96 PRACTICAL BAIT CASTING 



"lands" casting moderately high is usually most success- 

 ful. High casts can be made by having considerable 

 line between the head of the bait and the tip of the 

 rod. Start the bait back quickly, before it hits the 

 water in fact, because a bait that lies motionless even 

 an instant, looks suspicious and the fish will hesitate 

 to strike it. 



The fish that hesitates is lost to the fisherman. 

 Reel fairly fast. If the fish are "striking short" slow 

 up. At times vary your reeling, moving the bait al- 

 ternately slowly and fast. As soon as you get a strike, 

 set the hooks with a quick jerk upwards. Don't be- 

 lieve all you hear about fish hooking themselves on 

 treble hooks. 



With few exceptions, hooks on floating baits are 

 placed on the belly rather than on the sides, and in a 

 well designed plug the head of the bait rides high in 

 the water. This creates more of a "riffle" on the sur- 

 face and presents the hooks properly. Either a water- 

 proof line or one well oiled toward the end, should 

 be used by the beginner as a water-soaked line drags 

 the head of the bait down unduly. 



White body with red head seems to be the favorite 

 color of most casters, with yellow body and black or 

 bronze spots a close second. Next in order we would 

 rank white body with blue head, solid yellow, solid 

 white or luminous, frog colors, solid gray. We once 

 heard an "old hand" cover the subject of surface bait 

 colors as follows: "I don't care what color the plug 

 is, just so the belly is white or yellow." 



