3l6 GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 



proceed as in trolling, or cast to either side, or forward, and by 

 reeling in the line keep the bait in motion. It can readily be 

 imagined how expert casting has so great an advantage over any 

 other metliod of bass fishing, and when once acquired it will never 

 be relinquished for any other mode. This is the best method to 

 follow when fishing from the banks of a stream, where there are 

 no trees or bushes to interfere ; it is also the best method to pur- 

 sue when wading the stream is practiced. 



In trolling or casting with the minnow, when a fish is hooked 

 let the oarsman pull out at once to deep water, so as to give the 

 fish better play and more room, and also to prevent his taking to 

 the weeds. 



The angler should never be in too great a hurry to land his fish ; 

 for if he is well hooked he cannot get away, but if he is hooked in 

 a thin or weak part of the mouth, there is a greater necessity that 

 he should be gingerly played and tenderly handled, until he is com- 

 pletely "tuckered out," and turns up his belly to the sun. There 

 is never anything gained by too great a hurry in bass fishing. On 

 the contrary, " the more haste the less speed," is a maxim partic- 

 ularly applicable to this case. 



In landing a bass the oarsman should, at the proper time, hold 

 the net just under the surface of the water, and hold it perfectly still 

 while the angler brings the fish into or immediately over the net, 

 when the oarsman should lift it quickly and with one motion. He 

 should never be suffered to follow the fish with the net, or by sud- 

 den lunges attempt to secure him ; for this only serves to frighten 

 the fish and put your tackle in jeopardy. Remember that the 

 largest bass always escapes when nearest the boat, and when 

 about to land him. 



Dr. J. A. Henshall, of Wisconsin, to whom we are indebted for 

 most of the instructions above given, has decided that the best rod 

 for bait fishing should assimilate as near as may be to the typical 

 trout fly rod in their relative qualities of " balance, weight, strength, 

 and elasticity, with that happy medium of pliancy, between a trout 

 fly rod and a trout bait rod, which can hardly be expressed in 

 words." The Doctor means to say in plain English, that the bait 

 rod (for either trout or bass) should be a little " stiffer " than the 

 f.y rod, in either case. This is quite correct ; but while the trout 



