BAIT-CASTER AND BASSES 85 



Some Practical Suggestions 



When bait-casting for bass with an artificial bait, 

 unless you reel in so quickly that the line is practically 

 taut, the fish must be struck much as in fly-fishing. It 

 sometimes happens, of course, that the bass will strike 

 hard enough to hook himself even on a slack line, but 

 more often the opposite is the case. The strike in bait- 

 casting is one of the things which must be learned when 

 taking up this method of fishing. Primarily it differs 

 from the strike in fly-fishing in that it is made with the 

 left hand, that is, if the caster is right-handed. The 

 education of the left hand to this work is a matter of 

 much practice and naturally the length of time taken 

 to learn it depends upon the skill of the angler in get- 

 ting the fish to strike as well as upon the natural adapt- 

 ability of the angler to learning new methods of tackle 

 handling. It is quite possible for an angler to be an 

 expert fly-caster and still be unable to educate his 

 thumb to bait-casting. 



When casting toward a fixed point where a bass may 

 be located, such as a patch of lily pads or rushes, or 

 the edge of a bar, the strike of the bass may be expected 

 at the instant the bait strikes the water. For this 

 reason the angler should be careful to start the retrieve 

 at once. When a bass strikes in this manner he usually 

 hooks himself if the line is at all taut. Sometimes a 

 bass will see the bait when it is still moving through the 

 air and will follow its course to the point of contact 

 with the water, when he will strike it. But even under 

 these circumstances it is best to set the hook in the fish, 

 although the strike need not be strenuous. 



