192 CASTING TACKLE AND METHODS 



bass rivers, the current will sweep the bass down 

 where the problem will be raised to the n-th place. 

 The overhanging trees, the heap of drift-wood, the 

 down-reaching roots of an undermined pine stump, 

 all offer sure and safe refuge for the bass. 



Did I not warn the reader at the very beginning 

 of this chapter not to try for distance? It is ex- 

 tremely problematical whether or not the caster can 

 successfully handle more than forty feet of line on 

 the average hazardous river, a greater amount is 

 going to multiply his troubles in playing and netting. 

 Casting from free water to snaggy is a great aid, 

 for if the angler is quick he can pull his capture away 

 from the dangerous ground by sheer strength of rod 

 and line. A good rod and line will stand the abuse, 

 therefore the caster should never employ any but the 

 best. Often the boat-fisherman can drop with the 

 current below the fish's snaggy lair and so play him 

 in free water. Eternal vigilance is alone the price 

 of victory. Never attempt to net any fish until it is 

 thoroughly and completely exhausted, much less the 

 resourceful bronze-back, a fish that possesses more 

 unexpected reserve strength than even the rainbow 

 trout. As to when the moment of exhaustion arrives 

 will depend upon the particular fish's staying powers 

 and the angler's resourcefulness and stick-to-itive- 

 ness. Always net the bass head-foremost. There is 

 little need for saying more upon this subject, we dis- 

 cussed it quite at length in a former chapter; anyway, 

 no two battles are alike and no man may say just 



