AS A MEANS OF CATCHING FISH 15 



He has caught cleanly and scientifically a fairly good 

 string of fish, has been out in the open, has heard the 

 birds sing and has seen the sunbeams dancing on the 

 water and it is just these things that lure men, and 

 women too, from their daily tasks, that make up the 

 play-work we call bait casting. 



As he rounds the bend on his homeward journey, the 

 still fisher hauls in his line, throws his string heavily 

 laden with "sunnies" and perch over his shoulder, 

 and wends his way homeward. Who can say which 

 fisherman has had the more enjoyable day? 



Writers on bait casting are inclined to compare their 

 favorite sport with fly-casting, trolling, and other meth- 

 ods of fish taking, always, of course, to the disadvantage 

 of the others, which is a grave mistake. Nothing we 

 can say can detract from the beauties of fly-casting, 

 the restfulness of trolling, or the opportunity of think- 

 ing things over and philosophizing when still fishing. 

 To our way of thinking, all sportsman-like methods of 

 fishing are legitimate; they all possess certain advan- 

 tages and they all catch fish. Our advice to the young- 

 ster is to learn them all. 



Bait casting, however, is second to no method as a 

 means of catching fish for conditions that prevail over 

 the greater part of the American continent. We do 

 not recommend bait casting for taking trout, but for 

 fishing for black bass and the members of the pike fam- 

 ily in average American waters it has certain distinct 

 and worth while advantages. 



