30 American Fisheries Society 



brush and a can of worms, to the grizzled veteran, the 

 hero of many a tale, told and untold, with his delicate 

 bamboo weapon of exquisite make and so many different 

 patterns of beautifully tied flies that he has to consult 

 a dictionary on the subject before he can tell you the 

 names of them all. Probably there is no more demo- 

 cratic set of men on earth than is embraced in the frater- 

 nity of anglers. Rich and poor, high and low, the 

 statesman and the "hired man," clergyman, lawyers, 

 doctors, merchants, farmers, mechanics, clerks, all kinds 

 and conditions of men "go-a-fishing" and all alike love 

 the sport and love it more and more as their years in- 

 crease. May and December rub shoulders in the fellow- 

 ship of angling and the patriarch with silvery locks can 

 be seen with his grandson at his side on many a stream 

 or lake, both with eyes alight with the fires of enthu- 

 siasm. 



And the sport is not only democratic but is essentially 

 very widespread, for there is hardly a corner no matter 

 how remote, of our beloved country, that does not con- 

 tain its quota of anglers. If the census enumerators were 

 to name them in their lists the legion disclosed would be 

 a vast surprise to those who have given but casual 

 thought to the subject. And this army of anglers buy 

 things designed for their use, and catering to their needs 

 constitutes no mean industry in this age of industries. 

 Again, if the casual observer will give the matter 

 thought, he will be surprised at the sum total in dollars 

 spent by the anglers of this country on their sport, and 

 every dollar spent by them means a dollar earned by 

 someone else in supplying the wants of the angler. 



The best of this is, that every dollar spent by the 

 angler yields him an adequate return in improved 

 strength, revived vitality, refreshed brain, keener 

 faculties, clearer vision and better health. The only man 

 who loses out is the doctor. 



The angler was, is and always will be. He exists by 

 nature, by precedent, by right and by choice. He is 

 "born, not made." The character of his sport is cal- 



