146 FISHERMAN'S LURES 



ficient to get a strike from the fish on its way back 

 at least thirty feet. I often get bass taking the 

 lure within ten feet of rod tip. 



In river fishing it is only on rare occasions you 

 need to cast. I much prefer to select places favor- 

 able to the lure being carried along by the water 

 flow. It so happens trout and bass, or salmon, 

 lie in favorable positions to where the lure can 

 be made to run just over them. Strange as it may 

 seem, many casts — indeed more casts — get a strike 

 going from you, than coming back. This unexpected 

 thing is because the line bellies out by the force 

 of the water and turns the minnow head first down- 

 stream. The trout on rising, turns to follow after, 

 taking a much better hold than it does on a stiff 

 full -stretched line on its backward run. This same 

 thing often happens in fly fishing. In the swift 

 runways where you know big trout lie, behind 

 rocks down below you, it is best to cast the lure 

 right across it to quieter water and permit the 

 lure to be gradually forced across, and back toward 

 you far below — with extra line out. 



The hardest condition is when the river is so 

 wide and deep that you cannot get the lure to 

 the spot required. The best way is to get as near 

 as possible to a current that will carry a floating 



