LANDING TOOLS; HOW TO USE THEM 159 



battle, usually enlarging upon the cast; truly if the 

 rod lacks resiliency it is a poor caster, but for the 

 same reason, it is a poor tool with which to play a 

 fish. Sometimes I use a six-foot-six rod, just for the 

 fun of seeing it bend, though experience has proven 

 that it is in nowise as good a tool for the work as 

 the shorter one. 



There is another reason why the rod should keep 

 a constant tension upon the fish. The leap of the 

 bass has found its way into song and story, and 

 justly so. The aerial gymnastics of the rainbow 

 trout are not as confusing, and pound for pound, not 

 as tackle testing. I know of no fresh-water fish that 

 will put up so satisfactory a battle from every point 

 of view as will the American black-bass. Given suf- 

 ficient slack line, he will send your cherished lure 

 catapulting over the water. Just the other day a 

 correspondent told of a bass that "shook his lure as 

 a terrier shakes a rat," which, of course, is a mani- 

 fest impossibility. The bass shakes his whole body, 

 though how he does it is something of an enigma. 

 I know of nothing more confusing than the leap, and 

 because confusing it often spells disaster. "Pull him 

 down," say some authorities. Let him go, I say. It 

 is never necessary to "pull him down," a taut line is 

 all that is required. Do not "side swipe" the bronze- 

 back, he is too noble a warrior to be treated with 

 indignity. Let him leap, but as the angler hopes to 

 conquer, he must see to it that the fish gains no 



