262 FISHING WITH THE FLY. 



shadows are cast far behind him ; or, before sunrise or 

 after sunset, or on cloudy days, the shadows are not so 

 apparent, and the bass are more apt to rise. If the fly- 

 fisher for black bass will faithfully follow these precau- 

 tions, he will not be disappointed at the result. 



There is another condition, equally important, that 

 must ever be borne in mind : The black bass will rise 

 to the fly only in comparatively shallow water, say from 

 one to six feet in depth. This is a feature often over- 

 looked by many fly-fishers in their first experiences in 

 black bass fishing. They seem to think that he should 

 rise to the fly in any situation where he can be taken 

 with bait ; but a moment's consideration will show this 

 to be fallacious. A brook trout will take a bait twenty 

 feet below the surface, but will not rise to a fly from 

 the same depth. Trout streams are generally shallow, 

 while the salmon swims very near the surface ; thus it 

 is that the angler is seldom disappointed in their rising 

 to the fly. On the other hand, the black bass, while 

 inhabiting larger and deeper streams, is, unlike the 

 trout, a great rover, or forager, frequenting both deep 

 and shallow waters. As a rule, he is in shallow water 

 early in the season, retiring to the depths in the hottest 

 weather ; again appearing on the shallows in the fall, 

 and in winter seeking the deepest water to be found. 

 Trout inhabiting deep ponds and lakes rise to the fly 

 only when in comparatively shallow water, or when near 

 the surface. The fly-fisher, therefore, must expect to 

 be successful only when the proper conditions exist. I 



