THE ART OF FISHING. 49 



last one mentioned above, the next the Grizzly King, and the lower 

 flies the Alvord and the Seth Green. The Ferguson-a peacock, 

 yellow and scarlet combination-and the Page fly, a scarlet and 

 guinea feather pattern, are also good. They may be procured at any 

 tackle store, but the trouble generally with these ready-made flies 

 is that they are tied on hooks of too large size. For Seth Green flies 

 the hook should be no larger than a No. 1. A Sproat No. 2, or Lim- 

 erick No. 1 is the proper size for a Ferguson fly. 



The baits that are used in still-fishing for black bass are numerous 

 and varied. The live minnow, the common angle worm, grasshop- 

 per crickets, beetles, frogs, fresh water mussels, crayfish, shrimp, 

 and there is no rule for deciding which of these lures is 

 the best, for one day the bass will give everything the go-by for 

 the angle-worm, the next the clipper will be his choice, another day 

 the grasshopper, and so on. The black bass is the most capricious 

 fish in this respect that swims, and so it behooves the angler to have 

 a variety of baits in his boat, and in good condition, for, while the 

 bass is a thorough gormandizer, he is particular as to the serving of 



his feasts. . 



Still-fishing, so called because the angler remains stationary m a 

 boat anchored in the fishing ground or fishes from the shore, is the 

 simplest, but most commonplace and unexciting of all the methods 

 employed to kill bass. A twelve-foot rod, not too stiff, a strong line, 

 as inconspicuous as possible in the water, and a hook neither too 

 large nor too small- say a No. 1, and a large fund of patience make 

 up the outfit of the still-fislierman. 



A black bass always swallows a minnow head first. The mmnow 

 should be hooked through the back from side to side, above the 

 backbone, just forward of the dorsal fin. If the hook strikes the 

 backbone the minnow will soon die; if not, he will live and be 

 lively for a long time. Many anglers prefer to use a cork or bobbin 

 on their lines to gauge the depth of water, as it is best to have the 

 minnow a foot or so above the bottom. The error that inexperienced 

 anglers for bass make, when their bait is struck, is that when they 

 see their line rushing away, and feel the strike of the fish, they 

 " pull up." They never get their bass, and for an excellent reason. 

 When a bass goes for a minnow, it goes like a railroad train, and 

 striking the bait, carries it four or five feet before the impetus of 

 the rush is overcome. Then it stops, and then the tyro thinks his 

 time is come to hook his fish, but he simply jerks the hook away 



