254 CASTING TACKLE AND METHODS 



all. None of those quick thrills which inebriate the 

 caster comes along the line to the troller, the fish is 

 too distant for that; and for that very reason the 

 angler must be "on his job" or the bass will eject 

 the lure. To keep a taut line on the broncho of the 

 foam is something of a problem, a problem the solv- 

 ing of which will require all the angler's skill. 

 Believe me, trolling successfully is not so simple a 

 thing as perhaps I have led the reader to believe. 

 The fish hooked deep is apt to fight there, -and as 

 every bass knows the value of any obstruction, look 

 out for weeds. The caster will be "hung up," it is 

 sure to happen; let him take that for his consolation, 

 and smile. More than once I have pulled in a bass, 

 weeds and all, simply by "main strength and awk- 

 wardness." A dangerous proceeding, it is true, 

 dangerous unless the rodster is employing the very 

 best of tackle from hook to hand-grasp. 



There is a weedy lake connecting with Shawano 

 Lake, Wisconsin, which was the theatre of one of 

 my ichthyic dramas some years ago. We camped 

 there my wife, girl and I for three glorious, care 

 free days; just run away letting no one know where 

 we had gone. Well, it was an "off-time" with the 

 bass, we were compelled the first day to be content 

 with yellow perch, and I am not sure but they are 

 better pan-fish than the lordly bass, but let that pass. 

 The second morning I stole from the little tent 

 before the light had begun to tinge the east, making 



