Ii6 CASTING TACKLE AND METHODS 



other day, an angler with a blue lure, beat me in an 

 hour's casting, fishing the same water from the same 

 boat. Color is not as important perhaps as we think 

 it is. 



So I draw this discussion of artificial lures to a 

 close, realizing how incomplete and unsatisfactory 

 it is. Right now it is "up to date," but to-morrow it 

 may be ancient history. Any day some ambitious 

 and bold rodster may stumble upon a lure better 

 than anything now in use. In these pages I have 

 simply tried to show the lines of development, the 

 while dropping a few hints which may be of more 

 or less value to the bass fan. Remember always, of 

 greater value than form, color, attachment or ap- 

 pendage, is the knowledge and skill of the caster. 

 "Knowledge and skill," these are the two important 

 requisites. While the big fish may happen to take 

 the tyro's lure once and again, the rodster who takes 

 fish day in and day out is the one who understands 

 the habits of his quarry, and knows how to place his 

 lure where it should go. The best tackle in all the 

 world will not avail unless the angler possesses skill, 

 neither will skill alone win without knowledge of- 

 fish. I presume that this chapter will come as a sort 

 of revelation to some anglers, who do not know that 

 there are so many lures ready for their use. My 

 collection is probably in nowise complete, yet I pos- 

 sess nearly 200 lures of the "plug" type, from sur- 

 face lures down through the list to underwaters. I 



