1 84 The Angler's Secret 



the trout, nor as large as the ordinary 

 black-bass fly, but a sort of happy medium 

 between the two sizes. The black bass is 

 regarded by many anglers as the gamest 

 fish of the fresh-water tribes. His great 

 rival is the brook trout, that dainty hero 

 whose advocates outnumber those of the 

 bass by thousands. There are two kinds 

 of black bass, the large mouth and the 

 small mouth. Both are so much alike in 

 appearance that they might well be 

 termed the water dromios. When hooked 

 they fight the same, though the small 

 mouth is more active than its larger 

 brother, which makes up for its lack of 

 sprightliness in being the more powerful. 

 Both species, though some say only the 

 small mouth, leap from the water in an 

 effort to free themselves of the hook. 

 With the small mouth this trait is habit- 

 ual, but with the large mouth the leaping 

 is uncertain; he may jump and he. may 

 not. The conditions of water, weather, 

 food supply, etc., influence him. I have 



