TROLLING FOR BASS 253 



moving slowly and silently along, the long line trail- 

 ing out behind, in rapport with his environment, he 

 will bless me for the hints contained in this chapter. 

 Trolling is not work unless the rodster makes it so ; 

 in ease it is second to live bait fishing, standing in 

 sportsmanship about midway between casting and 

 live bait fishing. Its attractivity lies in the oppor- 

 tunities it offers for thought and observation, both 

 of which are important components of angling. 

 That casting is hard work I have said again and 

 again throughout this work, and by the same token, 

 the harder you work the more successful you will be, 

 knowledge and skill being equal. There is little 

 value in muscle when we turn to trolling, the crown 

 is for the man who knows the water and fish. More 

 than once I have forgotten the tagging lure, lost in 

 contemplation of the rising sun, or the antics of some 

 creature of the wild in the out-reaching branches of 

 the trees. Once I reeled in my line to follow a pair 

 of loons, foolishly thinking that I could surprise 

 them and secure a picture. I submit that the average 

 angler will never become so enamoured of his sur- 

 roundings as to become entirely unconscious of his 

 lure. 



The fish hooked 150 feet behind the boat is a dif- 

 ferent proposition from the fish within 50 or 60 

 feet. If hooked on a spoon in the shallows, he goes 

 into the air at once, sometimes so far away he 

 appears that the angler doubts if he is on the line at 



