SPOONS AND HOW TO CAST THEM 241 



attached directly to the spoon and the leader to 

 that, then just above the swivel. The ordinary 

 casting lure weighs in the neighborhood of one 

 ounce, once in a while slightly over, never two 

 ounces unless in muskellunge lures. The average 

 spoon, bass size Nos. 4 or 5 weigh a fraction 

 less than a quarter of an ounce. Now the caster 

 can see just where he is at, he must raise that weight 

 to at least half an ounce in order to handle the 

 spoon with any degree of ease; three-quarters of an 

 ounce would be better if the character of the water 

 would allow, i. e., possessed of sufficient depth. It 

 is a good idea to fix up the spoons in the house, 

 placing them upon accurate scales every time a shot 

 is added, know just how much weight each shot adds 

 to the lure. Leave nothing to guess work. 



There are upon the market any number of de- 

 tachable sinkers more or less adapted to the spoon- 

 er's requirements. A new shape of weight, with a 

 solid and convenient method of attachment, is just 

 upon the market as I write, and I am very sure, that 

 with me at least, it will take the place of split-shot. 



Probably it would be unforgivable not to mention 

 the baited spoon, though strictly speaking it has no 

 place in a work of this kind, being more closely 

 allied to live bait fishing than to casting with artifi- 

 cial lures. Actually, from a purist's view-point, the 

 baiting of a spoon with a frog or minnow is unethi- 

 cal. Truly there is nothing to recommend the prac- 



