THE BLACK BASSES 



dark, cloudy days, especially on shady streams, 

 the early morning and late afternoon hours will 

 answer. 



If wading, the best plan is to fish down-stream, 

 keeping in mid-stream where possible, and casting 

 ahead and to either side. The flies should be 

 gently roved, and allowed to float, alternately, and 

 occasionally permitted to sink below the surface 

 several inches near likely-looking spots. In other 

 words, the fly should be made to simulate a strug- 

 gling or drowning insect as nearly as possible, but 

 care must be observed not to overdo it by violent 

 skittering or jerking. 



In ordinary casts, the rod should not make a 

 greater angle, backward or forward, than about 

 thirty-five degrees from the perpendicular. In re- 

 trieving the line, it should be first lifted, then taken 

 from the water and thrown backward with quite 

 a quick movement, and then forward with a motion 

 equally as quick. With the short and somewhat 

 stiffer rods now in vogue, it is necessary to make 

 these quick motions in casting ; whereas with the 

 old style long and willowy rods, slower and more 

 deliberate movements were required. The rod 

 should not exceed ten and a half feet in length, nor 

 weigh less than seven ounces. 



Usually the fish hooks itself more or less securely 

 l 33 



