i88 CASTING TACKLE AND METHODS 



hazardous thing as he knows or will discover to his 

 sorrow. When the boat swings around a bend and 

 the rodster sees a good snag before him, he will 

 edge the boat into the opposite shore; where the 

 stream is not too wide the boatman will hold it with 

 a firm paddle thrust into the bottom, or by clinging 

 to over-hanging branches, while the angler fishes out 

 the water. Always he will cast slightly above the 

 snag, waiting a second or two, depending upon the 

 speed of the current, for the lure to swing down 

 where he wants it before beginning to reel. He must 

 exercise extreme care or he will snag. He may not 

 sleep on the job, or cast and admire Nature at the 

 same time. Any variety of casting is not the sport 

 of a lazy man, let critics say what they choose about 

 the matter. 



On a hot midsummer day a low-hanging tree, 

 branches trailing the water, will be sure to shelter 

 one or more goodly fish. I remember some seasons 

 ago taking what my companion dubbed u a whole 

 family of bass" from such a shelter early one August 

 morning: six o'clock, to be exact; two, unusually 

 large for the stream and four medium sized. The 

 mere fact that I deem it worthy of mention here 

 proves that it was a somewhat unusual occurrence. 

 In such places, unless the fish are really feeding in 

 earnest, the rodster will find underwater lures the 

 most successful. Cast well above and let the lure 

 travel down beneath the branches, praying the while 



