386 Black Bass Fishing. 



the dropper-fly ; the Professor struck lightly, but missed it, for he 

 was taken somewhat unawares and failed to strike quickly enough. 

 Throwing his line behind him, he made another cast, the flies 

 dropping, if possible, more lightly than before, and with a some- 

 what straighter and tighter line. 



" I have him ! " he exclaimed, as a bass rose and snapped the 

 stretcher-fly before it fully settled on the water. " He hooked 

 himself that time, the line being perfectly taut. He's not a large 

 one, though he gives good play," he continued, as he took the 

 rod in his left hand and applied his right to the reel, the bass, 

 in the meantime, having headed up-stream to the deeper water 

 beside the rock. 



"No, no, my fine fellow, that will never do," said he, as he brought 

 the full strain of the fish on the rod by turning the latter over 

 his shoulder and advancing the butt toward the struggling bass, 

 which had made a desperate and quick dash to get under the 

 rock when he found himself in deep water. This " giving the 

 butt," as it is technically termed, brought him to the surface again, 

 when he instantly changed his tactics by springing two feet into 

 the air, shaking his head violently in the endeavor to dislodge the 

 hook, and as he fell back with a loud splash he dropped upon the 

 line, by which maneuver he would have succeeded in tearing out 

 the hook had the line still been taut ; but the Professor was 

 perfectly familiar with this trick, and had slackened the line by 

 lowering the tip of the rod as the bass fell back, but instantly 

 resumed its tension by again raising the tip when the fish regained 

 his element. As the Professor slowly reeled the line, the bass 

 dashed hither and yon at the end of his tether, but all the time 

 working up-stream and toward the rod. Then he was suddenly 

 seized by an impulse to make for the bottom, to hide under a rock, 

 or mayhap dislodge the barb or foul the line by nosing against a 

 stone or snag — but not to sulk ; for be it known a black bass 

 never sulks, as the salmon does, by settling motionless and stub- 

 bornly on the bottom when he finds his efforts to escape are 

 foiled. The bass resists and struggles to the last gasp, unless 

 he can wedge himself beneath a rock or among the weeds, where 

 he will work the hook out at his leisure. The Professor, keeping 

 the line constantly taut and the rod well up, thereby maintaining 



