CHAPTER VII 

 ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL BAITS 



BAIT casting received its first great impetus to- 

 ward popularity with the advent of the short 

 rod, and the artificial bait, by which we mean 

 the wooden or metal casting plug. 



Without attempting to draw any odious compari- 

 sons, artificial baits possess certain advantages over live 

 or natural bait that bulk large in the eyes of the aver- 

 age angler. In the first place, live bait is not always 

 obtainable, you must know where to find it, then you 

 must catch or dig it, and, finally, you must give it 

 more or less care to keep it in usable condition. All 

 this is troublesome and fishermen who count each 

 moment golden are not likely to grow enthusiastic over 

 anything that takes unnecessary time and labor. 



Aside from its great convenience, however, your true 

 and confirmed plug caster believes (and in a great 

 many instances is ready to fight for his beliefs) that 

 taking all conditions of water and weather into con- 

 sideration, the artificial will catch more fish and bigger 

 fish than will live bait. Also, the impaling of a live 

 minnow, worm, or struggling frog on a hook is de- 

 cidedly distasteful to some people. 



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