CASTING THE MINNOW. 421 



frequent sli2)ping of his thumb, and the consequent snarl- 

 ing and tangling of his line. The more calmly and phi- 

 losophically he views these annoyances and perplexities, 

 the sooner will he overcome the difficulties and become 

 ail fait in the management of the reel. The best in- 

 struction I can give him is to make the pressure of the 

 thumb gentle, but firm and uniform, during the flight of 

 the minnow, and to stop the revolving spool the moment 

 the bait alights on the water, by a stronger pressure. 



These directions are as brief, plain and explicit, as it is 

 possible to make them ; they embody the main principles 

 involved, and the novice, by a careful and practical appli- 

 cation of them, can, by perseverance, soon become a good 

 caster of the live minnow. 



General Instructions. 



If fishing from a boat, on a lake or large pond, the 

 angler proceeds in his boat on the outside, or deep water 

 side, of the fishing grounds, and casts in toward the feed- 

 ing grounds, the oarsman rowing along rapidly or slowly, 

 or holding the boat stationary, as circumstances demand. 

 The boat being in deep water the fish are not so apt to 

 see it, which is a great advantage. The angler can cast in 

 any direction and to any distance, greater or lesser, within 

 the length of his line, as he may desire. He can cast 

 astern and proceed as in trolling, or cast to either side, or 

 forward, and by reeling in the line keep the bait in mo- 

 tion. It can readily be imagined how expert casting has 

 so great an advantage over any other method of bait- 

 fishing, and that when once acquired it will never be 

 relinquished for any other mode. 



