LANDING TOOLS; HOW TO USE THEM 167 



it comes to actually netting the fish, though it must 

 needs be carried in the hand as one makes his way 

 along the bank, and the manner in which a net will 

 cling to brush is enough to provoke a saint. The 

 angler must determine for himself whether or not he 

 will put up with the inconvenience of carrying for 

 the advantage accruing in landing his capture. I 

 have carried the net for two days without hooking a 

 fish worth while, when carrying it was anything but 

 a means of grace; leaving it in camp upon the third 

 day, only to take a large fish which it was next to 

 impossible to land without some aid. The folding 

 net, if not too much folded, has the value of porta- 

 bility; a net which folds too much takes too long to 

 set up, and the chances are that it will not be set up 

 when the rodster needs it worst. I know of one net 

 that is always folded out of the way, and a single 

 motion will bring it to the front ready to greet the 

 weary fish. 



So much for the types of nets, now about using 

 them. Whatever net the caster selects there is jusc 

 one proper way of netting a fish and that is, head 

 first. Nearly all the photographs one sees disclose 

 the angler pulling the net over the tail of the fish. 

 All wrong. Let the bass turn and go into the net. 

 Never attempt to draw the net over a bass, especially 

 tail first. Stands to reason that the net will catch on 

 the raised fins of the fish; furthermore, if he has a 

 bit of fight left in him, he can dash out of the net in 



