172 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 



opposite end of the boat than to lead it in where you 

 can net it yourself. 



The Trolling and Casting Spoon 



With the advent of the short bait-casting rod and 

 the free-running reel has come an increase of interest 

 in artificial lures. Bass fishermen of an experimental 

 turn of mind are kept busy trying out each new bait 

 as it makes its appearance, and the collections of these 

 lures which some enthusiasts have made are indeed 

 fearful and wonderful to behold. The non-angling 

 person if shown one of these museums, without explana- 

 tory remarks, would be inclined to believe that it was 

 the life work, complete to date, of an extremely ingen- 

 ious maniac. With all this interest in the new and 

 sometimes fantastic lures, not that some of them do 

 not catch bass, the old and very reliable "spoon hook" 

 has suffered a temporary eclipse. And yet, taking every- 

 thing into consideration, the spoon is without doubt 

 the best of all-round artificial bait ever invented. Upon 

 it, when skilfully and seasonably used, every important 

 game fish of fresh waters may be taken. Its attractive 

 motion when in action is hardly equalled by any of the 

 later inventions, and as a casting bait it may always be 

 relied upon. 



The original spoon was merely a spoon-shaped blade 

 with a hole at one end for attaching the line and at the 

 other end a single hook was fixed. It caught fish. Since 

 then the tackle dealers have put on the market manifold 

 variations of the original, some of them sufficiently 

 ingenious, but none of them in any way more consist- 



