APPENDIX 



101 



or rounded stick, with a slit across the flat end, may be em- 

 ployed. 



8. The best all-round bait is the live minnow; the larger 

 the minnow, the larger the fish one is likely to catch. 



9. It is important sometimes to have a change of bait, 

 especially when fish are not biting freely. Frogs, minnows, 

 and worms make a good selection. If a fish has been hooked, 

 and after being played some time, manages to escape, one 



•\m 



Ml 



i' 



Disgorger 



can very often entice him to bite again by using a change 

 of bait. 



10. Regarding weather proverbs, the best one to re- 

 member is that fish bite in all kinds of weather if they are 

 hungry. I have caught bass, pike, perch, pickerel, and 

 the smaller pan fish in sunshine and in rain, fair weather 

 and foul, and I do not believe that weather conditions have 

 much to do with angling. 



For example, the old adage which states that fish will 

 not bite in an east wind, is untrue; for why should the 

 direction of the wind aftect a fish's stomach? It is prob- 

 able that fish are disturbed by slight barometric changes, 

 and that they become restive in dull, cloudy weather, w^ith 

 a low barometer, and therefore move about more freely 

 under such conditions; but, as far as my experience goes, 

 the only thing which really seems to affect them is a violent 

 thunderstorm, which apparently frightens them and drives 

 them into deep water. I have tried, time and again, to 

 catch fish during a rain storm, accompanied by thunder 

 and lightning, but have never been successful. 



