FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 139 



to speak of the baits to use and the general course of 



action of the strip-caster when on the bass grounds it 



would, perhaps, be best to settle the 



2 question of how to use rod, reel, and line 



in strip-casting. This method is almost 



exclusively employed when fishing from a boat or canoe 



seldom while wading, or from the bank of a river or 



the lake shore. 



The reel and line should be rigged on the rod as for 

 fly-casting; that is, the reel underneath with the handle 

 to the right. A short gut leader may be used if desired 

 or one of fine steel or copper if pickerel or pike are 

 abundant where your bass fishing is done. Very heavy 

 baits, either artificial or natural, should not be used, as 

 the work will be too strenuous for the fly-rod unless it 

 is a very heavy and stiff one. 



Assemble rod, reel, and line and have about six or 

 eight feet of line from the tip of the rod. Now strip 

 from the reel several feet of line, allowing the coils to 

 lie in the bottom of the boat. Always be careful to lay 

 it down so that it will not tangle and foul during the 

 cast. A new enameled line which shows a tendency to 

 coil tightly should be well straightened by rubbing down 

 with deer fat or some other line dressing before at- 

 tempting to use it for strip-casting. 



The knack lies largely in educating the left hand to 

 manipulate the line correctly. As in the practice of 

 many fly-casters, the left hand grasps the line between 

 the reel and the first guide and is used to control the 

 rendition and retrieve of the line during and after the 

 cast. If it is your custom to handle the line thus when 



