
 in streams favors swiftly running water — much the 
 same localities as are sought by the brook trout — while 
 the large-mouth seeks quiet, weedy places. This has 
 been proved to the writer many times and some times 
 very strikingly. On the Housatonic in Connecticut, as 
 an instance, where the dam of an electric power plant 
 affords swift-water fishing below and still-water above, 
 you will take exclusively small-mouth bass below the 
 dam and large-mouths above it. 
 
 In lakes also the habitats of the two black basses are 
 almost equally well defined, the small-mouths being 
 found about the spring-holes, on rocky bars, and pos- 
 sibly at the inlet or outlet of the lake if there is an 
 appreciable current at these places, or where, as at the 
 mouth of a mountain brook, the water is of a lower tem- 
 perature. Often the two basses co-exist in the same 
 lake when the large-mouth is usually found in quiet, 
 weedy bays, among lily pads and rushes, and where the 
 bottom is soft. 
 
 As a method of quickly trying out new waters bait- 
 casting is quite equal to trolling provided the caster 
 does not spend too long a time in whipping out any one 
 spot. As a matter of fact repeated casting over a re- 
 stricted piece of water is seldom of use anyway; almost 
 
PROSPECTING 153 
 
 invariably if there is a bass in the immediate vicinity of 
 the cast and he is in a rising mood, he will strike at 
 the first or second cast; if he does not, subsequent casts 
 in the same place will seldom persuade him. With one 
 man at the oars or paddle and another to handle the 
 casting rod, working around the lake shore slowly and 
 without stopping to whip out any one place to a finish, 
 it is possible to prospect new fishing grounds very 
 quickly and effectively. 
 
 When casting from a boat or canoe a great deal 
 depends upon the man at the oars or paddle. It is an 
 open question who deserves the most credit for the suc- 
 cessful landing of a big, hard-fighting game fish, the 
 man behind the rod or the one who, by his skilful 
 handling of the fishing craft, aids the rod at every stage 
 of the game. The canoemen of the North aid the 
 angler in his pursuit of salmon and square-tails. In the 
 North and West the man behind the paddle or the oars 
 is more than a small factor in the landing of masca- 
 longe. Wherever there are bass, there, too, are the 
 fin- and weather-wise boatmen, upon whose knowledge 
 of feeding grounds and boat handling the sportsman 
 tourist must largely depend. 
 
 At present the rowboat is in most general use for 
 fishing purposes, but the canvas-covered canoe is con- 
 stantly gaining in popularity, especially for stream fish- 
 ing. There is also a general tendency in most all locali- 
 ties toward better boats. Some years ago it was the 
 exception to find, save among privately owned boats, 
 anything much better than a **pung," a blunt-nosed, 
 leaky monstrosity with a chronic objection to direct 
 
154 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 progress either forward or backward. The introduc- 
 tion of the inexpensive, well built, and very serviceable 
 steel boats has bettered the situation a great deal. For 
 any fishing that is worth while, it is impossible to get a 
 boat that is too good; that is, as regards lines and ease 
 of handling. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 CASTS AT RANDOM WITH UNEXPECTED 
 RISES 
 
 The Wideawake Angler 
 
 WHEN fishing a trout stream the man who 
 keeps his mind on the business in hand is far 
 more successful than the "contemplative" 
 angler. Contemplation — we know that this, in view of 
 the very familiar traditions of the gentle art, is almost 
 sacrilegious — and real fly-fishing are strictly incom- 
 patible. Fishing in books, however, that is, in some 
 books, and fishing in rivers and lakes are two quite dif- 
 ferent propositions. For successful fly-fishing the an- 
 gler must be "right on his muscle" every minute. If he 
 allows his attention to wander to the proverbial "beau- 
 ties of nature" or indulges in "day dreams" in accord- 
 ance with the tenets of the less practical literature of 
 angling, a light creel is the logical result. The aver- 
 age sportsman, although not insensitive to the natural 
 beauties of the stream, quite naturally prefers to make 
 a good catch — not necessarily an excessive one. 
 
 Striking a trout that has risen to the fly is a matter 
 
 155 
 
156 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 of quick eye, steady nerve, and constant watchfulness. 
 Every fly-caster can recall days when, although the 
 trout were rising freely, his catch was very light. It 
 was not because the trout were rising short. It was 
 merely because he was a bit off in his striking, a little 
 too quick or too slow. He was not "on his nerve." In 
 target shooting with the rifle the same conditions pre- 
 vail. There are days when the expert marksman is 
 unable to let-of¥ at the right time. To repay one for 
 such unhallowed occasions there are days when every 
 rise is fastened with certainty. 
 
 When the cast of flies is on the water they must be 
 closely watched in order to take immediate advantage 
 of a rise, but when the angler is not engaged in actual 
 casting he should watch for a rising trout or likely look- 
 ing places for a cast. A fly cast over a trout that has 
 just risen is pretty sure to bring results. Although you 
 may have fished a certain stream many times, j^ou are 
 almost certain to find new places that are promising — 
 if you look for them. Every year a trout stream 
 changes, in accordance with the force of the spring 
 freshets. On your first day out you may find old-time 
 favorite pools filled in and practically ruined and you 
 will find that here and there new pools have formed. 
 Rapids have been shallowed to riffles and riffles deep- 
 ened to rapids. Overhanging trees have finally toppled 
 oyer into the stream. New lurking places for trout 
 have been hollowed out beneath the banks. Every year 
 you must learn the stream over again. 
 
 In almost every trout stream there are certain reaches 
 which are practically barren of trout. The careful 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 157 
 
 angler, however, during the first days of the season, will 
 try out such places very thoroughly, for It Is quite pos- 
 sible that the annual change In stream conditions may 
 result In trout being found there. I remember very 
 well such an occurrence. A trout stream that I have 
 fished a great many times was always troutless In Its 
 lower waters, despite the fact that here the stream, as 
 far as one could judge, was exactly suited to the fish. 
 There were several short rapids leading Into fine pools, 
 many large, submerged boulders just right for trout to 
 hide around and beneath, and the banks were thickly 
 grown to pines. Yet for several seasons I fished this 
 water from time to time without even a rise. The 
 trout were not there. But the following season the 
 first day over this same water put a dozen good trout 
 in the basket, and to date the fishing there Is fairly 
 reliable. Something had occurred to bring in the 
 trout; just what, it would be difficult to determine. 
 
 The wideawake angler, admitting for the purpose of 
 contrast that the contemplative angler exists outside 
 the pages of angling literature, a matter of some doubt, 
 may not become an authority on the beauties of Nature 
 In the abstract, but he learns a good bit about certain 
 special phases of nature — fish, for instance. Some one 
 has said that the best time to observe nature Is when the 
 fish aren't biting. This is undoubtedly true, but it is 
 also an admission of inability to make the fish bite. 
 That this is a pretty difficult thing, at times Impossible, 
 may be true, but, nevertheless, your hardworking, 
 wideawake angler works hardest and is most wideawake 
 When it Is a case of making the trout rise or an empty 
 
158 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 creel. And herein is one of the most interesting phases 
 of fishing. A good trout taken under difficulties, teased 
 to the fly when most disdainful of it, is worth a dozen 
 fool fish crazy for the fly to such an extent that one 
 has only to offer the cast to have it accepted. Only the 
 enthusiast, however, the true-blue, strenuous fly-caster, 
 will long continue to hammer away at water to all 
 intents and purposes trout-void. 
 
 A constitutional inability to quit, when every trout 
 added to the score must be a trout earned by the hard- 
 est kind of work and the exercise of infinite patience 
 and skill, is the hall-mark of the genuine fly-fisherman. 
 To such a man continued ill success serves merely as 
 an incentive to further effort. He seeks to discover 
 just what are the conditions which are causing the trout 
 to stay down. Arriving at some conclusion regarding 
 this, he endeavors to meet the situation in the selection, 
 arrangement, or use of his tackle. If the results show 
 that his theory is wrong it is simply a case of trying 
 another method. And a good many times he eventually 
 hits upon the proper thing and then — . 
 
 On the other hand we all know the "quitter." He is 
 anxious to be known among men as an ''ardent angler," 
 an "enthusiast." He talks fish and fishing to infinity 
 and upon microscopic provocation. But on the stream 
 a little hard luck quickly shows his class. His conver- 
 sation waxes loud and rather more than impolitely em- 
 phatic. He talks about smashing the rod — "might just 
 as well fish in a frog pond" — and thrashes about in the 
 stream like a pointer dog in a mud-wallow. Finally he 
 quits entirely — ^whereupon there is much joy among his 
 
o 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 159 
 
 companions. It is quite true that there are times and 
 places when and where no amount of careful work will 
 bring even slightly adequate returns and continued 
 effort is futile. It is also true that the man who keeps 
 his powder dry and his line wet generally has some- 
 thing to show for his pains. 
 
 Game Fish in Winter 
 
 The advantage to the hunter and angler of a good 
 working knowledge of the habits and haunts of game 
 and game fishes is generally conceded. The man who 
 knows the life histories of the deer and grouse, the 
 brook trout and the black bass, has little need of a 
 guide, save in so far as a geographical knowledge of 
 the country to be fished or hunted may be necessary, to 
 show him where to look for trout or where not to look 
 for grouse. 
 
 Given two hunters or anglers equally well outfitted 
 in the matter of guns and tackle and equally good shots 
 and casters, and the one who has taken pains in his 
 tramps afield and along the streams to note carefully 
 such habits of the quarry as may have a bearing on his 
 sport will always make the better showing. There are, 
 of course, artificially planted and preserved coverts and 
 streams where the abundance and innocence of the game 
 will make up for lack of skill with gun, rifle, or fly- 
 rod ; in such cases knowledge of how and where to look 
 for game and fish is not an imperative factor for success. 
 
 Where game and game fish exist in this superabun- 
 dance, getting them is purely a matter of being a good 
 shot or casting a straight line; even the poor shot and 
 
i6o THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 the awkward rod handler may obtain enough birds or 
 trout to salve the wounds to his pride caused by re- 
 peated misses with the gun or the usual misfortunes of 
 the novice or the confirmed bungler with the fly-rod. 
 
 There is a certain fish and game preserve controlled 
 by a number of amiable but quite unathletic gentlemen 
 ''from the City." Each year, just before the opening of 
 the trout season, the superintendent of this preserve 
 dumps into the stream which runs through it several 
 hundred liver-fed, two-pound trout. A few days there- 
 after the amiable but quite unathletic gentlemen "from 
 the City" come up and "catch 'em" — on worms. That 
 is one sort of sport. 
 
 On the other hand, there is another trout stream not 
 far distant, a hard-fished public stream, from which I 
 am willing to wager that the not too strenuous gentle- 
 men aforesaid could not take a half-dozen trout in a 
 day's fishing — with worms or in any other way. Yet 
 a friend of mine can usually show you fifteen or twenty 
 good trout taken from this stream on flies almost any 
 day. That is another sort of sport. 
 
 This is not saying that the amiable metropolitans are 
 entirely lacking in the right spirit; the mere fact that 
 they show a certain appreciation of what we mean when 
 we say "trout fishing" is evidence of existence of the 
 right idea. It is merely saying that sport of the right 
 sort is a matter of skill plus experience and observation. 
 
 But knowledge of the open season habits of fish and 
 game, while all that the sportsman absolutely must 
 know, may well be supplemented with some familiarity 
 with the life of game when the season is closed. The 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM i6i 
 
 appeal of the wilderness and woodland In winter has 
 been repeatedly described and maj^ here be taken for 
 granted ; also, that the exercise of a long tramp along 
 country roads, ice-bound streams, and through white 
 forest lands is no bad thing should go without saying. 
 
 Winter observation of the habits of fish is a pretty 
 difficult matter; as, indeed, is actual observation of 
 stream life at any time. The things we know about 
 trout and bass and other game fishes have been in great 
 part gathered from observation of specimens in con- 
 finement in hatcheries and aquariums. By this is meant 
 knowledge of the life of fishes apart from certain 
 phases well known to any experienced angler. The 
 trout stream in winter, banked with snow and, save in 
 the rifts where the current is very broken and rapid, 
 sealed with ice, offers little hint as to the life of its in- 
 habitants. 
 
 That the trout brook of January after a fall of snow 
 and In the sunshine Is nearly, if not quite, as good to 
 look at as the trout brook of June, Is small consolation 
 to the man who wants to know about trout. And yet 
 it would appear that the sportsman who follows down 
 his favorite stream when that stream Is nothing more 
 than so much snow and ice learns something about 
 trout ; just what. It would be difficult to put Into words, 
 but the fact remains that the angler who has an all-the- 
 year-round acquaintance with his stream has a certain 
 advantage over the man whose stream experience is 
 limited to the spring and summer months. 
 
 The brook trout of the winter time Is a very dififerent 
 fish from the brook trout of June. He Is Inactive, 
 
i62 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 sluggish, and a bottom feeder. He does not go into 
 retirement to such an extent as does the bass, but, never- 
 theless, is far from active. The brook trout feed more 
 or less, rather less than more, during the winter, and 
 sometimes ice fishermen, trap-fishing for pickerel and 
 perch on lakes inhabited by the speckled trout, catch 
 them through the ice. 
 
 In the Berkshires there Is a small lake known as 
 Three Mile. Three Mile brook is the outlet of the 
 little lake and has brook trout. Naturally there are 
 trout in the lake. Some time ago some winter anglers 
 iishing through the ice with the ordinary ''types" or 
 pickerel traps used for the purpose took fourteen brook 
 trout averaging a pound. The story does not tell 
 whether they put them back or not, but that they 
 caught the trout I know to be a fact. I might add that 
 one of the best known and most skilful fly-casters in 
 Massachusetts has repeatedly fished Three Mile Pond 
 for brook trout during the open season, with flies and 
 everything else except dynamite, but without success — • 
 not a single trout. This is a fine situation to theorize 
 about, if you are given to theories. 
 
 Opening day trout fishermen have the best luck bot- 
 tom-fishing with bait, and they will tell you that the 
 trout of April first or fifteenth, as the case may be, 
 although they take bait very freely, are extremely slug- 
 gish when hooked and when landed are found gener- 
 ally to be In poor condition. It would seem, then, that 
 the brook trout Is a light feeder in winter rather from 
 lack of opportunity than from inclination, for the con- 
 ditions prevailing early in April are usually distinctly 
 wintry. 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 163 
 
 I have taken brook trout on bait standing in snow up 
 to my knees; also in the worst of a heavy snowstorm. 
 Under the same conditions trout have been taken on 
 flies. Brook trout in October or November are found 
 at the headwaters of streams and up the small tributary 
 brooks where they resort during the spawning season. 
 After the spawning season and during the winter 
 months there must be a general drifting back to the 
 main stream, and in the main stream a movement down- 
 stream to the usually deeper waters below. 
 
 The brook trout migrations mentioned by the natu- 
 ralists, that is, a general movement up-stream prior to the 
 spawning season, followed by a retreat to lower waters 
 thereafter, are, however, not to be taken too literally; 
 it should not be understood that at any time either the 
 upper or lower reaches of the stream are entirely trout 
 deserted. As in the summer, trout may be found about 
 the spring-holes, so also in winter they are found there. 
 In the summer they seek the vicinity of the spring-holes 
 because there the water is cooler, but in winter because, 
 rather curiously, it is then the warmer. Spring water is 
 slow to freeze. The usual winter habitat of the brook 
 trout is in the deeper holes and long, deep reaches of 
 still-water. 
 
 Formerly there was considerable controversy about 
 the so-called hibernating of the black bass during the 
 winter months, but it is now definitely known that, 
 when the streams and lakes are frozen, the bass do, 
 indeed, hibernate in much the same manner as certain 
 fur-bearers. Hibernation, however, does not imply 
 complete cessation of the forces of life but merely a 
 
i64 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 dormant state which, under certain circumstances, may 
 be temporarily interrupted. Thus the basses, both 
 large- and small-mouthed, when the water reaches a 
 low temperature, seek refuge in the interstices of rocks, 
 in hollow, submerged logs, and places of like nature, 
 sometimes even burrowing into the mud of the lake 
 bottom, where they remain for long periods inactive and 
 without feeding. 
 
 But if several days of unseasonably warm weather 
 should come, melting the ice and raising the tempera- 
 ture of the water, the bass would again become active. 
 Also it is fairly certain that individuals remain active 
 all winter; that is, all the bass in any given lake are 
 not inactive at any one time. Ice fishermen quite often 
 during the winter report catching a single, sometimes 
 two or three, black bass. On one occasion a friend of 
 mine, fishing through the ice of a river cove, took eleven 
 black bass, large-mouthed, the heaviest weighing two 
 and a half pounds. This is the heaviest catch of black 
 bass through the ice that has ever come to my notice. 
 The winter bass seeks the deep waters of stream or lake, 
 coming to the shallows when the water grows warm in 
 the springtime. 
 
 The winter habits of pike, pickerel, and perch are 
 much the same as in the warmer months, although they 
 are not so frequently found in shallow water. These 
 fishes feed all winter and are quite active at all times. 
 Ice-fishing for pickerel and perch, although hardly in 
 the same class with fly-fishing for trout, is good fun 
 ^nd widely practiced. 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 165 
 
 Killing Time in a Fishing Camp 
 
 If the camp Is a permanent one you will often have 
 time to kill and you cannot do better than to use some 
 of it in putting the fishing industry on a business-like 
 basis. As a general rule camping is seldom done merely 
 for the pleasure of life under canvas ; that is, the camp is 
 most often subordinate to the pursuits of fishing or 
 hunting or some other outdoor sport. You should not 
 allow all your attention to be taken up with the com- 
 monplace details of tents, outfits, cookery, and the like. 
 If the fishing is to be successful there are several things 
 to be looked to in this regard. 
 
 One of the first necessities is a rod rack. Possibly 
 you will go into camp with the idea that, when through 
 with it, you will take the rod down. It is quite prob- 
 able that for the first two or three days you will do 
 this. After that it is extremely doubtful. Something 
 like the following comes to pass. You come in from 
 fishing and are immediately assailed with a more or less 
 polite request to rustle firewood — at once. You lean 
 the split-bamboo against a convenient pine tree and do 
 your duty. Then other things demand your attention. 
 The rod is out of sight and mind. All night It leans 
 against the convenient pine tree and by the next morning 
 has acquired a beautiful set and is a fit candidate for 
 the rod hospital. Now If there had been a rod rack 
 this would not have happened. 
 
 If your quarters are large enough have the rack In- 
 side; if not, then under the tent-fly close to the tent 
 where the rods will be protected and easy to get at In 
 
i66 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 case of heavy rain. All you need is some crotched 
 sticks. Plant them closely enough together so that the 
 rod will be supported equally throughout its entire 
 length. 
 
 For the bait-casting rods a better and more conve-" 
 nient arrangement, since these rods are short enough 
 to allow this, is a rack on which the rods can be sus- 
 pended from the tip. Such a rack can easily be con- 
 structed in several diiferent ways and it hardly seems 
 necessary to go into the details. It should be placed 
 inside the tent and will take up very little room. Never 
 by any chance allow a split-bamboo rod, or, for that 
 matter, any rod, to lie for any length of time on the 
 ground. It can be ruined in one night by this sort 
 of treatment. By all means take the rod down if you 
 can remember to; otherwise, use the rod rack. 
 
 In packing for a near-home trip, if you are not going 
 light, it is a good plan to stow some of the outfit in a 
 box which can be made into a live-bait box; or make 
 your bait box at home and then utilize it for packing. 
 Be sure to have the cover stout enough to hold the 
 weights you will use upon it. 
 
 If you have a line dryer you will probably use it 
 sometimes. A couple of cleats nailed one above the 
 other to a tree or the tent pole make a competent dryer 
 of which the most striking characteristic is simplicity. 
 If you attempt a more complicated arrangement the 
 chances are it will never be completed, unless you are 
 one of those not rare individuals who may be described 
 as "camp tinkers." 
 
 If the natural conditions are favorable it is a good 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 167 
 
 plan to have a pen where the surplus fish may be kept 
 ahVe — if there is a surplus — so that when, as sometimes 
 happens, the fish are off their feed for some length of 
 time, it will not be a case of straight bacon. 
 
 The angler who camps beside his fishing has many 
 advantages over the one-day fisherman. Not only can 
 he choose the best days and the best time of day for 
 fishing but he has every facility for learning the pe- 
 culiarities of the fish in that particular lake, their hours 
 of feeding, where to look for them, their taste in the 
 matter of flies and baits, the effect upon them of various 
 local conditions, and similar matters. These are things 
 the knowledge of which makes for success and the 
 angler in camp should not fail to observe them. 
 
 Canoe vs. Waders 
 
 It must be admitted at the start that the majority of 
 fly-fishermen, if the stream conditions are at all favor- 
 able, would choose the waders. For this choice there 
 are many reasons, all good ones. The fly-caster who 
 has acquired his angling education on northern trout 
 streams is never quite at home when casting from boat 
 or canoe ; and to the minds of many anglers wading the 
 stream is a necessary accompaniment of the day's fishing 
 if the occasion is to be enjoyed to the utmost. 
 
 The man in the waders undoubtedly gets into closer 
 communication with the stream and its surroundings 
 than does the canoeman. From the first pool or riflUe 
 he follows the stream through its various windings, 
 learning as he can in no other way its peculiarities. 
 Every trout stream is unique. To fish It successfully 
 
i68 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 it must be learned, and the man who wades, soon 
 acquires a good working knowledge. 
 
 Given a stream which may be fished by either method, 
 canoe or waders, the question arises as to which method 
 is the more apt to be effective. Wading a trout stream 
 is quite a science in itself. Some anglers, not the ma- 
 jority in America at least, favor fishing or wading up- 
 stream. The reasons for this preference are many and 
 logical. It is claimed that as trout customarily lie 
 heading up-stream the angler casting from below is less 
 liable to be seen; that the flies when so cast as to float 
 down to the fish from above act more naturally than 
 when worked more or less against the current ; and that 
 wading up-stream removes the possibility of alarming 
 the trout or, at least, causing them to be suspicious by 
 any disturbance of the stream bed, the dislodgment of 
 small sticks, or muddying the water, the current, of 
 course, carrying the news to the trout when the angler 
 is working down-stream. 
 
 The advantages of wading down-stream in the typi- 
 cally swift trout stream are, however, very apparent 
 to most experienced fly-casters. In the first place It is 
 far more natural and certainly much easier to wade with 
 the current than against It. It is generally possible to 
 cast a sufficiently long line to do away with the pos- 
 sibility of being seen by the fish, and it is a question 
 whether the flies if skilfully fished from above are not 
 quite as attractive as when worked from below. And 
 as to the matter of disturbing the stream bed the man 
 who wades slowly and carefully can reduce the dis- 
 turbance to a negligible quantity. 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 169 
 
 The man who wades enjoys absolute freedom from 
 restraint. The canoeman is bounded by the gunwales 
 of his craft. However, in the silence with which the 
 canoe makes its progress there is an advantage. If 
 care is taken in the matter of anchorage no possible 
 warning is given to the fish. Also, if the stream is a 
 large one, good places may be easily fished from the 
 canoe which might be beyond the ability of the most 
 expert fly-caster to reach when wading. In the case 
 of over-fished waters the use of a canoe, if the stream 
 has ordinarily been fished by wading, might spell the 
 difference between a light creel and a heavy one. 
 
 When fishing a stream of this sort it may be taken 
 for granted that the most accessible spots have been 
 fished to death, and the angler who is wise and am- 
 bitious will devote himself to the more difficult places. 
 The chances are that such spots have been very little 
 fished, and possibly, in the case of some of them, not at 
 all. In many trout streams of good size there are 
 reaches of deep, swift-running water too deep to wade 
 and where the banks are so brushy as to prevent casting 
 from them. Such places are avoided by the average 
 angler, the man who wades, and the use of a canoe in 
 such waters should yield very weighty results. 
 
 Landing Net and Gaff 
 
 The number of game fish annually lost between the 
 water and the creel through the unskilful use or the 
 absence of a landing net or gaff probably approaches 
 closely to the amount of the entire catch. The final 
 netting or gaffing of a fish sufficiently played and ready 
 
I70 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 to be landed is more than a mere detail ; it requires skill, 
 presence of mind, and, above all, coolness. Every 
 angler can remember times when the bungling use of 
 the net resulted in the loss of the "big one." Also, the 
 bungler, if the fisherman did his duty on these occa- 
 sions, should have no difficulty in recalling the particular 
 disaster in which he figured. 
 
 In stream fishing for brook trout, however, the angler 
 is usually his own netter, and if through his haste or 
 lack of skill in handling the net, the especially large 
 one gets away, he has no one to blame but himself. 
 Landing a trout in still-water is a matter of no great 
 difficulty. The fish can be gradually played in to the 
 angler, and when he is ready to be taken out the net 
 should be immersed and the fish led over it. Sudden 
 motions should be avoided and the fish neatly meshed 
 without touching him with the rim of the net. 
 
 Sometimes the lightest touch of the net will revive 
 a played-out fish and he is off again like a flash. In 
 view of this it is advisable before using the net to have 
 a fair amount of slack line off the reel which should be 
 held between the fingers of the rod hand so that it can 
 be released immediately. Thus prepared, a final rally 
 of the fish is not apt to result in his escape. Unless 
 the trout was originally hooked very hard after a more 
 or less protracted siege of playing, the hook often "hangs 
 by a thread" in which case if the trout is snubbed in the 
 least the hook will tear away, and frequently if any 
 slack is given it will drop out. 
 
 Landing a trout in fast-running water is another 
 thing. Here, if the fish is a large one, the angler has 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 171 
 
 his work cut out for him. The best plan is not to 
 attempt to play the fish up to you but to hold him, 
 as far as can safely be ventured, where he is hooked, 
 and work down to him. If you try to drag him up- 
 stream it brings him to the surface where he will roll 
 over and over and thrash about until nine times out of 
 ten he whips himself off the hook. Once down to the 
 fish so that you do not have to handle him from above, 
 but from the side or below, lead him gradually into a 
 gentle side current. The fish should be up-stream from 
 you when you are ready to use the net. The current 
 will then bring him over the net instead of taking him 
 away from it. 
 
 When fishing from a boat or canoe the net should 
 have a handle at least four or five feet long. Almost 
 invariably a bass that has been played in to the boat 
 will take one more run w^hen he sees it, and unless he 
 is absolutely played to a finish he will always fight away 
 from the boat. For fish that run large, such as the 
 lake trout, a gaff should be used. Gaffing a fish should 
 be gone about in the same way as when using the net. 
 The gaff should be immersed and the fish led over it. 
 A skilful gaffer will take a fish in out of the wxt with 
 one motion. 
 
 Although some anglers advise that even when there 
 are two men in the boat, it is better for the man who is 
 playing the fish to do his own netting, it would seem 
 that it is preferable for the angler whose rod is not busy 
 to handle the net. It is much easier to lead the fish 
 within landing distance of the man who occupies the 
 
172 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 opposite end of the boat than to lead It in where you 
 can net it yourself. 
 
 The Trolling and Casting Spoon 
 
 With the advent of the short bait-casting rod and 
 the free-running reel has come an increase of interest 
 in artificial lures. Bass fishermen of an experimental 
 turn of mind are kept busy trying out each new bait 
 as it makes its appearance, and the collections of these 
 lures which some enthusiasts have made are indeed 
 fearful and wonderful to behold. The non-angling 
 person if shown one of these museums, without explana- 
 tory remarks, would be inclined to believe that it was 
 the life work, complete to date, of an extremely Ingen- 
 ious maniac. With all this interest in the new and 
 sometimes fantastic lures, not that some of them do 
 not catch bass, the old and very reliable "spoon hook" 
 has suffered a temporary eclipse. And yet, taking every- 
 thing into consideration, the spoon Is without doubt 
 the best of all-round artificial bait ever Invented. Upon 
 It, when skilfully and seasonably used, every important 
 game fish of fresh waters may be taken. Its attractive 
 motion when In action Is hardly equalled by any of the 
 later inventions, and as a casting bait it may always be 
 relied upon. 
 
 The original spoon was merely a spoon-shaped blade 
 with a hole at one end for attaching the line and at the 
 other end a single hook was fixed. It caught fish. Since 
 then the tackle dealers have put on the market manifold 
 variations of the original, some of them sufficiently 
 ingenious, but none of them In any way more consist- 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 173 
 
 ently successful than the standard trolling and casting 
 spoon as it is now furnished. The different forms of 
 these variations are entirely too many to be considered. 
 One variation, however, it might be well to mention. 
 Spoons are furnished in several different materials, the 
 principal ones being nickel, brass, copper, silver, and 
 gold. As between these forms when in use the brass, 
 copper, or gold spoons are less flashy in effect. Many 
 anglers affirm, with reason, that in accordance with the 
 well-known rule as to the use of artificial flies, the less 
 noticeable spoons are more successful in very clear, 
 bright weather. 
 
 As to whether the tuft of feathers with which the 
 trebles of most spoons are furnished is advantageous, 
 there is a decided difference of opinion. Their original 
 excuse was probably merely as a concealment for the 
 hooks. As far as this is concerned they are useless. 
 Concealment is unnecessary. The question is rather as 
 to whether the addition of the feathers renders the spoon 
 more attractive. In this regard expert opinion seems 
 to favor the feathers for bass, while as regards pickerel 
 and pike it is a matter of indifference. As the feathers 
 are usually tied there is a generous sprinkling of red; 
 and as the black bass is known to have a strong predi- 
 lection for this color it would seem that, since the use 
 of the feathers is hardly a definite disadvantage, the 
 wise angler should at least hesitate before following the 
 advice of those who advocate the use of the bare treble 
 or single hook in connection with the spoon. 
 
 In reading the authorities it is the duty of the layman 
 to believe implicitly all that he reads and, as far as 
 
174 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 possible, to go and do likewise — otherwise of what use 
 are authorities? Sometimes, however, this is a matter 
 of no little difficulty, for these gentlemen of great ex- 
 perience along similar lines quite frequently arrive at 
 exactly contrary conclusions. 
 
 Here Is an example. William C. Harris held the 
 opinion that the use of a spoon in connection with a 
 minnow rendered the minnow much more effective. 
 Dr. James A. Henshall has stated that, In his opinion, 
 this use of a spoon is not only of no advantage but that 
 "moreover, it savors of pot-fishing." And there you 
 are. In view of this, it would seem that others are 
 entitled to a very firm opinion one way or the other. 
 The consensus of opinion is probably that a small spoon 
 so rigged as to lead the minnow is an advantage. The 
 flash of the revolving metal, easily seen at a greater 
 distance than the natural sheen of the minnow, attracts 
 the fish from a wider area than would the minnow 
 alone, with the result that they eventually strike the 
 bait. 
 
 The Way of a Trout With a Fly 
 
 Of all forms of angling fly-fishing Is the most intrin- 
 sically interesting and the most productive of varied and 
 sometimes remarkable experiences. The stream fly- 
 fisherman of many seasons is perforce learned in the 
 ways of the brook trout. In fair weather and foul, at 
 times successfully and at other times with 111 success, 
 he has cast his flies over many waters and been In at the 
 death of many good fish. But, withal, the way of a 
 trout with a fly is still to him much of a mystery. There 
 
Good Rainbow Water 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 175 
 
 are, In general, in every stream three characteristic 
 localities wherein at some time the trout will rise to a 
 fly; these are the riffles, rapids, and pools. In each of 
 these places the rises, as a rule, will show certain fairly 
 well sustained differences; that is, to take the con- 
 ditional extremes, the trout of the quiet water will rise 
 to the fly quite differently from his brother of the rapids. 
 
 Dependent upon the time, early, well along, or late 
 In the season, trout are found on the riffles in lesser or 
 greater numbers and at night large trout resort there 
 when feeding. But as a rule the trout of the shallow 
 riffles are not large. They strike very quickly, fre- 
 quently miss, and fastening them is a matter of quick 
 eye and good judgment, to say nothing of an educated 
 wrist. In the pools the conditions are reversed. Here 
 the fish are apt to be weighty and their method of rising 
 and taking the fly Is in dignified keeping with their size. 
 The angler must adapt his course of action to the 
 occasion. Also the question of what fly and how fished 
 can usually be decided only by actual trial. 
 
 In regard to the construction of the artificial fly some 
 fly-fishing theorists hold that coloration is of chief Im- 
 portance and others maintain that color should be sub- 
 servient to form. The practical fly-fisherman Is unwill- 
 ing to subscribe entirely to either theory. Minute dif- 
 ferences and gradations In coloration or form do not 
 appeal to the practical man as being of sufficient Im- 
 portance to warrant the hair-splitting and ink-shedding 
 In which their advocates indulge. And yet it must be 
 admitted that almost every angler can cite from his 
 own experience an occasion when some such slight 
 
176 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 
 
 variation of shade or shape proved the deciding factor 
 In the day's success. 
 
 Every angler likes to fish a new, well-tied fly. There 
 are times, however, and this Is worth remembering, 
 when the oldest, most frayed out nondescript In the fly- 
 book will succeed despite the fact that the latest spring 
 fashions In artificial bugs have failed dismally. Such a 
 ragged veteran as this, with a torn wing and body 
 partly unravelled and trailing, seems at times to have an 
 almost hypnotic influence over reluctant fish. The 
 grizzly king, a very good general fly bordering on the 
 fancy, is usually tied with a red tail. As an Instance 
 of the occasional Importance of small differentiations In 
 the artificial fly it may be said that in some localities 
 this fly Is of almost no use unless the red tail is removed. 
 
 As a rule the fly-book of the experienced angler con- 
 tains flies of comparatively few patterns in regard to 
 color, while as regards variation of size the range is 
 wide. Every fly-caster comes In time to depend upon 
 a certain few flies which have served him well, and a 
 plentiful supply of these favorites dressed on hooks of 
 various sizes. Is all that he asks. The coachman is the 
 most generally useful trout fly and aside from it there 
 is no other fly upon which two anglers are wont to 
 agree. While it is true that a restricted fly list Is wholly 
 competent on waters which the angler has fished many 
 times and knows like a book, it is also true that In 
 strange waters the angler who plays his aforetime fav- 
 orites to the exclusion of reputedly successful local 
 patterns Is Inviting disappointment. 
 
CASTS AT RANDOM 177 
 
 ^ Fishing the flj^ when all is said, is of far more im- 
 portance than either the formation or coloration of the 
 fly. The operation of casting maj^ to a certain extent 
 or natural limit of proficiency, be learned by almost 
 anyone. Fishing the fly is quite another matter and 
 herein the angler shows his quality. To fish success- 
 fully with the fly the angler must have ''fish sense." 
 
 THE END 
 
OUTING HOW T O B O O K No. I, 
 
 THE BOOK OF 
 
 Camping ^ Woodcraft 
 
 By HORACE KEPHART 
 
 It fits the ^pocket — an encyclopedia m 4% by 7 inches. 
 Copiojisly illustrated jji pages. Cloth, decorative, 
 %i -SO postpaid. 
 
 ^HE BOOK OF CAMPING AND WOOD- 
 CRAFT," by Horace Kephart, is author- 
 itative in every detail. No more valuable 
 book on life in the woods has been produced. 
 
 It has an added charm for the old timer at 
 tramping and camping— so much knowledge is here 
 confined in so small a space; for the individual 
 starting out on his first "open road" pilgrimage it 
 is a veritable gold mine ; for the man "just going 
 out for a few days" it fills the same need. And 
 back of all this is the fact that the book reads like 
 a novel, so charmingly is it written. 
 
 ■A-p] 
 
 LIST OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Outfitting. — The Sportstnan^s Clothing. — Personal 
 Kits. — Tents aftd Tools. — Utensils and Food. —A 
 Check List. — Packing up. — The Camp. — The Camp- 
 Fir e. — Mark mans hip in the Woods. — Dressing and 
 Keeping Game and Fish. — Camp 
 Cookery. -Pests of the Woods. -For est 
 Travel. — Keeping a Course. — Blazes. 
 — Survey Lines. — A'atiiral Signs of 
 Direction. — Getting Lost. — Bivouacs. 
 — Finer gency Foods. — Living off the 
 Country. -Edible Plants of the Wild- 
 erness. — Axemanship. — Qualities 
 of Wood aftd Bark.- Trophies, Buck- 
 ski7t and Rawhide. — Taftning Pelts. 
 — Other Animal Products. — Acci- 
 dents: Their Backwoods Treatmetit. 
 
OUTING HOW TO BOOK N o. 2. 
 
 Boat Sailing 
 
 (Fair Weatker and Foul) 
 
 By CAPTAIN A. J. KENEALY 
 
 Pocket size 4\x8 mches. Illustrated. 
 Cloth, decorative. $i.oo postpaid. 
 
 THIS is the ninth edition of a capi- 
 tal book. The large range of 
 subjects treated, the concise and tho- 
 rough manner in which every topic 
 is handled, at once pronounce the 
 author an enviable authority in his 
 line. 
 
 Includes advice and directions 07t 
 practically every thi?tg comiected with 
 small boats ajid sailing. Sojne of the 
 chapter titles are: Choice of a Boat. —Sailing in a gale 
 or squall. — Fitting out Over Hauling. — Theory and 
 Practice of Sailing. — Compass and Charts, — Nautical 
 Terms. — Splices, Knots and Bends. 
 
 OUTING HOW TO B O O K No. J. 
 
 "V 
 
 Wilderness Homes 
 
 A Book of tke Log Cabin 
 
 By OLIVER KEMP 
 
 Illustrated with half-to7ies from photograpJis of log cabins, 
 and numerous sketches by the author. Decorative wood veneer 
 binding. 3\'\ x 8V2 inches. $1.23 postpaid. 
 
 THIS volume tells how the amateur can 
 build a log cabin at a minimum of ex- 
 pense. No detail is omitted. Numer- 
 ous plans are given and valuable specific- 
 ations. The chapters are as follows. 
 
 Making Plans.— The Fireplace.— The 
 Axe and the Tree.— Building the Cabin. — 
 
 The Roof atid the Floor.— The Cabin and 
 Its Environment. — Inside the Cabi7i. — 
 
 What It iviLl Cost. — Some Huntiftg Cabifts. 
 — A Few Plans — Wihhvood, Crows Nest, 
 A Club House, The Block House, Idlewild, 
 
 The Jolly Pines, The Antlers. 
 
Outing How 
 To Books 
 
 Have been carefully selected from 
 the out-door books of the Outing 
 Publishing Company. No title is add- 
 ed to the list until its readers have 
 demonstrated its exceptional merit as 
 a practical manual. 
 
 Consequently these books offer 
 complete and reliable courses of in- 
 struction in outdoor life. They sum- 
 marize the experience of experts, and 
 they are especially helpful in the 
 selection and purchase of equipment 
 and supplies. 
 
 Wherever possible they have been 
 made pocket size for easy transport- 
 ation. Every copy is printed on high 
 grade bookpaper, artistically illustra- 
 ted and bound attractively. They 
 serve equally well in the open, in the 
 library and as gifts. 
 
OUTING HOW TO BOOK No. 4. 
 
 Tracks ^ Tracking 
 
 By JOSEF BRUNNER 
 
 Pocket size 5xy\ in. Completely illustrated. Cloth. $1.25 postpaid 
 
 
 ii 
 
 a 
 
 AFTER twenty years of patient study 
 and practical experience, Mr.Brun- 
 
 ner can, from his intimate know- 
 ledge, speak with authority on this subject. 
 "Tracks and Tracking" shows how to 
 follow intelligently even the most intricate 
 If^a' animal or bird tracks. It teaches how to 
 
 "r interpret tracks of wild game and decipher 
 
 the many tell-tale signs of the chase that 
 would otherwise pass unnoticed. It proves 
 how it is possible to tell from the foot- 
 prints the name, sex, speed, direction, 
 RRONNtR whether and how wounded, and many 
 
 ^ other things about wild animals and birds. 
 All material has been gathered first hand; 
 the drawings and half-tones from photographs form an important 
 part of the work, as the author has made faithful pictures of the 
 tracks and signs of the game followed. The list is: 
 
 The White-Tailed or Vi^'^inia Deer. — The Fan-Tailed 
 Deer.— The Mule-Deer.— The Wapiti or Elk.— The Moose.— The 
 Mountain Sheep.— The Antelope.— The Bear.— The Cougar.— 
 The Lynx.— The Domestic Cat — The Wolf.— The Coyote.- The 
 Fox. — The Jack Rabit.— The Varying Hare.— The Cottontail 
 Rabbit.- The Squirrel.— The Marten and the Black-Footed Fer- 
 ret.— The Otter.— The Mink.— The Ermine.— The Beaver.— The 
 Badger.— The Porcupine. — The Skunk. — Feathered Game. — 
 upland Birds .— Waterfowls .—Predatory Birds. 
 
 This book is invaluable to the novice as well as the experi- 
 enced hunter. 
 
 OUTING HOW TO BOOK No. S- 
 
 FISHING KITS 
 « EQUIPMENT 
 
 /ly SAMUEL C. CAMP 
 
 Fishing Kits y Equipment 
 
 by SAfMUEL G. CAMP ________ 
 
 Pocket size — 4\ x yi inches. Ilhistrated. 
 Cloth. $1.00 postpaid. 
 
 A complete guide to the angler buying 
 a new outfit. Every detail of fish- 
 ing kit of the freshwater angler is 
 described, from rod-tip to creel and cloth- 
 ing. Special emphasis is laid on outfitt- 
 ing for fly fishing, but full instruction is 
 is also given to the man who wants to 
 catch pickerel, pike, muskellunge, lake- 
 trout, bass and other fresh-water game 
 fishes. Prices are ciuoted for all articles 
 recommended and the approved method 
 of selecting and testing the various rods, 
 lines, leaders, etc., is described. 
 
 H^28r84 
 
 ^-^B^i 
 
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 1 
 
 
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 HECKMAN 
 
 BINDERY INC. 
 
 ^^ NOV 84 
 
 ^fey N. MANCHESTER, 
 ^=^ INDIANA 46962