84 AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK. 



ne plus ultra of Bass fishing, a stout salmon-rod, or a bamboo, 

 or a native reed pole of eighteen feet, fitted with reel and 

 rings, is more appropriate. 



In all cases a good multiplying reel should be used, with a 

 hundred yards of well-laid hemp line, which should pass 

 through metallic guides, and a metallic tip at the top of the 

 rod. The crack Bass fishers of New York are so fastidious, 

 as even to have the tip (the end-piece through which the line 

 passes) jewelled, in order to lessen the friction as the line 

 runs out, when casting. 



■ Many anglers do not feel secure unless the leader be of 

 double gut, which is entirely unnecessary, unless there are 

 sharp rocks on the bottom ; for a single strand of the best and 

 stoutest gut, when wet, will bear nearly as much strain, as an 

 ordinary hemp line. Stout-wired Kirby hooks, long or short 

 shanks, from No. 1 to 00, are preferable ; they are much more 

 certain of hooking than the Limerick. 



The weight of the sinker should be proportioned to the 

 depth of the water or force of the tide. In bottom-fishing, an 

 oblong sliding sinker may be advantageously used. In 

 trolling or casting over rapids, a bullet, from the size of a 

 buckshot to a half ounce, is best ; then, also, one or more 

 swivels should be looped on, to insure the spinning of the 

 minnow. 



The usual mode of using the minnow, when trolling, is to 

 " bridle'^ it, which is done in several ways. The easiest is, to 

 put the hook in at the mouth, out through the gill, and then, 

 after taking a half hitch around the head, to pass it through 

 the side of the back ; so that the bend of the hook may set 

 upwards, with the point towards the head of the bait. 



Another and a better plan, is to have a small hook (size 2) 

 on the snood, about three inches above the larger ; the smaller 

 hook is passed through the under, and out through the upper 



