ODDS AND ENDS 291 



apt to be rather heavy. Also in the height of 

 summer it must be a very hot abiding place for such 

 delicate flesh as that of the trout. The bag is 

 excellent for winter fishing and the colder days of 

 spring and autumn, but it leaves a good deal to be 

 desired in summer so far as keeping the fish in good 

 condition goes. 



It sometimes happens that the simplest things are 

 also the best, and this occurred to me when I first 

 saw a friend equipped with the light rush basket 

 which fishmongers call a '' frail " or " bass." There 

 can be nothing better for fish than this, as long 

 commercial usage testifies, and why should not the 

 angler have the benefit of so excellent an article? 

 On the score of weight alone it is worth a trial, 

 weight being very important on hot days. The 

 two handles in the middle are not perhaps quite 

 adapted for fishing purposes, but it is quite easy to 

 remove them and attach rings at more convenient 

 points to which could be fastened the ends of a 

 shoulder strap. Of course the bass offers no con- 

 venience for carrying tackle and lunch — it is purely 

 a receptacle for fish — but a fishing-coat has, or should 

 have, big pockets, and if they are not enough it is 

 always possible to carry a small haversack as well 

 as the bass. The two together will not weigh so 

 much as a creel or bag whose capacity would be no 

 greater. I believe that an angler who has once got 



