PROSPECTING 147 



recorded in the railroad guide-books. This is from the 

 common-sense point of view which, of course, should 

 be entirely disregarded as it has no bearing on the 

 matter. 



Just so long, however, as the old saw that it is not 

 all of fishing to catch fish holds true, anglers will 

 continue to chase the will o' the wisp of better fishing, 

 or bigger fish, "farther up" or "farther in," anywhere, 

 in fact, except where you are, always provided the place 

 is sufficiently inaccessible. Inaccessibility of location 

 makes a sporting proposition of any little old mud- 

 bottomed pond that has nothing in it but bull-frogs, 

 bull-heads, and possibly three or four slab-sided pick- 

 erel. Any duly accredited angler will risk his neck to 

 fish such a place as this; and when, naturally, the trip 

 turns out a brilliant failure, although he may protest 

 strenuously against his "luck," way down in his heart 

 he knows that he has got exactly what he went for 

 whatever that may be and that, really, he is quite 

 ready to do it all over again. 



Fishing New Waters 



Prospecting for black bass has, however, its practical 

 side. To fish new waters successfully one should be 

 pretty well acquainted with the habits of the bass in 

 order to judge rightly as to their probable haunts and 

 habits under the local conditions; and although certain 

 phases of this subject have been discussed elsewhere, a 

 review of the matters of this sort most pertinent from 

 the present view-point, together with other facts knowl- 

 edge of which will help the angler when prospecting 



