Bait Angling for Common Fishes 



No. 1 1. No leaded sinkers or float are nec- 

 essary, dace being always on the lookout for 

 passing food. The running water carries 

 the bait along the surface, and at times 

 takes it down below ; but wherever it goes, 

 if within reasonable distance, the fish on 

 seeing it darts quickly above or below, and 

 takes it with surprising quickness. The 

 mouth of the dace is not large like those of 

 the perch, eel or catfish, so that at times it 

 misses making the hook, but often manages 

 to take the worm. On being hooked it 

 fights desperately for a time, running back 

 and forth in rapid succession; sometimes, 

 though rarely, it will rise above the surface. 

 When a fish is hooked that measures over 

 twelve inches long he should be gently led 

 to the shore and played over the pebbles 

 or sand from out of the water, if a net is 

 not handy; do not attempt to lift a dace 

 bodily from the water, he will surely get off 

 the hook, and so get away. A small hand 

 net is indispensable. It is possible to lift 

 smaller fish from the water to be un- 



