ARTIFICIAL BAITS 97 



THE SEMI-SURFACE BAIT OR WOBBLER 



The semi-surface bait is a comparatively new mem- 

 ber of the casting plug family, but in its few years of 

 existence it has gone far and has demonstrated be- 

 yond doubt its ability to catch fish. We believe it to 

 be the deadliest of all casting plugs it is a "meat- 

 bait," rather than a sporting proposition. It possesses 

 the advantages of all other types of artificials, such as 

 size and showiness in the air, color and splash, in ad- 

 dition to a very strike-inducing "flight" while in the. 

 water. 



It floats on the surface (which is a decided advant- 

 age to the beginner when he is untangling back-lashes) 

 until reeled in. Then it dives and darts, or wobbles, 

 from side to side and travels from a few inches to 

 several feet deep, depending upon what kind of a wob- 

 bler it is and how fast it is retrieved. Unlike the un- 

 der-water plug, the faster a wobbler is reeled, the 

 deeper it goes. 



The erratic motion of this type of bait is a good imi- 

 tation of the movements of a crippled, or badly fright- 

 ened minnow the stray lamb which is the favorite 

 prey of the wolves of the water. 



There are two general types of wobblers those 

 that travel in fairly wide sweeps, the wobbler proper, 

 and those with the deadly tail wobble which might be 

 called the wriggler type. They seem to be equally ef- 

 fective, one being preferred one day, the other the next, 

 with seemingly no well-defined rule for their use. The 



