BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 77 



During September and October the water is gradu- 

 ally cooling and the bass are again to be found to quite 

 an extent in the shallows. Most of the 



Auturr summer weed growths are dying down, 

 ^' the clouding effect of the summer "work- 

 ing" has passed away, and the water is now pure and 

 clear. All things considered, this is the best time for 

 bass fishing, especially for the bait-caster. New life 

 seems to have been imparted to the bass and they will 

 rise freely and strike the bait with emphasis. At this 

 time, during the early fall, surface fishing is generally 

 very successful and the admirer of the floating bait for 

 bass may safely give his preference full rein. 



For stream fishing the above methods should be modi- 

 fied to suit the occasion. Wade wherever possible or, if 

 the stream is too deep for this, use a canoe 



IT 1 V Cr ^ e on ^ cra ft f r r i yer work. In 

 * streams small-mouths "use" about the 

 edges of rifts and rapids and in the pools at the foot 

 of rapids; they are fond of lying in the lee of sunken 

 logs where there is a gentle current and underneath 

 shelving banks; you will often find them lying close to 

 the banks underneath overhanging trees or brush and 

 among submerged tree-roots from which the river has 

 fretted the soil away. > If there are large-mouths in the 

 stream cast in the quiet coves where there are lily-pads 

 and rushes and in the still, weedy reaches of the river. 



During the middle of the day, unless it is cloudy and 

 dark, casting for bass is usually love's labor lost; even 

 on cloudy days, when conditions appear most favorable, 

 fishing at this time is apt to be unsuccessful. However, 



