HOW TO USE NATURE LURES 147 



bait down from you. Currents are always fruit- 

 ful places to guide your lure. 



Before leaving the subject, I consider casting 

 by no means so important or difficult to do as 

 the manipulation of the rod tip, which is intended 

 to work the lure so that it acts alive when viewed 

 by the fish. To do so is art, pure and simple, and 

 therefore it cannot be taught. Neither can it be 

 thoroughly well done unless you are familiar with 

 the antics of the creature your lure imitates, either 

 at the surface, mid-water, or bottom. Experienced 

 live-bait anglers will understand best what I mean 

 — ^the peculiar half swim, half jump of a crawfish; 

 the wriggle of a hellgrammite ; the swift dart of 

 a minnow — all these various lures require quite 

 a different treatment in playing, and, in doing so, 

 your interest is aroused all the time till a strike 

 is made. You cannot sleep or dream, you cannot 

 even smoke, your entire attention must be on 

 the lure all the time, and the best results are ob- 

 tained by the continuous movement of the bait 

 in the water. More so, when the different-sized 

 minnows are used. In nature minnows dart about 

 with astounding speed, especially when scared by 

 large fish. You cannot begin to imitate it in quick- 

 ness, except in leaping above the surface, which 



