BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 75 



male parent guards the young fish. Small-mouths 

 choose a gravelly bottom for building the nest, but the 

 large-mouths sometimes do not discriminate in this 

 regard. The spawning takes place in the shallows, and 

 for some time thereafter, during the first days of the 

 open season, the bass remain in moderately shallow 

 water. At this time the bait-caster should fish on the 

 surface. 



When lake-fishing, parallel the shore in your boat or 



canoe, casting shoreward to the edge of the weeds, in 



the shade of overhanging rocks, about 



_. ^ r . y lily-pads and submerged trees and places 

 Fishing. /,., . / 



of like nature, .bind out where the bars 



are in the lake you are fishing and cast in to the edge 

 of these. If the bar is a large one, forming an expan- 

 sive shallow place, perhaps, as often occurs, well out 

 in the middle of the lake, fish the whole of it. If you 

 are fishing waters new to you, get some local angler 

 or guide to locate the various bars. Once located you 

 should take their bearings very carefully so that you can 

 find them again. Looking for a lost bar in a big lake 

 is an almost hopeless undertaking. 



Thus early in the season the water will be fairly 

 clear of weeds and the angler can cast close in-shore 

 without fouling the tackle. In quiet bays where there 

 are lily-pads and flags, and the bottom has a tendency 

 to be muddy, you will find the large-mouths. Off 

 sandy bars and where gravel bottom predominates, or 

 where the bottom is rocky, you may expect to find the 

 small-mouth bass. The two often co-exist in the same 

 pond or lake, and when caught you can easily differen- 



