ARTIFICIAL BAITS 115 



pump is also a minnow saver. The bucket should be 

 kept in the shade as much as possible. 



Minnows are seldom used by the caster on or near 

 the surface except in fast water. Casting with min- 

 nows as usually practiced is a cross between ordinary 

 bait casting and still fishing, the minnow being cast 

 out and allowed to sink to the desired depth, and then 

 reeled in slowly. The minnow is usually hooked 

 through both lips from below. 



A bass strikes a minnow at the tail and runs with 

 it, turning it in his mouth so he can swallow it head 

 first as he runs, while the pike or pickerel runs with 

 it and stops before turning it in his mouth. For this 

 reason the angler must learn to bide his time and not 

 attempt to set the hook too soon. One can tell the 

 bait is being turned by a slight tremor on the line. 



We doubt if this method of seizing and swallow- 

 ing a bait is a rockbound rule with either class of fish, 

 but it is followed often enough to warrant the im- 

 patient angler to use either a minnow harness or a 

 trailer hook. A minnow harness is a device used to 

 hold the minnow upright and is equipped with a small 

 upper hook which goes through the minnow's lips and 

 a larger hook, or hooks, near the minnow's tail to 

 catch the fish. The trailer hook works on the same 

 principle. With them the caster can set the hook as 

 soon as he gets a strike. 



It is a poor policy to try to economize on hooks. 

 They should be of good quality and be hollow point 

 rather than spear point. The size should be governed 



