THE BLACK BASS. 1 67 



banks or rocks, in the eddies of rocks and bowlders, in the 

 pools above and below riffles, etc. 



Striking. He should strike upon sight or touch; that 

 is, the moment he sees the swirl of a Bass near his fly, or 

 feels the slightest tug, he should endeavor to hook the fish 

 by a slight but quick drawing away of the rod, either to 

 one side, or upward with a stifnsh rod, or downward with a 

 very supple one. This "striking" is not in any sense a sweep- 

 ing jerk, or a vigorous "yank," but is accomplished by a 

 simple, quick turning of the rod-hand toward the angler, so 

 as to move the fly but a foot or two along the surface should 

 it fail to hook the fish. The slightest twitch is sufficient, 

 with a sharp hook (and the angler should use no other), to 

 fasten it to the jaw of a fish, aided, as it will be, by the fish 

 itself in its resistance; and in eight times out of ten the 

 Bass will hook himself (if the line is taut) unaided by the 

 angler; from this it follows that the angler should always 

 endeavor to have a straight, taut line. 



Playing. The moment the fish is hooked the rod should 

 be elevated to an angle of forty-five degrees, and the thumb 

 placed on the spool of the reel, so that the fish will have to 

 contend with the full spring and power of the rod. The 

 angler should never give an inch of line unless it is taken 

 from under his thumb by the fish, and even then it should 

 be given grudgingly; and it should be reeled in again when- 

 ever possible, and the fish held as before, on the spring of the 

 rod, until it can be reeled in to close quarters, and kept as 

 near the surface as possible. 



The angler should slip the landing-net under the fish as 

 soon as it can be done without endangering his tackle. The 

 fight should be between the rod and the fish, rather than 

 between the fish and the reel, for it is the spring of the rod 

 that conquers him. When the Bass leaps above the surface 

 of the water, let the rod straighten as he falls back, but the 

 moment he again touches the water elevate the rod as before. 



