BLACK BASS. 219 



July by sportsmen with the fly. They may be captured 

 by casting the fly as for salmon or trout, and this is by 

 far the most sportsmanlike way, but the most destructive 

 and usually resorted to is trolling. For casting, a two- 

 handed seventeen foot salmon rod is preferable, while for 

 trolling, a short bass rod is the thing. By anchoring 

 your boat to the windward of a shoal, or by walking out 

 on some point of rocks, you can command a great extent 

 of water with your fly-rod, and have royal sport alone, 

 whereas for trolling an oarsman is indispensable. 



The flies to be used are the ordinary small-sized salmon 

 flies, not too gaudy, though the first dropper and tail fly 

 may be larger and made of white and ibis feathers 

 mixed. In casting you will use your ordinary cast, but 

 in trolling you may attach five or six flies to a long sal- 

 mon leader at equal distances, and will frequently take 

 several fish at a time. My experience has convinced me 

 that a number of flies attract fish, whether trout or bass, 

 and the more you can conveniently use the greater will 

 be your success. 



Black bass abound in the northern waters, where they 

 are, invariably trolled for with two rods, one on each 

 side of the boat, in the same manner as in taking pick- 

 erel, but two rods are a great additional trouble, for 

 when a fish strikes one the other has to be reeled up by 

 your boatman, lest the hooks sink to the bottom. If the 

 boat is kept in motion, it is almost impossible to reel in 

 a large bass, and would make a labor of a pleasure, even 

 if he should be eventually captured. 



A small trolling spoon is excellent bait, probably pre- 

 ferable to the fly at all seasons except the middle of 



